HAVE YOU EVER...met someone who was famous?

They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!”  “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”  “Blessed is the king of Israel!”  John 12:13

This week is Palm Sunday!  This day churches celebrate the triumphal entry of Christ Jesus into Jerusalem.  This was the Sunday before he would suffer and die for us.  These people had no idea.  They knew that scriptures had foretold of a coming king who would save them, but they had NO idea what he was going to do for them.

Jesus was famous!  I would like to think that I would have wanted to see Jesus and believe in him.  Not just one of the people that wanted to see some famous guy going by.  What’s all the hubbub about?  Jesus had made the lame walk, blind men see, and even raised Lazarus from the dead!

I remember traveling to Springfield one summer day with my parents when I was younger just to see the president drive by in his limo.  Which one is he in?  We had no idea, if he was really in one of them.  I had a friend of mine who got to miss a day of school in high school to go hear President Bush speak at a college for graduation.  It was also exciting when Roy Blunt was the president of SBU while I was there.   He had been the governor!  I actually had the strange fortune of spending a few evenings hanging out at his house.  Fancy!  He wouldn’t know who I was though.

When we think of famous people, we think of rich people from the movies.  Someone who has won an Oscar or a Grammy!  My sister and I like to play the game…If you could hang out with someone famous for a day, who would it be?  Sadly, I have never answered Jesus, because he wasn’t really that famous.  He was more infamous to some people, like the Pharisees. 

I love historical Bible stories like this.   This one is written in all of the four gospels.  There are things that are special and different about each account.  Matthew 21:2 says that Jesus told his disciples to go to the village and find a donkey tied next to her colt and bring them both to him.  The other 3 gospels only mention the colt.  Mark 11:11 says that after the triumphal entry, Jesus went to the temple and looked around at everything, but it was late so he left with his disciples.  We know that the next day he goes back prepared to take care of “business”.  Luke 19:40, is awesome when the Pharisees tell Jesus to tell the people to stop.  Jesus says, “If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”  The saddest is John 12:16.  The Bible says that the disciples didn’t understand.  It was only until after it had all happened and had been written down that they realized. 

All four gospels have the phrase that the people were chanting, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”  Wow!  Some of them got it right, if even for a little while.  He is worthy of our praise.  I love watching the kids carry the palm branches.  There is always some big choir or orchestra piece playing while they march down the aisle.  We look at how cute they all look.  This Sunday, think about why they are really doing it.  God had a plan that Jesus was fulfilling for you and me!

HAVE YOU EVER…waved a palm branch?

Psalm 118:26, Zechariah 9:9

HAVE YOU EVER...felt unworthy?

In Matthew 8:5-13, there is a story of a centurion soldier who comes to Jesus to have his servant healed.  His servant is at his home and cannot even get out of bed.  Jesus, of course, says that he will go to his house to heal him.  The centurion stops him and says that he is not worthy to have him under his roof, but that Jesus has the authority to heal him without going to his house.  Jesus heals his servant!

I wonder if his house was not clean, because his servant had been sick in bed?  I know I’m crazy.  But if Jesus came to my town, my house would be spotless in just the slim chance that he came by.  The more I thought about this, I figured Jesus would have known my true heart, and not been too impressed by my clean house.   I guess I’m not worthy.

When Jesus allowed Peter to catch hundreds of fish, he too said “I’m not worthy.”  When Abraham stood before the Lord being commissioned he felt unworthy.  Have you ever felt like God was talking to someone else or how could he work in your life like that?

Jesus works in our lives to make us worthy.  Think about the ways he served so many unworthy people in the gospels.  He told the Pharisees in Matthew 9:12-13 how he was with sinners in the same way that doctors are with sick people.  People who are righteous or well don’t need a doctor.  Jesus washes away our sins making us worthy of the Father and our salvation.

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.  Luke 15:7

I have been dealing with this lately.  I know that the Lord is my redeemer, but do I really trust him to make me worthy?  Yes!  I am done worrying if he loves me and am I special enough!  

I AM his child!  I am going to start seeking Him MORE to make me MORE worthy.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Matthew 6:33

HAVE YOU EVER…felt worthy?

Psalm 37:3-4, Luke 7:6-7

HAVE YOU EVER...looked into the light?

But everything exposed by the light becomes visible.  Ephesians 5:13

Recently our pastor preached on opening our eyes to God.  That night Alex brought me a book to read.  It was part of a set on the 5 senses.  This one was focused on eye sight.  Now, either Alex was actually listening to the sermon or God loves coincidences.  I like to believe both.

Have you ever thought of the incredible human eye ball?  The little black part in the middle of your eye is the pupil.  It lets light into your eye, but it also protects it from light.  When you see bright light, your pupil gets smaller.  When the lights go off, your pupil gets larger to let in more light.  Definitely a design from God!

Your iris is the outer coloring of your eye.  I have always been subconscious about my eye color.  My mom has beautiful blue eyes and had blond hair.  My dad had dark hair and dark eyes.  So my hair is turning gray like mom’s and my eyes are a hazel green brown mix.  My irises are not very appealing. 

Then there are near sighted or far sighted people.  Some people’s eye balls are more round and some are shaped like footballs.  Some people wear glasses or contacts, while other crazy people have laser corrective surgery.  Both of my grandmas had cataracts. 

Some people are born blind.  I am afraid of the dark.  I would not want to be blind.  How would you feel if you lost your eye sight later in life?  One of my favorite hymn composers is Fanny Crosby.  She was blind.  She was not born blind, but after an illness as an infant and a quack of a doctor, she became blind.  She was still an amazing musician and wrote probably most of the hymns you have memorized. 

One of my favorite stories about Fanny Crosby is whenever people asked her if she wished she could see or if she had memories of seeing or if she was mad about not being able to see she always had the most amazing answer.  She knew that one day she would walk into heaven and the first face she would see would be her Savior.  She even wrote a poem about how thankful she was to God for being blind when she was just a child.  Can you imagine!?! 

I cannot imagine this perspective on life, because I do not have a disability.  Fanny Crosby didn’t think she did either though.  She sang, played the piano, and wrote beautiful poetry and music.  I bet she still is doing that in heaven today.  I’m going to be making music with her some day.  Our eyes will be wide open to the light of the world, Christ Jesus.

This is my story, this is my song.  Praising my Savior all the day long!

HAVE YOU EVER…sung a Fanny Crosby hymn?

Psalm 123:1, John 3:21, John 8:12

HAVE YOU EVER...memorized a verse?

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.  Psalm 119:11

Have you ever memorized a passage of scripture or the 10 commandments?  My oldest kid is 10 and by the time I was his age, I had a ton of scripture memorized.  The Lord’s Prayer, the books of the Bible, John 3:16, and the Roman road are just some examples.  And we memorized everything in King James back in the day. 

Someone might argue with me about this, but “rote works.”  My mother and I are the flash card queens of the universe.  My kids had flash cards in their faces before they could sit up.  

I am lacking in shoving the word in my kids face.  Why don’t we focus on memorizing God’s word anymore?

For me, my motto has become, just teach them how to use their resources.  They don’t need to have it memorized.  We have computers or our phones to look stuff up.  This may be how I feel about homework, but I don’t think that God would be happy with this attitude towards everything. 

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.   

Proverbs 22:6

In the Bible, the Israelites were taught to carry 4 strips of verses in small boxes strapped to their forehead and left arm.  They were Exodus 13:1-10, 11-16; Deuteronomy. 6:4- 9; 11:13-21.  The men prayed them every morning.  Jews still do this today. 

Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Deuteronomy 11:19

I understand that knowing God’s word and knowing God’s word are two different things.  You have to know what you are talking about.  Even so, application comes from knowledge.  Not computer knowledge, but memorizing the verse knowledge. 

Give your kids the tools.

Give yourself the tools. 

HAVE YOU EVER…memorized scripture with your family?

Numbers 16:40, Matthew 23:5

HAVE YOU EVER...heard of Jehoshaphat?

My last blog was about prayer.  I love praying.  I especially love praying for other people.  I have learned about prayer from God’s word, but also from other people in my life.  I especially remember my preschool teachers teaching us how to pray.  I remember how some of my friends prayed for me in high school and college.  I remember how Pastor Kellogg prayed.  You always remember those precious times when someone stops what they are doing and prays with you on the spot.  Awesome. 

In 1 Kings and 2 Chronicles, there are stories of one of the few kings of Judah who walked with the LORD.  He didn’t just walk with the LORD; he went to the LORD anytime he had a big decision to make.  We do that.  We bounce big decisions off of our spouse, friends, or other family.

In the 2 Chronicles 20, there is a big battle planned against Jehoshaphat by 3 other armies.  The Bible says that he was alarmed, proclaimed a fast, and brought all of his people together to seek help from the LORD.  Jehoshaphat then stands before his kingdom and God and says this beautiful prayer.

The Spirit of the LORD comes upon a man who stood in the assembly.  He tells them, “For the battle is not yours but God’s…You will not have to fight this battle…Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you.”  They all fall to their knees praising God.  Then they get out the instruments and praise him some more. 

The next day, they take their places and the LORD does exactly what he said he would do.  Three days later, they march home with their plunder.  They go straight to the temple and worship the LORD.

I love all of these Old Testament battle stories of King Jehoshaphat, Joshua, and Gideon.  They didn’t even have to fight.  I would not have wanted to live through one of these stories though.  We talk all of the time about these battles we are fighting in our own lives.  We do all of this talking.  We expect people to pray for us or tell us how to fix it or fix it for us.  Do we trust the LORD enough to bounce the decision off of him?  King Jehoshaphat did.

HAVE YOU EVER…trusted God?

Psalm 62:8, Luke 5:16

HAVE YOU EVER...prayed?

I know that probably even an atheist would say that they have prayed before.  We call out in times of need no matter what we believe in.  I am one of those people that says, “Praise the Lord” all of the time and I mean it.  I’ve been told that it is annoying.  I don’t always pray that way though. 

I have learned that there are types of prayer and they go in an order.  We are not just supposed to start asking for something.  We are to praise him first.  Here are the types of prayer.

Praise

Praise him for his acts of power, praise him for his surpassing greatness.  Psalm 150:2

Thanksgiving

Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.  Psalm 107:8

Forgiveness

You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.  Psalm 86:5

Intercession (Praying for others)

Show the wonder of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes.  Psalm 17:7

Prayer for Yourself

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Psalm 51:10

Praying is an old habit of mine.  I was blessed to grow up in a family that prayed together every day.  That doesn’t mean that I always do it with the respect I should have for our LORD.  God wants a relationship with us.  He wants to talk to us.  Don’t you want to come before our maker with true honor and glory?

You should notice that all of my references above were from the book of Psalm.  I think that besides Jesus praying himself in Matthew 6 and Luke 11, Psalm is a continuous example of prayer.  The word psalm means a song, hymn, or prayer given to God.  I suggest if you want to work on your prayer life, pray a psalm a day or at least look to them for motivation. 

HAVE YOU EVER…prayed a psalm?

Psalm 105, Psalm 150

HAVE YOU EVER...followed a recipe?

Give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.  For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  Luke 6:38

I love baking and cooking and eating of any kind.  When I was reading “The Resolution for Women” by Priscilla Shirer and came across this verse, I had one of those ultimate A-HA moments.  I am not good at measuring or following recipes.  I like to tweak recipes.  I make up my own, or I lose the original recipe.  Priscilla was talking about a recipe for bread that needed to be followed to the “exact measurement.”  She got it from a friend and you all know that I love my friend Rachel’s chocolate chip cookies.  It is the ONLY recipe that I follow exactly!

Priscilla continues to tell this story about baking bread with her kids.  It is a labor and time consuming effort that yields the best homemade bread.  There is an exact science to the process of adding flour and kneading the dough. She taught her kids the shaking action to eliminate air pockets from forming in the measuring cup.  Even her six year old son has mastered the “scoop, shake, press down” of the flour.

Luke 6:38 tells us that God’s good measure recipe for us is running over.  Priscilla says, “a good measure…brimming over, unable to be contained by its recipient.”  God is SO good.  When we give willingly of our own resources, he gives us a lap full.  This is a sweet teaching promise in His word about having a content spirit. 

Priscilla Shirer’s book, “The Resolution for Women” has been full of A-HA moments for me.  Each page seems to have the Spirit speaking directly to me.  Every woman should read this book.  It is so relatable.  This is why I am so excited to see Priscilla Shirer Live March 1-2, 2013 at First Baptist Church Raytown, MO.  This is a LifeWay Women’s Event that will hold close to 3,000 women!

I am thrilled to be attending and learning from Priscilla’s teaching.  Her brother, Anthony Evans, will be leading in worship.  (They are two of Dr. Tony Evan’s children.)  If you have not attended a LifeWay Women’s Event before, this is your chance!  Go to lifeway.com/priscillashirerlive and get your tickets today!  I am already praying for you to experience God pouring an immeasurable, overflowing amount into your lap. 

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever!  Amen!  Ephesians 3:20-21

HAVE YOU EVER…been to a live LifeWay Women’s Event?

Matthew 7:2, 2 Corinthians 9:7-8