!@*#!@&*%

"Do not profane my holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the LORD, who makes you holy"
Leviticus 22:31-33 

Profane: 1 : to treat (something sacred) with abuse, irreverence, or contempt : desecrate2 : to debase by a wrong, unworthy, or vulgar use

I think I've asked this in the past.  What is more profane, saying one of many four letter curse words or not loving your neighbor as yourself?  We are more offended by the fact that someone would cuss than we are at the lack of love in our churches.  While we're at it we get all worked up over the pettiest of things and allow ourselves to be offended over tiny slights committed by others.  Yet we carry on with offensive behavior like not loving all those we encounter. (All people are sacred to God their creator. not sanctified, but sacred)

Profanity is this...saying we are God's people and not following his commandments, saying we love Jesus and acting like devils.  Stop being offended by a lost and dying world and start loving the souls that are dying out there without Jesus.  Lord help me to show the grace and mercy that you have shown to me and to blessed others in my actions and my words.

Nothing!

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”- Romans 8:38-39

Convinced?  

I'll admit that there is a lot to worry about these days.  But really...come on.  Do we really think anything could separate us from the love of God?  Then why do we live in such fear?

Separation from God is the human heart's greatest horror.  Billy Graham said that the punishment of Hell will not be it's constant darkness or intensity of eternal physical pain, but the absence of God and separation from the soul's creator. (paraphrase).  We all fear to some extent that separation.  For the believer there is an assurance of never being separated.

So what drives us to worry or fear when we face desperate times?  I think it's:  1) Giving in to sin, 2) Lack of Living Spiritually (Holy Spirit) and 3) Lack of Belief in the Future Glory.  The context of verses 28 and 29 bare this out.  In Romans 8 Paul precedes these verses with encouragement in these three areas...

more later...

...so was it the holes in my feet and hands or the spear wound that gave it away?

^"When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted." - Matthew 28:17

The context of the verse is the resurrection and the appearance of Jesus to his disciples on the mountain in Galilee. When you read this verse don't just keep going...meditate on the second half. Why do we always look at verses like this and think it's about the other guy? "Surely this is not talking about me", we say to ourselves.

What happens is that we don't believe by our actions.  We talk about believing, we even will go along with the crowd to watch the show (church), but our hearts are full of doubt.  Each day, each moment, each event, we must believe.  Look at the verse..."When they saw him...  Today, when did you see Jesus?  Did you look for him?  Did you go to where he told you you would find him?  So there is the first step.  If you want to enter into worship and belief you have to go where Jesus has said to go...the scriptures and private prayer.  You will also find him with the poor, the lost, those in prisons, and the out cast.  When you see him then you will be able to worship him.  You will be able to move from the crowd of doubters to the crowd of worshipers.

And then you will grasp the importance of his commission to us... 

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19,20

...didn't we just get back from his funeral?

⁵¹At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. ⁵²The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

⁵⁴When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son^[a] of God!" Matthew 27: 51-54

Many of us have lost loved ones. As you go through life you encounter the fact that we are visitors here, we are vapors soon to be gone. With that memory fresh in your mind think of that holiday weekend. Jews from around the known world in attendance. Practically every tongue and tribe was there to witness this. Maybe they weren't on the hill where he died but they saw the effects. The earth is still shaking to this day.

So imagine yourself in your home, only a few weeks earlier you said goodbye to a dear friend, a father, or mother. They passed from this life to the next. You've been struggling to think of the meaning of it all when a knock comes at the door. When you open the door you're speechless...the power of Jesus is standing before you in the form of your loved one resurrected. What would you talk about? What would you say? What would you believe? (People that have died do have a little bit more authority in the matter of afterlife experience.)

This is the kind of power we witness when someone is "saved". When the Holy Spirit opens someones eyes to the glory and work of our Savior Jesus Christ they are raised from the dead. The change in a person's life should make all those that witness it echo the sentiment of the Roman soldiers, "Surely he was the Son of God!". Is that kind of life changing power in your life? Is it like you have been raised to start anew?

It hasn't been that way for me lately. I want this power back in my life! Raise me up God to be witness to your mighty works.

I want this tomb to crack open....

Let's try this again....

I wanted to start bloggin again, so here it goes.  Today I talk about the title that's inspired by yesterday's sermon from Pastor David Horner.  The impression it left on me has caused me to rethink my worship and adoration I have for God and his Son Jesus.  So I start this new blog as a journey to grow in belief, worship, and adoration of Jesus.  

Let's first get our definitions straight.

Believe:  1 a: to have a firm religious faith b: to accept as true, genuine, or real believe  2: to have a firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, or ability of something

Worship:  2: reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power ; also : an act of expressing such reverence 3: a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual 4: extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteemAdore:  1 : to worship or honor as a deity or as divine2 : to regard with loving admiration and devotion
So there we have it.  My goal is to share my daily thoughts on scripture that it might grow in me a stronger belief, a worshipful attitude and action, and adoration for my love, Jesus Christ.
My reading today Leviticus 19-20, Matthew 27:51-66  thoughts later.