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

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.

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.