Advice Study – Edition #3: No Title

August 9th, 2006

Advice Study – Edition #3: No Title

Proverbs 27:8-10
Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who strays from his home. Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one’s friend springs from his earnest counsel. Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father, and do not go to your brother’s house when disaster strikes you - better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.

Proverbs 11:13-15
A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret. For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure. He who puts up security for another will surely suffer, but whoever refuses to strike hands in pledge is safe.

You know, advice is great. But what makes it great is when someone seeks it out. If I freely speak my mind, tell people things I thought they should know… then it isn’t all that good. In fact, I would just be puffing myself up. How great is it if I am only good in my own eyes? It would be outright pathetic.

I have to apologize… I started this out this morning, but I am now on some new pain medication and can’t seem to put together a deep thought. Outside of doing the basics, my brain just isn’t working. I will attempt this again tomorrow.

The Tongue - Edition #36: Empty Spaces

August 8th, 2006

The Tongue – Edition #36: Empty Spaces

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless.”
Mother Teresa

Proverbs 14:21-23
He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who is kind to the needy. Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness. All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

Proverbs 24:1-4
Do not envy wicked men, do not desire their company; for their hearts plot violence, and their lips talk about making trouble. By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.

Now, these are great scriptures by themselves… but add this scripture to the whole thing and it turns into something WAY more than what they already are.

John 14:1-4
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

So, am I just all talk and no work? Do I scoff at my neighbor and the hardship they bring on themselves, or am I kind to the needy? Wisdom builds the house that God has made. Through his understanding, it is established. And what am I in all this? I am a rare and beautiful treasure. I don’t feel that way sometimes. But I think about the room Christ is preparing is preparing for me…

John 8:31-42
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

They answered him, “We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father's presence, and you do what you have heard from your father.”

“Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do the things Abraham did. As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the things your own father does.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

It’s through knowledge that the rooms in heaven are filled. Christ, in John 18, was telling the people that they had “no room” for God. They had “no room” for the knowledge.

John 8:37 room:
kho-reh'-o
To be in (give) space, that is, (intransitively) to pass, enter, or (transitively) to hold, admit (literally or figuratively): - come, contain, go, have, place, (can, be room to) receive.

What is a rare treasure?

Rare (adj.):

1. Infrequently occurring; uncommon:


2. Excellent; extraordinary.

Treasure (noun):

1. Accumulated or stored wealth in the form of money, jewels, or other valuables.


2. Valuable or precious possessions of any kind.


3. One considered especially precious or valuable.

This is how God sees me. Do I believe it, though? I guess I should ask myself this question: Would God give up his only son (and right now, I have only one child, a son) for something just “run of the mill”? Would God give up his only boy for a “blue light special”? Or, to go to the opposite of a treasure, would God give up his child for something he hates, something he loathes? God hates sin, but he treasures me. He hates my sin, but he treasures me. God can separate the two, unlike me. I can’t see myself past my sin, but God can. So, am I just all talk and no walk? Am I going to put action to my words and fill the empty space in the room Christ is preparing for me? Do I see myself a valuable and precious possession of my LORD? I need to. I am a rarity and I need to have a talk that reflects that. I need to open this mouth of mine and speak like that of an extraordinary jewel in eyes of my LORD. This just FIRES me up. Johnny Out.

The Sinful Nature Study – Edition #6: The Lettuce Scriptures (Part I)

August 7th, 2006

The Sinful Nature Study – Edition #6: The Lettuce Scriptures (Part I)

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless.”
Mother Teresa

Luke 18:1-8
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’”

“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’”

And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Galatians 6:7-10
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Galatians 6:9 give up:
ek-loo'-o
To relax (literally or figuratively): - faint.

Luke 18:1 give up:
ek-kak-eh'-o
To be (bad or) weak, that is, (by implication) to fail (in heart): - faint, be weary.

To give up is to have a weak heart… the only way to counter this, to not give up is perseverance and prayer. And temptation is always knocking, Satan is always trying and pushing and working to do his will… how can I overcome? Prayer is the answer. But there are other things I can do as well.

Romans 13:8-14
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

OK, so lets see…

Things to do:
#1: Put on the armor of light
#2: Behave decently

Well, what else?

Romans 14:13
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.

Romans 14:19
Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

Things to do:
#1: Put on the armor of light
#2: Behave decently
#3: No passing judgment
#4: Put no stumbling block in someone else’s way
#5: Make every effort for peace and mutual edification

1st Corinthians 5:6-8
Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.

Things to do:
#1: Put on the armor of light
#2: Behave decently
#3: No passing judgment
#4: Put no stumbling block in someone else’s way
#5: Make every effort for peace and mutual edification
#6: Be truthful and sincere

2nd Corinthians 7:1
Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

Things to do:
#1: Put on the armor of light
#2: Behave decently
#3: No passing judgment
#4: Put no stumbling block in someone else’s way
#5: Make every effort for peace and mutual edification
#6: Be truthful and sincere
#7: Purify myself from everything that contaminates

Galatians 5:22-26
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Things to do:
#1: Put on the armor of light
#2: Behave decently
#3: No passing judgment
#4: Put no stumbling block in someone else’s way
#5: Make every effort for peace and mutual edification
#6: Be truthful and sincere
#7: Purify myself from everything that contaminates
#8: Keep in step with the Spirit

Galatians 6:7-10 (I know I have this above, but it’s just that good.)
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Things to do:
#1: Put on the armor of light
#2: Behave decently
#3: No passing judgment
#4: Put no stumbling block in someone else’s way
#5: Make every effort for peace and mutual edification
#6: Be truthful and sincere
#7: Purify myself from everything that contaminates
#8: Keep in step with the Spirit
#9: Do good to all people

Philippians 3:15-16
All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Things to do:
#1: Put on the armor of light
#2: Behave decently
#3: No passing judgment
#4: Put no stumbling block in someone else’s way
#5: Make every effort for peace and mutual edification
#6: Be truthful and sincere
#7: Purify myself from everything that contaminates
#8: Keep in step with the Spirit
#9: Do good to all people
#10: Live up what I have learned

1st Thessalonians 5:4-11
But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Things to do:
#1: Put on the armor of light
#2: Behave decently
#3: No passing judgment
#4: Put no stumbling block in someone else’s way
#5: Make every effort for peace and mutual edification
#6: Be truthful and sincere
#7: Purify myself from everything that contaminates
#8: Keep in step with the Spirit
#9: Do good to all people
#10: Live up what I have learned
#11: Be self-controlled

Hebrews 4:1
Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.

Things to do:
#1: Put on the armor of light
#2: Behave decently
#3: No passing judgment
#4: Put no stumbling block in someone else’s way
#5: Make every effort for peace and mutual edification
#6: Be truthful and sincere
#7: Purify myself from everything that contaminates
#8: Keep in step with the Spirit
#9: Do good to all people
#10: Live up what I have learned
#11: Be self-controlled
#12: Be careful not to lose salvation

Hebrews 4:14-16
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Things to do:
#1: Put on the armor of light
#2: Behave decently
#3: No passing judgment
#4: Put no stumbling block in someone else’s way
#5: Make every effort for peace and mutual edification
#6: Be truthful and sincere
#7: Purify myself from everything that contaminates
#8: Keep in step with the Spirit
#9: Do good to all people
#10: Live up what I have learned
#11: Be self-controlled
#12: Be careful not to lose salvation
#13: Hold firmly to my faith
#14: Approach God with confidence

There are 13 more scriptures I would still like to look at… but this is an awesome list just to start. Catch you all tomorrow… Johnny Out.

Friendship Study - Edition #17: Fixed Eyes on Kleenex

August 4th, 2006

Friendship Study – Edition #17: Fixed Eyes on Kleenex

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless.”
Mother Teresa

Hebrews 12:1-13
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

A big thanks to Captain Scott for the help on the paper. With you, my wife, and the writing center, I think it turned out pretty good. Hopefully the teacher will feel the same way. I was thinking that if through the struggles, hard times, and garbage that everyday life brings, that the only way to really get through it is by being what Hebrews says. I, of course, have my problems and trials. Who doesn’t is really the question… but, the solution to whatever trial is right there: “Fix my eyes on Christ.” Seriously, it sounds like a band-aid solution to a gunshot problem, and I say this being one who is bi-polar and one who is dealing with what could be a major health issue. I mean, someone can walk up to me and spout off the solution… and it just wouldn’t click. Now, I don’t know who wrote Hebrews, most likely Bob trained by Paul, no one really knows. It could’ve been Bob, but it doesn’t matter who wrote, it is about the quantity therein. When one is depressed, it takes training to get out of it. The writer says “Let US…”. It is a group effort here. So if someone is depressed, the group gets together and, as a whole, pull the poor soul out of it. It takes things like training the person to “Consider him so that you will not lose heart.” “Think about Christ so that you will not grow weary and tired, and then lose focus.” And the really neat thing is this… at the end of it all, when we ALL persevere, the great reward is waiting. And if the depression is for whatever reason lingering…

Revelation 7:14-17
And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

God has the hanky to wipe the tears. Need any Kleenex? Need a moment to collect yourself? God is there. His son went through it all, and whatever pain I am feeling now, Christ had it worse. Whatever loneliness I feel, Christ had it worse. Whatever temptation I feel, Christ had it worse. Christ is the best superhero ever. He knocks Superman down. He topples tall buildings full of sin in a single bound. He’s faster than a speeding temptation. And he is stronger than the Devil. What other superhero does any need? And the best thing about him, he’s on call 24/7. So is his nemesis.

When a friend befalls temptation, struggles, or hardship, they need help, from both above and here. A good neighbor helps his friend in their time of need. That is what love is about. Love your neighbor as yourself, it is written. I mean, do you want help in time of need? I know I do. Anyway… I need to be a better neighbor, a better friend. 168 hours in a week, 8,760 hours in a year… 8,784 hours in a leap year; it just doesn’t seem like enough time until you look at it like that. Roughly, I am already 283,656 hours old… give or take a few, and that is if I was born at 12:01 AM on my birthday… and going into midnight tonight… so I will be off by a few hours. Minutes: 17,019,360 old. Seconds: 1,021,161,600 old… where does the time go? I seriously had a point with all this, but I got lost in my math. I do love math. Encourage your friends… time is short. Maybe that was it… I don’t know. Take care. :-) Johnny Out.

The Book of Malachi

Malachi, meaning “My Messenger”, (Smith) is the last book of the “Old Testament” or the Old Covenant of the Bible. It is a book that consists of only four chapters, but strong and powerful chapters. In these chapters, Malachi, the prophet, addresses three points to the people or Israel. The three points start with Israel turning away from God, move to not being unified, and finally focuses on how Israel wears God down.

The Israelites were going about their business, they were intermarrying, giving sacrifices, giving to God as they saw fit and they felt they were justified in how they were doing things. They were not receiving the blessings they thought they should and they became bitter. Malachi’s first address was in regards to how Israel had turned away from God.

The LORD starts off asking where is the honor due him (NIV Bible). God noticed that the people honored their parents but were not honoring him (Keathley). The Jews had a lack of zeal and pride had built up within their hearts. The Jews were blindsided; they could not see their sin. God wasn’t feeling honored by his people. He wasn’t feeling “splendor” or “glory” (E-Sword) from the Israelites. These feelings were a direct result from poor sacrifices.

What is a poor sacrifice? In a sense, this whole book of Malachi is addressing this one question. But in the literal sense, in dealing with animals, the Israelites were not giving the best animals. They gave “injured, crippled or diseased animals” (NIV Bible) instead of what the LORD commanded of a sacrifice. This led God to feel disrespected and dishonored. But God says he will work, either with the Israelites or with the other the nations. And he will be feared or more importantly, revered. It was best said in 1st Samuel 22 “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD?”

The second point is about not being unified with one another. It can take shape in many ways, (this, too, could be another focus on the entire book – unity between God and his people) but for the Israelites, it was an issue of the priests and Judah. It was an issue of what the people wanted to do and what God wanted them to do. The priests were causing people to turn away from the LORD due to their corruption (Smith). And with the people bringing the bad sacrifices and the priests taking them, it was a lose-lose situation for the people. God was simply upset that the priests were not teaching and rebuking the people. (Keathley) The priests were not taking the leadership role seriously. “For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction - because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty.” (NIV Bible) God didn’t see this in the priests. In fact, God so much as says that the priests have “undone” (E-Sword) the work the LORD has done, thus God will see to it they will be despised and humiliated.

It still goes further into marriage. God sees it on many, many levels. Judah broke faith with the LORD (NIV Bible). And how did Judah do this? The men would divorce an older wife and marry a younger woman of a foreign god. God hates divorce. The Bible says it. And this is the whole reason the LORD is upset in this passage. As I see it, God doesn’t like the good things to break down and that is what divorce does to people. It also is a statement by man saying that God cannot work in marriage, therefore I, man, will end the marriage. But in the last part of verse 16, God sparks some hope to his people. He first starts the verse by clearing any and all doubt on his feelings of divorce. “I hate divorce.” (NIV Bible) and then he finishes up by saying this: “So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.” (NIV Bible) God tells the Jews that they can, in a sense, protect themselves, and guard their heart. If they do so, they will be better equipped to not break faith.

God says he is worn out by all the evil things that the people have done. The LORD is exhausted. This is the third part of Malachi’s book, how Israel wore down God. People were saying that God approved of wickedness and while others said that God had simply abandoned Israel. God was worn out by this attitude. The LORD knows the hearts of his people. 1st Samuel 16:7 says, “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (NIV Bible) And then to take this a step further, Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active… it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (NIV Bible) With these two in mind, it brings to light this third part.

The first thing that wore down God is the grumbling. The people are faithless. Even though the LORD was upset by the faithlessness of the people in this regard, he offered reassurance. The book of Malachi prophesied about Christ, “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver” (Wesley). God is always there to instill hope, even in the toughest of messages in the Bible; there is always a message of hope within the pages.

The second thing that wore down God is the tithing. “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.” This is one of those eye-popping scriptures. “Will a man defraud (E-Sword) God?” One of the ways they were not keeping God’s statutes was by withholding their tithes and offerings. It says they were robbing God. This means that not giving is stealing! (Keathley) God wants the heart of his people to give to us. I have a son who just learned to walk. He ran to me once and he gave me a handful of cheerios. He was excited to do it. His heart was to give. And that is the heart that God is looking for. Not the heart that would continually say “It is futile to serve God.” (NIV Bible) When these people say it is futile to serve God, it is like saying it is useless (E-Sword) to serve him. It is worship that is in vain. They are saying it is rules created by men to follow an empty god. The people didn’t want to serve the LORD simply because the heart they wanted to receive first and then maybe give.

Now the best part isn’t waking up with Folgers in your cup. It’s the last three verses of chapter three. The LORD talks about sparing those who serve him, even those serving him who do not have the best of hearts (Wesley). He does this simply because those serving are children of God, because they are obedient and serving God. And that makes for a good distinction of believing and doing nothing and believing and doing something.

This whole book talks about how God felt robbed. He was robbed with poor sacrifices. He was robbed with disrespect, robbed with dishonor. When people turned away due to false teaching, he was robbed. When Judah turned away and gave into divorce, he was robbed. People gave poor offerings and tithes, and the LORD was robbed. When people have a futile perspective, it is robbery. And in the last chapter, the promise is that if a change doesn’t occur, then things will not get better for the world, for the earth. Then the question remains, are things changing in the way that the LORD is wanting, in a positive way or are the people still robbing God?

Works Sited:

1. E-Sword. 7th Ed. Online Software on the Bible. Available from http://www.e-sword.net/downloads.html; Internet; accessed 8-2-06


2. Keathley IV, Hampton, Th. M. The Minor Prophets. Online resource on Malachi. Available from http://www.bible.org/page.asp?page_id=979; Internet; accessed 7-23-06.


3. NIV Bible. Colorado Springs: International Bible Society, 1973.


4. Smith, Jeff. Minor Prophets: My Servants the Prophets. Jeff Smith, 2000.


5. Wesley, John. Wesley’s Notes on the Bible. Online eBook on the Bible. Available from http://www.biblestudyguide.org/ebooks-comment/index.htm; Internet; accessed 8-2-06.