Enter His Gate

When Jesus finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching. 

As we read Matthew 6-7 for today, I pray you will pause and see where God wants you to reflect and seek what God wants you to make clear to you on your journey closer to Him.  Jesus provides so much wisdom in these chapters that leave me thinking and praying for continued transformation.  Topics in these chapters include:

  • Giving
  • Prayer
  • Treasures
  • Worrying
  • Judging

These topics are all sections in my Bible underlined, highlighted, and have notes in the margins.  In prayer for open eyes and ears for today, I landed on a few verses that, for some reason, there was nothing.

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate, and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate, and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.  Matthew 7:13-14

In the middle of one of the storms we had recently, it took my wife forty-five minutes to make a five drive.  As Jennifer drove back and forth, she ran into roadblocks and flooded streets that lead to some tears and fear.  Eventually, they made it home safely down a side street that led to home.  (prayers for everyone impacted by these recent storms)

What road or path are you on?  There are times when  I think I’m going in the direction, and I need to stop.  It seemed safe, and it wasn’t.  I follow the crowd and realize I’ve gone the wrong way.  God has a path laid out for you.

  • Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways, submit to him, and He will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3:5-6
  • The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.  Proverbs 16:9 
  • The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in His way. Psalm 37:23 

The road seemed wide and perfect, but it led to a dead-end, just like Jennifer the other day.  God provides the perfect directions. The road that leads directly to Him.  Will you seek His path today? This world offers a path that can lead you in many directions.  Our Lord offers us one way.  I pray we are all seeking the narrow road that leads to Him.

Matthew 6:10 Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.

 

Picture Source: St. Mary Magdalene Orthodox Church

Dig Deeper

 

Today’s Reading: Matthew Chapter 5

As I continue in Biblejournal club, I have continue to grow in my understanding of each blog and each biblical passage. As we enter this new section of the year with the New Testament, I can see each portion in a different perspective. For the majority of my life I have seen the books of the New Testament as the journey of Jesus and the apostles. It tells the different perspectives of Jesus and the many journeys of Paul and his letters to the churches.
As I read through Matthew, my perception has changed and evolve into one that really looks at the author and their experience and their testimony of Jesus and how it relates to me and others today. Each of the writers of the gospel have been appointed by the Holy Spirit to relay the gospel to us, but each had their own backgrounds and those influenced the manner in which they conveyed their experience. Matthew was originally a tax collector. We know that this is a profession that is still not highly adored. The reason is because they have been taught how to look for the most obscure information and gain the most wealth from it. He knew how to dig deep. Matthew in his writing digs deep into some of these experiences of Jesus.
In chapter 5, we are at the sermon in the mount. The beatitudes are given to us here. But in The Message version these become so much clearer and more profound. Jesus is telling us to look deeper at the law and find the true underlying meaning. We sometimes get the crust of the issue, but not the core.
Matthew 5: 3- 10

 “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

4 “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

5 “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

7 “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.

8 “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

9 “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

10 “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

Salt and light – Allow our life with God to be the seasonings to the others. We should be able to bring the essence of God through our walk.  We should enhance the love and life of others if we are part of God.
Murder – Not only killing the physical person, but stop killing the essence of the person. Don’t degrade your neighbor or kill their spirit.
Adultery and Divorce – these are not just the act, but the moral complexity that are attached. Jesus is telling us not to get raped up with the legal ramifications but look at the moral implications. He is telling us to see the heart more so than the body. The spirit and the soul more than the act.
Empty promises – When we interact with each other, do not put on a facade. Let your words be true and not contrite with useless hopes and religious platitudes. Be real with others and not fake.
Love your enemies – Do good to those that would bro you harm or have done you harm. Loving your enemies doesn’t mean to put yourself in harms way, but it means to not allow hatred and despair make you do things that you wouldn’t want to do. Loving your enemies allows you to control your emotions and actions in the midst of adversity and strife.
In the midst of our daily lives, we have to look at the deeper meaning of the journey.  When we experience joy and happiness, we must look deeper to give the same joy and happiness to others even.  They might be experiencing something traumatic in their lives.  If we are going through some difficult times, we may have to dig deeper to see how is this glorifying God in the midst of our trials.  Sometimes God uses us to be reflections of his amazing grace and love in our most tremulous times.  God is in control, we will show his glory.
Be Blessed.

Prepare the Way

For the past few weeks I have been preparing for my daughters’ high school graduation party, which happened this past Saturday.  There was lots of preparation inside and outside of my house that needed to be done.  Thankfully I had the wonderful talents of my mother to assist me in this endeavor.  There was lots of cleaning, planning, and purchasing in order to be prepared for 50+ people coming by to congratulate my daughter on a Saturday afternoon.  

I was relieved after the party.  Everything went well and everyone enjoyed themselves.  And, I was left with a clean, decorated, and newly put together home.  The preparation was hard work, but I got to enjoy the fruits of my labor well after everyone had left.  

In today’s reading, Matthew 3 and 4, we read of John who was sent to prepare the way for Jesus.  

The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said, 

“He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!  Clear the road for him!”

Matthew 3:3

John the Baptist was a man sent from God.  He was a prophet, a voice crying in the wilderness.  He was aware of his call and he separated himself unto this call of God.  His food and his dress was different.

John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist.  For food he ate locusts and wild honey.

Matthew 3:4

John fasted and prayed and waited on God for all the details of his call and the work ahead of him.  All the people came to him to listen and to obey the message from God.  His message was so powerful and convicting, they did not even consider his strange dress or rough appearance.  They knew he was a man of boldness.

Can you imagine spending your life preparing the way for Jesus?  John the Baptist had one purpose:  to prepare people to know Jesus and God’s Son, the Christ.  John lived his life to let Jesus have the spotlight.

I put so much effort into preparing and planning for my party.  It sure makes me question how much time I spend preparing and planning for Jesus.  

John prepared himself daily by waiting upon God and getting his instructions from Him, so that He could prepare the people for Jesus.  This should be our main focus above all else, to help prepare people to Know Jesus as Lord.  Graduation to Heaven will be the culmination of our lives lived here on earth.  We need to focus on preparing the way for ourselves and all around us every single day!  We don’t know the appointed time for our graduation day to Heaven so we need to prepare daily.

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.                      

Matthew 28:19

 

Matthew 1 & 2

Today’s writing is on Matthew 1 & 2.

With the conclusion of the book of Psalms yesterday, for the remainder of the year, our Bible Journal’s going to be shifting on covering the entirety of the New Testament. Please pray alongside us that our Father God would empower us and fill us with His Holy Spirit throughout this new series, so that we may continue bringing glory to Him.

With a change in series, and the halfway point for 2021 coming up shortly, it feels like a good moment for self-reflection. What has this year looked like for you? Has it felt like forever at this point, as if time has crawled to a standstill? Maybe you’re like me, and this last half-year has flown by in what feels like a blink. What has your walk with Christ looked like in that time? In what ways did you do well, and in what ways did you make mistakes to learn from? How did you navigate the difficulties that life has brought you in that time, and How did you call upon God for help through them when you needed Him? And how have you furthered your relationship with Christ, and come to grow closer to Him?

I read these two chapters of Matthew and see the cumulative effects of many people whose walks with God differ wildly. Some of these people in Christ’s genealogy were on fire for Him; some were very wicked people. Some worked towards building God’s kingdom out of hard work & reverence; for others, God used their mistakes and sins to create a way to bring glory to Him and demonstrate His true influence over man. God is working His plan for this world, whether we’re helping make a way for Him or just getting in the way. Whether it’s by doing good works to build up His kingdom, or displaying His ability to heal & change us, or simply acting as a vessel for His righteous wrath to display its power. And on day, we’ll all have to stand in front of the Lord and answer whether we helped Him or just got in His way. But what a blessing this can: even the most troubled, broken person can be of worth to God and be a part of His plan to redeem this world! How have your contributions to God’s kingdom reflected your gratitude towards Him in this way? Have your words & actions showcased the desire of someone who wants to serve the living God who has rescued them?

For example, I see Joseph as portrayed in these first two chapters of Matthew as a great example of someone willing to make difficult decisions in order to follow God’s will for him and further His works. Joseph listened to God when commanded, even though it meant making some incredibly counter-cultural choices that could not be easy to make. No one in that day would have blamed him for walking away from an unfaithful spouse-to-be and washing his hands of the situation. But when God spoke, Joseph listened and obeyed – even when the results put his life in grave danger due to King Herod’s self-conscious fear. What greater example for acting on faith could we ask for than this: to place your trust in God’s providence over your own life. In a time when God asks us to move in radically counter-cultural ways to display His love & changing grace, have you made bold decisions & actions to do what is right by Him rather than what is easy or comfortable for you?

Above all, this passage brings me great joy and makes me thankful for the gift of a savior in Jesus. I am amazed that God would do all that he has & suffer through the death of His perfect son so that we would be able to so readily afford life with Him. I am overjoyed that Jesus, fully God, would walk among us in order to truly know the plight of man as we do, so readily die on our behalf in our rightful place, and to be our perfect example on our own walk of life. I pray this sense of thankfulness and wonder would never escape us, that we would continue to hold this fearful reverence of our God that He truly deserves. I pray it would motivate each of us to better serve God every day, and desperately want to contribute to His kingdom with all we have.

Let All Things Praise the Lord

Today’s journal writing marks the final chapter of Psalms. Our Bible Journal team has written about every chapter, one hundred chapters written by eight authors, and fifty chapters from unknown authors.   The Book of Psalm is filled with love and adoration, struggle and strife, happiness and joy, and desperation and sadness.

Sound familiar?  The books of Psalm were written thousands of years ago, as mankind still struggled with balance and challenges related to everyday life.  The authors question God, implore to God, and ultimately praise God in the final chapter.   The chapters describe what many of us feel and experience today.

Psalm 150 concludes the book with this…

1 Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary;

Praise Him in His mighty firmament!

2 Praise Him for His mighty acts;

Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!

3 Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;

Praise Him with the lute and harp!

4 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;

Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!

5 Praise Him with the loud cymbals;

Praise Him the clashing cymbals!

6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord!

Do you feel like praising God?  Do you believe a relationship with God is right for you?  Or do you have questions?  Are you unsure why things happen and how that relates to God?

I choose to praise God, and it comes down to one verse.

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Understanding God’s word can be complex.  It can be overwhelming, especially stories that are thousands of years old.  What I do know is that there is emphatic proof that Jesus walked the earth, and He was the Son of God.  I believe that Jesus came to earth to save man from ourselves.  I believe God, through Jesus, demonstrated how we are to love and treat others.  Man, has consistently fallen away from God throughout history and Jesus was sent to change our relationship with God.  If you need more proof of Jesus’ existence, read The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel.

I can always do better, but I try to praise God through my prayers, the message and good news about Jesus I share with others, and my attempts to serve as an example how a relationship with God can change your life for the better.   Praise Him through the trials and tribulations.  Praise Him through the pain. Praise Him during the good times.  Our lives are about growing closer to our God and our faith can grow stronger through the good times and the bad.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 149

We celebrated Father’s Day last weekend. Throughout the weekend when I picked up my phone and scrolled through social media, most posts were related to the holiday. Kids were celebrating and honoring their fathers. They were writing words of gratefulness for the selfless acts of their dads and sharing memories of special adventures and everyday routines of love that they appreciated about their dads. Moms were praising their husbands for being awesome dads and posting videos of their husbands in their best fatherly moments. They were listing the reasons they most appreciated their husbands and the acts of service they found most endearing in their partners. I read many beautiful tributes to men from people who felt honored to be in family with great men…people who felt privileged to be able to share with the masses their love, honor and praise for their special man. Many of the Psalms read similarly to these Father’s Day posts. They are praising, honoring and documenting the attributes and acts that the Psalmists appreciate about our Heavenly Father. We’ve read almost 150 of them since the first of the year so we should be well versed in the hearts of these writers. We should be familiar with the words of praise and the honor they ascribe to our Father. The phrase that struck me this morning is “glorious privilege”. It is our glorious privilege to sing a new song to the Lord, to sing His praises with others, to rejoice in our Maker, to praise His name with dancing, to be delighted in by Him, to be crowned with victory by Him, to rejoice that He honors us, to sing for joy as we rest in bed and to let the praises of God be in our mouths! All are our glorious privilege!

 

As I read back over the list of praises described in this Psalm, I am overwhelmed by God’s love. I still, after almost 50 years of relationship with Him can hardly believe that the Creator of the universe delights in me. As I try to accept this one truth, my heart is filled with praise, gratefulness, wonder and awe. Out of 9 verses of truths and 150 chapters of truths in just this one book of the Bible, one sentence has the power to melt my heart and show me the value that God places on my life. Which truth undoes you?

 

My hope is that this past six months has changed the way we see and relate to our Heavenly Father. I trust that soaking in His praiseworthiness for so many days has renewed our sense of wonder and awe for who He is, how He relates to us, and what He has done for us. I hope we are more readily relishing in the glorious privilege of being His. I hope we are more grateful and aware of the good gifts He lavishes on us. I trust that praises of Him are running in our mental ticker throughout our days with less conscious effort on our part. I hope that spending this much time in one book of God’s word has made us different.

You Do Amazing Work

This morning, I awoke to the sound of birds singing.  They were enjoying the first morning light and the calm air.  As I listen to their song and the stillness surrounding me, I find awe.  It comes from knowing that God has done this.  He set the sun to come up, every day.  He made the trees and created the air that we breathe.  He set us all in motion around his creation so that we can know him.  As I listened, I said, “you do amazing work, God.”

This is what Psalm 148 is all about.  When we are finally still enough to see and experience God, what do we do?  When we are awed by creation and realize at that moment that God is right here among us, how do we respond?  We praise him!

When I think of how we praise, I am reminded of a man that I knew a long time ago, Dan Olsen.  We were standing on a beach, overlooking a gorgeous bay.  He said simply, “you do amazing work, God.”  I was caught off guard by his audible comment, yet the intentionality of the remark was profound.   You see, he clearly understood the beauty of that place, at that moment, was the good work of God. He knew there was only one appropriate response to the awe.  Praise!

Today, I pray that you will see the beauty around you.  It has been carefully crafted for each one of us so that we can experience God.  When you do, remember to praise Him.

 

Pleasure in Our Love for Him

Today’s reading is Psalm 147.

I have to admit I began reading this chapter in preparation on the Bible app on my phone while sitting at my niece Delaney’s graduation. There were 401 in her graduating class. I also have to admit that while I was very happy to be there and very proud of her..our last name starts with the letter B. So, she was announced very early on and then after what seem liked quite a while later, I said to my brother, ”Ugh…we are only in the D’s still!” Shortly thereafter I read Psalm 147. I was reminded again how different God is from me and the humans he created.

The Lord builds up Jerusalem;

He gathers the outcasts of

Israel.

He heals the brokenhearted

and binds up their wounds.

Psalm 147:2-3

Every single one of those graduates matter immensely to God. He created each one of them. He knows their story and every little and big thing about their past and their future. And most importantly, despite their past or future missteps or mistakes He loves them more than they can imagine…every single one of them. Jesus said in Matthews 6:26, “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns and your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more of value than they?”

During creation, God said about each day that it was “good.” But, on the sixth day when He created us, he said in Genesis 1:31,”…behold, it was very good.”

The graduation recognized those for their accomplishments through notations in the program and attire worn such as medals, pins, and colorful stoles. And those students are deserving of that recognition for their hard work, but what is so unfathomable about God is that He loves all those graduates and us the same regardless. And what He takes pleasure more in than all their accomplishments is when they love Him.

His delight is 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.

Psalm 147:10-11

As humans, we are attracted to those that have the best grades, best personality, are the most athletic, or the best looking, but that doesn’t matter to God. In fact, He may have taken the most pleasure in the boy or girl who graduated 401 out of 401 in the class because they love Him. It is so comforting throughout the Bible how we see how God uses the meek and the lowly and some of the worst sinners for His purpose. As Romans 11:33 says, His knowledge, wisdom, and ways are unsearchable. This should give us so much peace if we feel we have messed up or not had the worldly success we wanted or met the expectations others had, or we had for ourselves. All that matters to God is that we love Him. And if you are reading this and you haven’t loved Him yet, or at least not as much as you think you should, God tells us yet that’s ok in Romans 5:8, “but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” He does not care about your past. God wants your heart, and He wants it now. And it’s never too late.

I am extremely proud of my niece Delaney. She was Homecoming Queen and has had success both in the classroom and on the lacrosse field. She is beautiful both inside and out. What I am most proud of though is the woman of faith she has become and her love for the Lord. I wish her all the success in the world. No doubt her future is bright. But, in the real world we know their will be challenges for her because well..that’s just life here on Earth. However, I have no doubt she is ready to face the future because she is strong in the Lord and has put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-11).

Psalm 146

Why do people have to die?
Where did cancer come from?
When you die, do you instantly go to heaven?
What does your body look like after you’ve been dead for a month? 
Explaining death to children is no small feat. It’s hard enough for adults to understand, and then putting it into terms and helping kids wrap their minds around it can be a challenge.
But the rich conversations grow our faith and draw us closer. Not to be cliche, but Jesus really is the Answer! Our next door neighbor, our teacher’s young daughter, friends and family members, are all being missed and also being celebrated as they enter eternity. Listening to our kids process these losses has been a huge encouragement to me in this season. We miss them, but they’re so happy to be with Jesus! 
Just as Jon shared yesterday about his Scottish Granny’s passing, we can celebrate the joy we had in these special relationships.  God creates amazing experiences and community for us! While death brings emotions of sadness, fear, and anxiety, it can also represent new life for eternity. When Jesus comforts Martha at the loss of Lazarus he says  “I am the resurrection and the life, those who believe in me, even though they die, they will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die”.
Psalms 146, our reading for today, gives us more insight into death:
      • This song starts out with praising the Lord, and ends with praising the Lord. Our lives can reflect this same beginning and end. (verse 2)
      • Keep our eyes on Jesus, our trust is in him, not people on this earth. He has a plan to complete His perfect will. (verse 3-4)
      • People on earth are blessed because of their hope in the Lord. (verse 5)
      • It’s God who created, loves, upholds each of us. When we miss his creation, we can still rely on him. (verse 6-8)
      • The Lord is eternal and is over all, forever and ever! (verse 10)

Psalm 146 

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
    I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

3 Put not your trust in princes,
    in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
    on that very day his plans perish.

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6 who made heaven and earth,
    the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
7     who executes justice for the oppressed,
    who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;
8     the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
    the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the sojourners;
    he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
    but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

10 The Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!

Lord, you alone are to be praised. You are the eternal father who blesses us and loves us. Thank you for leaving us with your Word to comfort us and give us hope of an eternity with you. Your timing is always perfect. Amen

Psalm 145 – Praise!

This week we learned of the passing of our friend and honorary family member, Isabel Burns. Our long-time readers may know her as “Scottish Granny“.

The draft of this post led with a phrase about “mourning the loss” but after writing those words I realized they weren’t really true. We are not mourning, we are celebrating the joy we experienced in knowing her. Isabel had been bedridden for the last few years with limited capacity to communicate. It was her time to go home to her maker; to be relieved of the pain and suffering she had endured for a very long time.

Let us all turn our mourning to praising God today for all that he has done. For the friends and family members he has given us; those we have lost and those with us. God’s timing is perfect, he makes no mistakes, everything he does is out of love for us so that we can do good things according to his plans.

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10)

Today’s reading is Psalm 145, a song of praise, written by King David. Perfectly fitting for us to take a moment to praise our creator. What really hit me were the many attributes to describe God. The one TRUE God is:

  • God and King (v1)
  • Eternal (v2)
  • Worthy, great (v3)
  • Mighty, powerful (v4)
  • Splendorous, miracle provider (v5)
  • Doer (of deeds); not idle (v6)
  • Good, righteous (v7)
  • Merciful, compassionate, slow to anger, his love unfailing (v8)
  • Good (to everyone), compassionate/merciful (v9)
  • Thanked and praised (v10)
  • His kingdom is glorious; he is powerful (v11)
  • His deeds are mighty; he reigns (v12)
  • He rules forever, keeps promises, gracious (v13)
  • Helper, uplifting (v14)
  • Giver, sustainer, provider (v15-16)
  • Righteous, kind (v17)
  • Near, available (v18)
  • Giver, listens, responds, rescuer (v19)
  • Protector, destroyer (of the wicked) (v20)

Just think, even on our very best day, in our very best moment, we may display only a few of those attributes. God was, is, and always will be every one of those and more. He is worthy of all praise, and as David closes out the song, may our response be the same.

I will praise the Lord,
and may everyone on earth bless his holy name
forever and ever. (Psalm 145:21)