The Veil Removed

scrip·ture
2 Corinthians 3:14 & 16 | 14But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. & 16But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

de·vo·tion·al
When I was a kid I was introduced to the Jack in the Box. Jack in the Box is a toy where a child turns a handle on the side of a colorful box. While the child is turning the handle, the "Pop Goes the Weasel" melody is playing. The first time I played with the Jack in the Box, I was at my aunt and uncle house, and I can remember I was unsure of what the outcome of all this handle turning and music playing would be. Eventually, in a startling moment, the melody came to a conclusion and, POP, outcome a character which was a big element of surprise.

For the longest time, God's house and availability were limited to that of a confined space, either the Tabernacle or the Temple. God then sent to us His one and only son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Jesus came and started singing the true melody of God's love. He would play it for us through His words and more importantly, through His deeds. As He inched closer to fulfilling God's promise of salvation through sacrificing Himself, the melody inches closer to a conclusion, which to many leads to a startling moment. Once Jesus lifts up His Spirit to God, and He takes His last breath, POP, the curtain in the temple is torn in half, and the literal and figurative veil is removed and God is released out of the temple (box) and He is free for all to see.

The sad thing is, for some, they did not and do not hear the melody being played, and they are still waiting for the notes of a messiah, which has already come. Matthew 7:7-8 7”Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  8For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.  Until those individuals open their hearts from the old covenant or non-believers ask, seek, or knock and recognize the melody of the new covenant and the gift of salvation, they will continue to turn the handle of their belief, and the veil will never be lifted from their hearts.

prayer
Heavenly Father, I pray that in Your infinite and steadfast grace, You can equip me with the ability to recognize the truth surrounding the melody that was provided through the words and deeds of Your son.  Allow those that are in my prayers that have not yet heard that melody to be given an opportunity through your means to hear the melody of salvation.  Grant me strength as people challenge my hearing and give me the truth needed to defend the reason for the hope I have for you.
Amen

Retreating for the Purpose of Pursuit Part 3

The Difficult Times

re·treat /rəˈtrēt/ | The act of withdrawing, as into safety or privacy; retirement; seclusion.

pur·suit /pərˈso͞ot/ | The action of following or pursuing someone or something.

re·treat | Luke 22:39,41 39And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. ; 41And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed.

pur·suit | To commune with His Father; to plead with His Father and request for strength to bear the cup of the world's sins

Spring is here, time to get out and start reducing my waist line so I can stop lieing to my wife when I say, “No, my shorts fit perfectly fine, it is just a new fashion trend to keep my shorts unbuttoned.  You’ll see, everyone will be doing it, I am fashion forward!”  I was well on my way to digging myself out of that lie and running on the trails near my home ever day.

One rainy morning, I had 100 yards left of my run, and I was going to sprint it.  I was huffing like a grizzly bear exercising after being aroused from hibernation, and then it happened.  I stepped on a root and my ankle twisted underneath my body, breaking and displacing my fibula bone.  Although painful, I was proud of myself for only howling like an injured animal, an injured baby animal, instead of breaking into what my wife calls “Wheels Off Joshua”.  “Wheels Off Joshua” comes out when trying to put up a 4 x 12 piece of sheetrock on my basement ceiling all by myself, and not so pleasant words come out of my mouth (most of you know what I am talking about).  After breaking my ankle, I’ve found myself adding up all the painful things that were in front of me, surgery, doctors poking and prodding me, physical therapy and crawling up the stairs to take a one legged shower (which is both painful and humiliating).  Now, it is not the sins of the world, but it is an example of where I will need to find strength and perseverance that is enriched by the Spirit of the LORD.  It is hard to retreat with a broken ankle, but it is and will be necessary for me to do so in pursuit of the LORD.

In the end, it is the LORD’s Will that will be done.  However, even the creator retreated to pursue His Father to prepare Himself to live through the painful events that He knew would be coming up to fulfill the Messianic prophecy and God’s Will to fulfill His covenant with all of His creation.

Do you find yourself needing to retreat, because you have a stressful or painful road ahead?  Spend some time today emulating the character of Jesus the Christ.  Retreat for the purpose of pursuing the LORD today in the activities that you partake in. Let Him enable your strength and humble yourself to allow the LORD to carry you in this hard time.

Retreating for the Purpose of Pursuit Part 2

The Next Great Adventure

re·treat /rəˈtrēt/ | The act of withdrawing, as into safety or privacy; retirement; seclusion.

pur·suit /pərˈso͞ot/ | The action of following or pursuing someone or something.

re·treat | Mark 1:35 35And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. (ESV)

pur·suit | To commune with His Father and prepare  for his ministry in Galilee

Life was going great.  The kids were manageable, family trips were fun, date nights were easy to come by, communication was easy, and then it happened.  My wife broached the subject one evening, and the conversation kind of went like this.

Laura | “You know, I was thinking, I am not done yet.”

Joshua | [I looked up at her] “Not done with what?”

Laura | [She twirled her fork in the spaghetti noodles] “I want another one.”

Joshua | [I picked up another piece of garlic bread, hoping that would solve her want, but just to clarify I asked] “Want another what?”

Laura | [Verbal Explosion] “I want another baby.”

Joshua | [I was wrong, the garlic toast did not appease her] “Ooooookay!?!?”

So it started, the next adventure in our lives as we prepared to extend our family with one more member and start over with diapers, sleepless nights, baby sitters that wouldn’t cut it (no more date nights), and communicating in baby talk. I knew, in this new adventure I needed to pursue God as He was pursuing me.  The hardest part was finding the time to retreat for the purpose of pursuit, but man was it important to find that time.

Jesus had many adventures in His ministry, but we see an example here of Jesus retreating from the house early in the morning, and pursing His Father in prayer.

Do you find yourself needing to retreat knowing that a great adventure is waiting for you?  Spend some time today emulating the character of Jesus.  Retreat for the purpose of pursuing the LORD today in the activities that you partake in. Let Him be your Strong Tower as you continue on your next great adventure.

Retreating for the Purpose of Pursuit Part 1

Part 1 | The Busy Life

re·treat /rəˈtrēt/ | The act of withdrawing, as into safety or privacy; retirement; seclusion.

pur·suit /pərˈso͞ot/ | The action of following or pursuing someone or something.

re·treat | Luke 5:16 16But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray & Mark 6:46 46And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray

pur·suit | To commune with His Father and escape the fame and pressure that was starting to surround Him

I hate the Minnesota State Fair!  Wait, that was not really a Minnesota Nice way of stating my opinion about “The Great Minnesota Get Together”.  Ok, let me try this again. I do not enjoy excessive heat, I do not enjoy excessive amounts of people, and I do not enjoy walking all day long in the aforementioned things.  We also spend all our time herding three kids that want to actually lose themselves and apologizing to every person that we bump into with our stroller, which seems to include everything from our house besides the kitchen sink.  So, nope, I was right, I hate the Minnesota State Fair. I spend all day there only to find by the time I get home, I am tired, irritable, and bloated from all the food.

I imagine as Jesus Christ became more “famous” and the crowds that followed became larger, and the daily grind of walking everywhere in the heat, he experienced a mini-Minnesota State Fair episode, which at times probably left him tired, irritable, and...bloated?  Well, probably not bloated, but the daily grind of his ministry, all the people pressing to see the main attraction, and not to mention His disciples continuously saying, “I don’t understand, can you explain that story to me again?”, and Jesus saying, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you?  How long am I to bear with you…?”

Although frustrated, tired, and irritable, Jesus knew to retreat from the circumstance and pursue His Father in prayer, because that is where He found peace, comfort and purpose in His crazy daily life.

Do you find yourself needing to retreat from the Minnesota State Fair-esk daily grind?  Spend some time today emulating the character of our Savior.  Retreat for the purpose of pursuing the LORD today in the activities that you partake in, and in your daily grind, find peace, comfort and renewed purpose in Him.