Matthew TwoSix:ThreeNine

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”  Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”  “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”  Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”  “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked. John 3:1‭-‬9 NIV I

I recently read a devotional on judgement. It made me feel quite a bit uncomfortable. The devotional quoted 2 Corinthians 5:10, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.". This made me uncomfortable because I don't like the idea of answering to anyone about the things I've done.  I don't think I am alone in this, but I'm not perfect. I'm FAR from perfect. I've made plenty of poor decisions. I've ignored part of the scripture, heck I've run from the Bible.  I know the "mistakes" I've made and the "mistakes" I've chosen. I don't want to be judged, especially by an all knowing God!   As much as I would like to run from it, I know the truth. I am a sinner. I deserve the consequences of my actions. I deserve to pay the price. I deserve to be on that cross.  “Therefore, if anyone i

Last week our family began to join Julie for her 5:30 am workouts. We have committed to do a 5K together. So, we are doing one of those couch to 5K programs. I absolutely hate running. I know my athletic physique may be state otherwise. However, I do like the way I feel after I workout.  Anyway, today was the start of school for the kids. Even with this they wanted to workout. We decided to help us all get ready for school and work. We'd shower at the YMCA. So, we packed bags with all of our needed supplies. Turns out I forgot a few items. Nothing major, but just enough to throw me out of rhythm. With the new routine, I was seeking the comfort of having what I needed. I wanted to have all of the tools to get the job done. Yet, I didn't have them.  I thought about how this resembles life. God often calls us into something new. Maybe it is a new service opportunity at church or new LifeGroup. Or maybe it is something larger like responding to a calling to th

Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathaniel and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”  “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathaniel asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. - John 1:44‭-‬46 NIV I have been to places that I just think look desolate and hopeless. Not necessarily a city, but parts of cities and neighborhoods. The buildings are in disrepair, addiction and crime have taken over, and the life just seems to be sucked out of the space. I'm not sure if that is what Nazareth was like, but that's the picture I get in my head when I read Nathaniel's response.   I think we all have times in our lives that we resemble my mental picture of Nazareth. We are in such a dark place, we can't imagine anything good coming from us in this place. Maybe it's addiction, or shame, or an infidelity, or deceit,

We went camping a week ago with friends. July in Florida, it's hot and humid.  Thankfully our pop up camper has an air conditioning unit.  It's amazing how well it cools our tent on wheels. When we arrived at the campsite and got set up, we learned that our air conditioning unit decided to take the weekend off.   I had worked all day loading and preparing for the trip. I was already hot and tired by the time we got to the site. Learning that we wouldn't have AC sent me off the edge.  What ensued was a temper tantrum that any two-year old would be envious.  I was not a good representation of the traits of an elder at that moment.  What ensued was an outpouring of grace and love from my friends and family. They may not have realized it, but in that moment they were the face of Jesus to one very tired and angry man.  The rest of the weekend we camped without AC and had a blast.  Sunday our check out day, my phone decided to take the day off.  At first I felt the sa

Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:3 NIV Nothing…  Pronoun- not a single thing, not anything Adjective - having no prospect of progress Adverb - not at all Without God… Not anything No prospect of progress Not all Away from God there isn't anything. There is no way to advance or make progress. It's a dead end. Without God there is nothing at all. It is empty.   I'm not sure about you, but I struggle to wrap my head around nothing. I think of the desert as barren. Plants and animals are scarce. The conditions are harsh. You look around and can't see a thing for miles and miles. Yet, it is not nothing. You have sand, sun, skies, heat, and the animals that are adapt to the environment. My mind then goes to space. The absence of gravity and oxygen must make it feel like nothing. Yet, you have the planets, the stars, your spaceship, and all of your fancy space technology. In the vast emptiness of space