Today’s Readings: Romans 10

Attempting to digest Romans is challenging.  There are so many different ideas that Paul is attempting to convey to the Romans with the history of the Jewish faith and this new concept of Christ atonement for every one.  One of the best ways that I can think of how to describe the theme of Chapter 10 is directions from a father for a project.  

The Law would be similar to a father giving instructions to the child about a project.  When directing the child about the project the father gives specific instructions to the child.  You can give simple or very specific examples and illustrations for the project.  The directions can even have step by step pictures that show all of the intricacies of how to complete the project.  Then the father leaves the child to complete the project.  The Father will come and check in with the child, but the child is attempting to complete the project independently.  This child is not a youth, but an adult.  The child has the ability to complete the project independently.  

With the Blood of Christ, the project is more like the father and the child working on the project together.  They both have the instructions and illustrations, but they are working together.  The relationship of this couple is different from the previous.  The Father is connected with the child and both are able to see the progress of the project.  With this situation,  the Father can give in the moment direction and encouragement.  The Blood of Christ allows the relationship to be reconnected with the father and the child. 

When the Law was given,  it was instructions to the people of Israel.  The people of Israel were given multiple commandments and were given helpers, in the prophets, to help them to get to heaven and absolve their sins.  But God understood that they were not able to help themselves and sent Christ to reconnect the people, the people of Israel and all the of the world, back to Himself.  

My prayer is that we continue to remember that we are in relationship with God and able to have him with us daily. We don’t have to attempt to complete the project with only the instructions, the Law or the book, but we have the ability to access our Father to help and continual support and instructions daily to be more like him.  Be blessed. 

 

Today’s Reading: Psalms 25

As we celebrated Easter yesterday, I can’t help but to think about what the disciples were thinking and experiencing.

On Thursday, they were having a Passover feast with their teacher and Rabbi and then they saw him arrested and heard that he was crucified. They thought this was the End of everything. 

John and Peter saw Christ brutally, beaten and crushed, and then executed through the crucifixion. They experienced the End of everything. Their hearts were broken.

On Sunday morning, both Peter and John go to the tomb and witness that he had risen. They were questioning themselves was that the End or was this the Beginning of something amazing.

A couple days ago, as we were preparing for Good Friday, my daughters were engaged in questions and wanted to know the reason behind Good Friday and the naming of it. They’re asking why is Good Friday called “Good”?  I informed her that it was good that Christ completed his mission of life to reconcile us back to God, and allow us to have the ability to speak to God directly. The sacrifice of Christ allowed us to reconnect with God through the Holy Spirit. 

The next question was “ if Good Friday was the end of Christ where was the beginning? Does God have a daddy? “ These profound questions from my 11-year-old and nine-year-old allow me to look at the complexity  of God and Christ. 

We see the beginning of our relationship with God through the death of Christ. We also see and witness the all of God and the creation of all things. So is it just the beginning or is this the end? Or is this the end or is it the beginning of our relationships? It seems that we are on a continuum where each day ends and the new day begins.

In the psalms 25, we are also at a continuum where we are visiting with David in the latter days of his life. David is questioning his future at the same time, he is asking forgiveness for his past. 

Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.

Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they are from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions;
According to Your mercy remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.

Psalms 25: 4-7

We are constantly asking for insight into what to do next, but at the same time we are stuck in the past.

God through Christ has shown us that he is independent of time and that he loves us despite all of our difficult circumstances. God sees us in the completeness of who we are. Throughout our circumstances, we can grow in HIm more. It is when we have the struggles in our past, that allows us to lean into Christ through the Holy Spirit. So through our living, we are continuously engaged with him.

Is this the end or the beginning? The answer is yes.  We are constantly becoming renewed daily with our relationship with God the Father through Christ, God the Son, and the beauty of God the Spirit. May we enjoy this Easter season with renewed how that all of our past transgressions have been forgotten and live with more intention to be a reflection of God’s Love.

 

Today’s Reading : Acts 26

Living is hard. 

Doing what is required is hard.

 Attempting to live your best is hard. 

Throughout many struggles and challenges life can be difficult. In these situations we can give up or we can tap into the special gift of life that God has given us. 

The special gift is known as the Holy Spirit, we are able to withstand all of the pressures of life and lean heavily into the Holy Spirit, which is God the spirit. We have received this gift from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. When Jesus Christ was crucified, his blood allowed for the reconnection of our spirit and God the spirit. This reconciliation allows us to manifest or hold the Holy Spirit in our person. When we are in a relationship with God and allow the spirit to grow in us, then we can be a reflection of God. When we are a reflection of God, others can see God in us.

Over the last several weeks and blogs one thing that is constant is being a reflection of God’s love to the world. In Stephen’s confession and his presentation we see that Stephen was showing the face of an angel.

And Stephen, full of [b]faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. 10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. 15 And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.

Acts 6:8-10;15

  

In Acts 16,  we are reminded to be reflections of Christ by loving God and loving others through Paul, Timothy, and Silas in the jail.   In today’s reading Acts 26, we are shown how to be confident in our faith and showing others through our actions and life how to be more like Christ and showing Gods Love unconditionally. 

4 “My manner of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own nation at Jerusalem, all the Jews know. 5 They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers. 7 To this promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain. For this hope’s sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews. 8 Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?

Acts 26:4-8

A while ago, I read an antidote about spilling coffee. In the story, a person has a cup of coffee and somebody bumped into them. When the person bumped into them, the coffee spills out. The moral of the story is what’s in your cup is what will come out. When we understand that God is in us and we cultivate God in us, then when life happens God can spill out.  Others will see the God in you. 

God, allow us to be reflections of you in our daily walk. 

Today’s Reading : Acts 6

My apologies, I wrote on the Acts 16 a couple of weeks ago instead of Acts 6.  Here is the post for Acts 6. – Be Blessed.

Compromise is defined by Britannica as a way of reaching agreement in which each person or group gives up something that was wanted in order to end an argument or dispute.  Delegation is defined as the act of transferring authority and responsibility for tasks to another person. It can also refer to a group of people chosen to represent others.  

In the very beginning of Acts, we are given a narrative of how the church began. This is the beginning of the Christianity faith and  so many things were happening at such a rapid pace. Jesus has been resurrected. Jesus spent time with the people for 40 days after his resurrection. Then the Apostles, who were the closest of the disciples to Jesus, also known as the 12, began to spread the gospel throughout the region. There was so much rapid growth that the main focus was to expand the Gospel.

In the previous chapters in Acts, we see how the people are growing in the word of God and how they are forming the community. They’re showing how the love for each other takes precedence over selfishness. In the previous chapter, we see how the spirit of God is everywhere and cannot be deceived. It shows how to be truthful, even when you are not wanting to give everything but just be truthful. This was seen with and Ananias and his wife,Sapphira.

As in Acts 6, Sometimes we get so overwhelmed with the newness of our journey, sometimes we forget about the small things. The small things are the foundation of what we do: taking care of the widows, the orphans, and the sick are the foundations of : love our neighbor and the mosaic religion. 

30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[a] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31

As the new religion is starting, we forgot about our widows and were reminded of this by the other religions, because they took care of our people. The founding Apostles were able to be in unison with the Holy Spirit and devise a compromise for this oversight. 

They created a delegation of deacons and elders that would take the responsibility of caring for our most vulnerable population. The deacons/elders are:  St. Stephen, St. Phillip, Prochours, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas.  These individuals were chosen because of their dedication to the faith and the church.  These individuals went on to become bishops and martyrs for the Christian church.  

At the time of beginning of the new church, this could have been a time filled with confusion and chaos, but the Holy Spirit allowed the leaders of the early church to make sound decisions and delegate with purpose the delicate task of protecting and nurturing proper individuals. 

There are many times in my life when chaos and confusion attempt to take over. There are times I’m trying to find compromise and delegation and it is very difficult. But from this chapter, I’m reminded that the Holy Spirit when invited can erase all confusion and chaos and bring harmony back to the basics.

Throughout this coming week, can we find the chance to ask the Holy Spirit to ease the chaos and confusion in our lives. And where this chaos and confusion is that the Holy Spirit gives us an ability to compromise and delicate the task to make it easier for us to show God‘s glory.

Be blessed.

Today’s Reading: Acts 16 

Have you ever had a time where you wanted to say something but you didn’t?

Have you ever had a time where you wanted to do something but didn’t?

Have you ever had a time where you did something that you didn’t want to do but was compelled to?

There have been many times I have wanted to do certain things, but I don’t. There have been times when I don’t want to do something, and then I am compelled to do these things. In these interactions I believe that is being in tune with the  Holy Spirit.

Throughout the 16th Chapter of Acts, Paul is led by the spirit of God to act or to abstain from actions.

Paul was excited to gain a new partner in the mission, Timothy. If he had gone to his accord, he would’ve alienated some of the people he was trying to connect with. He waited for the direction of God to prepare Timothy for his mission and his journey as well.

“Paul came first to Derbe, then Lystra. He found a disciple there by the name of Timothy, son of a devout Jewish mother and Greek father. Friends in Lystra and Iconium all said what a fine young man he was. Paul wanted to recruit him for their mission, but first took him aside and circumcised him so he wouldn’t offend the Jews who lived in those parts. They all knew that his father was Greek.

Paul wanted to go in a  certain direction to continue his mission, but the Spirit of God showed him a different path

“They went to Phrygia, and then on through the region of Galatia. Their plan was to turn west into Asia province, but the Holy Spirit blocked that route. So they went to Mysia and tried to go north to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t let them go there either. “

“Proceeding on through Mysia, they went down to the seaport Troas. That night Paul had a dream: A Macedonian stood on the far shore and called across the sea, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” The dream gave Paul his map. We went to work at once getting things ready to cross over to Macedonia. All the pieces had come together. We knew now for sure that God had called us to preach the good news to the Europeans. “

Paul being in the presence of the Holy Spirit, stops the potential for the conflict and the confusion that the slave girl could make for the overall  mission. During this time, the public opinion of the Christians is sensitive and this propagation from this other spirit,  could’ve made it worse for the overall mission of Christ.

“One day, on our way to the place of prayer, a slave girl ran into us. She was a psychic and, with her fortunetelling, made a lot of money for the people who owned her. She started following Paul around, calling everyone’s attention to us by yelling out, “These men are working for the Most High God. They’re laying out the road of salvation for you!” She did this for a number of days until Paul, finally fed up with her, turned and commanded the spirit that possessed her, “Out! In the name of Jesus Christ, get out of her!” And it was gone, just like that. “

Paul was led by the spirit to be silent when the crowd beat them. Paul was also led by the spirit to be still when the chains were dropped off of their feet and the doors of the jail were open. Paul by being obedient to the spirit, Paul was able to show God‘s mercy and show God’s power to the jailer and to the community in Philippi.

“Along about midnight, Paul and Silas were at prayer and singing a robust hymn to God. The other prisoners couldn’t believe their ears. Then, without warning, a huge earthquake! The jailhouse tottered, every door flew open, all the prisoners were loose. Startled from sleep, the jailer saw all the doors swinging loose on their hinges. Assuming that all the prisoners had escaped, he pulled out his sword and was about to do himself in, figuring he was as good as dead anyway, when Paul stopped him: “Don’t do that! We’re all still here! Nobody’s run away!””

‭‭Acts‬ ‭16‬:‭1‬-‭3‬, ‭6‬-‭10‬, ‭16‬-‭18‬, ‭25‬-‭28‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Over the course of this portion of Paul’s journey, Paul allows the spirit to lead him and guide him. He was allowing the spirit to direct him to speak or not to speak. Paul is allowing the spirit to allow him to move or not move. Paul was at the Surrendered authority to the Holy Spirit.

As we are in the presence of God and as we connect with him, our goal is to be more like Paul. Our goal is to surrender our actions to the Will of God. In my journey, I have allowed my spirit to go to the Will of God sometimes. I am still actively in this journey to be more like Christ. I am actively asking God to allow me to surrender to him more. I am trying to be more vulnerable to the spirit less acting on my wants and needs.

As we enter into this Lenten season, how can we allow ourselves to be more in the presence of God to allow him to use us for his glory and for his kingdom.

 

Lynden McGriff

Today’s Reading Psalms 8

“O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth,  Who have set  Your glory above the heavens!

Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger. 

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, 

What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?

For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 

All sheep and oxen— Even the beasts of the field, 

The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas. 

O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭8‬:‭1‬-‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Throughout life, we try to describe beauty and excellence in simple terms. I remember a young age I was trying to describe beauty but I was focused only on the superficial part of beauty. I tried to describe it to something perfect: a rose or a diamond.  I try to describe it as something unimaginable. But as I grew and matured and as I became more aware and more experience, we can see beauty and excellence in the small things.  I have now discovered that the flaws of the diamond makes it more rare and beautiful.  It is the small pieces combined that really bring excellence in beauty.  

Over the weekend, my children and I went ice-skating and rollerblading. The beauty of watching them learn the new skills is so amazing. Some of them have no fear, but some of them have some hesitation to it. But at the end of the day, they continue to want to pursue this new skill. This is beautiful to me. 

Having a pancake breakfast with my son, this is beauty to me.

Driving with the family to get groceries, this is beauty to me. 

Delivering Girl Scout Cookies with my girls, this is beauty to me. 

Being in the healthcare field, both my wife and I see so many patients that have different challenges. When we are faced with the challenges that we can from our experience with our patients and helping them in their time of need, we can see God‘s beauty and excellence in our challenges. 

One of the best quotes that our pastor stated a couple years ago that is still relevant is  “God cannot protect you what he’s going to perfect you through“.

In all of our circumstances we have to understand that God is in control. 

God’s excellence will persevere despite the challenges, the heartache, and the trauma of all our circumstances.  

This psalm is so amazing that we have to say it at the beginning and the end. 

Be blessed 

 

Today’s Reading : John 16

Over the last couple of weeks we have had some great experiences. The seventh and eighth grader basketball ball teams have advanced to the next level of competition from conference to regional to sectionals.  For the seventh grade sectionals, the parents rented a bus for the students to attend the competition. The student section was amazing. They gave a beat to the whole arena. The atmosphere was exciting. Everybody was in it for the team. We had such a great time. The seventh graders won that game and the crowd just erupted.  There were so much joy and excitement. 

As we were preparing to leave, a grandmother looked up at the stands and saw that there was a lot of rubbish from our section. She made a comment “this is kind of embarrassing because we are visiting another person‘s house and we are leaving a mess“. At that point, I rallied the students and we were able to clean up the student section in two minutes. We actually made it look better than it had before we came.

One of the great lessons that I received as a child was : Leave it better than you found it. This can be used at any point in your life and in any situation. The mark that you make on anything needs to be better than you left it. If you’ve been invited somewhere, clean up before you leave. If you are in a position or employment attempt to leave the organization better than you found it.  In your life when you meet people try to give them a little extra from your interaction.

In John 16, Jesus is giving us a picture of when he will leave. He is spelling it out to the disciples how he will leave them. The experience that Christ gave to the twelve, and the disciples, and the world is … leaving it better than before he came.  Before Christ came, we did not understand how Heaven and Earth could be combined. We did not understand how the pieces of love and hope brings heaven to earth. 

Christ also gave us the reconnection with God the spirit,  otherwise known as the Holy Spirit. Because Christ enters the world in a sacrifice this creates a new opening for the Holy Spirit to be with us. Before Christ’s sacrifice, the Holy Spirit was not available to everyone. So by Christ coming and being with us, he made us better than we were before. Because Christ has come with us and the Holy Spirit is able to abide with us, we are able to be better than we were before. 

How can we share God‘s love and the experience of the Holy Spirit with others? How can we make an impact on others to be better than they were before? How can we be better from experiencing others as well? Allow God to use you and open your mind of how others make you better this week. 

Be blessed 

Today’s Reading : John 6

The entire chapter John 6 can be summed up in one word: companionship.

The true meaning of the word companionship comes from Latin. Com- with or together AND panis- bread.  Coming together over bread or a meal.  

When you read and reflect on this entire chapter, Jesus is bringing everyone together. He’s bringing them together with bread and the promise of fulfillment and provision.

The very interesting aspect of this account of the gospel is that it is from an eyewitness. John is the only gospel that has an eyewitness account of the miracles and life of Jesus Christ. 

In chapter 6, we start with the feeding of the 5000. This is the miracle of the 5 loaves of barley and 2 fish.  This miracle happens and  coordinates with the Passover. It connects the current people with the past. It connects the deliverance from Egypt and into the wilderness.  It connects the desperation of basic needs… food and nourishment.  It connects the Mana and the loaves. It connects the past, present, and future of the people with Christ.  Manna from heaven to the part of Christ that he gives us: his body (bread) and blood(wine).  Jesus is foretelling the future of his crucifixion and the deliverance he will give. 

As I reflect on this passage I made a new connection.  Every night and morning,  I say prayers with my children.  We do the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostles Creed and then we have a personalized prayer. 

The kids asked about the Lord’s Prayer and I told them in detail each part. The daily bread is how God provides us with all we need.  

But now I have the full realization that God gives us all that we need in the daily bread that is Christ.  Christ was referring to himself in the prayer. It is through him and his sacrifice of his blood that we have reunited with God.  

He has brought us together through him. 

He continues to bring us together with companionship with the Father. 

 

Be Blessed

As we start this new year, and as we reflect on the past year and past experiences, we have a profound gratitude for God’s benevolence and love. 

When we look at Christ’s life, he did not have any of his major life events in permanent places… a lot of them were in temporary places. 

When he was born; he was in a manager in an Inn far from his home. 

When he was crucified, he was buried in a tomb that was not his own, and it was borrowed. 

Throughout his life, he had a stable and permanent home, but some of the most important remembrance is that we remember … were all temporary places. 

 

I believe that this was not a coincidence, but God wanted us to see that even in temporary places we can have a profound effect.

Throughout last year, God was preparing me for growth and expansion and my mind was ready. I grew a lot with the newfound understanding of situations and placement. I was able to find solace in Babylon when God has already created everything for us in Babylon. 

For every situation in life, God has already foretold ordained His power in the midst of it.

With that understanding, we can take solace in all situations. We find out being temporary is a place where God is able to do miracles. In temporary spots God is able to show profound power. We find that in a moment can be a lifetime for God and in a lifetime can be at a moment for him as well. Allow us to see the temporary spots as opportunities for something amazing to happen.

 

The things that are temporary that we can work through are:

Hurt is temporary.

Pain is temporary.

Confusion is temporary.

Death is temporary.

The one they need is consistent is God‘s love and God‘s presence in our life.

 

A couple years ago I was able to watch a documentary series with one of my children about space and time. In this documentary, the author shares that the outward portion of universe equates to about 5 billion years ago.  

There are still stars that are out there that have been there for 5 billion years. When we look at our lives, the maximum span is 120 years. In that vast span, our lives can be seen as temporary.

But even though they might be temporary the effects of our being and our love and our compassion extends beyond those years. 

Allow God to use you so that His presence and love is us  continues pass to others throughout the years to show his glory in his greatness.

“yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

‭‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Be blessed

Today’s Reading: Job 12-14; Psalms 100; Revelation 13

As I become more mature and received a little bit more wisdom, I take this time of the year to reflect on the past, and to see how I have grow over that year. In reflecting upon the blogs and the stories and the experiences that have been shared here on this platform, I have become a better person.

“Only grant me these two things, God,
    and then I will not hide from you:
²¹ Withdraw your hand far from me,
    and stop frightening me with your terrors.
²² Then summon me and I will answer,
    or let me speak, and you reply to me.
²³ How many wrongs and sins have I committed?
    Show me my offense and my sin.
²⁴ Why do you hide your face
    and consider me your enemy?
²⁵ Will you torment a windblown leaf? –

Job 13:21-25

The dragon^[a] stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. ² The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. ³ One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. – Revelation 13: 1-3

In today’s reading, there is so much noise and confusion and chaos that upon first glance, you would become disengaged. But when you allow the spirit of God to mentor to you and to open your eyes to the full picture, we can see that in the midst of all of the chaos in our lives, we can still give thanks to God.

In the reading of Job, Job is struggling in a midst of his calamities and his trials. He is praising God with one voice and at the same time he is mad at himself. How many times throughout this past year have we had similar thoughts? How many times this past year have we been in the chaos that we did not understand why we were?

The next  passage is Psalms 100, which is a profound Thanksgiving song. This song gives me such hope. Hope for the past, hope for the  present, hope for the future. It is given thanks to God in all things. This is a testament to David and the spirit of God being with throughout his lifetime . We have the luxury of having spirit of God with us currently, but David had the heart of God. In the midst of all of his trials and heartaches, David still gives everything to God in praise and thanksgiving.

In the final reading, Revelation 13,  we are presented with a couple of unknowns that are told by John. When you read this chapter, you can become distraught and dismayed, but we know the ending of revelations we see that this God has overcome the evil.

So as we wind up the year, let us reflect on how God has already seen the end for us. Allow us to find peace in the knowledge that there will be calamities and trials and strife that we will endure this lifetime, but let’s be assured that we have a hope in Christ who has already completed the battle for us.

Let’s go to this new year with our spirits filled with hope and prosperity, joy and peace.

Be Blessed