Where I have been, What I have been doing...

Many of you have emailed or called me to ask, "Where have you been and why haven't you written?" Well, this is one of the places I've been and this is one the things I have written. I wrote an regular persons Bible commentary on each book of the Bible... I give you Genesis and Matthew. My new blog address is:

www.greenersgrainofsalt.wordpress.com Please subscribe to the feeds, there will be much more there.

Genesis is Hebrew for “origin” or “generation” or “beginnings.” Bereshith = (Hebrew word for Genesis.) Even the title of this book speaks of beginnings of many things; mankind, sin, death, and God’s unwavering Hand in our redemption.

It is interesting to note that the very beginnings of this terra firma were made in and by Perfection. Man himself was made by a Perfect God in what could confidently be called a perfect place and yet, sin began shortly thereafter. Genesis 6:9 – 9:17 detail the seemingly incongruous order for Noah to build an Ark, and Noah’s unwavering obedient response.

Genesis gets quickly to the point in addressing the questions that circle about even the most moderate of minds: “How did the earth begin?” Genesis answers, God spoke it so. “How did man get here?” Genesis answers, God spoke it so. I must conclude then that God has also a perfectly ordered plan for all of mankind despite our fallen state stemming from our departure from His perfect order.

Genesis speaks to the questions of God’s Holiness, righteousness, mercy and grace. God does not shield us from the lesson of sin and its consequences; rather He shows us our beginnings, failings, and foibles to point us to His Son Jesus… The Redemption King! We have the opportunity to re do our lives excerpting the sin of our Fathers. Genesis is a book of choices, so is life.

Matthew:

Yeshua is here! He and our salvation is upon us! Hope and help is come so that we might be released from animal sacrifice and from the penalty we deserve. It is astounding to me that God sent His Son in the form of a baby, in lieu of any other form He could have chosen. A baby, just as we enter the world, Yeshua entered the world.

In the beginning of Matthew we are given the genealogy of the King which to many is boring and to some extent, unnecessary. Over the years of reading the Bible I came to the conclusion that without this genealogy the total story would be incomplete. To some extent I find the genealogy comforting in that Yeshua was once just like me, from a family of mortal, fallible people. On the other hand, I find the genealogy to be comforting because it serves as a traceable road map to salvation, just as was prophesied of old.

It seems incredulous that Jesus Christ has to endure so much for me so early in His earthly life. It seems unfair that Jesus would have to suffer ridicule when He was so “good.” He did so much good for so many, healing hearts, souls, and bodies. He raised the dead and yet He pulsed ever quicker to the cross to die Himself. It just does not seem right. Why would He look from the cross and think of His love for me, and remain when He did not have to?

In the process Yeshua amazed the Pharisees, taught the disciples, and loosed the bonds of sin from people who had no hope. People just like me. We are taught, warned, and healed by Jesus, the unlikely King from Nazareth.

IF?!

Mark 9:17-29 (NASB)
Mk 9:17 And one of the crowd answered Him, "Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute;
18 and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it." (READ THAT AGAIN, AND AGAIN.)
19 And He answered* them and said*, "O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!" (YESHUA TAKES CHARGE AS ONLY HE CAN)
20 They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth.
21 And He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood.
22 "It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But IF You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!" (NOTE FROM PASTOR SHAWN - READ THAT AGAIN)
23 And Jesus said to him, " 'If You can?' (NOTE FROM PASTOR SHAWN - READ THAT AGAIN) All things are possible to him who believes." (NOTE FROM PASTOR SHAWN - READ THAT AGAIN)
24 Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief." (NOTE FROM PASTOR SHAWN - READ THAT AGAIN)
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again."
26 After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, "He is dead!"
27 But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up.
28 When He came into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, "Why could we not drive it out?"
29 And He said to them, "This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer." (NOTE FROM PASTOR SHAWN - READ THAT AGAIN)

My child is sick, please help me, IF you can... My job is hopeless for me, please help me, IF you can... My marriage failed, my character failed, my health is failing, my finances are failing, my church is falling apart, my heart is heavy and in pain... I am lonely, please help me, IF you can.

Yeshua (Jesus' real Name) said, "IF You can? All things are possible to him who believes." Read it again, all of you, out loud if you like, read it again.

Much of our problem is that we have an IF in our prayers. Half of the time we don't even actually pray, we simply vex over our problem, which in many cases - if we are honest - we may have at least in part, brought upon ourselves in first place - we don't actually bring to God in prayer what is vexing us. We just vex in the name of prayer. How about next time stopping that unproductive vexation and starting at that moment a conversation with God?

IF you can, you will. Not great faith to say the least, but as it is, it is our condition much of the time - an inherent lack of faith in Yeshua, in God the Father, in the Holy Spirit in Whom we daintily proclaim our (faith?) We cannot be too hard on this man... he was in the trenches with a sick son, not much money, not much hope... Can I get a witness up in here?! He did not have a lifetime of opportunity to read the scriptures about a Jesus Who healed, Who raised from the dead, and then rose Himself from the dead, appearing to over 500 people before ascending to Heaven. We do.

The disciples could not drive the demon out because of the subconscious "IF." That same "if" we insert subconsciously into our prayer, and Yeshua hears and feels it. Our faith is either our mountain to be climbed or to be crushed under, our choice. Don't be too hard on the disciples, they were only with Yeshua for a short time before He started freaking them out with getting baptized by John the Baptist, hearing a voice from Heaven, healing the deaf, blind, lame, and dead. They didn't know what to make of a Man Who could do these things. Neither can we sometimes, right?

Read verse 29 again. Yeshua, Son of the Living God, Creator of all prayed. Who did He pray to? To God the Father, Creator of all. I'm going out on a limb here, but when Jesus Christ prayed for the healing of the child, there was no "if?" in His prayer.

Read verse 24 again. "I do believe, help my unbelief." These the words of a worried father of a boy who for his entire life was the laughing stock, the source of rumor and ridicule and fear... In just moments after a plea for help from the One who truly could help he and his son, help would come in complete and utter healing.

If you have doubts, give them in prayer to God. Ask for His help for your unbelief and silence the "if."

Moving Day!

http://greenersgrainofsalt.wordpress.com

Here is the new address for my blog. When you go to the blog, subscribe and read my welcome letter - twice... There is much more coming very soon!

This blog will be shut down soon, and all blog posts will be on http://greenersgrainofsalt.wordpress.com

The new blog will explain why we are moving and please bear in mind, we are under construction....

Thanks!

Shawn

He looked at you from the cross

Think about this.... Yeshua, Jesu Christo, Jesus of Nazareth looked down from the cross upon which He willingly was nailed... He remained upon a wooden cross made from a tree His Father God created, nailed with spikes through His wrists and feet that He could have melted with only the slightest command...

He remained - don't let this escape your mind and soul - because He looked down from that undeserved cross to see your face, my face... Our sins, and perhaps He may have thought, "Yes, they are worth the pain, the death, the separation from God... Yes." and He closed His eyes and said, "It IS Finished."

He suffered so and yet we twist and writhe in life-pain because we still do not trust Him.

We are our own torturer. Let it stop. Trust Him fully now, today.

Sorrow in Truth

What then shall we say when we are in such great sorrow, such loss, such torment from horrid events un-preceded by the qualifier, the validating word "seemingly?" What then shall we say to those whose tears flow unceasingly from their chins that torrents of angst crash wave upon wave as those torrents find their way to the soil beneath their feet making mud of a day in the life not to be forgotten?

Shall we say, "I am so sorry... is there anything I can do?" Should silence be our comfort, present yet quiet in the presence of such gripping and paralyzing pain that our normally chatty mouths fall silent, in requiem of thought words fail us... Comfort in the time of such pain, such utterly unjust suffering is conspicuously absent.

Yeshua! Yeshua Abi Ad! Unknown roads to we simple souls ambling about the dirt of Earth know nothing of Jesus' sacrifice for us, me and you. We know nothing of it because we cannot imagine the prayer of Yeshua in the Garden of Gethsemene, pleading with His Father to take this cup from His shoulders, it is is His Will. IF, in this case is plead through hematidrosis, or sweating literal blood. The "wait" of the world of sin rested upon His, Yeshua's shoulders while a madding crowd clammored for His crucifixion... Innocent yet condemned. The world waited for hope while yet they murdered He who bore their weight, our burden of sin.

What held Him to the post while He was being whipped mercilessly by the Roman Guards? What held Him to the cross as He walked, fell, and slid hundreds of yards with a petibulum upon His torn and shredded back? He, Yeshua did not deserve this because He was innocent of sin, it was me, ME who deserved the weight upon my pitiful shoulders because it is I, my sin. My wrongs for which He went willingly to the torture and death, nailed to a cross He didn't deserve, in my place, in MY place. What could it have been to keep Him upon the cross? Was it the nails?

No, the nails did not keep Him upon the cross. What could have driven Him to suffer so unjust a punishment? What drove His steps to the foot of the cross when His steps were yet perfect and just? What kept Jesus of Nazareth on the cross, the nails?

No, it was Love - perfect Love of which we truly do not fully comprehend.

What keeps us nailed to our "crosses?" Those self-imposed crosses that we cannot quite escape yet we consistently plod toward our habits that haunt us, decisions that we fear, choices we must make and yet we concede we cannot make the decision because the weight of the world, or our family rests upon our shoulders to make the right choice... What keeps us standing in the gap for our family, going to work when it seems we are swimming up stream in a deadly current of challenge? What keeps us on task? Love.

What kept Jesus on the cross? The nails? No, it was Love, perfect Love for you and I that we may never truly understand until upon His face we stare, amazed, in awe, in person with the One who gave all for us, because He loves us. No, the nails, nor the guards, nor the crooked High Priests, nor the angry crowd, not even Satan Himself kept Jesus on the cross because they could not. He could have upon the whisper of His voice been raised above the cross in glory and power, the suffering and humiliation to end.... Not even God, His very Father kept Jesus upon the cross.... It was, it is, Jesus' Love for us.

Whatever your decision, whatever your sorrow, whatever seems insurmountable in your life know this.... Jesus is merely a prayer away. He is our wise Counselor, or Friend, our Guide, our Comforter, our Provider.

Some of you are paralyzed by this economy and you sleep in fear every night awaiting the next reel of bad news... some of you cannot sleep. Fear grips you. Indecision paralyzes you. Know this and do not forget; that same Jesus Christ who willingly went to the cross to die an unjust and horrific death did not stay on the cross, nor did He stay dead... He lives today and He loves you.

It is time you had a chat with Jesus, and listened to what He has to say. Sometimes He will direct us to do what hurts us for awhile.... Giving up a job, a habit or habits... giving up an affair you think no one knows about, anger you think no one notices, greed you think is highly appropriate among your peers..... There is much sorrow in Truth sometimes.

However; the Truth doesn't always have to hurt....

The Path not taken

Are you traveling a path of fear as you drive home tonight? Are you weighed heavy with worry? Are there decisions that appear to be too great to properly decide? If one were to watch the news with any regularity it would seem the news cannot get anymore negative, and yet it gets worse anyway.

What does our Messiah have to say about the path we are on versus the Path we are to take?

Luke 21:25-36 (NASB)
25 "There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,
26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
27 "Then they will see The Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
29 Then He told them a parable: "Behold the fig tree and all the trees;
30 as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near.
31 "So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.
32 "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place.
33 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
34 "Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap;
35 for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.
36 "But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."

Have you "recognized" yet? Are you "On guard?" Are your hearts "weighed down dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life?"

When is the last long time you prayed with and to God to lift your heart, your mission, your eyes to the Heaven to come? Have you ever asked God to allow you a momentary glimpse of Heaven, while here on Earth? Have you so hungered and thirsted after God that this world seemed to momentarily disappear? A moment of Heaven is a moment shared with God, waiting, in happy anticipation of what He is bringing for those who seek Him, those whose knees are raw in repentance and acknowledgment of just What God is.

When Jesus Christ returns every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that He is the Christ, the crucified and Risen One... and we will be taken up with Him.. It will be so fast you won't have time to rethink your current path. All those who do not confess His Name and His place will condemn themselves to another path for all of eternity.

For that path there is no government bail out plan.

Forlorn

Are you forlorn? What exactly is "Forlorn?" How does one get forlorn? Is one person more likely to become forlorn than another? Is it hereditary? Can you marry into forlornity? Can your kids make you forlorn? How about your neighbor?

Here is the dictionary definition:

Hopeless, miserable.

Are you a GM or Ford, or Chrysler employee? You might feel nearly hopeless, or forlorn. Are you a bank employee? You might feel nearly hopeless, or forlorn. Do you have a mortgage that the rate just went up? You might feel hopeless, or forlorn. If you are like many people these days, you're afraid of what today will bring, and you are likely more afraid of what tomorrow will bring.

You get my drift. There are a lot of people who at this moment, feel forlorn.

NASB) Lk 21:25 "There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 "Then they will see The Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

Things here on Earth are tough, that is true. Things were tough in the 20's. 30's. 40's. 50's. 60's. And so on... 1820's. 1830's. 1840's... and so on.

Things were tough in the 1920's, 30's, 40's and on until now, 2008. They will be tough in 2009, 2010, 2011, and so on... That is what it is, life. What makes us forlorn is the amount of hopelessness we allow ourselves to feel and internalize. Much of what we internalize, we externalize through our speech, to our friends, family, co-workers, neighbors. When we externalize we give food to the feeling, whether the feeling is an accurate rendering of reality or not.

As Christians, or followers of Yeshua, Jesus Christ the Messiah and Savior of those that acknowledge and accept Him as the ressurrected Savior; we are told in this verse of Jesus' Words - Stop worrying because there will be weather troubles, nation troubles, and floods but the Son of Man (Jesus) will come back for us in a cloud with power and great glory. What are we to do at that time (which could be this time)?

We are to straighten up, lift our heads up, because that same Savior is coming for us, and all will be well. Really, our worries are for nothing since we know how this story ends and we are going to live it...

Who SHOULD worry? Those that should worry are those that have never acknowledged Jesus Christ as the One who God sent to live sinless here on this difficult Earth for 33 years, be unjustly tried for crimes He did not commit, and die on a wooden cross only to gain victory over the grave as our Savior.... Those who have never repented of their sins, their wrongs, their "junk." It is hard to not worry in light of tremendous pressure on us from every side... However; we do have hope...

This Hope is more than just a catchy political slogan... This Hope is well-placed in Jesus Christ... Have you had a conversation with Jesus lately? Don't be forlorn, have that talk today...