Dad's Ramblings -- Outsiders/Insiders

"Then they returned to Jerusalem...And when they had entered, they went into an upper room where they were staying...These all continued in one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers."
 
                                                                               Acts 1:12a, 13a, 14
 
Included in the group returning to Jerusalem from the Ascension were the brothers of Jesus – James, Joses, Simon, and Judas (see Matthew 13:55). During Jesus' earthly ministry, they were "outsiders" (See Matthew 12:46-47). But now they were Insiders. They had witness Jesus' death on the cross and His burial (Mark 15:40, 47). Then they saw Him after His resurrection (Matthew 28:10).  Ultimately, James became a leader in the Church (see Galatians 1:19, 2:9), and Judas wrote a book of the Bible (see Jude 1:1). There is hope for unbelieving family members. Jesus can reveal Himself to them as the risen Christ just as He did to His unbelieving brothers.
 
Today's Thought: Outsiders become insiders when they see Jesus crucified and resurrected.
 
Have a believing day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- Looking Back - Looking Forward

"And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.' "
 
                                                                          Acts 1:10-11
 
The disciples were closing one chapter and about ready to start a new chapter in their lives. But as they ended this chapter, they were gazing backward – probably thinking of the past 3 ½ years they had been with Jesus, and all the miracles they had seen Him do. But two angels came to redirect their focus to the future. Most people have the same disease – "pastitus." Old people are guilty of living in the past. "When I was a kid...." Remembering the past is good, but living there is not. Instead of talking so much about the "good old days," when I saw such manifestations of God in healings and deliverances, I need to focus instead on what God wants to do NOW and His future return. God is not done with His plan yet.
 
Today's Thought: The book is not finished; God still has a plan for the future.
 
Have a "forward looking" day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- Ascension Day

"Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up and a cloud received Him out of their sight."
 
                                                                           Acts 1:9
 
Ascension Day. The tradition I have followed all my life has not put much emphasis on celebrating that day. Perhaps we should. Suppose Jesus had not ascended and was still here in His body. He would still be limited to one place, and we would not have received the "gift of the Father." We celebrated the birth, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus and Pentecost Sunday. We need to appreciate Ascension Day more.
 
Today's Thought: The Ascension of Jesus was a vital part of God's plan.
 
Have an "appreciation" day. Love you.
 

Thanksgiving Wishes

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!!!

Dad's Ramblings -- Doing or Being?

" 'But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.' "
 
                                                                              Acts 1:8
 
The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to give us power to "be." We often think in terms of "doing witnessing" instead of "being witnesses." But "doing" follows "being." What we do is a natural outflow of who we "are." Jesus said that out of our heart (our inner being) would flow rivers of living waters. This was referring to the Holy Spirit (see John 7:38-39). What we "do" is a result of who we "are" on the inside.
 
Today's Thought: Power to "be" precedes power to "do."
 
Have a "being" day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- In God's Time

"Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, 'Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?' And He said to them, 'It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.' "
 
                                                                       Acts 1:6-7
 
The disciples were still thinking in the old mode. They didn't comprehend that the Kingdom was in them. The truth is, the Kingdom is already here – in the lives of people who acknowledge Jesus as King. Jesus will return to set up an earthly kingdom, but it is not for us to know when. People who set dates for Jesus' return are chasing their own shadow because the shadow keeps moving ahead of them. But it will happen in God's timing, whether today or a thousand years from now. For now, we live in His Kingdom under His Kingship doing the King's work.
 
Today's Thought: It is God's business, not ours, to know the day of Jesus' return.
 
Have a Kingdom day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- Confusion!

" 'For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.' "
      

                                                                    Acts 1:5
 
Why is there so much confusion about the Baptism with or in the Holy Spirit when the Bible gives such clear teaching? The common teaching among non-pentecostal teachers is that the Baptism in the Holy Spirit happens at Salvation when we are born again into God's kingdom. But what does the Bible say? First, the disciples received the Holy Spirit (John 20:22) and then were told to go wait for the Promise of the Father. Clearly, the Spirit Baptism is a separate work of grace from Salvation. Secondly, many believe that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is the same as baptism into the Body of Christ which happens at Salvation. But the Bible shows that the various baptisms have different baptizers. Water baptism is by man – "John's Baptism"; baptism into the Body of Christ is by the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 12:12-13); but Jesus said He would send the Holy Spirit after He went away (John 16:7). Clearly there are different baptizers. Thirdly, we are baptized in water, into the Body of Christ, and in the Holy Spirit. Clearly, there are three different mediums of baptism. So we need not be confused by various teachings about being baptized in the Holy Spirit if we just read the Bible as it is.
 
Today's Thought: The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a second gift from God after Salvation.
 
Have an unconfused day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- The Promise of the Father

"And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me.' "
 
                                                                                   Acts 1:4
 
They had heard about the Promise of the Father on the night before Jesus' crucifixion, when, as His earthly ministry was coming to a close, Jesus met with His disciples for the Passover Meal. At that time, He taught them regarding the coming of the Holy Spirit. He told them that it was necessary for Him to go away so that the Holy Spirit could come (John 16:7). He said that when He returned to Heaven, He would ask the Father to send "another Helper" who would dwell with them forever (John14:16). The Greek word for "another" is allos – one of the same kind as Himself. (The other Greek word for "another" is heteros – one of a different kind.) Having the Holy Spirit is the same as having Jesus present, except that in bodily form, Jesus could only dwell with His followers; the Holy Spirit would dwell in them. This is the Promise of the Father: the Holy Spirit – the third person of the Trinity – who would dwell in God's people. What a promise!
 
Today's Thought: The Promise of the Father is the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
 
Have a "promising" day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- Infallible Proofs

"The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He though the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."
 
                                                                            Acts 1:1-3
 
The Book of Acts is a sequel to Luke's first "best-seller," the "Gospel According to Luke." Luke was a Gentile convert to Christ, and although he was not physically present during Jesus' ministry, we can be sure his account is accurate because he meticulously interviewed the eye-witnesses to Christ's birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension, and set them in order, so that we may "know the certainty of those things in which you [we] were instructed" (see Luke 1:1-4). There are many "infallible proofs" that these things are true, so we can be confident that the record is true, and what we believe is true.
 
Today's Thought: The life, death, and life of Christ is not a myth, but is a reality as verified by the eye-witnesses.
 
Have a confident day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- Not Of This World

"Then the descendants of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain heads of the fathers' households, were set apart by the fathers' households, each of them by name; and they sat down on the first day of the month to examine the matter. On the first day of the month they finished questioning all the men who had taken pagan wives."
 
                                                                              Ezra 10:16-17
 
The nation of Israel was called to be different – separated – from the surrounding pagans. When Israel compromised and became like the people around them, then judgment was required. The elders were called as judge and jury to "examine the matter" by questioning the individuals involved in the transgression. I believe that one reason the Church has lost its effectiveness in our society is that it has become like the society. It no longer stands as a beacon of holy living. Church discipline is messy business, but it is absolutely imperative. In order to uphold God's standard of righteousness in the world, the church needs to confront sin lest it becomes the norm.
 
Today's Thought: The Church needs to judge itself.
 
Have an "examined" day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- Yes Or No

"Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, 'Yes! As you have said, so we must do.....' Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Johaziah the son of Tkivah opposed this, and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite gave them support."
 
                                                                        Ezra 10:12, 15
 
There will always be those who say "Yes" to God and those who oppose. But there is a larger, perhaps unanswerable, question: Why are there God-followers and God-rejectors, sometimes in the same family? I am reading a book entitled, "Between The Church and A Hard Place." In it the author chronicles his own family. Mom and Dad were atheists and raised their sons to be atheists. But the author's brother became a born-again Evangelical Christian as a teenager in high school, which caused a huge rift in the family. On the other hand, there are many examples of a children rejecting the faith of the families they were raised in. So the answer is not necessarily child-hood training. Some theologies try to reconcile this question by teaching that some people are "elect" or predestined – that God chose some to salvation and others to damnation. A person has no choice whether he will believe or not believe. This seems incompatible with a God who is "not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (II Peter 3:9). Perhaps it is a person's personality or psychological makeup. Some call it "God-consciousness." But why are some people God-conscious and others not? I don't know the answer, but I am so glad that I heard God's call to repentance and I said "Yes" to Him.
 
Today's Thought: Either we say "Yes" to God we reject Him.
 
Have a "Yes" day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- Confession and Repentance

"So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered at Jerusalem within three days....Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, 'You have transgressed and have taken pagan wives, adding to the guilt of Israel. Now therefore, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do His will....' "
 
                                                                   Ezra 10:9-11
 
A convocation of all the men was called by the leaders. When they gathered, Ezra confronted them with their sin and called not only for confession, but also for obedience, i.e., repentance. There is a difference between confession and repentance. Confession is acknowledging my sin; Repentance is forsaking my sin. It is not enough to confess that I am have sinned. Many people are willing to acknowledge that they have sinned, but they are not willing to forsake their sin and do God's will. Confession alone is barren and fruitless. God calls us to turn from our sin and obey Him. As James says, "Be doers of the word and not hearers only" (James 1:22).
 
Today's Thought: Confession without repentance is empty words.
 
Have a "doing" day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- Yet There Is Hope

"Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping and bowing before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly. And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, 'We have trespassed against our God, and have taken pagan wives from the people of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this.' "
 
                                                                                Ezra 10:1-2
 
There is hope for revival among God's people in spite of how far we have drifted from God standard of holiness. There are people – men, women, and children – who want to see the Church return to righteousness. It began with the earnest prayers, confession, and weeping of one man that moved a nation to repentance. O God, send a spirit of weeping and repentance to Your Church.
 
Today's Thought: There is hope for revival among God's people, but it begins with individuals.
 
Have a hopeful day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- Astonished By Sin

"So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down astonished. Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel assembled to me because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive, and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice."
 
                                                                      Ezra 9:3-4
 
Ezra was "astonished" by the sin among God's people, and he had an amazing response.  The Hebrew word means to be appalled, stunned, desolate. He was so devastated by the sin among God's chosen people that he pulled out his hair.  And there were others who "trembled at the words of God."  It is sad that I get so inured to sin that it does not affect me much. I began to tolerate it instead of being appalled. O sure, I say, "Tsk-Tsk," but to be so emotionally unmoved only demonstrates my own dulled sense of sin. Instead, I need to "tremble" and be moved by His holiness. Oh God, please keep me sensitive to sin in myself and among God's people so I am appalled by it.
 
Today's Thought: The person who trembles at God's word has a violent reaction to sin.
 
Have an "astonished" day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- The "Ites" Infection

"When these things were done, the leaders came to me, saying, 'The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands with respect to the abominations of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites, For they have takes some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed is mixed with the peoples of those lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this trespass.' "
 
                                                                               Ezra 9:1-2
 
During the Babylonian captivity, the people of Israel were dispersed to other alien lands. In those countries, they were infected with the "ites" disease, which caused them to forsake the law of God and become enmeshed in the surrounding culture of those nations. These were godless cultures and the holy seed was compromised. It still happens today. Many Christians have become "mixed" with the surrounding cultres, marrying themselves to the godless customs of this alien land, compromising their "holy seed." God calls us to "come out and be separate" (II Corinthians 6:17), and to "be not conformed to this world" (Romans 12:2), lest we become victims on the "ites" disease. We must be "in the world" but need not be "of the world."
 
Today's Thought: Marrying ourselves to the surrounding cultures compromises our holiness.
 
Have a separated day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- Accountability

"So the priests and Levites received the silver, and the gold and the articles by weight to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God .... So we came to Jerusalem, and stayed there three days. Now on the fourth day, the silver and the gold and the articles were weighed in the house of our God ...."
 

                                                                       Ezra 8:30, 32-33a
 
The priests who brought the gold and silver to Jerusalem were held accountable for the offerings which were entrusted to them, lest they use these gifts for their own purposes. Accountability is a huge factor in stewardship. A lot of money is given to charities and to "Christian" ministries for which there is little or no accountability. The leaders of these organizations use the money for themselves to receive exorbitant salaries, buy expensive cars, build mansions, and live luxurious lifestyles and otherwise misuse the money. In some cases, less than 50% of the gifts are used for the intended purposes; the rest pads the pockets of the leaders. It is unwise stewardship to give money to any organization that has no process of accountability.
 
Today's Thought: Accountability is a twin brother to Stewardship.
 
Have an accountable day.  Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- Faithful Stewards

"And I separated twelve of the leaders of the priests ... and weighed out to them the silver, the gold, and the articles, the offering for the house of our God which the king and his counselors and his princes, and all Israel who were present, had offered. .... And I said to them, .... 'Watch and keep them until you weight them before the leaders of the priests and the Levites' .... So the priests and the Levites received the silver and the gold and the articles by weight, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God."
 
                                                                         Ezra 8:24-25, 28-30
 
King Artexerxes had decreed that money from the king's treasury was to be given to build the temple in Jerusalem (see chapter 7). So Ezra gave the responsibility to the priests to take care of these gifts. According to the margin, the current value of these gifts was over $825,000,000. The money did not belong to the priests. They were only stewards or caretakers. In like manner, we have received gifts from God – time, talent, ministry, and money. These do not belong to us; we do not own them. They are only placed in our care by God. We are responsible for how we use the gifts God has entrusted us with. How we use them determines whether we are faithful stewards. "It is required in stewards that one be found faithful" (I Corinthians 4:2).
 
Have a faithful day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- Hearing and Doing

"Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra ... came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given .... Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel."
 
                                                                           Ezra 7:1, 6, 10
 
Here is a teacher who had prepared his heart to not only know God's Word but to do it. Some people know what the Bible says, but do not live it. Jesus said, "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I will like to a wise man who built his house on the rock" (Matthew 6:24). And James tells us to be doers of the Word and not hearers only, for hearing without doing is like getting up in the morning and looking in a mirror at my messed up hair and then going my way without combing it (James 1:22-24). I need to practice what I preach.
 
Today's Thought: We are called to not only know God's Word but to do it.
 
Have a "doing" day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- Cleansing Before Worship

"And the descendants of the captivity kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves; all of them were ritually clean."
 
                                                                         Ezra 6:19-20a
 
Before worship comes cleansing. There was a purification process the priests and Levites had to observe before they could enter into spiritual ministry. In fact, there was a bowl situated just in front of the entrance to the Holy Place called the laver, where they would wash themselves before entering. They had the awesome responsibility of purifying themselves. It seems in 2010 we have such a casual approach to worship. We feel we can come to God in any old way we want. A popular Christian song say, "Come, just as you are to worship." But what does God say? Jesus said that the Father is searching for those who worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23). He also said that when we bring our gifts to the altar, and we remember that another person has something against us, that we should first be reconciled to our brother, "and then come and offer your gift" (Matthew 5:23-24). Then Paul gave instruction to the person who would partake of the Lord Supper to "examine himself" in order to avoid judgment (I Corinthians 11:27-29). Worship is an awesome thing and we need to approach it with great reverence.
 
Today's Thought: God calls for worshipers to be "cleansed and made holy."
 
Have a worshiping day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- It Takes Time

"Now the temple was finished on the third month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius."
 
                                                                             Ezra 6:15
 
It took time for the temple to be finished. According to historians, Cyrus gave decree to rebuild the temple in 539 B.C. After the laying of the foundation, because of opposition and lack of motivation, the project was not resumed until 515 B.C. and completed and dedicated in 515 B.C. So it took to took almost 25 years, the coming and going of maybe four kings and the urging of the prophets before the temple was finished. In the same way, it has taken a long time for this temple (me) to be built. I have been in construction for 60 years and am still not finished. There have been times when the progress has been slow or non-existent. But then the prophets stirred me and more building was done. I don't expect to be completed until I get to heaven. In the meantime, God is still working on me.
 
Today's Thought: It takes time for our temples to be perfected, but God keeps building us.
 
Have a "building" day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- Diligent Politicians

"Then Tattenai, governor of the region beyond the River, Shethar-Boznai, and their companions diligently did according to what King Darius had sent."
 
                                                                                  Ezra 6:13
 
Tattenai was a good public servant.  He was not like the adversaries in Chapter 4.  As governor, he was just doing what he was supposed to do – keeping track of what was happening in the region he was responsible for. He wrote a letter to King Darius asking for clarification of the authority of the Jews to build the temple. In response, Darius told him that they were acting under the authority given by Cyrus. Moreover, he commanded that Tattenai give money to the Jews to finance their project from taxes collected, and that whatever was needed for their worship was to be supplied. So Tattenai "diligently" did his duty. Today is election day. May God grant us political leaders – governors, senators, congressmen – who will diligently do their job instead of using their positions to advance themselves and their personal agendas.
 
Today's Thought: Public officials are to diligently do their jobs without regard for their personal welfare or advancement.
 
Have a diligent day. Love you.
 

Dad's Ramblings -- Leaders and Helpers

"So Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadek rose up and began to build the house of God which is in Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them, helping them."
 
                                                                                 Ezra 5:2
 
Praise God for leaders.  Zerubbabel and Jeshua (of Joshua) were the point men (see Ezra 2:2; 3:2; 4:2-3) – the ones with the vision who were able to motivate others to join them in the work.  But praise God for the helpers, also. The leaders would not be able to accomplish the task without those who were willing to assist them. God has put leaders into His Church – apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11). But He also has given the ministry of "helps" (I Corinthians 12:28).  One is not more important than the other.  Both are necessary in doing Kingdom-work.
 
Today's Thought: Each believer has a place in Kingdom-work, whether a leader or a helper.
 
Bless you as you fill your place of ministry. Love you.