Can't Buy Me Love !

Back in the 60's the Beatles sang "Can't Buy Me Love."
It seems to me that we place a lot of value on material things. The idea being that those who can surround themselves with things seem to have a better life than those who lack belongings.
Cars.....
Houses....
Vacations....
Clothes.....
Jewelry....
and the list goes on and on...
Now this posting isn't going to be a rant against rich folks.
It isn't going to be tirade against wealth.
It is simply a reality check about things we are surrounded by that make us rich.
Every day things that we sometimes look over because they are very simple in our minds.

What am I talking about?
How about this....
How about the feel of clean sheets on the bed. You've had a long hard day and you finally make to bed time. Pulling the covers back, you slide into bed on those clean sheets. The smell and the feel of those sheets is incredible. It is like a tonic for your tired body.

What about giggles and laughter?
For me, my spiritual bank account over flows when my family is together and something someone says or does cause the entire family to break out in laughter. It is contagious in a good kind of way. It may even be something as simple as the grand kids in the backyard, in their swimsuits, and I'm chasing them with the garden hose trying to spray them. Ashley gets so tickled that she has to call out..."Poppa...please time out!!"

What do you think filled Jesus up while he walked here on this earth?
Did you ever consider that he saw his creation from a different view while he occupied a human body.
What do you think he felt as he was sitting around a fire at night with his disciples and looked up into the sky. A sky filled with stars, looking like someone had thrown diamonds on a piece of black velvet. Do you think he took great pleasure in just being with his disciples? I do.

How do you think Jesus felt when he would come upon a funeral procession, or get the news that someone had died? He would do what his heavenly Father had sent him to do, going to where the dead person was, and with words, bring them back to life. DO you think he took pleasure in seeing the joy and the amazement of the family as their loved one came back to life?

How about when Jesus had commandeered Peter's boat in Luke Chapter 5 and used it as a kind of floating pulpit. Once finished, Jesus told Peter to go out to the deep water, let down his nets for a catch. Jesus knew what was going to happen in Peter's being obedient. I can see Jesus, in that boat, arms folded watching the fishermen prepare to let down their nets. To me it would be like a father watching his kids on Christmas morning, unwrapping their presents. I can see Jesus break out into laughter as he watched the expressions on the fishermen faces when the nets suddenly became full.

I think Jesus found joy in the sheer act of living.
He was poor, but at the same time richer than anyone who had ever lived.
He found pleasure in the simplest of things. That is how I want to live my life.
Not be driven by this world of greed and "Gotta have it now" mentality.
Instead I want my pace to be determined by the grace given to me by God.

I wanted to save this last bit for the last of this posting.
Jesus found joy in something that I can't wrap my head around. Maybe this is where the separation between divine and finite takes places.
Hebrews 12:3 reads: Who for the joy set before him, endured the cross.......
That tells me that there is a divine joy that was given to him....
A joy that can't be defined by this world.
A joy that filled Jesus to the point that he went to the cross and endured the shame and humiliation it was intended to cause.
Physical pain? I can only imagine.
Spiritual pain? To see your own Father turn his face away because he can't look upon you.
Emotional pain? "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"
Yet.....
For the joy set before him, Jesus walked it all the way. Cross....to the tomb........to resurrection.

I want to be rich.
I want the riches of my Father in heaven to be poured out over my family.
I want to find ultimate satisfaction in knowing that I can present my entire family to Jesus once our time ends here on this earth.
I want to hear his voice....
Look upon his face....
Walk with him....
Worship in his presence.....
These are the things that money can't buy.
I am not going to trade the eternal things my Father has for me, in order to taste the temporary things of this world.

God on you.....
mb

AUDIO MESSAGE: The Day The Music Died/ 2000

Word Up!

I have to revisit, from time to time, the words found in Hebrews concerning the validity and necessity of studying the Word of God. I don't want to be someone who pushes the work of the Holy Spirit aside in order to focus on the Word. At the same time, I don't want to be caught up in semantics or word-wrangling to the extent that I quench what the Spirit is doing. I want a marriage of the two. The power of the Holy Spirit coupled with the understanding of the Word. I need the wind of the Spirit in my life, working and speaking to me as I follow Jesus. Praying for folks and seeing God work in them. Praying for healing or restoration and then seeing it come to pass. It doesn't get any better than that. At the same time, I do not want to every forget the rhythm and grace of the word. Let's take a look at how the Bible describes the Word of God!

Hebrews 4:12
For the Word that God speaks is alive (It has the ability to speak to me through all the changes in my life. The Word of God made alive in me by the Holy Spirit, becomes the voice that I hear as God communicates His truth to me)

And full of power (Power is the key word when it comes to recovery. A Power greater than ourselves who can restore us to sanity, or the ability to make sound decisions).

Making it active (The Word of God is active...proactive and not reactive. It is not surprised or tossed about by the plans and schemes of the devil. The Word of God is the weapon we are called to use to "OUT TRUTH" the devil----see Matthew 4 and Jesus' temptation in the wilderness)

Operative, energizing and effective --- Do you see how the Word of God becomes what is needed for those who read it and take it to heart. As Jesus says in Matthew 7:24---Who ever hears the word and puts it into practice in their life is like a wise man.

It is sharper than any two-edged sword -- The word of God has an edge to it. It is not intimidated by the intellect of the world. It takes the nature of logic and operates outside of it. By that I mean that if we try and rationalize scripture, to make it fit our understanding, we will fall short. No matter where our logic would take us, we will reach a point where understanding the Word of God will require us to step out in faith. Some have trouble with this whole "Logic Vs The Word" but if you have read this Bible, then you know how strange it is. I mean, in this book ax-heads float, oceans part, the sun stands still, dead people come back to life and a man named Jesus lays claim that he is the only way to come to God the Father.

Penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and the immortal spirit -- It is the Word of God that brings illumination into our dark hearts and shines the truth of God.

And of joints and marrow (That is, of the deepest parts of our nature) - The Word of God becomes a "sword" in the hands of God's Holy Spirit. Cutting us spiritually and opening us up so that we can see and understand our need for a Savior. It is this deep cutting that I need in my life daily. It keeps any root of bitterness or evilness from taking root in me. To be zero-evil is not a bad thing.

exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart ---
We get so hung up on behavior that we forget that all behavior is the result of an inward belief. It is the intent and motive of the heart that the Word of God uncovers and brings to repentance.
The Word of God allows the conviction of the Holy Spirit to awaken me to the need of being saved. It is the Word of God that points me to Jesus. It is the Word of God that contains all the promises God desires to carry out in my life. And it is the Word of God that becomes the very lamp/lantern/spotlight for my feet and enables me to see the path I am called to walk.

"Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace--God's empowering presence in my life that enables me to be who God created me to be and do what God has called me to do----that we may receive mercy (for our failures) and find grace to help in good time for every need ----appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it."

God on you today!
mb

Quote Of The Week !!

"If you don't have hope then death is a formality." 
Taken From "Wisdom of The Room"

Audio Message: Discipleship # 101

How Would They Recover!

Mark 16:10-11
She went and reported it to those, who had been with Him, as they grieved and wept. And when they heard that He was alive and that she had seen Him, they did not believe it.

The air was filled with half-truths and rumours.
Neighbor spoke in hushed tones with neighbor about this man who some claimed  had risen from the dead.
"What do you think? Did he really come back from the dead?"
"It's a trick by his followers to keep their movement alive!"
Over the coming days, it seemed as if the story would not go away.
There were tales told by passersby on the street of being present when Jesus had healed someone, or had cast out a demonic spirit. "I saw Jesus bring a woman's son back from the dead as the family was taking him to be buried!" This Jesus of Nazareth seemed to be on every ones tongue.

Coupled with this incredible tale of resurrection were others which said that departed loved ones, long since dead, had been seen in the city, walking around. This was more than a body could take. It was bad enough that everything had been turned upside down because of the earthquake that had taken place on the same day Jesus had died. Throw in the fact that the Temple had been damaged and it was enough to shake ones faith.
It's the Temple! It's the one place that seemed to escape all the tug and pull of governmental politics. It was the one solid, stable thing in the life of those who lived in Jerusalem.Now it was as if God himself had stepped in and ripped the veil of the Holy of Holies to reveal some dark truth.
That's exactly what had happened. The Temple veil was torn top to bottom to reveal that a new covenant had been established by God himself. No longer would the blood of animals be needed to atone for the sins of the people. There on the hillside outside the town, Jesus had become the "perfect lamb" as he gave himself to atone for the sins of Jerusalem........Samaria...........Judah..........and the ends of the earth, for all time.

While the entire town seemed focused on Jesus, many had forgotten about his disciples...well, that was a different story.
They huddled in rooms darkened for fear that they too would be singled out by the authorities for crucifixion.
Depression and grieve seemed to hang so thick in the air, you could slice it with a knife. Each disciple was left to his own personal grief. They had all run away at the very time Jesus needed them most. All the things they had seen Jesus do..........all the teachings they had heard him speak, faded and only illuminated their failure.

Now, here in the midst of this grief, Mary Magdalene had burst into the room with news that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him.
"Of course you have!" one of the disciples screamed out. This was coming from the woman who had been demonized at one time until Jesus cast them out of her. Perhaps the demons had come back now that Jesus was dead. But she wouldn't be silent. "I tell you, I have seen the Master. He is alive," Mary spoke as she tried to catch her breath. They wanted to believe her. There would be nothing better than to see Jesus walk through that door, but the pain of their sorrow would not allow their faith to come out. It lay buried under all the guilt and shame.

I think the thing I take away from this particular portion of Scripture is that God's plans supersedes my emotions and feelings. Even though the disciples had a right to feel the way they did, they could not see the greater picture of what God was accomplishing through this time of pain and guilt. Out of this time of great spiritual and personal darkness would come a group of men and women who would be waiting in an upper room. That room would be filled with a noise that sounded like a mighty, rushing wind, as the Holy Spirit was poured out on them. These men who cowered under cover for fear of the authorities, after the day of Pentecost, would be the same men who would stand boldly and proclaim the message of Jesus. These are the same men who went to the their death's with the name of Jesus on their lips.

Where the devil saw the defeat of God and His kingdom at Calvary.....
God saw the ongoing restoration of humanity and this planet.
Hey! I've read the end of the book....
We win!

God on you....
mb

No Bones In Jerusalem

"He isn't here!"  I can't wrap my brain around this thought. The thought of Jesus breaking free from the bonds of death and the grave. But my heart is fully engulfed in the wonder and awesomeness of his resurrection. The unmistakable truth that Jesus rose from the dead stands as the defining separation point at which faith must be applied. Either Jesus rose from the dead.........or he didn't. If he didn't, then Christianity is a hoax, a lie, a false religion. Ah but if he did.........
If Jesus did did rise from the dead, then we've got something here unique and separates it from all other religions.

There are those who claim:
He was a good man.....
No! He was God in flesh.
He was a good teacher....
No! His words carried life here and life eternal.
He was a prophet.....
No! All prophecy points to him being Messiah.....the Christ......The anointed of God. Jesus carries the mantle of prophet in that his words are the words of God. He spoke the worlds into existence and these same worlds are framed and held in place by the power of his words. Never a man spoke like this Jesus.

Disease fled when Jesus spoke to bodies that had been crippled and racked with the pain that disease brought.
Death could not stay in the presence of Jesus. If crept away defeated and doomed whenever Jesus would say, "Be healed!"
Gloom, despair and depression were shattered and scattered whenever Jesus said, "Let not your heart be troubled."
A man with such words.....
Why are surprised when he said that he would die, but on the third day, rise up from the grave?
2000 plus years on this side of Calvary and the words, the presence and the person of Jesus has not slacked in power or ability.
For those who doubt the validity of the resurrection.......
Hang on!
He's coming back! Then every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord!
Talk about a "gettin' up morning!" It will be one for the ages......

Today stands as the day that we celebrate Jesus' Resurrection.
Let the air be filled today.....
Let the air be filled every day with the those most incredible words......
HE IS RISEN!

God on you...
mb