Year end

Sorry that the pace of my jobs in December has made time for this blog difficult. Taking a challenge to read through the Bible "chronologically" this year will likely change the shape of future entries, but stay tuned. Below is our family "Christmas letter" - a kind of "state of the family" letter for friends and extended family. God Bless! More soon.

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Dear Family & Friends,

With the end of 2011, we look back at the blessings and challenges thanking the Lord for all He has done. Andy still works full-time with Gaylord Opryland through the nights and part-time at Publix Supermarket in the afternoons. Sharon is enjoying being a stay-at-home mom to David and the new opportunity to truly be a homemaker in our new home. While we had looked for a house in 2010, we began searching with determination again in late summer. We grew a lot in the process and looked through a lot of very nice houses here in Middle Tennessee. Any home (even if you're building it from the foundation up I've heard) has pluses and minuses, and so we looked at a lot of area properties in our price range. In the process, we trusted that the Lord had a home in mind for us and we found encouragement seeking His guiding hand from the promise of scripture:

“For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:11-13 NASB)

We found one that seemed to have everything we needed, and began packing up to move in August. It is a beautiful home in a great established neighborhood. We received down payment assistance through a program for first-time home buyers through THDA, but a rescheduling of a class required by the program caused our closing to be delayed from Sept. 28^th until late on Sept. 29^th (which actually meant we didn't get the key until Sept. 30^th). We had everything arranged to have help, rental truck and time away from work for Andy based upon moving the evening of closing and the entire following day. It caused hassles with missing an additional night of work and spending a night at Sharon's parents' home with nearly all of our things locked in a moving van. But it all worked out and we got every­thing moved in with help from our First Baptist Church Gallatin family and coworkers from Publix.

So not only was October a big month with both Sharon’s and Andy’s birthday, but it was the beginning of the adventure of home ownership. We knew from the beginning that we were going to be taking some time to move the back yard fences out to the property lines, but added more work as we found out about some plumbing issues that needed urgent attention. There is no maintenance man to call like at the apartments; it had to be addressed, so it was up to us. Not having any real maintenance know-how ourselves, Sharon’s father, Ron Hoffman, was invaluable in getting the problems fixed. Mom & Dad Hoffman also surprised us with housewarming / birthday gifts of a storage shed, additional fencing and screen doors (with assembly assistance – Dad with labor, tools, and expertise & Mom with loving care for David and wonderful food).

Not everything on the upgrade and repairs list is complete (though I fear no fifty-year-old home ever has maintenance “complete”), but with furniture finding places, opportunity for Sharon and David to meet some of our new neighbors during trick-or-treat, and most of the household items finding places other than boxes, the house was beginning to feel like home. And just in time to prepare for Carl Jentes to fly down from Ohio for Thanksgiving with us in our guestroom. We thought it important to have Dad come to get to spend time with his family (especially his grandson) in this, the first full year without Pat. Though she is greatly missed, we know she moved to her Father’s house and we will be together again. As we look forward to our first full year in our new home and the joys of planting flowers and a garden in the rebirth that is Spring, we know that her joy is complete now in her new home that her walk with her Lord is can now be side-by-side and unclouded by pain.

We are so blessed to have a great church home at First Baptist Church Gallatin where Sharon teaches the “Walkers” Sunday School class and Andy assists with the audio/visual production team. I cannot imagine being able to make it without the support of a local church body through which we have received so many blessings “coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17 NASB). Please remember this Christmas that it is His gift at Christmas (becoming one of us to do for us what we could not do to restore our relationship to the Father) that brings true joy and life without end.

In His Service and Only By His Grace,

Andy, Sharon & David Jentes

Daily Butter 12/15: Calling

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (12/15/11):

Be in agreement with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

(Romans 12:16 HCSB)

I’ve been silent for the past few days because of pressures at work and its affect on my attitude inhibiting my heart to dig in to the Word. But several times in recent days as work has weighed on me that I wonder why not look toward full-time ministry. While I know it would also weigh on a person in many ways, there is such a joy I find in growing to know Him more by finding new things or fresh perspectives in His Word and trying to put that into words to share. But the statement at the end of this verse that the New Living Translation translated “And don't think you know it all!” reminds me again why I have not looked toward full-time ministry: it’s not about me. Yes, I have an education from a Christian college that included some Bible and theology classes. Yes, I’ve had brothers and sisters in the faith tell me I have a talent for it. Yes, I think I might be fairly good at it. BUT I will not be starting “The First Church of Andy,” so it’s not my choice.  While I do think I could be good at it, I KNOW I can’t do it. He could use me and empower me, but I have yet to hear a definite call from Him that He has chosen me for that purpose. I will continue to serve in the best ways I know how and seek opportunities to use my talents in His church. Pray for me that I will continue to serve faithfully and be a light in whatever position I am in. Pray also that My heart will stay tender so it may see His guiding hand as it leads and hear His still small voice if He does call.

- Andy Jentes

Daily Butter 12/7: The Gift of Remembrance

My apologies for the lapse in my writing – the effects of heavy demands from employers for my time over this weekend had me reeling. I'm just now getting back to "normal" sleep/meal patterns.

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (12/7/11): 

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. (1 Corinthians 11:26 HCSB)

My generation (with war experience only of Desert Shield, Storm and 9/11 aftermath) may not grasp the importance this day has held for this nation for nearly two-thirds of a century. Though it is with limited understanding of the cost, I salute those who willingly and/or dutifully risked and gave everything in service to this nation. It bothers me that failure to set aside time to remember things like the momentous happenings of 12/7/1941 has led to entitlement and self-focused attitudes for those my age and younger. It is imperative that we remember the cost of freedom, for if we disrespect and forget the price paid by past generations, we will doom our children to repay the price (with decades of inflation).

I agree with what Randy Kilgore said in today's ODB about Christ instituting "the Eucharist" (while not the common Protestant term, I like it because it "is derived from Greek "εὐχαριστία" (transliterated as "eucharistia"), which means thankfulness, gratitude, giving of thanks" according to Wikipedia). But I feel it was not only a way to institute of remembrance, it was a teaching tool. Remember that Christ stated "Don't assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." (Matt 5:17 HCSB) As Christians, we sometimes forget that the bread and cup were at the table set for Christ and his disciples to eat the Passover Feast. Just as sailors saluting at the rail sailing into Pearl Harbor act as bridge between the past and present, this table was similar for a Jew. Christ not only made a remembrance ritual for us now in future generations looking back, but He did so by tying it to the remembrance of redemption that had been in place for generations in Israel. Just as they were reminded of the miraculous salvation of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt through the blood of an unblemished lamb, Christ showed his disciples precisely what He was doing: Fulfilling all that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had been doing throughout history. As we come into Christmas and the time we remember His incarnation, let's not forget that God provided His perfect, unblemished Lamb (in a livestock shed welcomed by shepherds) to pay the debt once for all that we might also be saved from slavery.

This is what I saw, so I would echo the challenge from today's ODB:

Action Suggestion:

Read with fresh eyes the detailed instructions Scripture

offers for the Lord's Supper in 1 Corinthians 11, and

experience anew its power in your spiritual journey.

- Andy Jentes

Daily Butter 12/3: Perspective

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (12/3/11):

If that's how God clothes the grass, which is in the field today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more will He do for you — you of little faith? Don't keep striving for what you should eat and what you should drink, and don't be anxious.

(Luke 12:28-29 HCSB)

I love what Joe Stowell wrote in today’s ODB about the temporary nature of all these “important” things over which we get so uptight. Just last night before coming to work I had a conversation with my wife how much I miss just getting to spend time with my family. With the time demands of the two jobs just trying to “make ends meet” and the little bit of time I am at home spent on the biological necessities of sleep, eating, and hygiene doesn’t leave much.

I can’t count how many times I’ve read these words of Christ (either in Luke’s account here or from Matthew’s chapter), but still the urgency of this world’s pressures get us “conformed to this age” (Romans 12:2) of just getting by. The words “you of little faith” at the end of verse twenty-eight hit hard. Do I live like I believe Christ meant what he said?

 

- Andy Jentes

Daily Butter 12/2: Inconceivable

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (12/2/11):

The LORD is righteous in all His ways

and gracious in all His acts.

(Psalm 145:17 HCSB)

I just can’t grasp this verse. I have a feeling I’m going to have to put it with the mystery of Jesus Christ can be fully man and fully God or how there can be but one God yet three persons. I know it’s true that God is righteous and just in all things, but “it’s a God thing” to be able to be gracious at the same time. In my customer service positions, extending grace usually means “bending the rules” rather than staying true to the “letter of the law.” Yet I know this is not the case with Him, because if God was ever going to “fudge a little” it would have been when the Son prayed repeatedly for another way other than His death and burial to save us (Matt 26:36-46). He is righteous and yet He made a way to meet the demands of righteousness to extend grace to pay my consequence at great expense. I still can’t really understand that kind of love, but to His praise and glory I will be giving Him my thanks for eternity.

 - Andy Jentes

Daily Butter 11/30: NOT FAIR!

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (11/30/11):

 

So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is life-giving justification for everyone. (Romans 5:18 HCSB)

 

In my jobs, I have a lot of colleagues in their teens and early twenties who complain about things not being fair. I guess I don’t understand how someone could live more than a decade without learning that “fairness” is an illusion. The only thing fair in this life is the county fair (and that’s run by people, so many ribbon-less 4H kids will tell you it’s not fair either). But having been raised in a family of faith, I learned early that neither the heritage of sin passed down since Adam nor God’s solution through His Son Jesus Christ are “fair.” No one gets asked whether they want to be a descendent of Adam, so it’s no wonder that we all fall short, but for some reason we (not sure if this is humanity wide or just primarily American) want the solution to be more do-it-yourself and therefore more “fair.” But it’s not, since He did the work and for that I say PRAISE THE LORD!

 

- Andy Jentes

 

Daily Butter 11/28: But I Can't

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (11/28/11):

 

¹³For it is God who is working in you, [enabling you] both to will and to act for His good purpose. ¹⁴Do everything without grumbling and arguing, ¹⁵so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world.

(Philippians 2:13-15 HCSB)

 

I’ve often held out verses 14-15 as something I aim to live out. Henry Ford is attributed with the quote “If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right.” Verse thirteen really jumped out as me this morning as a reminder that there is a reason I feel inadequate to the task: because it takes Divine power working in and through us to accomplish His purpose.

- Andy Jentes

 

Daily Butter 11/27: Devotion

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (11/27/11):

    Teach me Your way, LORD,
    and I will live by Your truth.
    Give me an undivided mind to fear Your name.

    (Psalm 86:11 HCSB)

“Devotion” is an English word that gets tossed around so much in Christendom that it seems to have lost any meaning. Stemming from the same root as “devoted” and “devout,” it has always bothered me that we talk about “doing our devotions” – a devotion is a commitment you have not an action you do. But even then, reading of Our Daily Bread’s ”daily devotional thoughts” becomes “having our devotions.” It’s killing the word and it just makes the hair on my neck bristle. If you’re “devoted” then it should be singular. Yes, I understand that I am devoted to my wife, devoted to my son, devoted to my local church, and devoted to serving people in my jobs, but I strive to have those simply be facets (fruit if you will) of my singular devotion to my Lord. (Eph 5:25; 1 Tim 5:8; Heb 10:24-25; Col 3:23-24) But enough of my angst at the death of one word in the ever-changing American English language…

Reading through this Psalm, the thought of an “undivided mind” (or heart [NIV]) is so appealing. When wrestling with all the “wish I could”s, the “gotta do”s, the “wanna do”s, the “oughta do”s, and the “but I can’t”s, can someone really have a singular focus? It reminds me also of Paul’s expression of frustration with the internal battle: “For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate.” (Romans 7:15 HCSB) When he wrote this Psalm, David knew these battles. From the record of his life in Scripture we know he sometimes failed miserably and sometimes excelled brilliantly. This verse shows that he came to understand that it’s first and foremost something we CANNOT do ourselves, but something we MUST seek to be taught and ask to be given.

- Andy Jentes

Daily Butter 11/26: Instructions

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (11/26/11):

You were shown [these things] so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him.

(Deuteronomy 4:35 HCSB)

In today’s ODB, Julie Ackerman Link observed people trying to unleash the power of the singing bowl as missing “cooperation.” I tend to think it is something more basic. From the Garden of Eden to 21^st Century America one thing has remained the same: Mankind’s desire to do it him-/her-self. It’s not so much a desire to ignore the Maker’s instructions as an overly high view of self. To place our trust on our own senses rather than the instructions of the Maker who designed it to work properly:

“I know the Maker says not to eat that, but I can see it looks wonderful and smells so delicious. Besides, I hear it doesn’t do what they say and that they’re just keeping me from something really good.”

There really is nothing new under the sun. It might not be as simple as “a piece of fruit,” but I know I still find my mind going through the same kind of rationalization. I used to think the Jews of the Old Testament were so hard-headed that generation after generation God is performing miracles to meet their needs and freeing them from captors yet they keep trying to do things their own way. Then I look at my own life looking for evidence I’ve really learned anything, and I’m no better. The only thing it shows me is that God is more patient and merciful and forgiving than I could even imagine. It is good to be a child of the Most High.

- Andy Jentes

B	I	B	L	E
a	n	e	e	a
s	s	f	a	r
i	t	o	v	t
c	r	r	i	h
	u	e	n
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Daily Butter 11/24: Same Song

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (11/24/11):

 

    what we have seen and heard

    we also declare to you,

    so that you may have fellowship along with us;

    and indeed our fellowship is with the Father

    and with His Son Jesus Christ.

(1 John 1:3 HCSB)

 

I did not physically walk with Jesus Christ, nor hear His teaching with my physical ears, nor see His miracles with my own eyes. Nevertheless, my task is no different than that of John: Share my experiences so that others might also understand the joy of personal relationship with God Almighty.

 

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

(1 John 1:9 HCSB)

 

While the turkey that received the “Traditional Presidential Pardon” yesterday avoids death and dismemberment in the holiday celebrations, the parallel drawn in today ODB falls short in this one point: God does not simply pardon us by declaration. Since His righteousness demanded payment of death for our sins, He took it upon Himself to make the payment that we could never afford. That’s much more than any political leader has ever done for any living creature. THAT is the reason for my Thanksgiving and the reason I join in the song the apostles shared to praise the Almighty and point the way for all who will hear.

- Andy Jentes

 

Daily Butter 11/23: Joy to the World!

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (11/23/11):

 

For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, [then how] much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life! (Romans 5:10 HCSB)

 

In the Christian calendar, Christmas lies just a month away. In the US cultural calendar it seems, Christmas began weeks ago when the Halloween merchandise moved from the seasonal shelves to the clearance shelves – clearly overshadowing the day we set aside this week as a day of Thanksgiving. (It makes me consider joining our Canadian neighbors and have my day of Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October – but that would put it right around birthdays of both my wife and I. Though they might not be “celebrations,” I still better leave it as it is and just “celebrate” Columbus Day on their Thanksgiving.)

 

Just as Thanksgiving gets swallowed up culturally by Christmas, a real appreciation of Good Friday gets lost in the cultural embrace of Easter. Paul reminds us that the marvel that is Christ’s payment of our debt through His own death is the source of the joy. The joyous gift of Christmas is best understood as the end of a long wait for the Lord’s promised Savior, just as the new life of the resurrection is best understood with the payment of our debt. The joy of the celebration is in the reconciliation and the reconciled are those who understand the joy best. It is my Thanksgiving for Him claiming me as His that adds light to Christmas rather than being lost in its shadow.

 

But the angel said to them, "Don't be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.”

(Luke 2:10-11 HCSB)

 

- Andy Jentes

 

Daily Butter 11/21: Master's Craftsman

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (11/21/11):

I have placed wisdom within every skilled craftsman in order to make all that I have commanded you:

(Exodus 31:6b HCSB)

I also marvel at the artistry of master craftsman just as Dennis Fisher spoke about in today’s ODB. There’s something almost magical about something that is truly hand-crafted. It intrigues me that God, though well within His limitless power to have created a spectacular tabernacle or an exquisite temple with a word just as He made all of creation, chose to let mankind be a part of His plan and have a hand in building His kingdom.

Times may change, but He still prefers to use His people. It reminds me at times of my son wanting to help Daddy with the yard work: he gives the best effort his little arms and legs can manage with his leaf rake for as long as his three-year-old attention span can handle, and while it made barely a dent in the size of the job, it makes Daddy happy and that’s the important thing. There’s a lot of darkness in this world and one day He will break open the sky and let His light wipe out the darkness, but for now, He’s chosen me to take this little light of mine and let it shine so that some might see the light and be drawn to the Light. One day, that role may change, and I trust my God will, just as He did in Exodus 31, grant the wisdom, knowledge, skill, and strength to accomplish the task for which He chooses me.

As a new homeowner with repair and improvement projects, I’ve discovered something anew. It’s not the drill’s job to make sure the right size bit is in place or that the power is available, but the “handyman” better be sure of these things. I aim to be more multi-functioned than a drill in the Master’s hands, but though I may be cordless, I am powerless without His Spirit indwelling and purposeless without His guiding hand.

“Whenever they bring you before synagogues and rulers and authorities, don't worry about how you should defend yourselves or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said."

(Luke 12:11-12 HCSB)

- Andy Jentes

Daily Butter 11/20: Season of Giving

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (11/20/11):

Give to the one who asks you, and don't turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. …

For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don't even the tax collectors do the same?

(Matthew 5:42, 46 HCSB)

With Thanksgiving just days away now, the “Season of Giving” is upon us (even in this culture of self-focused, self-made men and women with such high self esteem they’re apparently lightheaded from the altitude).  I love the lights and the festivities and “spirit of the season,” but how can we be the light of the world in a season where everyone is putting up the lights and giving tokens to one another? (Hint: it’s not by putting up more lights than anyone else on the block) Because God sees things differently (1 Sam 16:7), I think it requires a shift in perspective. It’s not about the what or the how much or the when or the where, but it may be about the who and I believe it is ALWAYS about the why. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still be a bit selfish and get gifts for my family to feel the joy of the smile on their faces. But is there something I can give for the soul purpose of giving?

It always seemed odd to me that the “Season of Giving” begins with Thanksgiving just as it has confused me that in our house (as in many if not most Christian homes) gave thanks for our meal before partaking of it. This country has been so blessed for so long that apart from a cute little skit by the elementary school kids each year, we forget where the holiday got its roots: Thanking God Almighty for bringing just the right friends into the lives of the settlers that they survived, and in His faithfulness had brought about a harvest that gave them hope for a better time in the coming winter. Sorry, it’s not about turkey and football. It is about family and friends, our need for one another, and gathering together to renew ties and love one another. Okay, so throwing in a drumstick and a pigskin still makes it one of the least “materialisticized” holidays, but crammed between the number one retail holiday (Christmas) and the number two (Halloween) does tend to make it a bit overshadowed.

- Andy Jentes

Daily Butter11/17: Both...And

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (11/17/11):

Again the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look! The Lamb of God!" … So they went and saw where He was staying, and they stayed with Him that day. … Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed Him. He first found his own brother Simon and told him, "We have found the Messiah!" (which means "Anointed One"), and he brought [Simon] to Jesus.

(John 1:35-36, 39b, 40-42)

While David Roper’s ODB devotional chose to highlight Matthew’s account of Simon and Andrew being called to follow Christ, the title “A Companion on the Road” reminds me more of this passage. Some people might contend that this is a contradiction in Scripture, but it’s my belief that it is not a matter that either John was right or Matthew was right, but rather that both Matthew and John are right having recorded separate events.

The marvel to me then becomes not that Simon & Andrew would walked away from their livelihood to follow Christ, but just down the road, without any prior introduction (at least none recorded in Scripture), James & John follow at just the call. Since there is no specifics in Scripture, I tend to imagine that these colleagues and/or neighbors of Andrew & Simon overheard them talking of Christ and perhaps had conversations with them about Him. So, when they “were in a boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and He called them,” (Matthew 4:21) seeing Simon & Andrew were with Christ, they knew from their testimony the He was the real deal and “immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.” (Matthew 4:22)

This is why, though Scripture does not record much about specifically about Andrew, I am challenged by my namesake. Am I walking with Him in such a way that others who see me on the path would join the journey?

- Andy Jentes

(All Scripture quotes from the Holman Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 by Holman Bible Publishers. All rights reserved.)

Daily Butter 11/15: Sand Castles

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (11/15/11):

 

Therefore, leaving the elementary message about the Messiah, let us go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation….

(Hebrews 6:1a HCSB)

 

The words “laying again the foundation” brings to mind another verse: “But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn't act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.”  (Matthew 7:26 HCSB) This picture of spending effort building something that only has to be rebuilt with each and every storm is something (now that I work on home improvements on the house that shelters my family) that I have learned from those experiences and pressed on to bigger things.

 

After several Promise Keepers events and other rallies, I have often heard the challenges for men to band together and I truly believe that “Iron sharpens iron, / and one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17 HCSB) As a single man, I would get so frustrated that the churches I attended could not sustain a men’s Bible study nor could I find mentors or accountability partners among the men in the church. Now that I am a husband and father, I am more understanding that, as important as that partnering on the faith journey might be, there are other pressing matters of family and the hectic pace of life (like plumbing issues and paycheck-earning) that crowd out even the best intentions.

I know that I have been blessed to have a foundation of faith and a Christian college education that others have not, but I sometimes just cannot understand. Some of those times that I have found men that gathered around the Word, I would often be disappointed to find a man who had been attending church for decades “choke” on a morsel that seemed more like a hot dog than the ribs that I was looking forward to coming off the grill of the particular Scripture passage we were studying. C.P. Hia in today’s ODB mentioned it also, and it is so hard for me to understand how someone could “Taste and see that the LORD is good.” (Psalm 34:8 HCSB) yet not hunger for more than just the milk. May I never lose my hunger to know Him more and more.

- Andy Jentes

 

Daily Butter 11/14: Complete Picture

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (11/14/11):

    Even if He causes suffering,
    He will show compassion
    according to His abundant, faithful love.

 

    For He does not enjoy bringing affliction
    or suffering on mankind.

(Lamentations 3:32-33 HCSB)

There has always been a struggle for me to understand Scripture. If (as I believe by faith) God is the “Beginning and the End” (Revelation 22:13) and “the same yesterday, today and forever” (Hebrews13:8), this makes some very tough quandaries: How is it that He who commanded His people Israel to wipe out entire families, towns and nations (e.g., Joshua 11:12) is the same God who desires none would perish (2 Peter 3:9). Even in the midst of his grief, Jeremiah gives a glimpse into God’s dilemma: balancing His love with the demands of His holiness forces Him to make tough choices. We have the benefit of looking back from this point in history to see that His answer was to bear the burden of atoning for our unholiness Himself (John 3:16; Philippians 2:6-10). But just because He chose that, does not mean it was easy for Him (Luke 22:42). I still can’t say I understand it, but I can say for certain that I am eternally thankful the He did.

- Andy Jentes

Daily Butter 11/11: Inseparable

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (11/11/11):

    For I am persuaded that neither death nor life,

    nor angels nor rulers,

    nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

    nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing

    will have the power to separate us

    from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!

    (Romans 8:38-39 HCSB)

While that does not directly relate to my comments on the scripture, I must make note of today. Though knowing Veterans Day should be a holiday “goes without saying,” a vast majority of this nation will go through their daily routine this day like any other and appreciation for others’ sacrifice on their behalf goes unsaid. For my entire life I have had the freedom to live my faith and even be vocal about my faith in ways that my brothers and sisters across the globe risk life and limb to do. Yet I have not had to risk and fight, so for those who have fought to preserve these freedoms for me and to gain freedom for others, today is your day and you have my utmost gratitude.

How a follower of Jesus Christ can think they can lose their salvation has always baffled me. This reminder from Paul that no “created thing” (which you and I are) can break that bond of love gets missed. Admittedly, there are times we feel distant from Him, but like the wayward son (Luke 15:11-23), no matter the distance we stray from our Heavenly Father by our own choices, His love follows us even when we stray. Or in another reminder from Paul:

This saying is trustworthy:

    For if we have died with Him, we will also live with Him;

    if we endure, we will also reign with Him;

    if we deny Him, He will also deny us;

    if we are faithless, He remains faithful,

    for He cannot deny Himself.

(2 Timothy 2:11-13 HCSB)

I suppose this is where some get the notion that He will deny us if we deny Him, but I can’t imagine how anyone who has truly experienced Him could do so. Even when Peter “denied” Him as prophesied, Christ was faithful to him, restoring him into one of the great pillars in His church.

- Andy Jentes

Daily Butter 11/9: Expectation

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (11/9/11):

 

Guided by the Spirit, he entered the temple complex. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform for Him what was customary under the law, Simeon took Him up in his arms, praised God,

(Luke 2:27-7b HSCB)

 

While I totally agree with Julie Ackerman Link’s comments in today’s ODB about the cultural view of waiting being misunderstood as a waste, I see a couple differences. The obedient driver waiting for his/her number to be called at the bureau of motor vehicles is an entirely different type of waiting than the deer hunter in his/her tree stand. While ten minutes at the BMV would have our same hunter fit to be tied, s/he will sit hours in frigid temperatures with an ear to the breeze, constantly scanning his/her range of vision. Why? Expectations. For those of us over the age of sixteen, there is no thrill to be had when your number is called at the BMV but just checking one thing off the to-do list. For the hunter, whether the anticipation of the experience of the kill, of the trophy on the wall, or of the venison on the plate, there is an eagerness for what lies at the end of the wait. For Simeon, there was an eagerness that kept him alerts so that he heard the prompting of the Spirit to meet the promised one.

 

   But those who wait on the LORD

      Shall renew their strength;

      They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

      They shall run and not be weary,

      They shall walk and not faint.

(Isaiah 40:31 NKJV)

 

So… What are You waiting for?

 

- Andy Jentes

 

Daily Butter 11/8: Community

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (11/8/11):

 

Therefore, let us no longer criticize one another, ….

…

So then, we must pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another.

(Romans 14:13a, 19 HCSB)

 

This segment of Paul’s writing is specifically about differences in convictions on diet and about being considerate of our brothers and sisters (which was being done poorly in the church at Rome).  While the specifics of the instructions to the Romans was for that time and culture, it is the principle that ought not be thrown out. I thought Joe Stowell’s comments in today’s ODB  pictured it pretty well. I chose to highlight these bookends of the focus passage because it points out that rather than a dogmatic focus on “the right way” (which always seems to be fraught with pride since of course “my way” is THE right way), our focus needs to shift from self to be truly considerate of one another. It also points out the fact that it is not enough to stop going in a detrimental direction, but effort must be made to do “what builds up one another.”

 

- Andy Jentes

Daily Butter11/7: Know Know

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (11/7/11):

 

Not that I have already reached [the goal] or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 3:12 HCSB)

 

In a conversation tonight with my coworker, we were talking about our spiritual nature, about trying to “see” or “know” or ”feel” these spiritual truths, and we find ourselves shaking our heads at the inadequacy of language to capture the spiritual truth of a limitless God choosing to relate to us, His finite creation. The impossibility of our finite minds to really “know God” in any cognitive sense is way too much for any of us to grasp. But just as Paul wrote here, that does not me we don’t try to take hold of that truth which we know to be true because He has taken hold of us. Words are so inadequate to describe what it is to be in His hand, but those who have experienced this “know.”

But as it is written:

 

    What no eye has seen and no ear has heard,

    and what has never come into a man's heart,

    is what God has prepared for those who love Him.

   

Now God has revealed them to us by the Spirit, for the Spirit searches everything, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the concerns of a man except the spirit of the man that is in him? In the same way, no one knows the concerns of God except the Spirit of God.

(1 Corinthians 2:9-11 HCSB)

 

- Andy Jentes

 

Daily Butter 11/6: Powerful Gentleness

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (11/6/11):

 

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. He laid His right hand on me, and said, "Don't be afraid! …”  (Revelation 1:17 HCSB)

 

Bill Crowder shared in today’s ODB about the new realization of the imagery of the sound of his voice. With the truly awe inspiring impression that John captures with his words about what he saw, it is no wonder that he fell down at His feet. What struck me this morning was that though the Holman Christian Standard Bible translators placed an exclamation point on the “Do not be afraid!” the actions show this is not a “You should know better” admonition or command. He didn’t grab John by the arm, lifting him and forcing him to look him in the eye. This vision of truly awesome power and holiness placed His gentle, comforting hand on His beloved child. The wonderful truth is hard to grasp: the God of the Universe with all His power and glory is also our loving Heavenly Father and the Good Shepherd.

 

- Andy Jentes

 

Daily Butter 11/5: The End of Lonely Street

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (11/5/11):

 

"I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit – the Father will send Him in My name – will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.”

 (John 14:25-26 HCSB)

 

Apologies to Elvis – the King has spoken. We were not left on lonely street. God is a three person tag-team that is conspiring to make sure His children are never alone. Pentacost, when the promised Holy Spirit came to dwell not just with us but IN us was the end of lonely street for His children.

 

- Andy Jentes

Daily Butter 11/2: Watch it, dude!

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (11/2/11):

   A gentle answer turns away anger,

    but a harsh word stirs up wrath.

(Proverbs 15:1 HCSB)

Back on my birthday, I commented how at times fatigue sometime weakens my defenses holding back my tongue. Unfortunately, I know this Proverb to be true by experience. The tongue is a wild thing needing diligent monitoring.

For every creature—animal or bird, reptile or fish—is tamed and has been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. (James 3:7-8 HCSB)

I apologize that that fatigue is also keeping my brain from really adding a lot of insight to these truths, but I wanted not to miss making an entry. I’ll have a couple nights off to hopefully rest and recover. Until then, remember: “He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake!”

    The eyes of the LORD are everywhere,
    observing the wicked and the good.

(Proverbs 15:3 HCSB)

- Andy Jentes

Daily Butter11/1: Rules

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (11/1/11):

How can a young man keep his way pure?

By keeping Your word.   

…

I will delight in Your statutes;
I will not forget Your word.

(Psalm 119:9, 16 HCSB)

When in doubt, read the directions. My college roommate and I had an ongoing “debate” about our difference of opinion on ethics. He had a “deontological theory of obligation” while I claim to have a “theocentric teleological theory of obligation.”

That’s a lot of big words to say that he claimed the right thing to do is the right thing to do because God’s Word commanded it and the wrong thing to do was wrong because God’s Word prohibited it. Since I was a psychology major rather than a math major, I chose to adopt (perhaps invent) a theory which left for some “gray areas” where Scripture might not be as clear (like should the toilet paper roll off the front or back of the roll when hanging on the wall hanger). While a “teleological” view is often summed up as “the end justifies the means,” I add the word “theocentric” to signify that the desired “end” is the smile of God.

Yes, Scripture has many clear “do’s and don’ts” that help me understand what He expects of His children and guidelines that should guide my actions. Psalm 119, the longest “chapter” in all Scripture, is a beautiful reminder of the importance of His word. Each set of 8 verses begins with the same letter of the Ancient Hebrew alphabet through the entire alphabet.

The debates in our dorm room is a bit of a moot point as “obedience” is the way to make God smile, but I still think I was right. You see scripture has no clear decree on toilet paper rolls, so I chose to adapt from the back-of-the-roll hanging style I grew up with to the front-of-the-roll style of my in-laws with which my wife was accustomed. By the time my son was two-years-old and began spinning piles of “TP” onto the floor, the rolls (and roles) reversed. I marveled at the wisdom of my parents (and how much my son is like me) when we found that he didn’t waste the tissue when the rolls spun from the back. He’s grown up and moved on to remote control buttons and light switches, but the rolls remain the same. While it may not make God smile, doing things that keep my wife from frowning seems a step in the right direction. I’m sure my college roommate would say I simply applied Scripture (“Try to do what is honorable in everyone's eyes. If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12:17b-18 HCSB).

Regardless of perspective, the Word is STILL important and my many words are beginning to run on and on and….

- Andy Jentes

Daily Butter 10/31: Enlightenment

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (10/31/11):

 

   He came as a witness

    to testify about the light,

    so that all might believe through him.

    He was not the light,

    but he came to testify about the light.

The true light, who gives light to everyone,

    was coming into the world.

  He was in the world,

    and the world was created through Him,

    yet the world did not recognize Him.

(John 1:7-10 HCSB)

 

On this day which some of my brothers in Christ will vehemently preach is a dark day which we as children of light should have absolutely nothing to do with, is a great time to remember the light. We look out into the world at all the evil darkness and wonder why God is punishing us. How a God who is good and loving could allow such darkness? I don’t know, but I have a guess:

 

Just as John was not the light, I am not God and I do not have a mind capable of more than scratching the surface of what His thoughts might be. While my insights have no authority, they have challenged me to seek Him more and if putting them into words and sharing them prompts others to do the same, praise be to the Lord. And that gives away my answer. By faith I believe that all of creation exists for the sole purpose of bringing glory to the Creator. Just as the virtuoso in the rail station that C. P. Hia wrote about in today’s ODB was not recognized in those surroundings, the true brilliance of His glory needs to shine in the darkness to be recognized. Darkness exists to draw our attention to the Light.

 

While most Jews of that time were hoping and praying for the Messiah to come in power bringing the promised peace and freedom, here He comes as a baby in a shed. God sent a crazy man in the wilderness speaking the truth in a way that drew men to him to be baptized should have prepared them to be looking unexpected places. Yet it was in the midst of darkness in an unfamiliar town because of the decree of that government that the Lord came heralded to the third-shift shepherds.

 

All this to say that I might not be the Light, and I may be just another crazy man spouting interesting (or not so interesting) things, but this third-shifter has seen the Light, chooses to let this little light of mine shine, and will not stop pointing out the source of that light within me is Jesus Christ.

 

The light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness can never extinguish it.

(John 1:5  NLT)

 

- Andy Jentes

 

Daily Butter (10/30): Mini-Me

My little addition to Our Daily Bread (10/30/11):

    "Our father is Abraham!" they replied.

    "If you were Abraham's children," Jesus told them, "you would do what Abraham did. …You're doing what your father does."

    "We weren't born of sexual immorality," they said. "We have one Father—God."

(John 8:39, 41 HCSB)

Sons are like their fathers to some degree or another; always have been and always will be. If you’re not adopted into His family, you’re still a part of this world. Like it or not, more of the training of our children is “caught” the “taught.” While I understand the principle, I continue to fail in the implementation. Keeping my 3-1/2 year-old son at the dinner table is nearly impossible without inhumane restraints (which have been tempting but never attempted). With my schedule as chaotic as it is, we rarely get to sit down together at the table for a family meal. Even then, I find myself remembering something that seems it has to get done before I forget again so that I get up before my plate is empty. It is wrong of me to expect my son to abide by a rule that I am not modeling for him. I know this is tremendously frustrating to my wife, and yet knowing is not enough. The unfortunate part of living in this world is that we still have fallen bodies filled with imperfections that battle with our new nature and those “good intentions.”  It’s not an excuse, for the call to holiness remains the same as does the Spirit within me to empower me to do what is necessary. But David is like his daddy and we both need to make greater effort to battle the short attention span and the wanderlust, and I should be leading the way.

Lord, I wanna be just like You
´Cause he wants to be just like me
I wanna be a holy example
For his innocent eyes to see
Help me be a living Bible, Lord
That my little boy can read
I wanna be just like You
´Cause he wants to be like me

(Phillips, Craig & Dean –

    - “I Want to Be Just Like You”)

- Andy Jentes