So, for the next two weeks, there will be new podcasts available at http://www.bibleblogpodcast.com and I would hope that you would visit the podcast during these next two weeks.

Lord willing I'll be back from my honeymoon with new podcasts June 1.

(Listen to the Podcast at www.bibleblogpodcast.com or subscribe at iTunes.)

I was thinking of a recent situation involving my family where one of the members is continually doing things that are causing us to need to extend a large amount of forgiveness.   Forgiveness is one of the hardest things we have to do because it's our giving up of our rights of vengeance against that other person for wrongs inflicted upon us or those we love (intentionally or unintentionally.)  It's just one of the many things that we sometimes look at Jesus and say "why did you tell us to do this?  This is so hard!" 

Sometimes you want to just cut Luke 17:3-4 (ESV) "Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him" out of the Bible.  It would be a lot easier to say to God "look, I forgave the guy twice and he did the same thing again!  I gave him a second chance and now he's blown it!"  Jesus just looks at you, smiles...and then asks you how many times you were forgiven for your mistakes.

The whole point of forgiveness is not really for the person you're forgiving in the first place.  You forgive to free yourself of feelings of resentment that boil within when you hang on to a mistake.  You forgive to keep yourself from dwelling on the thoughts of the mistake which could keep you from doing the things that God wants you to do.  Most of all, you forgive as you were forgiven according to Ephesians 4:32 (ESV) "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." 

This does not mean, however, that you let someone continue in their ways of sin by matching the forgiveness with enabling.  For example, if you have a family member who struggles with alcohol and they ask for a ride to a bar you tell them no.  If you have a friend who has borrowed repeatedly from you because they are not managing their money properly, do not give them money to continue that sinful lifestyle.  You can forgive someone their actions without continuing to encourage the sinful behavior (although it's likely the person committing the sin will not see it that way.)

In all, be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Do what you feel the Lord telling you to do even if it runs counter to what your flesh is telling you to do.  In this you'll be doing what you're called to do by our Father and you'll be exhibiting the grace, mercy and forgiveness that He shows to us.

(Listen to the Podcast at www.bibleblogpodcast.com or subscribe at iTunes.)

There's a woman I know who to be honest has less than a kind spirit.  She revels in pointing out the flaws of other people and if she can't find a flaw to exploit she'll make something up to try and paint others in a flawed light so she can swoop in and claim to be the person with answers to everything.  I don't say this to hold her up for scorn (and don't ask because I won't name her) but rather as an example of someone who seeks to harm other people.  When you're faced with someone like that at work or school or church it's very tempting to respond in-kind to those folks and fire back with some flaming arrows of your own.  (I know I've struggled with it at times.)

It reminds of that quote from the movie The Untouchables where Sean Connery's character is telling Kevin Costner's about "the Chicago way":  "They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue."  Arguments with someone who seeks only to cause problems for other people...or seeks to denigrate others for their own pride or recognition...are like the people referred to in the quote.  The situations with them keep escalating because if you respond to them in-kind or perhaps even a little worse things build and build until finally you find that everyone's been hurt, everyone's been tainted and quite possibly Christ himself has been smeared by your actions in the eyes of those around you who haven't accepting Christ as Lord.

It's situations like this that get a lot of attention in Proverbs.  For example, Proverbs 14:7 (ESV) says "leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge."  Proverbs 18:6 (ESV): "A fool’s lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating."  Proverbs 26:4 (ESV): "Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself."  Proverbs 29:9 (ESV): "If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet."  So what do we do when faced with those who speak foolishly (or, perhaps, post in their blogs on the internet foolishly?) 

Paul gives us a great answer in Romans.  In Romans 12:14 (ESV) Paul writes "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them."  I think that's one of the lines for which the phrase "easier said than done" was invented.  When someone is lying about you, something you had done or not done, your family, your friends...it's hard to keep your mouth from turning around and doing the same thing to that person or their family.   Yet as you see when you read this verse with the Proverbs, Paul is giving you a simple path to follow to avoid situations where you can end up being the fool yourself.  In addition, your blessing them is showing Christ's love and forgiveness through your deeds as well as your words (or, more than likely, lack of certain words.)  In this you might be able to break through to them about their actions not being in line with God's will for our lives...but at the very least you'll make sure that your actions are in line with God's.

Realize also that "bless" does not necessarily mean any kind of physical action.  It could simply be as easy as not responding to the person with a biting or divisive comment on your own.  Showing them the courtesy of decent speech and dialogue can itself be a blessing to them even if they don't realize this at the time. 

Now, I am NOT saying that you should never defend yourself when someone falsely accuses you of something.  Jesus defended himself by bringing up the truth and in doing so did not necessarily call attention to the fact he was defending himself.  Stating the facts when presented with false witness is not a sin.  However, if after presenting them you continue to argue with the person...well...

It's not a fun thing to do when someone's bearing false witness against you to bless them.  Sometimes you'd rather dip yourself in hot sauce and roll around in a huge pile of thumbtacks for an hour or so.  At the end of the day...when all the situations are done...ultimately it's just you and God.  You answer to Him.  What kind of answer do you want to give Him when he asks how you handled the situation?

(Listen to the Podcast at www.bibleblogpodcast.com or subscribe at iTunes.)

I had an e-mail from someone who was asking me about my view of salvation.  They wanted to know at what point they became saved because there are so many different people saying so many different things regarding salvation in Christ.

Well, I'm probably not going to make many friends in some circles with this explanation because it's not going to be dripping with denominational doctrine.  I see salvation as a very simple process that doesn't need to be complicated.

I believe Romans 10:9 (ESV) "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" and I don't think we need to have anything else attached to it.  Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead and you will be saved. 

For salvation, that's it.

Now, salvation is not the end.  It's your "fire insurance" as some people like to say but that isn't sufficient to truly live the Christian life and experience all that God can provide in your life.  You need to live in obedience to Christ after you confess your belief in Jesus.  That means, among other things, that you get baptized to give an outward, public confession of the change that happened within you.   I know that some churches want you to believe that you need to be baptized before you are truly saved but that's not what is in the scriptures.  We baptize to follow in Christ's footsteps after we believe that Christ is Lord.

I know...not a long blog today...but in reality I can't write much more than this concerning the subject of your actual salvation.  I could go on about how some people get things wrong but that accomplishes nothing but division within the church.  I'd rather we focus on the simple act of salvation: confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead. 

(Listen to the Podcast at www.bibleblogpodcast.com or subscribe at iTunes.)

This is Bible blog number 400.

Wow.  Thank You, God.

When I felt God impressing on me to start this Bible blog in November 2006, I had no idea what He was planning to do with me.  I thought it might be something that I did for a few months and then He would call me into something else.  My foolish heart thought it would be something "bigger" than this and that the Bible blog was going to just be the training ground where I refined some talents to do something more significant for the Kingdom of God. 

Oh what a fool I have been...

However, it's not a foolishness that doesn't fall on the rest of us at some point in our walk with Christ.  I know that if I was starting thing now my mindset would be completely different than it was back then because now I realize it doesn't matter if there's 20 people or 200 people or 2000 people reading this blog every day.  If the truth of the Gospel goes out to just one person who needs to hear that truth then this has accomplished a mighty purpose for the Kingdom.  There are many times, however, where churches and Christians think accomplishment for God is measured in the way the world measures accomplishment...total numbers of people.  The bigger the church, the more successful it is for Christ.  God doesn't look at things that way.

Take for example Matthew 10:42 (ESV) that reads "And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."  Jesus is talking about the simple act of giving someone a cup of water.  That is not a big thing in the eyes of the world and if you told someone who's not a believer that you gave someone a cup of water for Jesus they would likely laugh and tell you they gave out a dozen today for nothing.  Yet in the eyes of God, the simple act of giving out a single cup of water is a worthy use of a disciple of Jesus. 

Some may call it a lesson in humility...and I guess it could be framed that way...but I see it more as a lesson in getting our perspective of life in line with God's perspective in life.  Remember how in Luke 19:17 (ESV) Jesus says as part of a parable "And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities"?  The tendency as humans would be for us to focus on the fact that servant is being given ten cities...a big thing...when in reality the important part is that the servant was faithful with the little thing they had been given in the first place.  They focused on the little thing and as a result of the success that came from their obedience to their master they were given more responsibility and more of a chance to make a difference for their master.

We are no different today when it comes to serving the Lord.

So if you're working in a ministry that is serving a small number of people do not allow yourself to be discouraged if people criticize you for the small number you may be serving.  Ignore the taunting of the enemy when they try to make you believe you're not accomplishing anything for Christ or that what you do does not matter to God.  We have to strive to be faithful in the little things and once we have reached that point then the Lord can take us on to bigger and bigger things because our perspective is going to be on God and His will rather than the numbers of those around us.

(Listen to the Podcast at www.bibleblogpodcast.com or subscribe at iTunes.)

My fiancee gets really irritated with me sometimes because I'm a story teller.  I love to tell stories about things that happened to me or happened to friends and often I tell the same story multiple times.  She loves me (and in 12 days she's stuck with me for life) and I love her for the little smile I always get that says "I've heard this many times before but I love you enough to humor you and listen again."

It's just something about a good story that compels me to want to share it with other people.  I especially love stories where something that you thought was missing is suddenly found or you discover something you thought was lost and the memories come flooding back as soon as you find the item.  It happened to me as I was moving to my new house...I found things that belonged to my grandfather that I had forgotten I had in my possession and thoughts of grandpap just flowed from that little watch. 

I was telling a friend about something God did for me and it hit me how rarely I hear other people sharing with me stories about what God is doing in their life.  I'm not talking preaching or even overt witnessing but just sharing the little things that God does like perhaps bringing us an encouraging word from a stranger on a day we're feeling down or a surprise bonus at work when our money is tight.  How often do we really share those stories beyond perhaps our immediate family?

I think of a passage of Scripture that pastors will call it the "Parable of the Lost Sheep" (because that's what it is) and they usually use this to illustrate the depth of the love of God that He will go after the one...presumably you in the sermon context...and rejoice greatly over you because you were lost but not found.  That is, indeed, true.  However, I see another lesson that comes from the same text and I think it applies to our lives in a way that goes beyond just the salvation angle of the parable in Luke 15:4-6 (ESV):

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?   And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.   And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.""

That lesson comes in verse six when Jesus says the man calls together his friends and his neighbors to ask them to rejoice with him because the lost items was now found.  This guy was telling his friends and neighbors about something he found that he thought was lost just like we do in our everyday lives!  It wasn't that he was being high and mighty or preachy or superior to his friends...he was just wanting them to share in his joy and celebrate the return of the lost item.

He had no problems telling his friends of his mistake...losing the sheep in the first place...and he had no problem opening himself up to them in a personal way by letting them be intimately involved in his life (knowing how many sheep he owns, for example.)  We can do the same thing in our lives and through it be very effective witnesses for Christ without being preachy or overbearing.  All we have to do is share the stories of our lives when God does the little things.

We all think of witnessing as sharing Jesus in some direct way.  While that can be a part of it, our lives are also a major witness to those around us.  When we face a hard situation and come out on the other side and praise ourselves or others who help us only then those who see us think we must not really believe in the God we profess to serve.  After all, if it was Him who delivered us, shouldn't we be thanking Him instead of talking about our own perseverance first? 

When we are sitting with a friend and are sharing with them about the surprise card a friend gave you with twenty bucks in it when you didn't have money to get groceries instead of just leaving the story ending there just add "and I was praying God would supply that need for me but I never thought it would come that way!"  Your friend might just smile and ignore it...or they might ask you about the fact you were praying for it.  They might ask you "well, what did you expect God to do?"  It opens the door to talk more about Jesus and the things that He has done, is doing and will do in your life.

All it takes is sharing a simple story about something you've had in your life that's lost but now found just like that sheep in the parable.  It's not hard, it's exciting and it's a joy to include others in the joy that you've found. 

(Listen to the Podcast at www.bibleblogpodcast.com or subscribe at iTunes.)

A reader of the blog contacted me yesterday asking if the podcast was up because they were having a really rough day with a co-worker and joked that they would like to send that co-worker six feet under (if you know what I mean.) She hoped my podcast would give her the encouragement she needed to "endure" her co-worker and I said it probably would not but I appreciated her listening to it anyway.

It started getting me thinking of the times in my life where I had to deal with someone at work or at church or just in social circles that I didn't really enjoy spending time around for various reasons. It could because that person was a gossip and liked to try and pry information from you so that they could run to the boss and tell them things to try and score points for themselves. (Here's a tip: If you do that, the person you're doing it to is going to find out it's you.) Maybe that person is incredibly rude or obnoxious and says things that are entirely inappropriate for the situation. (Another tip: sometimes jokes and comments ARE rude, obnoxious and inappropriate and it's not because people need to get a sense of humor.) Maybe it's the person in church who is always asking for help because they have bills to pay but they won't get a job. (Third tip: Get a job.) When you have someone like that usually you're quick to tell them something that will make them leave or you find a way to get yourself out of the situation because you just don't want to put up with those people. It doesn't even matter if they're talking to you for a legitimate reason...you just want to be away from them because of the nature of who they are.

It's understandable to feel that way and in many cases (like with the gossip) it might be a good idea to get away from them in situations where it's not important for work or relationships that you are interacting with them. However, the Bible calls for us to actually deal with these people but do it in a way that will steer them from the sin in their life or the bad attitudes that can harm others. I know...not the way we'd deal with it...but then many times the Bible tells us to do things that are counter to the world's way of thinking!

1 Thessalonians 5:14 (ESV) says "we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all." Now, I know the verse only mentions three types of people...the idle, the fainthearted and the weak...but I think the lesson being taught applies to more than just those people. I say that because of 2 Timothy 2:24-26 (ESV) that reads "And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will."  Obviously things like gossip would fall under the evil category.  In being patient, we should correct with gentleness because it opens the door for the Lord to work within that person to possibly come to repentance and a relationship with Him.

We do have a model for all of this right here, right now.  No matter where you are as you read these words there is someone who is showing you infinite patience regardless of the ways you've messed things up today.  Regardless of the things you've done that someone else might find so bothersome that they would like to do to you what you'd like to do to the person who popped into your head when you started this blog.  2 Peter 3:9 (ESV) reads "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."  The Lord is patient with us.  We need to be patient with others. 

However, a friendly word of warning from me...don't pray and ask God to teach you patience unless you REALLY are ready for it.  The Lord will teach it to you in His own time but if you ask for it you're going to get it and it can be a very stressful and trying time in your life.  You'll learn the lesson but BOY will you wish you hadn't asked for it.  You'll learn patience soon enough...just be patient!

(Listen to the Podcast at www.bibleblogpodcast.com or subscribe at iTunes.)

A good friend of mine is right at the beginning of a trial of trust that hit her with full strength yesterday.  She's facing a situation in her life where something she believed was rock solid and a basis for planning for the immediate future of her suddenly is going away.  She knows God is there and that He has a plan but it's really hard for her to simply trust that everything will be done for her good because God is in control.

Let me channel my inner Mister Rogers for a minute..."Can you relate to that feeling?  I knew that you could." 

We all face those times when God is asking us to simply trust Him.  Of course, it's not a simple thing to do when there are really trying circumstances facing you in life like the loss of a job, the betrayal of a spouse or close friend, an unexpected death or a serious injury.  It's also very hard when we're looking toward our future both as a single person or married couple.  It's hard not to set up our own plans about where we want to go in the future and still allow for God to do whatever God wants to do with us.  It's hard to get to the place where you say "we're planning to do this but if God changes it then we'll happily follow the Lord."

I know many Pastors and other Christians are quick to quote the well known Proverbs 3:5 (ESV) "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding."  There's nothing wrong with that except that the verse itself really provides little comfort to someone facing a trial.  It's mostly instructional in nature telling us what to do and not what will happen if we do it.  It's also something that most Christians know already so what's the point of telling someone who's trying to trust in the Lord during a trial to just trust in the Lord?  That's like telling someone who's in the middle of baking a cake to make sure to bake a cake. 

There are many other verses that come along Proverbs 3:5 that provide more strength and encouragement to people facing a trial within their lives.  I want to point some out for those people facing trials and tribulations because I think many times those in most need of encouragement from the Scriptures are the last to receive it because these verses aren't always right on someone's lips!

Psalm 37:5 (ESV) says "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act."  So when you're facing this trial and trust in the Lord he is going to act on your behalf and because along with the fairly well known  Romans 8:28 (ESV) that says "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" we know those actions of God will be for your good.  It doesn't say it will happen quickly or in the way we would like them to happen but as long as you trust God they will happen and they will work out for your good.

Also, take heart in Isaiah 26:4 (ESV) that says "Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock."  Ultimately God will be there no matter how dire the situation may seem to you.  The world may be crashing down around you and your trust in God may seem foolish to those around you but take heart in knowing he is an everlasting rock upon which you can stand in good times and bad times. 

Isn't it great to know that when you're wearing, feeling small, when tears are in your eyes, there will be someone there who will dry them all and never leave you?  Someone you can always lean on because they're like a rock that has always been there and will always be there?

I know it's hard to trust in the Lord when you don't know what's going to happen.  I've been there, I am there and I know in the future I'll have more times this happens and it's not an easy thing to just say "I don't know what's going to happen but I trust God that it will all work out and I have no need to worry about anything."  Still, take heart and know that His word is not invalid, His word does not change and He promises that He will act for us, He will guide us and He will be there for us if we just trust in Him.

(Listen to the Podcast at www.bibleblogpodcast.com or subscribe at iTunes.)

There's a new feature on the blog's main homesite on Wordpress where they now post blogs from other writers that might be connected to the topic that's being discussed.  I'm not really crazy about that change happening because you can't control where your readers go (and as such I don't endorse any links you may see below this or any other post) but it did lead me to some interesting blog entries regarding pornography and the treatment of women.

In one blog entry, a woman who does not identify herself writes about the pornography addiction of her ex-boyfriend and the effect not only on her but the him and their relationship.  She talks about the lies that addicts tell to excuse their behavior, the way women see it (cheating) and the hurt that it can cause.   It broke my heart to read her words because I've known first hand the damage this addiction can cause and I've seen the women broken both physically and emotionally from having been "performers" in those films as well as the women who've had marriages and relationships destroyed by it.  Porn is extremely dangerous.

I've spoken in the past on this blog about porn and how it degrades women and I think because sexually related items are something most churches won't touch with a ten foot Asherah pole many times Christians avoid even broaching the subject of pornography because of the stigma attached to it.  There's no question it's nothing but sin on video.  Many Christians and many churches don't even want to mention it's name because they don't even want to be associated with it.

Yet the problem with pornography is rampant in the Christian community.  XXX Church has reported that at hotels where large Christian conventions are held the purchase of in-room adult movies is higher during those weeks than any other time of the year.  Lives are being destroyed because of it and the women in our society are being degraded and lessened in the eyes of millions of men and teen boys because of it.  We, as the church, need to stand up against pornography at the consumer level because we won't be able to stop it through the government and political means no matter how hard we try.

We need to start with establishing in our own minds the way a woman should be seen in the eyes of the church.  She is not some kind of submissive slave who should always bake cookies for the youth group or lick stamps for church mailings or be the only people working in the nursery Sunday after Sunday.  (I'm not saying they shouldn't do that if they feel so led but we should not look at women as little more than someone to place there.)  We need to look at women as we're told to do in 1 Timothy 5:2 (ESV) where Paul says to treat "older women like mothers, younger women like sisters, in all purity."  If you look at women like your mothers or your sisters you will find yourself showing them respect in what you say, how you live and how you treat them.  This is the basis for how you should interact with women in your life. 

Once you establish that not only within yourself but within your church, then you need to take the next step to help those who are struggling with the addiction.  James 5:20 (ESV) says "whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins."  We need to provide serious accountability, counseling and whatever else is necessary to help someone truly recover and not just find better ways to hide things from other people.   We need to model transparency in our lives in all things because in that transparency there is power and freedom. 

Most of all, we need to rely on the grace of God to carry us through in all things.

We need to make sure that we help men fight this addiction before the next woman experiences what this woman detailed in her blog.  It can be done, it must be done and the church needs to stop being silent and help the needy within their own walls.

(Listen to the Podcast at www.bibleblogpodcast.com or subscribe at iTunes.)

I was reading the Psalm 34:14 (ESV) today that says "turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it" and had a revelation that made me use a sarcastic laugh.  There are many times in today's society when seeking good does the exact opposite of the psalmist's words.  You might have to call the police on a neighbor that's abusing their children.  You might have to physically step in to break up a fight.  You might have to stand in front of your state's senator and tell him that you're not going to be silent about a new piece of legislation that infringes on religious freedom or makes the state impose their amoral values upon Christians.  Sometimes you just can't all get along.

We're even told those times are going to arrive when in 1 Peter 3:17 (ESV) it reads "for it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil."  The idea that we're going to suffer for doing the right thing is unfortunately something a Christian should just take in stride.  We're going to have the times of hardship, trial, stress and anxiety.  We're going to have people get angry with us and physically attack us or destroy our "stuff" because we stood up and did the right thing.  We cannot always seek peace if we're to do God's will on this earth and as a result we will suffer consequences. 

However, God will never leave us and he will not ignore the suffering we do for Him and for good.  1 Peter 2:20 (ESV) tells us "if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God."  Couple that with Galatians 6:9 (ESV) "let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up" and you see that God has promised us we will receive his grace and reap a harvest if we focus on good and stick to the relentless pursuit of good.

A guiding verse for us as believers has to be 1 John 3:17 (ESV): "But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?"  I know that many people take that verse to mean "goods" in terms of material possessions but I see goods as more than physical items.  I see "goods" to mean the very words of Christ and the truth of the Gospel and the definition of good: if we see a brother in need because he's being falsely accused and we have possession of the truth to free him we cannot remain silent.  If we see a child being abused by a parent and we have the proof necessary for the police to step in and save that child then we have to make that phone call.  Evidence...proof of truth...is something that is good to the world and therefore something that we cannot keep to ourselves.

So while I know it's tempting to just only follow 2 Corinthians 13:11 (ESV) that reads "Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you" and ignore every situation that could cause conflict we have to realize the Bible never called us to silence.  Even that passage in 2 Corinthians says "AIM for..."  We can strive for peace with everyone and strive for a situation where we're all in agreement but it doesn't mean that we're going to find it.  Sometimes you have to stand and say "no, we can't just all get along."

(Listen to the Podcast at www.bibleblogpodcast.com or subscribe at iTunes.)

Walking away is easy.

One of the biggest challenges to the Christian walk is that it's easy just to turn away from God and go live as the world wants you to live. Go chase down material possessions or fleshly desires or money or power. Even when you know those things won't satisfy they provide a temporary relief and joy from the stress and anxiety of the everyday and many times you get to the point you're so frustrated by things you want to give into those things and indulge yourself.  Hey, come on, it's fun to sin, right?

Thus, you walk away from God.

Walking away is easy.

Jesus talked about how easy it is to live away from God when He said in Matthew 7:13-14 (ESV) "“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."  He explicitly told the crowd that it's easy to walk the path of destruction and if you think about life today you realize how easy it is.  For example, an 18 year old girl could send one e-mail to a pornographic website and suddenly he's in a video that haunts her forever.  A guy could download that same video and watch it over and over until his desires run to that girl instead of the wife who then finds that video and feels such betrayal that it destroys the marriage.  Some kids find themselves without mom and dad living together because of dad couldn't stop watching that video of some girl who later ended up committing suicide by taking an overdose of the drugs she used to try and dull the pain from the video that had haunted her from the second it ended...  Oh, I'm sorry...am I showing the consequences of one little step on the easy road?

Satan is always trying to tempt us away but one of his most effective attacks is to pounce upon a Christian when God says that person isn't ready yet for what God has called them to do or be.  After all, according to Proverbs 19:21 (ESV) "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."  Inside that purpose God needs us to be prepared for that purpose.  That means He needs to refine us and that means that we are not always ready to go on a moment's notice for everything.  Sometimes God needs us to get more knowledgeable in the Word or He needs us to learn a new trade or He needs to work on lowering our pride. 

It's in those moments where we feel beaten and discouraged and even a little angry with God that we need to check ourselves and live out Proverbs 3:5 (ESV): "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding."  It's in those moments where you feel the sting of rebuke of the Lord saying you're not ready yet for His purposes or that you have to remain in some place that you really don't want to be that you have to trust like a child in the Lord that His purpose is perfect.  It's not easy and it's a place where many times people turn away from the Lord because they feel like they've gone as far as they can go and they just don't have the strength to go on.  It's then you need to trust in the Lord and lean on His strength which is always sufficient for our needs. 

Sure, it's not always easy and fun like it would be to turn and walk away.  However, eventually I'm sure you'll discover that God's way is the best way at the end of that road.

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Jesus has your back.

You know how you have friends that when you do something stupid or you're about to get in trouble or embarrassed because you forgot something they come along and step in to help and keep you from being shamed? It's always great to have someone like that you can depend upon for the times when something really troubling comes along that you never saw coming down the line.

In Jesus' day, weddings were an even bigger deal than we make them today. The average wedding was along the lines of what you see as some of the most extravagant celebrity weddings. People came from great distances and stayed for long periods of time. The food, the wine, the partying continued long after the actual vows were taken by the bride and groom.

The celebration afterward was a reflection on the bride and groom and it would be considered a great embarrassment to not be able to be hospitable to the people who came to your celebration. To run out of wine would be considered a great affront to the people in attendance and would reflect very poorly on the newly married couple. The last thing you want on your wedding day (or at your reception) is to have people upset because you don't have anything for them to drink.

That's what Jesus was facing when his mother comes to tell Him that the wedding banquet they're attending has just run out of wine. She knew that he could take care of the problem although Jesus himself didn't want to reveal the truth about being the Christ. Yet, in order to be obedient to his mother, he turned water into wine in John 2:6-10 (ESV):

"Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”"

Jesus stepped in and saved this young couple from very public embarrassment. Jesus had their back.

The encouraging thing I take from this story is that Jesus is still doing that today for you and for me.  It's not exactly the same in that Jesus isn't magically filling our fridge with soda when we run out during Bible study but He's doing it in how He instructs us to live our lives.  The guidance of the Holy Spirit to tell us what is right and what is wrong.  If we listen to Him and let Him guide our lives and situations then He will help us avoid embarrassment and situations where we will be openly subject to public scorn for things we've done wrong. 

(Listen to the Podcast at www.bibleblogpodcast.com or subscribe at iTunes.)

Normally I don't write blogs or do podcasts based on some external event but rather just write what God brings to my mind each day. However, today is the National Day of Prayer and as I prepared I just asked God if it was OK to do a blog on prayer today. Immediately what I'm about to write came to mind.

We romanticize prayer in the Christian community today. If you go into most churches you'll see formal prayers where everyone stands up and bows their heads and someone leads a solemn prayer with severely structured sentences. We make prayer almost it's own idol that we have to be on our knees or we have to have folded hands or we have to do some kind of outward sign that says "HEY! LOOK AT ME! I'M PRAYIN' BABY!"

I'm not condemning all corporate prayer but I've been in too many churches where it becomes about the act of praying more than really talking to the Lord. That's all prayer is folks...talking to our Father in Heaven. We have to be careful that it doesn't turn into some kind of ritual that we do at the same point in our church services or Bible studies just because that's the way we've always done it. If we do that, we run the risk of becoming like the people Jesus speaks of in Luke 20:46-47 (ESV): “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and vthe places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

Just be yourself with God in your prayers.  Remember that when Jesus died for us, as Mark 15:38 (ESV) says, "And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom."  You can go directly to God as you are right now.  If you're someone who says "Dude" to someone who's a close friend, you can call God "Dude" when you're praying to Him.   If you say "That's so cool, man" when someone does something really great you then say "that's so cool, man" when God brings you an answer to prayer.  If you drop to your knees or immediately grab hands of people around you and start in with some formal prayer "Oh, God, thank you for this wonderful blessing..." aren't you just being like the scribes?  You're not being real.  You're not being authentic.

Prayer is just conversation with God.  It's like talking to another human you love, trust, cherish and respect.  Sometimes you're giving that person praise.   Sometimes you're asking for their guidance and counsel.  Sometimes you're venting frustrations of life because you know that person really cares about you.  You can be completely real with them because they know who you are and how you act, think and speak.  God is no different than having a human friend of that nature except He knows everything even beyond what your earthly friends find out about you.  So why put on some formal facade that just isn't you just because it's "prayer time"?

On this National Day of Prayer, let's flip the script.  I know you're going to see prayer rallies and people standing up to lead corporate prayers or some other kind of spectacle.  I'm not saying these people may not be earnestly praying to the Lord (since I likely don't know them personally to be able to know) but it's still a spectacle.  Let's take today on this National Day of Prayer and just talk to God like we're sitting in Moses' Coffee Shop and Bakery talking to the Big Guy while eating a donut and sipping on a latte.  Relax, smile, chat and bond with our Father.   That's what prayer should be.