²² Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”

    ²³ Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”       {Matthew 16:21-23}

I read Matthew 16, the other day and these verses just stayed with me. I can’t tell you the numerous times I would read this passage, and just skim over this part b/c I knew the basic concept it. Or at least I thought I knew the concept of it. Then that part where Jesus’ response to Peter just kept lingering in my head…including that end part. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Jesus is telling His disciples things that are to come. He is fortelling his crucifixion, even telling them that he would raise again on the third day. Jesus is telling them of the ‘impossible’ things that God can do.

Then Peter speaks up and voices his opinion on the matter. He lets Jesus know that he thinks, how he see things.

Then Jesus abruptly turns to Peter and lets him know that he has the wrong thinking mindset. He is thinking from a human view point and not from God’s view point. He forgets that with man things may look impossible  but with God all things are possible.

For to us to hear that someone is going to die and then on top of that hear that they will rise again…we would think that person was not in their right mind. But here Jesus is telling them to think bigger than they ever have before.

I find myself like Peter. Jesus will tell me something…something by my standards, by my thinking it sounds/looks strange…too big…too expensive…too ”out there”. So I go and try to ‘explain’ to Jesus, why this could never be possible. Trying my best to talk my way out of it. I am trying to question the maker of the world. Then Jesus reminds me “set your mind on things above, not on things of this world.”

God help me to think bigger than I ever have. Help me to seek your Kingdom first. May I remember that you can do all things. For all is possible with you. For who am I to question your ways? For your ways are always perfect and good.

You had this “awe factor” thing going on…You were in love with this person.

Then a little while passed, a few dates gone…and it was enough just to make sure you looked descent. As long as the shirt was clean, or smelled clean. You wouldn’t worry about how the car looked or even how you did. You just did enough to get by.

That is how some of us, and even I am in my relationship w/ God. 

When we first get saved, we are full of passion and zeal. We use every waking moment, every breath,every interaction w/someone as an oppurtunity to tell them about God. We would go on missions trips and clear our shedules, so we could serve the Lord. We get involved in church and actively participate in worship. Would spend time w/God in prayer and just reflecting on His goodness.

Then time goes by and that fire that used to burn so bright becomes so faint…

We are lucky just to read our bible or a verse. Say a prayer once and a while. When it comes to God…we have just lost our passion for Him and all that encompasses Him.

In the bible when Jesus did miracles…it amazed those present. When He spoke, it amazed those who heard Him. He spoke with such power that they were moved.

May we get back to that passion. May that match become the start of a forest fire. May we move back to our first love. Let’s remember how powerful He is. How big He really is…b/c along the way I think we forgot.

God may we crave you…crave your prescence…may your word refresh us.

I found this video by Francis Chan called “The Awe Factor”, if you have time I encourage you to watch it.

Tonight I played basketball with my 2 year old daughter. It came time where she wanted to shoot the basketball into the hoop. Though here was her problem, the goal is up higher than she is. Then my daughter looks at me and says “Daddy lift me up pleeeeease”.

Now as a father that filled my heart with such joy. I with gladness lifted her up and let her make an awesome shot. Nothing makes me happier than knowing my daughter, knows that when she calls her daddy I will be there.

Now this got me thinking, and certain verse came to my mind.

Romans 3:23= “For all have fallen short of the Glory of God…”

Now for my daughter, getting that ball in that hoop was her “goal”. It was something she wanted to reach, but on her own she could not. She wouldn’t even come close to reaching it. It wasn’t until she asked for help from her daddy and allowed me to help lift her up, and bring her to that goal.

As Christians, we are called to be Holy, just as Christ is. Holy…set apart. Holiness is what we strive for, but sadly we fall short. Even when it comes to salvation, on our own we could not reach the goal. We are sinners and come nowhere close to it. It wasn’t until Jesus came and died, giving us the way in which we could reach our goal of salvation. And when we call on His help and allow Him to help us and surrender to Him…He can lift us up. 

Now if that touched my heart as father…I have to believe how much even more it touches the heart of our heavenly Father. How much joy it brings to Him, to know that His child calls on His name.

Remember we’ve all fallen short, but thanks to Jesus we can be lifted up to where we need to be.

I saw this funny video today and I thought that I would post. They also make a funny reference to another you tube video, where the kid just got out of the dentist. Hope it makes you laugh

Sometimes this is how I feel my sin makes me appear to God, and others. I know it’s wrong but it somehow made it’s way into my thinking. I feel like no matter what I will always have this stain haunting me.

I am so glad that Jesus forgives me. Even after the mess I’ve made. He can still make me whiter than snow.

 ”Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;
      wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” —{Psalm 51:7}

All we have to do is repent (or turn) from our ways, and let God clean us. God also promises that when Jesus comes again is when we will be “perfected” and restored. On that day we won’t have to worry about any more stains. What a great day that will be!

¹⁹⁾Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, ²⁰⁾and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. ²¹⁾He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. —–{Acts 3:19-21}

I am so glad that God not only forgives but He forgets them. No matter what the sin. No matter the size…big, medium, or small. If I truly come to God and ask for forgiveness and repent…He will cleanse me and remembers it no more. The bible uses the illustration that God throws it as far as “the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12). He will never bring them back up. They are gone! 

There is also a verse that says, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”—{Isaiah 43:25}

So just as that Tide pen promises to blot out stains, know that God promise is even greater. In that through the sacrifice of Jesus (His son). Through His blood, His death and resurrection…our sins can truly be blotted out and made clean.

May you go out today with a new sense of freedom. Rejoice that you don’t have to worry about those stains any longer.

Sometimes though I find that I let things wear on my mind. I starting worrying about deadlines, about work, about my job, and it just goes on and on. I am missing out on that time that I could be spending with her. I am sacrificing that intimacy and focusing on things that don’t really matter.

I really felt like God was revealing this to me, and also brought to my mind a story in the Bible. It is the famous story of “Mary and Martha”.

In the story Jesus was welcomed into Martha’s home. Martha has a sister, Mary, who instead of helping serve their guests and make preperations for the meal…is sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to every word He speaks. Mary is enjoying ‘time’ with Jesus. Key word is time.

Just then in the story Martha comes to Jesus and complains that Mary is not helping her serve. She comes asking Jesus to tell her sister  to help out and be a good host. Then Jesus says to Martha , “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” [luke 10:41-42]

I find myself worried about so many things…but as Jesus said, only one thing is necessary. Spending time with Him intimately.Seeking first His kingdom. For when I do that all shall be added unto me.

Jesus even showed it in the New Testament, when He would go alone and pray. He would withdraw from crowds, from disciples, from friends and Just spend time with His father.

Just as find myself wasting that precious time with daughter. I am doing the same thing to God. I forget who is in control of the world and the things that worry me. I forget that He is the creator, the shepherd,and the peace keeper. I need to be sitting at His feet and begin to lay my burdens down.

May I remember not forget that only “one thing” is necessary.

This is one of my favorite scenes from the movie “The Passion of Christ”.

I don’t know why but today I started thinking about this scene. There is Jesus, in an intimate scene with his mother. He is carrying his cross up to where he will be crucified. Then in the moment where he drops his cross, Mary runs and comes to his rescue…or so she thinks. For in that moment Jesus says that He is the one who came to rescue us.

I make all things new…

A while back I remember during the election season, it seems like the only thing on T.V. was campaign ads. You literally could not watch a single channel without seeing some sort of politician’s ad.

There is one thing that they had in common. They all told us what they were going to do. What they were going to do for us. How they would make our lives easier…if only we would elect them. If they follow through though that is another thing.

Now hear me out. I am not saying that God is a politician at all. But it seemed similar in a way. Jesus came and said “I make all things new.”  He didn’t just come and make a bunch of empty statements. He did something about it, He backed up what He said. He was beaten, spit upon, cursed, broken, beat beyond recognition and crucified. He began the work of making us new.

Through His crucifixion and by His blood, we were given a clean slate. The darkness of sin became as white as fresh fallen snow. It became as if we never had sinned in the first place. We were given grace…not deserved…but given. We became new creations.

Though accepting Jesus as saviour, does not make our life easier.  He doesn’t promise that at all. He says that “the world will hate you because it hates me.” You may go through some hard times, but Jesus sticks to His promises. So you can rest assure in that He will take care of you.

This is only the first phase of Jesus making all things new. The full process will come to completion when Jesus comes back to take us home to Heaven. For there we will have a new body.

That is where Jesus makes a final promise. There will be no more tears, no more death, no more hurt, no more sin. Sounds better than any political campaign commercial that I’ve heard in a long time.

“I am confident in this very thing, that He who began a good work in me, will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”—Philipians1:6

On one day she was running into my room, fell and hit the corner of her eye on the bedroom dresser. I rushed over to her and picked her up and held her close. She cried for what seemed liked hours and hours. Though then she seemed alright and apart from her bruise, she went back of her mission of joyfully following her daddy.

Which got me thinking…

Am I actively trying to follow God (my daddy) every day? Do I make it my sole desire? Do I chase after Him with my whole heart? To be honest not always. I can usually be found chasing the different things of this world, and wasting my time.

And do I realize that following God, does not mean that I will be following Him through a flower and grassy meadow. Where the sun shines and the birds sing…No sometimes it means I may get hurt and have to walk through uneasy and painful circumstances. (Just look at the examples in the Bible of those who really followed Christ)

I may even find myself crying because I got hurt along the way. Well the good thing (that God showed me through this) is that my loving Father will come and pick me up and hold me close. He will comfort me. He reminded me that He will never forsake me.

Wanna find a follower of Christ? You don’t have to look far…just look for the ones with the bruises. (The ones that have may have their dreams crushed.)  And even though they get hurt, just like my daughter they continue to have a deep rooted joy and continue following.

Oh to have that sustaining joy, that in the midst of hurt and trials we count it all as joy. For it brings about perserverance and completion. May we all begin to follow our daddy.

I know it’s been a while. Been busy moving. Though I found this great funny simple message from Francis Chan. Enjoy!

What is life? Life is birth, growing up, car payments, raising children, taxes, work, house payments…the list goes on… it seems that life is nothing more than a series of events. Without Jesus that is what life is, nothing more than events and highlights. The bible refers to life as a vapor that is here one day and gone the next. It has even been described as a flower or grass that lasts for only so long, and then withers away. Life is short…Life is fragile.

Though Jesus came so that ‘we may have life and have it abundantly…and to the fullest.’ [see John 10:10-11]

Jesus performed a miracle that raised a close friend Lazarus from the dead. To show that He has power over death itself. He stated, “I am the resurrection and the life; He who believes in me will live even if he dies.” [John 11:25]

God breathed life into creation. He was life, before there was life. “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being. In Him was the life and the life was the light of men”. [John 1:3-4]  Then Jesus took on flesh, became human and brought life to earth and us. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” [John 1:14]

He was no longer an untouchable God. Someone that starts life and then watches from afar…no God sent His only Son to become life for us. He came and felt our hurts and pains, and became human. Jesus then laid down His life and became the sacrifice for all mankind, so that we may truly have life. He then rose again on third day to show that He has beaten death. Through Jesus we are no longer slaves to the sting of death.

We now have eternal life through Jesus. That is eternal  meaning never ending. Think about that never ending…you just keep living…even after the grave…for it no longer has a hold on you. It couldn’t even hold Jesus.

This may be only a glimpse of what Jesus meant when He said, “I am the life”      Come to Jesus and find life!