Ninjas

When our kids were younger they used to watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Do you remember the chant at the end of their opening song?

"Heroes in a half shell. Turtle power!"

I looked up the word "ninja," just to make sure my story was headed in the right direction. Here it is:

"A member of a class of medieval Japanese mercenary agents who were trained in the martial arts and hired for covert operations such as assassination and sabotage."

Let's distill that down a bit.

Trained agents. Covert.

Aren't we Christians trained in God's Word? Aren't we agents of the Most High God? Sharing to Gospel to the world?

The definition also mentions "covert operations." We are having to be more and more covert these as persecution of the Church increases. If we say that being gay, having trans surgery, or aborting our children is against God's Word we are ostracized, sued, beaten, or shunned.

We need to be ninjas for Jesus. A ninja has no fear, at least from what I have seen in the movie. And our weapon is a double-edged sword.

"The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword." - Hebrews 4:12

Let's modify that Turtle chant a bit.

"Servants of the Most High. Ninja power!"

Sounds cool. But it's really HIS power. Our job as "ninjas for Jesus" is to love everyone, even when they are hating us. We are to speak the truth, even when we are chastized by family members and friends for doing so.

We have been "hired" by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Shouldn't we then live and act like we belong to Him?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Theme Song

The Finger of God

Sometimes I think we forget about the incredible power of God. The things that He has done, and has yet to do. He can speak and destroy entire armies, divide the waters of the Red Sea, and create the sun, moon and stars, etc. Yet He is "small" enough to answer our individual prayers.

For example, there are four instances in the Bible of God "writing with His finger." The first is located in the Book of Exodus when Moses was sending plagues on Egypt. Pharaoh's magicians could not duplicate the plagues sent forth by God and exclaimed, "This is the finger of God."

The second is found in the Book of Exodus when God wrote His law on two tablets of stone.

"When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God." - Exodus 31:18

This is also duplicated in Deuteronomy and the twin account of God writing on the tablets of stone.

The fourth and final mention of God's finger is in the Book of Luke. Jesus just got done freeing a blind and mute man from a demon. Jesus said this to His critics:

 "If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." - Luke 11:20

I mention these things for two reasons. 1.) To remind us of the unmistakable power of Almighty God. God is spirit and has no fingers. "The finger of God" speaks to His immeasurable power. 2.) With all this incredible power at His command in mind, now read this:

"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.  But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger." - John 8:3-6

Was this Jesus telling the Pharisees that HE was God by writing with His finger as a hint? Was He demonstrating how it was God Himself who wrote "the law of Moses," with His own "finger" and now Jesus was doing the same?

No one knows exactly what Jesus wrote on the ground or why He did so. But isn't it interesting to see the finger of God actually working?

Honestly, I think Jesus was just patiently giving the Pharisees the opportunity to realize their OWN sin.

"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." - John 8:7

We are ALL sinners. We have no power to change things like He can. Repent and believe in Jesus. He can absolutely change YOU. And the interesting thing is, He already knows whether or not you will allow Him to do so.

Your Superpower

Do you know what your superpower is? You have one you know. You might think, "Superpower? You're nuts. I don't have any super power!" Wrong, Kal-El! Everyone is born with at least one super power and most don't even know it.

I was walking out of Walmart the other day and some guy says to me, "I like your shirt."

"My shirt?" I thought to myself.

"Uh, thanks man."

Looking down to see what shirt I was actually wearing, it had the word "Compassion" written on it. Right across the chest. I literally had the word "compassion" written on my heart.

"You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul." - Deuteronomy 11:18

If you haven't already guessed, my superpower is 'compassion,' followed closely by 'encouragement.' But let's get to YOUR super power(s).

To find out what your superpower is you must first examine yourself. What do YOU think it is? What are you good at?

Next, what do others say about you? What do people say that you are? These are your first clues.

These superpower characteristics can come to you in two ways - through life experiences and/or as a gift from God.

Maybe you were born with one or more of these "gifts from God." Or perhaps you received them as the result of painful trials in your life. You alone can detect the path you have walked to develop those gifts.

The Holy Spirit can also give, or enhance, gifts, but you have to be a Christian to receive that. If you give your life to God, be prepared, because your superpowers will take over your life.

There is a list of superpower characteristics written in the Book of Galatians.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." - Galatians 5:22-23

Getting back to the use of Superman's name in the opening paragraph, did you know that 'Kal' means strong and 'El' means God? Well, now you do. And the superpower that everyone has been given by God is to become one of His children through faith in His Son, Jesus.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might, put on the whole armor of God, that you might be able to stand against the scemes of the devil." -Ephesiands 6:10-11

You were given a superpower by God. Use it for His glory. 

The Parable of the Good Servant

The Bible contains many truths that are still applicable in our world today. What's going on in the U.S. House of Representatives this week is our example for today.

Let's go to Exodus, Chapter 32 and read something.

"And the LORD said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves." - Exodus 32:7

Have we corrupted ourselves? Have we done things that would get God mad at us?

It didn't take long for God to get upset with the Israelites. In the span of a few chapters it went from "Let my people go" to "your people have corrupted themselves." Have our politicians corrupted themselves?

There is a small group of House Republicans who don't want Kevin McCarthy to be their Speaker. Right now anyway. And it's holding things up in Congress. No one is getting anything done.

But they are actually doing this for a reason. They want to get term limits actually voted on! They want an immigration plan and a border plan. They want a balanced budget plan. And fiscal accountability in legislation. Sounds reasonable to me.

There have been secret meetings and deals, trying to get everything worked out. So far, everything has failed.

Then there were these eight Representatives in the picture above. They're doing something that can actually work! They're nealing on the House floor and they're praying!

John Edward Acton once said, "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." That statement has proven true time and time again. Especially for heads of nations.

Washington politicians are in a position of great power. That can be dangerous. Perhaps calling on an incorruptible God for guidance should have been their first order of business instead of an afterthought.

"For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools." - Romans 1:21-22

We elect representatives to represent us. If they are found praying, that's wonderful. But if they are found to be power hungry individuals set on enriching themselves at the people's expense, someone needs to change that. They were elected to serve us, not themselves.

"The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." - Mathew 23: 11-12

May God's will be done in our nation. And may humble servants lead us in doing things in God's name, not our own.

The Gospel - Paul Washer

God's Timing

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end." - Ecclesiastes 3:11

Have you ever been impatient about something and then told a friend about your anxiety, only to have them say, "Everything in God's timing." Do you really buy that? Has everything in our lives already been planned out and already is under God's control?

I think the answer to that question is, "Yes!" Sort of.

I believe that God controls time. God is outside of it. Time has now power over God. He saw the beginning of the world and has already seen its end. He knew the day you were born and he knows the day you will die.

We don't have that ability. As much as we would like to.

You have all heard the story about the commuter who was running late for work because of some idiot driving slowly in front of him. All the commuter could think about was his lateness. He was impatient. Then he arrived on the accident scene, never thinking that, if he were actually on time, HE would have been in that accident. The commuter never looked into the slow car that was in front of him to see the angel driving it.

God controls the timing of things. He will make us late, He will cause us to arrive early. All things are in his hands. The sooner we understand that the less stressful our lives will become.

How will God adjust your timing today? Watch for it.

In Your Hands - Unspoken

What Do You Want?

What do Jesus and Pink Floyd have in common? More than you might think.

We had some interesting teaching in church this past Sunday. Although I have read the text several times I never really made the connection between a couple of encounters Jesus had in the Book of Mark. Here's the first.

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” - Mark 10-35-37

Two of Jesus' disciples, the guys who spent three years absorbing Christ's teaching, wanted power. They hadn't learned very much, had they?

Later Jesus had another encounter. This time with a blind man. Jesus asked the very same question.

51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” - Mark 10:51

The blind man just wanted to be healed. He knew who Jesus was even though he was blind. The blind man didn't want power or glory for himself. He just wanted to be made whole. And isn't that what Jesus came to do? To heal the sick and raise the dead? To sacrifice Himself on our behalf that WE might be made whole?

And the Pink Floyd connection? It's in the song at the end of this post. Here's a little taste of some of the lyrics.

Do you want my blood? Do you want my tears?
What do you want?
What do you want from me?

You can lose yourself this night
See inside there is nothing to hide
Turn and face the light
What do you want from me?

God has the power to give us what ever we want. But why should He? He is more interested in giving us what we actually need. But until we "turn and face the light" and "lose ourselves tonight" we can never get what we really need. Jesus.

What Do You Want From Me? - David Gilmore

The Parable of The Generator

We all experience storms in our lives. It's part of growing up. Some people manage to get through them. Others simply succumb to them. But the REAL survivors are the ones who learn from them.

We had a bad storm go through our area Saturday morning. It spawned several tornadoes and wrought a lot of damage in the lives of a lot of people around here. Today, many are still in recovery mode. Fallen trees are being removed, houses are being repaired, new powerlines are replacing old.

In the aftermath of such storms there are powerful lessons to be learned. However most chose to ignore the opportunity. They simply want life to get back to the way it was. They want to be comfortable again with electricity and running water and a dry place to sleep. But there is so much more to life than comfortableness.

Saturday, after the storm passed, I walked to four of the houses in my neighborhood and offered to share my generator with them. They all refused the help. One simply abandoned their house and threw out all their food, another thought they could last until the power was restored and a third said the same. It has now been 48 hours since the storm went through.

"How you have helped the powerless! How you have saved the arm that is feeble!" - Job 26:2

Sunday afternoon I listened to a young friend of mine tell me about a storm in her life. It too had caused a lot of damage. She has endured many such storms in her life and was in need of some "power" in her life. The power of Jesus.

Sometimes we get drained of life's energy. We get weak and wonder how we can ever get through the next storm. Jesus gave Paul the answer.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” - 2 Corinthians 12:9

When we turn to God and surrender our hearts to Him, THAT is when we become strong. That is when we receive power to withstand the strongest storm. Most people try to muddle through on their own. They seldom reach out. They are the fools. They are passing up The Generator of Life.

Reach out. Cry out. All the energy you will ever need is available for the asking. But first you must humble yourself, acknowledge your weakness (sin) and ask for help. Don't be afraid. Time and time again in the Bible God tells us ,"Do not be afraid." We never listen.

"1 I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." - Psalm 121:1-2

I dare you to take that first step. Accept the fact that you can't make it through another storm without Jesus by your side. You are the one who has to make the choice. I dare you. I dare you to move.

I Dare You To Move - Switchfoot