Jesus warned about our days, saying, “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold” (Matt. 24:10). The Lord’s warning was not just about conditions in the world; He is speaking to His disciples. He warned about conditions in the church.

Today, the church is overstocked with Christians whose love has grown cold. As a result, rancor fills our conversations. We have become a sub-culture that is mad that the world has not become Christian, while we are tolerant that we are not Christlike.

When you discuss things that are wrong, does rancor come forth or prayer? The word rancor came from Latin rancere, which meant, “to stink.” (See rancid). This is exactly what we exude heavenward when all we do is find fault and criticize. The smell of our rancor ascends into the awareness of God. These things ought not to be.

On the other hand, intercessory prayer is a sweet aroma to God. Again, when we pass through trials and determine to emerge more like Jesus, our very lives become “a fragrance of Christ to God” (2 Cor. 2:15). Amazing! in spite of our flaws and weaknesses, while we are living in this harsh world, we can actually become like Christ. Indeed, may this be the passion of all who trust God’s Son: to become a fragrance of Christ to

Let’s major in love and prayer – that is, becoming like Christ – and not even minor in rancor.

• We’re called to the impossible. The Christian life is a journey into the impossible.
• The presence of God carries wisdom and direction (i.e., it’s not impractical).
• Wisdom implies preparing properly; being led by the spirit does not trump proper preparation.
• If you’ve forgotten the language of gratitude, you’ll never be on speaking terms with happiness.
• Celebrate who a person is without stumbling over who they are not.
• It’s in our DNA (through the blood of Jesus) to hunger for the supernatural. That hunger is either taught or disappointed out of us. (Don’t let it be!)
• If it matters to us, it matters to Him.
• We tend to lower the standard of Scripture to our experience. (Ouch!)
• Will you lay your Isaac – your dream for the future – on the altar?
• If we’re in prison, it’s because we’ve traded the Truth for a lie! When we trade the lie for Truth, we walk in freedom.
• We have a relationship with a God of adventure!

I’m looking forward to all that 2012 offers and am thankful for the ability to learn from other pursuers of God. What did you hear in 2011 that stuck with you throughout the year?

• If we only give God 50% of our heart, the other 50% is tearing down the work the first 50% is doing!
• Is anything different in me because I’ve been in His presence? (If not, I’m just “playing church.”)
• We have been created and called to a much bigger story!
• Are you bored with Christianity…then you’re not being obedient!
• The definition you assign to glory will define where you encounter it.
• When the Lord laid out the plans for our life, He took our stupidity into consideration!
• Doing even small things for Jesus breaks principalities and powers of darkness.
• It’s easy to be discouraged as a believer! Simply focus on what God hasn’t done in your life or in the lives of those around you. Instead, we’re to dwell on what He has done and what He’s doing.
• We’re going to have to make a few adjustments for God’s glory to shine through us. (Amen!)
  

Which of these gems spoke to you this week?

Or that you’ll eat out this week?

Or that you have a membership in the National Geographic Society?

What are the odds that one man at any time in history might fulfill only eight of the sixty major prophecies fulfilled by Christ?

You’ll find the answers to these questions and more in this article. I came across the article from a google search I did last week. I found it to be interesting and thought you would too. Enjoy!

Have you caught our mistake in the Resting at the River’s Edge Schedule?

If you’re on schedule, you noticed yesterday and will notice today that we’ve turned the book of Ezekiel into a 52 chapter book! When God only inspired 48 chapters! Oops. The schedule has us reading chapters 49 through 52 this week. Sorry about that! We learn every day that only God is perfect!

This is actually the second mistake in this year’s schedule. The first mistake was forgetting to include 2 Thessalonians earlier in the year, so we nudged it into an open spot in the New Testament schedule later in the month. Unfortunately, that’s also a day when we are scheduled to read three chapters of Zechariah! So, may I make a suggestion? The book of 2 Thessalonians would make a great substitution for the never-written chapters of Ezekiel. Consider reading this short 3-chapter book this week and you’ll stay on a regular reading schedule.

BTW – I’m thinking of a schedule for 2012 that has us reading the Bible chronologically. What do you think?

In the meantime…Enjoy God! Enjoy life!

Where with men and angels
Where with slaves and kings
I will sing my praise to You alone

As I sang, I was arrested by the image these lines brought to my mind. As sinful people, we are prone to focus on class differences. We are often awed by the “kings” of this world and put off by the “slaves.” In the United States, we might think of the “kings” as leaders in industry and culture. Michael Jackson is the “King of Pop,” Elvis Presley the “King of Rock ’n’ Roll” and “Benny Goodman the “King of Swing.” Were I to be introduced to any o f them, I’d undoubtedly feel intimidated. Heck, I’d even be a bit intimidated just to meet Clifton Chenier, the “King of Zydeco.”

Yet the song brings home the point that in the presence of God, those prejudices will fall away. We wouldn’t have praise for the kings; all our praise would be for God. Position and status in this world will be so meaningless.

As I thought about this, it further occurred to me that all earthly prejudices would fall away – including those of created by touchy relationships. If you’ve lived very many years on this earth, there are some people who have hurt you deeply. Perhaps you’ve done your best to forgive them but there is still hesitancy in your heart that causes some level of discomfort when you are around them. As we sang those lines in the song, I began to realize that in heaven, even these prejudices will fall away. I will stand next to those who have hurt me singing praises to God with full and complete joy in my heart and not a trace of discomfort!

How foolish we are to hold on to these things in our heart! God is so much bigger! In heaven, He will hold our full attention and we will sing our praises to Him alone…and the things we thought important in this world will fall away. Yet Scripture teaches us that we are to take hold of our eternal life while on this earth (1 Timothy 6:12). Perhaps one of the ways we do that is by allowing God to hold our full attention so that the petty class differences and relationship difficulties can fall away. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free (Galatians 5:1) and being released from these things is tremendous freedom.

Here’s lyrics to the whole song:

Fortress, by Robin Mark
By Robin Mark & Paul Baloche
copyright 2007 Integrity’s Hosanna! Music

Verse 1
I have found a Fortress in the Living God
I have made the Sov’reign Lord my refuge
And my voice will tell of all His saving grace
Though the depths of which
No man could measure
In the days of plenty in the days of want
I will put my trust in You alone
For there’s no heart greater than the Father’s heart
And there’s no love sweeter than the Son’s

Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah to my King
Hallelujah hallelujah Jesus Christ my ev’rything
(repeat)

Verse 2
That this love pursued us is a mystery
For the heart is base and You are holy
Yet the streams of mercy that flow over me
Will afford me grace to stand in glory
Where with men and angels
Where with slaves and kings
I will sing my praise to You alone
For there’s no heart greater than the Father’s heart
And there’s no love sweeter than the Son’s

Product Announcement: I’ve written a six-lesson Bible study on the book of Jonah that is in its final stages of production. Watch for it to be released on Monday, July 25. In the meantime, if you’re reading along with us following the Resting at the River’s Edge schedule, you’ll get a head start by reading through the entire book of Jonah today (that should take you less than fifteen minutes). Blessings on your reading, friends!

As I prepare a sermon for tomorrow’s service, I took a lunch break and was surfing the net, reading a bit here and there. I came across this blog about faith – how much or how little is required to move the hand of God? Enjoy!

I’ve heard that some are having trouble downloading the May 2011 Resting at the River’s Edge recommended reading schedule. I have uploaded new files and hope they do the job.

There are always three ways to access the reading schedules:

• The monthly blog about the reading schedule. Here’s the blog for May.
• The “Resting at the River’s Edge – Reading through the Bible in 2011″ Series page found in the Series menu item. Here’s a link to the Series page. Or you can click the first item in the Series menu.

From the Series page, you can click on the “Resting at the River’s Edge – Reading Through the Bible in 2011″ link. That link takes you to this page – the blog entry for each month’s reading.

• The readings can also be downloaded from the Downloads page. Here’s a link to the Downloads page. Or you can click on the second item in the Downloads menu.

From the Downloads page, you can click on “Resting at the River’s Edge – Read thru the Bible in 2011″ link. It will take you to this page that allows you to download the schedule for each month.

As my mom would say, there’s more than one way to skin a cat. (I used that expression recently and the person I was talking with asked me if I wanted to skin a cat. No, I do not, but you get the idea.)

Each of the links to the actual schedule take you to the same file, however, so if one approach doesn’t work for you, you’ll have little success trying other approaches. If you have any problems with the link, please let me know. It works at this end, but…

Blessings on your week, friends, and keep reading! God will speak to you!
Sandy

I was so disappointed to be sick today and miss church – celebrating the resurrection of our Lord among my fellow believers and co-workers for the Gospel. As I sat covered in a blanket watching television preachers, I realized that I was not entering into worship and that I had a choice. I was feeling a little bit sorry for myself and wishing that God would meet with me. That’s when I realized that simply watching television was not likely to bring about my desired outcome. This is not a statement against television ministries. I have been greatly ministered to through television ministries. But today, this Resurrection Sunday, I was simply not engaging. Just laying here huddled under a blanket was the easiest thing to do and if I was more sick than I am it would have been the appropriate thing to do perhaps. But I have a little energy – not enough to get up and move around, but enough to reach for my computer (which is nearly always within arms’ reach) and go to YouTube.

I searched for the classic Easter hymn “Up from the Grave He Arose,” also known as “Low in the Grave He Lay.” I was so blessed as I listened to these four versions of the song. Not only did it turn my living room into a place of worship and adoration, it provided a simple message spoken in my spirit by the Lord as I listened and sang along with the recordings – as believers in Christ, we are a part of something so much bigger than ourselves and our congregation and our community and our country.

• Our faith travels back in time to Christ’s resurrection, and before that His birth, and before that His working in our world through His Chosen People to bring about our salvation. His resurrection is the central event to that salvation; it is the event that makes it possible. We are connected to all believers who came before us.
• Our faith is practiced around the world in all cultures.  We are connected to all believers celebrating this Resurrection Sunday – not just today, but every Lord’s Day when we meet for worship.

It was the variety of ways this single hymn was available on YouTube that spoke these things to my heart and spirit.

So if you’ve got 10-20 minutes, sit back and enjoy some of these recordings of the classic hymn hymn “Up from the Grave He Arose.” What a blessing it’s been for me. I pray it blesses you as well.

A traditional organ version

A Reggae/Hispanic version –  I love that it mixes a light Reggae beat and then throws in a verse sung in Spanish (most of the song is in English). This version had the most impact on me.

A very casual, “today” version – a young woman and her guitar

An Oriental orchestral/operatic version – I wish I knew enough about the cultures to be able to identify this to a specific Oriental culture/language but I do not, but this version gave me chills each time full orchestra, lead tenor with full choir backing him up went into the chorus –“Up from the Grave He Arose.”

Hallelujah! He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Thank You, Lord!