Bret's Blog

The Way of God

    One of things that followers of Jesus need to know is that brokenness comes before greatness.  It is a hard lesson to grasp and it is a hard lesson to have to experience.  But the teaching of Jesus and the teaching of scripture is very clear:

"Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. "What is it you want?" he asked. She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom." "You don’t know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?" "We can," they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father."" Matthew 20:20-23

The cup of Jesus (above) was the cup of suffering.  When Jesus said "you don't know what you are asking" he meant "you have no idea what is required to get to that place" or "Are you willing to pay the price for what you are asking?"

Jesus also said, ""But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!" Luke 12:50

The incredible suffering of Jesus preceded His great glory.  It works the same with us.

So, don't be surprised when God takes you through the fire.  This is the way of God.

March 4 Why I Haven't Blogged in So Long

I think it's been at least two months since I have blogged here.  I was trying to write out daily devotionals and share my heart a lot.  I had sent out a daily devotional via Yahoo! Groups for about five years straight and then I stopped.

Here's why--  I heard once that you get 10% busier every year of your life.  That's why I laugh whenever I hear a college student comment about how busy they are.  Wow, do they have a surprise in store for them!  Add a full-time job, wife, kids, house, cars, civic responsibilities, church commitments, more and more friends-- it's incredible.

So, in all of the above, I fell behind.  But, I just hired a great lead associate and I can already feel the burden falling off of me.  So I should be able to do some things like before-- like blogging, thinking and writing some more.  Hooray.

The Devil's Anesthetic

Here's an incredible line I heard this last week:  "Discouragement is the anesthetic the Devil uses just before he rips out your heart."   Wow!

January 22 America's Day of Infamy

When American history is finally written in its entirety I think January 22, 1973 will probably be remembered as the lowest point.  The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jane Roe allowing abortion on demand as a "right" guaranteed by the Constitution.  Since then millions of America's children have been killed.  Some of America's brightest stars (writers, teachers, doctors, inventors, Pastors, leaders, Presidents)-- millions dead.    January 22, 1973.

December 11 Nehemiah's Kind of Praying

I am reading the Book of Nehemiah this week in my quiet time.  Nehemiah was a man of prayer:

He prayed when things were bad:

"When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven." Nehemiah 1:4, NIV.

He confessed his sin and the sin of his people:

"Then I said: "O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly towards you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses." Nehemiah 1:5-7, NIV.

When he was given favor before the King and received a huge opportunity, he prayed:

"The king said to me, "What is it you want?" Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, "If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it."" Nehemiah 2:4, 5, NIV.

That’s not a bad place to start today in prayer— pouring out our heart before God for the condition of our people and asking God to work in us and through us.

September 24 What Do Warren Jeffs and Osama Bin Laden have in common?

Here's a question to think about for a minute: 

What do Warren Jeffs (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a Mormon sect with over 10,000 followers mostly in southern Utah, northern Arizona and uh, southern Nevada-- some near us!) and Osama Bin Laden (worldwide leader of Al Qaeda, a fundamentalist Islamic sect) have in common?

Warren Jeffs has been in the news because he was convicted (this week) of conspiracy in aiding the rape of a minor by an adult and other crimes.  He could serve a life prison sentence for his crimes.

Here's my answer:  both are the REAL DEAL when it comes to their faith.  Warren Jeffs is a REAL Mormon and Osama Bin Laden is a REAL Muslim.

Why do I say that?  First, Jeffs.  He is following exactly what the first Mormons both taught and practiced.  Joseph Smith had 43 wives and 55 children.  Some of Smith's wives were married to other men and many were minors.   Brigham Young-- similar.  The Mormon scriptures encourage it:

  61 And again, as pertaining to the law of the priesthood—if any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse ^aanother, and the first give her consent, and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adultery for they are given unto him; for he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no one else.

  62 And if he have ^aten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him, and they are given unto him; therefore is he justified.  (Doctrines & Covenants, 132:61-62)


Second, Osama Bin Laden.  The world is after this guy but he is just a good Muslim.  He is following the Koran which teaches that the whole world needs to convert to Islam, live the good life people lived in 650 A.D., pray five times a day toward Mecca, submit to Allah in all things and, hopefully, die in Jihad so you can be guaranteed a reception in heaven with 70 virgins (see above)-- pretty sexual too by the way.  Oh, a reference:

"Fight those who neither believe in Allah nor the Last Day, who do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, and do not embrace the religion of the truth, being among those who have been given the Book (Bible and the Torah), until they pay tribute out of hand and have been humiliated." (Surah 9:29)

"...restrain their hands, take them and kill them wherever you find them." (Surah 4:91)

"...O Prophet, urge the believers to fight. If there are twenty patient men among you, you shall overcome two hundred, and if there are a hundred, they shall overcome a thousand, for they are a nation who do not understand." (Surah 8:65)

So, with all the commotion, let's not lose our senses-- this is what real Mormonism is and real Islam is.  Pretty scary if you ask me.

September 16 Why Did God Get Angry at Moses?

There are several times that God got angry at Moses in the book of Exodus.
One time it was so serious that God was going to kill him. Does it interest
you to know why? Uh, me too. I don't want God mad at me:

"Then the LORD¹s anger burned against Moses and he said, "What about your
brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his
way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you." Exodus 4:14

God got very angry at Moses when he demonstrated some fear about speaking in
public (isn't that a fear for most people?).

Here's the problem: In the Book of Acts, it says this about Moses: "Moses
was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he became mighty in both
speech and action." (7:22)

So, Moses wasn't the frightful public speaker that he makes himself out to
be-- he's just being disobedient! And disobedience angers God. Moses had
the ability, he just didn't want to exercise it.

This happened again:

"On the journey, when Moses and his family had stopped for the night, the
LORD confronted Moses and was about to kill him. But Zipporah, his wife,
took a flint knife and circumcised her son. She threw the foreskin at Moses¹
feet and said, "What a blood-smeared bridegroom you are to me!" (When she
called Moses a "blood-smeared bridegroom," she was referring to the
circumcision.) After that, the LORD left him alone." Exodus 4:24-26

At first glance, this is a weird and troubling passage. But it is pretty
easily explained. God would have required Moses to practice circumcision
(the sign of His covenant with His people). Zipporah undoubtedly thought
the practice was "cruel and unusual" and Moses hesitated to have his son(s)
circumcised. Disobedience angers God.

Zipporah's response to the circumcised foreskin shows her contempt and
Moses' ultimate obedience.

Bottom line: do what God says- all the time...even if you don't understand
why.

Bret

September 6 Because Christ Lives in Me...

From 2 Corinthians 4-5, because Christ lives in me:

• I never give up (v. 1)

• I have no reason to use shameful methods to communicate Christ, I simply preach the truth about Him with His power (v. 2)

• I preach the Lord Jesus and not myself (v. 5)

•  I have power that is from God and not from myself (v. 4)

• I am pressed on every side but not broken (v. 8)

• I am perplexed but I don't give up and quit (v. 8)

• I may get hunted down, but God never abandons me (v. 9)

• I may get knocked down, but I keep going (v. 9)

• Through suffering, this body of mine constantly shares in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in  my body (v. 10)

• Though my body is getting older and dying, my spirit is being renewed every day (v. 16)

Whew.  There's more but that's enough to chew on today.

Bret

August 27 The Lord Rescues Them from Every Trouble

I came across a really encouraging verse today and a promise:

"The righteous face many troubles, but the LORD rescues them from each and
every one. For the LORD protects them from harm--not one of their bones will
be broken!" Psalms 34:19, 20

I wish that verse said "The righteous have no problems for the Lord protects
them from any of them." But that is not what it says. It does say that the
righteous face many troubles-- but the Lord rescues them from each and every
one of them.

Now that is some promise.

Remember too, God's promises are VERY SURE. They are like (well better
really) like government checks to be cashed when you need them-- they are
very reliable.

Today I have my share of "troubles"-- much less than many people in the
world but I know I can claim the promise of God that He will rescue me from
each and every one of them.

Bret

A Widow's Distress

There is a really powerful verse in James 1 that says this:

"This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to
visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by
the world." James 1:27

I have read that verse and often wondered what exactly is a "widow's
distress?" What do orphans go through? Then, of course, the whole question
of keeping oneself unstained by the world. That's huge.

But back to the first question: what would a widow be feeling and thinking
and experiencing where somebody else could help them and in so doing
practice "pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father."

Then, last week I was led to visit my aunt Shirley. Shirley is 78 years
old, and has the greatest laugh in the whole world. She is a special lady
and I am just sorry I haven't been able to be near her more to enjoy her.

Here is what I saw as a widow's distress:

-- she was lonely. She didn't say it but she was thrilled when I called and
thrilled when I showed up with lunch and sorry to see me leave. Her husband
of many years died several years ago. She did not re-marry. Her only son
also died a few years ago. Her two granddaughters (now in their early
40's) provide the most care for her.

-- she was frail. She needed some assistance in walking and when we went to
look at her fruit trees I was afraid she could fall. What if she fell in
her yard one afternoon and it was 100 degrees outside? She has a hard time
driving her car any more because her reaction time has diminished.

-- she was scared. Shirley had had a biopsy of her lung and was awaiting
word of whether she had cancer. Who do you share that fear with when your
mate is gone and you spend most of your days alone hoping the phone will
ring?

So, I understand better now what a widow's distress is. And God sees every
widow in every place. I wonder how often God prompts us to go see somebody
like this and we don't do it. But when we do, we live out "pure and
undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father."

Bret