This past Sunday was a glorious day, made all the more glorious when we baptized six people at Flat Rock in Fall Creek.  Tears of happiness on some of their faces brought joy to everyone watching, including strangers who commented on the amazing spectacle of witnessing the name of Jesus being lifted up at a baptism in a local river.  

Have you ever noticed that every time God brings people in the Bible through a process of immersion, something new and amazingly good follows.  Following the Flood, after Noah set foot on dry land again, Scripture says: “God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.'” Genesis 9:1. When we are baptized in Jesus, God’s eternal plan to prosper our souls and release increase in our lives becomes our inheritance also.

Some 1400 years after Noah, Moses led Israel through the waters of the Red Sea.  When they reached the other side, they were set free from slavery to meet God firsthand at Mt. Sinai and receive His instructions for living lives God could bless.  “You will be my treasured possession,” God declared.  Ex 19:5.  When we are baptized in Jesus, we too become God’s treasured possession, able to experience God’s presence and blessing in powerful new ways.

After 40 years of immersion in the desert, Joshua led Israel into the Land of Promise.  God caused the Jordan River to part so they could pass through to miraculously defeat Jericho without a fight.  Time and again God brought victory to Joshua and Israel, as long as they followed God’s lead and obeyed His commandments.  When we are baptized in Jesus, God leads us in victory again and again over the things that beset us—as we learn to listen, follow and obey our loving Father!

When John the Baptist came baptizing people for remission of sins, he prepared them for the One who came after him.  Then Jesus arrived proclaiming Heaven is at hand, healing  and teaching people to relate to God as their Heavenly Father.  When we are baptized in water in Jesus’ Name, we experience a new sense of wholeness as we enter into a direct personal relationship with our good Father in Heaven, who tells us again and again, “With you I am well pleased.”  Indeed, we emerge into life so radically different the Bible calls us “New Creatures in Christ.”  2 Corinthians 5:17.   Often old friends tell us, “You’re not like you used to be.  What happened?”  It’s a great opening to share our testimony of Jesus.

Psalm 133 is the next to last of fifteen hope-filled “Psalms of Ascent” found in the Bible.  It begins: “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” and ends with: “For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.”  The word “bestows” is also translated “commands”,  “decrees” and “promises.”  Our unity as people of God provokes Abba Father to bless us!

The Psalms of Ascent were first sung at the dedication of Solomon’s Temple, and later after Nehemiah restored the fallen wall of the Temple.  Over the centuries they came to be sung by priests as they walked up 15 steps in the Temple to begin ministering.  Jews making pilgrimage to the Temple marked their steps by singing these psalms as they ascended the mountains enroute to Jerusalem. 

All of these psalms encourage people to “step up” their faith as they draw closer to God in His dwelling place.  The first Psalm of Ascent, Psalm 120, begins with a cry to the Lord: “I call on the Lord in my distress, and he answers me. Save me, Lord….”  The final Psalm of Ascent exhorts: “Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord… Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.”

Psalm 133 is particularly notable for linking unity among God’s people with receiving God’s blessing.  God’s idea of unity comes not only from personally stepping up one’s faith but also by focusing intentionally on coming to Him together with other believers.

Jesus advanced this message by declaring the world will know His followers by our love for one another.  Love connects, commits and unites.  The Apostles picked up the Lord’s theme again and again urging believers to humble themselves and live together in sacrificial love. 

First Corinthians 13 famously describes what this kind of love looks like.  Ephesians 4 depicts in detail the source of the unity that underlies Godly love.  Calling himself a “prisoner for the Lord,” the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:1-6:

I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

God made us in His image and likeness, “male and female” He made us.  There is both a mystery and a primal reality to the marriage relationship between man and woman, and within this the role of men as husbands and fathers is no less primal.  By primal I simply mean fundamental.  Dads are meant to play a fundamental role in shaping their households and their children.  Here are six aspects of the fundamental role dads have been designed to play in their homes as they re-present Father God to their children by “acting in His likeness.”

A good father creates a good home.  Just as our heavenly Father created a place for Adam and Eve to call home, so too earthly fathers are called to create a place to call home.  This involves making a physical space with our wives, with food, comfort and safety, but is much more than that.

A good father really connects with his family.  Our heavenly Father walked in the spirit with Adam and Eve, inquired about them, and listened to what they had to say. It’s incredibly affirming when dads connect with their children by actively checking in with them and listening carefully to what they say.

A good father sets important boundaries. Our heavenly Father was amazingly lenient in the first Garden, where Adam and Eve had total freedom except for just one thing: not to eat from Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil lest they die.  At first glance, it seems useful to have knowledge of good and evil, but God had in mind a test of obedience.  In God’s eyes “Knowledge of Good and Evil” comes through the experience of disobedience which removes God’s blessing!  Earthly fathers have a role in teaching and expecting obedience in order to convey their fullest blessing.  It’s not obedience for obedience’s sake.  It’s obedience to stay on the path of blessing and safety, just as highway rules make safe travel possible.

A good father restores to wholeness.  Amazingly, when Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God’s simple instruction, God laid out a path to restore them and their children.  His judgment was framed in the blessing of His forgiveness, love and restoration.  Earthly fathers need to learn to always discipline their children not out of anger but out of love with the constant goal of restoring them to hope, joy and purposefulness.  The best path to this outcome is to affirm our children well before they taste the fruit of disobedience.

A good father affirms the value of their children.  God puts a measure of goodness in every child.  A primary mission of earthly fathers is to discover the gold in their children’s hearts and call it forth—even if, or especially if, their child has different talents than they have.  Each child is unique.  Earthly fathers have the adventure and joy of helping their kids discover their own unique sensitivities, talents, and inclinations, confident as Proverbs 18:16 says that “a person’s gift opens doors for him or her.”

A few days ago I heard the Lord say “Every time you remember Jesus in your heart and not just your head I see Jesus in you!” 

When you remember Jesus what does He look like?  For me, it’s always my first vision of Him standing with His arms wide open to receive me at His banqueting table.  That’s when I realized He is real and alive today.  As the vision was ending, He left me with a single instruction: “Turn to me.” Since that moment thirty-four years ago, life has gotten incredibly challenging at times, yet this one instruction has carried me through even the most difficult times.  Every time I remember to turn to Him in my mind and heart, I receive peace, joy and strength—and many times I’ve received specific instructions about what to do in a situation. 

This is what I call being “all in” for Jesus, i.e., realizing He is real and alive right now and turning to Him again and again, not just in difficult times but in good times too because connecting with Him remains the first priority in my life.  Then I remember to trust His Word and promises more than life itself. Then I’m willing to take risks for my faith—for Him—and step out to represent Him to those around me.  That’s when His promise to never leave me or forsake me comes alive, and I remember He has overcome every trial and tribulation so I too can be not only an overcomer, but bear fruit for His Kingdom.  That’s when I feel “all in” for Jesus.

It took longer than I dreamt to learn to turn to Jesus consistently from my heart and not just in my head.  It’s a process, similar to a toddler learning to walk, an adolescent discovering his or her real identity, or an adult learning to be responsible for the lives of those who depend on him or her.

The Bible likens us to children before we become mature.  Consider this strong word from Hebrews 5:12-14, from the New Living Translation:

You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.

A major difference between immature and mature Christians is their ability to feed themselves on the solid food of God’s Word.  When we realize the world around us needs more of Jesus, it inspires us to have more of God’s Word ingrained in us so we can reflect more of Jesus to those around us.  Holy Spirit empowers us to do this.  One of the greatest benefits of receiving the second baptism of the Holy Spirit is that this experience consistently makes the Word of God come more alive.  We are automatically inspired to spend more time absorbing what the Bible says and listening for God’s voice to show us what to do next.  This is what Jesus meant when He said we need to  “eat His flesh.”   This is why He called Himself the “Bread of Life.” (See John 6:35 and 6:53.)

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom…” Matthew 25:1

I was pondering why reading God’s Word and meditating on it is so important.  Then I came upon the passage about the ten virgins.  Jesus said that five of them were wise  and five were foolish.  The difference between them?  The wise took oil in their lamps when they went to wait for the bridegroom, but the foolish ones didn’t.  When the bridegroom came at midnight, the foolish ones were out looking to purchase oil, but the wise ones woke up and trimmed their lamps.  The wise virgins went with the groom to the wedding because their lamps were burning.  Then the door was shut.

When I’m “eating the Word” and allowing it to speak to me during my day, my lamp is burning and I have oil to spare.  When I have stopped reading my Bible for a day or two, my spirit feels it.  My lamp begins to fade!  These are the times when the fruit of the Spirit starts to dry up on my tree of life.  The first fruit of the Spirit, love, stops looking fresh and delicious.  In turn, I begin to lack patience, kindness, humility and other good characteristics of love.  (see 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8).   If I’m not really careful my love lamp burns out. 

Since God is love (John 4:8), and Jesus is My Lord and Savior, something’s wrong if love isn’t coming through me as a flowing river.

So I always want to be like the wise virgins.  When circumstances prevent me from having a chunk of quality time to sit down and read scripture, I look for creative ways to meditate on it anyway.  Such as repeating a memorized passage for a while and letting it sink in (haha) while I’m doing the dishes.  Or singing the Word as I drive to the store.  The oil of the Word can be obtained and enjoyed in many ways.

The main thing, whether I’m having a very busy or a not-so-busy day, is to make space for God’s Word to be part of my life.

Genesis 1 teaches the Word of God is the Source for discovering God’s role, power and purpose for our lives, while the Spirit of God is the Catalyst for actually transforming our lives to align us with His purposes. John 14:26 says Holy Spirit will teach us and remind us of everything the Lord wants us to remember about His Word.

Here are three steps for making this practical in your own life. First, when you read a passage from the Bible, look closely at what it says.  Re-read it once or twice (or more!) to be sure you really grasp it.  You can also look the passage up in more than one translation. Online resources like Bible Hub and Bible Gateway help a lot.  You can even click through on these websites to the original Hebrew or Greek New Testament words of the scriptures and study Strong’s Concordance to find the original meaning of the words.

This process is called a “Discovery Bible Study.”  It’s not the only way to read the Word of God, but it’s a powerful way.  If you don’t have time for all this, I strongly recommend simply reading the Bible out loud to yourself, or with others.  Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17), so reading out loud increases the power of our faith, even if we’re only reading out loud to ourselves. 

Next Sunday, June 4, is “Bible Study Sunday.”  We’ll hear testimonies about studying the Bible from our adult Sunday school group and devote time during the service to exploring the Word of God together.  See you then!

When a Mom is pregnant – she knows she has life inside of her and she knows what she is expecting. It doesn’t matter what’s going on around her. There were moms in concentration camps, moms in palaces, moms in war, moms in peace, etc. What’s going on around her doesn’t make her a mom. What’s going on inside of her does.