Flashlight Faith

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

(ESV)

This past summer my family and I visited the Grand Canyon Caverns in Arizona.  These caverns, near the Grand Canyon, lie 210 feet below the surface.  The only way into them today is by an elevator so one can visit them without having to totally rough it. (1) The caverns are dry caverns with a constant temperature of about 55 degrees and virtually no humidity. (2) In fact, the caverns were used as a bomb shelter during the Cold War and some of the food still stored in the shelter is edible due to the lack of humidity.  (3)  Due to these caverns being 210 feet underground, if it were not for lighting installed in the caverns, one would find themselves in total darkness void of any sunlight, moonlight, or starlight.  In fact, for $850 per night 2 can stay in the cavern’s cave suite and experience total darkness.    (4)  If I were to spend a night in the cave suite, I would definitely bring a flashlight. 

I recently read a story in my devotional about a boy and his father who were hiking at night in the woods.  The only lighting they had, other than the light from the stars and moon, was a flashlight.  The young boy told his father he was afraid because the light from the flashlight did not shine very far in front of them.  The father’s answer to the boy provides an excellent picture of what faith is and how the light of God’s word illuminates the path of our lives.  The father told his son that even though the beam of the flashlight only shone a few feet ahead of them, it was sufficient light to show them the way they needed to go and that as they moved forward, the beam of the light also moved forward showing them more of the path ahead. 

Hebrews 11:1 paints a picture of faith as being assurance of things hoped for and conviction of things not seen.  On other words, we can have assurance that what is beyond the light of the flashlight of our lives and unseen is something we can with conviction leave up to God through faith.  We therefore need not fear what we cannot see in our lives and have blessed hope and assurance knowing that it is under God’s control. 

While this seems easy to do, we all struggle with this out of a desire to want to know what is in store for our future so we can plan accordingly.  We therefore must all learn to practice flashlight faith by learning to,

1)      Surrender to God’s plans for us and not our own (Jeremiah 29:11) – God promises that His plans for us are not for evil, but for our welfare.  However, God’s plans for us may not necessarily be what we want to do and therefore may come into conflict with God’s plans.  Our fears therefore in surrendering to God’s plan for our lives is not a fear rooted in lack of faith but a fear that we may not get to do what we wanted to do.  Psalm 37:4 encourages us to delight in the Lord and He will give us the desires of our hearts.  While some may erroneously interpret this verse to mean God will give us whatever we desire, the proper interpretation is that when we surrender to God, He will place our desires into alignment with His plans for our lives.

2)      Taking steps forward so the light can also move forward revealing more of what lies ahead (Psalm 119:105) – We are encouraged to constantly read and study God’s Word.  The reason for this is that as we read it, we little by little begin to understand it more.  Each time we study the Word of God we are taking a step forward and each time we move forward, the beam of the light of God’s Word moves forward revealing more of what lies ahead.

3)      Boldly moving forward knowing our final destination (John 8:12) – Jesus declared He is the light of the world and those choosing to follow Him will have the light of life.  While on this earth we may only have a flashlight of the light of God, but we have eternity living in the light of God’s glory to look forward to. 

During the course of our lives, we may find ourselves in total darkness like one may experience in the Grand Cavern Caverns.  However, when we find ourselves in these times of darkness we must surrender to God’s plans for us, take our flashlight of faith, and move forward knowing that our final destination is life in eternity basking in the light of God’s glory. 

1. Grand Cavern Caverns. About. gccaverns.com. [Online] [Cited: February 19, 2017.] http://gccaverns.com/about/.

2. Caverns, Grand Cavern. Cavern Tours. gccaverns.com. [Online] [Cited: February 19, 2017.] http://gccaverns.com/tours-activities/caverns/.

3. PTCRACY. Grand Canyon Caverns Fallout Shelter - Peach Springs, AZ - Civil Defense Fallout Shelters on Waymarking.com. www.waymarking.com. [Online] Waymarking.com, April 11, 2010. [Cited: February 19, 2017.] http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM8JWN_Grand_Canyon_Caverns_Fallout_Shelter_Peach_Springs_AZ.

4. Grand Canyon Caverns. The Grand Canyon Caverns, Cavern Motel Room. gccaverns.com. [Online] Grand Canyon Caverns. [Cited: February 19, 2017.] http://gccaverns.com/rooms-packages/the-grand-canyon-caverns-cavern-motel-room/.

Religious Moralism v. A Changed Heart

By:  Dale Weckbacher

John 12:40

“He has blinded their eyes
    and hardened their heart,
lest they see with their eyes,
    and understand with their heart, and turn,
    and I would heal them.”

(ESV)

Just as today, Jesus had to deal with religious moralism.  Moralism is defined as “the habit or practice of moralizing or a conventional moral attitude of saying.”  In politics, it is an exaggerated emphasis on morality.  (1)  Religious moralism is an overemphasis on morality in the name of religion with that particular religion believing it has the corner on what constitutes morality.  As a Christian I do believe in morality based on what is in scripture but that does not exclude others from having morals that may not necessarily adhere to my devout belief in Jesus Christ as my savior.  

While adherence to morals does help maintain civility in any society, I believe when we as Christians only spout our moral code and how we live according to that code without sharing the love of Christ, we do the Gospel a disservice.  This is because the Gospel is not about works of aligning one’s life to some strict moral code but about accepting what Jesus did on the Cross when he shed His blood for sinful humanity (Ephesians 2:8).  In other words, the Gospel is not about religious moralism but changing hearts.

The religious leaders of Jesus time were religious moralists and as such were threatened by the message of God’s grace delivered by Jesus Christ.  An example of this conflict is seen early in the ministry of Jesus Christ when he was rejected in his home town as recorded in Luke 4:16-30.  Let us take a moment to analyze this passage.

1)      Jesus declares who he is (Luke 4:16-21) – Jesus stands up in the synagogue, something he customarily did, and reads a Messianic prophecy from Isaiah 61:1.  Simply reading this scripture in the synagogue does not in itself constitute anything controversial, but when Jesus sat down and declared that the prophecy had just been fulfilled, they knew Jesus was declaring he was the prophesized Messiah. 

2)      Initial shock at Jesus words (Luke 4:22) – Initially those hearing Jesus’ words appeared to accept them.  However, they were not accepting his declaration as Messiah but were instead marveling that a lowly carpenter’s son from Nazareth could possess such wisdom.  They were marveling at the messenger instead of accepting Jesus as their Messiah.

3)      Rejection of the message (Luke 4:23-30) – After the initial shock of the words of Jesus, the religious leaders of the synagogue in Nazareth reject the message and attempt to silence the messenger, their Messiah, Jesus Christ. 

The religious leaders of Jesus’ time were so caught up in religious moralism that they failed to see the simplicity of the Gospel.  They failed to see the fact that it is impossible for any person to achieve God’s standard by themselves for all humanity has sinned and fallen short of God’s standard (Romans 3:23).  They failed to see that salvation was not just for some group of religious moralist elites like themselves but was available to everyone, even people like Zarepath, a widow from the land of Sidon and Naaman the Syrian (Luke 4:25-27). 

Religious moralism even blinds some in the church today, and prevents the spreading of the Gospel.  Many in the church today spend their time speaking out against the moral depravity of society instead of pointing people to Jesus Christ who has the power to change the hearts of individuals and thus change the moral direction of their lives.  In essence, many in the church today have placed themselves on a high pedestal of moral supremacy and speak down at those not adhering to their moral superiority instead of pointing them to Jesus Christ, the only one that can save them from their sins (John8:12, John 14:6). 

I therefore call on my fellow Christians to not allow religious moralism be their message but to instead take the simplistic message of the Gospel to a lost world by sharing what Jesus has done in our lives.  While some of us have colorful pasts, and can share how Jesus miraculously transformed our hearts and lives, what about those of us who were raised in godly homes and do not have a glitzy or colorful story?  While our story may not be glitzy, we all encounter struggles and challenges in our lives and have a story to tell about how our faith in God helped us find strength in these times.  

No one likes to have someone preach at them from some platform of moral superiority.  Instead, people with struggles and challenges in their lives are seeking answers, answers that can only be found in Jesus Christ.  Therefore, let us not be religious moralists but instead become traffic directors pointing people to the path of salvation, Jesus Christ. 

1. Merriam-Webster. Moralism. merriam-webster.com. [Online] Merriam-Webster. [Cited: February 19, 2017.] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moralism.

The Five Stones of David

By:  Dale Weckbacher

1 Samuel 17:40

Then he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd's pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.

(ESV)

The story of David and Goliath is a classic account of the underdog coming out on top.  However, those of us who have placed our faith in God know that David was anything but an underdog for he had God on his side.  Another interesting thing about the story in Scripture is that David took five stones with him when only one was necessary to slay the giant.  This is because David had God on his side, making sure that one stone did the job. 

While the mighty men of the Armies of Israel ran in fear when Goliath entered the scene, David saw Goliath as a beatable enemy (1 Samuel17:24-26).  David knew that no matter how small in stature he was, or how small the armies of Israel appeared next to Goliath and the Philistine army, with God on his side, they had all they needed to defeat Goliath and the Philistines. 

David’s five stones symbolize his faith a faith consisting of,

1)      Faith in God – One of my favorite New Testament verses is Mark 11:23 which reminds us that faith in God can move a mountain.  It is hard to imagine the energy that would be necessary to move a mountain but perhaps the closest thing we have is the eruption of Mount St. Helens where the eruption blew out one side of the mountain.  (1)  However even this massive demonstration of force only moved part of the mountain.  Jesus tells us that our faith in God has enough power to move the entire mountain into the sea.  I believe the faith stone was the one David placed in his sling and due to his faith in God had sufficient power to slay the giant.   

2)      Alignment with God’s Will – While faith in God has great power, it is most effective when it is in alignment with the will of God.  Therefore, I believe one of the stones in David’s pouch was the stone of alignment with God’s will which made the stone of faith even more powerful.

3)      Intimacy with God – David had an intimate relationship with God and most likely spent much time in prayer and meditation while tending his father’s sheep.  I believe it is this close relationship that caused David’s reaction to Goliath to be one of faith while the other soldiers ran in fear.  The closer we draw to God, the easier it is for us to have confidence in God knowing that he will supply our needs, even if that need is to slay a giant like Goliath (Philippians 4:19). 

4)      Time in God’s Word – Ephesians 6:17 lists the Word of God as a sword.  However, a sword is useless unless a soldier knows how to use it.  Jesus resisted temptation by using the Word of God (Luke 4:1-13).  Our time in the Word of God helps us get to know God better and prepares us to use our sword when it becomes necessary.

5)      Help and support from other believers – Hebrews10:25 warns us about not meeting regularly with other believers because our getting together brings encouragement.  We live in a world full of giants trying to discourage us.  Therefore, we must carry the stone of fellowship with others of like faith to support and encourage our faith. 

Faith is the stone that slew Goliath but is effective when supported by the other four stones.  Therefore, each day let us not forget to pack our five stones of faith so we can slay any giants that come our way. 

1. Futurism. Earthquake Swarm Shakes Mount St. Helens. futurism.com. [Online] Futurism. [Cited: February 15, 2017.] https://futurism.com/earthquake-swarm-shakes-mount-st-helens/.

Keeping the Pump of Prayer Primed

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Romans 12:11-13

Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit,^[a] serve the Lord.¹² Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.¹³ Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

(ESV)

For those of us who have had the privilege of having indoor plumbing all our lives, priming a pump is a foreign concept.  I encourage you to watch this short video to see what is involved in priming a pump (Video).  (1)  As you can see from the video, once the pump is primed, the water flows easily with little effort.  

Unfortunately, many only pray when things go bad and since they do not regularly pray, they find it difficult.  For this reason, we must keep the pump of prayer primed in our lives by,

1)      Connecting – What is prayer?  It is our means of communicating with our savior and creator God.  However, as with any communication, we must strive to maintain a connection to keep the lines of communication open.  We maintain the connection by setting aside time daily to pray individually and corporately praying in our churches and small groups or classes.  As easy as this sounds, many including myself can struggle with this due to our busy schedules.  I love my morning cup of coffee and as a way of reminding me to pray daily, I share my time over my morning cup of coffee with God in prayer.  I call it, having coffee with the Lord.  If you too struggle with maintaining this regular connection, find some way to remind you to make this important daily connection.

2)      Consistency – In addition to regular connection with someone, we must also be consistent in our communication with others.  A man’s wife once asked him if he loved her after many years of marriage to which he said, “I told you I loved you on our wedding night.”  I’m sure he still loved her but she needed to consistently hear him say it.  Our prayer life too must have a consistency and not just something we did once or do occasionally.  The Lord’s prayer provides a pattern to follow when praying (Matthew 6:9-13).  As a child I remember my mother having me memorize this prayer and repeating it every night before going to sleep.  While this is a good way to memorize scripture, the purpose of this prayer was to provide a pattern for consistency in our prayers and not something to repetitively recite.  The pattern of Lord’s prayer is as follows,

a.       Offering praise to God (Matthew 6:9)

b.       Acknowledging the Lord is returning to establish his kingdom on earth (Matthew 6:10)

c.       Acknowledging God’s will is going to be done on earth just as it is done in heaven (Matthew 6:10)

d.       Asking God to meet our daily needs (Matthew 6:11)

e.       Asking for forgiveness for our sins (Matthew 6:12)

f.        Asking for deliverance from temptation and evil (Matthew 6:13)

3)      Continuity – God is always with us.  With this powerful thought in mind, keeping the pump of prayer primed must also include praying continually.  This does not mean we are to go around talking out loud to God for others who do not understand our faith might begin to think we are going insane.  Continuity means continually bringing things to God as we go about our daily affairs.  Just as our first reaction to being hungry or thirsty is to find something to eat or drink, our first reaction when things get difficult during our day should be to pray.  Also, when we hear something in the news or someone comes to mind, our reaction should be to pray.  Getting in the habit of communicating with God continually throughout the day makes this reaction more automatic.  

Just as a pump must be primed for the water to flow easily, we must keep the pump of prayer flowing in our lives by staying connected, being consistent praying according to the pattern provided in scripture, and praying continually throughout the day knowing God is always with us.  Our world desperately needs prayer which means we as God’s people must keep the pump of prayer primed in our lives.  Will you join me in keeping the pump of prayer primed in your life so that the water of our prayers can freely flow into a lost and dying world in desperate need of prayer?

1. Shinejah. DIY Well with manual pump - priming. www.youtube.com. [Online] Youtube. [Cited: February 13, 2017.] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbzrU-tWx6E.

Root Repair Not Fruit Inspection

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Luke 3:7-9

He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?⁸ Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. ⁹ Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

(ESV)

First impressions are important and set the tone for our interaction with each other.  While most of us attempt to make a good first impression, Luke 3:7-9 would most likely be taught as an example of how not to make a good first impression.  However, since many of those coming out to hear John were most likely some of the religious leaders of his time, John was declaring the truth and using his first statement to these people as a means of awakening them to the truth of how they were living their lives. 

Later, while speaking with these religious leaders Jesus pointed out the flaw in these leader’s lives, they had become so caught up in religious tradition that they had lost sight of God (Matthew 15:1-9).  Their traditions were giving God lip service while their hearts had drifted from God (Matthew 15:8). They, In essence, had taken the traditions of men and turned them into religious doctrines (Matthew15:9).  This does not mean, however, that traditions are evil, only that we must never allow the tradition to become our doctrine of faith and instead allow tradition to remind us of the God behind them.

Unfortunately, we as believers and followers of Jesus Christ can allow tradition to become our doctrine, losing sight of the God behind them.  We can do this by,

1)      Becoming judgmental of non-believers in our society – As a believer, the lifestyle of homosexuality is abhorrent to me.  This is because it is specifically spoken out against in Scripture (Romans 1:26-27, Genesis 19:5-7).  However, just as Jesus died for me while I was still a sinner (Romans 5:8), He died for them too.  The homosexuality in one’s life is the fruit of a life whose root is disconnected from God.  We can, and must, speak out against the bad fruit in their lives but must couple that with sharing the loving message of the Gospel with them, giving them an opportunity to repair the root damage in their lives by connecting with their creator, and begin bearing righteous fruit. 

2)      Keeping the message of God’s grace confined in the walls of our churches – Perhaps the most used word in the recent Presidential campaign in the United States was the word wall.  Donald Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico is a wall designed to prevent people from entering the United States illegally, as well as illegal drugs.  The purpose of this proposed physical wall is to make the United States more secure.  However, walls can also be used to keep something, or someone in.  The walls of churches were never designed to keep the message of the Gospel in but are there to provide shelter for those gathering to worship.  Instead of keeping the Gospel message confined within church walls, we must take that message out for it is the only thing that can repair the root damage of sin in people’s lives (Mark 16:15).

3)      Keep religious traditions like Christmas and Easter in their proper position – Christmas, and to some extent Easter have become secularized in our society.  Many, even some Christians, dread Christmas as they become caught up in the news of Black Friday brawls, crowded stores, the stress of preparing a large meal for family, and lose sight of the true meaning of the holiday, the celebration of the birth of our savior.  While the Christmas and Easter seasons can be busy and hectic, let us not forget to take a moment from the busyness and pause to reflect on the root of these traditions, the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ providing total forgiveness of our sins, connecting us to the root of our creator. 

The job of fruit inspector is an easy position for all it requires is for us to point out the rottenness of rotten fruit.  This is especially true in our modern society where one can from the isolation of a keyboard lash out in condemnation at those whose lifestyles and opinions differ from ours.  Instead, we as believers and followers of Jesus Christ must lay the axe to the root connecting people to this sinful world and point them to the root repairer Jesus Christ through sharing the message of the Gospel of God’s grace.  

The Walk of Love

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Ephesians 5:1-2

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. ² And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

(ESV)

Walking and imitating the sacrificial love of Christ should be the goal of everyone who has chosen to place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Romans 12:1 states this truth a different way by encouraging us to be living sacrifices or people choosing to sacrifice their desires to the desires and will of their Lord.  While this should be our goal as believers, we live in a secular world where the concept of love has become distorted and even perverted.  Fortunately, however, the original Greek language in which the New Testament of the Bible was written provides some clarification of the meaning of the word translated love for it uses three words that are translated into love in English.  Let us look at these three words and how they are used in scripture.

1)      Eros – This term which can be translated as love is from the Greek and means desire and longing.  Perhaps a better English word for this type of love would be lust.  Even though eros does not appear in the original Greek of the New Testament, (1) it is the predominant meaning many attach to the word love in the secular world when they read or hear it.  Although this type of love is not specifically mentioned in scripture, it does not mean it is ungodly for it is used as a metaphor in The Song of Solomon and described as beneficial in the context of marriage as a way to avoid temptation (1Corinthians 7:1-5).  We can therefore conclude that when we encounter the world love in our English translations of the Bible, it is not the word eros.

2)      Philos – In the United States, the city of Philadelphia is nicknamed the city of brotherly love.  This is because its name is derived from the Greek word Philos which is the Greek word for brotherly love.  Perhaps a better way of translating this term would not be love but friendship.  (2)

3)      Agape – This represents the highest order of love for it is the divine love Jesus demonstrated on the cross where He died for all of our sins.  It is also the word translated love in Ephesians 5:2. While we may not be asked to sacrifice our lives for someone else as Jesus did, it can mean unconditionally giving of ourselves in service for one another.  This level of love differs from philos love in that it expects nothing in return. 

The secular world is dominated by eros love where issues like gay marriage, abortion, and even transgenderism are major political issues.  Satan has unfortunately succeeded in deceiving many into believing gay marriage to be an issue about two people of the same sex loving one another when in reality it is about making it social acceptable for two people of the same sex to fulfill their eros lustful desires with each other (Romans 1:26-27).  Abortion is portrayed as a woman’s right to choose to have eros sex outside of marriage and should a pregnancy result, eliminate the problem by murdering the unborn baby.  Even transgenderism is portrayed as a person’s right to choose when the root desire may be for one to identify as the opposite sex so as to use their public restroom or shower to fulfill their eros lustful desires. 

While philos love is beneficial to society, it is not entirely selfless for usually each party in a friendship expects something in return for what they offer the other person.  Instead we as God’s people must strive to fulfill Ephesians 5:2 and walk in love imitating the sacrificial love of Christ by,

1)      Practicing love for one another in our churches – Unfortunately, there can be dissention among the diverse groups of people within our church walls.  This is unfortunate for when outsiders come into our churches and see this dissention, they see nothing different from the dissention they see in the world and therefore see little or no reason to be part of the Body of Christ.

2)      Sharing the good news of the Gospel – Bashing Christians is becoming a world sport so sharing the Gospel is scary for many, since it places us at risk of losing friendships or even our lives as it does in many parts of the world.  However, in Mark 16:15, we are commanded to sacrificially take this risk out of love for those lost and dying without Christ.  We must be willing to sacrificially risk being called homophobes and sexist by reaching out to those in the gay and transgender community with the loving message of the Gospel.  We must lovingly reach out to women contemplating or who have had an abortion by letting them know there are people willing to adopt their unborn baby and helping them to learn how to enjoy eros love within the context of marriage.

The best description of what the walk of love looks like is 1 Corinthians 13.  I want to encourage everyone reading this to take time to read 1 Corinthians 13 and begin to pattern their lives after its standard of agape love. 

1. weebly.com. Eros - What does the Bible say? lovevslust.weebly.com. [Online] Weebly.com. [Cited: January 31, 2017.] http://lovevslust.weebly.com/eros---biblical-study.html.

2. Totes Cute. The Three Types of Love in the Bible. totescute.com. [Online] Totes Cute. [Cited: January 31, 2017.] http://totescute.com/the-three-types-of-love-in-the-bible/.

Boldly Planting Seeds of Truth

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Ephesians 4:15

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,

(ESV)

How a message is presented is as much, or often more important than the message.  This was evident in the recent election in the United States with many supporting the campaign promises of the eventual winner Donald Trump but having reservations about voting for him due to the way he often portrayed his message.  Despite this however, Donald Trump did garner enough electoral votes to become the 45^th President of the United States. 

I remember as a child going to the theater with my parents and a group from our church to see the movie “The Greatest Story Ever Told.”  This is a great movie telling the story of the life and ministry of Jesus when he was here on earth.  It is indeed a telling of the greatest story ever told and in my opinion is told in love, encouraging viewers to follow Jesus. 

Unfortunately, just because a message of truth is delivered in love does not guarantee it will be positively received.  However, this does not mean we do not deliver the message in a loving manner for when we have a powerful message of truth, like the Gospel to deliver, we should and are commanded by Scripture to deliver it (Mark 16:15).

Messages of truth lovingly delivered can be,

1)      Eagerly accepted and shared – John 4:1-45 gives us the account of Jesus discussion with a Samaritan woman.  What makes this discussion unique is that Jewish people would usually go around Samaria and Jewish rabbis were forbidden from talking with women who were not their wives.  By even having this conversation, Jesus was violating Jewish tradition so it is safe to assume his intention was to lovingly deliver a message of truth to this woman despite her sin.  After a lengthy discourse where Jesus revealed the woman’s sin, she left her water jar, ran into town, and told everyone about her encounter. 

2)      Thoughtfully considered and accepted over time – John 3:1-21 gives us the account of Jesus discourse with Nicodemus.  Nicodemus, a Pharisee, and ruler of the Jews came to Jesus in the night so that his fellow Pharisees would not know what he was doing.  He believed Jesus to be a teacher from God due to the many miracles He had performed (John 3:2).  After this declaration of belief, Jesus challenges Nicodemus, an educated religious leader by telling him a person must be born again in order to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).  This opens the door to a discussion about the need for a person to experience a second birth of the Spirit concluding with the most popular verse in the Bible, John 3:16.  The discourse in John, unlike Jesus’ discourse with the Samaritan woman, does not conclude with Nicodemus accepting the message.  However, we later see Nicodemus bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes to prepare Jesus’ body for burial after His crucifixion (John 19:39).  We also see Nicodemus coming to Jesus defense in John 7:50-51.  Jesus message of love delivered in John 3:1-21 was a seed planted that later grew into Nicodemus’ acceptance of the message.

3)      Rejected – In Acts 19:1-10 we have the account of Paul’s encounter in Ephesus.  As was his usual custom when coming to a new city, Paul would enter the synagogue and share the message of the Gospel with his fellow Jews.  Being a Pharisee, the Jewish leaders would openly welcome Paul and he would lovingly share the message that Messiah, Jesus Christ had already come and through His sacrifice provided complete salvation from sins.  In Ephesus, Paul had spent three months reasoning and persuading some of his fellow Jews about the message of truth but there were some who became stubborn and rejected the message.  However, this rejection by some of the message lovingly delivered did not stop the establishment of a strong church in Ephesus.  Even if our message, lovingly delivered is rejected, we must not allow this to discourage us for even in the seeds of rejection, a seed of truth is planted that may result in some believing the message. 

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus taught his followers that we must be like farmers planting seeds.  Some of those seeds will immediately spring up and die when exposed to the heat of the sun.  Some of the seeds will fall among thorns and be choked off but some seeds will fall on good soil and grow into a productive crop (Matthew 13:1-9).  The message of the Gospel is our seed and we must plant this seed in a loving manner through our words and how we live our lives and leave the reception of the message up to God.  

Project 7:14

By:  Dale Weckbacher

2 Chronicles 7:14

 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

(ESV)

Vice President Mike Pence was sworn in on Reagan’s Bible open to 2 Chronicles 7:14.  (1)  As we look at the state of our nation and world, this verse sums up what is necessary to turn our divided world around.  Project 7:14 is about what we as God’s people must do to fulfill the Godly instruction outlined in this verse.

1)      Practice humility – Jesus stated that the meek shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5).  The Greek word used by Jesus for meek is praus.  The difficult to translate root of this word, (pra-) means more than meek.  Biblical meekness is not weakness as some believe but instead exercising God’s strength under His control.  (2)  This is the perfect picture of Biblical humility, a life lived in God’s strength because it is a life lived under God’s control.  The Declaration of Independence of the United States specifically states that the rights of citizens are not something granted by some dictatorial authority of government or some governmental edict but are something granted by our creator God.  (3)  Unfortunately through the years government in the United States has strayed from this foundational belief and grown to become a monster issuing edicts that curtail the private property rights, (4) free speech rights, (5) and the religious liberties (6) of the citizens.  It’s time to humble ourselves to our creator by returning to the Godly roots of our nation’s founding and away from dependence on big government.

2)      Pray – Many underestimate the power of prayer.  James 5:16 reminds us to pray for one another and reminds us of the power of our prayers.  The original Greek translation for James 5:16 speaks of our prayers having energy or energeo like an electrical current moving through an electrical wire powering what is on the other end.  (7)  James also reminds us that our prayers can accomplish much.  As we look at events happening both in our nation and around the world it is easy to become discouraged believing the situation is hopeless.  However, when the situation becomes seemingly hopeless to us, we must remember we have an energeo connection to our creator that can accomplish much.  However, we do not have to wait for the situation to become hopeless so I want to encourage everyone to join me in regularly taking a moment each day to lift our nation and world up in prayer remembering that our prayers have divine energy and accomplish much. 

3)      Seek my face – In the original Hebrew for 2 Chronicles 7:14, seek my face is a translation from the two words baqash, to seek, and panim, before. (8) (9) Baqash implies an eager, almost begging desire to seek someone.  In other words, scripture is encouraging us to have an eager desire to go before our creator.  This is a call for God’s people to eagerly come before God praying for their nations. 

4)      Turn from their wicked ways – For the nation to turn from its wicked ways and back to its Godly founding principles, it must see Gods people lead the way by turning from their own wicked ways.  While it is true that all have sinned (Romans3:23) and none of us are sinless, God’s people should strive to sin less. 

Project 7:14 is a call for God’s people to humble themselves before God, pray for their nations and world, eagerly seek God, and turn from their wicked ways so God can heal our nations and world.  This is not some organization one can join or donate money to.  It is also not a project that will have organized marches or rallies.  No, this is a movement working behind the scenes in the hearts and prayer closets of the people of God.   It is a call for God’s special forces, His humble praying people to seek His face and turn from their sins so God can heal our nations. 

Will you join me in this project?

1. Conservative Tribune. Here’s the Verse Pence’s Bible Will Be Open To as He’s Sworn In… Libs Will Be Sick. conservativetribune.com. [Online] Conservative Tribune. [Cited: January 29, 2017.] http://conservativetribune.com/verse-pences-bible-will-be-open/.

2. Strongs Concordance. 4239. praus. biblehub.com. [Online] Bible Hub. [Cited: January 29, 2017.] http://biblehub.com/greek/4239.htm.

3. ushistory.org. The Declaration of Independence. www.ushistory.org. [Online] [Cited: October 30, 2016.] http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/.

4. Jr., James W. Ely. Property Rights in American History. www.hillsdale.edu. [Online] Hillsdale College. [Cited: January 29, 2017.] https://www.hillsdale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/FMF-2008-Property-Rights-in-American-History.pdf.

5. Slattery, Hans A. von Spakovsky and Elizabeth. Amending the First Amendment: How the Campaign Finance Amendment Will Silence Free Speech. www.heritage.org. [Online] The Heritage Foundation, June 2, 2014. [Cited: January 29, 2017.] http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2014/06/amending-the-first-amendment-how-the-campaign-finance-amendment-will-silence-free-speech.

6. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Current Threats To Religious Liberty. www.usccb.org. [Online] United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. [Cited: January 29, 2017.] http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/current-threats-to-religious-liberty.cfm.

7. Bible Hub. 1754. energeo. biblehub.com. [Online] Bible Hub. [Cited: January 29, 2017.] http://biblehub.com/greek/1754.htm.

8. —. 1245. baqash. biblehub,com. [Online] Bible Hub. [Cited: January 29, 2017.] http://biblehub.com/hebrew/1245.htm.

9. —. 6440. panim or paneh. biblehub.com. [Online] Bible Hub. [Cited: January 29, 2017.] http://biblehub.com/hebrew/6440.htm.