What about Fasting?

14Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” 15And Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. 17Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.” (Matthew 9:14-17, NRSV)

Does Jesus say we shouldn’t fast?

No, He doesn’t. Jesus says there is a time for everything. We can not fast while Jesus is with us, but when He is taken, then we can fast.

And we need to watch what we do, for somethings are good and others are not.

We need to follow after Jesus and do what God is leading us to do and know that it will all work out.

Mercy and Not Sacrifice

9As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. 10And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.13Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.” (Matthew 9:9-13, NRSV)

What is the church?

A gathering of the perfect or a hospital for the broken?

We are all cracked pots, and we are all in need of repair. We should not judge others by their mistakes until we can make it through a minute without messing up. We are all flawed and imperfect and we need to allow people to be as they are and let God work on them.

God is the master creator and made all of us, so to say someone doesn’t belong is saying God messed up and God makes no mistakes.

So come because you are broken and allow God to work on you and let others come and get worked on also. And let us see the wonderful creation God will make.

Come to Jesus for Rest

28“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, NRSV)

If you are carrying a heavy burden by yourself, why are you doing that?

No one can make it through life on their own, we all need help.

Jesus here tells all of us that His burden is light and His yoke is easy.

I prefer over-easy yokes, a little runny, but that isn’t the yoke Jesus is talking about.

It is a device used to put teams of animals together so they can share the load of a wagon or a load. So it is evenly dispersed between the animals, or is it?

I always thought of the yoke as a device that would evenly share the weight, or allow one animal to slack while others pulled more and then others could slack while those who rested would pull more.

Jesus yoke is easy because He is doing the majority of the pulling, and He will lighten your burden.

So come to Jesus and find rest and allow the church to help you through your burdens.

Apostles’ Creed First Article

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. (Genesis 1:1-5, NRSV)

I believe in God the Father Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth…

There is a lot in this first article and a lot in the first 5 verses of Genesis…

I actually read somewhere that in the beginning is not a good translation for the Hebrew word here. It should be more when God started creating… Meaning God existed well before creation, and this really isn’t the beginning… I was also taught that the first letter of Genesis is the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which implies that something came before this.

All of this to me means that God is bigger than this, and everything we can imagine.

But even though God is bigger than my imagination God still created a place for me to be and me. And not only a place for me to be on Earth but a place for me to be in the Heavens. God created all and because of that I have life and share His love with the world.

God is Worthy of Praise

18You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, 19and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them. 20(For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned to death.”21Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”) 22But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 25See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject the one who warns from heaven! 26At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.” 27This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what is shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe;29for indeed our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:18-29, NRSV)

Have we listened to the words the prophets spoke? Have we heard what God is doing and going to do, and have we heard them and believed them?

And if we haven’t believed the voice from the earth will we believe the voice that proclaims these same things from heaven?

But no matter God is a God that we should praise in all circumstances. Because the promises that God has given us will not be shaken. They will not fall away, regardless of what happens, we can trust in the promises of our God and for that reason alone God should be praised.

So praise God in any and all circumstances and know that he is worthy of praise!

Do Not Grow Weary

7Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline? 8If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children. 9Moreover, we had human parents to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not be even more willing to be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness. 11Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 12Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. 14Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and through it many become defiled. 16See to it that no one becomes like Esau, an immoral and godless person, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17You know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, even though he sought the blessing with tears. (Hebrews 12:7-17, NRSV)

God does not put us into circumstance but can work in and through all things to help us grow into closer and deeper disciples of Him, just as our parents helped us learn from our mistakes, and helped us learn how to be productive members of society, God fashions us through the things that happen in our lives to be better spreaders of His grace, mercy, and love.

God works in and through all things for good, so that we might better spread His kingdom.

Are you ready to be a better grace spreader?

Running the Race of Faith

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,2looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.3Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. 4In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children— “My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, or lose heart when you are punished by him; 6for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts.” (Hebrews 12:1-6, NRSV)

Live Cross-Eyed!

I still remember the shirt that said, “Live Cross-Eyed” on it with a cross and this verse, well part of this verse, Hebrews 12:2. In the version used on the shirt, which I am not sure now which one that was, it was translated, fix your eyes upon Jesus, the author, and perfector of our faith. Be cross-eyed in that all you see is the cross or the cross is the focus of what you see. Because Jesus was the one who created our faith and perfected it in his death on the cross.

Another way I have said this is to make sure that you see the back of Jesus’ head, if you look him in the eyes you are in the wrong place. We need to follow Jesus where He leads us and look to Him to show us how.

So are you focused on the cross or your own comforts?

A Centurion’s Faith

5When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him6and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress.” 7And he said to him, “I will come and cure him.” 8The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and the slave does it.” 10When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. (Matthew 8:5-10, NRSV)

Do we have the faith of this man?

Do we believe that God will do for us what God has said God will do, or do we question it because we haven’t seen it?

Do we wonder if the promise is true because we have not felt it or had the answers we thought we would?

Do we believe it because God said it or do we question it and wonder until it happens?

Trust shows through our actions. Let us live like this centurion, knowing that God’s promises are true and show that faith to the world.

Faith in Waiting for the Promises

13All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, 14for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. 16But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:13-16, NRSV)

Life is not about where we came from but where we are going. It is about why we are alive now on this journey and where our destination will be.

None of these, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, saw the promised land. They only knew the promise and saw it from a distance but never obtained it. Yet they lived their lives in a way that showed the trust they had for God.

They lived so that others would be drawn to the love they knew God has for them. Notice not had but has, because they are with God, as we will be. Life is not about making sure we don’t screw up so we make it. Life is about giving God’s love to others as God gave it to us.

Trust the promise and give it away like it doesn’t belong to you, because it doesn’t. God is giving it to you to use and help the world see God’s love.  So know the promise is true and trust it and live like you want to see everyone there.

The Faith of Abraham

8By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. 9By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he considered him faithful who had promised. 12Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, “as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.” (Hebrews 11:8-12, NRSV)

Abraham followed where God was telling him to go even though he really didn’t know where he was going. He knew God would never leave him and would always be there to guide him. Abraham understood he may not get it, but he trusted the promise of a land and a family. And Abraham believed this promise even though he was old enough that he should not have children. Even that being the truth, he knew the promise of God was stronger than that.

Do we trust the promise of God enough to leave everything behind and follow where God leads us even not knowing the way or where we will wind up? Can you faithfully do what God is leading you to do even when you don’t understand it, or know what is coming?

God promised a land and a family to all of us. Are you ready to trust the promise more than anything else?

Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, and Issac all did along with countless others, are you ready to be counted with the faithful?