Chet Bandy

Can I Please Have Your Attention?

Today’s reading as part of our journey through the Bible this year is Exodus 10-12 and Ephesians 2.

Who do you most relate to in the story of the Israelites being enslaved in Egypt and their ultimate departure? Do you relate to Moses who did not think he was capable because of his past sin and lack of confidence in his ability to take on a significant leadership role? Do you relate to Aaron who played a key role in the communication with Pharoah on behalf of the Israelites but who maybe didn’t get the credit his brother Moses did? Or do you relate to the Israelites being enslaved for many years?

Most of us probably would not say we are most like Pharoah. However, we may be more like him than we would like to admit. After the 7^th plague..yes 7^th…Moses and Aaron went and delivered a message from God to Pharoah in Exodus 10:3 asking, “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?” He would either refuse to let the Israelites go like God instructed or he would say he would release them but later change his mind or refuse to let them all go along with their property…even after 7 plagues!

Do you feel like nothing is going your way? Do you like you just keep taking right hook after right hook? If so, I think it should really cause us to pause and reflect on if we are humbling ourselves before God and giving our problem(s) and life to Him. Is it possible that He’s just trying to get our attention?

We must ask ourselves…

Am I putting God first in my life?
Am I giving my problem(s) to Him in prayer?
Do I think my problems are too big for God?
Or do I think my problems are too small for God to care?
What is God trying to teach me through these challenges?
Could He be letting things happen in my life to draw me closer to Him?
Could He also be using my challenges for His bigger purpose and glory in ways I might not be aware of yet or even ever will be on this side of eternity?

Ultimately, what God wants is our heart. He wants our faith in Him. He wants us to trust and rely on Him. He wants us to put Him first and humble ourselves before Him so that we cannot brag about anything but Him and His provision and grace.

Ephesians 2:8-9 reads…

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

A New Creation

Today’s reading is Genesis 35-37, Psalm 12, and Mark 14.

In Genesis 35:1, God tells Jacob to go make an altar to him in Bethel. Jacob obeys and invites his family and others with them to come along, as well as instructs them to put away their foreign gods and purify themselves and their clothes. They did as he instructed going to Bethel, and Jacob built the altar. God then tells Jacob in Genesis 35:10 he has a new name, Israel.

Throughout Scripture we have seen God also give others a new name when they commit to following Him. Simon became Peter which in original language was Cephas meaning rock. Abram becomes Abraham in Genesis 17. Saul also become Paul when he committed to following Jesus after years of persecuting Christians.

I believe God did this and included these real stories in the Bible for us to read still today because it signifies when we commit to following Him the old us has gone away, and we are a new creation saved through His blood.

Does this mean we will not make mistakes and fall into sin again? No, we will mess up again. We know Peter denied knowing Jesus out of fear, even when he knew Jesus was the Messiah and after all he had seen Jesus do and all Jesus had done for him. Abraham lied out of fear for his life saying Sarah was his sister instead of trusting God’s protection. We can also infer Paul might have been misguided in his disagreement with Barnabas which led to them splitting ways in Acts and although we don’t know the specific sins, Paul himself says in Romans 7:14-15 and Roman 7:19 that he falls into sin and does the exact things he does not want to do.

However, he still says in 2 Corinthians 5:17…

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come.”

Despite their mistakes even after becoming a new creation, God did big things with them. Jacob, now Israel, was the father of the 12 tribes of Israel. Abram, now Abraham, was the father of many nations. Simon, now Peter, became one of the founders of the church in spreading the Gospel. Saul, now Paul, spread the Gospel across and around the Mediterranean and wrote nearly half the New Testament.

Through the good and bad, God will do big things with and through you for His Kingdom when you become a new creation through committing to following Him.

Have you committed to letting Jesus be the Lord and leader of your life or do you need to recommit? If you want to, pray the following prayer…

Lord, thank for the unconditional love you showed by dying on the cross to forgive me from my sin. I believe that because you rose on Easter, I will also live with you in Heaven someday. I commit to living my life while still here on Earth for you. I ask that you watch over me, guiding and protecting me from Satan. Help me see myself the way you see me, as a new creation, righteous and holy where my sin is washed white as snow through your blood. I love you. Amen.

Look At Me!

Today’s readings if you are following along with the Bible in one year plan are Genesis 9-11 and Mark 4.

Our focus here will be on Genesis 11:1-9.

“Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves’….”

Genesis 11:4

These words were said by the people of Babel which is estimated to be about six generations past Noah. How quickly they forgot what God had done for their ancestors to save them and how disappointed God was with the sin of those outside of Noah’s family. And, how quickly they wanted to glorify themselves again. With one language for everyone they were gaining too much power and desiring to glorify themselves, so God mixed up their languages and dispersed them across the Earth.

We live in a world today where it’s all about making a name for yourself. Many forms of self-promotion are a necessary part of life to make a team, get into college, or get a job. However, there is a very fine line to walk and from there our world today has really caused self-promotion to get out of control through social media selfies and posts that say look at what I or my family accomplished or did. I am guilty of this as well. We quickly forget like Noah’s ancestors that all we have and accomplish comes from God. James 1:17 tells us, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with who there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

I am not saying we should not post on social media what is going on in our business or family’s life. In fact, I thoroughly enjoy keeping up with what’s going on with friends and their family’s life. As a Christ follower though, I will personally commit to being more aware in 2023 of the example John the Baptist set. He said in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Through all my actions and words, I want to keep in mind more how I can bring glory to God as a result of both the good and bad things that happen.

How different would this world look if all Christ followers lived out John’s mission to glorify God to help Him increase through all that happens and all we say and do?

You Matter

Today’s reading is Luke 1:26-56.

Last week in his “Mike Talks” (https://youtu.be/Rb7RZLu3Xbk), Pastor Mike Baker discusses these exact verses and how Mary found “favor” in the eyes of God as written in Luke 1:28 and Luke 1:30. The Greek word for “favor” is charis. The word charis can also be translated to mean grace. This tells us that just like you and me, Mary was not perfect. She needed a Savior as well, yet God still felt her worthy of a calling to do something for Him and His purpose.

God showed us all charis (grace) when He sent His Son Jesus to be born in a manger on Christmas and ultimately to die on the cross for our sins. Despite our sins and mistakes, just like Mary, He can and will use us for His purpose. What might His purpose for you be? It could be something as simple as being a Dad or Mom or spouse or it might be to be a special friend to someone or to share to Gospel with 1 person who will now get to spend eternity in Heaven because of you. You may not be a celebrity and your name may never have “CEO” by it, but whatever God’s purpose is for you…it is a big deal to God and His story. We should be humbled by His charis and that He would use each of us in that big way. He has entrusted someone or something to you that you may not even realize or think about or know until your last days on Earth.

Former NFL quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow recently discussed he originally thought God’s purpose for him was to be MVP meaning Most Valuable Player. However, he realized God’s actual plan for him was to help another type of MVP, meaning Most Vulnerable People. I love this quote by him..

“I believe each one of us has not only been saved from something, but that we have also been saved for something.”

Tim Tebow

This Christmas, I encourage all of us to remember and be grateful that God showed us His grace when He sent Jesus and as a result He has saved you for something. I would encourage you to reflect on what that might be and if you are not sure yet, trust in Him and have confidence that He will use you for His purpose because you matter and are part of His story.

Why Do ‘Bad’ Things Happen?

Today’s reading is Job 42.

Do you know the story of Job? Job was a wealthy man who loved God, and Satan told God it was only because God was protecting him from bad things. Satan said God had a “hedge” around Job (Job 1:10). Satan was convinced that if bad things happened to Job he would fold and curse God. So, God let Satan take Job’s property and children and strike him with leprosy as we read in Job 1 and Job 2. However, Job stayed strong in his faith, and while he questions why God is doing this, he does not curse God and lose his faith in God as Satan expected. In fact, he continues to put his hope in God.

When I was growing up and even until probably about 10 years ago, I would do something wrong and feel guilty about it and then when something bad happened within a few days or weeks later completely unrelated to the mistake I had made I wondered if it was because of what I had done wrong. Were things not going my way because of that unrelated mistake, and was this a punishment for what I had done? You may have also thought when something bad happened to someone “that’s justice” or “they had it coming to them” because of their past sins. In fact, Job’s so called ‘friends’ named Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar believed these things must have happened because of Job’s mistakes. However, God calls their thinking “folly” in Job 42:8 and says is Job 42:7 they “have not spoken of me what is right.”

God tells us in Romans 8:1 there is “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” I’ve said it before that God is not like a kid with a magnifying glass in the sun burning us who are the ants because we do something He’s not pleased with. We still may face earthly consequences for our actions or God may allow things to play out as a sort of discipline to ultimately draw us closer to Him which is His greatest desire, but we must know the heart of God and that it is not a punishment. This is hard to understand. Isaiah 55:8:9 tells us his ways and thoughts are not only not ours, but they are higher than ours. We won’t figure it out. However, it is very important we understand Jesus already paid the price for our sins on the cross. In fact, in John 9 Jesus’ disciples ask Him if a blind man walking by is afflicted because of his or his parents’ sins. Jesus replies in John 9:3 by saying it is not because of either of their sins, and he is blind so that the works of God may be seen through Him. When so called bad things happen to good people, our first thought is likely not so God can be glorified through it and them. We know that in John 3:16 Jesus not only says those who believe in Him will have eternal life, but also in John 3:17 that He did not come to condemn the world.

God may let things play out in your life and the lives of others which in our eyes do not seem good like Job. He may even let Satan “win” for a while just like He did when He was crucified and died. For 3 days, Satan thought he was victorious and Jesus’ disciples did too..but then what happened? The Resurrection! We are still celebrating Easter over 2000 years later. As the saying goes, you can’t have a comeback without a setback. We read in Job 42 where God eventually blessed Job with even greater riches than he had prior to all his misfortunes. While I can’t promise you when something bad happens to you that you will see great things happen on this side of eternity, but what I can promise you is if you confess your sins and believe in Jesus’ Resurrection on Easter you will live with Him in Heaven after this life where there will be no pain or problems and everything will be perfect. Until then, we must keep trusting in Him and trusting despite our circumstances His love for us in unconditional and never failing. Let us remember why He came that first Christmas this December and always.

“..but God shows His love for us in that while were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8

How Do I Measure Up?

Today’s reading is Psalm 147.

How do I measure up?

Whether you realize it or not, it’s probably something you are asking yourself subconsciously multiple times a day and even multiple times per hour and minute. From a very young age we can all probably remember getting a test back and saying to your friend, “What did you get?” I can remember in grade school not being able to sleep the night before the 1 on 1 competition at our school’s basketball camp because I wanted to prove I was the best. Now, the company I work emails production numbers every single day for each person in our organization. It’s hard to avoid scoreboard watching. I have not even yet discussed social media. There are a lot of good things from it too, but I truly believe we are having a mental health epidemic because we see everyone else’s highlight reel all the time. We don’t see the fight they had with their spouse before the smiling family picture, the financial troubles they are going through, or the struggles their child is having in school right before they posted that picture of the championship they just won. Have you ever seen a pro or college team’s “hype video” set to music before an upcoming game showing highlights of previous games? They can make a team that hasn’t won a game all year look like the best in the country. Perception is not reality, but we don’t grasp it. We think we are the only ones with problems.

As we read this on Thanksgiving, I’m extremely grateful that our Father in Heaven does not measure us by or care about our results.

Psalm 147:10-11 reads…

He delights not in the

strength of the horse,

nor his pleasure in the legs of a

man,

but the Lord takes pleasure in

those who fear him,

in those who hope in his

steadfast love.

I’ve written about it before, but I love the quote, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” Thankfully, what God cares about is about our heart for Him.

Despite our past, we all become perfect and washed clean of our past mistakes and failures through His blood on the cross.

Psalm 147:2-3 reads..

The Lord builds up Jerusalem;

he gathers the outcasts of

Israel.

He heals the brokenhearted

And binds up their wounds.

I pray that we can find our self-image in how He views us because of Jesus…perfect, blameless, and holy.

I pray that today on Thanksgiving and every day we can find joy and gratitude in His love for us despite our circumstances.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving everyone!

Do You Know Him?

Today’s reading is Psalm 48.

By the time you will read this…you will know the winners of the midterm election this week. As I write this tonight before the election..I’m reminded the results don’t really matter.

For behold, the kings assembled;

they came on together.

as soon as they saw it, they were

astounded;

they were in panic; they took

to flight.

Trembling took hold of them

there,

anguish as of women in labor.

Psalm 48:4-6

Earlier in the chapter, Psalm 48:1 says..

Great is the Lord and greatly to

be praised

in the City of our God!

These verses are why I say the election results don’t really matter. In the end, EVERYONE will bow and praise Him…yes…even the earthly kings. God is working His plan regardless of who wins. We must trust and believe in this despite if we agree or disagree with who is office. Eventually, He will establish Zion, the City of God, where He will guide us Psalm 48 tells us.

Walk about Zion, go around her,

number her towers,

consider well her ramparts,

go through her citadels,

that you may tell the next generation

that this is God,

our God forever and ever.

He will guide us forever.

Psalm 48:12-14

If you’ve never seen this powerful video with the words of Dr. S.M. Lockridge, please watch. I know who my King is, and He never served a public office.

Do you know Him?

https://youtu.be/yzqTFNfeDnE

It’s Just Temporary..

Today’s reading is Micah 4.

In church this week our pastor talked about the Greek word Peter and Paul often used for the word “body” in their writings was skene. This word actual means tent or a temporary dwelling place. They chose that word because they wanted us to remember that our time on Earth is short and our soul is eternal.

Our reading today has Micah reminding us that while the world and the very ones Jesus came to save seems to reject the good news of the Gospel today, this will not always be the case. We see nations, our great nation even, trying to move farther and farther away from God. Again, thankfully it will not be this way forever.

Micah 4:1-2 states in the last days the house of the Lord will be lifted up and nations and people will flock toward the church rather than away from God. Micah 4:3 discusses there will be no more fighting and war, and in Micah 4:5, we will “walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.”

Our life may be tough right now. We have pain. We have problems. We have issues that won’t seem to go away. However, like Paul and Peter told us…our life…our body…is temporary. When Christ comes again and establishes His church on Earth, Micah 4:6 tells us he will gather those who were driven away, lame, and afflicted. God will reign over all and these challenging feelings and problems will no longer exist.

I pray that if you are reading this today and facing hard times Micah 4 can put things in perspective and bring you peace just like the words of Revelation 21:4.

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Check Your Heart at the Door

Today’s reading is Isaiah 58.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover” is a very recognizable saying we hear said often, yet it is hard to do. We may think someone is rude because they don’t go out of the way to engage with us, and we may think someone who goes out of their way to talk to us is a great person who really cares about others. I’ve been around a lot of leaders and there have been those who said all the right things and made you feel like the world to them, but their actions may not have followed through. As where others were maybe a little socially awkward and didn’t say all the right things, but their actions later showed they really cared. Someone being introverted or extroverted does not tell us their true heart. You will know their true heart when you spend enough time with them.

God knows our true heart. In this chapter He is calling out His people for fasting for show. He tells them in Isaiah 58:3 you “seek your own pleasure” and “oppress all your workers.” He goes on to talk about when we truly fast in the right way the “glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard” in Isaiah 58:8 and Isaiah 58:9 He will answer our call. He goes on in Isaiah 58:10 to say if you help the poor “your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom shall be as the noonday.” He continues on throughout verses 11-14 about the good favor that will come to those who do good and who’s heart and motives are in the right place. God knows and God notices. Will we be rewarded in this life? Unfortunately…maybe not…but no doubt we will in Heaven based on what the Word tells us and eternity is much longer than our life here on Earth.

Will doing good get us to Heaven? Our son Deklin who is 10 has an amazing heart for others, but he and I were just discussing how as good of heart as he has it will not get him to Heaven. Romans 3:23 tells us all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory, and Romans 6:23 goes on to tell us the wages of sin (singular..even one) is death. Romans 6:23 also tells us though “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

You’ve heard the saying, “Check your ego at the door.” While we really need to “check our heart at the door” to make sure we are doing things for the right reasons like Isaiah 58 speaks of, the most important thing we must check our heart for is Jesus. Is He in yours?

There is only one door that leads the way to Heaven.

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 14:6

Do You Seek It?

Today’s reading is Proverbs 1.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and knowledge.

Proverbs 1:7

Just last week our 10-year old asked us what fearing the Lord meant. I know at least for me it is not easy to explain. However, if you look up the definition of the word ‘fear,’ Merriam-Webster gives one definition as, “profound reverence and awe especially toward God.” Thank you, Meriam-Webster…that helps. When I think of standing in awe of something, I think of the time our family visited the Grand Canyon as a child. None of us had ever been there before. When we got out of the car and walked up near the edge, I don’t think anyone said a word for a while. If there were flies around, one of us probably could have caught one in our mouths because our jaws may have been dropped, too! While the Grand Canyon is not a person, I would say we had respect for it pretty quickly…I know I wasn’t getting too close to the edge! Now, if we were in that much awe of the Grand Canyon, imagine what it will be like when we see the God who made it…

If we respect God immensely and we are in awe of his power and creation, we likely will not only want to please Him and follow His instruction, but we should also want to seek His wisdom. Sometimes we may move away from things we are in awe of like me from the edge of the Grand Canyon. However, how cool is that despite God wanting us to have reverence for Him, He wants us to actually get closer to Him? James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. ” Proverbs 1 is pretty poignant that if we don’t seek wisdom from Him we will experience bad things using words like calamity, anguish, distress, and terror.

So, how do we seek God’s wisdom?

Here a few ways….

Attend a church that preaches and teaches from the Bible
Read His Word and possibly a daily devotional to help with the interpretation and explanation, as well as perhaps giving thought provoking commentary and reflection
Attend a small group/Bible study
Pray and also ask for His wisdom

What area is the one area you feel like you could improve on to gain wisdom from God?

For me, I would say it’s prayer. It’s not lack of prayer (although I could and should pray more) as much as it is I need to remember to ask God for wisdom in my prayers. And that’s not just for wisdom in my perceived problem areas I’m praying to God for help, but also just wisdom daily to be a better Christ-follower, better husband, better father, better son, better friend, and wisdom to be a better financial planner (my career)….wisdom in the ‘little decisions’ I will make that day and that I make each and every day. I should also be in conversation (prayer) with Him throughout the day asking for wisdom in these things.

I pray that as we stand in awe and reverence in fear of God, we seek His wisdom and reflect on how we can better do so.