Yesterday afternoon, I attend a surprise retirement party for Rudy Zitti, who has served a number of years as the State Director for American’s for Prosperity. Rudy lives in my neighborhood and has been a long time political activist in Colorado.

This morning it was delight to speak at Eagle Bend Community Church. I appreciate my aunt, Paula Baer for facilitating this, and the gracious reception of Pastor Bruce and Betty Minor and the entire congregation. It was special to have several family members and friends attend this service. This church was praying for me during my health crisis, so it was a connection of special significance. My message can be found on their website

https://www.eaglebendcc.org/

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…. “…when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” Luke 12:1 ESV

It is interesting how the concept of hypocrisy has become identified with “religion” or simply going to church. If there is one generalization people tend to make of those who are faithful to Christ, it is this “accusation.” What is of interest is that Jesus was the one who used this term to describe some of the “religious” elite of His day, the Scribes and Pharisees.

The irony I would observe is that Jesus used the term for those who were right in their own eyes and refused to acknowledge and follow His Words. Today it is used to disparage those who acknowledge Jesus and desire to follow His Word and His ways, by those who are righteous in their own eyes.

To His disciples, Jesus said hypocrisy is the “leaven of the Pharisees.” That is an interesting metaphor. Because leaven is yeast. It is that small ingredient in dough, that causes it to swell in the process of making bread. It only takes a very small amount to have a big impact.

That is what happens with hypocrisy or duplicity in life. Compromise begins in small areas, but it seems to never remain small. It tends to grow and have a disproportionate impact on our lives.

But notice the context in which Jesus speaks these words. In the previous chapter we read of Jesus sending out His disciples. They return joyful over miracles and demons that were subject to them. And then we read, of thousands of people gathering to see Jesus and His disciples. It is at this point, Jesus turns to His disciples and warns them of the “leaven of the Pharisees.”

Why is this? It is because the Pharisees had the admiration and respect of the masses. They used their position and status to tell others how to live, but they exempted themselves from the same “laws.” I believe Jesus wanted His disciples to know that regardless of how “popular” they were and how great a following they gathered, they were still under obligation to obey and seek the Lord and not to call others to a standard of righteous that they were not willing to follow themselves. In other words, they were to live by example.

Politically, the concept of a “citizen’s legislature” is built on the concept that those who make the laws, spend the majority of their time living under the laws they make. Conversely, the greatest criticism directed toward national politicians (whether it is true or not) is they make laws for others, but exempt themselves from those laws. That is what the Pharisees did.

One another occasion Jesus told His disciples of the Pharisees teaching, “…do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.” (Matthew 23:3 ESV)

The challenge for leaders and those who desire to make an impact on others is the “lead by example.” Be on guard and don’t be one person in public and another in private. Remember that the downward path of compromise begins small but it soon grows to greater proportions than you ever anticipate or intend.

Prayer for today…. Lord, “keep us true” to You and to ourselves. Allow us to be on guard against duplicity in our lives and to keep our hearts open and humble before You and others.

This Sunday, I am speaking at my aunt’s church in Aurora. This has caused me to be in a reflective mood about my health crisis coming up on its fourth anniversary in about two months. The timing of this opportunity and my reading in Isaiah seemed to merge conveniently.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;  and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” Isaiah 43:2 ESV

Pastor/author Mark Batterson wrote a book entitled, “If.” If there was another one word that carries great significance in scripture it is the word, “when.”

When the prophet speaks to God’s people, he does not say, “if you pass through the waters…” Instead he said, “when!” Someone once observed, “you can count on it, you are either in a trial, coming out of a trial or getting ready for a trial.”  That sounds like a rather pessimistic view of life, but one that speaks of reality more than not.

For years I lived life with the “if” approach. I had seen enough people go through the challenges, the surprises, the unexpected turns of life. It just seemed to me to be like winning the lottery. It could happen, but the chances are slim to none. Then as I tell people, “I ‘won’ the health crisis lottery.”

So, when “life happens” we can live with confidence that we are not a people forgotten, but those whose ways are known to the Lord and that He is attentive to our need and hears even the silent cry of our heart. For many weeks that is all that I could offer to the Lord, a “silent cry.” Unable to speak, a respirator ensuring that I would have the oxygen needed to sustain life, all I could do was to focus my mind and heart on the Lord and to look to Him for strength and courage needed to face each day.

Then I take note that the prophet says, “through the waters” “through the river” “through fire.” My mother-in-law liked the phrase in the Bible, “it came to pass.” The waters may come, the rivers may rise, the fire may burn, but they don’t come to last, they come to pass.

Then, in the context of Isaiah 43, we see the promise of a better future. A future filled with hope and restoration.

“Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar  and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” (Isaiah 43:5-7 ESV)

While God’s people were in captivity, far removed from their homeland and the Lord’s Temple, the Lord speaks words that give assurance of a “hope and a future.” He promises that their offspring will come from the “four corners” of the world and will be regathered once again in the promised land.

So, we not only see the inevitability of times of difficulty, not only do we see the Lord’s presence and strength, we not only see that they will not be our permanent state, they will not define us or our life, but we see that their is restoration and a future that emerges, like a seed from fertile soil coming forth to a new life.

Prayer for today…. Lord, thank you for bringing us through that which come into our life. You not only restore us, you transform us to be stronger and more faithful.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…. “…fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 ESV

Isaiah was God’s voice of warning, judgment and call to repentance. It is interesting that in this chapter where the shallowness of idols and false god and human efforts are laid out, that there is in contrast the assurance of help that is found alone in the Lord.

When troubles arise and difficulties come, just encouraging someone to “be strong” is not enough. We see this in the words of the prophet, “Everyone helps his neighbor and says to his brother, “Be strong!” (Isaiah 41:6 ESV)

But true comfort, courage and strength comes from the Lord who is with us as we seek Him and call on His name. His assurance is, “if you call, I will answer…” (Psalm 91:15)

This assurance is not just given once, but is found in three verses. In addition to the words of verse 10 we read,

True strength, courage and victory comes from the Lord. He is our steadfast and ever-present help. He doesn’t ask us to carry our burdens and trails and times of testing alone. Contrary to some statements, God is not using the difficulties of life to “test our strength.”

We need to remember,  “he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:14) The Lord’s desire is for us to be quick to turn to Him and to find in Him the courage, strength and help that He stands ready to provide.

I am reminded of the words of the old hymn, “O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”

Prayer for today…. Lord thank You that You stand ready to replace our fears with courage, strength and help. May we be quick to trust, quick to call on Your name and receive the help in our time of need.

I am thankful for a Tuesday without a City Council meeting…already! I got in an early morning bike ride with my grandsons in tow, actually leading the way on their scooters. After a mid morning meetings, lunch meeting, nap and trip to the pool and work in the garden, it ended up being a good day. Here is a picture of Caed and Eliana in our newly planted small garden. Hard to believe our youngest in Christian’s family will be first grader next year.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY….. And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.”…. Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king. When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes.” 2 Kings 22:8,10-11 ESV

Josiah was a child king. His reign began at age 8, which means he was in a position to be under the influence of the Priests and other godly leaders. That enabled him to serve God’s people as a godly leader. In the eighteenth year of his reign repairs of the Temple were underway when a book was discovered. It was the Law of Moses!

The good new was a great discovery was made; the bad news is the law had been so neglected and disregarded that it became “lost” in the Temple. We don’t know if this happened during the 52 years of the wicked reign of Manasseh, or if it had been lost for much longer than that.

As Shaphan the royal secretary read the book to King Josiah, he would have read in Deuteronomy how Moses gave instructions hundreds of years before Israel demanded of Samuel to have a king. The Lord’s instructions included this charge to the king:

“And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life….” (Deuteronomy 17:18,19 ESV)

We don’t know if this instruction was ever followed, or if this “book” was a copy of the law from an early ruler, perhaps King David.

When we look at the downward spiral of God’s people, we can understand how without the Law of the Lord as a guide, they just “made it up” as they went along. There would have been the oral traditions and some degree understanding the truth from the words of the prophets. There were the ongoing rituals and sacrifices, but they became empty and meaninglessness. But the leader who was responsible for the moral direction of the people, was without any firm word or plumb line of truth to guide the people.

A well-know verse in Proverbs declares, “When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild….” (Proverbs 29:18 NLT) That is certainly descriptive of God’s people and their history in the promised land.

We can readily see when God’s Word is neglected, God is neglected. When the connection to God’s Word is lost the spiritual plumb line for our life is lost. When that happens it is easy to make God into our image and “do what is right in our own eyes.”

How important it is for us to read God’s Word, listen to God’s Word and live by God’s Word. That is what will keep us headed in the right direction in our life.

We need to remember,  ^“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16 ESV)

Prayer for today…. Lord help us to remember how important Your Word is for our life and our well-being. Help us to know Your Word and to apply Your Word to our life.

Christian and Bridget and grand kids came up last night. This morning Christian, Bridget and Riley got up very early and headed to Boulder for the annual Bolder Boulder race. This was Riley’s first Bolder Boulder. Caed and Eliana helped me plant our garden and then we headed to the neighborhood pool.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…. “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. The Lord lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.” Psalm 147 3-6 ESV

These verses towards the end of the psalms reveals the greatness of God’s power and the span of His work.

We see the our great God who is creator is a personal God who cares for individual needs. He heals broken hearts, he binds up wounds; showing his compassion and care for humanity, his highest creation.

But the greatness of who God is is revealed in that fact that He numbers and stars and gives them their names. I thought that was what astronomists did! What scientist are discovering God already knows. What scientist do, (identifying and naming stars) God has already done.

There is nothing beyond our God, there is nothing too small for our God. The God who knows the stars, knows you. The God who names the stars, knows your name and your needs and responds to your most secret wounds. The God who knows what no one else knows, know what you alone know. Your hurts, your doubts, your heartaches, are important to Him.

This great God is a God of justice. “The Lord lifts up the humble and casts the wicked to the ground.” We see many times scripture referring God being a just God. Here we find His justice in action. He is the great equalizer. He sees the oppression of the weak and He knows the arrogance of the “high and mighty.”

It is no wonder then that this psalms begins with, “Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.” (Psalm 147:1 ESV)

This God who is high, yet comes to the aid of those who are “low” is a God that deserves our praise. When we praise Him, we experience His pleasure. When we praise Him, we reveal that we understand how great He is, yet how willing He is to enter our world and respond to our need. The One so great that He numbers and names stars, is the God who brings healing and comfort to your most personal needs.

Prayer for today…. Lord we stand in awe, as we attempt to understand Your greatness, and at the same time Your concern for the needs of each individual. As we do, it is only natural for us to praise You for who You are and what You do.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…. “So these nations feared the Lord and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children’s children—as their fathers did, so they do to this day.” 2 Kings 17:41 ESV

It began with King Solomon when his foreign wives caused him to compromise his devotion to the Lord and he built shines to their gods. When the kingdom of Israel was divided Jeroboam out of his insecurity established idolatry in the form of two calves as the national religion. This lead to a downward spiral of God’s people becoming a polytheistic nation.

The first commandment of, “thou shalt have no other gods before me” was the most violated of all commands. Then we see treating this command with contempt, allowed for the desecration of all the other commands. The Lord sent his prophets to warn the people, but their messages were ignored. Not only were their messages ignored, but they were treated with scorn and were persecuted.

The Lord brought enemy nations against His people so that they would seek Him, but they failed in making any true change. Their repentance was short-lived and temporary. In the final analysis the Lord allowed the Assyrians to take Israel captive and they were uprooted from the promised land.

In the review of Israel’s history we see how they failed to fear the Lord. We read how when they were corrected, they did not listen. They maintained a cursory recognition of the Lord, but as the prophet declared, “these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Isaiah 29:13)

In their attempt to deceive the Lord, they only deceived themselves. The compromise in one generation, defined the character of the next and finally a generation found themselves so far removed from their foundation, it lead to their demise. What happened to other nations eventually happened to God’s people.

When we review the history of Israel, it is easy to look at our own nation and the moral, spiritual and fundamental “drift” that can be observed over the generations. It is one thing to adapt to changing times and the natural evolution of progress, it is another to drift from principles that established the foundation of a nation which has allowed it to be sustained over the past centuries of tests, challenges and trials.

When we consider the history of Israel, it challenges us on a personal level. I recall the words of an older man who said something like this, “My godly mother would not be pleased with the way I am living my life.” Spiritual commitment and dedication can not be taken for granted. The compromises, the “drift” in one generation, can determine the character and identity of the next. That prolonged decline in character can determine a destiny.

That is why Joshua boldly declared to God’s people as they entered the promised land, “Choose this day, whom you will serve…” What we need to remember is that choice is “daily.” It is not the decision I made yesterday that is important, it is the decision that I make today, that will ultimately determine my destiny.

Prayer for today…. Lord help us to be mindful of the areas of compromise in our life and our families. Help us to make the corrections that are needed to keep you at the center of our life. May our destiny be one that is lives according to Your best for our life and not the consequences of wandering from the foundation of truth and the fountain of life that is in You.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…. “Then Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again from Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities that he had taken from Jehoahaz his father in war. Three times Joash defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.”  2 Kings 13:25 ESV

Elisha was the aide to the prophet Elijah who asked boldly for a “double portion” of the Lord’s Spirit to rest upon him. We see during his life that this came true in a literal sense. Of the miracles scripture records of Elijah and Elisha we find that Elisha did perform twice the number of miracles of Elijah.

The final miracles and fulfilled prophecy of Elisha took place after his death. Elisha unlike his predecessor Elijah was not “taken up to the heaven in a chariot of fire.” Elisha died and was buried in a tomb. We read this account,

“…as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.” (2 Kings 13:21 ESV)

That’s a tough one to explain, but impressive indeed! God’s man of “faith and power” had God’s power residing in his bones sufficient to raise the dead! Hebrews says of Abel, “And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.” (Hebrews 11:4 ESV) We could say, “Elisha through God’s power, though he died, still performed miracles.”

As Elisha knew the time of his death was close he called in King Joash of Israel. He told the King to open a window and to shoot an arrow. He then instructed the King to take an arrow and strike the ground. With each he uttered prophetic words of victory over Israel’s enemies.

However, the King only struck the ground three times. Elisha was upset with the King, because he said that if he would have struck the ground with the arrows many more times he would have completely wiped out the Syrians. Now he would only defeat them three times.

Because of the evil of Joash’s father we read at the beginning of the chapter, “…the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he gave them continually into the hand of Hazael king of Syria and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael.” (2 Kings 13:3 ESV)

For two generations of Kings, Joash’s father would be dominated by Syria. But at the end of the chapter we read that Joash took from Ben-hadad three cities that had belonged to his father, in keeping with the word of Elisha.

My simple “take-a-ways” from this chapter are:

1 – God’s power is far greater than we can imagine. May we live so close to the Lord and so full of His Spirit that there would be God’s life even “in our bones.”

2- Don’t sell God short. Believe for great things. Greater things than we believe are possible with God.

3 – God’s judgment on one generation can be redeemed by the faith, courage and obedience of the next generation.

Prayer for today…. Lord may we be those who walk with you and believe You for greater things.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…. “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” Psalm 139:23,24 ESV

Search me, know me, try me, lead me. That I believe this is the most challenging and difficult prayer. That is a prayer that requires courage, vulnerability and trust.

This prayer is a prayer of self-revelation, more than investigation. God already knows our hearts. Scripture tells us, “…we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” (1 John 3:20 ESV) The question we need to be willing to answers is, “Am I ready to handle the truth?”

A well-know sportscaster in the Denver area was speaking to our men’s group. He shared how at one time he was struggling in his marriage and he was complaining to God. “Lord, you know that I work hard and provide for my family…I am a good person…” He felt the Lord speaking to his heart, “Yes, you are a good person! You are just a lousy husband.” 

It is a challenge to come to grasp with the concept, “is life as it is adequate or do I desire life as God desires it to be.” The journey from where we are to where we need to be can be a difficult and painful one. We must all face the reality that the “truth sets us free, but first it can be uncomfortable or even painful.”

This prayer is one that must be prayed in trust in God’s love and desire for our good. You don’t open your hearts to those who only want an occasion to “put you down.” Opening your heart and life to someone requires that you have confidence that, that person will not only speak truth, but do so out of love and concern for your personal growth.

This prayer of the psalmist reveals a desire for obstacles to be recognized and removed that hinder his walk with the Lord. Search me…know me….try me…see if there be any grievous way in me….those petitions are all motivated by the desire for the Lord to, “lead me in the way everlasting.”

Our way, or the Lord’s way. “There is a way that seems right to man….” (Proverbs 14:12) But in contrast we see in Psalm 23, “He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake…” (Psalm 23:3) Where our heart would naturally take us is not the path of righteousness that the Lord leads us in. Going our own way, being the “captain of our destiny” is what gets us in trouble.

We need the humility of Thomas who asked, “Lord….how can we know the way?” (John 14:5) To be on the “right path” requires us to be open to understanding where our hearts are leading us and being open to those areas in our life that we need the Lord in His love and faithfulness to address.

Prayer for today…. Lord give us the courage and trust to pray the prayers that can be difficult to pray. Allow our desire to live the life you have for us to remove the fear of confronting the “hard” truth about our hearts, our ways and our motivations.