Try it, You'll Like it! 

When I was a child, we used to go to my aunt’s house for Christmas.  She didn’t have children, so the only toy she had was a set of Lincoln Logs. We made do.  On the plus side, she always made a good meal, and for dessert served her special cheesecake.  The oohs and ahhs began as she carried it to the table.  My Dad, in particular, loved this confection.  I, on the other hand, was not convinced.  Every year he’d tell me how wonderful it was.  “Try some”, he’d say, “it tastes like ice cream”, or some other delicacy I could relate to. No matter how delightful he made it sound, I couldn’t get over the name, CHEESECAKE. The only cheese I was familiar with were those waxy slices my Mom sometimes bought, and I wasn’t crazy about them.  Why in the world would I want to consume a cake made of waxy cheese? But I always remembered my Dad’s words, “Try it, you’ll like it!”   Good news, I finally overcame my aversion.  Company Cheesecake is delicious, and low and behold, contains no waxy cheese!  As I look back, I wonder how long I avoided it, for the wrong reason.  Fast forward a bunch of years to when I was in college. My parents had relocated to another state, and had joined a church.  Not any church, but one where they toted Bibles and said Amen! Again, it was my Dad who asked me to try it. I hate to admit it, but I did the same thing with a relationship with God, as I did the cheesecake.  All I could remember of “church”, as a kid, was dull, stuffy and waxy like that yucky cheese.  Why in the world would I want to try that.  No thanks!

Nothing could that sound appealing, or so I thought.  My folks hadn’t been “religious” before, so what precipitated this drastic change? I chalked it up to a middle-age crisis, and hoped they would come to their senses, soon!  As it turned out, someone had approached them and asked them to try God, when they had been in a desperate place. Now they were a threat to my Sunday peace and quiet.  “Come with us today, you’ll like it”, they’d say.  What I wasn’t aware of was their fervent prayers for me.  Through a series of events, I was asked to sing at a church revival.  This was way out of my comfort zone, so you know it was a God thing when I said yes.  I couldn’t just leave when I had finished, so I sat, and “tried”.  Next thing you know, they served up a big ole’ piece of spiritual cheesecake. The flavor of His word was ambrosia to my hungry soul. I was wrong about cheesecake, and now I had been proven wrong about a tasteless God.  Have you ever felt that way about God?  Are you feeling that way now?  I can relate, and my prayer is for you to taste and see.  He’s way better than cheesecake, and no calories either!

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! Psalm 34:8

                                                                                 

Resist, Don't Persist 

I’ve been reading the C.S, Lewis classic, The Screw Tape Letters, recently. If you’re unfamiliar, I’ll give you a brief synopsis.  Screwtape, an accomplished demon in Satan’s employ, is writing letters to his nephew, Wormwood, in an attempt help him win converts.  The book was written in 1942, but is just as applicable today as any time in Christian history. One of the letters elaborates on how to treat the “patient” (the convert-in-the-making) when he is in a trough, or rut as we would call it. Discouragement is probably the greatest of Satan’s tools.  Once he can pry into a patient’s heart, it’s a simple trip to get him to forget about God.  Bingo, another one-way ticket to

H E Double Hockey Sticks, gets printed up.  Let’s face it we’ve all been in that ticket line one time or another. The issue for us is, how do I get out?  My kindergarten granddaughter has been dealing with some changes in her life recently.  You could say she was in a trough.  She’d dissolve in tears at the thought of school, new situations, old situations, well, you name it, they all bothered her.  God laid it on my mind to talk to her about the book, and address her own sneaky demon.  I decided to call him Slimyblob.  As we chatted, we drew pictures of him, and discussed the power she had, through Jesus, to make him go.  We had a great time, and it helped!!  I even wrote an accompanying poem for her to recite next time he rears his slimy head.  I think we can all benefit from it.  I know I can! Here it is:

 

I know a little demon, Slimyblob’s his name.

He loves to scare me, everyday

It is his favorite game.

 

I asked him why he does it,

He laughed and told me, SIT!

The Big Boss makes me bug you,

If not, he’d have a fit!

 

It’s my job to make you sad,

I love to see you cry.

We demons work for Satan,

And he’s a nasty guy!

 

Don’t ever mention Jesus,

I’ll tell you he’s a phony.

You can’t trust in what he says,

It’s nothing but baloney!

 

Well, what he said it made me mad.

I know it isn’t true.

Jesus isn’t lunchmeat,

He’s loving through and through!

 

“Get back to where you came from!”

I yelled in his green face.

You have no power over me,

So, get out of my space!

 

He had to leave, that is the rule,

And all the demons know it.

Cause when I call on Jesus’ name,

He has to make a quick split!

 

Oh, he’ll be back, I know he will.

That’s what demons do.

So, I’ll be ready next time,

To remind him, God, of you!!

 

Please be emboldened and encouraged by this power and authority that Jesus left us.  So, next time you find yourself in a trough, tell him to hit the road in the name of Jesus.  Now that’s good news!!  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

                                                                           

 

 

STRANGE FIRE

Fire  “Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on the fire and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them.” Lev. 10:1. Strange Fire, that phrase caught my attention in the book of Leviticus, and again in Numbers.  Quite honestly, I think it would make a great movie or book title, don’t you? In the frightening solitude of a forest, a lost man scrabbled about in the murky darkness searching for signs of life.  In the distance a strange fire glowed.  He approached it.  Sorry, I got carried away in the scene. Now, back to Nadad and Abihu. As I’ve mentioned before, Leviticus set out in detail, unquestionable detail, rules for the people to follow.  These included everything from hygiene, to finances, relationships and the daily rituals of sacrifice and use of the tabernacle.  Did I mention they were uber-specific?  Well, they were! There was no room for self-expression. These two men were from the tribe of Levi, and they, along with all the men of the clan, were the only ones to serve God as priests. Their father Aaron, Moses’ brother was the high priest.  Being expressly ordained by God as priests, their sole obligation was to perform the ritual to God’s exacting specifications.  That doesn’t sound so difficult, does it?  All they had to do was follow the directions.  What went wrong that day?  What transformed the holy flame to strange fire? We aren’t told the details, and I’m OK with that.  What I believe God wants us to take away from this story is that there is God’s way, and there’s our way.  When we venture away from what brings honor to our Creator, no matter how small a detour we think it is, it’s going to slowly erode our relationship with him.  Back in those days, the people lived under the old covenant that God made with Moses and the nation of Israel.  Blood sacrifice was at the center of all worship, and the altar fires burned night and day.  Everything had to be perfect, and the animal had to be unblemished.  Only the shed blood of this flawless creature could atone for sin, but not forever.  Sacrifices went on and on, with no end in sight.  I find it fascinating that this system casts a light on the new covenant that we live under. The consummate sacrifice, the blood of the perfect lamb, Jesus. Nothing less is able to quench the sin debt we incurred.  No amount of good works, not church attendance, nor anything godly appearing, but man-made doctrines will satisfy our outstanding debt. Now, back to Nadab and his brother.  Maybe they came in to work a bit hungover that day. Maybe they decided to vary from the format a scooch, add their own flare, so to speak. Bad idea.  “But Nadab and Abihu died in the presence of the LORD when they offered strange fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of their father Aaron.” Numbers 3:4. It was a hard lesson to learn, for those two, and for the nation. God demanded perfection, and had set it out precisely.  Anything less wouldn’t get the job done, so they were fired, pardon the pun, as they were cremated where they stood, in front of the strange fire.  My take away from this tale is this; I’m joyful to live under the new covenant! Seriously, the point is when we repent of our sins, and humbly allow Christ to guide our lives, we are forgiven by grace and his perfect, shed blood was the ultimate deal-sealer.  However, we have to be ever vigilant that we don’t get drawn into the warmth of Strange Fires, things that sound Godly, but aren’t.  Those fires can be oh so appealing, but when they add or take away from God’s word stay back, or you will get burned. Don’t forget that St. Peter was warming his hands in one, and there denied Jesus. Instead, be the flame that draws the lost to the God’s light. God will supply always the fuel, when we ask!! “I have come to ignite a fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” Luke 12:49. “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” 2 Cor. 4:6

 

                                                                       

 

 

Bumping Into Jesus

How often have you come home from a trip to WalMart and told someone, “Guess who I bumped into today?”  The game begins with the obvious choices, and usually ends in a name from the past.  It’s always fun to chat with someone you haven’t seen in a while, but for the most part, that’s all it is. The most we take away from the experience is gossip. However, a chance encounter can, on occasion, be life-changing.  Let’s go back to a time BC (before Corona) when people actually got together in large groups.  We can all relate to the days when crowds would gather at festive parties, sporting events, concerts, restaurants and even church.  Often, the proximity of bodies in a confined area meant that we would physically bump into each other.  No biggie, we’d apologize and that was that.  Most times it wouldn’t even amount to that.  In a big crowd, who knows who bumped you.  One of my favorite Bible stories is the Woman with the issue of blood, but let’s more aptly retitle it to, “I bumped into Jesus today”. “As Jesus went with him, he was surrounded by the crowds. 43A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding,g and she could find no cure. 44Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped.45“Who touched me?” Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.”46But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” 47When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. 48“Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”” Luke 8:43-48.  At this point in his ministry, Jesus had quite a following.  The word on the cobbled streets was, that miraculous healings were taking place. Not just colds and headaches, but people with serious diseases and afflictions.  Long before social media, his works had gone viral among the masses. Let’s freeze this frame for a moment.  A desperate woman, a crowded city street, and the dusty fringe on a man’s robe. Let me interject that the physical desperation this unnamed woman experienced also affected her financially, and socially.  Her savings had been spent on quack doctors, to no avail, and because she was in a constant state of being “unclean”, according to Levitical law, she couldn’t interact with anyone, let alone touch them.  As the old saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures. She must have learned from someone that Jesus was coming through town, so she mustered all the strength she had, and entered the throng.  She was well aware of the violation, but it was her last chance for wholeness.  Finding a niche in the plastered alleyway, she waited for her opportunity.  Heart racing, palms sweating she knew her action would make Jesus unclean, so she decided to touch only the hem of his garment. As he approached, her trembling hand extended towards the precious target.  The pushing and shoving almost made her pull back, but hope sustained her until she felt the tassels on her skin. At once she knew she was healed. After suffering for so long, her spirit rejoiced. Now I can hug my grandchildren, she must have thought. No one even knows what I did, that is until Jesus stopped and asked who had touched him.  There was no where to hide, she had been found out, so she might as well fess up.  Instead of an angry rebuke, which she expected, Jesus lovingly confirmed her self-diagnosis.  I can even envision him embracing her as he helped her to her feet.  Talk about a good day!  Can you feel her joy, too?  We don’t hear about this woman again in scripture, but her testimony was bound to have made believers every where she went.  If I were that woman, I’d never tire of telling the story!  Oh wait, I am that woman, in a sense, so are we, every one of us who has bumped into the savior with a purpose, to receive His healing of our sin-sick lives. It will be a happy day when we can bump into people again in public, but the happiest is the day we bump into Jesus.

Be a Bezalel 

Bezalel ”The LORD said to Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,  and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship,  to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.” Exodus 31:1-5. 

Here’s a trivia question for you.  Approximately how many people were in the group of Jewish exiles who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years? While there is no exact figure, we can get a pretty good idea.  Moses was asked to take a census of the male population over the age of 20, who were able to go to war, and it amounted to 603,500.  Now let’s take into consideration all the older men, the whole tribe of Levi, younger men and boys, women and children, and you have a number reaching 3 million, give or take. Consider, if you will, that the population of Chicago is roughly 2.7 million, and you get a mental snapshot of the enormity of this group of sojourners. What did they do with their time besides fashioning golden calves and complaining about the food?  It appears that those activities did consume a goodly portion of the early days, but after being set straight, and having the rules written out for them in stone, twice, God set them with a big task.  Build the tabernacle!  No, not bake a pumpernickel or lance a carbuncle, although the people were kind of a festering boil sometimes, but fashion the moveable version of the Temple, where God met with his flock.  This was not merely pitching a tent in the sand, oh no!  In my reading and now rereading of the book of Exodus, I happened upon the name of Bezalel.  Normally I’d file him along with those other unpronounceable Old Testament names, and move on, I had the first time I read it. This time, however, God had me linger over this passage.  God was embarking on a gargantuan undertaking and he needed a specific person to help him accomplish it.  No, he didn’t post a want ad, or ask for sealed bids, instead he looked over all those 603,500, and Bezalel got the call.  Not only was he called, but God filled him with his Holy Spirit, with intelligence, ability and knowledge. Talk about on the job training!! We don’t know what qualifications Bezalel had in Egypt, but that doesn’t matter because God qualified him.  Here was a regular guy, sitting around bored and whittling on a dry bone, when Moses tapped him on the shoulder. I won’t bore you with the details of the construction, you can read about it in Exodus, suffice it to say it was quite an undertaking.  What I do want to emphasize is that God needed a man who could build it exactly the way He wanted it done.  Bezalel might have done it on his own, before God filled him, or he could have looked up similar projects on Pinterest, but that was not God’s way.  Moses received the blueprints, directly from God the architect, verbally explained them to Bezalel, and viola, he understood perfectly and got right to work.  The rest of the population chipped in gold, cloth, silver, gems, oil and everything that was necessary for the completion of the work.  In fact, so much stuff was donated that Bezalel had to tell them to quit bringing any more.  The Ark of the Covenant was chief among the projects, but certainly not all. Altars, lavers, drapes, priestly robes and utensils to name but a few. As I mentioned, read it for yourself, or Google images of the tabernacle. Amazing! So, what, you might ask.  That’s ancient history, doesn’t apply to us now.  Au contraire, my friends, it applies more than ever.  I think a lot of us are sitting around whittling like old Bezzie, waiting for something to happen.  He had a talent, maybe he didn’t even know it, but God saw it, called him, pumped it up and the rest is history.  What talent do you have?  You know you have one, but even if you aren’t sure, ask God. I didn’t know I could write, but He did, with His Holy Spirit’s help. Don’t just watch others on HGTV or some other creative show, apply for the job.  God is waiting to fill you with His Spirit, ability, talent and knowledge.  Oh, what we can construct for his kingdom when we work in conjunction with Him.  Let’s roll up our sleeves, and get started! Oh, by the way, there is a University in Jerusalem named after this obedient servant

                                                                   

The Amazing Road Trip Through the Word 

Back in the year 2019 BC (before corona) I picked up a Bible reading guide. My goal was to read through it in a year.  It was set up with daily scriptures from both the Old and New testaments, and it allowed me to check off little boxes for each one completed.  While the idea of reading the whole Bible was dauting, and I’d never done it before, I figured age 70 was a good time to start, and the check-offs would visually show my progress. That appealed to me. That said, I put the guide aside, and almost forgot about it until January 2020 rolled around.  Maybe I was using it as a bookmark in my Jack Reacher novel, but whatever, I came across it.  The pandemic hadn’t struck yet, and the world seemed as normal as our world can seem, and having nothing better to do, I thought I’d start in. Knowing my track record, on keeping up with projects, I doubted my own commitment on January 1^st.  I’m not telling you this to get pats on the back, but feel free if you want to, but to let you know how astonishing a journey this was to be for me.  At the get go I was more into checking off boxes than absorbing the words. But that changed as each day I actually began looking forward to picking up where I left off.  Genesis came to life for me, from Creation through the Passover, the stories and characters took on flesh, and called me back for more.  Okay, maybe not Leviticus with all its laws and animal sacrifice, or Numbers that abounded with strange names, but God always showed me something to dig into. I’m happy to report to you that I finished right on schedule, and have the little checked-off guide as my witness.  I took the year 2021 off, and felt something was missing, I found it hard to pick up the Bible and just read. Oh, I’d read devotions and such, and while they were beneficial, I began to long for the habit of meeting with God.  The Bible is after all his love letter to us, and even though it can be tough to comprehend at times, it encouraged me and strengthened my walk with him.  I picked up a new check-off guide last fall, and have started the journey again.  What a joy it was to meet up with my old pals the Patriarchs, the Apostles and to discover new characters, that in my haste to box-check, I skimmed over.  Now I keep a journal by my side, and jot down names, phrases and anything that I want to learn more about.  It’s been years since I’ve written, but I want to share with you some of my new friends, and the lessons I’m learning.  I encourage you to latch on to a Bible-reading guide, or I can get one for you, you will be amazed at the difference it will make in your life.  “The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.” Psalm 12:6  Enjoy the amazing road ahead!!

Put on Your Freedom Clothes 

One of my favorite TV programs is, “Finding Your Roots”.  As the title implies, it leads people on a journey back through their ancestral past. In one particular episode the guest journeyer was Dr. Phil McGraw. As he learned, one of his great great great grandfathers had been an indentured slave/servant. I pause here because the definition of indentured is critical at this point. Webster’s dictionary explains an indentured slave as a person who signs, and is bound by indentures to work for another for a specified time especially in return for payment of travel expenses and maintenance. Simply put, the person willingly, and legally places themselves into slavery, until a debt can be paid.  The debt may be either monetary or criminal.  Many convicts from Europe chose this option rather than death or life in prison. That could be a precarious position to place yourself.  Unless it is specifically noted, one could labor for years never fulfilling the debt.  The good news for Grand Pappy McGraw came the day his debt was paid. Upon his release he also received his “Freedom Clothes”. That term, one I’d never heard before, nor had Dr. Phil, burrowed deep into my soul. Simply put, it was the suit of new, clean clothing that the ex-slave donned as he began his new life.  Modern-day prisoners receive similar outfits upon their release.  Before we came into relationship with Christ, we too were held tight by the chains of slavery, and a debt that could never be repaid by our own efforts. You may not remember having signed such a document, but old Grandpa Adam enrolled us way back in the garden of Eden. From that point on we were on Satan’s time clock.  Sin was our master, whether we realized it or not.  The Apostle Paul preached it this way, “Don't you 

know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—" Rom. 6:16. Yes, we were all obedient slaves, and many still are. Do you remember that the very first time Jesus spoke publicly, this is what he read? “He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” Luke 4:18. Quoting the prophet Isaiah, he promised to rip up that indenture agreement, and pay our long outstanding debt with his own blood.  Of all the scriptures he could have referred to, this is the one God wanted us to be aware of first. Interesting, isn’t it?  It sounds too good to be true. What’s the catch?  The catch, if you can call it that, is having faith in the unbelievable. That is a huge task for us earth-tethered humans. But when we, in humble repentance, draw near to our Savior, still clothed in filthy rags, broke as the Ten Commandments, and shackled by our sins to Satan, he draws near to us with the key. “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8. Timidly we hold out the cruel irons, he inserts the ancient key and the fetters fall with a heavy clunk.  The weight of sin removed; he helps us put on our freedom clothes.   “… clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.”  Rom. 13:14. Just as Jesus told the woman caught in adultery, so he reminds us not to return to the bondage of Sin.  “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. ...”  Gal. 5:1. ”  My prayer today is that we all are willing to share our emancipation stories with the captives of this world. And, if that isn’t good news enough, tell them that their Freedom Clothes are provided in just the perfect size!