The Lamb of God

This was always one of the most difficult passages of scripture for me to read. Maybe because I couldn’t wrap my mind around how God could possible ask someone to do what He asked Abraham to do.

What helped me reconcile my feeling about this passage were two things. First, I surrendered to the mystery. I accepted that I will never understand or be able to rationalize everything God choses to do and that’s okay. Second, I began to see that this passage was actually more about what God would do for us, than what He asked Abraham to do for Him. Let’s read it together then discuss.

1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”

And he said, “Here I am.”

2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”

6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”

And he said, “Here I am, my son.”

Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.

9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”

So he said, “Here I am.”

12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”

13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

Before you allow your frustration and confusion to question God or even accuse Him of some injustice, lets remember that before the Scriptures are about us, they are about Him, Jesus.

Let’s go through these parallels verse by verse.

Vs 2 - Mount Moriah was believed to be the very same mountain that Jesus would one day ascend and be crucified on.

Vs 3 - Like Abraham and Isaac, Jesus would ride into that city on the back of a donkey.

Vs 4 - As Abraham and Isaac’s journey lasted three days, Jesus would die and be in the tomb for three days

Vs 6 - As Issac (the sacrifice) hiked up that mountain carrying the wood for the altar, Jesus would carry the wood of His cross up the same mountain.

Vs 6 - As Abraham led his son carrying the knife and the flame, God Himself would lead His only Son up that same hill pouring out His wrath on the only One who did not deserve it.

Vs 8 - As Abraham would prophetically declare “God will provide for Himself the sacrifice for the burnt offering.” God Himself, in the form of Jesus, would be that very sacrifice.

Vs 13 - It is significant that the ram was caught by his horns because every sacrifice was required to be perfect and spotless. If the ram was caught by its wool, it would have been marred and blemished. This is speaking to the Messiah, how He would be the perfect and spotless lamb, Jesus Christ.

Even though I still don’t fully understand all that God was up to in this passage, how beautifully is the Gospel story told in this passage? It is as if God was declaring His wonderful redemption message from the very beginning.

Here is where we come in.

The beauty of the Gospel is that Jesus invites us to follow Him. Meaning His story becomes our blueprint. He is how we ought to live our lives, meaning:

• Like Abraham, Isaac and Jesus left their home to journey to a far unknown land, Jesus asks us to leave our own lives and follow Him.

• Like Abraham, Issac and Jesus humbly arrived on a donkey, He asks us to lay down our pride and humbly admit our need for a savior.

• As Abraham, Issac and Jesus took their three day journey, He asks us to commit to our journey of sanctification and dying to ourselves.

• Like Jesus and Issac carried the wood on their backs, He invites us to take up our cross and follow Him.

• As Abraham and Isaac walked down from that mountain in perfect peace, because of what Jesus did, we get to walk in peace with the Father once again.

• As in their obedience, Abraham and Jesus became a blessing the the nations, through our submission and obedience to the Father we become an instrument He uses to bless those around us.

• Finally, as Abraham looked up to see the sacrifice, we are to raise our gaze and look unto Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God. (Heb 12)

As we look at this passage through the lens of Christ, we see the Gospel narrative within it. God was not asking Abraham to do an unthinkable action, He was demonstrating to him and to the world what Jesus would one day do.

In fact this narrative is found all throughout Scripture. If you would bare with me as we look at the manifold wisdom of God. I mean, you made it this far, you might as well stick around.

When Adam and Eve took and ate of the forbidden fruit, at that moment sin and death became our portion and inheritance. David says is Psalms 51 “I was brought for in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me.”

It is because of this very sin that you and I live under the curse. Genesis 3.17 “cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.” It is because of this curse that there is sickness, poverty, addiction, suffering and pain in the world.

But God would come to us, He would not leave us alone in our mess. Remember? He would provide for Himself the sacrifice! (Gen 22.8) Isaiah 53.7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.

This is a crucial point we cannot miss. Who led Him as a lamb to the slaughter? Was it sin? The devil? Was is us? Vs 10 of Isaiah 53 says“Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief.” It was God Himself that led His own Son to the cross. Jesus did not stay the hand of an angry and vengeful God. The God-head is in perfect unity, redemption was always God’s plan.

As Abraham led Isaac, so God led His own Son to the cross to break and overcome the curse of sin in everyone who believes in Him. Galatians 3.13 “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)

As sin would enter this world through the eating of the forbidden fruit hanging from a tree, it would be destroyed by the Son of God, the first fruit of heaven, hanging from a tree.

Oh how beautiful are all of your ways God! What an incredible love story you have told through the cross!

When we are in Christ, we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5.17) we are no longer bound by sin and death but our inheritance is now Him! It is our unity and oneness with God just as it was in the garden at the beginning of time.

Please pray this with me as we conclude.

Jesus, thank you for your wonderful sacrifice. Thank you for enduring the cross, taking my shame and becoming my curse. As Moses was hid in the cleft of the rock, Holy Spirit hide me in Christ. Let me forever be found in you Jesus.

Amen.

The Cross

Is the message of the cross only relevant to unbelievers? As those who believe in Jesus, and what He did on calvary, is the cross now a moment in our Christian walk that we have “graduated” from?

Many people certainly live like this is true. Many pastors and church leaders only speak on the cross during communion and the Holy week. It has become an elementary part of our faith. We seem to have moved on to the “deeper” things of God.

I realize this is untrue for everyone but it was certainly true for me. The cross was a nice introduction to Jesus and what He did for me but as a mature believer I needed meat not milk. I needed the important things of God.

Boy was I wrong.

It wasn’t until recently I reread this verse and realized how foolish I really was.

1 Corinthians 1.18

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

A few important things to note here in this verse.

1. Those who have rejected Jesus cannot make sense of the cross so clearly it is not for them.

2. Paul writes in the second half of the verse “but to us” which clearly sets up who the message of the cross is for and to who it will impact. Paul is speaking here to Believers not unbelievers.

3. So the cross is FOR the church, and with the message of the cross comes power. Paul clearly states that the message of the cross “is the power of God.”

So with that being said let us answer some of the questions asked at the beginining of this post.

As Christians, we NEVER graduate from the cross onto something else. What Jesus did on the cross is God’s crowning accomplishment. It is the center piece to His master rescue plan. It is how God communicates His love toward us (see Rom 5.8). The message of Christ’s crucifixion is the reminder of the crushing of satan’s head and authority (see Gen 3.15). And every time we declare His death we are reminding the enemy of his ultimate defeat and humiliation. Paul said it best when he said that the cross is the power of God in a believers life.

If you have moved on from the cross, sadly you have moved on from the power of God as well. Oh how we need the power of God back in our churches! BRING THE CROSS BACK!

Matthew 16.24

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

Not only have we moved on from the cross of Christ, but we have moved on from our own cross as well. I believe it is for this reason many Christians are broken and in bondage today. When we keep the cross of Christ in our view, and pick up our own cross, the power of God is made manifest in our lives to break the yoke of bondage and the back of sin.

The cross means death to our flesh. In walking out our own death we come alive to God in Christ. It is this process by which we are freed from the disease of sin. This sanctifying cross is not punishment, nor something to run away from. Although it is hard, it is Gods gift to us. It is His power at work in us to remove the stench of sin and prepare us as a glorious bride for His Son.

I will conclude with this.

Never move on from the cross. It is the power of God for us who are being saved.

Thank you Lord for the cross!

Pride

What is the greatest sin? Sexual immorality, murder or greed? Sin in and of itself has its roots in pride. It is pride that caused the devil to rebel. It was pride that caused Eve to accept the forbidden fruit in the garden. It is this idea that we don’t need God, we can follow our own passions and desires without consequence. In Romans chapter one verse twenty five, Paul lays out for us the manifestation of pride.

Romans 1.25 - “who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

Pride creates a framework in a person’s mind where they are at the top. Their thoughts, feelings and desires are the most important thing in their life. Pride will catch you up in pagan worship just as in the days of old, except instead of a golden calf or carved image, the god you worship is you. 

It is this very sin that is at the core of the current decay of our culture today both inside and outside of the church. First let’s deal with those outside of the church. 

Abortion, homosexuality, transgenderism and the corrupt greed that has takin over society has brought with it horrors upon horrors. Although there are so many different things that are wrong about these sins, at the root of them all we find pride. 

At its core, abortion is the act of playing God. By institutionalizing abortion in our society, we humans are deciding who gets to live and who must die. We are assuming the role of God by controlling who gets to live and who does not. Pride has blinded an entire culture and has convinced us that not only is this evil okay, but it is our right and duty. We must predict the quality of life an individual might have and intervene as a god would, in order to “protect” the child and mother from what might be. 

God forgive us for assuming we know better than The Everlasting God. Forgive us for our pride and our audacity to think we know and can do better than You. 

Transgenderism and homosexuality as well find their roots in pride. It is no coincidence they coin the term “Pride” as their slogan. Yes, both with abortion and the LGBT movement there are multiple evils to condemn but none more terrible than pride. To shake your fist at God by declaring He made some kind of mistake when creating you is the definition of what we are discussing today. 

Although what we are seeing today is horrifying, it is not new. We see in fact a very similar “shaking of our fists at God” moment in the earliest of scriptures. Genesis chapter eleven is a story that transitions two other stories in the Bible. Chapter ten concludes the story of Noah and the flood while Genesis twelve begins the account of Abram and The Lords promise to him. Chapter eleven seems almost out of place but when read in its proper context give tremendous insight into how God feels about this issue of pride. 

We will not go over the entire chapter here but I encourage you to go study it yourselves. Let’s look at verse four of genesis chapter eleven. 

Genesis 11.4 - And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

So often I hear people asking why were the people in this story wrong in wanting to build a city and tower? Let us consider the context of where this story takes place. This story occurs some years after the flood and implies that Noah and his family were able to build back the population of the earth somewhat. Doubtlessly this story of how God flooded the Earth had been passed down both as a warning and promise of His covenant. And at some point shifted from a sign of God’s mercy to a challenge to defy His will. 

The sin in this story is that the people at that time pridefully challenged God by saying “let us build a tower to the heavens, that way if God tries to wipe the earth with a flood again we will be ready to defy Him.” (My own paraphrasing) They took His sign of mercy, the rainbow, and denied it by providing for themselves a solution to the flood. 

In the same way, the LGBT community has adopted that same symbol (the symbol of God’s mercy and grace) and used it to defy Him by perverting what God has created, the institution of marriage and sex. 

We don’t have just an abortion problem or gender crisis in America. We have a pride issue. We must repent and submit to His authority over our sexuality and our lives. We cannot continue in this prideful rebellion and expect not to reap the wrath of God just as they did in Genesis. 

Now for the church. We would be ignorant to believe that this same spirit of pride has not infiltrated the church. From the good intention of trying to build the church we have created a consumer mentality that has made it all about the congregants. Because of this, pastors have tied their own hands behind their back by not being able to address difficult topics or correct their people without the fear of them leaving and going to the church down the street. We have lost spiritual authority from the pulpit and have settled for cheap entertainment and self help sermons. 

Although this sounds like a rebuke it is not. It is a call to the church to return to true discipleship. It is a call of freedom to leaders to stop bending a knee to cultural pressures and to declare boldly the word and the ways of God, bringing those who wish to follow closer to Him. Letting go the fear of people being offended and leaving, and holding onto the fear of the Lord, to whom we all will one day give an account.

We must shake off this terrible pride in the church that tells us this thing is about us, it is not. It is all about Him! When we gather, our focus must be on worshiping and glorifying Him. When we lead people, the Gospel must be the driving motivation not their feeling or opinions. I am not saying to be mean to people, but I am saying not to forgo correction and discipleship because of people’s opposing feelings and views. The word of God is the ultimate authority and needs to be elevated as such again in the church. 

Remembering the words of Paul in romans chapter one verse twenty five, we should soberly invite The Holy Spirit to come into our lives and expose the pride that might be present. Humbly returning to our proper place as the created being and not God. Allowing Him to rule and reign in our lives and on the earth! 

Romans 1.25 - “who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

So here is my final encouragement. Pray against the spirit of pride both in our culture and the church. Speak out against this pride whenever and wherever it rears its ugly head. Honor the Word of God, if you and God’s word have a disagreement, you are wrong and need to change. Return to true discipleship, submitting to your God given church leaders and allow them (by the Spirit of God) to bring you up in the ways of God without becoming offended and bitter. And finally, pray that the Spirit of God will fall and draw all men to repent and to see Him rightly again, as God Almighty. 

The One Who Satisfies

Not too long ago I came across a scripture that deeply impacted me. It’s found in Psalms 107.9 but don’t read it yet. First I want to let you in on why it was so significant to me and my hope is that it would be significant to you as well.

I am the type of person who loves to fill their life with fun and experience. I rarely sit still and am always onto the next thing that brings excitement and joy into my life. I know, that doesn’t sound too bad huh? Here is the problem.

When it comes to dealing with pain or difficulty in my life, my first instinct is to pretend it doesn’t exist and go play golf (or whatever the activity of choice is at that time). I tend to have a difficult time sitting, processing and dealing with hurt or pain in my life.

As a result, the activities that once brought me joy are a fake replacement for peace and satisfaction, and it shows. Do I stop? No, if I am not careful it can become a cycle that leaves my soul thirsty for true peace and satisfaction. I become restless, angry and overall dissatisfied. If you have ever felt like this before let me help you. Here is the verse.

“For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the

hungry soul with goodness.”

Psalms 107.9

What I’ve learned is this, HE satisfies my soul, the person of Jesus is the only thing that can bring peace and joy into my life. You might hear that and say “duh, how did you not know that?” but let me explain.

Often times we use Jesus as a means to things that we think will bring joy and satisfaction. We think that He will bring us good gifts that bring peace and joy, but nothing that He has in His hands will ever fulfill you if you first haven’t found fulfillment in His face. True joy, peace and satisfaction come from Him.

The second word in this verse began to leap off of the page when I realized this. “For He satisfies…” . Nothing else can adequately do the job but Him.

Now, no matter how restless my soul gets these days, I close my eyes and recite this verse as a reminder that my peace, joy and satisfaction are found in the Son of God. Every time I do, He meets me. He shows up and calms my soul and fills me with His goodness.

If you are constantly restless, worried or dissatisfied with life, try meditating on this verse, allow The Lord to be the peace you are searching for. I don’t care what it is, if its not Him it wont satisfy for long.

With love,

Stewardship

Hello!

Read this passage of scripture slowly and carefully. Let’s talk about stewardship after you have meditated on these words from Jesus.

Matthew 25.14-30

14 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

20 “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ 21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ 23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’

26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.

29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

After reading this, it’s clear that being a good steward is of the utmost importance to Jesus. So knowing that, let’s answer this next question.

What are we suppose to steward?

In Psalms 24.1 the Bible says - “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.”

Everything is His. I mean everything! All of creation belongs to The Lord, we are the caretakers of His creation. In Genesis chapter 1.28 the Lord gives instruction to Adam and Eve and says, “Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”” The Lord instructs the two of them to do something productive with His creation!

In Luke chapter 19.13 Jesus is telling a parable of a master giving instructions to his servants and tells them to ‘Do business till I come.’  This statement carries clear instructions that we would be a productive people eagerly awaiting His return, not lazy people sitting around doing nothing waiting for Jesus to come back and fix everything.

So what are we suppose to steward? Everything! Because everything we have is His not ours. In Colossians 1.16 the Bible says “All things were created through Him and for Him.” Everything in creation was made through Jesus AND for Jesus, it is all His!

Every breath we take is borrowed from The Lord, our spouse belongs to The Lord before they are ours. The cloths on our back and the food in our fridge, it is all His. And yes even the money in our bank account belongs to Him (not just 10% of it, but all of it!).

So if we are going to hear those sweet words that the first two servants heard in the parable in Matt 25, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ We must know how to steward well the things that belong to Him.

Here are a few ways you can become a good steward.

Value what was given.

Invest into what was given.

Share what was given.

Let’s talk about these three in greater detail.

Value what was given.

Have you ever regifted an item? Come on, be honest we have all done it! We get a weird mug or a goofy hat for our birthday or Christmas and we shove it into the back of our closet or cabinet for a few months without any intention of ever using it. Then a friends birthday comes up and panicking because we forgot to buy them a gift, we run to our closet and grab the hat throw it into a bag and call it good. The truth is that we didn’t value what was given to us.

Many Christians are poor stewards because they don’t value what was given to them by The Lord. Especially when that gift isn’t as shiny as someone else’s, let me explain.

You see your neighbor pull into their driveway with their brand new car. You get into your beater car that is barely running and seems to be held together by a prayer. While you are trying to get your car started to go to work all you can do is grumble and complain about what you have. “Man God, how come my neighbor is driving that car and I have this piece of junk, it’s not fair!” But the truth is, you could be ridding your bike to work or walking or catching the bus! Instead of being jealous of what you don’t have, be thankful for what you do have.

It’s not bad to desire something, but here is the danger of jealousy. The spirit of jealousy not only makes you desire what someone else has but you begin to despise what you have. We become ungrateful complainers instead of good stewards of what God has given us.

So here is how you value what has been given to you. Give thanks for it! Psalms 100.4 says “ Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” When we are thankful, it forces us to see the value in everything, even the difficult circumstances. Thankfulness casts out jealousy and is the beginning of being a good steward.

Invest into what was given.

Right before my wife and I left the hospital with our oldest daughter (now six years old) I almost accidentally told the nurse “I love you!” If you are not a parent you might not understand this almost slip up. Our nurse was incredible! during the delivery she was so supportive and helpful and even after, she took great care of us. As we were getting into the car to drive home there was this empty feeling leaving this wonderful nurse and as new parents we both felt like we needed her to come home with us because of how wonderful she was and because we had no idea what we were doing. So getting our things in the car the words “We love you” and “Can you move in with us?” almost slipped out.

Looking back from that moment until now, we have an incredible six year old daughter. She is smart, confident, a little bossy (but we refer to that as leadership qualities) and talented. As every parent knows, good kids aren’t raised by accident. It is from the parents intentional investments over time. Now Emily and I are far from the perfect parents (see the above paragraph about how we knew absolutely nothing!) but as we invest into our kids we see them grow and mature into incredible people! The same is true about the things God has given you.

To be a good steward, we have to invest into what was given to us. Too many people think that God is just going to make things happen in their life and they just need to sit back and wait. But Jesus referred to that type of person as wicked and lazy!

So many of us have been shown a glimpse of our future and destiny by The Lord. Unfortunately, just waiting around, not making any investments into the future is being a poor steward of your destiny. (remember the guy who “hid” what the Lord gave him?)

Isaiah 55.11 is often used to make this point that God will just make it happen. Let’s read it together.

Isaiah 55.11 - So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

When you take this verse out of context people might have a point, but lets back up one verse.

Isaiah 55.10 - “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater,

When we read verse 10 we realize that God equates His word with the rain and the snow. Now water alone doesn’t produce fruit, it’s in the combination of seed, soil, sun and proper care that fruit is produced. The point is this, you and I have a very real part to play in investing into what God has given us.

What I’ve learned about The Lord is that He often will give you seeds not fruit. He will show you this grand future and then give you these small beginnings to steward and invest into. It’s only the good stewards who see those seeds become glorious fruit!

Share what was given.

Every once in a while I like to flex my dad muscle. I like to remind my kids who the boss is!

Sometimes I’ll find my kids fighting over a toy. Parents you know how this goes, “Mine!” “No, it’s mine!” and back and forth. So, I’ll walk over and grab the toy and say, “Actually this is mine! Everything in this house is mine because I bought it! Until you kids get a job and buy your own toys, stop fighting over what doesn’t belong to you!” And all the parents said “Amen!”

What I’ve noticed about people who love to give is that they don’t view their things as “theirs”. They know that everything is His and it’s way easier to give when you know what you have isn’t yours anyways! Some people have a hard time giving because they think, “Why does the church want MY money, or MY time or MY…” They are still under the assumption that they are the owner, not Him. Let’s look at how Abraham “shared” what was given to him.

In Genesis 22 God asks Abraham to sacrifice his only son Issac. Imagine being Abraham, God comes to you and promises you a son. You didn’t ask for this promise but God gives you this incredible miracle. Then God asks you to give it back to Him. Many of us, thinking that the things we have belong to us would say “No way!” But Abraham understood that before Issac was his son, he belonged to The Lord. So with open hands Abraham obeyed. God ends up stopping Abraham and because of his obedience blesses him saying this:

Genesis 22.15-18 - 15 Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.

Abraham was blessed because of his good stewardship of what God gave him, and even the blessing wasn’t Abraham’s but ALL the nations of the Earth are blessed because of him.

God’s design is that we would share what was given to us so that we could ultimately be a blessing the the world!

Finally, if you only take one thing away from this writing take this. Everything is His. Remember that every breath that fills your lungs is a gift from The Lord. Everything belongs to Him and we will one day give an account as to how we stewarded His belongings.

Holy Spirit, I pray that these words would spark wisdom and revelation in the hearts of those who read this and that all of us would hear those blessed words: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ In Jesus name I pray, amen.

Ephesians Chapter One

Introduction

Welcome to this brief overview of the Book of Ephesians. This commentary comes directly from a six part preaching series where we took a closer look into this insightful book. What you will read will be some of the insight and revelation I have received while studying. This is by no means an exhaustive commentary but rather a way to understand the wholistic message that Paul was sending to the church at Ephesus. 

I hope you enjoy and I pray Ephesians 1.17 over you as you begin to dive into God’s Word. May the spirit of wisdom and understanding be given to you so that you don’t just gain information but are changed from the inside out. 

Lastly, you will notice that all the scripture will be italicized and some scriptures will be highlighted with a different color font, that is my doing and not found in the Bible. All of my thoughts will be included as smaller paragraphs broken up as I reference different scriptures. 

Overview 

Before we start, let's briefly take a closer look at the city of Ephesus to gather a bit more context on who Paul was speaking to. 

Ephesus was the third largest city in the Roman Empire and the largest city in Asia Minor with around 250,000 people living there. Although that doesn’t sound like a lot, for that time It would be comparable to New York or LA. 

With this church located right inside of a major city, you can imagine all of the diversity and culture that Ephesus had to offer. Being such a large city you had people from all cultures and walks of life bringing into the city their gods and religions as well as their business. 

This letter was written to remind the church at Ephesus who they were in Christ. With so many opinions and religions happening in the city, Paul is attempting to center this church on the reality of their place with Christ. 

Paul writes this letter during his time in prison. This is one of the four prison epistles, the others being, Colossians, Philippians and Philemon.

Finally, this book was not only written to the church in Ephesus, but all the churches in Asia Minor. 

Ephesians Chapter One 

     1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 

The idea here that Paul lays out, sets the framework for the rest of the first chapter and is even a theme he continues throughout the entire book as well as other books he wrote to encourage the Church. 

Here is the idea. You have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. When we understand our position in Christ we realize that we already have everything we could ever need in life because we have Him. 

4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

Paul starts out strong here, reminding the Ephesians that they have been chosen, adopted and accepted by God. That in Him we also have redemption and forgiveness of sins. This is such a simple but necessary reminder for us today. When we are found in Christ we are forgiven, redeemed, chosen by God, adopted into the family of Christ and accepted! 

8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

Here we are about halfway through chapter one and already we see this phrase eight times. “In Christ” or “In Him”. It is clear that the Ephesians might have slipped out of Christ back into their own strength and will. This is such an accurate reflection of many christians today. We become consumed with trying to live this christian life in our own strength and we are struggling, depressed and angry christians. Let us pick up this wonderful advice and live our life in Him! 

Paul also mentions a “mystery” in verse nine. We will dive into this more in chapter three, but I will touch on it here briefly. In Colossians chapter 1.27, one of the other prison epistles, Paul goes into detail regarding this mystery. He says the mystery is this “Christ in you, the hope of glory”. This might not sound too mysterious to you but in Pauls time, this was a revolutionary idea. That Christ would reside inside of gentiles. Up until this point in time gentiles had no dealings with the Jewish law or traditions. And Paul pioneered this message that said that Jesus wasn’t just for the Jews but for the world. 

11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.

Here in verse 11 and 12 lies such a profound truth. Those of us who are found in Christ have obtained and inheritance. It is not money or fame, not relationships or material blessings, its not even miracles or spiritual gifts. Verse 12 tells us that our inheritance is to be to the praise of His glory! It is Him, the person of Jesus is our inheritance.

13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Continuing his teaching on inheritance, Paul shares how the Holy Spirit comes into the picture. After we have believed and called on the name of Jesus, the Holy Spirit has come to seal us. It is similar to our exchanging of wedding bands or rings during our ceremonies. We are taking on a seal that points to our promise and commitment to our spouse. In the same way, the Holy Spirit has sealed us, securing us in our relationship with Him. Romans 8.16 Pauls writes that “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God,” The Holy Spirit is the confirmation and the legitimizer of our covenant with Christ.

15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

Verse 15 begins with a prayer from Paul to the church. He prays that they would receive “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,”. This has to be one of the most important manifestations of the Holy Spirit that any christian can ask for. To receive wisdom and revelation is to receive a gift from the Father, He is allowing Himself to be known and for us to draw closer to Him through that knowledge. Paul continues to emphasize how beautiful the manifestation of wisdom and revelation is. He says that through this wisdom and revelation we can know “the hope of His calling”, “the riches of the glory of His inheritance” and “what is the exceeding greatness of His power”. All this is made available by the spirit of wisdom and revelation, what a gift! 

22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Paul ends this first chapter coming full circle from where he began. As he encouraged us to be found “In Christ”, Paul qualifies Christ to the church by reminding them of His preeminence. Reminding them again that Jesus doesn’t just want a superficial relationship, but He desires to fill them and for them to be found in Him. 

Just Give Me Jesus

Water will fill any space that is created for it. It doesn’t matter what shape the cup or glass is, water will completely fill the entire container. 

Looking back over my life, The Lord has done the same for me. Every space I have created for Him, He has faithfully and completely filled. 

I don’t normally have dreams and visions, but the times I have asked Him to reveal Himself in my dreams, He does. 

I don’t normally hear prophetically, but the times I have asked to hear His voice concerning His people, He speaks. 

At times when I feel distant, I make room for Him in my life through dedicated times of prayer or worship, and He shows up. 

Even when it comes to my desire to be a generous person, He has given me the resources to give with liberality to others. 

He is faithful to fill every space we create for Him! 

My desire as of late is a simple one. 

As I read through the Bible and see how Adam and Eve walked with God as a friend, or read how God hid Moses in the cleft of the rock and passed him by allowing Moses to see Him. 

How Daniel had a vision of The One who’s eyes blaze with fire and how Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up. 

How David moved the Heart of God unlike any other and the disciples walked the Earth with the Lamb of God. 

How John the revelator saw the Lord in all of His majesty. 

This is the space I am creating for Him. I simply want to see Him. 

I know you do too. So I am writing this prayer for two reasons. One, so I would never lose this desire for Him. And two, to hopefully help someone else cultivate the same longing for Him. 

If you want to join me in this pursuit to find The One who’s eyes burn with fire, pray this with me.

“Jesus, please show me your glory. I love You and my desire is to behold the beauty of the Lord even if just for a moment. Holy Spirit, would you release the spirit of wisdom and revelation over my life and reveal to me The Son. 

Jesus would you reveal Yourself so I might stand in fear and awe of You. 

Cleanse me by your blood so I can stand before Your holy presence. And purify me with the same fire that blazes in Your eyes. 

I don’t need You to do anything for me or give me any material blessing. I just want to see Your face and to hear the voice that thunders like many waters. 

You said to ask anything in Your name and You will do it. My one request is to see You. My heart aches with longing to be with The One who loves me with a self sacrificing love. 

Holy Spirit show me how to make room in my life to see Jesus, I will do whatever it takes. You can have the whole world, just give me Jesus. 

Just give me Jesus. 

Amen.” 

Unmoved

It’s the classic second child syndrome. That terrible, screeching, ear shattering scream that comes from your second born because your first born is messing with them and they aren’t old enough to articulate their feelings, so they belt out every bit of anger and rage inside their tiny bodies in one window shattering scream! 

My wife and I are trying our best to break this bad habit with our son Judah but we’re not having much luck. (Any advice would be deeply appreciated!) However there is one instance where I  absolutely love his little scream. 

It doesn’t matter if I have been gone for five minutes or five days, the moment I (or anyone Judah loves) comes back into his presence he releases this scream of excitement! You would think this young man just won a lifetime supply of his favorite cereal, its the best! 

I take the boys to the gym with me and they sit in the day care for an hour while I workout. When I come back down to pick them up Judah lets out this scream of excitement and joy! DDDAAAAAADDDDDDDDYYYYYYYYY!!! It makes my day every time! 

His excitement and joy for those he loves is something I pray that he never loses. Unfortunately there are a bunch of christians I know who have lost theirs. They use to live their lives with excitement every time they opened their Bibles, now they nod off just reading a few verses. They use to lift their hands in worship and dance until beads of sweat started rolling down their faces. Now they sit down after the first song is over because they are “tired”. 

The unfortunate reality is that for many Christians today they have become unmoved by the same things that use to bring them to tears. They have become familiar with the miracles of the Gospel and callous to the presence of Jesus. 

It is sad to think of how such an incredible miracle has become stale to so many christians. Think this through with me for a second. God became like us, He gave up His glory for flesh and bone. Then, at the hand of His own creation, He endured suffering, abuse and ultimately death so that the dust He once breathed life into could have the chance to be in relationship with Him. 

Even as I write this my heart swells up with love and affection for Jesus for all that He has done for me. I don’t ever want to be unmoved by redemption I have received from Him. I want to live my life with the Lord the way my three year old son lives his life with me, full of passion and excitement! 

I think this is what Jesus was talking about when He said 

3 “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18.3

Fasting

I hate fasting.

I have always dreaded starting a fast of any kind. Not to mention I am terrible at it. I always allow those internal conversations to sway me into compromise and before I know it I have “adjusted” my fast because my flesh is too weak.

I think a part of my struggle has been from not fully understanding what fasting is really about. I was under the impression that fasting is a way to “level up” in the Kingdom. When you need that extra bit of faith to heal someone or when you need God to do something for you, so you stop eating until He gives in.

I have since learned that fasting is more for dying than building you into some spiritual superhero.

let me explain because I already hear the thoughts you are having right now, “but Jesus said “that these kind only come out by much prayer and fasting” (Matt 17.21) so fasting must bolster your faith somewhat!”

Yes, I totally agree! However, I have found that the increase of your faith comes as a byproduct of fasting and should not be the sole purpose of fasting for a believer.

Jesus says in Matthew 10.38 & 39

38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

It is in this truth that I believe we find the purpose of fasting. The laying down of our “life” to find Him.

When is the last time you told yourself “no”?

Seriously, can you recall it? When is the last time you said “no” to the doughnut? Or “no” to the tv show you constantly binge even though you know it is toxic?

Everyone around us encourages this idea of saying yes to every one of your desires, finding what makes you happy and indulging in it. Creating this YOU focused reality where you are the center of the universe and everything exists to make you happy. Sounds good right? Sure it does, who doesn’t love saying “yes” to every little craving?

The problem is that this mentality doesn’t transfer well into the Kingdom. It’s hard to “pick up your cross” when your entire life has been built on the effort to make you as comfortable as possible.

It’s sad to say that we see this reality alive and well in the Church today. I’ve heard it called “Consumer Christianity”, a religion built around the consumer instead of Christ. Where you are at the center of the Gospel and Christ is there to serve you and make your life as pleasant as possible.

Fasting destroys this mentality.

And it is in this purpose that I believe fasting is most effective. Colossians 1.18 says “that in all things He may have the preeminence.” and when we fast we make this verse a reality in our lives. We say with our actions, “Jesus, you come first! Before my wants and my needs.” We literally give Him the preeminence in our lives.

It is in this posture of Christ-centeredness that we find true life. When we say “no” to our flesh and “yes” to Him.

It is when we begin to live this way that we see the bolstering of our faith and other fruits of fasting. Just as John the Baptist said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3.30). When we fast, we get out of the way and allow Him to take His rightful place and increase in our lives.

Although I still don’t totally enjoy fasting, I don’t hate it anymore. It has become a practice in my life that I genuinely look forward to now because I know the benefits of saying “no” to Dominic and “yes” to Him.

If you don’t regularly fast, I encourage you to start. If you do fast, don’t do it with the sole purpose trying to become someone significant but rather do it in order to die to yourself and find life in Him.

Live right, love everyone and pray hard,

Eyes on the Ball

It was the bottom of the 5th inning, bases were loaded. A young, nine year old Dom stood at the plate with a borrowed bat and a helmet one size too large. The first pitch came. High and outside, a wild swing and a miss. I remember my coach yelling at me to stop swinging at those crazy pitches but the moment had consumed me. 

I finally had the chance to hit a grand slam. This was every kids dream. I remember spending hours at the batting cages creating this very scenario in my head and honestly, the expectations of the moment made me lose focus. 

I could hear my family cheering for me, the kids on both sides holding their breath in anticipation, I even remember kids and parents going to other games stopping in the parking lot to watch this moment unfold. It was all too much for me. Pitch number two came. High and outside. Another wild swing and a miss. 

As my coaches yelled at me again, I remember looking down the third base line and seeing my dad leaning over the fence. He gave me his patented fist pump and I knew exactly what that meant. Whether at the batting cages, or playing wiffle ball in the front yard, he would always tell me, “keep your eyes on the ball” and then gave a little fist pump. 

So I did. I focused, forgetting everything else around me and watched the baseball. 

Pitch three came, another pitch high and outside. This time I didn’t miss. I swung with all the strength my nine year old frame could muster and made perfect contact with the center of the bat. The ball soared over the fence and I was able to live out my childhood dream. 

It’s funny how you can look back at your younger self and learn so many life lessons. 

Often times in our walk with The Lord we can get distracted by the “things” of God. The healing, deliverance, provision even the miracles. These are all good things but we have to remember that they are not the prize! He is! 

We must keep our eyes on the Thing that matters.

Matthew 6.33 -  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Yes the healing and miracles will come, and I believe Jesus wants those things for us too. But they come as a byproduct of our focus on Jesus.

Every month I start out fasting for the first three days. As I begin my fast for September I realized that over the last few weeks my eyes had fallen off of the prize onto other things. It’s crazy how easily it can happen. 

My prayer today was this.

“Jesus, please help me to keep my eyes on you. In the good, bad and ugly times I want to be locked into your gaze. No matter what is going on around me I want to be focused on what will always be the most important thing in my life, You.”

I will leave you with some of the best advice my dad ever gave me. 

“Keep your eyes on the ball”

Live right, love everyone and pray hard!

Stand

I was recently standing over a twelve foot, up hill, slightly right to left putt. I needed to make this to save my par so I took this putt very seriously. I looked at it from every angle and I finally knew what the ball would do once I hit it. All that was left to do was to hit it. 

Once I got over the ball I began to question myself. 

“Is this the right line?”

“How hard should I hit this?”

“What if it goes the other way!?”

Second guessing everything. I finally said to myself, “Dominic, you did everything you could to give yourself the best chance to make this putt. Trust yourself and hit the ball, if it goes in great if not at least you know that you did everything you could to give it a chance.” 

I quieted myself and hit it.

Bottom of the cup! The ball rolled exactly how I thought it would and rolled right into the hole. 

I know, unless you are a golf enthusiast you probably could care less about my putting analogy but I was reminded of a very important life principle. 

So often we second guess ourselves, our choices and our dreams. We think we need every answer or need to know every possible outcome in order to make a decision or move forward in faith. We become paralyzed by fear.

The truth is, we will rarely have everything we wish we had before making the leap. Waiting until we have all the answers has caused so many people to take their dreams and callings with them to the grave. 

I was reminded of this scripture verse 

Ephesians 6.13 - Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Having done everything you can do to prepare for this moment, Paul encourages the Ephesians to stand. Whether withstanding an attack from the enemy or taking a risk in life or following the call of God, after all the preparation and all the calculating, you just need to do it and have faith. 

Have faith in God, knowing that He who began this work in you is faithful to complete it! (Phil 1.6). Have faith in your preparation, you might not have all the answers but you have a lot more than you did when you started! 

Even if it doesn’t work, even if you fail, failure is not always as bad as we think. Failing is often not the worst thing that could happen to you, not doing it because you were scared is.

The very next hole I had a similar par putt, about ten feet away. I went through my entire pre shot routine and was feeling confident after making a good putt on the last hole. I stood over the ball and hit it full of confidence and belief that I would make this one too. 

I missed.

After all the preparation and planning I was frustrated to see the ball miss a few inches to the right. But the reality is, you can’t expect to make every shot. 

There will be times you step out in faith and it works, and there will be times you step out in faith only to fall flat on your face. Success is not always measured by the outcome, sometimes success is measured by your obedience. Whether or not you actually jumped.

Remember, you can only control what you can control. Don’t be mad because things outside of your control threw off your plans. Do all you can, then stand. 

Live right, love everyone and pray hard

Dear Me

My wife is AMAZING! 

I know, every husband thinks his wife is amazing but mine really is! She does it all, cooks, cleans, raises our three kids all while running her own business. It’s pretty impressive. (And before y’all come for me, yes I do my part too!)

One thing she’s not so good at though is taking time for herself. On the other hand, I am great at it, she would say I’m too good at it. I’ll let you in on a conversation we have just about every week. 

Dom - “Hey babe, I’m going to go golf real quick! Is that okay?”

Emily - “Seriously?” 

Dom - “Yeah, do you not want me to go?” 

Emily  - “It’s just that you get to go all the time and I never get to do anything.” 

Dom - “Okay, I’ll stay home with the kids and you can go do something, what do you want to do?” 

Emily - “Ugh I don’t know, I don’t really want to do anything. It’s fine, you can go” 

And then we both agree to have this same conversation next week.

The truth is, Emily suffers from something most mothers suffer from. It’s called “mom guilt”, it’s this idea that you are in some way a “bad” mom for taking time for yourself. We all know that this is a ridiculous thought but so many of us live our lives this way. Giving to others and never taking time to give to ourselves. 

I am a pastor and so naturally this will probably benefit those in ministry more, but everyone should get a hold of this revelation. 

So often I find myself making the entirety of my relationship with Jesus about helping others grow in Christ. Here’s what I mean by that. I read the Bible in order to get a word to preach. I pray because someone asked me to pray for them. I study because I have a small group to lead and need some content. Everything I do is for other people and all the while my spiritual life is dying. 

If you are in ministry in any capacity you can probably relate and have had seasons in life just like this. 

Now this next part might sound hypocritical, and honestly it probably is. But I want to share with you a revelation God told me was just for me. It's found in Habakkuk chapter two, verse one. 

“I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected.” - Habakkuk 2.1

Look at all of that first person language! Habakkuk wasn’t preparing his prophetic message to the nations, he wasn’t giving instruction to his small group or counseling that one person for the twentieth time! He was declaring what he was going to do and how he would respond to the word of The Lord. 

Too often we read our Bibles for others, or seek God for others. As christian leaders what we need to do is stand on that rampart and watch, not for a banger message to preach on Sunday, but watch to see what God wants to do in our own lives! 

My favorite line has to be the last four words Habakkuk says, “when I am corrected.” Wow, this was so convicting to me! We get so caught up trying to change other people’s lives we forget that God might have given you that word not so you can preach it but so that you can live it! 

With all that being said, I want to encourage you. Take time to grow you! We should be ministering or giving out of our overflow, not running on fumes. Getting to an overflow life means you keep things for just you.

Here is a good rule that Jesus puts on display for us. 10% of His life was public, 90% was private. we see three out of the thirty three years of the life of Jesus. After thirty years of obscurity Jesus comes out, gets baptized and immediately goes back into obscurity (the wilderness) for forty days! All through His life Jesus was going away to pray and be with His Father. Most of us live this backwards though, we show 90% of who we are and have 10% of a hidden life with God. We need to change that!

My wife hit a milestone last week. She actually went out all by herself while I was at home with the kids. She went for a quick coffee at a cool coffee shop to catch up on work and have some alone time. I am so proud of her! 

Let’s try to be better at this too. This week pray, read, worship with no other goal than to get close to Him, and when He gives you a song to sing or a revelation, don’t run to the pulpit with it or even social media. Be like Habakkuk and allow what you receive to change you! 

Live right, love everyone and pray hard! 

Ascent

Intro 

A word was spoken to me recently about our church. The word was this “We are learning how to ascend into the hill of The Lord in worship”. My mind immediately went to Psalms 24.3 which says this:

“Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place?” Ps 24.3

As I looked into this passage I realized that there are some things I needed to do in order to ascend this hill. The chapter goes on to say in verse four and five:

“He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,

Nor sworn deceitfully. 5He shall receive blessing from the Lord, And righteousness from

the God of his salvation.” Ps 24.4-5

Here is one thing we need to get straight before we move on. I am going to say a lot of things in this post. One thing I am not saying is that we need to do all these things in order to get to Heaven. If your goal is just to get to Heaven you might want to stop reading this now. 

This is an invitation for those who want to see Jesus here and now! This is for those to whom it is not enough to simply go to church and be a good person, but who burn with passion to see Him. Who want more out of this life than a ticket to Heaven, they want to see Heaven here on this Earth! 

For the next few moments we will talk about what it will take for you and I to ascend the hill of The Lord. I pray The Holy Spirit will lead you and guide you into all wisdom and revelation. I pray that as we explore this invitation, you will be convicted to make this one thing your life goal. 

Chapter 1 - The Invitation 

My grandparents met on a small Island in the middle of Lake Erie. Yes, you heard me right. If you’re not from the midwest it might be weird to hear but our Great Lake has islands. My grandmother was selling hotdogs on the island of Put-In-Bay when my grandfather saw her for the first time. I’m pretty sure he never bought so many hot dogs in his life. 

Long story short they fell in love and the rest is history! 

Now each summer our entire family goes back to Put-In-Bay to celebrate their love. This past year there were about thirty of us that went with them. It’s a small island with not too much to do so we usually do the same things each year. We grab food, ice cream and coffee (yes, it has to be in that order). Then we visit Perry’s Cave, swim, grab some grape juice at a winery and eat dinner. After all of this, we catch the last ferry home and do it all again next year. 

We always go to a specific spot to swim. The water is deep, about twenty feet or so, and the cliff walls of the shoreline are riddled with underwater caves and worst of all, snakes! To the right, when you first get in the water, about fifty yards down the shoreline is a massive rock that stands about fifteen feet straight out of the water just begging for someone to jump off of it! But the rock is slippery, jagged and vertical making it a tough climb.

Out of the thirty or so people that came that day, only fifteen of us jumped in the water. Out of the fifteen that jumped in only about eight of us made it to the top of the rock. The rest couldn’t or didn’t want to ascend. 

The same is true for this invitation. The truth is, this life isn’t for everyone. There are some people out there that just won’t jump in. They will never accept a relationship with Jesus. Then, there are some that do. They jump in, they even make the swim, but when they see what it costs to ascend the hill, they don’t want it. They just want to live a good christian life and go to Heaven one day. But then there are people like you. You have kept reading this because you want more out of life than just going to Heaven or being a good Christian. You want Him. You want to know Him, you want to see Him. No matter the cost, you will pay it if it means you get to see Him in the land of the living! 

Here is the invitation. 

God is inviting you to live a life completely devoted to Him. To dwell in His presence and serve His heart. 

Chapter 2 - The Hill 

Psalms 24.3 - “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place?”

Unlike a rock in the middle of Lake Erie, the hill of The Lord is very significant. 

In Jerusalem the temple sat on a small mountain or hill about two thousand feet in elevation. The jewish people would literally ascend this hill in order to worship God in His temple. Though there was no temple present when David penned these words (Solomon built it after David passed) the presence of the Lord resided there. The hill of the Lord speaks to His person or presence. It means more than just a temple or a place to worship, it is where the Ark of the Covenant rested. The Holy of Holies is where God dwelt. His presence tangibly rested with the Jewish people. 

This is what the Hill means, the person or presence of God!  

All throughout scripture we see this picture of people “coming up” to meet with God. In Exodus, we see God invite Moses to come to the top of a mountain to meet with Him and Moses receives the Ten Commandments. At the other end of the Bible, in the book of Revelation, we see God call John and tell him to “come up here” to show him things to come. 

To ascend the hill of The Lord means to live a life in His presence. It means to live an intimate life with Jesus, walking and talking with Him. 

Chapter 3 - Clean Hands

Psalms 24.4 -“He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.”

Although I’m sure God cares about our hygiene, I think it is safe to say, that is not what we are dealing with here. God doesn’t see men and women as we see them, “The Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Sa 16:7). In this passage David is reminding us that we serve a Holy God, “who loves righteousness and hates wickedness” (Ps 45:7). 

Modern Christianity would like to downplay this truth. We live in a society that separates love from correction, one that says love should tolerate my sin. Yes, God does loves us even in our sin, but God is holy, and He wants us to be holy as well (Leviticus 11.44 & 1 Peter 1.16)

Isaiah 1.16-17 says this:

 16“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, 17 learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.”

I know what you might be thinking. “Dom, this is the Old Testament before Jesus, it doesn’t count. Jesus changed all that, now it’s all about grace and mercy!” 

Yes Jesus is all about grace and mercy! But He is also about righteousness and truth. This is the same Jesus who, after defending and justifying the adulteress woman tells her to “go, sin no more.” (John 8.11) or tells the lame man He just heals to “sin no more unless something worse happen” (John 5.14). This idea that sin is okay to entertain in our life is simply not true!

Here is the the unfortunate truth in Christian culture. The western church has been paralyzed by consumerism. We cater our messages and worship services to give people what they “like” to hear. We have watered down harsher truths, and avoid talking about things that might be too challenging, in fear that our people will leave and find a new church down the road. So we no longer tell people that their sin is a problem, we in fact tell them that it’s okay to have sin in your life because His grace will cover it up for you. 

Now hear my heart on this. I understand we all make mistakes, I am sure I make as many if not more than you! I am not saying that we must be perfect to ascend the hill of The Lord, I am saying that when we fall down, we must get back up. It is not okay to stay down, the righteous do not stay down, they get up! This idea that we can ascend into His presence indulging in pornography, or a lying tongue, or a hateful heart is just simply not true. At some point we have to let the Holy Spirit in our lives and allow Him to deliver us from our sin and mess! Remember the goal isn’t just to get into Heaven, it is to see Him now and isn’t He worth it? He is worth laying down the sin that so easily ensnares us (Hebrews 12.1), so we can run this race to find Him! 

So if you are reading this, struggling or holding on to sin in your life, there is freedom for you today! Lay it down, allow the Holy Spirit to give you clean hands before Him so that you can ascend into the hill of The Lord and see His face.

Chapter 4 - Pure Heart 

Psalms 24.4 -“He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.”

If you are anything like me, when you hear the word “purity” you mind goes straight to youth group days, with leaders begging you not to have sex! I remember one time getting in trouble and told I was no longer pure because I was holding a girls hand, true story. 

Purity has been reduced to only mean abstaining from sexual sin. Although I do agree with being pure sexually, the meaning of “a pure heart” reaches much further than our sexuality. It speaks to the entirety of us as people, all of who we are must be pure. 

To gain a bit more understanding of this phrase we should go to the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter five verse eight. 

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

The word Jesus used for “pure” was the Greek word “katharos”. Another word, or way of translating “katharos” is “unmixed”. When we learn this we can see how Jesus wasn’t exclusively speaking of sexual sin but of anything that would compete for the throne of our heart. Being “pure” means to only have one love, one desire, one motivation, to see Him. 

David was known as “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Sam 13.14) and he is known for saying “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.” (Ps 27.4). He was singular in his desire and motivation, his heart was after the Lord and Him alone. 

If we want to ascend the hill of The Lord we must be unmixed in our hearts! 

Peter was someone who had a lot going on in his heart to say the least. It seemed like he was constantly messing up or confused or some combination of the two. 

There is a story in the Bible where Jesus begins to wash the disciple’s feet and when He gets to Peter, Peter says “You will never wash my feet!” Jesus responds, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”. Then Peter says to Jesus, “ Not just my feet but my hands and head as well!” (John 13). Come on Peter, make up your mind! 

Another time Peter sees Jesus walking on the water and asks Jesus to allow him to come to Him. Jesus calls him and we see Peter take his first steps on the water, only to allow fear and worry to cause him to sink (Matt 14). When your heart is mixed with faith and fear, the outcome is never good. 

You weren’t designed to have multiple, opposing things rule your heart. Living life allowing anxiety, depression, fear, sin, material desires or anything else that is not Jesus, will lead you down a path that you do not want to go. 

So what then? Can we never be afraid? Is it sin to have worries or doubt? No way! I am not saying that you can never have these feelings. I’m saying that the moment you allow these feelings or thoughts to compete with your faith or dictate your actions is the moment we become mixed. 

Let me tell you a story that will help us understand. 

My daughter and I went to the park one day when she was around three years old. She was climbing the rock wall at the park and fell down. It was only about a foot drop but to a three year old you would’ve thought she lost a limb! She was crying and just wanted to go home. I’m  not sure if what comes next makes me a good father or a terrible one, but we didn’t go home. Before we left I told her she had to climb the wall again. With tears in her eyes and her father behind her, my three year old daughter conquered her fears and climbed the wall she just fell off of a few moments earlier. After she reached the top, we got back into our wagon and went home. 

The lesson I want my kids to learn is this. It’s okay to be afraid, it’s not okay to let fear dictate what you do or don’t do. 

Having emotions, desires, goals or ambitions are a normal part of life and shouldn’t be demonized. But they become dangerous when they control us. The moment they compete for the throne of our heart is the moment we become mixed and no longer have a pure heart. 

Chapter 5 - To Nurse an Appetite

Psalms 24.4 -“He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.”

When is the last time you have witnessed someone worshiping a statue or some other constructed idol? The answer is probably never. We have culturally moved away from bowing down to statues made of wood or gold and most of us no longer worship the sun and moon like people did long ago. Idols in our context are a little more discrete. We don’t go to temples worshiping false gods, instead we go to shopping malls fulfilling our unhealthy “need” for more things. 

Modern day idols are anything that is more important than God. Whether we make an idol out of traveling, money, success, family or even religion, if it’s anything other than Him its wrong! 

This phrase has an interesting alternative translation, these words in the Hebrew mean “to nurse an appetite”. The Psalmist is telling us, if we want to ascend the hill of The Lord we can have no other appetite in our lives. He must be our number one desire! Our single motivation and the object of our pursuit! 

This idea of nursing an appetite reminds me of a story in the Bible of a young man torn between the cares of this world and his desire to follow Jesus. In Matthew nineteen we see an interaction between Jesus and a rich young ruler. This young man asks Jesus how he can have eternal life and Jesus tells him to follow the commandments. He tells Jesus that he has done that all his life, indicating that simply following the rules was not enough for this young man. He had a genuine desire for more of Jesus. We pick up this story in verse twenty-one 

21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

This young man had an alternative appetite eating away at his desire for more of Jesus. He had nursed this desire in his life for wealth and position and the moment Jesus showed up to lead him into eternal life, this young man realized there was no room for Him in his heart. 

Imagine with me for a second. This story is no longer about a rich young ruler in Jesus’ day thousands of years ago, but the setting is now, and the subject is you. What would be the reason you walked away from Jesus? Maybe it would be the love of money, the fear of being unsuccessful? Would it say you walked away because you don’t want to give up living with one foot in the world and the other in church? Maybe it’s even a simple hobby or pastime that takes up more of your time than your walk with Him? 

Now here’s a follow up question. Is it worth it? If you gained all the money and power in the world but never knew Jesus, is it worth it? If you traveled the globe and saw everything this world has to offer but never saw His face, is it worth it? If you started a multi-million dollar company and changed the world with your innovation but missed Jesus, is it worth it? What appetite is worth nursing at the expense of our relationship with Him? Short answer, nothing! Nothing in this life is worth missing Him!

David said this “ One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple.” Psalms 27.4

See the difference? One man walked away from Jesus sad, knowing that he was unwilling to cut off this other appetite and David declared that there is nothing else competing for his desire to see Him. 

So is my golf hobby evil? Do I need to stop going to work and chasing my goals? No, I believe that God made life to be enjoyed! Often times His plans for your life are wrapped up in a career or other life goals you have. In the same way wood and gold are not inherently bad, these desires we have in life are not bad either. But they become evil when you construct an idol out of them. 

You cannot ascend the hill of The Lord and nurse another appetite.

Chapter 6 - Swear Deceitfully 

Psalms 24.4 -“He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.”

I was walking in my neighborhood praying and asking God how I have sworn deceitfully. To be honest I was trying to find my last point for this message and had hit a block with this one. I understood the theological interpretation of having integrity and being an honest person but I felt The Lord was going deeper here. 

While I was a few yards away from my driveway, The Lord said to me, “Dominic, you swear deceitfully to Me all the time.”. I immediately knew what He meant. So many times I’ve made promises to Him in an emotionally charged atmosphere or out of good intentions, and when it was time to make good on those promises I bailed. We honor the Holy Spirit with our words, but our actions tell a different story. In Matthew 15.7-9 Jesus says it best. 

7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

If you have been in church for any amount of time you are probably fluent in “christianese”. When you come through the door and the greeter says “How are you?” , you respond with “I am blessed and highly favored!” knowing full well you just had the worst week of your life. We know when to say “amen” during the message to make sure everyone around us knows that the pastor is not talking about us. We know how to talk the talk. We sing songs of surrendering it all to Jesus and asking for His refining fire and when He asks us to surrender we pretend we didn’t hear Him. The cold truth is, we are those hypocrites Jesus was talking about! 

We know how to honor God with our lips on Sunday but Monday - Saturday our lives do not show Him honor. How can we expect to ascend the hill of The Lord when we swear deceitfully to Him? 

It’s time to be real, to hold ourselves accountable to what we say. Let us learn to be honest with God and one another. Let us learn how to count the cost and be prepared to pay it before we make promises to Him. Let us celebrate a life lived out in faith on Monday more than we celebrate a good message that we shared on social but otherwise will have no fruit in our lives. 

Recently I have been praying this prayer, “Father search me and show me the wickedness inside of me.” I know we will never be perfect, but I don’t want to just be a Christ follower in my speech, I want my life to be witness of my allegiance to Him. I want to encourage you to make this your goal as well, honoring Him with your actions not just your words. 

Chapter 7 - Our Great Reward

Psalms 24.5 - He shall receive blessing from the Lord, And righteousness from the God

of his salvation.

So we finally make it up the hill, what’s this blessing we will receive? There better be a good 

prize for all the stuff we had to go through to get to the top! Trust me, there is a great prize!

Unfortunately no, it’s not a car or a new job or that spouse you’ve been praying for. It is even 

better, the prize is Him. He is the reward, He is the prize! The blessing is not more stuff we don’t

need, the blessing is His presence, being with Him! 

There is a story in Genesis chapter fourteen and fifteen that sums this idea up. In Genesis 

fourteen a man named Abram wins a war and returns the spoils the enemy stole to the rightful 

king. The king tell Abram to keep all the wealth, just return the people that were taken captive.

Abram refuses, telling the king that he will return everything to him. Abram doesn’t want the king 

to be able to say “I have made Abram rich”

After Abram tell the king this and returns all the spoils of war, The Lord comes to him in chapter 

fifteen, verse one and says this:

“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”

Abram turned down a huge payday, gave all the wealth back to the king and got a reward much more costly, The Lord! 

So often we make this life about things, or even being good christians. We make the goal to have more knowledge or a sinless life. We make the goal to have a big successful ministry with lots of people filling our seats. But this christian life isn’t about any of those things. Its not even about revival! I know, hear me out. I love miracles and revival as much as the next pastor, but there is an epidemic in our church today. We value the miraculous more than the miracle worker! We value the gift more than the gift giver! All of these things are great, but they all come second to Him. Just Him. 

Did you know that everyone that Jesus healed is now dead? Everyone that He fed was hungry again the next day. The miracles are not the prize. 

There is a story in the Bible of the centurion solder(Matthew 8). He asks Jesus to heal his servant who was at his house paralyzed. Jesus is ready to come to heal the man when the centurion tells Jesus not to come, but just speak the word. We celebrate this as an incredible act of faith and even Jesus does too. But there is a great injustice done here in this story. The servant experienced the power of Jesus but never saw His face. 

This is the state of the church now. A bride obsessed with what the groom can do for them but not obsessed with the groom. I couldn’t imagine my wife celebrating all that I provide for her more than she celebrates me. 

Jesus is the prize, He is the reward! It is only when we begin living our lives like He is more than just a means to an end, that we will truly find the satisfaction of just being with Him. 

My encouragement to you is simple. Stop using Jesus. Stop using Him to get to what you really want. Learn to see Him as the great reward. If He doesn’t do another thing for you, be satisfied with just being with Him. He is what you will find at the top of this hill, and I promise you, He is so worth it! 

Chapter 8 - Conclusion

Who can ascend? 

You can. 

I know this might have seemed heavy at times, maybe a little overwhelming. Maybe you are thinking “ Man, I can’t do all that stuff.”. The good news is, you can! It doesn’t matter where you came from or what you’ve done, anyone can ascend into Him presence. Through the blood of Jesus, we all can live a life completely devoted to Him. Living this life doesn’t require you to be perfect, it requires a heart after God. It requires a man or woman who wants nothing more in this life than to see Jesus! 

Like I said at the beginning, not everyone will accept this invitation, but I believe that there are some of you out there who will create a life centered around dwelling with Him. I believe there are some of you who want more than just a good christian life, you want Him. 

If religion has failed you, it’s time to ascend. If society has failed you, it’s time to ascend. If the world and its lusts have failed you, it’s time to ascend. Being with Him is the only thing that will truly satisfy you! 

Pray this with me. Jesus, teach us how to ascend into your presence. Help us to live a life completely devoted to You. Clean our hands, purity our hearts, restore our souls and forgive us for dishonoring you. We love you! 

Live right, love everybody and pray hard! 

Welcome

Welcome!

I was about two months in to a six month trip to Haiti, when I asked God the most important question any of us could ask. “Why am I here?” I have asked this question before but I remember this time because I actually received an answer! I heard The Lord speak back to my heart, “You are here to reveal My true heart to My people.”

Ever since that moment, that statement has been my guiding light. It is the filter I use with every message I write. It is my goal in every meeting I am in. I have built my entire ministry life around this goal.

So welcome to this life long journey! Where every day the goal is to know Him more than we did the day before. I by no means have all the answers, but I know the One who does. And as we seek Him, I believe we will be changed forever!

This blog exists to help the Bride of Christ know Jesus more intimately. I am a pastor at an incredible church, Church on the North Coast, and for the past seven years have been writing and preaching messages to help our congregation grow. Now I am going to take those very same messages and share them here with you!

In this format, we will be able to go much deeper than we could on a traditional Sunday service. We will intentionally dive deep into different revelations and thoughts that will help you on your journey to know Him, with the goal of learning and growing together.

Each of these posts will be accompanied with the video format of the message so you will be able to watch and grasp even more from the Lord!

I am beyond excited for all that the Lord has in store for us! Make sure you don’t miss a post and if you find any of these helpful, I would ask you to share with someone else who you think could benefit from them.

Thank you! Live right, love everyone and pray hard!

Dominic Whitfield