Deuteronomy 13-15; Mark 12:28-44

Hope all you moms had a Happy Mother’s Day weekend!

Mothers teach us the most important things.

Mothers teach us to Love – by Loving.

And without that lesson, it’s hard to understand God’s Love.

According to Jesus, the 2 most important commandments are:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”

and -

“Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Translation: There’s NOTHING more important than Love.

And the best teachers of Love – are Mothers.

So on behalf of sons and daughters everywhere – THANKS MOM.

Thanks for teaching us what’s MOST Important.

If your Mom is still with us -

Or if there’s Another Mother you admire today -

Take this opportunity to show them a Little of what they teach us -

Every Day.

Have a GREAT Day!

Numbers 35-36; Mark 10:1-31

Jesus was MAD.

The disciples were trying to manage His time by steering Him towards the more important, adult business. So they “rebuked” (to reprimand and devalue) the kids who wanted to see Jesus.

Jesus was mad – because HE LOVED kids, and because the adults needed to learn from the kids – not the other way around. Jesus said -

“I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Translation: If you want to enter God’s Kingdom, you need simple, undistracted, kid-like faith – faith that just wants to be with Jesus.

“And he took the children in his arms and blessed them.”

So should we. And maybe in the process, we can learn a thing or two…

Have a Super day!

Deuteronomy 7-9; Mark 11:19-33

It was the first time my little daughter Criste got MAD at me.

She used to stand on our waterbed (OK – so I’m OLD), shut her eyes and fall backwards – FUN! But one time she was too close to the wood-framed edge. I tore out to catch her, but my stocking feet on a hardwood floor left me running in place like in cartoons. WHACK! Criste’s head hit the wood. She cried – but she was more MAD than hurt – giving me this “How COULD you?” look. Daddies are supposed to CATCH  Criste’s BEFORE their head hits the wood.

Until that moment, Criste thought her Daddy was SUPERMAN. She believed there was NOTHING he couldn’t do. She got over it.

Jesus wants us NOT to get over it – with GOD.

He IS SUPERMAN.

There is NOTHING He can’t do – from shriveling a tree -

to giving a mountain a new zip code.

And HE invites us – like little Criste – to BELIEVE.

Or in His words, “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Deuteronomy 10-12; Mark 12:1-27

Once in a while I have this recurring “aha” moment:

MINISTRY isn’t about ME – it’s about GOD!

God has always known about our tendency to project our OWN STUFF into HIS STUFF.

CAIN did it. He offered God his own Veggies instead of God’s Sacrificial Lamb;

Aaron’s SONS did it. They offered God Custom Incense instead of God’s Burnt Offering.

WE do it, too. SELF-STYLED Worship.

So when God gave His Laws to Israel – He repeatedly said “BE CAREFUL to do EXACTLY as I command you.”

And in their WORSHIP – God said 3 things:

Concerning the Popular worship of the Pagans around them, God said:

“You must not worship the LORD your God in their way.”

And concerning the people’s tendency to Please themselves in their worship, God said:                                       

“You are not to do as we do here today, everyone as he sees fit…”

And - “Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please.”    

TRANSLATION – In WORSHIP:

1.  Don’t be influenced by false religious culture

2.  Don’t be governed by personal preference

3.  Don’t be defined by personal convenience

Sounds pretty restrictive – I mean who does God think this is all about, anyway?

Oh, Yeah – “AHA…”

See you Tomorrow!

Numbers 32-34; Mark 9:30-50

“Denominations – SHMENOMINATIONS!!!”

A new believer once asked me to teach him about the “Dominations.” 

I understood him to mean “Denominations” – Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian – but it HIT me – that he basically had it right.

And while many Denominational churches are no doubt doing God’s work, there is still this tendency to build themselves up – and DISS the other denominations – over stuff that’s not essential to faith in Jesus.

“Hey Jesus – This guy was driving out demons in Your Name. WE have proprietary ownership of your NAME – including “of Nazareth” – and copyright of your sermons with patents pending on your miracles – especially that “water into wine process.” So we told him to cease and desist – because “he was not one of us.”

Jesus’ REPLY was telling:

“Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us.”

I like our denomination. Some things I would change. I like other denominations who share the basics of our faith and core values.

But I DON’T like picking fights with people who are obviously my brothers and sisters – over stuff that doesn’t matter as much as the core value of UNITY. Jesus prayed this for all who believe in Him, “Father, make them one, so the world will know You sent Me.”

Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, AMWAY, Pentecostal, Independant -

I want to think and speak of them the same way Jesus does: “whoever is not against us is for us.”

See you tomorrow!

Numbers 29-31; Mark 9:1-29

PRAYER freaks people out.

We ask God for stuff, but He doesn’t always come through.

SO – we HEDGE our bet on Prayer with phrases like -

        “IF it’s Your will,” “IF it would please You”, “IF it’s possible”

That’s how THIS guy prayed in Mark 9:

        “But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

JESUS answers -

        “IF you can?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him     who believes.”

Then we get down to the REAL reason Prayer freaks us out:

        Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

 So OFTEN we’re scared we don’t have ENOUGH faith – but Jesus is concerned with another question: “WHERE?” How much faith isn’t the issue with Jesus. Prayer-answering faith isn’t about how much. It’s about where. Big Faith or Beginner Faith – Jesus wants you and me to pray with 100% faith in HIM, and 0% faith in plan “b”.

 Pretty simple.

“Everything is possible for him who believes.”

Guy believes. Guy’s request answered.

And if my request isn’t granted?

That just means God has a bigger answer than the one you asked for – so stay tuned, and keep praying and believing – in Jesus.

Maybe Prayer isn’t so FREAKY after all.

Have a Great day!

Numbers 26-28; Mark 8

Jesus was an incredibly POLARIZING figure.

Jesus PULLS the Crowds towards Himself – with tireless acts of Compassion, Miracles,  and Teaching. He PUSHES the Pharisees away – refusing their demand for another miracle.  And He FORCES His Disciples to Take a Position on who He is.

It’s the same way today. Jesus simply won’t let you be neutral 

about Who He is. As Josh McDowell put it – Jesus forces you to choose. He’s not a good man or a prophet. He was either a Liar, a Lunatic, or the Lord.

I cast my vote several times a day. When I call my own shots, I vote “Liar” or “Lunatic.” When I let Him drive, I vote “Lord.”

Hope I get today’s election right.

See you tomorrow!

Numbers 23-25; Mark 7:14-37

They call him a 5-TOOL Player. MATT KEMP of the Dodgers does it all well: Run, Catch, Throw, Hit for average and Hit for power. He’s an amazing player to watch – because you never know when he’s gonna make his next great play. But Matt Kemp of the Dodgers can’t hold a CANDLE – to JESUS CHRIST of Nazareth. Mark 7:37 says the people were “Overwhelmed with amazement,” as they exclaimed, “He has done everything well – He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak” (talk about hitting it out of the park!). SO – next time I want to see a great catch, or a home run – I’ll tune in the Dodgers and Matt Kemp. BUT – next time I need a MIRACLE – I’ll dial up Jesus… Have a Fantastic day!

Numbers 20-22; Mark 7:1-13

Once I got so frustrated while practicing the violin – that I THREW my bow down and it SNAPPED! When my dad (the real violinist of the family) got home that night – he said “I understand how frustrating practice can be, but until you can control your temper – you aren’t welcome to use MY bow.” OUCH…

Dad understood my frustration. But he let me feel the consequences.

God is like that. He understands our FRUSTRATION.
But He honors our OBEDIENCE.
When He told Moses to “speak” to the Rock and water would flow out -
but Moses HIT the Rock in Frustration instead – God sympathized.
He knew how exasperating the Jewish people could be to a leader.
So God didn’t hammer Moses publically. He took Moses and Aaron aside,
and let them feel the consequences. They lost the privilege of leading Israel into the Promised Land. OUCH…

How much better it would have been for Moses -
If he had vented his frustration to God, and saved his final legacy.

And how much better it would have been for Me -
If had I vented my frustration to God, and saved my bow.

God understands my FRUSTRATION.
But He’s LOOKING for – and will HONOR – my OBEDIENCE.

Numbers 17-19; Mark 6:30-56

All things being equal, I prefer simple over complicated.

So – reading this Scripture in the book of Numbers, I was feeling

sorry for the Israelites: Clean -unclean, sacrifices, offerings, washings – WOW! Ever WONDER why God made life so COMPLICATED for His people?

Looking a little closer, I think God made it HARD for His people to deal with sin – so they’d appreciate how BIG a deal their sins were – to a

PERFECT God.

In our culture where Right and Wrong are considered RELATIVE – God wants us to know that “Right” is REALLY Right, and “Wrong” is REALLY Wrong.

That’s why Jesus had to pay such an incredible price to set US right

with God.

I’m SO glad these Jewish Laws went out of effect after Jesus’ sacrifice.

And I’m SO glad – that Jesus was willing to suffer enough to reconcile REALLY Wrong people like me – with a REALLY Perfect God like Him.

Right and Wrong – it’s a BIGGER deal than I usually think it is. Thoughts?

See you Tomorrow!