Feb 28 - Two Are Joined As One

OK, I'm officially ready to be done with Leviticus! At least in today's reading God fires it up by making mandatory festivals that have to be celebrated each year on official days in addition to the Lords Sabbath days, and offerings are in addition to your personal.....ok well no offense Lord but your taking the wind out of my sails on these festivals. I would hate to mess something up at a party for God and burst into flames. Thank you Jesus for the ability to celebrate our relationship with you in our own God given way:) We like to rock the house at Celebration church!

In Mark today Jesus wants to spend some more time with his disciples and teach them without the large crowds. He calls his 12 disciples over and starts teaching them in parables. He finishes up today talking about marriage. "'God made them male and female' from the beginning of creation. 'This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together." It's incredible what the divorce rate is in this world. I wish more people could see marriage from God's point of view. It's not just a commitment that you can hand back in if you don't think it's working right, but a covenant that's meant to last a lifetime. Is it work, somedays, is it worth it....Completely! With God in the mix making the Two become One you can't go wrong.... That's the way I see it....

Feb 27 - More Instructions

OK, Well if we were living back in pre-Jesus days I would have books, folders, highlighters, notepads and cliffnotes on the Lords instructions. There are so many different rules for who can do what and how to do it when it comes to offerings to the Lord that I know I would botch one and burst in flames!

In the new testament Jesus takes Peter, James and John, and leads them up a high mountain to be alone. They watched Jesus' appearance transform and his clothes became dazzling white, far whiter than any earthly bleach could ever make the. Then Elijah and Moses appeared and began talking with Jesus. Peter didn't know what to say, all three of them were terrified so he said "Let's make three shelters-one for you , one for Moses and one for Elijah" Just then a cloud overshadowed them and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him." and suddenly Moses and Elijah were gone it was just Jesus with them.

As they are heading back down the mountain Jesus tells them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. How cool would it have been to have an Iphone back then! A little Youtube shot of the big man himself speaking to Jesus. I'm sure Peter, James and John weren't in a hurry to tell anyone what they saw anyone....who would believe them.

Feb 26 - God Lays Down The Law

God says to Moses, "Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I the Lord your God, am holy." He then goes on to give specifics as to what to do like not putting your trust in idols, respect your mother and father....etc. There are a lot of different rules and what the punishment is if specific rules are broken. "If a man commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, both the man and the woman who have committed adultery must be put to death." Look at the penalty for adultery. Seems to me like God puts a lot of stock in wanting His people to stay faithful.

In the new testament the Pharisees heard Jesus had arrived and they came to argue with him. Continually testing him demanding miraculous signs from heaven to prove his authority. Jesus said "Why do these people keep demanding a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, I will not give this generation any such sign." So he got back in the boat and left. The left in such a hurry his disciples forgot to bring any food they just and one loaf of bread so they all started to argue. Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, "Why are you arguing about having no bread? don't you know of understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? you have eyes-can't you see? You have ears-can't you hear? Don't you remember anything at all? When I fed the 5,000 how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?"
"Twelve" they said.
"And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?"
"Seven" the said.
"Don't you understand yet?" he asked them.

Jesus and the disciples left Galilee as they were walking Jesus asked them, "Who do people say I am?"
"Well, some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets."
Then he asked them, "But who do you say I am?"
Peter replies "You are the Messiah." But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He goes on to tell his disciples today that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise form the dead. As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things.
Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter. "Get away from me, Satan!" he said. "You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God's."

Jesus had amazing patience through everything that continues to go on. He has to continually remind his disciples of his greatness and that there is a path that must be walked for the salvation of mankind.

I thought Proverbs was a good one today. 10:17 - People who accept discipline are on the pathway to life, but those who ignore correction will go astray.
Pnuts not exactly accpeting discipline at this point but as an over energized 2 year old with limitless curiosity and the ability to look you right in the eyes right before she does she knows she's not suppose to do......is receiveing some discipline now and again and we see learning improvements from it:)

Feb 25 - Jesus Does It Again

Leviticus - Well it looks like in the old days we weren't allowed to eat or drink blood in any form. Nor was it OK to have sexual relations with a bunch of different close relatives or animals otherwise it would defile the body. I would hope that those weren't hard rules to live by:)

In Mark today Jesus leaves Galilee and heads north to Tyre and tries to keep it a secret of which house he was staying at. Right away word spread and people came to be healed and have family members healed. He left Tyre and went to Sidon before heading back to the Sea of Galilee and the region of the Ten Towns. He heals a deaf man with a speech impediment and tells the crowd not to tell anyone but the more he said to keep quiet the more news spread.

At about this time another large crowd surrounds Jesus and he feels sorry for them. He takes Seven loaves of bread and a few small fish and feed 4,000 people. He then immediately gets into a boat with his disciples and crossed to the region of Dalmanutha. Another busy few days for Jesus and the disciples.

Feb 24 - The Heart Defiles The Body

Now we talk about lovely discharges from the body and specific purification periods and of coarse more blood. The Lord speaks to Moses after the death of Aaron's two sons, who died after they entered the Lord's presence and burned the wrong kind of fire before him. The Lord said to Moses, "Warn your bother, Aaron, not to enter the Most Holy Place behind the inner curtain whenever he chooses; if he does, he will die. For the Arks cover-the place of atonement-is there, and I myself am present in the cloud above the atonement cover."

Today in Mark, Jesus has a mini-snap at the Pharisees and teachers of religious law. They ask him :Why don't your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony." Jesus replies "You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you , for he wrote, 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.' For you ignore God's law and substitute your own tradition." He hits them with a parable about showing how they cancel the word of God in order to hand down their own tradition. Jesus calls to the crowd "All of you listen and try to understand. It's not what goes into your body the defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart."

Jesus explains to his disciples in private "Can't you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? Food doesn't go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and goes into the sewer (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God's eyes....Bring on the BACON!) "It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person's heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desire, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you."

Can't you feel it when you do something knuckleheaded.....Just remember this.... Matthew 6:33 "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." God's got your back you just have to remember to lean on Him and diligently seek his guidance......That's the way I see it.......

Feb 23 - Jesus Feeds 5000

Leviticus goes on to "These are the instructions for dealing with serious skin diseases, including scabby sore; and mildew, whether on clothing or in a house, and swelling on the skin, a rash, or discolored skin. This procedure will determine whether a person or object is ceremonially clean or unclean." More slaughtering and blood smearing all in specific ways depending on the situation.

In the new testament today the apostles return from their ministry tour and Jesus said "Let's go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile." So they get in a boat and try to go where they could be alone but many people recognized them and Jesus had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. It gets late in the afternoon and his disciples tell him to send the crowds away to go find food because they are in a rural place. Jesus said, "You feed them." Well they're looking down at five loaves of bread and two fish and a crowd of 5,000 saying...riiiiight.

Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit in groups of fifty or a hundred. He took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then he began breaking the loaves into pieces and giving the bread to the disciples to distribute to the people. He also split up the fish for everyone to share. Everyone ate as much as they wanted, and afterward they picked up 12 baskets of leftover bread and fish.

Late that night the disciples were in their boat and Jesus just finished praying by himself and he sees his disciples in their boat struggling against the wind and waves. It's about 3AM and Jesus walks out on the water toward them. He intended to stroll on by to the other side of the lake but when they saw him walking on the water they were terrified thinking he was a ghost. Jesus spoke to them at once "Don't be afraid, take courage! I am here!" and he climbs in the boat. Wassup...........just got done praying you all ready to go?

Once they crossed the lake people recognized Jesus immediately and began to bring their sick. Wherever Jesus went they brought the sick out and begged him to let them touch the frindge of his robe, and all who touched him were healed.

Feb 22 - Life Is But A Breath In Time

Let's burn through Leviticus today.....It's all about pronouncing people ceremonial unclean and what needs to happen for them to be pronounced ceremonial clean when it comes to sores, skin disease, boils, burns.....etc. One thing that caught my eye is Leviticus 13:40 - "If a man loses his hair and his head becomes bald, he is still ceremonially clean." Thank you and Good night!

In the new testament today Jesus returns to his hometown Nazareth and is met with tons of scepticism. He begins teaching in the synagogue and people were amazed. They asked, "Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?" Then they scoffed, "He's just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon. And his sisters liver right here among us." They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.

Then Jesus told them, "A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family." Because of their unbelief, he couldn't do any might miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. Crazy....the man comes back and carpenter or not they were amazed by his teachings and ability to perform miracles yet their hard hearts only wanted to see him as a carpenter. But that didn't stop Jesus he was part of a big plan by God. When God has a plan for your life don't be hammered down by the criticism. Do you have a passion or a Dream that you want to go after but your being pulled down by criticism encompassed with Fear? If your dream has been given to you by God then don't let anything stop you!

I'm living my dream....Well I should say I'm living God's plan which when you line up with His plans for you it becomes the dream you didn't even know you had! Money, big house, expensive car....my old dream not necessarily God's plan for my life. If that stuff comes then Great but if not that's Great too! My wife and I still save for retirement and I do have my own company that I'm working on expanding and interviewing with companies for better paying jobs that's just good sense. I have turned down a directors job in the past and didn't consider a traveling job recently that paid much more because it didn't line up with God's plan....or my new dream to be around and have time to spend my kids and spending time with my wife and helping her through this crazy time of feeding Little Bit every three hours while the Tazmanian Pnut tears up the house Toby Mac (feat. Kirk Franklin & Mandisa) puts it best in his song Lose My Soul "I'm gonna be a daddy who's in the mix and I'm gonna be a husband who stays legit" If you told me that my dream was going to be a great father and loving husband back when I was in my 20's I would have fell off my chair laughing. I put my faith in worldly things with money at the helm and got crushed....twice:) I think that was God pushing me off my platform saying "I have much better for you." Well He was right...imagine that:)

Psalm 39:4-5 "Lord remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered-how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath." Everyone always says they can't believe how fast time flies and how quick their kids grew up. I don't want to miss any of it, plus hanging out with Pnut allows me to act like a child experiencing everything as new! Although I get looked at funny when i scream DUCKY, QUACK-QUACK at the mall but what the heck...just living the dream!

Feb 21 - NO BACON!

Thank you Jesus, if for nothing else, for making it OK for us to eat Bacon!:) OK I appreciate the fact that I don't need to do all those different sacrifices and live by old testament laws, that I'm saved and am heading to Heaven for all eternity as well but would NOT enjoy my short time here on earth if I couldn't have Bacon a staple diet product at Deer Camp! In the old testament the Lord was handing down the laws to Moses for the people about which animals could be eaten, including locusts, crickets and grasshoppers.....yuck.....but not Pigs. The pig has evenly split hooves but does not chew the cud, so it is unclean therefore not OK to eat.

The Lord says "For I, the Lord, am the one who brought you up from the land of Egypt, that I might be your God. Therefore, you must be holy because I am holy."

"These are the instructions regarding land animals, birds, marine creatures, and animals that scurry along the ground. By these instructions you will know what is unclean and clean, and which animals may be eaten and which may not be eaten." There were a lot of them so if your into having a Camel sandwich with a side of seagull with some Gecko for dessert....have at it! I'm just going to stick with the bacon:)

In the new testament today, Jesus goes back to the other side of the lake where the large crowd had gathered and a leader of the local synagogue pleaded with Jesus to come lay his hands on his dying daughter and make her well. Jesus went with him and all the people followed all crowded around him when a lady that had been bleeding for 12 years touched his robe and was immediately healed. Jesus realized that healing power had gone out from him so he asked "Who touched my robe?" His disciples asked "Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, 'Who touched me?'"
The frightened woman, fell to his feet and told him what she had done "If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed." he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over." So there's one big miracle Jesus performs just through the girls faith!

Jesus finally gets to the house the girl was laying lifeless (she died before they arrived) he's brought only Peter, James, and John with him. He saw much commotion and weeping in the house. Jesus says "Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn't dead; she's only asleep." The crowd laughed at him so he kicks them out. He tells the girl "Little girl, get up!" and she gets up and walks around! The family is totally amazed.....as they should be. I've never experienced a miracle of such magnitude directly in my life, but by what Stovall just went through last week with his heart and Josh's daughter Riley who wasn't suppose to live just turned two! God's miracles are all around us we just need to be willing realize that's what they are and not try to explain them off as something else! Yes bad happens too, we can't see or understand God's master plan, does that make His miracles any less incredible?? I don't think so....well, at least, That's the way I see it...

Feb 20 - Aaron Presents Offerings

Moses instructs Aaron to go to the altar and sacrifice his sin offering and his burnt offering to purify himself and the people. So Aaron went to the altar and slaughtered the calf as a sin offering for himself. dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar. Then he slaughtered the animal for the burnt offering and splattered it's blood against all sides of the altar. He then presented the offerings of the people by slaughtering the people's goat for sin offering and presented the burnt offering. He also presented the grain offering burning a handful of the flour mixture. Then Aaron slaughtered the bull and the ram for the people's peace offering and splattered it's blood against all sides of the altar. Now while doing all of this he was also doing specific things with the body parts like the kidneys, livers...etc as prescribed by the Lord with the help of his sons. When he was all done he blessed the people. He went into the Tabernacle with Moses and when they came back out they blessed the people again, and the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole community.

I want to take a second and explain what's going on with the new testament. I pulled from another bible this "There is only one gospel, but four accounts of it. So we have here Matthew's version of the "good news" from God. Matthew's name means "gift of the Lord". That is the "Title and Background" that is found at the beginning of Matthews account. We are now into Mark's account and we will move on to Luke and John's accounts of the "good news" of Jesus and his walk here on earth and resurrection.

I the new testament today Jesus continues to teach in parables. The bible states that in his public ministry he never taught without using parables; but afterward, when he was along with his disciples, he explained everything to them. So Jesus and his disciples get in a boat to cross the lake and a fierce storm kicks in and the boat begins to fill with water. Where's Jesus taking a catnap in the back! The disciples were freaking out and woke him up, shouting, "Teacher, don't you care that we're going to drown?" (This has Saturday Night Live skit written all over it!)
When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the water, "Silence! Be still!" Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. The he asked them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?" Then I'm betting he laid down and went back to sleep! I feel like this in my life when a storm picks up whether it be struggles with work, finances or just runs of everything going wrong! It's so huge that I can't handle it on my own I've got to wake Jesus up! Thanks to Jesus being the ultimate sacrifice the Holy Spirit is now within us. God wants us to call out to Him for help when the waves come crashing in. Don't be afraid to wake Him up when trouble hits.....He's there just waiting to help out call on Him before your boat sinks.....That's the way I see it and at times experienced it:)

Feb 19 - It's All About The Soil!

Leviticus - Moses finishes with the Lord and takes all his instructions to the community and presents Aaron and his sons. Moses presents a bull for the sin offering a ram for the burn offering and another ram, which was the ram of ordination. All presented in the specific way God commanded with Aaron and his sons.

In Mark today Jesus gives one of my favorite parables:
"Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn't have deep roots, it died. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!"

He explains to his disciples:
"The farmer plants seed by taking God's word to others. The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don't have deep roots, they don't last long. They don't last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God's word, but all to quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God's word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!"

Are you a farmer taking God's word to others or a better question is are you like the footpath, rocky soil or thorns wishing to be more like the good soil? I think I've been all four at certain times in my walk with God. The good soil is the way to be....Well at least that's the way I see it:)

Feb 18 - Jesus Picks His Disciples

So I'm still in Leviticus in the old testament. Now I see why they make the daily readings one from old testament and one from new because Leviticus is killing me. Now don't get me wrong it's in God's word so there must be a very important reason God wanted it in the Bible. Maybe it's so we can appreciate that we don't have to go through all of these different offerings and ceremonial dressing to have a personal relationship and forgiveness for our sins. Jesus was the lamb for that all so we can have the Holy Spirit inside of us and ask God directly for forgiveness instead of going Freddy Kruger on some poor animal!:)

In the new testament today Jesus preaches from a boat just off shore so not to be crushed by the crowds coming from all over. When he's done he appoints his 12 apostles. They would accompany him and he would send them out to preach giving them authority to cast out demons.
Simon (whom he named Peter)
James and John (the sons of Zebdee, but Jesus nicknamed them "Sons of Thunder")
Andrew
Philip
Bartholomew
Matthew
Thomas
James (son of Alhaeus)
Thaddaeus
Simon (the zealot)
Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him)

Psalm 37:3-4 Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desires.

Feb 17 - More Sin Offerings

Leviticus goes on as the Lord tells Moses how he is to deal with those who sin unintentionally. More bulls and goats are looking at having very bad days when someone messes up. The Lord is very specific as to what is sacrificed and how for what specific sins. Thank God for Jesus on the cross to be the Lamb that was sacrificed for our sins! I would have spent a lot of days growing up vomiting....did I mention I can't handle blood?

In Mark today Jesus is firing out the parables! As Jesus walked along , he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector's booth. "Follow me and be my disciple," Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him. Disciple number five. Jesus goes to Levi's house for dinner and eats with many tax collectors and sinners. So of coarse the Pharisees saw him eating with them and asked the disciples, "Why does he eat with such scum?"

Jesus heard this and tells them "Healthy people don't need a doctor-sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners."

This is a HUGE belief in our church. Stovall tells you if your a crack addict, thief, porn addict, prostitute, Christian, just an average everyday person....whatever get through the doors of Celebration church! The church is here to save the lost and where better to save them then in a safe environment full of love and understanding. Heck I'll bet about 90% of our church is made up of people that were a mess! It's amazing what can happen when you give God the controls.

I thought Psalm 36:1 was interesting today. "Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts. They have no fear of God at all." As we see these high profile people getting caught in situations that get them fired, may destroy their marriages and even some destroy their entire way of life it makes you wonder. If they were in fear of God knowing that He knows and sees all would they have done what they did? Stovall preaches about "planning not to have an affair" and in the same line "plan not to surf porn", "plan not to get drunk", "plan not to abuse your wife"....etc. What in your life should you "Plan not to do" knowing in your heart that it's wrong. I'm in no way perfect and do my best to not mess up but like everyone else I make mistakes and ask for forgiveness when I do. If you don't want to live in "Fear" of God how about living in respect of his commands knowing that He loves us and only wants the best for us. From what I've read and experience everyday it doesn't seem like such a bad way to live.....That's the way I see it:)

Feb 16 - Leviticus....Yuck!

OK, now I see why Stovall joked about preaching from Leviticus.
The Lord called to Moses from the Tabernacle and said to him, "Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. When you present an animal as an offering to the Lord, you may take it from your herd of cattle or your flock of sheep and goats." The Lord goes on to give Moses specifics for offerings. It's like a Friday The 13th scene. Now it's not just go in a hack it up God was very specific on how the offerings were to be done and where to smear the blood, what to do with the organs....etc. I hope the craftsman whipped up a few puke buckets when they built the rest of the Tabernacle.

In Mark today Jesus finishes preaching in the synagogue and goes to Simon and Andrew's home and heals Simon's mother in-law. He heals many demon -possessed and sick of various diseases. Before daybreak the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place to pray. Jesus meets up with Simon and the others and tells them "We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too." So they travel throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons.

Jesus returned to Capernaum and soon the house he was staying at was packed with visitors. Right in the middle of his preaching four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man and couldn't bring him to Jesus because of the large crowd so they dug a hole through the roof and lowered the man down right in front of Jesus. Sounds like a scene out of a Monty Python movie! I can see him preaching away then...squeeek, squeeeek, squeeek some guy gets lowered down right in front of him on some random pulley system.

Jesus tells the paralyzed man "My child, your sins are forgiven." So some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought "What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!" Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking so he told the paralyzed man "Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!" And the man did! Everyone began to praise God.

Feb 15 - The Tabernacle Is Given To Moses

The craftsman made all the beautiful sacred garments for Aaron as the Lord had commanded. Bezalel made went through and made all the rest of the stuff for the Tabernacle to be complete and they brought the entire Tabernacle to Moses to inspect. When Moses found that it had been done just as the Lord had commanded he blessed them. The Lord instructed Moses to "Set up the Tabernacle on the first day of the new year." and gave him all the instructions on where to put everything. He did as the Lord commanded and I'm sure slept extremely well afterword.

Today we start reading from Mark. This is his view on Jesus' life from when John the Baptist spoke of his coming. John announced: "Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am-so much greater that I'm not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!" Jesus came up from Nazareth one day and John baptized him in the Jordan River. As Jesus came out of the water the heavens split apart and the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, "You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy." Talk about making an entrance!

Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, "Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!" and they left their nets at once and followed him. Two disciples lined up 10 to go!

A little farther up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee's sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets. He call them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat with hired men......number three and four.

Feb 14 - He's Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Bezalel goes on to make the Ark of the Covenant, the cover, the table, lampstands....etc all to the specifications of which God had given to Moses. As you read through today's reading it is quite astounding how beautiful everything must have looked, but then what else would you expect from God. After all he made my wife and a darn fine job he did I might add....she's Hot! I the most respectful way:)

Today in Matthew Jesus rises from the dead. It's Early Sunday morning and Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (how would you like to be known as "The Other Mary" throughout history), anywho, they went out to visit the tomb. Suddenly their was a great earthquake, the angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it.
Then the angel spoke to the women. "Don't be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen." "He is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there."

Now some guards went into the city and told the leading priests what had happened. A meeting with the elders was called, they decided to give the soldiers a large bribe to say Jesus' disciples came at night while they were sleeping and stole the body. Their story spread among the Jews, and they still tell it today.

Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Proverbs was kind of cool today: Proverbs 9:10 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgement.

I'll tell ya right now I could have used some help with good judgement throughout the years. I did a lot of "learning from your mistakes" training:).....That's the way I see it.

Feb 13 - Jesus Is Nailed To The Cross

Moses instructs all of the gifted craftsmen to get starting on constructing everything the Lord has commanded. That's the Tabernacle, lampstands, curtains, Ark.....etc. Lot's of incredible stuff. 'So the whole community of Israel left Moses and returned to their tents. All whose hearts were stirred and whose spirits were moved came and brought their sacred offerings to the Lord.'

The Lord chose Bezael son of Uri, grandson of Hur of the tribe of Judah as the master craftsman to build everything. "The Lord has gifted Bezalel, Oholioab, and the other skilled craftsmen with wisdom and ability to perform any task involved in building the sanctuary."

In Matthew today Jesus is hung on the cross with a sign above his head reading "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." Two other people were crucified with him one on each side. People passing by shouted abuse and mocked Jesus. "You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Well then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!" The leading priests, elderls, and teachers of religious law also mocked him. "He saved others, but he can't save himself!" Right there I would think a light would kick on that oh that's right he did perform many unexplainable miracles and did good for others.....what the heck are we doing??

At about 3 o'clock Jesus called out "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which means "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" Apparently some bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. "Wait! Let's see whether Elijah comes to save him."

Now comes the time when I bet a lot of people said OH SHOOT we just killed the Son of God! Uhhhhhhhhhh I was just watching I didn't have anything to do with it I believed him all along!

Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead.

The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. The said, "This man truly was the Son of God!" We want a Do-Over!!! Oooops our bad.

Feb 12 - Moses Instructs The People

So God tells moses to chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones and He will write on the the same words that were on the last tablets and please don't smash these! Or something similar. Moses heads back up the mountain with the tablets and the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him. Can you imagine just chillin on top of a mountain in the presence of the Lord! We'll thanks to the Holy Spirit you now can:) God tells Moses that He will go ahead of them and drive out the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. He instructs Moses to "break down their pagan altars, smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherah poles." He tells him to be careful not to make a treaty with the people that live there and fall into evil. "You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you."

The Lord then gives moses instructions and tells him "Write down all these instructions, for they represent the terms of the covenant I am making with you and with Israel." Moses remained on the mountain with the Lord for 40 days.

When he came down carrying the two tablets Aaron and the people of Israel were afraid to go near him because his face had become radiant from speaking to the Lord. Moses calls them and gives them the instructions from the Lord.

In Matthew today Pilate, the governor, gives the crowd a choice to either release Jesus or Barabbas a notorious prisoner. They shout to release Barabbas and crucify Jesus. Pilate gets a bowl of water and washes his hands in front of the crowd saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood. The responsibility is yours!"
The people yelled back, "We will take responsibility for his death-we and our children!" Hey that's not fair to drag your kids down with you. I'll bet the day of the Crucifixion a bunch of people from that group wished they could take a mulligan! Jesus is given to the Roman soldiers to be crucified. The governor's soldiers stripped him, put a scarlet robe on him and wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head then knelt before him, mocking and taunting him. "Hail! King of the Jews!" spitting on him and poking him with sticks. When they became tired of that they put his clothes on him and led him away to be crucified.......I would NOT want to be one of that bunch!

Feb 11 - The People Get Bored

Moses has been up on Mount Sanai for a while so the people get antsy and gathered around Aaron. "Come On," they said, "make us some gods who can lead us. We don't know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt." Now talk about lack of loyalty and faith. Over and over again the Lord has used Moses to come through for the people and again once things get questionable the people want an Idol to worship! So Aaron makes one out of their gold.......Miiiiiiiiiistake! The people were about to be wiped out right there by the Lord but thanks to Moses and his favor with God they were spared. Moses goes down the mountain with the commandments on two tablets and the everyone is partying and celebrating giving sacrafices to the false idol, a golden calf Aaron made. When Moses saw this he was furious and threw the tablets to the ground smashing them.

I Love this...sounds like a type of excuse one of my kids will use.....Moses asks Aaron "What did these people do to you to make you bring such terrible sin upon them?" He gives a rundown of what they said and says "I simply threw it (the gold) into the fire-and out came this calf!" Ya right.......:) Moses gives them one last chance to be on the Lord's side....all the Levites gathered around him. The next day they killed all of those that weren't with the Lord.

Moses asks the Lord to show him his presence. God replies "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, Yahweh, before you. For I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose. but you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live." He then has him stand by a rock and covers him with his hand until he passes by to let him see Him from behind.

Everything Jesus talked about was starting to come to pass. Peter rebuked that he didn't know Jesus 3 times then the rooster crowed. Judas realizes that Jesus had been condemned to die so he tries to take the 30 pieces of silver back, paid to him to deceave Jesus, to the elders.....no dice. So he threw the coinds and left and hanged himself. The priests used the money to buy the potter's field fullfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah that says,
"They took the thirty pieces of silver-the price at which he was valued by the people of Israel, and purchased the potter's field, as the Lord directed."

Feb 10 - Moses Is Given The Stones

The Lord finishes up with Moses regarding all the Tabernacle specifics, the wisdom of the craftsman to build it, ceremonies, garments to make and much more. Moses sure could have used a recording device I'm sure......."When the Lord finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, written by the finger of God."

Jesus is betrayed by Judas today.......That's a day I'm sure Judas wish he had just stayed in bed.....That's the way I see it anyway:)

Feb 9 - Ceremonys And More Work For Craftsman

So God is building one dandy Tabernacle, Ark of the Covenant, with a mac daddy cover, clothes, tables for the Tabernacle....etc. He gives all this information to Moses and gives the wisdom to the craftsman to build all of this in order to allow Aaron and his sons to meet with Him and He could be with the people. That my friends sounds like true love to me! We have wedding ceremonies to show our love when we get married, animals have mating ceremonies before they shucka, shucka.....God doesn't just have specifics on the ceremony he has the most incredible location built for it to take place! Once a year Aaron was to purify the alter and it was to be an annual event from generation to generation.....this was the Lord's most holy altar.

Jesus tells the disciples "One of you who has just eaten from this bowl with me will betray me. For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for the man if he had never been born!" has his last meal with his disciples, breaks bread and gives them wine saying "for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is pured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." and lays down the answers to what the future holds as far as the loyalty of them to him once he is taken. The disciples all say they will stay 100% faithful to him. They all head out to the Mount of Olives for Jesus to pray.....I'm sure glad I wasn't picked to betay the Son of Man!

Feb 8 - Pastor Stovall Weems' Operation

Our Pastor at Celebration church went under the knife yesterday to have open heart surgery. The operation seems to be a success and it didn't take as long as they though it would praise God! Please keep pastor in your prayers. That crazy man was used by God to help bring me to Jesus!

Feb 8 - Aaron Represents The People Of Israel

God instructs Moses to have a craftsman make sacred garments for Aaron and his sons that are glorious and beautiful. The Lord has filled the craftsman with the spirit of wisdom to create the garments and incredible garments they must have been. The Lord once again specifically breaks down how the garments are to look and what the meaning is leaving nothing for question. The garments are to be made for Aaron and his sons so they may serve the Lord as priests. Exodus 28:1-43


"But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him then he will sit upon his glorious throne." Jesus goes on to talk about the King will say those on his right are blessed by my Father and they inherit the Kingdom because when he was hungry, you fed me, thirsty you gave me a drink. He was a stranger and you invited him into your house, he was naked and you gave him clothes......


"I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!"

"I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me."

Extend a hand to the less fortunate in these incredibly trying times. See someone that needs a meal buy them one....you have a closet full of clothes you don't wear anymore, donate them to a homeless shelter. Small random acts of kindness can go a long, loooooooooooong way:)

Feb 7 - That's One Heck Of A Tabernacle

Moses gets specific instructions on how to build the Tabernacle and to put the Ark of the Covenant inside. Our Lord knows how to build one sweet Tabernacle!

In Matthew today he's busting out the parables again. "The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom." 5 were left in the dark.....all pun intended:) I like the one about the servants who received the silver. It's a lot like us being Christians....if we just bury our heads in the ground and don't tell people about how awesome life has been since we've come to Christ then we won't build his kingdom. We'll just kind of mosey on through life......I'm certainly glad Charley shared with me and left the door open so when I was ready to walk through. HEY time for a Matrix Quote that's relevant! Morpheus: I can only show you the door. You're the one that has to walk through it.

Feb 6 - God Likes A Good Paaaaaaaaarty

"Each year you must celebrate three festivals in my honor." How do you like those instructions! He gives specific instructions on what to do and says that He will basically run the whole show for the building of a great nation for Moses and His people. It will be "from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the Eastern wilderness to the Euphrates River." God tells Moses to come on back up the mountain and stay there "I will give him the tablets of stone on which I have inscribed the instructions and commands so you can teach the people."

He then gives Moses specific instructions on what to tell the people of Israel and have them build a holy sanctuary so He could live among them. Lots of information on specifics on the the Ark he was to build of acacia wood overlay it inside and out with pure gold, 27 inches wide and 27 inches high, cast 4 gold rings to carry it, cover is to be 45 inches long and 27 inches wide, two cherubim from hammered gold on the cover, lampstands...etc...etc...etc. Today's reading God finishes with Moses by saying "Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain." I sure hope it was a portable pattern that he could take with him and not something God drew in the dirt with a stick! I forgot the first instructions half way through the reading......

Jesus says talking about the end of days "However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows." So please stop guessing:) I think it all boils down to this Matthew 24:44 "You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected." ......That's the way I see it:)

Feb 5 - God Lays Down The Law

Today God is giving the laws as to what should happen if there is a dispute between two people, if there are burning thorn bushes and the fire burns out of control what should happen to who. Lots of that in today's reading. The strangest one I see if Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal must certainly be put to death......uuuhhhhh ok I would think once they realize they are getting it on with animals they would want to throw themselves off a cliff!

The Lord also says "You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working." I want to hang that one above my desk at work:) It is so important to have your sabbath day to recharge. Thankfully I have a wonderful wife that reminds me from time to time.

In Matthew today Jesus is telling eh disciples what the signs will be that the end of the world is near. "Many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false Prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come." Well doesn't a bunch of that sound like current times:) Sin will be rampant everywhere....the Internet can prove that. The love of many will grow cold.....Divorce Statistics Worldwide

Feb 4 - Ten Commandments

OK we Finally make it to where God gives Moses The Ten Commandments (LOVE that movie....wife thinks I'm nuts because it's so ooooold school video but she bought it for me and watches it anyway...that my friends is true love)
Then God gave the people all these instructions:
“I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.
1) “You must not have any other god but me.
2) “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those[b] who love me and obey my commands.
3) “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.
4) “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
5) “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
6) “You must not murder.
7) “You must not commit adultery.
8) “You must not steal.
9) “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
10) “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”

In Matthew today Got puts the smack down on teachers of religious law and the Pharisees about being Hypocrites.......they don't practice what the preach!

Feb 3 - God Defeats The Army Of Amalek

The people of Israel were attacked by the warriors of Amalek. Joshua goes out with some men and fights the army of Amalek while Moses stands at the top of the hill holding the staff of God in his hands. When he drops his arms Joshua and his men start getting their butts whopped. While his arms are raised with the staff Joshua has the advantage. So Aaron and Hur find a rock for Moses to sit on and they each stand on a side and hold up his hands.....until sunset! Joshua wins the battle......Moses loses the feeling in both his arms:)

They settle in the wilderness of Sinai and set up camp. Moses goes to the mountain and gets instructions from God. He then returns down the mountain and talks to the people, consecrates them for worship and tells to wash their clothes and abstain from doing the naughty for on the 3rd day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai as they watch. Now they can't go up the mountain or even cross a boundary that was set up all around the mountain otherwise they will die.

In Matthew today Jesus is once again tested by the Pharisees. Talk about persistence! They never win, they always leave either confused or amazed yet they keep trying! Today Jesus says "don't address anyone here on earth as 'Father,' for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father." "those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

Proverbs 6:32-33 "But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool for he destroys himself. He will be wounded and disgraced. His shame will never be erased." I think we all know this to be true after all the mess with some big named celebrities as well as politicians. It's nuts how much cheating goes on! If you happen to be someone that is in a position to where adultery may come into play....DON'T! Stoval had a GREAT series called "With This Ring". He talks about no one plans to have an affair but the best way to not have one is to plan NOT to have an affair! I found one of the sermons click: The Marriage Bed you can do the audio, video or whatever. There's more spread throughout his services. Anyone wants a copy let me know I'm sure I can get one from the church. The big thing about the sermon is to take yourself out of situations that may turn into a bad situation.

Feb 2 - Manna From The Sky

The Israelites watch as God closes the sea up on the Egyptians. Miraiam the prophet, Aarons sister, took a tambourine and led all the women as the played their tambourines and danced and sang.....Moses leads the poeple of Israel into the desert of Shure and guess what....they start complaining and turn against Moses...Imagine that:) Continually they complain and Moses goes to the Lord and he provides. They want food he gives them Manna, They want water moses strikes a stone and water pours out. The Lord asked Moses, "How long will these people refuse to obey my commands and instructions?" They were ignoring the Sabbath and trying to collect food that day when they were told to pick up double food on day 6. What's it take to believe in the Lord and his goodness. I guess it's human nature that when things start going bad we freak out! Ultimately God provides if we are patient and ask.....His timing not ours:)

In Matthew today the Pharisees and Sadducees(Religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead) continually test and try to trick Jesus with no luck of coarse. His replys always amaze them and people are astounded at his teachings but I have a feeling they'll be back to try again....They are persistant that's for sure! It seems it's harder to convince some even when what you do and say amazes them. It's so ingrained that something is not right that they will continually fight to prove it wrong rather then see it as right.

Feb 1 - Parting Of The Red Sea

Moses takes the bones of Joseph and leads the Israelites out of Egypt and the complaining begins! The Lord takes them the long way saying "If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt." So he takes them through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. He then hardened Pharaoh's heart so he can once again show his mighty power. Pharaoh and his officials gather up 600 of the best chariots along with the rest of the chariots of Egypt, with their commanders, and heads after the Israelites. When the people of Israel see that the Egyptians are coming after them they immediately start blaming Moses for their death that is sure to consume them. "Didn't we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? we said 'Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It's better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness." Flippity, Floppity, Flippity....FLOP! Yeah God.....what why did you do this....Moses is the MAN.....Moses you're a freak.....wwaaahoo it's all about the Lord!....God's left us to die!

So once again the Lord protects them he has Moses raise his staff and he parts the Red Sea for them to cross. Pharaoh's people follow but once the last Israelite reaches land Moses raises his staff again and the Egyptians are caught in the waters returned and covered entire army of Pharaoh. So once again the Israelites are all fired up for God and all his glory and protection. Man this sounds familiar...not on such a grand scale but to continually question when hard times come...what the heck are you doing, where are you Lord, how could you let this happen. Of coarse in the end it all turns out for the best!

Proverbs 6:16-19 There are six things the Lord hates-no, seven things he detests: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family.

Time to go play with my daughters...If it's in your ability, and God's will, to have a wonderful wife and a couple of kids....I highly recommend it! Just don't let them run around the house with Sharpie pens:)