In and out

He is the door. He is the Good Shepard. I'm only a grateful sheep. It's none of me all of Him.

From the ODB passage, that's my take away. But I've been wrestling with another thought today.

The challenge I have been confronted with repeatedly is to take my own advice. In my role of technical support I found myself reminding a caller of the age old "GIGO" principle. Though it pre-dates the computer age by a few millenia, it was from early computer programmers that I first heard it called "Garbage In; Garbage Out." The caller expressed disappointment at the output of the program on their computer and I had to remind them that the program can only return what has been put into it.

Okay, Andy. Listen to yourself. So you don't like the outcome? Review what you are putting in:

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:8-9 NASB)

But

Today's passage of Ephesians 5:1-10  is a total contrast while the first four verses are the death and decay of the world, verse five begins "But God" and then twelve more times He is reference (as God, Christ, He, Him or His).

Again, I am reminded that He has done the work. While verses 8-9 are ever popular, it's verse 10 that makes it clear that none are saved to sit. We are all adopted into His family to take the place on the team accomplishing His mission that He has had in mind for us all along.

I spent a long time wondering an fretting over what that is that He has for me to do. All the time I am worrying about that (read sinning - Philippians 4:6), I am not doing anything for Him. The one thing I know that I am to do is pursue an ever-deepening relationship with Him, so I am focusing on doing what I know and trusting Him to reveal the tasks He has for me in His time.

Mission

Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19 NASB)

Wedged between the ever popular verses about being a "new creature" and being "ambassadors of Christ," these verses clarify with these two questions:
Why have we been "made new"?  – to be reconciled with Him through Christ!
What is our mission as His "ambassadors" – the ministry of reconciliation

Reconciliation is about restoring relationships and is epitomized by Christ. He has made the way for my sinful soul to relate with holy God by paying the penalty for my sin so that it would not be held against my account. Now in my new life, I now have one job as His ambassador: to spread the word of reconciliation that I have experienced that others can be restored in relationship with Him also.

Drifting

In short, Hebrews 2:1 is the reason for this blog. Knowing that I made a promise to myself, my friends, and my Lord that I would "pay closer attention" to my walk with Christ by being in the Word DAILY (a practise I had neglected). Our Daily Bread has a focus passage and my promise to do this blogging of my thoughtful response keeps me accountable in a measurable way (before myself and my brothers) to be keeping my promise.

My initial goal is to foster anew the habit of beginning and ending my days in prayerful, thoughtful time in the Word. I have confidence that this will in turn rekindle my love for the Word and for the Author.

The Word must be my lifeline and cannot be (as I had allowed myself) neglected. As the New Living Translation rendered Hebrews 2:4 - "So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak?" The Bible IS the words of hope delivered to us by those who walked and talked with God Almighty. I am blessed to have scripture translations and helps so that I can dig into them and an indwelling Helper to understand and apply them. How dare I say I love Him yet spite this gift He has given me to draw closer to Him?

Servanthood

"... not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart" (Ephesians 6:6 NASB)

Some might say watching the Matrix movie trilogy has warped my thinking, but I have come to believe that slavery is not optional. The problem is that the world has bought into Satan's lie that freedom is an absence of authority. The truth is that there is an authority structure over each of us and freedom is found in working within that structure in submission.

Scripture tells us "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:10-11 NASB). Willingly yielding to Him now is true freedom for both now and eternity. It must lead to respect and obedience to all the authorities He has placed over me following His example.

Whether in a role of leadership or of servanthood, the call is the same: be an ambassador of Christ being transformed into His image. To exhibit the authoritative submission of Christ will certainly make you stick out in the crowd.

Enough

He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”
And they said, “Seven.” (Mark 8:5 NASB)

Jesus could have miraculously provided for the people by other means (just pick it off the ground as He did for all Israel [Exodus 16] or have the birds bring deliveries as He did for Elijah [I Kings 17]), but in this miracle as well as the feeding of the five thousand (Mark 6) He took what His disciples had and multipled it to be abundantly more than enough. Why? I think He was training His disciples – and in turn through the recording of the events, training us. Training us that, though He could do it alone, He desires that we take our part in joining Him in the service of our Heavenly Father.

He will accomplish the work, he only asks that we do the work. It is His provision, His power, His purpose, my role is "Yes, Sir! Right away, Sir!"

What's the object?

For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. (1 Cor. 13:9-10 NASB)

Like most Christians who get married, 1 Corinthians 13 was read during my wedding ceremony. The challenge of the passage that without love as the foundation of all that we do, it's all just noise is certainly appropriate for that context. While I was young, the group DC Talk had a song with the reminder that "Love Is a Verb" and I wanted to get more specific about that. Love is a transitive verb, meaning that it must have an object. To hear someone say "I love" is incomplete and leaves us wondering what's coming.

While behaviorists are quick to point out that Christ stating the second commandment as "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt.22:39) has loving ourselves at its core, they clearly haven't sought to understand Christ's teaching. Luke 14:26 records Christ challenging His followers for His rightful place as object of our love. The love due Him is so much higher it must make our love in every other relationship – including not only the most intimate we can have with another human in marriage but also one's own life – seem as though it is hate.

My challenge from this passage is that to be more than just noise, I must love Him foremost and (as Luke 14:27 reminds) count myself a "dead man walking" that I may live through Him and allow His love to pour through me. Right now, I have such a poor understanding, but I have faith in this: face-to-face with my Lord's perfection this partial understanding will be no more.

Parched

You shed abroad a plentiful rain, O God;
You confirmed Your inheritance when it was parched. (Psalm 68:9 NASB)

Over the weekend as I was working in my yard and though technically not summer since today was "the first day," it was getting to be very hot. I looked up to see my beloved wife carrying a tall glass of ice water. Oh, the loving thoughtfulness of that gesture: to think less of leaving the comfort of the air conditioned house (the only time she left it that day by the way) to bring a glass of much needed water to the stubborn man she loves that did not even realize how dehydrated he was getting because his mind was to wrapped up on the task to be done and the audibook playing in his earbuds.

This verse from today's passage was amplified by Sharon's Christlike servant heart (see Phil 2:5-8) and reminding me how Christ met me at my greatest times of need (Rom 5:6-11 – "helpless," "sinner," "enemy"), and meets me even still when I  get "sheep-headed" and walk "my way" into peril by forgetting whose I am.

Lord,
Help me to keep my eyes fixed on You. Please continue to bring me reminders of how much You have DEMONSTRATED love to me. Guard me from my own "sheep-headedness" the lets me try my own way and grow oblivious to the depth of my need for You each step of the way.

pulse?

Reading this passage in Nehemiah 8 initially reminded me of the presentation of a couple in my church who is part of the S.O.W.E.R.S ministry asking about the un-named workers on the podium "they had made for the purpose" (more info on them at this site),

But as I thought more on, the purpose of the gathering stuck put at me. It was the Word of God. A nation that was removed from their land by a jealous God had finally returned and EVERY person was involved: fourteen men up front and everyone who could possibly listen and understand to hear the Word read, explained and "Amened."

Am I as eager for the Word, or have I lost my love for the Word — and by extension, how real is my love for the Lord of the Word?

Parenting

The Our Daily Bread today warned to beware when things are going well lest you drop you guard and become self confident. The challenge I took from the passage was not only the reminder to read and heed the instructions, but to notice it was generations that fell away. Working for an organization that has instilled and reminded me of the mandate of Deuteronomy 6:4-9  (they call "The Great Commandment") and knowing that training up my son is my responsibility, I need to see that I am setting the example and actively training my son to have a foundation of faith that will not be rocked in the battles this world brings.

Answers

And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” (Acts 2:12 NASB)

With my pastor having preached out of  1 Peter 3 on Sunday, the charge to "always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you" (from verse in NASB). Peter knows what he is talking about, since the remainder of Acts 2 records his answer to this question and the response of the crowd.

While it may not be as dramatic as this first arrival of the Holy Spirit, does my life make people wonder what make me so different? It reminds me of that old cliché: "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." If I am insulating myself from the world so much that my life is not intersecting with those who do not know Christ, how am I fulfilling His mandate to be His ambassador, His witness, His body? Now working at a Christian company, I find that I am becoming a bit more insulated and  finding ways to let my light shine not only among brothers and sisters but those most needing His light.

Listening

In today's Our Daily Bread, Joe Stowell reminded us that it was often decades between times that God spoke to Abraham. While many might long for that audible voice, we have lost focus of what has been made available to us. On this side of history's greatest event (the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ), the Holy Spirit indwells us and speaks through His Word.

A brother challenged me that (as I understood it) the easily digested "milk" of the Our Daily Bread readings are not "meaty" enough for someone with the spiritual maturity I should have. I agree that this is true, but I think it misses my intent for this blogging exercise.

Yes, I ought to be dining on "meatier" truthes from the Word, but I have found myself slacking and understanding too well the longing that Joe Stowell talked about. I've lost my taste for the "meats" and forgotten the truth that I mentioned above: He is accessible, and more so desires His children spend time with Him.

I was recently challenged from Revelation 2 that, like the Ephesians, all manner of good, praiseworthy things can be done, but if I have "left [my] first love" I am still not pleasing to my Lord as I ought to be. I used to love time in the Word drawing near to my Lord, but I have let the cares of this world and selfish pursuits choke out that thrist.

I remember when I was in college the pastor of the church I attended did a sermon series on "Count God In." As a young college student, I didn't realize how easy it is to let all the temporal, "urgent" things of this word that bombard all five senses 24-7-365 crowd out Christ. But this is where I find myself and this blog is a step toward restoration in two specific areas: time commitment to make time in the Word an important part of my daily schedule and to reaquire my taste for the Word.

So it boils down to this: if I believe what I say I believe, why aren't my actions supporting that? Time to fix that.

The deserved reproof.

Let the righteous smite me in kindness and reprove me;
It is oil upon the head;
Do not let my head refuse it,
For still my prayer is against their wicked deeds.
(Psalms 141:5 NASB)

Oh, to be so focused on walking in righteousness that a harsh reproof - even to blows is viewed as a kindness. While it is so easy to minimize my sin and look past the beam in my own eye to look at the world and feel "justified," I need brothers willing to call the evil they see in me exactly what it is - even if they have to slap me across the face to to get my attention to see it.

Lord,

Thank you for bringing brothers into my life who are willing to keep me accountable for my walk, even when it gets difficult. Keep my eyes open to the truth they will force me to see as much as it may hurt. I know they are Your servants showing tough love to bring me closer to You and keep me on the path of being conformed to Your image. Help me not to fall in the "it's not so bad" trap and remind me the price You paid for my rebellious, selfish choices so that I can walk in fellowship with You. Lord, please grow within me the level of gratitude David expressed here. Help me to never refuse and always see the loving-kindness in the difficult acts by brothers who confront me with the putridness of my own choices. 

Whose job is it?

The end of Ezra 3:8 says "... the priests and the Levites, and all who came from the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and appointed the Levites from twenty years and older to oversee the work of the house of the Lord." (NASB)

Just as the Jewish captives returning to rebuild the land promised to them, the reminder that the work of Christ is the work of ALL of His people that He has called out of captivity. Yes, there are appointed leader and overseers, but the task is for all of His people. If I claim to follow Christ, I must be about the work He has appointed for me. To do any less is to take His name in vain.

I have made the mistake of inactivity in the past believing that I should "wait on the Lord" to give a sign as to my specific assignment. A wise brother confronted me pointing out that it is easier to direct a rolling stone than one that has not moved in weeks, months, or years. Scripture gives a direction in Hebrews 12:1-3 that the finish line we are to pursue is Christ-likeness following the examples of those who have run the race ahead of us, With eyes fixed on Christ, the direction I give to my efforts will by necessity be growing closer to Him. If it's not in the specific area of service He has for me, He will certainly grow me and guide me into the role and tasks He has for me (Ephesians 2:9).

For now, what I know I must do is regain my focus and keep my eyes fixed on Him, so thanks for joining me on my walk to draw closer to Christ this far.

"Revival"

It has been a couple years since I posted anything on this blog. I originally started it as a bit of focus to "redeem the time" as I was at a night shift job which left me often looking at my computer screen with nothing "assigned" to do as we were there to be alert and respond when needed. Originally named as a play on words of adding personally to "Our Daily Bread," it was a co-worker at that job with whom I shared my blog who suggested my sub-title "One Man's Walk."

Since leaving that job, this blog fell by the wayside. Recently I have been convicted that I have gotten out of the habit of daily digging into the Word for personal spiritual walk. So I am "reviving" this blog/journal since I need to have something to steer me back on course.

Dear brothers in Christ,

I would ask a favor of those of you who are willing: to help me on my walk. You may or may not choose to walk side by side with me. This is the route I have chosen to regain my footing in my walk with Him, but might not be a path that works from where you are coming from. You can still aid me by keeping me true to my word.

I will spend time in the Our Daily Bread scripture passage that they have published a note about for that day. Through my day, I will bring this scripture back to focus and meditate on it to find the truths or applications the Spirit illuminates in my situation. Each and every evening, I will post insights and applications that have come to mind.

For those willing, please do not hesitate to contact me (jentesal@gmail.com) in any of these three scenarios:

1. Something I have written is a clear misinterpretation or misunderstanding of the Word.
2. Something I have written is confusing or needs clarification/supporting specifics.
3. Most especially, if I have missed a couple days please email or call to find out why.

If you've read this far, thank you. I hope that you will be willing and able to help me steer my path back into closer fellowship with Christ.

His child in His service,

Andy Jentes