walk towards the light

We started a new series a little over a week ago in the book of 1 John and I have been challenged in a big way and my thinking has really been stretched. I have come to realize that everything we read about scripture is about relationship. I wonder what took me so long to see it. Perhaps too much of a focus on the trees and I missed the forest. I see our relationships in 4 directions- How we relate to ourselves (we are sinners in need of a savior), the world (as a system opposing God), other believers (a family to love and serve) and God (He is light).

Perhaps you remember Reaganomics. President Reagan believed that if corporations we're free from the burden of heavy taxes, they would invest and grow causing them to hire more employees who would spend more their money on products from various companies and as a result create a healthy economy and increase the number of tax payers. It was a start at the top and work your way down strategy.

Whether you agree with this or not I think it is at least a good illustration of how to get things right in our own lives. If our relationship with God is right that in turn will impact how we relate to the church and in turn the world and finally ourselves.

We will see this principle explained over and over again in different ways as we study this fascinating book together.

This Sunday the 25th of April we will study 1 John 2:7-11 and learn that a good barometer of our love for God is to evaluate our love for one another. Take some time to read and mediate on this truth and I'll see you on Sunday!

What say you about that?

Be Faithful

I don't know about you but this recent series on Stewardship has had a profound impact on how how invest the big three; Time, Talents and Treasures. I have made purchases I would not normally make and have been more sensitive about how I use my time.

How has it been going for you?

What say you?

You Never Know Who's Watching

Today I remember my mothers graduation day. 14 years ago she took her last breath and slipped into heaven. I've see people die but never like my mom and in dying she taught me even more perfectly how to live. Just the day before as she labored just to breath, I sat in a chair in the room just to be there for her. Sometime in the afternoon she awoke disappointedly and said "ohhhhhh, this isn't heaven."

She lived like heaven was her home and she couldn't wait to get there and it showed. I remember when I was in 9th grade my school had a dance and there was this girl. I told her I was going and she just looked at me, never said a word and not a frown on her face- just a look and it spoke volumes. She loved me, wanted only the best for me and she proved it every day I knew her growing up. She didn't think the way to grow a godly man was to hold another girl close and let hormones do what hormones do. A young man, loved by his mom like that, could never really enjoy a dance knowing how it brought her sadness. I danced with the girl and came home with regret.

I'll never forget that time of teaching and a million other ways she demonstrated how to live to please God. I wish I'd always listened but sometimes that's the only way I could learn.

My mom left her mark on me, maybe you can see it, maybe it's still clouded by sin but I've noticed that the more I'm like my mom the more I'm like Jesus.

Do you have anyone in your life like that? If you do, let's hear about them. I'm thankful to God for a mom who loved me so well, taught me so much about following Christ and will be one of the first people I run to hug when I see her again in Heaven!!!

Live for Him, you never know who's watching.

A New Look

The Brown was getting a little old so I changed the look a bit- what do you think?

Now, how about some feed back! I have a "hit counter" on the right but it doesn't tell me who came, how long they stayed or whether or not they got anything out of reading my posts.

So help me out, is my blogging about the previous sermon helpful to you? Is it a good investment of time? If so, leave a note and/or click the "Keep 'em coming" box right below this entry.

Back to blogging in 3....2....1.....

In verses 8,9 of Jude, an illustration from the greater to the lesser is used. Are you familiar with this kind of argument? It goes something like this- "My dad once drove my mom 600 miles to see her high school friend get married, the least I can do is drive my wife two miles to see that movie".

The argument Jude is making is this-if the great Archangel Michael didn't rebuke Satan as they contended over the body of Moses (and we all know he should be rebuked) then we had better be careful about rebuking people.

I find this story very interesting. Nowhere in the record of Moses, found in Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, do we read anything about this event. Where did Jude find this? Is it true or was he just using a apocryphal story as an illustration tool? Are we missing a book of the Bible? How can we as students of the word figure this out?

What say you?

When ever you point your finger, three are pointing at you!

The book of Jude is pretty harsh. It almost comes across as some doctrinal finger pointing. One statement that should have been made thus far in our study is that Jude is not writing to his readers for the purpose of starting a witch hunt and trying to find others who have bad doctrine and kicking them out. What he intends is that we learn to test all that we hear by the word of God. The only one's we are to examine are ourselves.

So let's hear them. What kind of interpretation errors have you made and someone helped you see the truth.

I remember as a new believer reading about how God hardened Pharaoh's heart (I missed how Pharaoh hardened his heart against the LORD) and thought well, if God hardened his heart, then it's not fair that God condemn him- Pharaoh's going to be in heaven! It seemed like good logic but it was bad Bible. God hardened his heart like the sun melts wax- the wax is of such a substance that heat causes it to melt. The more God revealed his will to Pharaoh, the more Pharaoh's heart was hardened.

So what's your story?

What say you?

It's four O'Clock!

It's 4pm and you know, if you were paying attention Sunday, that I just took my afternoon medicine. My alarm, the same alarm you heard that morning has gone off telling me to do what a healthy life requires.

What kind of alarms do you have in your life that remind you to do that which promotes health? We have some built in alarms; a stomach growl tells us we're hungry, a big yawn reminds us....sorry, I just yawned....that we are tired, gray hair that tells us we're running out of time and a clock on the wall or a note on a calender can remind of us an impending due date. But what about things that are due in the future, perhaps years from now that will turn out one way or the other based on what we are doing today- like parenting your kids, doing your homework, figuring out relationships and learning to say "forgive me".

What have you read today? A paper, a book, a menu, a blog??? Think back all those years ago when you learned to read. First came the alphabet, then words, followed by short sentences and now look where that foundational work has taken you. You are using skills today that you struggled so hard to develop so many years ago and has opened so many doors for you. When you started, you had no idea where it would take you but aren't you glad you did? So what are you working on today that will revolutionize your life years from now?

The Bible is a big book filled with enigmatic sayings in places pulled from a different time period and a different culture but what can be learned from it is like hidden treasure. It will take time, effort, some good tools, a little help from the right people, frustration, failure and maybe even some pain, but what you get out of it will positively impact you (and others) for the rest of your life.

So consider this little blog entry as your "wake up" alarm to get going on the thing you always planned on doing some day- Getting to know God through his word, being transformed by His truth, and living the life you've always wanted.

What is the number one reason you don't get in the word and what keeps you at it?

What say you?

Our last post was about Rebellion and the struggle we have in submitting to authority. (By the way, share your thoughts/insights/questions in the comments area) On Sunday one of the issues we saw in those rebellion of the infiltrators in the church was the cause of their rebellion. They chose the wrong source for Truth.

I have one of those smart phones that has a bunch of useless and useful "apps". There are things I've put on there just in case but I thought I'd never use. For example I have a level with a digital bubble for determining whether or not something is plumb or level. The problem is that to use it you have to calibrate it. That means that I have to find something I know is level or plumb, set it on or next to the object and hit a button to set it. The problem is, without a level how do I know it's level? And once I set it, it reads level based on how I calibrated it. If I set it wrong, everything I gauge with it will be wrong. That's what these people did wrong- they set their gauge on something unreliable; something they wanted to be true. They based their actions on their dreams and not on reality and truth- God and His word.

The question for today is, what is the basis for determining what is true/right? Is it popular opinion? "That many people can't be wrong!" (remember the lemmings!) Is it how you feel for the moment? "If it feels good do it!" What is you basis of truth? What is your compass in life? You had better be sure because someone is following you and you don't want to be like a car I saw a few years ago with a bumper sticker that said "Don't follow me, I'm lost".

Is the word of God your compass? Then how well trained are you to use it? How does the scripture determine in your life, how to live?


What say you?

Submitting to the Authority of God

Where am I in the Passage?
Today, in our study of Jude 8-16, we noted four marks of those who have crept into the Church unnoticed with a dangerous doctrine. The first of the marks was their Rebellion against authority.

I believe that how one views authority is a pretty good indicator of the condition of their heart. Please read Romans 13:1-7 and see what Paul teaches about Authority. Click here for a link to the passage.

Here is a suggested Outline for this passage:
1. The Source of all authority is God (1)

2. The result of resisting authority is resisting God (2)

3. The purpose of authority is for the good of people (3,4)

- The Law keepers only bring fear to those who break it.

4. The result of obeying those in authority is avoiding God’s wrath and a guilty conscience. 5

5. The purpose of paying taxes is to support God’s purposes in this world (6,7)

Let’s consider the following thoughts;

1. Does God put into authority those who work against God’s plan?

2. How should we respond to unjust rulers?

3. How does the phrase “if you don’t respect the man, at least respect the Office” fit with this passage? Is this what God commands?

4. How do we implement this in our lives? Give specific circumstances.

5. Can you think of any examples of those in the Bible that put this truth into action?

Please enter the conversation by clicking on the word “Comments” below. Either sign in, sign up for an account or where it says “comment as:” select “anonymous”.

What Say You?

If you are having any troubles email me at mcgrathda@comcast.net

All Hands On Deck!

I'm not exactly sure what the meaning is of the title of this post but I've heard it in the movies when something bad is about to happen- it's the sounding of a warning and a call to prepare for it.

We started a series on Jude yesterday and found that Jude was very concerned about people creeping into the Church with a false teaching that distorts the grace of God and whose doom is sure.

Just as an experiment I typed "bad theology" in google search and then selected "videos". It wasn't but just a few seconds and I was listening to a man teach that according to Revelation 3:20 Jesus is standing at the door of your heart pleading to come in to save you. Friends, that's not true. The context for Revelation 3:20 is fellowship. This is being addressed to a Church not the lost. Now I assume his intent was not to deceive but he was wrong. He was trying to support a theological statement based on a wrong interpretation of scripture.

I once heard that theology is like jello, if you wiggle it in one area it starts wiggling all over. What's the point? Be very sober as you open up the word of God. Let the Spirit of God lead you and be certain that your understanding of the text is the correct one. And when you are, live it out with all the passion, excitement and fervor you can muster.

What say you?

Trial Run

Last night my wonderful bride cooked up a practice run for next weeks Thanksgiving dinner. Now she's been doing this for a good 20 years but she went ahead and did it anyway. It was fantastic and it got me to thinking about Thanksgiving, the response to God's goodness. If Melany's been cooking up fantastic Thanksgiving meals for 20 years but still thinks she needs the practice perhaps we who have been following Christ for a long period of time will not be offended if I challenge you to join me on a little experiment today (or whatever day your reading this) and keep track of all the things that you are thankful for in a day. Identify the things that God brings to your attention and give thanks and write it down. I think if you'll do this you will have a Thanksgiving like you've never had before.

So I ask....Whose with me?

Oh, and please don't be shy. I encourage you to post your responses or what your thankful for today. To do so, just click on "comments" and post away!
Let's get going!


What say you?

Christmas Lights

It's Wednesday! Over the Hump day we used to call it. Just a few short days until the weekend. We have begun an initiative called "Christmas Lights" for the purpose of leveraging the Christmas season to connect with friends, neighbors, coworkers and family members in hopes of presenting the love of Christ to them. We have challenged people to begin asking God to direct them to the person or persons we ought to engage for the gospel's sake and to write the persons name on a piece of paper and put it in an ornament on the Church Christmas tree. Each time they connect with this person (shine their light) we ask that they put a light bulb on the tree. My hope and prayer is that, working together, we will see people take steps towards the truth in response to God working through us. Just by sending a card, giving a gift, taking someone out to lunch or having a cup of coffee we trust that God will provide, through our intentional relationship building, an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.

So, what are you doing for Christmas?

Gee, Thanks

It's Tuesday and while I have been planning for this coming Sunday for a while, today I jump in with both feet. This coming Sunday is our Thanksgiving Sunday and the text is 1 Thessalonians 5:18. ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. This is yet another one of those texts that challenge me in a big way. I would say that I'm a thankful person in that I consistently identify things for which I am grateful but this verse says that's not enough. "Give thanks in all circumstances", like when you get a nail in your tire when your on vacation, or when you stubb your toe in the middle of the night trying to discover what that noise was. These are times when thanksgiving doesn't come natural. Why do you think God wants us to be thankful for things we are not naturally thankful for?

What say you?

10:16pm

What am I missing? Did you notice in this record of a disabled man being healed that he doesn't pay much attention to Jesus other than to tell the Pharisee's it was his fault that he was "breaking the Sabbath".

Today at our Creative Team meeting where we evaluate past services and plan for those upcoming , we were looking at Thanksgiving and I was reminded of the many passages I have preached in years past on thanksgiving and was thinking about what my text ought to be this year. There's the old stand bye- 10 lepers that are healed by Jesus but only one returns to give thanks but that one's been done to death. It really highlights the truth of the statement that too often we are more concerned about the gift of God than we are God, the giver.

Think about this friends. Say that somehow your income was cut by 40% (let's hope you never have to experience that). What "fat" do you have to cut? I think just a brief evaluation of what "luxuries" could go demonstrates just how wealthy we really are- cell phones, cable/satellite, internet service, your home phone, one less vehicle, smaller house.... the list goes on.

How thankful are you and to whom are you thankful?

Lord you have blessed me beyond what I could have ever imagined and far beyond what I deserve. Forgive me for taking your blessings for granted. You truly are so good to me and if earthly riches are not enough you give me all that you are and a place in your presence for all eternity. Thank You.


What say you?

What not to say.

Taking my son to school today he reminded me of what not to say if a police officer pulls you over and asks "Do you know why I pulled you over?" Never, I repeat never say "Because you thought I might have donuts?"


Have a great day friends!!!!

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Something we don't realize is that while it may not take great effort for Jesus to turn water to wine, heal a sick son or cause a lame man to walk, it cost him a great deal.

This week the trouble begins in our study of the seven signs. Jesus walks up to a man who for 38 years is practically helpless and out of nothing but grace, Jesus changes his life. "Get up and Walk!" Jesus says. I wonder, if that was you where would you go first? This man chose the temple but on the way he is descended on like vultures by the Pharisees.

"Why are you carrying your bed? Don't you know it's the Sabbath?" "The man who healed me, he told me to" and instead of focusing on the healing they are stuck with a so called violation of their law. The Pharisees had developed 39 rules about obeying the Sabbath and one of them was that no one was to bear a burden. Interestingly, the one thing they accused him of doing was the exact opposite of what happened. Jesus had just relieved him of a 38 year burden.

Think of it this way, some one you love is sick and they're spiraling fast. You hit the gas to get to the emergency room and in doing so you have surpassed the speed limit. What would be the right response of a policeman- lecture you for 20 minutes on the importance of the speed restrictions? No, of course not he should see the real issue is the life that is in danger and assist you in getting there quickly and safely. They missed it completely. If the law is for the preservation and keeping of life then they should have focused on how this purpose was fulfilled in this man's life.

This sign/miracle became the impetus for the Pharisees to oppose Jesus and would eventually lead to His Crucifixion. All because He showed mercy and exhibited power on the Sabbath.

God has given us much instruction how to live but let's make sure that in following it and teaching it we don't choke the life out of others or ourselves.

What say You? Seriously, write something. ;0)

You Are HEEEAAAAAALLLLLDDDDD!!!!

This week we meet a man in John 5 "who had been an invalid 38 years" . He is laying by a pool along with others in desperate straits. He is ill, he has no friends, and has been in this condition for nearly 4 decades. They were waiting there, according to the text, for a stirring of the waters. (v.7) It seems that, according to local tradition, the first one in the water would be healed, the others were simply left to wait. The Bible nowhere teaches this kind of superstition, a situation which would be a most cruel contest for people who are already suffering..

Interestingly, this is the second of signs in John's Gospel, that involves a healing. So it is appropriate to consider a theology of sickness. The presence of sickness is not hard to explain, we live in a fallen world and the presence of sin brings death. One day, sickness, pain and death will be removed but for today we all live under the scarring of sin. What really stands out to me today is the response to sickness. Consider what this man's view of God must have been. "God's mercy is based on first come, first serve"? It is this kind of confusion that open's the door for others to step in and take advantage of those in desperation because of illness.

I am enraged when I think of "cure" pushers on the radio "Take this pill 3 x's a day ", "other places couldn't cure my cancer but when I went to X they were so friendly, I knew they cared and now my cancer is gone". As disgusted as I am about these folks, the ones that really burn me are the "Faith Healers". "If you just have enough faith" and "If you'd only go to see Y he could heal you". Now I believe that God heals but no where in the Bible do we see such a circus as these "healing services" And if people aren't healed, to pile on top of their pain, they are told "It's because you just don't have enough faith". It's near criminal, especially how through this so called gift these "healers" have enriched themselves in every worldly way. OK, don't get me started. (too late!)

Perhaps we would be better off thinking of such things in the following way. Jesus came, not just to deal with the symptoms of Sin but to deliver us from Sin itself and bring us into a relationship with God. These bodies, like it or not, are dying. What Jesus is most concerned about is your Soul.


What say you?

Trusting God from a Distance

In our passage this week, John 4:46-54, A man comes to Jesus with a great need, a son who is sick and near death. This man pleads with Jesus to come and heal him. Honestly, Jesus response feels a little like one of Job's friends. Where's the compassion? He needs a miracle not a rebuke. The man persists and receives this answer. "Go, your son will live". This man had heard about the things that Jesus was doing and came to him in light of his reputation of power but all he got from Jesus were words. The Bible says this man believed and he turned around an began the 20 mile journey home.

Think of how hard that must have been. Each step filled with questions, perhaps doubt making it's move. "Why won't he come? If I wait until I get home it could be too late." That must have been a hard trip to take. "If he's in Cana, how can he make a difference in Capernaum?"

I wonder, if like me, you have struggled with this dilemma - trusting God with someone when you can't see either of them. Last summer Emily, my oldest daughter worked at a camp in Wisconsin. I had never been there and would not see her for 6 weeks. How could I be the Dad I'm supposed to be and protect her if I can't even see her?

It was 6 weeks. If I struggled with 6weeks, how will I possibly endure her being away in college? I have had to remind myself time and time again that if I can trust God to watch her while I'm near, I can trust Him to care for her when I'm not.

In what circumstance do you most struggle when it comes to trusting God?


What say you?

The Curse

I've had it up to here! (points to top of eye brows) Today is September 22, 2009, what would be my Dad's 77th birthday and instead of celebrating a birth I am saddened by a death. Every so often I think of how death has cheated me. I never got to see my Dad or my Mom bounce my kids on their knee. They weren't there to see me preach in front of the faculty and student body of Dallas Seminary and they weren't there to see me receive a Masters Degree in Theology (Th.M). They would have been proud, we would have laughed and we all could have been amazed together at what God did through a guy like me.

A long time ago a decision was made to listen to the advice of a liar and reject the Word of God and we fell. As beautiful as the sunsets are, as gorgeous as the colors of Fall we have no idea how good it really was before sin entered in through one man's disobedience. People get sick because of sin. People hurt people because of Sin. I lost the opportunity to grow in a new found friendship with my Dad because sin is everywhere and the proof is everywhere- the penalty of Sin is Death.

When I read in John 4:46-54 of the Official that comes to plead with Jesus to heal his son, I can't help but realize how desperate he must have been. If he was in any kind of political position as many commentators assume, he most likely pulled every string out there, called in every debt, spent every last drachma to make his son healthy again but to no avail. Jesus was his last and only chance.

Only Jesus could reverse the effects of the Curse and in His mercy, he did. Remember the purpose of these signs is to cause us to believe that He is "the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing we would have life in His name" In this "sign" Jesus does indeed reverse the curse and the young man who would surely died, lived demonstrating his divine power.

It's got me thinking, "what else am I missing out on because of the scarring sin has wrought in this world?"

What are you missing today because of Sin?


What say you?

Loose Ends

Once again, the sermon is history and I come to the realization that I left out something significant. While I laid out John's structure of his gospel; 7 signs, 7 sermons and 7 "I am" statements, I failed to connect Jesus "private" sign with his following "public" action in John 2.

Remember those stone pots for ceremonial cleansing? Remember they were empty? They symbolized the condition of Judaism at the time and Jesus turning the water for ceremonial cleansing into wine begins the contrast between the emptiness of the hoops the Pharisees made people jump through and the life and Joy that Jesus offered.

While it is symbolic in 2:1-11 it is literal in John 2 13-16 when Jesus goes to the Temple and finds that it has been turned it into a Den of theives, a place of business as opposed to a "House of Prayer" (Mt. 21)

As I consider this, I began wondering "In what way have I cheapened what God is offering with mere 'religiosity'?" In what ways do we trade an authentic relationship with God for mere insufficient substitutes?

What say you?

By the way, what do you suggest I do to make this sermon series more effective/helpful?

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

Aretha Franklin wanted it from her husband, Rodney Dangerfield never got any and without it culture breaks down. RESPECT is what I would like to see in the kids who walk down the middle of the street at night wearing dark clothing and flip you the "tall finger" when you warn them of the danger in which they place themselves. You've been disrespected and it hurts. You want to be treated like a person, not a number or an object.

Respect is one of those issues that comes up in the study of John 2 when Jesus is talking to His mother, Mary (who by the way is never identified by name in John's Gospel). Take a look.

3When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”
4And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”

Now, everything we read about Jesus as a boy gives us no evidence that he in anyway disrespected his parents but what kind of answer is this to her concern. I know if I would have called my mom "Woman" I may have had a taste of "Irish Spring".

If you pick up a commentary to read about this unusual address, you find that in Jesus culture it was similar to calling someone "Ma'am" and was indeed respectful but they also point out that is would certainly been out of place to address you mother this way? So what's up with that then? What do you think Jesus intended when he called Mary "Woman"


What say You?