water – Smallchelle

Genesis 6 – In Wells, Clouds and Rainbows

Posted on May 20, 20161 Comment

A Year in the Life

How has the last year been for you? Anything significant happen? Any certain trial, illness, injury, or maybe something to rejoice over, marriage, baby, healing, reconciliation? A lot can happen in a year. Coming up on the end of the school year always makes me feel like the year is flying by far too fast. Soon it will be Christmas…

In the past year I’ve been to 3 weddings, 4 baby showers, and 2 funerals. I’ve nursed my kids through a dozen colds, a broken foot, and attended half a dozen of their music performances… And in between all those joys and sorrows is daily life, family, work, church, all while holding on to Jesus’ hand and knowing that when the floods come he’s holding me up.

Noah was 600 years old when the flood began and spent a total of 370 days in the ark. (Gen 7:6-19) The flood itself lasted only 150 days, but the process of the waters subsiding took another 220 days.

Where Did All the Water Go?

In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried from off the earth. And Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dry. In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth had dried out. Gen 8:13-14

God put all that water back where it needed to be. He brought it out later, whenever he wanted to use it to show himself as the ultimate provider of life’s most necessary resource. Like when Moses brought water from the rock in the wilderness (Ex 17:6), or when He showed Hagar the well in the desert to save Ishmael. (Gen 21:19) It all came from the flood, running off into the depths and being brought forth when needed.

The 220 days it took the water to recede shows us that there is a process beyond surviving the storm. Some things are healed in an instant. Mostly it takes time to heal from the deep things. Grief takes time, wounds take time, bitterness takes time, destruction takes time.

Later, as the water makes it’s cycles in the clouds, God promises the rains as a blessing.

“But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, a land that the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full.” Deuteronomy 11:11-15

From Ark to Altar

As we face trials in our lives we often get discouraged and just wish things would go back to the way they were before. But it doesn’t work that way. We live with the fallout, consequences, and changes that come from trials and sin. Even if we’re not guilty, the sins done against us change us. We start to let go of hope and cling to bitterness.

I wonder if Noah became bitter or impatient with how long it took the earth to dry out. I wonder if he regretted obeying God. It doesn’t seem like it. What was Noah’s response at the end of the flood? One of the first things Noah did was build an altar and offer a sacrifice to God.

So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by families from the ark.
Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”
Gen 8:18-22

When it seems like every earthly comfort is taken away, is your first response worship? For me sometimes it is, but often it is not. I want to build altars of worship, instead of trying to rebuild and hold onto the idols God is trying to break down in my life.

What are the trials in our lives for? What does God mean to accomplish? His glory. His worship. The proof of His promises. To produce patience. To move us from Christian infancy to Christian maturity (Heb 5:11-14). It’s why James could say,

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4

It’s how we move from complaining to thankfulness, from anxiety to rest, from the lust of the flesh to a desire for holiness, from coveting to generosity, and from selfish distraction to humble devotion to Jesus.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

The flood radically changed the earth and left a mere 8 people and a boatload of critters standing at the end of it. It was a new beginning for Noah, his family, and creation itself with God’s beautiful covenant hung across heaven. A rainbow. A promise from God to never again flood the whole earth to destroy all flesh. (Gen 9:8-17) The funny thing about rainbows is, they require precipitation and sunlight at the same time. If our lives were perfect and storm free, start to finish, how would we ever see our need for God or the beautiful rainbows he wants to show us?

Genesis 6 Part 1 – Impending Doom

Posted on May 6, 2016Leave a comment

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Cor 12:10

Recently I have prayed and cried with various dear friends going through some radically difficult circumstances. They are being affected by other people’s sin in faith shaking kinds of ways. As we look at the account of Noah we’ll see just how grieved God was by all that sin in the hearts of people on the earth. Then we’ll get a picture of how God help us in times of trouble. Finally we’ll see that there is a way to suffer well so that Christ is glorified and we are strengthened.

Impending Doom

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. These are the generations of Noah.
   Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
   Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.
   Genesis 6:5-14

My heart is breaking for my friends as they suffer in difficult circumstances… Can you imagine how grieved God’s heart is to see all the hurt among all the people all the time? In Noah’s day it was crazy bad! But God chose Noah and his family, to rescue them. He set them apart, called them to do His work and then hid them away while His wrath was poured out and the wickedness of mankind was judged. When we are hurting our tendency is to hide from God, but the secret to survival and strength to keep putting one foot in front of the other is to hide in God.

Help is on the Way

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell… if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly… and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked… then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. 2 Peter 2:4-10 (paraphrased, emphasis mine)

Noah watched society boiling over with wickedness, for possible as many as 120 years, while he build the arc. Are you watching some part of your life fall apart right before your eyes? Are you in pain every day? Are you watching people that are supposed to love and care for each other implode with selfishness? What if it never changes? What if you die before that person ever repents and does the right thing? What if you are never healed this side of heaven?

It is such a comfort to know that God knows how to rescue us. Do you believe it? If not, why not? Maybe there is some misinformation about God you’ve been believing instead. If God has already gotten ahold of your spirit and rescued you from utter judgment don’t you think He will be with you in the storm you’re in now?

Get in the Ark

By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. Hebrews 11:7

My hope and prayer is that by faith my friends, knowing the flood is coming, will stand firm in their faith in the Gospel, climb in the ark of God’s arms of comfort and mercy and love, and for the sake of the glory of Christ be content with hardship, because when they are weak, then they are strong.

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. The flood continued forty days on the earth. The waters increased and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters prevailed and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the face of the waters. Gen 7:11, Gen 17-18

We might feel like God doesn’t love us when the flood comes, but that is a lie of the enemy. You were chosen in Him before the foundations of the world, He will bear you up in an ark and rescue you. You will be in the flood, but as a beloved child of the Most High God, you have nothing to fear.

Psalm 32:6-7 offers great encouragement:

Therefore let everyone who is godly
offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
they shall not reach him.
You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance.

Jesus is the ark. And you are not alone there. Just like Noah had his family, hopefully you have a community of gospel friends that God has been building into your life… you didn’t know you would need them, but He did. If you don’t have a network of friends who will help you fight for your faith, do all you can to plug in at church, get in a small bible study or prayer group. Noah wasn’t alone, and neither are you. The fountains of the deep are bursting forth, the flood is coming… but so is rescue. Don’t hide from the Lord, instead hide in the Lord.

I hope this has been encouraging for you. If you are suffering and in need of prayer you can email me or be bold and share in the comments. If you have a friend suffering pass this along to encourage them. Tell them you love them and are praying for them. It’s part of what the Church is for. As always, thanks for reading.

John 5 Part 2 – Scandalous

Posted on April 29, 2016Leave a comment

Jesus had a great habit of intentionally upsetting the status quo. The Jewish Sabbath started out in the deserts of Egypt as a much needed day of rest for the weary Jewish nation that had been delivered from the enslaving clutches of Pharaoh. As time went on and the temple sacrificial system was established the Sabbath was a time for the Jews to reflect on their sin and God’s provision to cover those sins by the blood of bulls, goats and lambs. By the time Jesus walked the earth the Sabbath had become a day of rule keeping. Don’t do this, and don’t do that. So instead of celebrating the lame man’s healing on the Sabbath, the Jews cling tighter to their rules and persecute Jesus, who came to be the ultimate Sabbath Lamb.

Who Do We Have Here?

First we have Jesus. And Jesus is always first. Last time we well established that he came seeking this man, like a lost sheep, to heal him.

Next we have the invalid man. We don’t know how old he was, but we are told in verse 5 that he was there for 38 years. Verse 4 (in some manuscripts) tell us that the people by the pool were “waiting for the moving of the water; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and stirred the water: whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had.”

Then we have “the Jews.” This referred to the hardcore Jewish religious leaders, a.k.a. Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes, that were opposing Jesus in those days. They have very strong beliefs about their religion and the Sabbath rules. Their pride and legalism constantly blinded them to the truth of who Jesus was.

Breaking the Rules

And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.
Now that day was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” (John 5:9-12)

This poor guy, just finally after 38 years of laying down, helpless, having to beg everyone else to do everything for him, stands up, picks up his bed, and walks… and gets pulled over for speeding!

Sabbath was a day of rest for the Jews, part of their covenant with God. They took it very seriously. God gave them one rule about it…

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” Exodus 20:8-11

The Jews were so bent on not breaking the Sabbath that they defined “work” with a list of their own rules in their own terms. The Talmud contains 39 categories of activity prohibited on the Sabbath. Even in current times they have so many systems in place to keep from breaking their own Sabbath rules, like elevators that stop at every floor so they don’t have to “work” by pushing a button. Despite continued modern observance of Sabbath rules, many have lost sight of the original purpose, a day to rest and trust in the Lord.

Sin no More

“Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” John 5:13-14

Maybe it was this man’s sin that originally landed him on that mat for 38 years. Is a “sin no more” lifestyle even possible in our modern day? I honestly can’t even drive on the freeway without sinning. Here’s a couple of encouraging scriptures about this.

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:1-4

That’s the amazing part of the Good News! 1 Cor 6:11 says,

“And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

It is from a position of security in the love of Christ, knowing that he has already cleansed us, that we can overcome the persistent sins in our lives.

Sabbath Scandal

“The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.” John 5:15-16

The Sabbath they accused him of breaking was actually fulfilled by him. Colossians 2:16-17 tells us

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

So how does Jesus answer these accusations from the Pharisees concerning the Sabbath?

“But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” John 5:17-18

After 38 years of rest Jesus’ words to the invalid were a call to trust that led to freedom. Sabbath rest is all about trusting that God is sovereign and will provide all we need as we rest in Him. Jesus is our Sabbath, so we can stop “working” at being so good, like the pharisees and just be in Christ.

Who are we in this miracle account? The lame man, waiting for a touch from Jesus? Healed and whole, walking in freedom? The religious rules lawyers that look down our noses in anger and people who don’t worship God exactly the way we do? Pray today and ask God to show you where there might be a tendency toward legalism in your heart, then confess and spend some time thanking Jesus for fulfilling all of the law that you couldn’t.

As always, thank you for reading. Share this with someone you know needs encouragement. And I’d love to hear from you, feel free to leave a comment below.

John 5 Part 1- House of Mercy

Posted on April 22, 2016Leave a comment

Bethesda means “House of Mercy.” What do we need more than mercy when we are thoroughly wrapped up in our own self pity?

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. John 5:2-5

I haven’t done anything for 38 years. Maybe breathing since I’m just barely that old. But I have had significant times of both physical and spiritual lameness in my life. I’ve spent much of the past three years in a state of daily physical pain due to a hip injury. I’ve also spent much of the past few years paralyzed by fear. Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of responsibility, fear of being wrong, fear of messing it all up. All these fears have been for me a spiritual bondage leading to inaction.

This is the account of a significant healing miracle that Jesus did in the life of one man. This passage says there was a “multitude of invalids.” Do you ever feel like just one of the crowd? Do you ever wonder what difference can one person make? What difference can I make? How can I help anyone when I can’t even help myself?

It’s very easy to talk yourself out of something that you know in your heart of hearts that God has called you to do. It’s easy to convince yourself that you are crazy and tell yourself God couldn’t possibly have picked you because you are so desperately unqualified. I fight these thoughts daily.

We are all so broken. There is a point we come to where enough is enough. Sometimes we don’t realize it, but Jesus is right around the corner. We don’t have any discernible faith, just a pocket full of lame excuses. But Jesus comes and finds us. For that man at the pool, this was his day.

When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” John 5:6

What compassion! Where are you hurting right now? Physically? Relationally? Emotionally? How long has it been? Jesus already knows.

Do you want to be healed? Do I want to be healed? Is our answer something like this?

The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” John 5:7

Do we say, “Yes, but…”
“I’m not good enough.”
“I’m not strong enough.”
“I’m not smart enough.”
“I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.”
“Getting in the water is my answer but I can’t get there.”
“Getting to church and community group is the answer, but I can’t get there.”
“Getting in the word and prayer is the answer but I don’t have time.”
“I’ve sinned too much for too long.”
“My past is too dark. I’m ashamed.”
or like the childhood classic my dad used to sing me when I was in the midst of a self-pity party…
“Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, I’m goin’ out and eat worms…”

The absolutely radical thing about Jesus and His healing power is that it has nothing to do with us. Let me say that again. It has nothing to do with us. It is His mercy. Sometimes His mercy looks like His sufficient grace and mighty strength made perfect in our weakness. Sometimes it looks like radical, miraculous healing.

Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. John 5:8-9

Jesus healed so many people so many different ways, but the goal is the same. Action.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

These last few months for me this looks like being healed of fear, getting up every morning, taking up my keyboard, and writing. This looks like finally letting go of all the excuses why I can’t or won’t or shouldn’t write. It looks like doing my physical therapy, getting to the gym and getting back to a place of physical fitness despite the hip pain. (Ironically, the more I go the less it hurts because then the joint doesn’t get stiff.) It’s seeing His mercy in my every-day life. It’s seeing Jesus looking at me and loving me, even when I’m the most broken and the least lovely. It looks like me sitting at His feet every day and letting Him wash me with the word.

How has Jesus touched you, healed you, been fixing your brokenness? Where in your life do you need healing now? What excuses have you been making? He’s right around the corner. He sees you. He loves you. He has new mercy for you today. So… Get up… take up your bed… and walk.

As always, thanks for reading. I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to comment on this post and share it with someone you know who need this encouragement today. Join me again next week when we’ll look at what the Pharisees had to say about this healing which took place on the Sabbath.

Modern Day Well Diggers

Posted on February 19, 2016Leave a comment

I love a good story, and this is a great story about my friend Robert who helped dig a well in Kenya, Africa. We’ve had an email correspondence interview and that is what I’m sharing here as a follow up to the 5 Part series through John 4 where we studied the account of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well.

Clean water is essential to life. There are many great ministries doing work like this around the world and I link to a couple at the end of this interview, but Rob was in Kenya with a Navy Construction Battalion, also known as SeaBees.

The first part of the interview covers the practical side of his experience in Kenya and in the last part he was so generous to share his testimony and how his faith impacted his experience in Kenya and his military service. Let’s jump right in.

Me: When and where did your well digging experience take place?
Rob: It was in 2007. We set up a tent camp in a tiny Kenyan desert town called Shant Abaq. It was about an hours drive through the brush from a larger city called Garissa. We were very close to the Somalia border. We also had a Kenyan Army security team.

Me: Who were you working with?
Rob: There was a team of 14 of us. It was when I was Active Duty as a Navy Seabee. It was mostly comprised of EOs, equipment operators, and CMs, construction mechanics. I was the only SW, steelworker. We also had a Kenyan Army team that was set up a mile away. Although they never put steel in the ground. They were just hanging out because we were so close to Somalia and were located on a popular drug running route.

Helping our army security cut firewood — Helping our Army security cut firewood

po2ndclass8 — This one is when I made Petty Officer 2nd class

Me: Who were you digging the well for and why?
Rob: The small town was a watering hole for nomadic herders of cows, goats, and sheep. They only had 1 well for water they shared for everything. And the herds would contaminate the well water with feces. So we drilled a well outside of the village by about an 1/8 mile.

Me: How did you guys know where to dig? How did you find the water?
Rob: They look at a satellite image of the area, and use known geological data to best guess where an aquifer might be. They gave us a GPS location… And with a little skill, and a lot of luck, we found water.

robwelding1 — Here I am welding the steel casing and screens

Rob: I welded for 27 hours straight. Once you start, you can’t stop. And I was the only welder…
The screens are steel pipe with small slits in them. They’re placed at the depths where water is found to allow it to seep into the casing. Our well was about 800′ deep and we had about 90′ worth of screens. Once all the casing is lowered in, an electric water pump is lowered about 30′ off the bottom. This is to keep from getting dirt pushed up with the water. The pump just forces the water up the casing.
Our well produced 8 gallons a minute for 10 min. Then it had to recharge, or let water seep in to refill it full, for 3 min. The water would fill on its own to about 16′ from the top of the well, and the water table was 240′ down. So that was a good aquifer we hit.

On our way out of Africa, we stopped in Djibouti. The well team all went snorkeling in the Red Sea with whale sharks. This is me!

Me: How long have you been in the Navy and what is your current rank and assignment?
Rob: 10 years active, 3 years reserve. I am a E6 now. Petty Officer First Class. Currently I am an instructor at Naval Construction Group 1. I primarily teach Basic Combat Skills, and am a range coach. BCS is just like it sounds. It covers a lot of basic tactical maneuvers like setting up a convoy, how to conduct a patrol, land navigation… And as a range coach I get to do one of my favorite things; teach others how to shoot. I get to instruct handgun, rifle, and shotgun.

Me: How long have you been a Christian?
Rob: I have been a Christian my entire life. A better question is ‘how have I been as a Christian?’ I grew up in a Christian Reformed church. It was traditional in service, praise, and dress. They started becoming more modern in the sense they got a band… We went every Sunday until I was 9.
My parents divorced when I was 5, and we moved when I was 9. We never found another church with my Mom. My Dad left the church after the divorce. They treated him very poorly and he found them hypocritical. He is a religious man to this day, but doesn’t attend church. So that was my early childhood experience.
When I got into middle school and lived with my Dad I became friends with the family across the street. They attended a Non-Denominational church. I fell in love with it. The music was alive. The people were in love with God. And everyone was so welcoming and loving. For the rest of high school I went to that church every Sunday, and got involved in youth ministry on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
When I got to boot camp I attended church every Sunday. It was an hour a week where I got to be myself. Worshiping kept me sane. After boot camp I went to a 2 month school to learn my job as a welder. It was here where I started to fall away from God. I didn’t find a church there, and I didn’t find one when I got to California.
God is a funny thing in the military I’ve come to find out. There are a very small few who openly talk about their faith. And a slightly larger number who attend services regularly. I think about 3/4 would say they’re Christian, but that’s as far as their religion goes. But as whole, the military supports believing in God very heavily. Personally, I fell into the category of the members who had Christian placed on my dog tags, so should I die, they would follow traditional customs for a Christian burial.
So, as all good, cold feet Christians, I found God again during my deployment to Iraq. To spare you the details, it was a very stressful environment. I remembered how great it was in boot camp to go to service. But I didn’t have that this time. So I relied on praying. A lot. I wouldn’t say I was praying without faith, but I was being a Christian of convenience. I called to God when I needed him. But once I returned and he had got me through what I had asked for, I forgot about him. I didn’t thank him.
That lasted another year until I met Ashley, my now wife. She was religious. And part of my way of becoming more attractive to her was to attend services with her. It felt good to get back to going. But she was a Lutheran, and it bored me to tears. Finally I convinced her to go to a Non-Denominational church with me. She fell in love with it, as did I again.
Since then, our family attends regularly. We brought prayer back into our daily lives as a family before meals and bed. So there is the long answer to a short question. I am not a perfect Christian to this day, as much as I try. Cursing is one thing I have a hard time breaking…. Military and police life make that difficult.

Me: How does your faith impact you in your military service?
Rob: Once I found my faith again with Ashley in 2006, it has been a large part in my life. The hard part is reconciling some things that happened in Iraq. But I didn’t deploy with the intent to harm anyone. I wanted to help my fellow Christians have the freedom to praise and worship without fear of their entire families being killed. It is something I continue to struggle with, and others I know as well.

Me: Did your faith help you in your well-digging experience?
Rob: I loved getting the chance to talk to the local village about their experiences with Christ. It was a Christian village we drilled in. For a people with so little in the way of material things, struggling to get food and clean water, they were so in love with God. It was amazing to see how God worked in their lives. You get there and think how miserable it would be to live in a mud hut. No running water. No electricity. Scarce clean water. Inconsistent food sources. Yet, they were happy…

Me: Were any of the other’s on your team also believers? If so, did that have any impact on the team?
Rob: I was the only one who read the bible and prayed. There were others who had a background in Christian churches, and everyone was a Christian. I put together a Christmas service. And to my surprise, everyone attended. We took communion with my pastor over a satellite phone… It was a great experience.

Me: How were you able to sustain welding for 27 hours?
Rob: By the end of it… a lot of cursing lol. But seriously, it is just my personality. I get my mind set on something, and I am a freight train. I am very driven to accomplish what I set my goals to be. I hate failure. And my job as a welder was to make this happen. Not only did my team depend on me to finish this, but so did an entire village of 70 some people. From tiny babies, to the frailest of the elderly. For some of them, their lives depended on clean water. It was a huge burden lifted for all of them. So I placed a lot of pressure on myself to succeed.

Me: Other than the welding marathon what was the biggest challenge in your experience?
Rob: Time away from my family members. I have missed so much. Things you can’t ever make up. Births of my nieces and nephews, weddings of brothers and sister. Seeing a loved one in their final days. And missing a funeral once. You miss the milestones of your kids. First words. First steps. So much others take for granted, I have missed.

Me: Is well-digging a pretty common military project? I guess what I’m getting at here is that a lot of mainstream media talks about the awful stuff that happens but we don’t see hardly any stories like yours about the folks who get sent out to be a practical help in other parts of the world.
Rob: SeaBees secondary mission behind supporting war efforts is humanitarian. At anytime, SeaBees are helping others. You name a natural disaster, and we’re there to help. We build schools. We build hospitals. We build housing. We build orphanages. We drill wells. We clear debris. We do it all. And we do it with little fan fare. We are a humble group. But if you do some google searches on SeaBees and humanitarian work, you should find examples abound.

Wow Rob! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience and your heart with us. Thank you for your service and sacrifices for your country. I pray God continues to bless you and your family.

Resources: More information about the Navy SeaBees and Christian Ministries that dig wells

A Brief history of the Navy SeaBees

Official Website of the U.S. Naval Construction Force

Infographic – A Closer Look: How Wells Work

Living Water International

Samaritan’s Purse International

Gospel For Asia

John 4 Part 4 – Worship, Spirit & Truth

Posted on February 5, 2016Leave a comment

Do you like to worship? I love it. I love singing to the Lord at the top of my lungs. I make a joyful noise! I love corporate worship at church, worshiping around the house while doing dishes and laundry, while I’m driving in my car, women’s bible study worship… I love contemporary songs like “Oceans” and “How Great is our God” and old hymns like “Be Thou My Vision” and “Rock of Ages.” Sometimes the song is slow and contemplative, sometimes rocking and emotional. And sometimes the same song I’ve sung a million times all of a sudden wrecks me in the best way.

Worship isn’t just in the songs we sing, it’s our whole lifestyle. It’s what makes us different than the animals. We are always worshiping… the real question is what are we worshiping? What are we giving ourselves to? What are we looking to for meaning and value in our lives? Do we worship the one true and living God or something else?

“Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:21

I don’t think Jesus said these things to confuse our Samaritan friend, but rather to remove her cultural and tradition biases. Up until this point God was primarily worshiped at the Temple in Jerusalem and in local Synagogues. Here Jesus shows up speaking very intimately about worship and telling her that the Father is seeking true worshipers. He tells her it’s not about the place, but the position of our hearts and minds.

What does it mean to worship in spirit and truth? How do we do that?

I had the pleasure of chatting with an awesome couple from our Church’s worship team, Matt and Alison Piro, about what it means to them to worship in spirit and in truth.

Matt: “There is a distinction and both of these things are said for a reason. What we see, the truth, and what we don’t see, the spirit. We have to worship in understanding of the full weight of what God has given to us, the promise of the Spirit that dwells in us. We worship a God that has given us His Spirit. The truth of God’s word must be the foundation of our worship. So many worship songs these days are people and feeling focused, not biblical or God centered. Our worship has to be based on the knowledge that our works don’t save us, but only the blood of Jesus.”

Alison: “It is the Spirit that enables us to worship. Our worship should also be authentic, truthful to ourselves, not just an outward show, but true from the heart.”

Matt expressed that acceptable worship also includes gratefulness, reverence and awe, as he shared this scripture with me.

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. Heb 12:28-29

Matt: “Know what you’re singing, and if you don’t feel like you’re there yet, make the words a prayer. Understand the gravity of what we sing, we don’t just sing along. We should be more cautious with the words we sing because we are actually singing to God.”

Another scripture Matt shares often during worship is Jeremiah 17:7-8

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

Thanks Matt and Allison! Some great things to think about and pray about! In fact let’s pray right now!

God you are so awesome! Thank you for our churches and worship leaders and for the hearts and gifts you’ve blessed them with. Help us to be true worshipers and put our trust in you so we can survive the dry times while still bearing good fruit. Keep us humble in our hearts and teach us every day to live a lifestyle of worshiping you in spirit and truth. We worship you because you are worthy of our reverence and worship. We give you all the glory. Amen

Next Time

Jesus’ mini pastor’s conference with the Disciples when they return from Sychar with food.

John 4 Part 3 – Jesus’ Perfect Patience

Posted on January 29, 2016Leave a comment

(My imagining of how this portion of conversation may have gone, as told from the woman’s perspective. John 4:13-26, 28-30)

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

She thinks… ‘I hate coming here, every day, in this heat, to draw water. When that water is gone I have to come back again for more. I’ve made so many mistakes. I’ve tried so hard to make a good life and I can’t seem to get it to work. All I ever wanted was a family. Friends. Kids. A real man to take care of me. None of the other women like me or care about me. They won’t even talk to me. Life is so hard, and lonely. I don’t want to be thirsty any more. I don’t want to come here by myself anymore. It sounds like he’s offering me some kind of holy water that will make it so I’m never thirsty again. I want that. Maybe if I ask him nicely he’ll give it to me. He is a Jew, but he doesn’t seem to hate me… I’ll ask and see what he says…’

“Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

“Go call your husband and come here.”

Why would he ask me that? What does that matter? What does my man have to do with this water? Well, no reason to lie…

“I have no husband.”

“You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”

(Have you ever been called out on your sin? Take a second, close your eyes and feel her shame. The heat and blood rising in her cheeks, the tightness in her throat, the sting of tears in the corners of her eyes. The stone of shame sinking into the pit of her stomach. Her heart beat wooshig in her ears. Her limbs feeling like lead. That feeling of being found out… uncovered… naked.)

‘How could he know that? What business is that of his? Maybe he met someone else that gossiped about me. It’s not my fault they all leave me. I feed them and they keep my bed warm, until they find out the real me, then they leave me. Why should I marry a man if he’s just going to leave?— Who is this man? What right does he have to shame me like this? Maybe he does hate me. What if he knows more than that? Maybe he is some kind of prophet. Maybe he doesn’t realize why I stay here. As bad as it is, this is where I belong… It’s all I’ve ever known.’‘

(Then her shame turns to anger, her lips tighten, her brows furrow and her eyes squint as her posture turns defensive. She crosses her arms.)

“Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”

“Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, then the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

‘What is he talking about? Where else is there to worship? I have never heard anyone say things like this before. He speaks as if he knows the Father. What does he mean the hour is now here? I’m so confused…’

“I know the Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.”

“I who speak to you am he.”

(When did you get “saved?” Do you remember? Feel her eyes opening. Not her physical eyes, but her spiritual eyes, opening and seeing the truth of Jesus. The cobwebs of confusion all of a sudden swept away by grace. She doesn’t even know his name, but she knows his truth. He is her redeemer. Feel her heart beating faster. Feel the stone of shame in her stomach turn to butterflies.)

‘I MUST GO NOW, TELL EVERYONE what has just happened to me. I found the TRUTH! This is Messiah! I was blind but now, I SEE!

So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people,
“Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”

(I love her sense of urgency, and how all of a sudden that water jar, and all the implications of shame that came with it, had no more meaning or power over her. It’s a symbol of how she didn’t need it, she wasn’t thirsty any more.)

Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Jesus at my Well

Even my heart beats faster as I write this. I remember where I was, and all the broken wells I was drinking from. I’ve been through seasons of drug abuse and addiction, depression, false spiritualism and witchcraft, lying and stealing, self destruction, self deception… We all have our list… Water pots full to the brim with dead water.

It really only takes the tiniest glimpse of His glory, to see that Jesus is the source, the Living Water, the Spirit and the Truth. The only part of my testimony that matters is that he knows everything I’ve ever done and will do, even those secret sins, and loves me anyways. Died for me anyways. When I was at my worst, His enemy, (Rom 5:10) He saved me. We can’t clean ourselves up to come to him, that’s impossible. He comes to us when we’re dying of thirst, without hope in the world, and gives us HIMSELF. He washes us inside and out with the Living Water, his mercy and grace.

Paul explains this perfectly in 1 Timothy 1:12-17

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

The woman from Sychar experienced this “perfect patience” of Jesus and went to people that weren’t even her friends, to tell them she had found Messiah. Jesus showed me his perfect patience over and over at every lonely well along my path, and still does today. You have found the Christ, the Savior of the world, invite somebody you know to meet him today.

Next Time

An Interview with Matt and Alison Piro on Worship, Spirit, and Truth.

John 4 Part 2 – Objection!

Posted on January 25, 2016Leave a comment

“Negasaurus” is a word we like to use jokingly to describe someone who is being negative. It’s a play on a dinosaur name. When one of my sons has an idea and the other one shoots it down… Negasaurus! When we all agree on where to eat but one objects… Negasaurus! When one of us is down on ourselves and we need cheering up… Negasaurus! “Negatron” also gets thrown around a fair bit. Having sons, it’s a play on “Megatron” from the ever popular Transformers. We totally discourage “name-calling,” but these family “inside jokes” are a lighthearted way for us to let each other know we may need an attitude adjustment.

In this conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well we see her throw many objections at Jesus. She is a first-class “Negasaurus.” But Jesus doesn’t give up on her. He sticks around and answers all her objections.

John 4:7-14

7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”
8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?
12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”
13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,
14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Jesus says, “Give me a drink.”

Her objection

Jews don’t talk to Samaritans

Such a simple request from a thirsty man. Why does it seem she replies so harshly? She’s basically saying “Are you talking to me?” This woman has a serious mental block about a Jewish Rabbi asking her for a drink. She already knows what John parenthesized for us in verse 9, that Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. In an extreme form of religious snobbery, devout Jews would walk miles out of their way, through the Jordan Valley, to avoid contact with the Samaritans. Jews believed the Samaritans were in a constant state of “uncleanness” because they were descendants of the Northern tribes of Israel that intermarried with the pagan Assyrians after their captivity in 721 B.C. Not fully Jew, not fully Gentile, they were half-breed relics of history.

His answer

“If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

Living water? What is that? Maybe her mind went to Jeremiah 17:13 which says, “O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water.” Maybe not, as it seems she has a few more objections coming. She seems a little confused, so she asks him “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”

Her Objections

You have nothing to draw water with and the well is deep.
Where is the living water?
Are you greater than Jacob?
This well is our inheritance from Jacob.

The well was indeed at least 100′ deep and possibly even deeper in that day. She knows in order to get herself, let alone this Jewish Rabbi, a drink she’s winding a long, long, long rope, and all she sees is his empty hands. Then she even challenges him. “Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” So her question is one of authority. She has this national pride. It’s almost like she’s questioning Jesus heritage in light of her own. The Jews might claim Abraham as their father but in her mind this well, being given to them by the Patriarch Jacob, gives them the authority to inhabit the place. But the answer to her question is yes, he is in fact greater than Jacob. Jesus addresses this later in the conversation so we’ll catch up on that next time.

His Answer

“Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Her authority is coming from the Law, the old covenant made between the Lord and the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. When we live our lives trying to please God with our own self-righteousness by the law we will continue to thirst. I might be righteous by the law for a second, but the whole job of the law and the old sacrificial system is to show me I can’t be righteous. “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.” James 2:10

Here Jesus is expressing the new covenant… Grace. We can only break free of the condemnation of the law when we drink the “living water.” It is grace that tells us only Jesus takes away our sin and failure to uphold the law perfectly. Then we are finally free to stop our Negasaurus objections and have true peace with God. And that freedom and peace bubbles over, becomes like Jesus said, a spring of water welling up to eternal life… giving the grace of God generously to everyone around us.

Living Water

If you could have living water, and never be thirsty again, and by thirsty I mean knocked down, drug out, soul weary, what would you give for it? Turns out it doesn’t cost money, but humility. We must ask and believe. Jesus repeats his “living water” offer later. In John 7:38 Jesus actually quotes proverbs 18:4 and says, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” John defines that “living water” for us in 7:39 saying “Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

Christians shouldn’t be rules lawyers, like the Pharisees, but rather “living water” drinkers. And that living water doesn’t stagnate but flows in and through our lives. There’s only one well that gives “living water.” Jesus.

Isaiah 12

This beautiful song is a powerful promise of the coming Savior. We see the grace of God, the well of salvation, and the only God worthy of our worship.

You will say in that day:
‘I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.
Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day:
‘Give thanks to the Lord,
call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that his name is exalted.’
Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth.
Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

Next Time

As always, thanks for reading and I hope you were encouraged, Next time we’ll cut to the heart of the issue as Jesus calls her out on sin and then reveals himself as the Messiah sent to save her from those very sins.

John 4 Part 1 – Jesus at the Well

Posted on January 15, 2016Leave a comment

Have you ever passed by a well or fountain, surrounded by laughing children and their parents doling out pennies? Hopes, dreams, wishes, all bound up to a little copper disk at the fingertips of a child. Maybe you remember yourself at that age, looking down into the water, speckled with all the shiny wishes that had gone before yours. What did “little you” wish for? Fame? Wealth? A better life? Where is our happily ever after? When did we stop throwing pennies? Sometimes when we pray do we feel like that? Like we throw God our pennies and hope for the best? Then we watch them sink like stones and get cynical and jaded when our hopes, dreams, and wishes don’t come our way. Do we treat God like a simple childhood superstition? I have. And how poorly I underestimated God.

Throughout the bible wells have a purpose. Water is a necessary element of life. Where there is water there are people. Where there is a well or spring there is provision for life. If someone digs a well it can be a symbol of land ownership and authority. If someone finds a spring in the desert it can mean the difference between life and death.

The new testament is full of accounts where Jesus met with people at wells, pools, seas and rivers. In this series through John 4 we’ll get a deep look at Jesus’ meeting with “the woman at the well.” Let’s get started.

Where in the World is Jesus of Nazareth?

“he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria.” John 4:3-4

Since John wrote this after all these things happen I find it interesting that he made the distinction that Jesus “had to” pass through Samaria. By the end of this section of scripture we will see many lives change and many people in Samaria come to believe in Jesus as the messiah/savior. But it started with a personal meeting with one woman who was broken and alone.

“So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.” John 4:5-6

This picture of Jesus is a little hard for me. It’s the heat of the day. He’s tired. Wearied. He’s walked a long way. He’s sitting by the well, resting his sore legs, possibly mopping sweat from his brow. He appears outwardly to be only a man, but in this we get a glimpse of why it says in Heb 4:15 that he is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. It’s hard to think of Jesus in “need” of anything. Here we see he wasn’t some spiritual apparition, but a man that got tired, hungry and thirsty.

“A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” John 4:7

At first glance this seems like our Lord is being a little bit demanding. But as the conversation continues we see this for what it is. An invitation to conversation and relationship. Not like the cold, humorless wishing well, that receives our coins with no guarantee that our desires will be met. Not even like the actual well, that requires you to let down a bucket and haul it back up to be rewarded with water. It is an invitation to know him.

Remember verse 4 says “he had to pass through Samaria.” When we met Jesus it wasn’t by accident. It wasn’t a coincidence. This isn’t fatalism either. There is a God and He wants you to know that He already knows you, that He has everything you need, and that you are not alone. How many times did that woman come to the well alone? Not with all the rest of the women, in community and sharing life together, but an outcast. And on this day, this particular day, she shows up and a strange man, asks her for a drink…

Next Time

Next week we’ll dig into the next part of this conversation. In the meantime, when we pray this week, let’s ask God to show us where we’ve been treating Him like a wishing well. He’s inviting us into relationship, a beautiful two way conversation about who we think He is and who He really is. He’s not far away, but right where you are… right at your lonely well. I hope you spend some time with Him. As always, Thanks for reading.

Spiritual Metabolism

Posted on November 6, 2015Leave a comment

I read a Bible verse a few nights ago that got me thinking about the difference between muscle and fat.

Psalm 119:70

“their (the insolent) heart is unfeeling like fat, but I delight in your law.”

Most of the time the heart is used symbolically. The heart, while muscle, is also considered the seat of our emotions. Fat, on the other hand, does fat feel sorrow or pain or joy? I can’t flex my fat like I flex my bicep.

The heart is a muscle. It’s the central pump that sends oxygenated blood throughout the body. So many intricate parts in the system. If one thing goes wrong the dysfunction can cause numerous problems and even death.

This all got me thinking about metabolism. Merriam-webster.com defines it as the sum of the processes in the buildup and destruction of protoplasm; specifically : the chemical changes in living cells by which energy is provided for vital processes and activities and new material is assimilated.

How can we relate this to ourselves spiritually? How does spiritual metabolism help us assimilate gospel truth and prevent our hearts from becoming “unfeeling like fat?”

Spiritual Metabolism

‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ Matt 4:4 & Deut 8:3

To keep our bodily metabolism functioning well we must have food, water, and exercise. Likewise, our spiritual metabolism runs on the word of God, prayer, community worship and service. Nutritional input, energy output.

The word of God and prayer are like food and water. We need to take them into our spirits like our bodies take in food, on a regular daily basis, multiple times a day. Sometimes we treat Sunday church like going out to an “all-you-can-eat.” We don’t feed ourselves often enough and are so hungry when we get there that we gorge ourselves. And just like at the buffet we guilt ourselves. We wish we were in the word and fellowship more often but we are so discouraged we don’t know how to make the healthy choice necessary for optimum spiritual metabolism.

Spiritual Junk Food vs. Spiritual Health Food

We all know the difference. Junk food = pre packaged, easy, trans- fat, sugar filled, sometimes even fake food. Fast food, super size fries, burgers, sodas and shakes. It has the appearance of food but lacks any real nutritional substance. Just enough to keep the body working, but over time performance and health suffers. Health food = lean meats and vegetables, complex carbs, healthy fats, an “occasional treat.” Reasonable portion sizes. Likewise, over time performance and ability increase.

“You are what you eat,”… spiritually. The junk that should just be the occasional treat ends up consuming much of our day. T.V., social media, video games, entertainment. We are consumers. But all these things are spiritually empty calories. We let our appetites instead of the Holy Spirit guide us. I am stirred by what Paul wrote to the Philippians,

“For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” Phil 3:19

Spiritual Fat vs. Spiritual Muscle

Activity builds endurance. We walk our dogs, we go to the gym, our children have recess and p.e. classes, and play sports. In order to build a muscle you must train it, over and over again, to do the work you require of it. We can train our minds in scripture and prayer, and train our eyes to see with faith rather than fear.

Daily time in the word, prayer and worship will make us examples to our friends, families and communities of what a committed disciple of Christ looks like. If we go to church once a week for 20 years but still eat the world every day what little spiritual muscle we have will be swallowed up by spare tires of unbelief and muffin tops of apathy. Would you join a gym where the before and after pics look exactly the same?

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Tim 3:16

Spiritual Lethargy vs. Spiritual Activity

My goal here is encouragement, not to guilt or shame. There is a better way. I want you to have a real, healthy, spiritually active lifestyle. Making changes is hard, but if you make small changes daily they will add up over time. Again, it’s the “training” model. No one can bench press 300# their first try. They would be crushed.

In the photo above I have 65# over my head. That took me a year. My first day I struggled to get a pvc pipe overhead. I’m not asking you to lift 300# today. But if you are willing to submit to daily spiritual training then someday you will lift that and more. Spiritually, this means daily time in God’s word, prayer and worship as well as a regular exercise of kindness, generosity, and self control. The Apostle Paul explained it like this,

“Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” 1 Cor 9:25-27

Training Starts Today

“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the LORD of hosts.” Zech 4:6

Our works don’t earn grace, but God’s grace in our lives gives us a desire to live with hearts that delight in God’s word and not as insolent people with unfeeling hearts. Don’t “wait till monday” to start eating your spiritual food and doing your spiritual activity. The Holy Spirit is whispering to you today. He is your helper. He is your trainer. Like your bodily metabolism converts food into energy, the Holy Spirit takes the gospel into your heart and converts it into the good works God has already prepared for you.

Thanks for reading! Comment and share if you’ve been encouraged.

A Year in the Life

Where Did All the Water Go?

From Ark to Altar

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Further Reading

Impending Doom

Help is on the Way

Get in the Ark

Who Do We Have Here?

Breaking the Rules

Sin no More

Sabbath Scandal

Resources: More information about the Navy SeaBees and Christian Ministries that dig wells

What does it mean to worship in spirit and truth? How do we do that?

Next Time

Further reading

Jesus at my Well

Next Time

Further Reading

John 4:7-14

Her objection

His answer

Her Objections

His Answer

Living Water

Isaiah 12

Next Time

Further reading:

Where in the World is Jesus of Nazareth?

Next Time

Further Reading

Psalm 119:70

Spiritual Metabolism

Spiritual Junk Food vs. Spiritual Health Food

Spiritual Fat vs. Spiritual Muscle

Spiritual Lethargy vs. Spiritual Activity

Training Starts Today