One final word on Nehemiah

I finished Nehemiah last night and found a couple more reasons to like the guy. After the walls of Jerusalem were completed, he saw that the law regarding the sabbath was not being obeyed, and vendors were working and selling on the sabbath. So he ordered the gates to be closed, and the vendors then set up outside the gates. Uh uh, no you didn't. In 13:21 we see Nehemiah's response to this:

But I warned them and said to them, "Why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you." From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath.

Nice. Very diplomatic with "I will lay hands on you." Then we see the law forbidding Jews to intermarry being flouted, and things get really nasty in 13:25:

And I confronted them and cursed them and beat some of them and pulled out their hair. And I made them take oath in the name of God, saying, "You shall not give your daughters to their sons, or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

Do not make Nehemiah angry. You won't like him when he's angry.

My Pastor had me fooled

My Pastor, Dale Brooks, experienced a personal tragedy this past April in the passing of his wife Leigh Anne. While I did not know her well I know that she was full of love and the joy of Jesus, and her death had an enormous impact on a large number of lives.

Pastor Dale did not preach the next Sunday; I'm sure that nobody expected him to. But he was back the week after, and I was sure he was just putting on a front so everyone would think he was OK. But week after week he continued to preach powerfully, and over time I became convinced that maybe he really was OK.

How was this possible? How could he just get back to work like that under these circumstances? How could he be such a rock? How can I be just like him if something like this happens to me? What am I missing in my relationship with God that I can't even conceive of reacting this way?

Turns out, my first impression way back was right. Fortunately for me, Avalon Church, and most importantly Pastor Dale, the church elders saw through this and perceived he was not dealing with Leigh Anne like he needed to. Accordingly, they have told him to take the month of July off to grieve and spend quality time with Jesus. Pastor Dale admitted today that this is the best thing, that he had wanted everyone to think he was OK when he really wasn't. We all indicated our love and support for him, and everybody cried. I mean EVERYBODY.

This isn't any kind of warning or probation that reflects on his performance; on the contrary the elders took this action to ensure Pastor Dale is around as long as possible. I'm thankful to God today that the elders had the discernment to recognize the hurt beneath the smile, and the courage to take this action before it had the chance to turn into something else.

Enjoy your time, Pastor Dale. Just no more pretending when you come back, OK?

Nehemiah, ancient superhero

In reading the story of Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem I was impressed by the way he always stood firm and unwavering in the face of opposition. Through ridicule, false charges, the threat of attack, he just kept working on the walls. My favorite part was in chapter 6, when death threats were made against him and Shemaiah asked him to hide in the temple. His answer in verse 11:

But I said, "Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in."

Turns out Shemaiah was working for the bad guys and trying to lure him into a trap. Well played, Nehemiah. I think this verse also has a great modern context as we hear stories of terrorists hiding in mosques because the military won't blow them up. Perhaps if this were posted on the door of all those mosques our war on terror would have turned out differently.

Am I confusing you?

I realize that some of you reading this may not be part of the "family" and I may be using too much insider language in the posts. So, in an attempt to remedy that, let me make you an offer.

Is there anything you're wondering about? Do you want to know what I believe, or why I believe it, or what in the world I was thinking when I posted something? Drop a comment, shoot me an email (mattowenfl@gmail.com), or find me on Facebook using the link on the right.

Just like Weight Watchers, this is a judgment free zone. There are no stupid questions. Let 'em rip.

A great and glorious phrase

I was having a conversation about biblical history the other day, why the books are in the order they are in, etc., and the conversation turned to the dates the Old Testament books were written. Eventually, I ended up explaining the difference between B.C. and A.D. and how 1450 B.C. came before 1410 B.C. using the concept of a number line, and negative and positive numbers. But in explaining where the change from "negative" to "positive" occurred I used this analogy:

"Jesus is the hinge on which all of human history turns."

I never thought I'd be able to use that phrase in a conversation. I almost cried at having a legitimate opportunity to finally say it. Thank you Jesus!

Pastor's business card

Got this one from Mom via email.

A new pastor was visiting in the homes of his parishioners. At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door.

Therefore, he took out his business card and wrote "Revelation 3:20" on the back of it and stuck it in the door.

When the offering was processed the following Sunday, he found that his card had been returned. Added to it was this cryptic message, "Genesis 3:10."

Reaching for his Bible to check out the citation, he broke up in gales of laughter. Revelation 3:20 begins "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." Genesis 3:10 reads, "I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid for I was naked."

Remember when the funniest jokes were the clean ones?

They still are!

The payoff. The big, fat payoff.

My mother is having surgery next month and on the phone tonight she expressed some growing concern over the situation. I pointed her to Joshua 1, which contains several instances of God telling us not to be afraid, and contains this absolute gem in verse 9:

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.

Thank you Father! Thank you Jesus! If I hadn't been reading on my own, if the only time my Bible ever got touched was carrying it to and from church on Sunday, I would never have been able to offer this encouragement to her. As Charles Stanley has said, "If you want to get something out of the Bible on Sunday, read it on Saturday. And Friday. And..."

Claim the promises of the Bible. Make them your own, because they are yours. But before you can claim them you must find them! So what are you doing here? Open your Bible, then come back and let me know what you found in the comments.

God's sense of humor

Some people wonder if God has a sense of humor. I don't have to wonder, because God likes to play jokes on me. For example, every time I mow my lawn and go to blow the clippings off the sidewalk, the wind blows back at me so the clippings all fly back toward me. No matter which way I turn to blow them, the wind follows me. After a couple minutes I'll stop, turn my eyes up, and say "OK, very funny, do you mind if I finish this now?" Then the wind dies down and I can get the clippings where I'm supposed to go. And I always get an image of Jesus chuckling to Himself, saying "that never gets old!"

You can also find some rather pointed sarcasm from God in Numbers 11:18-20:

¹⁸And say to the people, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the LORD, saying, "Who will give us meat to eat? For it was better for us in Egypt." Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you shall eat. ¹⁹You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, ²⁰but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the LORD who is among you and have wept before him, saying, "Why did we come out of Egypt?"

"Here, you want meat? I'll give you so much meat it will come out your nose. You'll hate meat by the time I'm done with you." That never gets old!

Solomon, the original king of bling

II Chronicles 9 gives some details about Solomon's wealth and power. Solomon is generally accepted as the wisest and wealthiest man in the history of ever. He had five hundred shields made of solid gold to be used for decoration, his throne was ivory overlaid with gold, the steps to the throne had carved lions on either side - pretty flashy stuff. But verse 20 actually made me laugh:

All King Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; silver was not considered valuable in the days of Solomon.

When I read that I pictured Solomon on his throne, maybe with oversize sunglasses and a clock (or sundial) hanging on his neck, saying "Ain't no thing, all my cups are gold. Silver ain't nothing."

And all that because when God offered him anything, he asked for wisdom rather than money or power. What would you ask for?

A blind spot?

Neal Boortz just stated on his show that people who believe creation rather than evolution have a "blind spot" and choose to ignore reams of scientific evidence, in order to believe a story that was made up by church leaders who only wanted to maintain power over their congregations.

This is the same man calling people who believe the "reams of scientific evidence" supporting global warming crackpots and lunatics.

Listings of frauds and intentional hoaxes that at one time "proved" evolution can be found here, here, and here, for starters. Scientific evidence showing the Biblical account of creation to be false can be found, umm...well...nowhere.

So believing a book that has never been proven wrong, that needs no missing link to complete the chain, that showed knowledge of scientific principles thousands of years before they were "discovered" by man, means I have a blind spot. And believing every new fraud passed off as evidence supporting your belief system means your vision is perfect. Really? I'm the blind one here?

I still can't believe I did this

I use an FM transmitter with my iPod touch to listen in the car. The other day I was listening to Charles Stanley speaking about having the heart of a servant, and right when he was getting to the main point, really getting ready to drive it home, I started to get some pretty severe static on the radio.

Naturally, I assumed this was Satan trying to keep me from hearing something important, so out of instinct I raised my hand to the radio and shouted "begone, evildoer!"

Wouldn't you know it, the static went away as soon as I did that. I may never know for sure if I really performed an exorcism on my radio or just happened to drive out of range of whatever was interfering, but the timing was just too exquisitely perfect to ignore.

Praying for America

A friend of mine sent me a great link about (not) praying for America, available here.

Then in my daily reading I came across II Chronicles 7:14:

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Call it serendipity, an act of the universe, or complete random chance if you will. I call it God trying to tell me something.

I've heard that verse quoted at least a hundred times, and always in the context of restoring America to what it used to be, and either receive His blessing or avoid His judgment. But having just read that article I realized that it is not applicable in the case of America. It's "my people, which are called by my name" and not "my people, who call on my name." There is only one "people" who are called by God's name, and that's Israel. Meaning this verse has exactly nothing to do with America. In fact, if you go back one verse you will see that God is actually saying if He causes a drought, or swarms of locusts, or disease, the promise of verse 14 kicks in. I just don't see the application to the moral or spiritual state of a nation.

Better to pray that you are living inside God's will and that He will use you to accomplish His purpose. Given that there is no place in end times prophecy for the United States, I think we are actually witnessing the unfolding of His will in the modern decline of America.

Built to Last

II Chronicles 1:3 - "...for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness."

I totally missed this the first time through, but finally realized that Moses built the tabernacle during the wilderness wandering, which took place from about 1450-1410 B.C. Here in II Chronicles Solomon is going to build a temple to replace the tabernacle. Solomon began his reign in 971 B.C., making the tabernacle nearly five hundred years old and still in use. Not bad for what was essentially a large tent, designed to be disassembled and transported repeatedly.

They sure don't make them like they used to.

The Unpardonable Sin

I have heard people say that they cannot go to heaven or be saved because they have committed an unpardonable sin. This makes me curious what that sin might be.

Adultery? Murder? Those seem like good choices. Until we see in I Samuel 11 that David committed both of these sins in rapid succession. Verse 27 tell us that "the thing that David had done displeased the Lord." But nowhere does it say that David had done an unforgivable thing. He was punished, yes, but he was forgiven.

I would suggest that the only unpardonable sin is dying while still rejecting Jesus. So if you're still alive (and hello, you're reading this) it is not too late to seek forgiveness. Whatever you think you've done, I can pretty much guarantee there's someone who did much worse than you and found forgiveness in God's grace.

On second thought, there may actually be an unpardonable sin - striking out looking with two outs and the tying run on third base. That's a conversation for another day.

I am a warrior. And I am not alone!

These guys have absolutely nailed what I'm trying to express here.



Special thanks to Jose Medina for the link.

Is church boring?

An elderly woman walked into the local country church. The friendly usher greeted her at the door and helped her up the flight of steps.

"Where would you like to sit?" he asked politely.

"The front row, please," she answered.

"You really don't want to do that," the usher said. "The pastor is really boring."

"Do you happen to know who I am?" the woman inquired.

"No," he said.

"I'm the pastor's mother," she replied indignantly.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked.

"No," she said.

"Good," he answered.

---

This would be a lot more funny if it were a lot less true. While I do not suffer from boredom at my current church, I have in the past and that's part of what kept me away from church for so many years. Is your church suffering from a lack of excitement? Does it just seem like a ritual, it's just "what you do" on Sunday?

Try Ephesians 2 if this is true of you. vv. 4-7:

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you have been saved -- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immesurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Wow! Also vv. 13-14:

But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.

Maybe you can be the jolt of excitement your church needs.

Can the Bible be TOO easy to read?

I've been using a King James Version pretty much my entire life and still have trouble with some of the words and phrasing. Fortunately I use a Scofield Study Bible, which has so many notes, references, and explanations that I don't need to turn to an external source to clear anything up. But this means that if I sit down to read, I can get through two or three chapters in fifteen to twenty minutes.

My wife recently purchased a Bible, and at my recommendation we bought an English Standard Version, because I had found it very easy to understand and like that it's a word for word translation of the best of the original language texts. Yesterday I gave the ESV a try for my regular reading and found in I Chronicles that I was able to blast through eight chapters instead of the usual three.

So that got me thinking: if you don't need to slow down, check a word's meaning, or really think about what a verse or passage is saying, can you miss an important concept or principle? Should the Bible be just a little confusing to make you stop and consider what's being said?

I have no idea. I just know it felt kind of weird reading so quickly, almost like I expected a divine speeding ticket.

Meditation

"Be still, and know that I am God." (Psalms 46:10)

I've been working through a backlog of Charles Stanley's podcasts, and around the middle of May he did a series on the benefits of meditation. Not the stereotypical, cross your legs and chant kind, but the open up the Word and focus until you get it kind. He gave six essentials for effective meditation:

• A season of time
• Stillness
• Seclusion
• Silence
• Self control
• Submission

A season of time - basically, have you made time for God? Is He on your calendar every day? If not, are the people that do get your time more important?

Stillness - turn off the phone, the tv, the iPod. Stop everything else and focus. This is the most difficult part for me, as even with no outside distractions my mind will sometimes refuse to slow down.

Seclusion - no excuses here. Jesus was the biggest public figure of His time, constantly surrounded by people, and still managed to retreat for some private, intimate time with the Father.

Silence - don't do all the talking during prayer time. Remember Isaiah 30:15, "in quietness and in trust shall be your strength." How can you expect an answer to your prayer if you won't stop talking long enough to get one?

Self control - here, you have to admit that you need to deal with some things in your life. This is the second hardest part for me, and I imagine this is what it's like to say "Hi, I'm X and I'm an alcoholic." Paradoxically enough, any increase in our self control is a reflection of how much we have surrendered to God's will.

Submission - all the prayer and meditation in the world won't make a difference if you have a rebellious spirit. If you don't intentionally submit yourself to God, your relationship can't grow and you will never know His best plan for you.

So, the challenge: try this for a week. Block out a time. Make an appointment to be with God, and only with Him. If you apply these six principles, my guess is you won't want or be able to stop.

Why "Choice and Mighty"?

Just to explain the title here: as I've been reading the Old Testament I've also been gaining a great appreciation for the literary constructs used by the King James Version. When I came across I Chronicles 7:40:

All these were the children of Asher, heads of their father's house, choice and mighty men of valour, chief of the princes...

I was just completely blown away by the phrase "choice and mighty men of valour." My other Bible, an English Standard Version, says "approved, mighty warriors." Which is still nice but just doesn't soar like the KJV.

And all this got me thinking, what does it mean in today's world to be choice, or approved, and mighty? That's what I aim to find out.