You know what amazes me about the Bible? 

Well, lots of things amaze me about the Bible. But this may well be the top of my list: “It is today as it was then.”

“It is today as it was then.”

I never cease to be amazed at how little has changed in the intervening 2000 years since the Bible was completed.

Human nature is as human nature does, and human nature hasn’t changed all that much.

Which is why I’ve never bought into the argument that the Bible is an outdated, irrelevant book that has nothing to say to us today. Fact is, the Bible has a ton to say to us today.

Case in point: Last week, we looked at the landscape of the Israel of Jesus’ day from a physical/geographicalpoint of view. We discovered then that we have many lessons to learn today from the desert. The wilderness.

In this week’s podcast, we will focus the landscape of the Israel of Jesus’ day from a spiritual point of view. 

Here’s what’s so amazing to me: The Jewish landscape in first century Israel was strikingly, and I might add alarmingly, similar to the Christian landscape in our country in our day.  

It is indeed today as it was then.

If you’ve ever wondered why Christians say the things they say, do the things they do, and act the way they act, then this podcast is for you.

You can hear this podcast by clicking HERE.

God shows up in the unlikeliest of places.

And when He does, it never ceases to amaze me. 

Our Heavenly Father even shows up at something as earthly as the Super Bowl. And boy, did He show up last Sunday!

Whenever God makes a surprise visit, I’m like, “You have got to be kidding me. That was awesome.” But to be honest, I’m not so sure as to why His unannounced visits are that much of a surprise. I mean, I’ve seen the same thing happen so many times over the years that by now you’d think I’d be expecting God to make an appearance.

And Jesus certainly set the predicate for such a visit when He said about His disciples, “If they keep quiet, these stones will start shouting” (Luke 19:40 NLT).

So if God can receive praise from rocks along a path, then surely He can receive praise from a football game. And boy, did He ever!

No, I’m not talking about the placekicker who crossed himself before sending the ball sailing through the uprights. Though I offer my kudos to him for practicing his faith even in the pressure-cooker of the Super Bowl.

No, I’m not talking about a quarterback who famously sports a Jesus tattoo and a variety of Bible verses on his body. Though I certainly applaud his faith as well.

I AM talking about a commercial. A Super Bowl commercial. A super, Super Bowl commercial. One in which God, and the values that God cherishes — the values that represent the very best of the people whom He created — were on prime-time display. Throughout the country, and around the world. We’re talking a big stage here, where it is estimated that one out of every two television sets were tuned in. One in which 110 million people looked in and got a grand view.

The commercial featured the words written by an anonymous author (no one knows for sure who originally wrote the piece), but words so stirringly read by the master storyteller, Paul Harvey — who on February 28 will have been dead four years, yet “he being dead still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4). Speaks loudly and clearly, I might add, to the glory of God on a worldwide stage.

The commercial began with the words, “And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, ‘I need a caretaker.’ So God made a farmer.”

I’ve got to tell you: Over the years, and through many a-Super Bowl, I have become an expert in tuning out commercials. Silly me. I parked myself in front of my LG 32 incher fully expecting to watch a football game. But the moment I heard those words I stopped talking in mid-sentence, froze with my snack-filled hand halfway to my mouth, and watched and listened.

This commercial paralyzed me.

But not only me. Within seconds of its conclusion, my Facebook page and Twitter account went wild with posts and tweets about the raw impact of this powerful moment frozen in time. 

The commercial has since gone viral. And that for good reason:

While the good people at Dodge were using this paid advertisement to sell Ram trucks, they tapped into a subconscious strain of human DNA that so many of us admire, and that so many of us strive to manifest in our own lives.

Our belief in a kind and compassionate God who cares — deeply — about all of His many creatures, while paying particular attention to every facet of our hectic daily lives. As Paul Harvey read, “God said, ‘I need somebody… who will stop his mower for an hour to splint the broken leg of a meadow lark.’ So God made a farmer.”

They appealed to our love for a loving God who understands and is intimately involved in the day-to-day challenges that we all face, and the pain we so often feel. “God said, ‘I need somebody willing to sit up all night with a newborn colt. And watch it die. Then dry his eyes and say, “Maybe next year.”’ So God made a farmer.”

They understood that we are devoted to a God who appreciates, and approves, and delights in our most menial of tasks; for in truth, nothing is menial to God. “God said, ‘I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the fields, milk cows again, eat supper and then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board.’ So God made a farmer.”

Our worship of God who looks upon all that we do as acts of worship, especially when when we do our best, give it our all, and do our work with integrity. “God said, ‘It had to be somebody who’d plow deep and straight and not cut corners.’ So God made a farmer.”

And our yearning to belong, to feel connected to one another. “God said, ‘It had to be somebody who’d bale a family together with the soft strong bonds of sharing.’ So God made a farmer.”

Of course, the images on the screen were equally as moving as the narration that accompanied them. A small country church. An elderly man with the wrinkles of a life well-lived etched upon his well-worn face as his eyes squinted into the shining sun. A woman with an enigmatic smile that lets us know that she has a story of her own, one worth telling, one we’d all love to sit at her feet and hear her tell. A boy and a girl who represent all of the human potential with which they were endowed by their Creator. A lone individual, kneeling in a pew silently, with cracked hands folded reverently, alone with His God, but not really alone because God meets him there. A family seated around the dining room table softly offering their thanks to the Almighty for faithfully providing them with yet another meal.

A dad and his young son, his pride for his boy written all over his expressive face. As God said, “It had to be someone… who would laugh and then sigh, and then reply, with smiling eyes, when his son says he wants to spend his life ‘doing what dad does.’ So God made a farmer.”

As a commercial, it was a masterpiece. As a message, it was about farmers and about Dodge Ram trucks. But only on the surface. Dig down a bit deeper, and you will find that it was a message about us. Who we are. And the kind of people we long to become.

There was a football game last Sunday. One watched by millions. And wouldn’t you know? God showed up!

Boy, did He ever!

In case you missed the commercial, you can watch it HERE.

A Crisis of Faith. Have you ever had one? If so, you’ll not soon forget it. I can tell you from personal experience that a crisis of faith is no fun.

It’s no fun when your belief system is thrown into a tailspin. It’s no fun when your theological substructure upon which you have built your life suddenly crumbles into dust. It’s no fun when you’re suddenly overwhelmed by doubts about the cardinal convictions that you have held near and dear for so long. Let me tell you: Given the choice between a crisis of faith and… say… bamboo shoots stuck up my fingernails, I’ll take the bamboo shoots every time.

Here’s how it happens: Something unexpected hits our lives. A loss. A disappointment. Mistreatment at the hands of a Christian. A personal moral failure that leaves us reeling with the realization that we just did something that we were sure we would never/could never do. A spiritual dead zone where we go through all of the motions that worked in the past — Bible reading, prayer, memorization, faithful church attendance — but no matter what we do or how hard we try to connect with God, He seems utterly disconnected — silent, indifferent, or non-existent.

It doesn’t help that we’ve had it ingrained into our thinking that such deep-down doubts are evidence of a lack of faith. Because if faith is the basis of our salvation — “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith” (Ephesians 2:8) — then perhaps, just maybe, we were never saved to begin with. Or so we fear. Like a dull headache, the question can gnaw ever so subtly at the synapses of our minds: Can a true believer in Jesus ever really falter in his or her faith, or stop believing altogether?

I’ve been thinking a lot about this because I was reminded of something just this week in our ongoing study of Jesus in HD. During my teaching preparation, I was reacquainted with an old friend. He appears in the opening act of the Gospel drama. He plays a singularly significant role in Jesus’ life and ministry at the beginning, and then just sort of fades away — by design. Yet Jesus held him in the very highest esteem, paying him the most superlative of compliments that firmly established this choice servant of God in His Hall of Faith of biblical heroes.

And yet, in his darkest hour, at that moment when his life hit rock bottom, his faith collapsed.

Yes, I am talking about John the Baptizer. A man about whom Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11). Pretty high praise for someone caught in the stranglehold of his own crisis of faith.

Here’s the thumbnail of his backstory (If you want to hear the full-blown account of John’s epic downward spiral, click HERE for the podcast): John the Baptizer announced to the world that Jesus was the Messiah, and that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand (Mathew 3:2). But as so often happens, life did not turn out the way John thought it would or thought it should. This supremely faithful and uncompromisingly godly servant of the Most High ended up in prison and languished in a desert dungeon for months. No, life was not fair. Yes, bad things (a whole lot of bad things) happened to this very good person.

Matthew gave us the briefest of glimpses into John’s personal prison of anguish when he reported that in desperation, John sent a question to Jesus. A most remarkable question, the words of which unmask the depth of John’s doubts. The man who revealed Jesus the Messiah to the world actually asked Him, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?” (Matthew 11:3).

You talk about a faith in free-fall! There it was for all the world to see and hear.

Now, my point in sharing this is not to solve your crisis of faith (assuming you have had, or will have one). I can’t do that. I can tell you that like me — like John — you will work through it, and come out even stronger because of it.

My point is to tell you this: Jesus did not condemn John the Baptizer. Just the opposite. For it was in response to John’s question that Jesus heaped upon him the highest praise that Jesus gave to anyone.

Have any doubts of your own? Jesus understands. He knows how tough it is down here. He knows firsthand all of the many factors that can suddenly and unexpectedly and tragically come together in a faith-shattering constellation of catastrophes that will rock anyone’s belief system to its very core.

And He loves us just the same.

He won’t condemn us. He won’t judge us. He won’t think less of us. He will not abandon us. He will say to us exactly what He said in response to John the Baptizer: Look at all the things I am doing — “The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them” (Matthew 11:5). In other words, I’m still here. I’m still in control. Even if/when it doesn’t seem like I am. AND… I am not going anywhere.

If someone of the stature of a John the Baptizer battled his own demons of doubt, please don’t be surprised and don’t despair if you do as well.

Mothers, think back to what it was like when you gave birth to your firstborn child – the fears, the insecurities, the feelings of inadequacy.

Now imagine that when you did give birth, it was not in the clinical cleanliness of a hospital room or birthing center.

Imagine you were in a cave, dark and alone, unsanitary to the extreme, no nurse, doctor, or midwife to help you, and you are all of 13 or 15 years old, in what was essentially a foreign country, away from your family, with only your fiancé to help you.

Add to all of that the political climate of the world Mary was living in – a world of crushing oppression fueled by a brutal and barbaric military occupation.

Furthermore, if we discover nothing else from the birth narratives in both Matthew and Luke, we at least learn this: There are some people in this world who are without a doubt the very incarnation of evil.

Such was the power of Rome, and so was the person of Herod.

From this point on in all four Gospels, every miracle that Jesus performs, every lesson that Jesus teaches, every person whom Jesus meets, every action that Jesus completes will all be done under the watchful and wary eyes of Rome, the imperial power to whom Herod had sold his soul.

With that in mind, can we even begin to imagine the world into which Mary gave birth to her son?

You will learn so much more about that world as you listen to this podcast.

You can hear it by clicking here, or through the podcast player on the right. Enjoy!!!

Tonight a dear friend of mine asked me for a copy of my paraphrase of Psalm 2, graciously telling me that it was a blessing especially for her dad. So here it is with my prayer that it will also be a blessing to you. 

Why are the nations of this world in an uproar? Why are the people of this world planning and plotting and conniving such worthless plans?

The world’s leaders have set themselves against God and are determined to defy Him in every decision they make.

But God will not be mocked. His ultimate rule in the world will not be shaken. Indeed, He will make a make a mockery of them as He declares for one and all to hear, “I have placed my chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, on my holy mountain.” (And I would add, not by the vote of the people, but by the divine appointment of Almighty God.)

To My Son I say these words — words that the world had best never forget — To Jesus I say, “You are my Son. Today I have begotten You. Just ask, and I will give You the nations as your inheritance; the four corners of the world are Yours to possess.

“The day will come, sooner rather than later, when You will break them with a rod of iron; You will dash them to pieces like pottery.” 

So to every world leader I say, “Serve the Lord with reverent fear. Rejoice at your God-given privilege, yet tremble in His holy presence. Bow your knee and kiss His Son’s hand, fully submitting to Jesus’ sovereign rule. Otherwise, if you don’t, you run the risk of kindling the fire of His wrath that one day will destroy you.”

 

“The angel told Mary… You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus… Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:34-35).

Matthew put it this way: “This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18).

The Virgin Birth. Not one miracle, but two. Two miracles: Each equally amazing. Each equally awe-inspiring. Each absolutely essential to who Jesus was. Each absolutely essential to your salvation and mine.

Two miracles.

When you are through hearing this podcast, you will understand this singularly significant statement: Neither Matthew nor Luke needed to prove the Virgin Birth. The Virgin Birth proved itself.

When you are through hearing this podcast, you will have gained a whole new understanding of the Virgin Birth, and a whole new appreciation for what the Virgin Birth means to your life and mine today, right now, in real time.

You can hear the podcast by clicking on the podcast player to the right, or by clicking HERE. Enjoy!!! 

“He was born in an obscure village, the Child of a peasant teen who knew not man. He grew up in another obscure village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. 

“He never married or owned a home. He never held a job, yet paid taxes. He never set foot inside a metropolis. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born. He never wrote a book, or held an office. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He received no awards, no medals, no prizes from His peers. 

“While He was still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him. His friends deserted Him. He was turned over to His enemies, and went through the mockery of a trial. He had no lawyers, no friendly juries, no fair hearing. 

“He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had – His cloak. After He died, He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave…

“And yet two thousand years have come and gone, and today He is still the central figure…of the human race. 

“All the armies that ever marched and al the navies that ever sailed and all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as this ‘One Solitary Life.’”

No, I didn’t write this. I quote this. A little gift from me to you. A simple yet timeless piece of poetry that puts this Christmas day into its proper perspective.

Merry Christmas, everyone, from our home to yours.

“That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified” (Luke 2:8-9).

Do you see what is so singularly significant about that statement?

You will after you hear this podcast. Trust me, you may never hear nor read the Christmas story in quite the same way again.

You can hear the podcast by clicking on the podcast player up on the right, or by clicking HERE.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, from our home to yours!

How much thought do you put into the gifts that you give at Christmas?

I have no doubt that the Wise Men put a considerable amount of thought into theirs.

The three gifts that these mysterious visitors from the East presented to Jesus — Gold, Frankincense, Myrrh — tell a remarkably riveting story. Indeed, the single most compelling story that has ever been told 

This story is so beautifully symbolized and so clearly communicated in a curious combination of three unusual-yet-fascinating gifts.

Spoiler Alert: After hearing this message, you may never look upon a manger scene the same way again.

You can hear the podcast by clicking here. Or you can click on the podcast player on the upper right.

His eyes blazed with the fire of conviction. His voice thundered as he peered out from behind his uncut hair and unkempt beard. He wore a camel’s-hair garment bound with a leather belt. He ate a strangely strict diet of honey and grasshoppers, of all things.

Yet when he spoke, the people trembled. Why?

What did he want?

Where did he come from? Who was this strange specter that haunted the barren sands of the Judean desert? 

What was it about him that caused Jesus to pay him the highest of all possible compliments?

For over 400 long, deafeningly silent years, God had not spoken, God had not acted, no prophets had arisen, no angels had been seen. A 400 year drought of any voice from God.

Suddenly, shockingly, unexpectedly, amazingly that silence was shattered. Shattered by an angel heralding the miraculous birth of a remarkable child.

In this podcast, you are about to meet one of the most remarkable people ever to walk across the biblical stage in this epic drama we call “Jesus in HD.”

You can meet him by clicking the podcast player in the upper right, or by clicking here.

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the compelling, history-altering story of “A Man Sent From God.”