I Love You

A man, if he is a good man, does not say the words "I love you" flippantly, or hastily. A good man is well thought, and engaged in his communication of this phrase. "I love you" is meant to take everything in a man that he can offer. It is not said without some level of pain being issued. You can love something so much it hurts… You can long for something so much that it aches… Call it a good pain, but it may not feel so at the time. When I tell my wife or my kids that I love them, at least in my best moments, there is some level of pain in saying it. It is a pain that I welcome. The pain is in there because there is this intangible, unreachable level at which we wish to express this love more than just saying "I love you"… We'll never reach it. Not this side of heaven. But we dare not hold back from the endeavor. We step forward, we understand what we are saying with our minds, we realize who we are saying it to, we engage every ounce of our energies and emotions in communicating the phrase… It is not a business for the self-interested, self-involved, or self-focused… It is the business of the self-sacrificing…

As we gather together to sing, pray, and worship at our local gatherings on a Sunday by Sunday basis… is this not the goal? That "I love you" would be said in such a way?

I lead worship quite often and I'm privy to the expressionless faces of a multitude on many occasions. Granted it's Sunday morning and everyone just woke up, crawled out of bed, got our crazy kids all together, fed, cleaned up, etc… or maybe we're recovering from our Saturday night party binge… whatever the reason is… We show up and say "I love you" with mouths closed and arms crossed. We are far too easily pleased with our desires here to want to experience the ache of a love relationship with our Savior… As C.S. Lewis says in his book The Weight Of Glory:

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

We are all guilty. But what will we do about it? Will we continue to say "I love you" to the great Lover of our souls without actually meaning it? What if we don't love him? Maybe we should start asking this question. If we don't love Him… if we do not desire to be near Him… if we do not ache to be with Him… what can we do?

Start loving Him… Pray that He would give you the gift of loving Him more. One way I look at it is by asking myself, "What father, if asked by his children to make them love him more, would not grant that request if it was in his power to do so?"… Matthew 7:7-11 says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

I believe the Father will grant your desire to love Him more. It may take a while, but as you move intentionally in that direction you will begin to see it happen. Then you will begin to experience the pain of saying "I love you". The ache of the shear inadequacy of the words we utter in an attempt to capture all encompassing love, of which the word "love" is completely inadequate.

A man, if he is a good man, says "I love you" when he understands exactly what he is saying with his mind, when he realizes who it is that he is saying it to, and when he engages his emotions and energies in communicating the phrase.

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s149/sh/1a4bfe52-62be-4aa1-9a86-2ffc364695a7/363a61ac3b2aef5f97a97e3a8fbd3769

Be Still... Remember Books...?

Sorry... It's been a while I know. I find however lately that I prefer to stay quiet. There are enough voices out there in the blogosphere. I don't care to add to the clanging of symbols. I'd rather be still.

Do we all need to be reviewers, commentators, and critics? Do we all know everything there is to know, and is everyone else wrong? Is our way always best? Are our hearts more pure than theirs?Are our religious doctrines or political opinions just plain right, and they are just plain wrong? Do you really need to know the minutia of my every day, and do I need to know yours?

My absolute favorite thing to do as of late is to sit in my brand new desk chair with my desk lamp on and no other light... drink some hot tea... and just read. I read books. Books are those things with all the words in them that we use to have before people gave up on them to read the opinions and general blather that makes up most of these blog sites nowadays... including this very blog you are reading at this very moment :)

Do yourself a favor... Get away from your computer. Leave Facebook / Twitter / Youtube / whatever other social site you're addicted to. Put your "smart" phone away somewhere that you won't hear it ring or feel it vibrate. If you're work and life allows go back to the "dumb" phones we use to have that kept us less dependent and caught up in all the all that's always going on that we can't miss at all not even one second.

Pick up a book. I'd suggest the Bible, but if you want to start simple than pick up the Chronicles Of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, The Space Trilogy also by C.S. Lewis, or even your favorite book from when you were a kid. My favorite book when I was a young lad of 10 or 12 was Stuart Little. I loved that book, along with Where The Red Fern Grows... Just learn to enjoy reading again. It's good for you.

Also, get involved in other peoples lives and start praying for and caring for them. I think that will be time better spent than sitting on Facebook.

P.S. I will probably be back on Facebook in a month or so at which point I will deny that I ever wrote this blog post and it will probably disappear shortly thereafter. However, until then... I've really enjoyed my quiet time. Unplugging for a while has helped me to spend more time with God that has been more rich than normal. I dare you all to give it a try.

The Stars

Last night, after a difficult evening, I decided to go out for a walk. Earlier in the evening my wife and I visited a friend who is in a hospice facility in Grand Rapids dying from cancer. I sang some praise songs for her, we talked for a while, and we prayed with her before we left. We hugged her and walked out of the facility and left to go home. She said a few things while we were there that became amazingly difficult for me to process. She has two little girls, and they didn't like to come visit her because it scared them. That was hard to imagine and process for me. However, the one thing she said that I can't get out of my mind is that she's scared to die, and she has been praying that God would take her in her sleep. I couldn't get out of my head last night that when she closes her eyes, she doesn't know if she's going to open them again. While that is true for all of us if we really consider it, the reality of it is completely concrete for her. It's not just this theoretical concept. When I close my eyes to go to sleep, I will more than likely open them again and get to go on enjoying my healthy wife and kids, my nice home, my cushy job, my friends, and on and on... I lost it a few times last night. Reality was a little too much for me. I decided to go for a walk.

As I was out walking, I was listening to one song over and over called "The Reckoning" by Andrew Peterson which is all about the longing for God to come back and make things right. I was sobbing like a baby. I mean full blown chest heaving, body shaking bawl fest... I can honestly say I haven't felt that broken since I lost my best friend in high school. While I am good friends with this woman, it wasn't losing her that was getting me. It was that her family was losing her, and that she was losing her family.

As I walked up the hill next to the local high school my eyes were drawn upward and I noticed that it was an incredibly clear night and all the stars were out. It was an absolutely amazing sight. All around me there was no lights on so it really brought the stars out. Saranac doesn't have much of a glow like a bigger city does so it made for some great star gazing. As I continued to walk and gaze up a thought started to stir in my head...

How often do you look up at the stars and not fully take them in? What I mean is that usually my star gazing experience consists of a quick glance up to see the neat little lights in the sky. I never take the time to look at them and think about just how unfathomable they really are. These little blinky lights are actually gigantic balls of fire and fury that are millions of miles away! It's easy to say that and not really let it register so let me say it again. These little twinkly lights are actually gigantic balls of fire and fury that if you were to even get within a 1,000,000 miles of you'd be incinerated. They are on a scale of size that you can't fathom, and they are a distance away from us that is so astronomical that if we traveled at the speed of light we'd never reach most of them in our lifetime. Does that strike anyone as completely unfathomable and unbelievable? I mean we know it's true because all the scientist who have done the leg work tell it is true, and because we can simply look up and see them. So we know they exist, but how seriously do we take them?

They are beautiful and terrifying. They are infinitely distant, but we are comforted by their light which doesn't seem so far. They are so unapproachable that if we get within 1,000,000 miles we'd be completely incinerated, yet we are drawn to them.

My gazing up at the stars turned into worship of the God of the universe. Everything in us, if we are honest, knows there is more to this existence then what we see. He's there. We can all see Him. Creation is screaming out His existence. We can give him a quick glance and walk away never taking him seriously. Or we can gaze full on into His amazing face and stand in awe at how incredible He is. He is holy and exists in unapproachable light... yet we long so desperately to be drawn into Him. He is beautiful, but He is fire and fury and will not take second place in our hearts to anything else.

Decide for yourself, but I feel that gazing at the stars and the cosmos may be just about the most convincing proof for the existence of God that there is. I was comforted by that last night as I was thinking about my friend who is losing her life. My prayer for my friend is that, that God who is bigger than the stars and closer than we can bear sometimes would bring her peace as she closes her eyes at night with the uncertainty of whether she will open them again here on this broken planet, or within His presence.

Worship

2 Samuel 6:5 - "David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating WITH ALL THEIR MIGHT before the Lord..."
2 Samuel 6:14 - "David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord WITH ALL HIS MIGHT..."
2 Samuel 6:16 - "And when she (Michal, David's wife) saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart..."
2 Samuel 6:21,22 - "I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this..."

Do you celebrate with all your might before the Lord, or do you look on at those who do and despise them?.... Just a quick note from a worship leader... It'd make my job way more fun if we all worshipped WITH ALL OUR MIGHT before the Lord!

Hope

Sometimes the brokenness of the world just seems to be too much. Maybe I'm just getting older and my mortality is becoming more real. Maybe the feeling of invincibility from youth is starting to wear off. Maybe I am just starting to realize how broken this place we call home really is.

Seems like the number of heartbreaking stories I hear is on the rise. The number of success stories is in steep decline. At least once a month I hear another story about someone being diagnosed with cancer. Every couple months I hear a story about a pregnancy or delivery that goes terribly wrong and the child is born with severe health problems, or is not born at all. Every once in a while you get the sudden death of a loved one, or one of your friend's loved ones, or one of your friends, or your friend's friend...etc, etc. You turn on the tv for more than 1 minute and you'll see a tragic story about death, or genocide, or natural disasters that kill in the hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, or even the hundreds of thousands... the numbers and the stories become too much for me. They become unreal in a way.

When was the last time you lost someone? Are you losing someone? Are you losing yourself?

My grandma Rose died a few years back. While I wasn't close with my grandmother, seeing the reaction of all my aunts and uncles and my mom, all her children... it was terrible. I sang at the funeral. My mom asked if I'd sing "The Old Rugged Cross". I barely made it through the song. Not because I was in mourning as much as I felt like I had a front row seat to watch a room full of people mourn. I don't know if that song helped them or not, but I certainly hope it got them through that.

When I was in high school my best friend Rob Mason was killed in a tragic car accident along with another young girl. There was another young guy in the car as well named Doug. From my understanding of what happened, when the car crashed Doug was thrown from the car and that is basically why he survived because the car then exploded into flames. I can remember the look on Doug's face at the funeral. I can remember the look on the face of my best friend's mom. I can remember how his little sister seemed to understand what happened, and his little brother didn't. I can remember being a pallbearer and helping to carry out his casket. I can remember when they lowered my friend's casket into the ground. I was 15.

I guess I don't know where this post is going, but to say this... I don't know how anyone makes it through this life without a faith and hope that comes from believing in the one and only God who loves us.

I don't believe having that faith makes it easier to be here, but it certainly increases the longing for the place where we know we should be.

We weren't built for dying. We were built by two strong hands. My hope is in those hands.

Stop Trying So Hard...

So it's been a really long time since I posted anything on here and I've missed writing. Writing has a feeling of therapy to it sometimes and I've needed. I don't have a lot to say really, but it seems like a lot of life has happened.

My wife and I welcomed our 4th child about 5 months ago and I started a new full time job at the same time. The combination of these 2 life changes has kept me extraordinarily busy, and a lot of things I like doing such as writing (blogs and songs), recording, playing shows and all things music related have suffered. However I don't mind so much because I love my family. My kids and my wife bring me more joy than writing music for you all. I'm sorry but that's just the truth.

I've also learned a hard lesson it feels over the last couple years. I keep waiting for this ... this something... some event, some thing that's going to happen and it's going to blow my mind and change my life... and that "it", whatever "it" is, just never happens. But I keep waiting for "it". For a long time it was this idea that I was going to be discovered as a musician and that I'd be picked up and whisked away from this life I have here and I'd be a famous musician touring America spreading my music and message. While it's not bad to want to spread the gospel through music... I wasn't thinking about that. I was just trying to not be a victim of my circumstances. My circumstances being that I am married father of 4 with a full time job that isn't exactly what I want to do all my life so I keep hoping for this "something" this "it". I really feel like my waiting for this thing to come along has caused damage to the family I have. It makes them feel like they are holding me back. My wife has said as much.

Have you ever wanted something so bad that it hurt? I was telling myself that I wanted to be doing this for God, all the while I occasionally dragging my family through trials because I can't stop whining that I don't get to have my way. All the while, God has blessed me amazingly with beautiful kids, a beautiful wife, a job that pays the bills, and generally just way more than I could possibly deserve.

I guess I'm not sure what I'm saying here... While I am still writing music and trying to record it so that I can give it to you... It's not my goal to write songs that will please everyone, and I am not planning on kicking them out on a regular basis. I'm not going to force anything in regards to writing / recording / performing music. I want to write songs that will be pleasing to my Heavenly Father, and I want to be a father / husband that reflects what that Heavenly Father wants for me.

I really feel like God has been telling me to let go of a lot of things lately. One of them being music. He's not telling me to give it up... not at all, but I do feel like I need to let go of this fretting and calculating and trying as hard as I can to make something of myself. If God wants it, it will happen. In the meanwhile, live and be a witness for Him where I am.

He's also telling me to relax in regards to how I am pursuing Him. I've been in this ridiculous dry spell lately in my relationship with God. It's hard to read and be in the Word. It's hard to spend time in thought and prayer. I just can't seem to get my mind to go deep lately. I am too consumed with life, work, family, music... etc, etc, etc... It's been unbelievably frustrating, and I have no idea what to do with life right now. All days seem to be filled with frustration and tension and discomfort. I want to have a that really close relationship with God, and I think He knows my heart well enough to know that I'm being honest with Him. I want that relationship, but life seems to crazy right now to achieve it. Then I hear him saying (through various friends voices) ... "Relax. Slow down and live for me where you are. Stop trying so hard."...

So anyways, all this is to say, God is good to me. He is more than I deserve. Lord help me to relax and enjoy the blessings you have given me and the place you have me at in life right now. Use me today and tomorrow and whenever and wherever you need me and move in me in a new way today Lord. Help me to reflect you to my family and to those I come in contact with. Lord use the gifts you have given me and the abilities you have blessed me with to accomplish what you want. Take my motives and desires out of it, and change them so that my only desire is to please you. I love you Lord. Give me the desire to only want you in this life, and to give you to others.

I feel like this post was kind of random and all over, but that seems to be my life right now... Thank you Lord for it.

My Manifesto On The Pursuit Of Music

I feel like Jerry Maguire as he was writing that letter to all of his co-workers on how they should treat their clients. It was a manifesto of sorts. The clients were individuals that needed to be loved and taken care of on a personal level. The basic principle behind the letter to his own company was "less clients, more personal care". The next day after everyone got the letter he was applauded and fired all at the same time. Well I have no idea if this letter will be received the same way or if it will be nearly as powerful as his was, but I feel I needed to write it. If I had to pick a basic principle behind my note I'd say its "less about me, more about God". Seems like a simple statement, especially on a personal application level... but take that and apply it to all areas of the Christian music industry and you will get some pissed off people. I promise. I might get a few that applaud, but I think I may get a few more that want to fire me, and to that I say... oh well. So be it.

Let me pause here and say that I am in no way trying to judge anyone else's hearts. This is solely something that's been placed on my own heart in regards to how I am going to pursue music in the future, or I guess I should say on how I am NOT going to pursue music in the future.

So I've been going at it for about 4 years now. Pursuing music in the hopes that I would "make it" or get some place. I often use terms like "get my name out there", "get some exposure". I probably wouldn't have ever come out and said I was trying to "make it", but I know my heart and I know what my real desire is/was for my life. In my heart of hearts I have been shown and convicted that anything I've had to do with music over the last few years has been a pursuit of getting my name out there and made known. I might have said that I wanted to make God known and really try to affect people for Him and push them towards Him, but if I am being completely honest... my deepest darkest hope was that I would get a career out of this somehow. That somehow my name, Rick Hopkins, would be the name people would hear and be drawn to. That my message would be powerful and convicting, and that people would want to hear me, and that I'd be able to move into doing music as a full time "ministry" and career. No where in this pursuit has there been a real full fledged pursuit of getting God's name out there and making Him known.

Also, in this pursuit of mine, I've seen parts of the Christian music industry that I just don't want to see again. I don't want any part of it really. I know there are some good artists out there doing some great stuff who have honest and pure hearts. But I don't want to have to go down some of the paths I was told I'd have to go down. One such thing that has torn at me was trying to get my music on the radio. I am in no way putting down the guys I talked to about getting songs on the radio, so please don't hear that. I realize they have a job and a ton of music to weed through in their selection process. However, I felt like I was begging them to play my music. I walked away from my meeting with them just feeling dirty. I felt like a loser. I was also given names of people that could help me get into the industry somewhat, but I was also told I'd have to wine and dine and spend lots of money to get them to listen to me... well I'm sorry but that's just not going to happen. I will not be humiliating myself and spending a load of cash in a vain pursuit of my own desires. I'd rather leave things in God's hands from now on. When my song "Lift Up Your Eyes" got on the radio and had lots of air play I had absolutely nothing to do with that. It just happened. That's really how it should be in the first place. Any time I have tried to get myself somewhere, I have gone nowhere. So in the immortal words of Carrie Underwood... "Jesus Take The Wheel"...

Another side of this is my family. I have 3 kids, and due for a 4th in little less than a month. That's a lot of responsibility, and I don't just mean the work of keeping them under control at Wendy's when we go out to dinner. I am the spiritual leader of this family. For my wife and my kids, they are all looking to me to lead them well. My children need a godly example of strong male leadership from a loving father. My wife needs a godly husband who will love her and cherish her. How does all this mesh with my selfish pursuit of myself and my own gain? Not well. My heart is heavy lately with what it means to be a good father and husband. I want my kids to grow up with a dad who they use as a role model on what it means to follow God. I want my wife to be drawn to me because of my pursuit of God. My pursuit of self, and my desire to be this type of man to my family conflict.

So here is a list of things that I am committing too, which seems fitting with the beginning of a new year. In regards to how I approach music...

1. I will never charge for music again. If you want my music you can have it. I will have some way for everyone to download it for free if they want it. If you come to a show, like the one I played tonight at a church in Grand Rapids, and I have copies of my cd, you can take a copy of my cd for free. Again this is just my own conviction and in no way reflects anyone else's hearts... but I feel like if I have a message of a loving God that I want people to hear, then why would I charge them to hear it...? A side effect of this is that I may not ever make hard copies of cds again because I won't have money to get them produced. But whoever can download will be able to get all my music for free, and if you can't download, let me know, we'll work something out.
2. I will not charge to play shows... this with a condition... that you help me cover expenses of traveling and food and what not. If you feel compelled to pay me for the show, I will not turn down your money. I do have a family that I need to support and take care of. This could possibly make me a little more selective in shows, but most of my shows are local to west Michigan anyway and require very little travel.
3. I will not ever enter a battle of the bands, or any sort of songwriting contest ever again. This is a just a personal thing for me and what I know it to do within my own heart. When I win I get prideful and arrogant about how much better I am than the other bands. I wouldn't say that out loud, but I know it to be true in my heart. When I lose I get prideful and arrogant and resentful of the judges because they obviously must have made a mistake, or the contest was rigged or something. How could I have not won? Shouldn't I be the winner of all contest in relation to music mastery?
4. I am going to pursue God with all my heart and my life. I've said for many years that I am a believer in God, but only recently have I been burdened with how all encompassing that belief is. If you say you believe in God, specifically the God of the Bible, and that you ascribe to the way of life that God in the form of Jesus came here and prescribed for us to live, it is all consuming. Everything falls under it. From the very breathe in your lungs at this very second, to how you react to the most menial circumstance or inconvenience, or the biggest blessing of your life. All things fall under the umbrella of a belief in God. I have to admit that I am an utter failure at how I have approached God and my relationship with Him in the past. Giving Him very little of myself, and keeping it all for me. I have pursued myself long enough. I find myself to be empty, lonely, boring, and any other adjective you can think of pertaining to the pursuit of death.
5. I am going to continue to write and record music. But I will not bow to the pressure to write radio friendly music, nor will I seek to write any "hits", or any songs that fit the formula for a hit song. I am going to write what I want and feel needs to be said in regards to my own relationship with God, and my own experiences in life, or whatever words God puts in my mouth to sing. I will not be trying to get my music anywhere. I am going to put it out there for anyone to hear that wants to hear it, and if God decides to use it in some way... I almost hope I don't know about it because that would only make me arrogant again anyway. If God decided down the road to move me into a career in music, I am not opposed to this... but it's totally in His hands and He will have to make that happen. I will pursue Him. He can do with me as He pleases. (by the way, that's a terribly frightening phrase to put out there, but I suppose I can't give Him only part right?)

There is probably more to my manifesto here... but this blog post is getting really long so I am going to draw it to a close. I'd love to hear from any of you on this, and get any feedback you may have. Even in writing this I feel I walk a tight rope of getting a big pride filled head because I am some sort of super Christian. Believe me I am nothing of the sort. I simply want my life to reflect that which I say I believe. If it doesn't then I am wasting my time with my "beliefs" and I hold them only as a source of false comfort and personal gain.

Again, it should be said that I am making no judgments on anyone else or their heart in their pursuit of music. I am sure there are others out there who are pursuing God with pure hearts and are going after music in the right way. I however, am not one of those people.

Anyway, there it is for the most part... I have lots of stuff to say, but this is enough for now.

Pipe Dream

I sat down the whole day yesterday reading scripture, reading A.W. Tozer, and Francis Chan, and watching the video podcast from the church where Francis Chan preaches. One idea or concept keeps coming back to haunt me and convict me. It's the idea that if we call ourselves Christians and have the power of God in us, our lives ought to show evidence of that power. I mean just listen to that phrase... when we believe, we are filled with SPIRIT OF GOD! When we say we are Christians, we are saying to the world that we have the SPIRIT OF GOD inside us. If that's true shouldn't that Spirit be very apparent to all those we come in contact with. I am convicted by this deeply lately because I think its very possible that the secular world I come in contact with wouldn't know me to be any different than anyone else. Is the Holy Spirit so evident in my life that people could look at me, people who didn't really know me that well, and would they know that I am who I say I am?
Francis Chan had a really good analogy on a video podcast sermon I watched yesterday. Let's say we played basketball in a church basketball league and all the while we were playing you knew me to be a very average to less than average player. Then in the off season one day I come up to you and explain that I feel that the Spirit of God has really filled me and has supernaturally enabled me to be amazing at basketball, and that next season I am going to be completely amazing at basketball because the Spirit has enabled me to be so. Then when the season comes around, you discovery that I am the same old out of shape and slow Rick, and I am no better at basketball than I was the previous year. How would that look? What would you think of me? You'd think that either I am liar... or a fool... and it would appear that I had just made a mockery of the Holy Spirit. Is it not the same in life. If we profess to be how we say we are, should it not show? Anyway, deeply convicted of this lately I wrote a new song yesterday. It's got some harshness and aggressiveness to it, but I wrote the song to myself and I do feel strongly that its something the Holy Spirit has been laying upon my heart lately. So my hope is that this song will push some buttons for other people as well and get us all thinking about what it is that we really believe, and how we are portraying that to the world around us. It's called Pipe Dream.

Pipe Dream

You say you believe
but you live like you're diseased
you make the whole world laugh at me
as if I'm only your pipe dream

cause what I see in your life
is that opposites deny
the very truth you keep inside

and that you only love when you've been loved
and only give when you've had enough
and you keep the least of these away from me

You say you believe
but you live like you're diseased
you make the whole world laugh at me
as if I'm only your pipe dream

so tell me one more time
that you want me in your life
cause I can see right through your lies

and that you only love when you've been loved
and only give when you've had enough
and you keep the least of these away from me

You say you believe
but you live like you're diseased
you make the whole world laugh at me
as if I'm only your pipe dream

maybe dreams mean more to you
maybe you're more false than true
maybe I'm not real to you
maybe we are nearly through

My Utmost - November 27, 2009

http://www.myutmost.org/11/1127.html

It Is Finished

Galations 6:14
“By whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”

Key Passages

• If I brood on the Cross of Christ, I do not become a subjective pietist, interested in my own whiteness; I become dominantly concentrated on Jesus Christ's interests.

• Our Lord was not a recluse nor an ascetic, He did not cut himself off from society, but he was inwardly disconnected all the time.

• He was not aloof, but he lived in another world.

• He was so much in the ordinary world that the religious people of his day called him a glutton and a wine-bibber.

• Our Lord never allowed anything to interfere with His consecration of spiritual energy.

• We must never allow anything to interfere with the consecration of our spiritual energy.

• Consecration is our part, sanctification is God's part; and we have deliberately to determine to be interested only in that in which God is interested.

My Own Thoughts

Dear Heavenly Father, I want to be consumed by that which concerned you. The things that you cared about, I want to care about Lord. I pray in your Son Jesus Christ's name that you would consume me with these matters. I pray Lord that you would use me in this world to accomplish your will, but I pray that you would keep me from allowing the world to consume me with its desires. Give me the desire to follow you only Lord, and not myself. Give me eyes to see the world the way you see it. While you have me in this world, keep me in it, but not of the world. Show me how to reach an unbelieving and hurting world around me, all the while, not getting caught up in it, but longing desperately for my true home. Be with me Lord, and convict me when something comes between you and I. Keep my focus right, and locked on you.

YouVersion Daily Reading: Day 329

http://www.youversion.com/reading-plan/robert-roberts/329

Nehemiah 13

14 Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services.

22b Remember me for this also, O my God, and show mercy to me according to your great love.

• I love this whole chapter. Nehemiah is giving an account of how he was trying very hard to keep the people of God from sinning, and falling out of favor with God yet again. He will tell of something he did to try and correct the people, then appeal to God to remember him for all that he was trying to do for God.

• Nehemiah has some amazing zeal and love for God and His reputation, and some real frustration and trying to deal with people.

• Nehemiah went completely and utterly out of his own way to make the reputation of God great. Even when it was very difficult and he couldn't get the people to go along with him, he worked very hard to uphold the reputation of God, and to make His people holy. If only there were more people like Nehemiah at the time, and even now. Nehemiah wasn't the priest, or even part of the temple workers. He was just a guy who became cup bearer to the king, who had a desire to see the reputation of God made great and he was willing to do what it took. Even confront the High Priest on his wrong doing, he confronted the people on their sinfulness, not to mention he organized the complete rebuilding of the city walls and the city itself pretty much. Amazing guy!

Nehemiah 1
Nehemiah's Prayer

1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah:
In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,

2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.

3 They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”
4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

5 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,6 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.

7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.
8 “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations,

9 but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’
10 “They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand.

11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”

I was cupbearer to the king.

Amos 5

21 “I hate, I despise your religious feasts;
I cannot stand your assemblies.

22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.

23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.

24 But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!

2 Timothy 2

3 Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.4 No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs–he wants to please his commanding officer.5 Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules.6 The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.

7 Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

• God give me the desire to meditate upon your words and your instruction

11 Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,
we will also live with him;

12 if we endure,
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;

13 if we are faithless,
he will remain faithful,
for he cannot disown himself.

16 Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.

• I really like the “if we are faithless, he will remain faithful.” that is encouraging to me today.

• From the Amplified Bible... “11 The saying is sure and worthy of confidence: If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him.12 If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny and disown and reject Him, He will also deny and disown and reject us.13 If we are faithless [do not believe and are untrue to Him], He remains true (faithful to His Word and His righteous character), for He cannot deny Himself.”

19 Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”

22 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.23 Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.24 And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.25 Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,

26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

• God give me the ability to flee from the desires that still try to direct me. Give me the desire to pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace. I want to call on you with a pure heart Lord. Give me the ability to be a peacemaker, to not be a quarreler, and to be humble.

My Utmost - November 18, 2009

http://www.myutmost.org/11/1118.html

Winning Into Freedom

John 8:36
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

Key Passages

• We are designed with a great capacity for God; and sin and our individuality are the things that keep us from getting at God.

• God delivers us from sin: we have to deliver ourselves from individuality, i.e., to present our natural life to God and sacrifice it until it is transformed into a spiritual life by obedience.

• God does not pay any attention to our natural individuality in the development of our spiritual life. His order runs across the natural life, and we have to see that we aid and abet God, not stand against Him and say - “I can't do that”.

• God will not discipline us, we have to discipline ourselves.

• God will not bring every thought and imagination into captivity; we have to do it.

My Own Thoughts

I have to somewhat summarize this passage to make it more understandable to myself. What I think he is saying here is that we all have an immense desire to know God. To know and be known. We also are a broken people with selfish desires and drives, and sins we fall into routinely. God can and has delivered us from the effects of the sin. If we believe in His Son Jesus Christ and that His death on the cross covered over our sins making us blameless in the sight of God, then God has delivered us from the outcome of sin. He doesn't automatically take away the sin as a source of temptation however. The temptation will still exist to follow our own desires and to commit those same sins that have a foothold in our lives. We have to go about the work of “dying to ourselves” so that we don't follow our own desires, and so that we don't continue to fall into the sins we are prone to wander into. If you struggle with a porn addiction don't imagine that its just going to stop being a source of temptation because you believe in God. If anything the temptation may increase because the enemy wants us to fail and to feel defeated. We have to conquer that temptation by practicing self control and obedience to the Word of God.

2 Corinthians 10:1-5

1By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am "timid" when face to face with you, but "bold" when away! 2I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. 3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

We can say we believe all we want, but still have to do the work of dying to ourselves so that we can follow Christ and reflect Him to those around us. You wouldn't just say you believed in exercise and eating right and expect that belief to be enough to transform your body. Even though it is true that these things will transform your body... you have to actually choose to do them yourself. So if you say you believe something, but never follow through with the discipline it takes to actually live that belief, did you ever really believe it in the first place?

John 8:34-36

34Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

If you were a slave for your whole life, and one day you were set free, would you know how to stop being a slave instantly? You'd no longer have the effects of slavery, but you'd have to learn and choose to be free and to live like a free person. Look at the Israelites when taken out of Egypt. They were made free, they walked for a little while, and decided that freedom wasn't for them because they didn't know how to live it. They wanted to go back to Egypt and live in slavery again. It looked better to them than freedom. How ludicrous does that sound? But its very true that its way easier to sit where things are comfortable and easy, rather than choose to live be free and have to do the hard work of being a free man. But we are called to it because thats what it means to follow Christ. If the world sees and hears us professing to be Christians and supposedly having this “higher standard”, but then they see and hear us living it totally opposite, Christ will be made a joke to them. A late night talk show comedy bit about the failings and hypocrisy of Christianity.

Nobody said it would be easy. But if you believe, tough choices and hard work will follow. That is the life of the honest and true follower of Christ.

My Utmost - November 17, 2009

http://www.myutmost.org/11/1117.html

The Eternal Goal

Genesis 22:16-17
“By Myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, that in blessing I will bless thee...”

Key Passages

• Abraham has reached the place where he is in touch with the very nature of God.

• “My goal is God Himself. At any cost, dear Lord, by any road.”

• “At any cost, by any road” means nothing self-chosen in the way God brings us to the goal.

• When Jesus says “Come” I simply come; when He says “Let go” I let go; when He says “Trust in God in this matter” I do trust. The whole working out is the evidence that the nature of God is in me.

• By the discipline of obedience I get to the place where Abraham was and I see Who God is.

• I never have a real God until I have come face to face with Him in Jesus Christ, then I know that “in all the world, my God, there is none but thee.”

My Own Thoughts

Dear Heavenly Father make that my desire today... that “my goal is God Himself. At any cost, dear Lord, by any road.” I want to know you for who you are, not who I have made you out to be by my own feeble understanding. As I tell my kids all the time... “when I say to do something, just do it”, and I tell them this because I want them to do what I say not out of fear, but out of obedience and love for me. It takes discipline to be obedient, and to raise kids to be be obedient it takes discipline. God give me the desire to be obedient to you at all times that I might see who you are, and truly know you. I want to come face to face with you Lord and know that there is none but thee. None other to pursue but you Lord...

YouVersion Daily Reading: Day 321

http://www.youversion.com/reading-plan/robert-roberts/321
Nehemiah 4

14 After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”

• The story of Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem is a great story. These men were being attacked on every side, but they persevered and trusted the Lord, who they knew to be great and awesome, and who had allowed them to return to their home land and rebuild it.

• God fought for this group of people that longed to see the city of God returned to its glory. They wanted it for the right reasons and I believe this is why God put His hand upon the project. It must have seemed like an impossible task because of the amount of work, and the opposition. Nehemiah however knew God's had was upon the work, and that He would deliver them through the persecution, and that ultimately they would be successful. I wish I had this kind of faith.

Hosea 14

1 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God.
Your sins have been your downfall!

2 Take words with you
and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
“Forgive all our sins
and receive us graciously,
that we may offer the fruit of our lips.

• “the fruit of our lips” offered up to God after He has forgiven us and graciously accepted us... Christ' work on the cross completed this, thus we can offer up the fruit of our lips at all times. Nice opening for a praise and worship set sometime...

4 “I will heal their waywardness
and love them freely,
for my anger has turned away from them.

• Dear Heavenly Father, heal my waywardness. My heart wanders Lord. I am drawn away by my selfishness, self interest, and personal pity. Love me freely Lord... Thank you so much that your anger is turned from me Lord and that I am forgiven.

9 Who is wise? He will realize these things.
Who is discerning? He will understand them.
The ways of the Lord are right;
the righteous walk in them,
but the rebellious stumble in them.

1 Thessalonians 3

5 For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.

6 But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you.7 Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith.8 For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord.9 How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?

1 Thessalonians 4

3 It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;4 that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable,5 not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God;6 and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you.7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.

8 Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

• A lesson in self control and an area for all believers to differentiate ourselves from unbelievers. Not in some prideful, holier than thou way. But in a way that is quiet and not “in your face” as it goes on to say in verse 11....

11 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody

• lead a quiet life, and mind your own business... 2 things I am not good at doing, as well as a good portion of the Christian community I think. Let your daily life win the respect of outsiders... let your life, submitted to God, be proof that you believe what you say, and that it is all true.

• I am drawn again to the way that Christ confronted sin differently with those outside the church, “the sinners”, and those inside the church, the Pharisees and religious hierarchy of the day. To “the sinners” he was loving, and gentle, and he drew out their sin in a way that was firm and truthful, but he had a way of doing it that didn't make them think he was just some judgmental jerk. He had a way of doing it that made them understand their need for saving and made them want it. To the religious people, he took them to task and came right after them calling them a brood of vipers, and hypocrites. Hypocrites is a pretty strong word which according to the dictionary means “a person who pretends to be something he is not”. It gives you the feeling that the people outside the church are safer from the wrath of God than the people within the church because we are being judged by the standard we profess to believe. We aren't being judged by a standard we had no idea existed.

13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.15 According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.

• Be encouraged today, that we who have believed that Jesus died and rose again will be raised to life eternal with the Lord forever.

YouVersion Daily Reading: Day 313

http://www.youversion.com/reading-plan/robert-roberts/313

Ezra 3
Key Passages

11 With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord:
“He is good;
his love to Israel endures forever.” And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.12 But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy.

13 No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.

• I want to be a part of a group like this. Some were unbelievably happy to see the beginning of a new temple being built, signaling a time of return to their religious roots. Some were unbelievably saddened to see their old temple completely covered over and lost forever. Either way they were deeply impacted by the establishing of the new temple and felt it deeply. I want to feel deeply when it comes to matters of the heart and things I believe.

Ezra 4
Key Passages

23 As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates, they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by force to stop.

24 Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Hosea 6
Key Passages

1 “Come, let us return to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces
but he will heal us;
he has injured us
but he will bind up our wounds.

2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will restore us,
that we may live in his presence.

3 Let us acknowledge the Lord;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth.”

6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

• I love how both these sections stress acknowledgement of God. He wants us to be in relationship with Him and actually listening to what He says. He is here. He is with us. How can we ignore Him? “He will appear, He will come to us like the winter rains, like the springs that water Earth.” Father God I ask that you appear to me and show me yourself. I acknowledge your presence in my life. Give me the desire to know you for who you really are. Not who I've heard you are. Not who I've made you out to be in my own mind. Show me who you really are.

Acts 23
Key Passages

11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

• “... the Lord stood near Paul and said, 'Take courage!'...”

• There have been many a time in my life when I needed to hear that very thing from the Lord. There are times in my life right now when I need to hear it. Take courage, He has a plan, and you're in the midst of it. Be patient.

Acts 24
Key Passages

14 However, I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets,15 and I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.

16 So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.

• Something I've loved to see happening here in this area of acts is that we are exposed to the genius of Paul, or I guess we could say the genius answers he is given by the Holy Spirit when questioned by all the officials. The guy knows how to get out of trouble if there is any possible route out of it, and he knows how to answer every question in a very well thought out God honoring way. Not to mention he's under some pretty intense pressure here...

• Verse 16 reflects how Paul is able to answer and be completely God honoring. He seeks to keep a clear conscience before God and man.

24 Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.25 As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That's enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.”

• I find this section humorous considering the next section. Felix was made afraid as Paul was speaking of righteousness, self-control and judgment to come. He was talking about these things to Felix, who we find out in the next verse was meeting with Paul in hopes that Paul would offer him a bribe. Not exactly the most righteous or self-controlled thing to do.... and worthy of coming judgment.

26 At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.

27 When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison.

24 At this point Festus interrupted Paul's defense. “You are out of your mind, Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning is driving you insane.”
25 “I am not insane, most excellent Festus,” Paul replied. “What I am saying is true and reasonable.26 The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner.

27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.”

28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?”

29 Paul replied, “Short time or long–I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”

• I love the insight we are given into the heart of Paul here. He truly cares that all men would come to know the Lord. He doesn't care how long it takes. His only care is that we would all become the kind of person he was, because he is talking to us today as well.

• What type of person was Paul? He was a Christ follower. The most authentic and genuine form of Christ follower you can be. He gave his entire life for furthering the message of Christ.

YouVersion Daily Reading: Day 310

http://www.youversion.com/reading-plan/robert-roberts/310

2 Chronicles 35
Key Passages

17 The Israelites who were present celebrated the Passover at that time and observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.18 The Passover had not been observed like this in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel; and none of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated such a Passover as did Josiah, with the priests, the Levites and all Judah and Israel who were there with the people of Jerusalem. 19 This Passover was celebrated in the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign.

• What an amazing event and day that must have been really to see an entire nation return to the God who chose, loved, and delivered them. What would that look like in our nation? I'd love to see this happen here in our nation.

Hosea 3
Key Passages

1 The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.”

• “Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites....” How difficult is it to love an adulteress spouse? I am blessed that this is not something my own marriage relationship has fallen into, because I can't imagine what it must feel like to have a person you love, trust, and cherish turn their back on you and seek someone else to share their most intimate of relationships with.

Acts 18
Key Passages

9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.”

• The Lord is with me as he was with Paul. The difference is that I have literally nothing to fear because no one is going to attack me for talking about God. So why am I still silent?

Acts 19
Key Passages

1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John's baptism,” they replied. 4 Paul said, “John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”5 On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

• Paul asks them if they received the Holy Spirit when they believed, and it seems to me that he is eluding to the question of whether they had shown signs of filling of the Spirit... speaking in tongues and prophesying... They say they have received the baptism of John which Paul then calls a baptism of repentance. My question then becomes how many have received the baptism of repentance, but not the baptism of the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist himself says in Matthew 3:11 that “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” I have a desire to have this baptism of the Holy Spirit, and I want to receive it as the people here received it. They had no idea what was going to happen. They were not privy to debates about tongues and prophesy as we are today. They simply received this baptism of the Holy Spirit and things started flowing out of them that they couldn't explain other than to say that the Holy Spirit had invaded them. I want the Holy Spirit to invade me as He did here.

11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. 13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon possessed. They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.”14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. 17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds.19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.

• This story is comical and amazingly powerful at the same time. I think its hilarious how the evil spirit just decimated these 7 guys who were using Jesus' name as some sort of tinker toy power tool. Then we are told what happened immediately after this... the hearts of the people were revealed as well. They had all been treating His name in the same way. They all made little of him as if the could wield the power of the Holy Spirit anytime they wanted to accomplish their goals and glory. At this event it says they were seized with fear, because they were all thinking the same as these 7 sons. When they realized the power they were up against and that Jesus' name was really the only thing powerful enough to defeat it, they began to genuinely believe and cling to the truth of who Christ was. He wasn't just another trinket for them to throw in their purse and pull out to bring about some glory and recognition for themselves. He was the real deal, and the only thing that could save them from the power of evil and deliver them from their sin.

23 About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.24 A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen.25 He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: “Men, you know we receive a good income from this business.26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man made gods are no gods at all. 27 There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.” 28 When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”29 Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia, and rushed as one man into the theater.30 Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. 31 Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater. 32 The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there.33 The Jews pushed Alexander to the front, and some of the crowd shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people. 34 But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 35 The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: “Men of Ephesus, doesn't all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?36 Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to be quiet and not do anything rash.37 You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess.38 If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges.39 If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly.40 As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of today's events. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.” s41 After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.

• I gotta say the first thing that struck me in this story is that the Ephesian people who were rioting still seemed more reasonable than a lot of other people the apostles had encountered. They did riot, but at least when reasoned with and confronted on what they were doing, they calmed down, the crowd left, and no one was hurt.

• I also have to wonder how much these silversmiths and workmen in related trades actually cared that Artemis was being “dissed” by Paul and the message coming from the apostles, or if it was all just that they were losing money and livelihood.

YouVersion Daily Reading: Day 309

http://www.youversion.com/reading-plan/robert-roberts/309

2 Chronicles 34
Key Passages

1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years.2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.

• Seems beyond imagination that an 8 year old was made king to rule over Israel. I see my son now who is almost 7. I can not imagine him as a king over a nation. Yet this young man did rule a nation, a tumultuous one at that, and he did it in a God honoring fashion even from such a young age. If God can use an 8 year old boy to rule a nation and bring it back to Him, then he can use me as a father and husband to be the spiritual leader of my family.

Hosea 2
Key Passages

7 She will chase after her lovers but not catch them; she will look for them but not find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my husband as at first, for then I was better off than now.’

• Chasing after other lovers is the past time of choice for most people including myself. I go after whatever I think is going to make me happy. I've chased other lovers, and have not caught them because they can not be caught. I've sought happiness wherever I thought I could get it, and found that it is not in any of the places I've looked. I need to get back to my first love. The only love that satisfies.

14 “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. 15 There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.16 “In that day,” declares the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master.’ 17 I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked.

Acts 16
Key Passages

14 One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message.

• Lord open my heart to respond to your message. Lord give me a desire to know you the way you are. Reveal yourself to me Lord. Open my heart Lord so that my desire is to respond to You.

18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

• There is so much power in the name of Christ. It says “At that moment the spirit left her...” there was no hesitation. That spirit knew what it had to do, and the authority that flowed out of Paul through the name of Jesus Christ showed no hesitation, fear, or doubt. The spirit that possessed that young girl had only one response and that was flee simply at the name of Christ spoken in authority and power by Paul.

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

• The first thing I would be doing if I were thrown in a jail cell is praying. I'd be praying like crazy. I know for a fact that I'd be praying unceasingly and I know this because I know myself. My prayer would definitely be much different than Paul and Silas' prayer though. While they were praying and singing praises, I'd be sitting silently probably scared to death praying that God would get me out of there. The last thing on my mind would be to sing praises to God. This is a true testament to the power of God in these men's lives that they thought to praise God in a very bad situation that I am positive they didn't want to be in. They saw their imprisonment as a blessing, and the other prisoners were listening to them and being ministered to through it. I hope that someday my life would be changed sufficiently so that in my darkest moments of life I would sing praises to God and have no fear.

Acts 17
Key Passages

10 As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.11 Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

• “...they received the message with great eagerness and examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

• God give me that same desire so that I receive your message with great eagerness, and I examine and study your word every day.

23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: To an Unknown God. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

• God determined the times set for us and the exact places we would live and he did all this so that we may reach out to Him. God set us in the place and time we are because He wanted us to reach out to him. He engineered our lives so that we'd be placed in the best position possible to reach out to him. And in this place He has placed us, His Spirit dwells, and we quite literally live and move and have our being in Him.