Thursday, April 28, 2016

Promises kept


There are few things in live more powerful than a promise kept.  A groom’s promise to his bride.  A parent’s promise to their child.  A child’s promise to their parent.  A friend’s promise to another friend.  Few things hurt more than a broken promise.  In Genesis, the God of our universe and beyond promised Abram: “Do not be afraid; I am your shield,  your very great reward.”   God then performed miracles in Abram’s life allowing him to be the father of the Jewish people which led to the birth of Jesus.    God has made the same promise to me and continues to show me that He is my shield and my very great reward.  I hope you know His promise, too.

Thursday, April 21, 2016

The Color Yellow



We finished up chapter 9 of The Divine Conspiracy this week in our Connect Group.  Dallas Willard tells us that the two most important parts of becoming a disciple are enthralling the mind with Jesus and removing any of the barriers (bad habits) that are keeping us from him.  He hit me right in the gut when he said that the most important way that we will enthrall our minds with Jesus is through silence and solitude.  This is something most people are not too good at these days, and I am one of the worst offenders.  I feel like my life is full of a lot of good things:  family, church, friends, work and leisure – but it is not full of the best thing, Him.  Dallas encourages us to look for God in His creation.  I couldn’t help but be reminded of this as I was driving through Hart County today (63 MPH in a 55).  These fields of flowers go on for miles.  I am assuming someone planted them, but these seeds and the dirt that nourished them are purely God’s doing.  I love that the God I want to know more is so full of beauty, and was happy to take a couple of minutes to soak it in.

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Stairway to Heaven


I am reading through the gospel of John this week.  While I am sure I have read it and heard excerpts dozens of  times, I could not have recounted the first interaction between Jesus and Nathanael before this week.   After Jesus calls out to Nathanael before being introduced to him, Nathanael immediately recognizes Jesus as the Son of God.  Jesus then makes a promise to Nathanael, “Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”  Some say that Jesus is referencing Jacob’s dream in Genesis 28:12 when he sees “a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.”  This is a beautiful picture to me of God opening the heavens, sending angels down to earth – only made possible by Jesus – the stairway connecting the heavens with the earth.  And He also represents the only access that we have to heaven as our time on earth ends.  (After some minor research to satisfy my curiosity, I don’t believe this stairway to heaven is connected in any way to Led Zeppelin’s.)

Thursday, April 7, 2016

God’s Not Dead II


God’s Not Dead, the 2014 movie, grossed over $60 million dollars  in the US.  The movie was about a college professor who wouldn’t allow students to move forward in his class until they announced that “God is dead”.   God’s Not Dead II opened last week, and the strong following from the first movie should give it a good jumpstart.  This story is centered on the court trial of a teacher (Melissa Joan Hart) who is accused of talking about Jesus  in her history class.  The producer, David A. R. White founded Pure Flix Entertainment which focuses on faith based movies.   Kudo’s to David, Melissa and the rest of the team for having the guts to speak out for what they believe in and have the creativity to get others interested as well.  Click here for a preview.  Let me know if you have seen it.