Wednesday Morning

Concept: God Offers Salvation

Here is today’s question: How many doves did Moses put on the ark? How many alligators? How many unicorns? The answer is the same for each. None! Moses didn’t put any animals on the ark! Noah did!
Have you ever stopped to think how difficult that was? What must it to have been like to build such a huge ship? … on land … nowhere near water … when it had never even rained before … and you’re following a voice of someone you can’t see for building instructions?

Emotionally, there would have been challenges. Maybe people looked at him weird. Maybe the neighborhood kids called him crazy and made interesting little sing-song chants about him. Maybe he got a terrible nickname. Maybe his family had to endure ridicule from their friends and they pressured him to stop. Maybe his best friends alienated him. Maybe he wasn’t welcome in places he wanted to go. Maybe places that had once been comfortable were now intolerable. Maybe he wanted to quit. Maybe he questioned his own sanity.
Building a multi-story cruise ship with built-in mega kennel using nothing but three sons to help is quite an undertaking. He probably got blisters. He probably fell off ladders. He probably smacked his thumb with a hammer. He probably got pinched between boards. He probably got splinters. He probably bumped his head. He probably pierced his skin. He probably bled. He probably got bruises. He probably had to carry heavy loads. He probably got sore muscles. He probably got really tired.

Spiritually, it would be tough too. It would have taken a long time to build such a large ship. It would be difficult to get up in the morning knowing that all you were going to do was work on the ark. It would be difficult going to bed knowing that all you were going to do tomorrow was work on the ark. It would be difficult to see the only thing on your to-do list for the day was “ark”. It would be difficult to see tomorrow’s to-do list was the same as today’s, …, and yesterday’s, … and last week’s, … and last month’s. It would be difficult to tell friends that you couldn’t do something fun because you needed to stay home and work on the ark. It would be difficult to work on the ark after a month of hating it.

Does any of this sound familiar? Sure, you may need to replace “building the ark” with some other point of obedience, but today’s pressures and consequences aren’t that much different. What is the payoff to following God?

The one sentence of Hebrews 11:7 sums it up: “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.”

Remember this concept: God offers salvation.

Tuesday Morning

Concept: Sin Requires Blood to be Spilled

Here’s a tricky question: When was the first blood spilled on Earth? Did you catch it in the teaching last night? Was is when Cain killed Abel? Nope. It’s earlier and much more subtle. Here’s a hint. Adam and Eve were naked, then they sinned, realized they were naked and made clothing. From what was the clothing made? They made loincloths made of fig leaves. I’m sure it was quite fashionable. After all everyone was wearing it … literally.

After God enters the picture and pronounces punishment, it says in Genesis 3:21, “And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” Skins?! Where did He get skins? Genesis 2:2 clearly says that God was finished with creation. He couldn’t have created more skins. And what was wrong with their own high fashion apparel? Does God have something against clothes made from plant fibers? I hope not. I’m a jeans and T-shirt kind of guy. Most of what I wear is cotton.

The truth is that sin always requires blood to be spilled. Read this excerpt from Hebrews 9:15-28:

For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance — now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. When Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. He said, "This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep." In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

From the earliest sin to the ones you’ve already committed this morning, blood was required. Adam and Eve’s sin required an animal or animals to die to cover them. Your sin required Jesus to die to cover you.

Remember this concept: sin requires blood.

Timmy's Letter Home

Revolution Parents,
We are taking great care of your students. Relax and enjoy a week free from active parenting. Now would be a great time to enjoy a good book (I've got some parenting book suggestions if you are interested), take a spontaneous road trip, or just spend some alone time with your spouse. It was a hot trip down and it's incredibly muggy, but all is going well and all the students are responding well to leadership, the speaker, and the worship.  Before leaving for camp, I came across this letter that was forwarded to me in an email. I assure you that we will be taking better care of your kids than this. Enjoy!

Dear Mom and Dad:

Our Scoutmaster told us to write our parents in case you saw the flood on TV and are worried. We are all okay, only one of our tents and two sleeping bags got washed away. Luckily, none of us drowned because we were all up on the mountain looking for Chad when it happened.

Oh yes, please call Chad's mother and tell her he is okay. He can't write because of the cast. I got to ride on one of the search and rescue jeeps. It was neat. We would never have found Chad in the dark if it wasn't for the lightning.

Scoutmaster Don got mad at Chad for going on a hike alone without telling anyone. Chad says he did tell him, but it was during the fire so he probably didn't hear him.

Did you know if you put gasoline on a campfire, the gasoline will blow up? The wet wood didn't burn but one of the tents did and a lot of our clothes. David is going to look weird until his hair grows back.

We should be home on Saturday if Scoutmaster Don gets the car fixed. It wasn't his fault about the wreck. The brakes worked fine when we left. Scoutmaster Don said that with a car that old you have to expect something to break down; that's probably why he can't get insurance. We think it's a neat car. He doesn't care if we get it all dirty, and if it's hot he sometimes lets us ride on the fenders. It gets pretty hot with ten people in a car. He let us take turns riding in the trailer until the highway patrol man stopped and talked to us. Scoutmaster Don is a neat guy. Don't worry, he's a good driver. In fact, he is teaching Terry how to drive on the mountain roads where there isn't any traffic. All we ever see up there are logging trucks. Scoutmaster Don hopes that Terry can drive us home.

This morning all of the guys were diving off the rocks and swimming out in the lake. Scoutmaster Don wouldn't let me because I can't swim and Chad was afraid he would sink because of his cast. So he let us take the canoe across the lake. It was great. You can still see some of the tree tops under the water from the flood. Scoutmaster Don isn't crabby like some Scoutmasters. He didn't even get mad about the lifejackets. He has to spend a lot of time working on the car so we are trying not to cause him any trouble.

Guess what? We have all passed our first merit badge. When David dived into the lake and cut his arm, we got to see how a tourniquet works. Wade and I threw up, but Scoutmaster Don said it was probably food poisoning from the left-over chicken and not the blood. He said he got sick that way from food he ate in prison. I'm glad he got out and became our Scoutmaster. He said he sure figured out how to get things done better while he was doing time.

I have to go now. We are going to town to mail our letters and buy some more beer. Don't worry about anything, we are all fine.

Love,
Timmy

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse - A Male Perspective

Unfortunately, every review I’ve read online for Eclipse was written by a woman, and when it comes to the The Twilight Saga, it somehow seems that women have completely lost their minds. I saw the movie on a Monday morning, almost a week after its unconventional early-in-the-week release. The theater was packed with women of all ages, some escorted by very patient significant others, and of course a few die hard movie fans like myself.

The women seemed to take no heed to the “don’t add your own soundtrack” warning after the previews. They giggled constantly, cheered when characters were shirtless, awed when they kissed, and the young lady sitting next to me interjected some cat-calling language that I’m sure would bring a lawsuit if directed to her from some construction workers. Surprise, surprise, there is a double standard.

A day before I saw this movie, I witnessed a heated Facebook “argument” over who was going to marry which character. It took a great deal of restraint to keep from jumping in the middle of it and posting a reminder that these people are not real.

Females are reacting to this movie like they are combining heroine and ecstasy, atomizing it, and pumping it though theater ventilation systems. Here is why. Every image and conversation is specifically designed to cater to an unachievable fantasy of what women perceive romance to be. It makes no sense to a logical male mind. For example: A coming threat is leering on the horizon. Conversations are frantic about “preparing” and “training” and “getting ready”. Cut to Edward and Bella lounging in the middle of an idyllic field of flowers having a casual conversation. This happened multiple times. Girls see it as romantic. Guys see it as the illogical nonsense it is.

The one bright spot in the film was support of marriage. Edward’s dedication to abstinence from sex before marriage is a positive. Even in the face of Bella’s constant bombardment pushing for sex, Edward stays constant to his moral commitment. His explanation, however, was a little weak, citing an old-fashioned “that’s how it was” reasoning. Bella ridicules him calling it an “ancient” standard and pushes for a “sex now” mentality. For those of us that work with youth, this sounds too familiar. It appears that Edward is winning this battle so far in the series, much to the chagrin of the fairer sex seated around me. Also, a conversation between Bella and Charlie about whether the institution of marriage has any value comes through with a positive but unlikely “yes” from Charlie, even though he is an unmarried divorcée. Hurray, Charlie!

My advice to women: Don’t get your hopes up. These people aren’t real. No one will treat you like that. Fantasy and reality clash. Men will protect you, but they have physical limitations with no super-human strength, impossible speed, or telepathy, and we can’t change ourselves into extra large wolves. We can’t read minds. Don’t expect it.

My advice to men: See this movie with your girl. She will hold you tight during it and be very affectionate afterwards. Go directly to a sporting goods store and buy a pair of boxing gloves and a 100lb bag – because she will ignore the last paragraph and you will eventually need a safe way to vent your frustration.

My new friend

I have a new friend. I obsess over her. She’s the first thing I think about in the morning. She’s the last thing I think about before I go to sleep. I constantly think of her good qualities. I crave communication with her. Everything fun I think about, I think “would she enjoy doing that with me?” She inspires me to be better in everything I do.

I felt like that about someone else once. When my relationship with Jesus was new, I obsessed over him. He was the first thing I thought about in the morning. He was the last thing I thought about before going to sleep. I constantly thought of His good qualities. I couldn’t get enough conversation with him. Everything fun I thought about, I thought “would he enjoy doing that with me?” He inspired me to be better in everything I did.

What happened? Did He change? Did He become less amazing? … less inspiring? … less fun? No, and it took a new interest to show me that.

I’ve rekindled by relationship with my Savior. He’s usually occupied the number one position in my life, but now our relationship has grown and is experiencing a new fervor that it was missing before. My new friend is amazing, but the best thing about her is that without even trying, she brought me back to a better relationship with my friend that sticks closer than a brother, Jesus Christ.

Unique Situation?

Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 (NLT)
History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. 10 Sometimes people say, "Here is something new!" But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. 11 We don't remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now.

When we are in a bad spot, it's not uncommon for us to think that our situation is unique. We feel that no one has ever been through anything this bad before, that we are being exclusively persecuted.

Solomon said that there is nothing new. I'm sure he wrestled with a flaky cell phone battery when he was on the side of the road with a flat, right? Probably not. But the notion of being stranded without communication was certainly not new. Even though every situation has not been exactly duplicated, the concepts are not new. Relationships, difficulty with taskmasters (bosses), a lack of resources when they are needed are all models on which there are millions of variations.

The Bible's ability to deal with these concepts makes it a timeless book. When you go through a tough situation, the Bible has a solution to the concept of the problem that can be extended to your specific situation. Search for it!

What a Mess!

Rom 8:28-29 (NIV)
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Is your life a mess? Are things not lining up for you the way you planned? Everything is going wrong. Nothing is going right. Plans have fallen flat. In your life, chaos and destruction reign. The worst part is that no one seems to care.

Does this sound familiar? You aren’t the first to feel like this. What’s the solution? The answer can be found in a tapestry. A what? A tapestry. A tapestry is a heavy woven cloth with a rich design. Many are absolutely beautiful. They are like intricate paintings in vibrant varicolored thread. Some have delicate designs that are evidence of true artistry. Some are like portraits. Others have bold panoramic views depicting heroes defeating their foes. Their designs are as varied as the artisans who created them and the materials they used. As diverse as these magnificent works are, they all have one thing in common. From the back, they look like a mess.

That’s right. From the back a tapestry is a mangled chaotic muddle of thread. There are knots and frays and loose ends. The color combinations can be nauseating and seem to have absolutely no coordination. It looks unorganized, unplanned, and unappealing. From the back, a tapestry looks like a rainbow threw up in a cement mixer. If advertised from the back, no one would buy a tapestry.

But that’s not how tapestries are made to be viewed.

Your life is a work of art like a tapestry. Right now it may look like a terrible, unplanned, disorganized mess, but there is a plan. You’re life is being woven together with artistry by a master artisan. He sees your problems. He knows your concerns. Best of all, He cares for you and loves you deeply. He is making sure that every thread of your life is placed exactly right, so your life will be a magnificent work of art, unique and unmatched in value.