What does it mean to abide in him?

As God's first born children left Egypt, the Egyptians were moved by the spirit of God to give them Gold,  and Jewels, and precious things. The Chosen's hearts became inflamed.  So instead of worshiping God, they turned towards a New God: the Golden Calf.  Working with their newly acquired Gold they attempted to supplant God with a God they could see and worship in their newly formed.  They deemed the Golden Calf more worthy than a God they could not envision.

 Jesus received a blessing of anointment from his father when John baptized him in the Jordan.  Jesus was tempted right afterwards for forty days in the desert by the Devil.  But instead of creating food from stone, or throwing himself off of the top of the temple, or claiming what was already his; he abide in the LORD.
Jesus walked under the shadow of God to illustrate God's enduring Love: love that does not change,  lasts forever, and  provides enough to eat when times are tough.

We are chosen to be stewards of a kingdom that is not yet complete but has already been redeemed.  We must turn to the LORD and repent for a Heavenly Kingdom is near.

I'm the Egg Man

I'm the Egg Man
Unboiled, white, fragile,
Easily cracked on the sidewalk,
Fried on a hot summer day.

I'm the Egg Man

9 The heart of man plans his way,
but the Lord establishes his steps.

Maui Waves Remind Us of God's Hand in Salvation

James 5:16 (The Message)

16-18Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn't rain, and it didn't—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again

Bitterness becomes hardened like a pit! The cure: remember God and his hand in your salvation:

Maui waves stripped my finger of my wedding ring.
Frantically I searched. I dove deep with borrowed goggles. The waves moved back and forth, and what was once there was quickly erased. As soon as I gave up a little girl said, "Is this your ring?"
I was thankful to the girl and to God.

III. Not Gloryfying Us, We Glorify Him: What is the Interlopers Gospel...

LORD's Supper Day Three: Praising Him for His Great Goodness Towards Us...

**** THe Merriam Webster Dictionary Defines Interloper as one that intrudes in a place or sphere of activity****

Granter of All Wishes: Give me what I want or I won't go! Quick Exchanges: Interlopers want quick gospels. Feeling Good: Interlopers sing happy songs about you! Marketing: Do not offend the world. The world has our money-bags. Interloper's views lead to Heresy. Franchising: Interlopers branch their churches out. American Idol: We become self centered Gods.

Are You Glorifying the LORD or YOUR COMMUNITY or Yourself? Allow the Interloper In You to Be Weeded Out.

Deuteronomy 3:24 O LORD GOD you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours. I know that at times I am a definite Interloper who acts like a hypacret. I am such a good actor that I fool myself. Lord thank you for your Holy Spirit which allows us to weed through the crapy self centered goodness. Allow me to grow as a person under you. Make me a man of integrity.

46 AD: Early Gentile Christianity (Ode Part One)

46 AD Ode to the Early Gentile Christian Church
(Structure of Ode based on the Cranberry's song - Ode to my Family)

Understand the things I say
Don't turn away from me
Antioch, I spent half my life out there
You wouldn't disagree
Circumcise me, d'you see
Do you hate me. Do you Fear God standing there
D'you notice, d'you know
Circumcise me, circumcise me
Does anyone fear?

Who was I, when I was young
And we didn't give a damn
'Cause we were raised
To see life without a God, man
My mother, my mother she told me
Did she tell me, when I was out there
My father, my Aba, he held me
Oh he held me, does anyone care?

Understand what I've become
It wasn't my design
Yet if any man suffers
as a Christian, let him not
Be ashamed. Of you, I miss
'Cause I fear you. 'Cause I love you.
When I am near, you.
D'you know this, d'you know
I did not find you, your love will blind me.
Does anyone care?

Who was I, when I was young
And we didn't give a damn
'Cause we were raised
To see life resistant to God, man
My mother, my mother she told me
Did she tell me, when I was out there
My father, my Abba, he held me
Oh he held me, does anyone care?

Read the Original: Cranberries- Ode to My Family

Resources:

Bruce F.F. New Testament History. Garden City, York: Anchor Books, 1972. (265-268)
Illustration: Marvel Comics

Time Line:
The first Gospel, Matthew , was written in - 50 AD.
The Letters to the Thessalonians were written in 51-52 AD

YHVH your indelible, incredible word says that you can not be bought by deeds or by precious stones, your love is free, and your ways are freeing. Your word is incredible: And unto man, he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding. (Job 28:28) At times I value the opinions of men/women over what you have put in my heart. This is idol worship of a kind. Thank you Kyrios (LORD) for leading me away from man's understanding and ideals into your world of true knowledge. I ask that you continue to grow my graceful heart to fear you, to love you properly, and to enjoy the task at hand.

37 AD ?: The Debate Rages and Stephen Gets Stoned

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he today that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother.
Shakespeare- Henry V.

Stephen stood amongst the stones.

He then crumpled in a pile dead.

The hated stones were thrown in defense of darkness and chaotic thinking. The hated stones were thrown in the defense of tradition. The hated stones were thrown in the defense of idolatry of the day. He had stood strong amongst the pain of being hated to death. He stood strong for the truth. He stood strong as God would have him do in Love of Christ, the Spirit, and God himself.

Stephen represents what is the good message in the gospel. If we utter the truth of the Gospel today, we need to be watchfull. We need to reason out that it may be costly. But we must embrace the call:

1 Peter 3:15
but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. (ESV)

Titus 1:9
He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instructions in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. (ESV)

Titus 1:10-11
For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers especially those of the circumcision party (Israelite Jews). They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. (ESV)

Rd More on Stephen in your bible in Acts 7

Prayer for the day using the ACTS model: Adore, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication

YHVH your decision to stay true to your word, you chose a small remnant despite our ugly need to embrace different forms of idolatry. I know I have chosen different idols that limited my thinking of you; these idols included money, education etc.... I have not embraced you enough for I still fear upsetting others with telling of the Gospel. I need to stand amongst the pain that may come with following your lead. Thank you LORD for chosing to die so that I can live. I am so thankful you looked beyond my current chicken hearted, selfish heart, and loved me anyway. I ask that you strengthen me as a witness in your kingdom.

Written while listening to the Podcast:
Renewing Your Mind by R.C. Sproul
Books Referenced:

Bruce F.F. New Testament History. Garden City, York: Anchor Books, 1972. (217-226)
Mac Arthur Mac Arthur New Testament Comementary Acts 1-12 Chicago, Illinois: The Moody Bible Insitute of Chicago, 1994

30 AD: Mission Given to the 12 by the Holy Spirit

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he today that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother.
Shakespeare- Henry V.

I will be working on understanding God's mission for the rest of my life. But what God has shown me so far is this....

The mission is to realize that it is not about us, but about our Glorious God's relationship to all of us. Our neighbors interest before our own. That we are not to author the stories of our lives. That our own force has nothing to do with the mission of establishing God's Kingdom. When Greg Maddox the pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers said, when he feels the pressure, he gets "Softer."
Ezekiel 11:19;
And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, thaty they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them.
The map to our lives is written before we are even born. How is Christianity not a footnote in the annals of history? Because Christianity is authorized by God. God loves us so much to not be up and away, but in and amongst our messy lives.
As the Zohar reads in Chapter One:
By the secret and silent action of the divine will, from this primal luminous point radiated forth the vital life-giving spark which, pervading and operating in the great, enteric ocean of forms, became the soul of the universe, the fount and origin of all mundane life and motion and terrestrial existence, and in its nature and essence and secret operation remains ineffable, incomprehensible and indefinable.

We are to make disciples of all nations. All Nations. Not Just the United States, but all Nations. The lines on the map are man-made divisions. (This teaching is scary, yes scary). Baptizing all with the love of all. The spirit of being Christian is bigger than us. Because this lesson is so difficult to follow we are given the promise of a God who is stronger than any one of us.

Acts 2
When the day of Pentecost arrived they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house were they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them rested on each one of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.... we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God. And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean." .... "Brothers what shall we do?" And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will recieve the Holy Spirit."

We are at war today, tomorrow, yesterday... for all time: a battle to either to accept human kind divisions, or to live differently and with Christ. We are involved in an eternal war.

Luke 21:13
For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or combat.
IN time differences will become part of the whole of Jesus:
Jeremiah 31:31
Behold the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. (Uniting North and South Kingdoms together).

Inspired by the music of:
Blitzen Trapper, Gold for Bread

Books Referenced:

Bruce F.F. New Testament History. Garden City, York: Anchor Books, 1972.

Shelley, Bruce L. Church History in Plain Language Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1982.

Latourette, Kenneth Scott Christianity Through the Ages: New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1965.

373 AD: Compromise: We don't Need No Stinkin Compromise Purity of the Cross

God is in the purity of the cross, the purity of the word.

1 Timothy 4:1 The spirit clearly says that in later times some would abondon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

373 Roman Empire: God never compromises to the will of man. He is the type of Coach that never punts for a better position on the field. He is a coach of miracles so he will always go for it on 4th down.

Athanasius knew that toleration of doctrine that looks similar but is not taints the purity of the Cross. Athanasius knew that the Arieans based their hope on Toleration. The state of Rome hoped to maintain peace through a compromise. They did not see what the big deal was; "Why can't y'all just get along." Constantius hoped to build a compromise between the Arians and the Athanasiusians.

Constantius compromise was to build a new vocabulary of toleration. He coined the term homoiousion(of similar substance) to replace homoousion (Same substance).

Athanasius stood against this idea of "similar substance". He did not see that this replacement helped the Christian Cause. He also did not like being told by the state government what Church should or should not accept. And if the Son is the "Word" and "Wisdom" of God, how was there a time when He was not? It is the same as if they should say that God was once without Word and Without Wisdom?"

If we tolerate what is not written in the bible, what is not the WORD of GOD, than we transgress the kingdom. Witness's do not add anything to the event but truthfully tell what they saw.

Latourette, Kenneth Scott Christianity Through the Ages Harper Chapel Books, New York: 1965.

950-1350 AD: Our Lady's Juggler

Our Lady's Juggler: Anatole France

The story, Our Lady's Juggler, tells the story of a juggler turned monk who has no gift to offer a statue of the Virgin Mary except for his ability to juggle well. Anatole France chronicled this old medieval legend in 1892. The story shows that one honors God by performing our true calling well.
I am a Deli Clerk. I love the challenge of meeting customers needs. God blesses me in serving others. Like Barnaby (in the story) I struggle to make a living. Like Barnaby I attempt to live an upright life full of hope. The story is true to the protestant work ethic in that one does not need to be called to a "high" position to please God. God is pleased when we are strong and cheerful with our work. Read it for yourself: Our Lady's Juggler .

Tradition, Tradition: From the Sermons of Meister Eckhart

"The past can be a resource for the present."

Alister Mc Grath

Meister Eckhart in 1300 fell into disfavor with Rome because of his preaching. The following is a part of a sermon. The sermon shows the Protestant thinking about the holy scripture, the believer and the church. Enjoy-

I have a capacity in my soul for taking in God entirely. I am as sure as I live that nothing is so near to me as God. God is nearer to me than I am to myself; my existence depends on the nearness and presence of God.

In whichever soul God's Kingdom appeareth, and which knoweth God's Kingdom, that soul needeth no human preaching or instruction; it is taught from within and assured of eternal life.

As for outward works they are ordained for this purpose that the outward man may be directed to God. But the inner work, the work of God in the soul is the chief matter; when a man finds this within himself, he can let go externals. No law is give to the righteous, becuase he fulfills the law inwardly.

We are KOBE BEEF Awaiting the Slaughter House

Amos 4:1

We are the Kobe Cows of Bashen. We sit grazing on fine grains. We eat our ice cream. We are delighted. We build fine houses thinking they will always be there. We build up debts on our credit cards. Our houses become foreclosed. We become oppressed and poor because we do not turn the true source of our wealth. So run to him! Run to our LORD! Run to our LORD now.