Bibliotaph (1 John 5.14-15)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “bibliotaph.”  I remember the first semester of my Masters program. I have never done so much reading in my life. In fact, up until that point I don't think I had ever read an entire book all the way through. Sure, I had read parts of books for school and for fun. But, I really did not have a love for reading. That's when I realized that if I was going to get through a full Masters degree program I was going to need to love reading… and fast. That was the only way I was going to be able to read 10 huge books a quarter. I prayed hard, and miraculously, God answered.

“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” ~1 Jn. 5:14-15

My question is: do you pray for the stuff that God would want for you? One of the main lessons I learned in the beginning of that program was if I prayed according to God's will, he would answer. And, I am absolutely positive that there is no way that I would have made such a miraculous jump from hating to read, to the other end of the pendulum and loving to read, unless it was by God's divine hand. Now, you may or may not believe that. But, I am a firm believer that if we ask according to God's will, he will answer us. My prayer is that you do just that… Pray according to what you believe God would want for your life. This is tough because we know that sometimes God may not want the things that we do. But, it works out when we trust him. Hey, how else would I have ended up one of the world's great bibliotaphs?

Praying for you,

MO

Epicedium (John 11.1-44)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “epicedium.”  Some of the best parts of the Bible are when Jesus totally throws people off.  One of the great stories that I remember hearing early on in my faith journey was that of Lazarus.  Here it is, this guy dies and everybody knows that there is absolutely no way he could be anything but dead.  Jesus comes along, and turns the situation into something miraculous, and of course uses it for God’s glory.

Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” ~Jn. 11:40-44

My question is: what kind of faith do you have in God?  It seems that very few people believed Jesus could do what he was about to do in this situation.  But, can you blame them?  I mean, they were singing the ritualistic epicedium, and all of a sudden Jesus comes and breaks up the solemn gathering to let them know that Lazarus will rise again.  What a great story.  My prayer is that you never count God out of the equation.  If we remain faithful to him, he will continue to show us miraculous signs even today.  Take some time to ask God to do such things in your life.

Praying for you,

MO

Thaumaturge (Matthew 17:1-20)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “thaumaturge.”  I remember growing up as a young Christian.  I had just decided to put my faith in Jesus, and I was in high school.  So, by definition I pretty much thought I knew everything in the world.  It wasn't until I started reading the stories in the Bible that I was both filled with inspiration, all, and a whole lot of questions about some of the stuff that did not seem to fit within my confines of reality.  Namely, the miracles that I read in the Bible, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, were somewhat puzzling to me.  I mean, how could some of that stuff even happen.

He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” ~Matt 17:20

My question is: where is your belief concerning the things that Jesus can do in your life, today?  I know for me, it is taken an entire Christian lifetime, even to this point, to continually put my faith in Jesus. He is more than just a thaumaturge, or a miracle worker.  I want to be the kind of man that can put my faith completely in God, who saved me.  My prayer this morning is that you live out your faith, even if you feel it is small.  God does not judge us in comparison to others, but instead our ability and willingness to love him to our fullest potential.

Praying for you,

MO

Edutainment (Matthew 13:12-14)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “edutainment.”  The book of Matthew is pretty awesome.  Jesus knows that to get his message across he needs to speak in terms that everybody will understand.  We have to understand that this had to be pretty tough.  He had to be able to relate to followers, those who doubted him, religious leaders, ordinary everyday people, and every other kind of person you might imagine.  So, it is no wonder that he spoke in short stories to help others understand the points he was trying to convey.

“This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.” ~Matt 13:13

My question is: how do you best respond to learning the stuff that God thinks is important?  Jesus was pretty astute when I came to knowing his audience.  In fact, we see that in this passage that Jesus changes the entire method that is needed to help others understand the truth that he was bringing to them.  My prayer is that you find out what is most appealing to you concerning Bible stuff, and use that to your advantage to learn more.  Just as Jesus used a kind of edutainment, or education and entertainment all rolled up into one, so can you learn from God’s word in a bunch of different ways.  We only need to do a little bit of searching to understand how we will best learn the principles God has in store for us.

Praying for you,

MO

Whippersnapper (1 Timothy 4:11-13)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “whippersnapper.”  One of the things that I really like about the book of 1 Timothy is the encouragement that Paul gives in.  We know that Timothy is a young man because of the stuff that Paul says to him.  In fact in today’s passage, we can kind of tell that Timothy might’ve been feeling discouraged, maybe that others did not take him seriously because of his youthfulness.  But, could you imagine having Paul as a teacher?  I think the people that were ridiculing Timothy had no idea how uninformed they were.

“Prescribe and teach these things. Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching…” ~1 Timothy 4:11-13

My question is: what are the inadequacies that you feel in your life?  Is there anything that holds you back from getting out there and achieving the goals that God would have in front of you?  I remember at the beginning of my professional ministry, I was very young.  My mentor pointed to this book in the Bible, and specifically this passage, on more than one occasion.  He told me to rise above the ridicule and that even though a lot of people might think that I was an unqualified whippersnapper, I was really a child of God who was called to spread the word.  You have been called to do the same!  Go out and make a difference today.

Praying for you

MO

Jocose [Romans 15:13]

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “jocose.”  The Bible speaks a ton about joy and the way we need to be when it comes to living and acting according to God’s will.  Paul wrote this letter to the Romans with the intent of reminding the church that they were part of God’s great plan and design.  He knew that these people had potential to serve with the power of the Holy Spirit. They only needed to be intentional.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

~Rom. 15:13

My question is: how is God filling you with hope daily? Each of us has hopes and dreams for where we would like to see our lives.  Sometimes it is difficult to see God’s plan in the midst of current circumstances.  My prayer is that each of you finds peace in the knowledge that God wants you to live a life of blessing.  Remember to always rejoice, whether times are good or bad. it is not easy, of course; but we must continue to know JC more each day and abound in hope!

Praying for you,

mo