My 5 Favorite "Books" of the Bible ;-)

I was thinking the other day, "what are some things I have heard good christian people say that may or may not come from the Bible." You know the statements I'm talking about. You may be in a fairly heavy conversation and they might give a one-liner piece of advice that sounds pretty good at first. Something like, "God helps those who help themselves first" as justification for people taking action on a thought or decision. It sounds good, but what book of the Bible is that from?

Here are some of those quotes so you can mark them in your Bible and have them ready the next time someone asks for advice or help in an especially tough time. 


The Book of Assumptions 

• "God helps those who help themselves."
• "God will never give you more than you can bear."
• "This too shall pass."
• "This is my cross to bear." (In reference to trying to quit caffeine or dealing with stupid people.)
• WWJD?

Book of Annihilations 

• "That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
• "What goes around comes around."
• "Our insurance won't allow it."
• "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
• "God just needed an extra special angel, so he took . . . "

1st Opinions

• "Pride goes before the fall." (This is definitely true, especially if you have ever watched a YouTube "fails" compilation
• "The Order of Service is as follows . . . "
• Thou shalt sing the "Doxology" upon the return of the offering plates.
• When communion in not on the Lord's Table, a giant King James Bible opened to the 23rd Psalm should be placed there.

2nd Opinions

• ". . . all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
• Y.O.L.O.!!
• Robert's Rules of Order
• There is an Aaamarcan and Christian flag on the stage.

Letter to the Hypocritians 

• "To thine own self be true."
• "Do unto others as to get the most you can."
• "I love Jesus, but I do drink a little bit."
• "The ends justify the means."

Scroll of the Socialonians 

• "Love the sinner, hate the sin."
• "Treat others the way they want to be treated."
• "Jesus was for social justice and equality."
•  "No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.”

I know I don't have all of the writings of the "Good Book" here, because there seems to be a few translations that may not have them all. Maybe you know a few other ones from some of these books. Or maybe you know the other books. 

Let me also say, not all of these are bad quotes, or even unbiblical in idea. Just having fun. Some of the quotes above are from Fredreick Neitzche, Eleanor Roosevelt, William Shakespeare, Aesop, and many others throughout history, including Bubba down the holler. 

On a series note. 

We do have to be careful of making somethings "scripture" when it is not scripture. Jesus said he is the "TRUTH" and life. That out of him only comes truth. His Word can be trusted because it came from God the Father. We also have to remember that the Holy Bible is inerrant as given by God. The Bible is not Opinion for us to decide to agree with or not. It isn't an assumption because it's the best we can come up with based on what we know. The Bible isn't about how to get the most out of this life and others. It isn't even about how to live with people, although a lot of it has to do with social interaction. 

The Bible is really about God. Who he is. How he works. What he thinks and says. The ways he loves us and wants to interact with us. Yes, the Bible says a lot about interacting with our fellow man, but ALWAYS in the context of either how God is acting toward us or how we are to act toward God. I try to love my neighbor because God loves my neighbor and me. I try to sacrificially love my wife because God sacrificially loves her and me. I try to train up my children in the way they should go because God is trying to train me up in the way I should go. 

At the very CORE of the Bible is God interacting with man. At the very heart of that Core is Jesus. Holding out the truth. Gently encouraging us to come to him and find peace. That he is the way to eternal life. He is the light we see everything by. Jesus is the Shepherd who leads us to what is needed. Christ is the resurrection and life, the first to raise from the dead, proving he has the power to raise us from the dead. 

Let's enjoy this crazy life in the light of Jesus. Then he will shed light on what is really sin and the redemption that follows. He will teach us the path of righteousness instead of the road to destruction. He will judge us from the throne of grace and not the toilet of public opinion. 

As believers, lets make sure we speak the TRUTH with GRACE, just as Jesus did.

Still being shaped by His grace, 
Mitch


(For those of you still looking through the Table of Contents for these books, they are right after "Abominations" and before "Democratians" and "Letter of the Republicians") 

6-Plus Tips for Praying with an Active Brain

Most people, according to people who study people, pray everyday. Now I don't know who they pray to, or what they are praying. Most people people think prayer helps and God answers prayer sometimes. Prayer in some form or another is done all over the world in most cultures. Christians pray because we believe and know God, Jesus,and the Holy Spirit will work in our lives to change things, give comfort, guide, counsel, listen, and fix. 

Prayer is a difficult thing and a simple thing. It is simple because we can be honest and open and just talk to God. It is difficult because we have these high ideals that we think we have to live up to. Almost a ritualistic structure that has to happen. We kneel down and solemnly pray quietly with serene look on our faces, pouring out worship and intercession to the loving heavenly Father, at 4am. That is a lot of pressure.

Richard Foster writes in his book Prayer that “none of us will keep up a life of prayer unless we are prepared to change. We will either give it up or turn it into a little system that maintains the form of godliness but denies the power of it—which is the same thing as giving it up.”

I don't want us to give up prayer, just because we have a hard time focusing. Here are a few "methods" I have found that help me to pray with an active brain. 

1. Pray Out loud

I knew someone who wouldn't pray out loud, because she didn't want Satan to know what she was praying. She thought he might interfere with the person or activity. I also knew a guy who always prayed out loud because he thought Satan would know a head of time he lost those particular battles and wouldn't bother them.
I pray out loud because it helps me stayed focused on my prayers. If Satan hears he can do what ever he wants, because God is bigger and stronger anyhow. But our brains take on several ways of staying on track. By praying out loud I am using my brain, my mouth, and my ears. The more senses stimulated for the same purpose adds control and retention. The same is true for learning. Other people pray out loud for the same reasons. It keeps us from thinking about other stuff and wandering down fox trails.
So find you a quiet spot where you can talk, scream, laugh, or cry out loud to God and people will not have to wonder as much about your sanity.

2. Write as Much as I can.

I like to write my prayers at times. Usually these are worshipful are thankful prayers. When I'm mad or scared out of my shorts, I'm not able to write those types of prayer. Sometimes I will get an idea to thank God for a specific thing or specific way and that should be written down. If we are true and the prayer is true, it can be read or prayed several times. I think God is OK with this sort of things, after all there are 150 prayers recorded in what is called the book of Psalms in the Bible.

If you are poetic or words are a gift to you, this can be a very rewarding practice. I love reading prayers of other people, but more about that in a minute.

Writing prayers is also way to be able to come back to our prayers. We are not likely to start writing about the stupid person who cut us off or what we might wear if it rains later.

Lots of people have written about journaling and this is a benefit of that. But most of us can't even keep up with a journal much less know what to write in it. Regardless where, prayers are a great thing to write. It also helps us see our growth, and if you can find your prayer book months later you can write in how God has answered your prayers.

3. Climb a tree.

I had a professor in college who taught me more about prayer than anyone else I've learned from. I was a young broken college student with a young family and thought I had to have all my ducks in a  row and the only thing reason I can think to have ducks in a row would be for a ring toss game. So I had a lot to learn. I really thought being at Bible college was a very short step from the monastic lifestyle. I thought everyone just knew how to pray for hours and study the Bible and prayed for a few more hours. I tried everything. I tried praying at night. I'm not a night person so I usually just fell asleep. I tried to pray first thing in the morning, but I couldn't keep up with all the things I had to do for the day. I tried in the middle of the day literally going into the closet. That caused me a lot of issues I'm not going into here.
Anyhow, this professor everyone called "Doc" because he was one of those cool profs who you could do that with. He would walk to class with one arm stuck out to the side at times. He would walk to class singing and talking to himself. He would ride his bike at extremely fast speeds with lots of focus. So I scheduled a time to talk to him. I told him my problem, and he asked me a lot of questions. He asked me what I liked and disliked. Likes- being outside. Dislikes - my face in the carpet for an hour.

He came up with some suggestions I have modified and added to them:

• Go for a walk with your "arm around Jesus shoulder" and just talked to him. (Oh, that's what he was doing with his arm stuck straight out to the side, I thought he was airing his pits.)
• Climb a good strong tree, and at every branch stop and pray about something or someone. By the time you get to the top of the tree, you will be closer to God. (Get it, closer to God the higher you go? The president of the college caught me climbing the Holy Prayer Oak on campus. That was hard to explain and I immediately through the blame on Doc.)
• Go for a hike when needing to talk about direction or which path in life to take.
• Get on you bike, pedaling hard, and praise God for an awesome attribute of his at each power pole, and by the end of your ride you will better understand His power.
• Chop wood, whether you need it or not, repenting of sin and asking God to cut that out of your life. (Or pray like King David that God would chop your enemies.)
• Pray while mowing the grass. No one else can hear you and you can prayerfully Cut your problems away.
• cooking (lord make me better, God's provisions)
• sewing (keep our marriage bond strong)
• sanding (reconciliation with others)
• building something (the church to grow)
• taking a shower (clean from sin, usefulness of each body part to bring glory to God.)

Hopefully you have the idea by now.

4. Read prayers.

I have a book of Jewish prayers. I have books of prayer and meditation by monks. I have prayers that are from the New Testament. The book of Psalms. The book of Lamentations. Prayers are a great thing to read devotionally because it helps us see we are not the only ones feeling or needing a certain way. I usually read the prayer and if it fits today, that's my prayer and my starting point.

5. Start Small.

Don't expect to sit down and have an hour long conversation with God right off the bat. Some people can, but I can't even do this well with someone in front of me. I have do things in simple forms.
Max Lucado is releasing another book titled "Before Amen" and this is the simple "form" he suggests most all prayers take in the scriptures.

"Father,

You are good.

I need help.

They need help.

Thank you.

In Jesus’ name, amen." 

- Max Lucado

It is a good simple pattern for prayer. It's a simplified version of the Lord's prayer and easy to remember. I pray through the Lords prayer, well, most of the way through, at different times. I say my Father in Heaven, Hallowed is your name", and then I praise him for things. "Give me this day my daily bread"here is what I think my needs are. ""deliver me from evil" I repent of this and this and that and those, and you know the list, I've given it to you before. 

I would think as we are getting started or trying to get "better" God is good with dozens of 5 minutes honest prayers as he is to one hour long prayer. (Please take note, this is an opinion I've devised to make myself feel better about short prayers)

6. Remove Distractions

Have I ever mentioned the idea of removing distractions. Turn off electronic devices. Turn off lights. Get a drink of water. Have a notepad/ journal and pencil on hand. Have your devotional/ prayer book on hand. Turn lights back on so you can read it. Make sure no one else is around if you can.

7. Just talk ... and listen

Just talk to God. The point of going to God in prayer is to build our relationship and make us closer with the Father. The Point of prayers is to be in contact with our Dad who has the strength, power, and ability to change things. So letting God know what's on our heart and our mind is good for us. It opens us up to the seeing where God is working and making changes. If you want a churchie word for that, it's miracles. Our honestness and openness allow God to work in us. So just talk to him. And then listen. He talks to us in different ways. Sometimes it's in our "intuition", church members, always the Bible.
It might could feel like you are talking to yourself. So find a picture or form one in your mind of what God might look like as you are talking to him. Is he sitting across the table with a cup of coffee with you? Is on a bench outside beside of you? Is your arm around him? Is he pulling you up a tree?


Prayer is all about change. Whether it is us who need to change or circumstances, we have to believe God can change things. That is the purpose of prayer. These 7 things are not a formula, program or system. These are just ways I have learned to pray and find meaning and purpose in my prayers based on my personality and active brain. So spend some time with God in prayer. He understands how our brains work, even if we don't.



Some research and further reading on prayer can be found here, if you enjoy those types of number games.
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/05/01/5-facts-about-prayer/
http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/150915-us-statistics-on-prayer.html

SOMETIMES IT'S HARD

Let me introduce you to two of the coolest kids in the world. This is Lucas, in yellow, and Caleb, in red for those of you who need it. I cannot remember how this particular story started out. Caleb just crawled up in my lap, saw the pictures and said, "We were fighting over jelly beans and had to hold hands. I cried." At least he remembers. I do remember they were fighting. They had been fighting a lot lately and we had enough of it. We had tried separating them. We tried making them work in different places. We tried "time out". We probably swatted their fanny a couple times (which is a great way to teach a kid not to hit;-)  note my sarcasm.)

I thought about it for a while. What could I do that could possible scar them for life? What would release the sweet sounds of wailing and gnashing of teeth? What could I do that is so heinous and deplorable, I could get my children taken away from me? What would be etched in their little developing brains for all of eternity? Then it hit me. I made them sit together.  . . . nothing happened. I made them give each other a hug. . . no tears. I made them hold hands. . . this is a picture of those beautiful result. They cried and wailed and tears flowed down their faces. It was a beautiful sight. It was then that I realized, as their little cheeks were streaked with sorrow, I was a good parent.

Lucas and Caleb in trouble for fighting.

My wife, Katie, and I have 5 kids. Lucas and Caleb are the youngest two. One of the most important things we desire as parents is the unity of our family. Having just moved back close to family I feel this more and more. Our families are the most important group of people God has designed and given us. It is were we learn love, or hate. It is were we feel absolute safety or fear. Brothers and sisters are more important than anyone. After my wife and I are gone on to Paradise they will be all they have left. Their unity and love will affect generations of Esteps. 

I feel a similar urgency for my kids as Jesus had for the apostles and the church. I pray this for myself and then for our kids. Here is a part of Jesus' prayer for the church. You can read his whole prayer in John chapter 17. 

“My prayer is not for them alone [Apostles]. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message [everyone after the Apostles], 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:20-23)

We live in a culture and society where the church is at odds with each other. Denominations and churches not liking, making fun of, and even condemning other churches over non-salvation issues to Hell. Mahatma Ghandi said once that Christians were the reason he was not a Christ follower. (This in not a good excuse, but I can understand where he is coming from.)

I know of a church that has 20 people in it and they think they are the only ones going to heaven. I know of churches that think using instruments during worship is a horrible atrocity. I know of churches that tell their congregations what kind of underwear to use and clothing to sleep in, everyone else is going to hell. I've heard of churches that have divided over whether or not to place a hook at the back of the church for the pastor to hang his hat and coat on. (On a personal note, I think this is a story they tell at Bible colleges just to illustrate how silly a lot of our disagreements are in the church.) 

I have to admit, I am like this as well. I have a  prejudice against prejudice people. I don't want to be around them. I don't like being told I'm not saved because I don't speak in "tongues". I don't like arguing with people. I don't think things like underwear, types of pants, which version of the Bible, or using notes to preach with are really worth the aggravation of being around some people. 

The division of the church is the saddest blight affecting Christians throughout history. It has all but destroyed our witness to the world. We must pray, as Jesus did, for the unity of believers. A wise pastor has said we are to have UNITY not UNIFORMITY, LOVE not LEGALISM, GRACE not GUILT, and RELATIONSHIP (with God) not RELIGION.  

If we were to rewrite Jesus’ prayer so we could pray it, it might go like this. “I pray that all of us who believe in Jesus through the Apostles Teaching and the Bible may be one, just as you are in Jesus and Jesus is in you. May we be in you so that the world may believe that you have sent him. You have given us the glory that you gave him so we can be one with each other: your son in us, and we in him. May we be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent Jesus and have loved us even as you loved him.”

Let's think of the believers we work with and know. Are there any we need to forgive? Are there any we need to love? Are there any who need grace? Pray for THEIR unity with the Father and the body as we pray for OUR unity with the Father and body. We, followers of Christ, need to repent of the hatred we have for each other. We need to forgive each other, so Christ can forgive us. We need to confess our unity to the Father and the Family. The unity process may look and feel like the one my sons went through. I think the unity of God's kids would be just as beautiful to him as it is to me.

One Spirit to Drink

In first Corinthians Paul has to straighten the corinthians out on some very significant problems with their doctrine. He goes through proper worship. Then Paul talks about the Lord's Supper in chapter 11, what is appropriate and what is inappropriate. He reminds them of Jesus' words when He took the bread and the cup. He talks about judgement and remembrance. Then he talks about spiritual gifts and how all of us who are in Christ Jesus are a part of one body. chapters 12 verse 13 he says something very interesting. “For we are all baptized by One Spirit into One Body [church] – whether Jew or Greek, slave or free – and we were all given the One Spirit to drink. “We are all given the One Spirit to drink.” I've over looked this verse dozens of times. I've read it and said to myself, “Yeah, one spirit, one body, got it.” But I hadn't looked at the “One spirit to drink” part. So this sent me looking through commentaries and essays. I ended up reading a bunch of greek words which I have no clue about and some really big english words which I had no clue about so I sat down with a dictionary. Here is the gist of it. When we are baptized we are given the One Spirit. The Holy Spirit to dwell within us. We are marked as clean. Our sins are washed away. We call this justification. Made just-as-if- i'de never sinned. It's a one time thing. As believers we are suppose to continually grow to become more like Christ. To be set apart for a holy purpose. That is why God gives us gifts through his holy spirit to build up the church. We call this “Sanctification” to be set apart for a holy purpose. Let me summarize one theologian I read. The Lord's Supper is more than just remembering the body and blood of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection. This is a spiritual meal. It is a key component of our salvation. Where baptism is a one time thing, the Lords Supper is repeated again and again. All of the church takes communion at the same time, it reaffirms our salvation in Christ Jesus and reaffirms our unity as a body. Partaking in the Lord's Supper makes the church share in the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. That's why Paul made such a big deal about eating in an appropriate manner. This is more than a remembrance. This is all of us joined spiritually as one body. We can't see it or touch it or even explain a lot of what the spirit does, but what one of us does in the spirit seems to have implications for all of us. Just like in baptism, there is so much more happening spiritually that we can't yet know or understand, That is why Jesus kept things simple when he explained them. But what is important is that we are to eat this meal on a regular basis. That it has spirit rewards and consequences. That we need this meal to continue our sanctification process. You know I'm still young. As a a human I'm only 34 years old. I'm done growing up, I'll just grow out now. As a believer I'm only 21 years old. There is still so much I have to learn. Visiting different churches lately and participating in their different styles of communion has help remind me of these two facts. I have a lot to learn and every group of believers that gather for communion are all united as on body in Christ Jesus. This is one thing I do that helps on a regular basis, getting together with the One Body, joined by the One Spirit, sharing in the One Meal.

Be like the Youngest

Have you ever noticed that when something serious is happening and you are really trying to bring home an important point something, or someone always has to mess it up by cracking a joke or bringing up a point or thought that is completely unrelated. It happens a lot with kids. Well, that is exactly what happened when Jesus sat down with his disciples for His last supper.

Luke 22:24-26 Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 25Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over the people; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors (one translations says they rule as politicians who like to be called “friend of the people”). 26But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.

So here is Jesus giving the lords supper. This is my body that is broken for you. This is my blood that is being poured out for you. Eat this meal in remembrance of me. And then they start arguing over who is the greatest. But Jesus once again reminds them about being the youngest. 

“BE LIKE THE YOUNGEST”

Do you remember what it was like to be a kid? Do you remember the excitement of catching a fish and squealing and throwing your fishing pole? Do you remember what it was like to hit the ball in little league baseball game? Do you remember catching frogs, tadpoles, or  salamanders and just looking at them in a mason jar and wanting to keep them? 

Do you remember being told God made the stars and put them in place and we just believed it. 

Do you remember memorizing the 23rd Psalm, and learning God takes care of us. Then learning how shepherd took care of sheep and the picture of Jesus reaching down to a lamb that had fallen over a cliff. 

Do you remember making hand prints in plaster of Paris, and writing “Jesus made me special” underneath them. 

Do you remember singing “Jesus Loves Me” and “The B-I-B-L-E, Yes that’s the book for me. I stand alone on the Word of God. The B-I-B-L-E”

Remember learning Jesus died on the cross, with all of our sins, so we wouldn’t have to. Remember Jesus’ blood. It washes all my sins away and makes me clean. While teaching a group of elementary kids about communion I told we do it every week so we don’t forget what Jesus did for us. One kid said back “How can you forget THAT?” 

When it comes to faith,  don’t look at it with all of these complex theological issues. Look at simply as the youngest would. The kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these. 

Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so. All of us to him belong. We are weak, but he is strong.