what if

what if we lived for each other instead of ourselves?
what if we stopped to say hi to the person who works next to us?
what if we picked up breakfast for the couple across the restaurant?
what if we helped the old lady across the street?
what if we loved as we are loved?
what if we said the last 10%?
what if extended a hand, instead of clenched a fist?
what if acted as we talk?
what if we were the person we claim to be?
what if we read our bible?
what if right and wrong didn't matter, but it was love that counted?
what if we got dirty?
what if prayed to remember what we've learned rather than hoping to learn more?
what if success was not measured by the number of zeros on our paycheck?
what if today was your last day and you didn't even know it?
what if we enjoyed life a little more with the ones we love?

what if we lived as God intended, not as we think we desired?

how would the world be a different place? how would you make a difference with your gifts?

are you a dirty person?!

tonight i had the opportunity to listen to and meet a man by the name of josh riebok. he is an incredible man of God and taught about the good samaritan in a way that i had not heard before. he asked a question that i thought i would pass it along...paraphrased, the question went like this.

What if we got dirty to carry out God's work? Are we a dirty person, willing to get all of the blood and dirt on us, to show God's love for others? Or are we a spotless clean person?

as christians we sometimes claim we show God's love to others. but in the case of the good samaritan, the samaritan bent down, cleaned a man's wounds, picked him up and took care of him for the night. this is God's love. getting down to help people, willing to dirty our "clean" clothes, to help care for those around us.

so i ask you;

are you a dirty person?

messianic prophesies...

first, i would like to define exactly what this is...because, honestly, i didn't fully understand it myself. as far as i can tell and in my brief research, a messianic prophecy is a prediction of the coming of Christ.

i'd like to tell you a quick story about why i learned about messianic prophecies. earlier this week, during my morning prayer and reading of the bible, i was reading zechariah chapter 11. i'm not sure why, but that's where God led me. it's a story of a shepherd who watches over a flock, and God asks the shepherd to feed the flock. but the flock eventually rejects the shepherd and the shepherd. the shepherd was frustrated by the flock's behavior and said, "I will not be your shepherd. let the dying die and the perishing perish. let those who are left eat each others flesh." the shepherd is paid 30 pieces of silver for his efforts. but God tells the shepherd to throw the 30 pieces of silver to the potter...and so he does it.

last night i was at a college service and the pastor mentioned that judah was paid 30 pieces of silver for turning over Jesus. i had heard this before, but now there was a connection. was it a coincidence? or something more? i went and talked with the pastor this morning and asked him if it was a coincidence. he read zechariah 11 and agreed that it was not a coincidence. that the shepherd in the story was a prediction of Jesus' work here on earth to "feed the flock", but was rejected and "paid" 30 pieces for his "efforts."

it was interesting talking with the pastor who explained that the salvation of the "flock" was only worth 30 pieces of silver. as he explained it to me, i could begin to see that zechariah 11 was in fact a prediction of Jesus' work here on earth.

i'm sure that there are a lot more prophecies in the bible. the book of isaiah is full of them. and even Jesus himself said that He came to fulfill the prophesies. but this experience in my life, only makes me want to dive into the bible further and find those correlations. not because i want to be smarter; rather gain wisdom of God's amazing 66 book love letter to His people, so that i may go out with confidence and reach souls. i encourage all of you to do the same...

not even fire...

some time ago, i heard the story of shadrach, meshach and abednego. before hearing the story of these three men, i thought my favorite story in the bible was about gideon. but then i heard about shadrach, meshach and abednego.

i don't remember where or when i heard this story exactly, but i find it to be a true testimony of faith and strength to follow God even when it is uncouth or in the face of danger. the story of shadrach, meshach and abednego takes place in the book of daniel, chapters 1-3. but the most fascinating part of the story is in daniel 3.

in short, the king of the time, nebuchadnezzar, had built a 90' tall statue for all the land to worship. he called for everybody to worship this statue at set times and if anybody did not worship this statue, they would be thrown into a furnace. as they were told, people worshiped the statue, except for shadrach, meshach and abednego. word got back to nebuchadnezzar that these three men were not worshiping the statue as they had been ordered to. so nebuchadnezzar sent for them. nebuchadnezzar asked them if it was true if they had not worshiped the statue as they had been ordered. their answer was one of wisdom, faith and strength.

they said, "nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves to you. if you throw us into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from the furnace...but even if God does not save us...we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up."

WOW! can you imagine standing up to somebody of nebuchadnezzar's status and telling him, "nope, you're wrong. i don't care if you kill me, you're wrong."

anyways, back to the story...nebuchadnezzar was so infuriated by this statement, that he ordered the furnace to be fired to 7 times hotter than normal, and that shadrach, meshach and abednego be tied up to ensure they couldn't escape. the soldiers went to throw the three men into the furnace, but it was so hot, that they died and the three men fell into the furnace. at this moment, nebuchadnezzar jumped to his feet because there were 4 men walking around in the furnace! shadrach, meshach and abednego were walking in the furnace unharmed, no burns, not on fire...and the fourth man in the furnace? that was God.

upon seeing this, nebuchadnezzar called for shadrach, meshach and abednego to come to him. they were completely unharmed. nebuchadnezzar then made a new statement, that anybody who brings harm to these three men would be "torn apart and their house made a pile of stones" because they did not turn their back on God.

i think that this is a testament for how we should live our lives. so often some of us back down because christianity isn't cool...we don't want to be shunned from our society because we believe in a God who is above all things. and yet, shadrach, meshach and abednego were willing to die to prove their loyalty to God. what amazing story!

spiritual blessings and curses...

early on in my rededication to God, i heard a number of people talking about spiritual blessings and spiritual curses. as i had understood it, these blessings and curses are handed down from generation to generation. although i never really bought into the idea, it had piqued my curiosity because my family has struggled with some of the same "curses" from generation to generation.

as i've grown in my faith, i've learned a bit to discern what sounds good and what is biblical. i'm by no means saying that i'm an expert, but i've learned that i need to always refer to the bible and the context in the bible to develop an understanding of what is being said.

so this morning i decided to read a bit in ezekiel...i found chapter 18's subtitle of "God is fair" to be of interest, so i read that chapter. i was reminded of spiritual blessings and curses in this chapter...honestly, something that i had put to the back of mind. and as i read, i was interested by God telling ezekiel about a grandfather, a father and a son.

using the deeds of each of these people God explains how a man's salvation is not dependent upon his father's or grandfather's deeds. in a very brief paraphrase, God tells ezekiel that a grandfather can live right and good in God's eyes and enter into heaven. but his son could be evil and wicked and not make into heaven. furthermore, the son could reject his father's evil ways and live right and good and make into heaven.

does that make sense?

God is telling ezekiel that each man is judged by his own life, not the actions of his predecessors...nor does a man's actions necessarily carry down the family tree into future generations.

this is only part of ezekiel 18, but it was the part that stood out to me most...

conspiracy plot...part deux

in the wake of yesterday's verse, i decided to read a bit of ezekiel today. i don't know entirely why, other than i love the name ezekiel. i opened up to ezekiel 2 and was in awe of what i was reading...not in a bad way, but a good way.

the Lord says to ezekiel in chapter 2:

"human, I am sending you to the people of israel. the nation has turned against me and broken away from me...I am sending you to people who are stubborn and who do not obey."

ezekiel was asked by God to go up "against" the entire nation of israel. God told ezekiel:

"...they may listen, or they may not, since they are a people who have turned against me. but they will know that a prophet has been among them. you, human, don't be afraid of the people or their words. even though they may be thorny branches and stickers all around you, and though you may feel like you live with poisonous insects, don't be afraid. don't be afraid of their words or their looks, because they are people who turn against me. but speak my words to them. they may listen, or they may not, because they turn against me. but you, human, listen to what I say to you. don't turn against me as those people do. open your mouth and eat what I am giving you."

i believe that what God is telling ezekiel is incredibly powerful for those of us living today...if you recall yesterday, i had written about feeling like there are people around me who are trying to do harm to me. but if i just carry these words of God; to stand up, to speak His words and trust in Him, He will take care of me. the result may not be what i am looking for, but like God told ezekiel, they will know that a prophet was among them.

don't get me wrong, i am not saying that i am a prophet. but i do believe that people will know when God is speaking through somebody, or when somebody is speaking from their flesh.

to all those facing opposition and harm from the wolves in our lives, remember ezekiel 2. it's been reassuring to me this morning...hopefully it will comfort you too.