City of Refuge

Are you someone people run from when they are in trouble or run to? At the end of Numbers God commands Israel to set up cities of refuge so people who screwed up can have a safe place to live. Are the environments you set up safe? I think too many "Christians" aren't safe and it's clear as we unpack scripture further we are to be places of Refuge.

The early part of Deuteronomy is also great as it talks a lot about obedience and love to God no matter what you are going through. Love and Obedience are always linked here. I am learning that to love God is to obey Him. It isn't just about verbally saying that I love Him. But to be able to love God without it becoming legalistic we have to learn to experience His love because when we do you will not want to do anything but obey Him.

I believe this 90 day challenge and beyond is showing Jesus my love. This morning I finished my last day of week 2 workouts and I am still going strong. Love it.

Today's scripture was numbers 33- deut. 7. It was full of great stuff.

One Word P90X

It pushes me to my limit everyday. I am almost halfway through phase 1 or 1/6 through the program and I'm already getting great results. Although to this point I've only lost 2.5 pounds I've lost about 2 inches off of my waist which is awesome. I have also not felt better in a long time.

The scripture reading is going great. God is teaching me great things as I'm in Numbers. Today the main part of the passage was when the donkey talked to Balaam. It took an animal to recognize God and communicate that to Balaam. I wonder how often I am so focused on my plan and strategy that I forget or ignore what God is saying like Balaam. It was definitely a great reminder for me.

Happy Birthday Joshua

Today was Joshuas second birthday and it was a lot of fun playing with him and his new tee ball set. He is a natural. Can't wait to see how he develops as a man. Looking forward to doing life with him.

Today was yoga day which is really hard and works you hard as well.

Scripture was the story in Numbers of the spies with Joshua and Caleb bring back a good report. Hopefully God empowers my 2 sons with their names to make the same kind of stands for Jesus. Love those 2 so much. My prayer for them every night is that they grow up to love Jesus and help others find Jesus' love as well.

Let the Next Generation Lead

If you are over 50 step aside. ²⁴ "This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or more shall come to take part in the work at the Tent of Meeting, ²⁵ but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer. ²⁶ They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the Tent of Meeting, but they themselves must not do the work. This, then, is how you are to assign the responsibilities of the Levites." Numbers 8:24-26

I didn't say it the Bible did. This isn't saying if you are over 50 you have no say or input but to assist. To me assisting goes beyond doing what some young guys says but mentoring them. Make sure that they are being trained well. Provide the insight of the years of service. That is so valuable to the church and we young bucks need that. I like the word assist as it isn't lording over but it is coming alongside. I find it interesting that scripture talks about this. What does that mean for our church today?

I think it is a principle that holds true. I have heard Rick Warren, Andy Stanley, and others well over 50 talk about this idea of the older letting the younger lead. I'm not that old but I know that the way the young teenager expresses themselves in their youth group is the coming way to do church and I should let them do it if I want to reach as many people for Christ as possible.

This was a great reminder from Numbers of all places. Sorry if you are mad but it is just what the Bible said. :)

Today's workout was shoulder, arms, and abs...tough...but I am now on the downslope of week 2.

Frustrating

Today was a frustrating day. I weighed myself after one week and have lost 1lb. Most of what I'm reading says that's ok as my muscles aren't dormate anymore and they weigh more than fat. But still frustrating. I feel great though and can't wait to see what happens.

Discipline

Leviticus 1-14 takes a lot of discipline to stick with. I think that Leviticus gets a bad wrap. It can be boring yes. But to me Leviticus is rich with showing us how to worship God. Leviticus lists many ways to sacrifice to God because of our sin. The great thing is the ultimate sacrifice was made by Jesus Christ and we no longer have to abide by Leviticus but what can we learn today. For one we can learn the reverence of worshipping God. Leviticus is very particular about what to do when worshipping God. In some instances when worshipping the presence of God was so great the Israelites fell on their faces. When was the last time the presence of God was so great that we did that? There is particular emphasis on taking care of yourself especially when in God's presence. I think if we all treated coming before God as holy and reverent as it is spelled out in Leviticus we can provide an environment where God can move.

We need to contextualize what reverence today looks like. Here are some of my thoughts:

1. Being with God during your week

2. Taking care of your health (eating right, exercising, etc.... which is why I am doing this 90 day plan)

3. Loving well. Why is it that pagan's love others better than Christians? Ask any waiter or waitress what they feel when they see someone praying before their meal. I will tell you they feel they might get treated poorly and definitely short changed on their tip. This isn't right. There are other examples. I think we don't love well because we don't know how deal with our issues.

4. Deal with your issues. Pagan's love better than us because they can deal with their issues easier because they aren't as afraid of what others think than we are in the church. We have to create an environment in the church where people can talk about their issues and not looked down upon. It is natural for people in the church not to tell others their issues because you lose status in the church if you have issues. In the world typically nothing is gained nor lost based on issues. Because pagans know everyone has them. To find people who deal with their issues is easy. Take a risk and open up to someone and deal with them.

5. Passionately pursue the lost. Lost people matter to God and he wants them in His church. This is how we are reverent to God. We provide environments where lost people find Him.

End of Week 1

Today is a day of rest for the workout program. It is much needed. My body is sore and needs to recoup. Today I will still be reading the scriptures.

I will be finishing the Book of Exodus today. Exodus God lays out many details of how he wants Israel to be established. The one that stuck out is the day of rest or Sabbath. God even went so far as to tell Israel that if they worked on the Sabbath they would be put to death. That is serious attention to detail. Not only is a Sabbath biblical but it is scientific that our bodies are healthier and in turn produce better work because of it.

I am really wrestling with the idea of Grace vs Works. In the Old Testament God lays out very detailed plans into how they were to live their lives. No one can succeed at the law God put forth which is why God sent Jesus to pay the penalty of failure for us so we don't have to die if we break the Sabbath because Christ died for us. But I think we take advantage of Christ's death by just saying oh well or I will work on it. I feel like we water down His Grace. Maybe I'm wrong but throughout scripture it says if we love Him we will obey Him. I have to ask myself am I obeying the Father or am I just relying on Grace? To me if we have received His Grace and Love our live will show that by our actions. It seems it is dangerous these days to talk about works. I truly believe that you cannot be saved by works but after salvation there is no room for us to not act. Grace and works are inseparable after salvation. God still wants us to live a life that is like Jesus but the beauty is we don't die when we fail if we are in Christ Jesus. Which understanding that should motivate us to live more like Christ. Because if we didn't have Him we would die. Every time we sin that deserves death but Jesus died for us. That is a humbling fact. If we are acting like Jesus then we should wonder whether or not we are saved...just saying...

I wonder how Rob Larsen and Josh Conn are doing with this challenge after the first week.