Humble Persistence

Mark 7:24-30 (NIV)

²⁴ Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. ²⁵ In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet. ²⁶ The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

²⁷ “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”

²⁸ “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

²⁹ Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

³⁰ She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Did Jesus just call this woman a dog?  Did He just say that she didn’t deserve a miracle from Him?  Not exactly, but He did turn her down.

What would you have done?  Would you have walked away insulted or offended?  Would you have gotten angry?  Would you have sought some means of retaliation?  Would you have spread the word that Jesus was unkind?  What did this lady do?

She took it in stride.  She did not let it discourage or dissuade her.  She persisted with humility.  She accepted the criticism but would not give up.

When faced with criticism, how do we react?  Do we get our feelings hurt and become discouraged?  When criticized, we should carefully and humbly consider the criticism.  Any truth that we find in it, we should take to heart.  If we don’t agree with it, simply discard it.  But don’t let it derail you.  Don’t let it stop you.  Don’t be offended.  In fact, if it came from someone who cares about you, be GRATEFUL that they had the courage and concern for you to take the risk to tell you something they knew you wouldn’t want to hear.

Humble persistence.  Press on.  Let nothing move you.  With God, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!

-pk

  

Nicknames

In the Gospel of Mark, chapter three, the original 12 apostles are listed.  Among them are: “Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter);  James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder)” and the list goes on.

It is interesting to me that Jesus gave nicknames to three of the twelve.  He called them Rocky (technically, Rock) and Sons of Thunder.  You have to admit, those are pretty cool names.

In my childhood and teen years, I had nick names too.  Most of them weren’t very nice.  I was called “Geek” in high school but I didn’t mind.  Today, it would be a compliment but “back in the day”, it was not.  Good nicknames usually say something about the person.

The point here is simple. Jesus was familiar enough with these men to give them pet names.  He knew them.  He cared for them.  They were his dear friends.  Jesus wants to know you that way too.  God longs to have a relationship with us.  Jesus made it possible by dying on the cross for our sins and returning to life.

Does God know you?  Does He have a nickname for you?  Do you spend time with Him, getting to know Him?  If not, you could start today.  (If you want to and don’t know how, contact me.)  God loves you.  He knows your name.  He has time for you.  Will you make time for Him?

PK (that stands for “Pastor Ken”, btw)

Tattoos and Body Piercings ("Disputable Matters")

What does the Bible say about tattoos and body piercings?  Is it okay?

I get that question a lot, especially from teenagers and young adults.  Well, I'm not going to answer that directly, at least not today.  But Romans 14 (in the New Testament of the Bible) has a lot to say about this subject indirectly.

Romans 14:1-4 (NIV) Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2 One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 

Tattoos and body piercings are “disputable matters”.  There are lots of disputable matters like long hair on men, dress code, the style of music—especially worship music, women in leadership, movie ratings, gambling, dancing, swim attire, and restaurants that serve alcohol, just to name a whole bunch.

What does the Bible say?  That is a very good question.  Verse 4 answers the question with a question.  “Who are you to judge?”  We are not to judge others who participate in questionable behavior since the Scripture doesn’t clearly forbid it.  Here is a contemporary translation of verse three: “The person who participates in questionable behavior must not look down on those that do not, and those that do not must not condemn those that do.”

So how can we get all get along?  When we have different views and different standards, how can we have unity?  It is simple, actually.  We must obey the Scriptures.  We must not look down on others nor condemn others. 

So, let’s do it!

Finally, a quote from 1 Peter 4:8…”Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

-PK

Old Testament Made Simple - Step 1 - Seven (7) Major Moves

1.     Eden to Ur (by way of Mt. Ararat)

(2,100 years Genesis 1-11)

2.     Ur to Haran

        (Abram born in Ur)

3.     Haran to Israel

        (Abraham departs at 75 years old)

4.     Israel to Egypt

(400 years in Egypt)

5.     Egypt to Israel

(40 years wandering)

6.     Israel to Babylon

(1,000 years in Israel)

7.     Babylon back to Israel

(70 years in Babylon)

(from the book "Old Testament Made Simple" by Melton Short)

Hungry for God

Matthew 5:6 (NIV) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

When we are hungry for God, God will satisfy us.  The more we desire from God, the more we will receive.  The closer we get to God, the closer He gets to us.

James 4:7-8a (NIV) Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.

Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV) ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ 

Hunger for God; desire more from God; seek God.

-pk

Quips and Quotes

As time goes on, I will add to these.  I will start with some of my favorites.

"A dream becomes a goal when action is taken toward its achievement. A goal without a plan is just a wish." Mona Hale 06/25/2011

"Today is the first day of the rest of your life."  05/25/2011

My motto for now: Retreat, Prepare, Return! 05/25/2011

Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you are probably right.  05/25/2011

"There is no such thing as freedom; the only choice that you have is who you will serve." -pk 07/29/2010

"Life is a struggle." -pk 07/27/2010

"There are no problems, only challenges and opportunities."

"If you don't know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else." -book title

"If we meet and you forget me, you have lost nothing. If you meet Jesus and forget Him, you've lost everything." -unknown

Old Testament Perspective on Cheerful Giving

From Exodus 35...

v.21 All whose hearts were stirred and whose spirits were moved came and brought their sacred offerings to the Lord.

v.22 Both men and women came, all whose hearts were willing.

v.29 So all the people--every man and woman who was eager to help in the work the Lord had given them--brought their gifts and gave them freely to the Lord.

From Exodus 36...

v.3 But the people continued to bring additional gifts each morning.

v.5 "The people have given more than enough materials to complete the job the Lord has commanded us to do."

vv.6-7 So the people stopped bringing their sacred offerings. Their contributions were more than enough to complete the whole project.

*************************

In Exodus 35, Moses asked God's people for an offering to build the Tabernacle.  He was led by God and he did what God asked of him.  The response was amazing.  People were excited to help.  They gave, and they gave, and they gave.  They gave so much that Moses had to tell them to stop giving.

Some important points to note are as follows:

1) Moses was obedient to God in asking for the offering.

2) The people were obedient to God in giving.

3) The need was met and exceeded.

4) The people were "eager", happy to give.

When we give to God, let's be cheerfully obedient.  As we are obedient to the Lord, He will provide every need.  Trust God today for your needs.

2 Corinthians 9:7-8 (NIV) Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 

-Pastor Ken