Phish Bowl Ministries
January 2012
Matthew 4:19
“Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”
Saints, as we enter into this New Year, it seems that a lot of people are talking about December 21, 2012 as the “end of time.” Not that I buy into it, but I will use it to ask a question: What if it really is the end? What if this year is your last one to get right with Jesus or reach that family member or talk to the guy next door about Jesus? What if we only had 12 months to live, how would your walk look different?
The early church was blessed with undeniable miracles taking place. The Apostles were teaching life changing truths but a large number of people hung back, stayed on the sideline. They refused to join in, opting to watch from the bleachers. Beware of hesitancy to commit. Being part of God’s work is time consuming and has a lot of responsibilities. However, when you refuse to jump in and get dirty, you’re missing out on untold blessings. You are choosing a mundane life on the sidelines, an unfilled life in Christ.
What makes Christianity attractive? People were attracted to the early church because of its love for one another; God’s power at work by the generosity, sincerity, honesty and unity of the members and by the character of the leaders. Saints, have our standards slipped; should we not return to our first love if time is really so short? We need to make the truth about God the center of our witness.
William Barclay once said: “The way to spread Christianity is to be Christian…Jesus sends us out not to argue men into Christianity, still less to threaten them into it, but to attract them into it; to live so that its fruits may be so wonderful that others will desire them for themselves.”
(Acts 5:12-16) And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch. Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed. (NKJV)
The Apostles were preaching boldly about Jesus right in the temple courts. We see that large crowds would gather and because of the power of God and the faithfulness of his people, the gospel was spreading, taking roots, and bearing fruit in lives.
Acts 5:12) And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon's Porch. (NKJV)
Solomon’s Colonnade was part of the temple complex built by King Herod the Great in an attempt to strengthen his relationship with the Jews. Keep this in mind when the believers met at the temple, they were without a doubt in ear shot of the same religious leaders who had conspired to put Jesus to death.
I’ve read a lot about the Apostles’ power to perform miraculous signs (semeia) and wonders (terata) and what I have learned is this; we don’t all agree! But this I do know and you can take it to the bank: The miracles were from God, but administered through the hands of the Apostles, to convince Jewish on-lookers of the credibility of the Christian message and movement.
(Acts 5:13) Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. (NKJV)
I’m going to refer to my study bible for their commentary. “The terminology of this verse seems to refer to association on intimate terms-the watching community respected the believers but likely found God’s direct and obvious work through them to be intimidating. Some may have been afraid to face the same kind of persecution the Apostles had faced while others may have feared a fate similar to the one which fell on Ananias and Sapphira. This may simply be a reference to the fact that no more hypocrites or pretenders dared to join the group. Persecution has always had a tendency to separate the curious from the committed, the fakers from the followers, and the make-believers from the true believers.” Life Application Bible.
Acts 5:14) And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, (NKJV)
Luke goes on to explain that despite many unbelieving Jews hanging back, the Spirit was working. Many were still coming to faith in Christ.
Acts 5:15-16) so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed. (NKJV)
These verses have two things which I want to expound on: The Word was beginning to spread beyond Jerusalem and secondly the phrase “Possessed by “evil” spirits.” Evil (unclean) spirits or demons are ruled by Satan. They were not created by Satan, because only God can create. Evil spirits and demons are fallen angels who joined Satan in his rebellion and thus became perverted and evil. At times, these evil spirits enter peoples’ bodies, take up residence and control them. However, a believer in Jesus the Christ who is indwelt with the Holy Spirit can not be possessed. The Bible is clear that a house can not be divided.
So this brings us back to “This is your last year” and what are going to do with it? Did your encounter with Jesus change your walk (life) or does your walk (life) still look the same? Do you tell God, “When I retire, then I will get into the game?” Or, “Jesus, that’s just not what you are calling me to.” I don’t have the answer for your walk, all I can do is my walk and to pray that you don’t waste this last year.
UPDATES:
This is the third month in group and we are currently learning about victim impact. This has really worn me down. My boss even needed to give me a couple of days off. I have to look at my crimes from the view point of my victims, to see their pain and look at their scars which I have caused to understand the full price of crime. I am not doing much more than group. We have something to do almost every day.
Pray that I can become the man of God whom Jesus wants me to be and that I may use this time and situation to glorify Him who is my King!
Saints, I pray for you and love you. Remember that it is a life journey to understand that God will not disappoint us. There is soul healing in God’s loving Word and in the Church of the Messiah’s Misfits. Remember my chains as I remember yours. Watch. Hold fast in the faith. Be brave and be strong to the end. Let all you do, be done in love!
Semper Fidelis!
I Corinthians16: 13-14
Phish Bowl Coffee House, P.O. Box 153, Loveland, CO 80539.
http://inthephishbowl.blogspot.com
An outreach of Calvary Chapel Loveland
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Phish Bowl Ministries
December 2011
Matthew 4:19
“Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”
Is it “NOT”…of this world how our Lord works with His church? How in hind sight we see so clearly, but in the ‘now’ we find it hard to focus on God’s truths in our life. So we find that we try to do for ourselves instead of trusting in our Lord to be our Father. How many times in my life I have found myself playing the role of the fourth part of the Trinity! I don’t do this like our Lord who is all-in-all, but I do it with ‘self’ as the goal. I find my objective reality to be clouded. Even in my best efforts I find it truly hard to consider others before my own needs. This is because sin is alive in me. The only way to free myself of this bondage of self is to surrender to my Lord’s will in my ‘nows’; to see things as they are, not in how I wish they should be. Someone told me to stop “shoulding” all over myself…it’s messy! We stink when we live this way. I find for myself that I don’t really like to be around the saint who doesn’t see our walk as one of a positive journey, but instead is stuck in dying gloom. When we try things in our own will and it doesn’t work out as we planned, and consequences happen, why do we blame God? Maybe because we are not God and our ways are not His ways…This is a good time to get back to Acts.
(Acts 5:1-11) But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?” While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter answered her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?" She said, "Yes, for so much." Then Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out." Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. (NKJV)
“God cannot stand unfaithfulness and pretending to be holy is contemptible mockery.”~John Calvin
Here in Acts we will see internal and external problems facing the early Church, but through it all the leaders kept their focus on what was most important---spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Church has always attracted people with impure motives such as cons who want to profit financially from religion, power freaks seeking control, the self-centered who want to be pampered and cared for and let’s not overlook the “Glory Hounds” who want to be noticed for their Holy Acts.
Annanias and Sapphira fell into this last group. They came up with a plan to give just enough but wanted to get credit for giving their all. Now don’t get lost in the ‘how much’ as this is not the point. Their scheme was dishonest. As you ponder their story, ask yourself the question, “What are my motives for serving and giving?”
(Acts 5:1-2) But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. (NKJV)
The word “also” takes us back to Acts 4:36-37 where Barnabas sold a field and brought the money to the apostles (church) for those in need. It seems as though some in the early Church sold their possessions to help others because they were moving forward in Christ and found that they had little to no need to hold onto things that weren’t being used. Not everyone did this nor were they pressured to do so. Remember that Mary, John’s mother, still owned her home~12:12.
Ananias and Sapphira could have given all or they could have chosen to give half. The problem was that they were representing what they gave to the Church as “all”. How often do we live our lives in this way; being one person at church and another at home and still one more at work? Half of the misery in the world comes from trying to look instead of to be what one is not ~~G. MacDonald
(Acts 5:3-4) But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?”While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." (NKJV)
Somehow Peter saw through this act either by inside info or by the Holy Spirit. When Peter confronted Ananias with the words “kept some of the money for yourself”, the word recorded for “kept” is the same one used in the Septuagint of Achan who “kept” some of the spoils of Jericho, which ultimately caused a great defeat of Israel (Joshua 7:1-26)
The sin was not holding back some of the money. The sin was lying to God and God’s people and trying to look like they were something more than they were. All lying is bad; however, when people lie to try to deceive God and the Church about their true relationship with Him, they will destroy their testimony. When we see a Christian life lived correctly we are not to become envious but instead we should become motivated to grow into a Christ like walk. In this great passage on the deity of Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is equated with God. Also see Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Corinthians 13:13.
(Acts 5:5-6) Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. (NKJV)
~~”he fell down and died.” The Greek word ekpsucho literally means “to breathe one’s last, to die.” It is very important to note that Peter did not kill Ananias, nor did he ask the Holy Spirit to kill him. Peter condemned the lying and the Spirit of God executed judgment.
(Acts 5:7-8) Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter answered her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?" She said, "Yes, for so much." (NKJV)
Peter gave Sapphira the chance to come clean, to tell the truth. She chose to live out a lie. No man can wear one mask to himself and another to the multitudes for any considerable time without finally getting confused as to which one is the true one.
Acts 5:9) Then Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out." (NKJV)
To test God is to see how much one can get away with before God will respond or act according to His word. I will testify to this. For many years I was in service to our Lord and the Church and at the same time, I lived a lie. Mocking God right to His face daily, until the wrath of God was upon me. Nothing in this world could stop God’s correction in my life. Just like Ananias, I am dead to my old life, dead to my family, dead to old friends. Because of His great love, I am now alive in Christ Jesus. Ananias and I have this in common: The entire direction of our lies was wrong thinking about God and His judgments; self-serving, church-destroying and to put it simply…SINFUL.
“The LORD doesn’t make decisions the way you and I do! People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at a person’s thoughts and intentions” 1 Samuel 16:7 NLT Jesus said in Luke 16:15, “You like to look good in public, but God knows your evil hearts. What this world honors is an abomination in the sight of God”. NLT
Ananias, Sapphira and I mocked God, lied to Him and thought we could get away with it, as if God would not know or that He really wouldn’t care about our sins.
(Acts 5:10) Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. (NKJV)
This serves as a warning to the Church that no one should mess with the Holy Spirit, that we should live a right life and not take lightly telling the truth.
Acts 5:11) So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. (NKJV)
This is the first time the word “Church”, ecclesia, meaning “assembly” is in the book of Acts. It will become the regular word for the universal church and local church in the remainder of the Book. (Acts 7:38, 8:1, 9:31, 11:22, 13:1, 14:23, 15:22, 15:41, 16:5, 20:28)
Saints, some read the account of Ananias and Sapphira being struck down and accuse God of being harsh. “I thought God was supposed to be loving and forgiving. I thought all that wrath stuff was for Old Testament times.” With an over emphasis on grace and mercy, it’s so easy to overlook the equally important truth of God’s holiness. We must remember that God has not changed! (Malachi 3:6) He still hates sin as much as He ever did. He is offended when His own people cut moral corners and try to hide behind the cloak of forgiveness. Thus, sinning Christians were removed from fellowship in order to preserve the purity of the Church. I believe that God knew that the Church could not survive unless its people had high standards for themselves. Believers should be honest in private as well as in public. Ephesians 4:25 says “so put away all falsehood and tell your neighbor the truth because we belong to each other”. We must be careful in an age of marketing the Church and trying to make the Gospel user friendly, that we do not skim over this truth: God is to be feared! It is true that He is a God rich in love and mercy; but it is also true that He hates and judges sin. The Good News of the Gospel is that because of what Christ has done on our behalf, we can come boldly into the very presence of God (Hebrews 4:16). Remember Church that God is Holy!
UPDATES:
Thank you for all of the prayers for jobs to come in. At this time, we have work for the next year. Things are good in the shop. My boss is a big support when it comes to my attendance at “group”. I am now part-time so I can focus every morning on going to class and doing the home work. He is willing to invest time so that we (inmates) have the best chance possible to get out.
Two months in on “group” and we have gotten past Core Curriculum. Now we move into the hard stuff: our crimes, what we did, why we did it and how not to offend again. So keep us in your prayers. It is not easy to dig into shameful and painful things we have done. At the same time, I can see our Lord working in me through this system, forming me into the man He wants me to become. PTL!
My son Bishop turned 18 last month. So please pray for reconciliation. If you are reading this Bishop, I love you and look forward to talking with you. Forgiveness is found in Jesus. I am sorry for what I did to you and the family~~Dad
Saints, I pray for you and love you. Remember; it is a life journey to understand that God will not disappoint. There is soul healing in God’s loving Word and in the Church of Messiah’s Misfits. Remember my chains as I remember yours. Watch. Hold fast in the faith. Be brave and be strong to the end. Let all that you do, be done in love!
Semper Fidelis!
Phish Bowl Coffee House, P.O. Box 153, Loveland, CO 80539.
http://inthephishbowl.blogspot.com
An outreach of Calvary Chapel Loveland
While for many, the holiday season is hard, please remember that we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ who was sent as the Savior for the entire world. He wants that NO ONE should die, but that all would have life in Him. Shout to the LORD and let Him know how grateful you are for the chance to be alive in Jesus!
MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you! Each of you are important to Phish Bowl Ministries, but more importantly, to Him. Blessings!
December 2011
Matthew 4:19
“Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”
Is it “NOT”…of this world how our Lord works with His church? How in hind sight we see so clearly, but in the ‘now’ we find it hard to focus on God’s truths in our life. So we find that we try to do for ourselves instead of trusting in our Lord to be our Father. How many times in my life I have found myself playing the role of the fourth part of the Trinity! I don’t do this like our Lord who is all-in-all, but I do it with ‘self’ as the goal. I find my objective reality to be clouded. Even in my best efforts I find it truly hard to consider others before my own needs. This is because sin is alive in me. The only way to free myself of this bondage of self is to surrender to my Lord’s will in my ‘nows’; to see things as they are, not in how I wish they should be. Someone told me to stop “shoulding” all over myself…it’s messy! We stink when we live this way. I find for myself that I don’t really like to be around the saint who doesn’t see our walk as one of a positive journey, but instead is stuck in dying gloom. When we try things in our own will and it doesn’t work out as we planned, and consequences happen, why do we blame God? Maybe because we are not God and our ways are not His ways…This is a good time to get back to Acts.
(Acts 5:1-11) But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?” While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter answered her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?" She said, "Yes, for so much." Then Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out." Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. (NKJV)
“God cannot stand unfaithfulness and pretending to be holy is contemptible mockery.”~John Calvin
Here in Acts we will see internal and external problems facing the early Church, but through it all the leaders kept their focus on what was most important---spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Church has always attracted people with impure motives such as cons who want to profit financially from religion, power freaks seeking control, the self-centered who want to be pampered and cared for and let’s not overlook the “Glory Hounds” who want to be noticed for their Holy Acts.
Annanias and Sapphira fell into this last group. They came up with a plan to give just enough but wanted to get credit for giving their all. Now don’t get lost in the ‘how much’ as this is not the point. Their scheme was dishonest. As you ponder their story, ask yourself the question, “What are my motives for serving and giving?”
(Acts 5:1-2) But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. (NKJV)
The word “also” takes us back to Acts 4:36-37 where Barnabas sold a field and brought the money to the apostles (church) for those in need. It seems as though some in the early Church sold their possessions to help others because they were moving forward in Christ and found that they had little to no need to hold onto things that weren’t being used. Not everyone did this nor were they pressured to do so. Remember that Mary, John’s mother, still owned her home~12:12.
Ananias and Sapphira could have given all or they could have chosen to give half. The problem was that they were representing what they gave to the Church as “all”. How often do we live our lives in this way; being one person at church and another at home and still one more at work? Half of the misery in the world comes from trying to look instead of to be what one is not ~~G. MacDonald
(Acts 5:3-4) But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?”While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." (NKJV)
Somehow Peter saw through this act either by inside info or by the Holy Spirit. When Peter confronted Ananias with the words “kept some of the money for yourself”, the word recorded for “kept” is the same one used in the Septuagint of Achan who “kept” some of the spoils of Jericho, which ultimately caused a great defeat of Israel (Joshua 7:1-26)
The sin was not holding back some of the money. The sin was lying to God and God’s people and trying to look like they were something more than they were. All lying is bad; however, when people lie to try to deceive God and the Church about their true relationship with Him, they will destroy their testimony. When we see a Christian life lived correctly we are not to become envious but instead we should become motivated to grow into a Christ like walk. In this great passage on the deity of Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is equated with God. Also see Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Corinthians 13:13.
(Acts 5:5-6) Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. (NKJV)
~~”he fell down and died.” The Greek word ekpsucho literally means “to breathe one’s last, to die.” It is very important to note that Peter did not kill Ananias, nor did he ask the Holy Spirit to kill him. Peter condemned the lying and the Spirit of God executed judgment.
(Acts 5:7-8) Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter answered her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?" She said, "Yes, for so much." (NKJV)
Peter gave Sapphira the chance to come clean, to tell the truth. She chose to live out a lie. No man can wear one mask to himself and another to the multitudes for any considerable time without finally getting confused as to which one is the true one.
Acts 5:9) Then Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out." (NKJV)
To test God is to see how much one can get away with before God will respond or act according to His word. I will testify to this. For many years I was in service to our Lord and the Church and at the same time, I lived a lie. Mocking God right to His face daily, until the wrath of God was upon me. Nothing in this world could stop God’s correction in my life. Just like Ananias, I am dead to my old life, dead to my family, dead to old friends. Because of His great love, I am now alive in Christ Jesus. Ananias and I have this in common: The entire direction of our lies was wrong thinking about God and His judgments; self-serving, church-destroying and to put it simply…SINFUL.
“The LORD doesn’t make decisions the way you and I do! People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at a person’s thoughts and intentions” 1 Samuel 16:7 NLT Jesus said in Luke 16:15, “You like to look good in public, but God knows your evil hearts. What this world honors is an abomination in the sight of God”. NLT
Ananias, Sapphira and I mocked God, lied to Him and thought we could get away with it, as if God would not know or that He really wouldn’t care about our sins.
(Acts 5:10) Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. (NKJV)
This serves as a warning to the Church that no one should mess with the Holy Spirit, that we should live a right life and not take lightly telling the truth.
Acts 5:11) So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. (NKJV)
This is the first time the word “Church”, ecclesia, meaning “assembly” is in the book of Acts. It will become the regular word for the universal church and local church in the remainder of the Book. (Acts 7:38, 8:1, 9:31, 11:22, 13:1, 14:23, 15:22, 15:41, 16:5, 20:28)
Saints, some read the account of Ananias and Sapphira being struck down and accuse God of being harsh. “I thought God was supposed to be loving and forgiving. I thought all that wrath stuff was for Old Testament times.” With an over emphasis on grace and mercy, it’s so easy to overlook the equally important truth of God’s holiness. We must remember that God has not changed! (Malachi 3:6) He still hates sin as much as He ever did. He is offended when His own people cut moral corners and try to hide behind the cloak of forgiveness. Thus, sinning Christians were removed from fellowship in order to preserve the purity of the Church. I believe that God knew that the Church could not survive unless its people had high standards for themselves. Believers should be honest in private as well as in public. Ephesians 4:25 says “so put away all falsehood and tell your neighbor the truth because we belong to each other”. We must be careful in an age of marketing the Church and trying to make the Gospel user friendly, that we do not skim over this truth: God is to be feared! It is true that He is a God rich in love and mercy; but it is also true that He hates and judges sin. The Good News of the Gospel is that because of what Christ has done on our behalf, we can come boldly into the very presence of God (Hebrews 4:16). Remember Church that God is Holy!
UPDATES:
Thank you for all of the prayers for jobs to come in. At this time, we have work for the next year. Things are good in the shop. My boss is a big support when it comes to my attendance at “group”. I am now part-time so I can focus every morning on going to class and doing the home work. He is willing to invest time so that we (inmates) have the best chance possible to get out.
Two months in on “group” and we have gotten past Core Curriculum. Now we move into the hard stuff: our crimes, what we did, why we did it and how not to offend again. So keep us in your prayers. It is not easy to dig into shameful and painful things we have done. At the same time, I can see our Lord working in me through this system, forming me into the man He wants me to become. PTL!
My son Bishop turned 18 last month. So please pray for reconciliation. If you are reading this Bishop, I love you and look forward to talking with you. Forgiveness is found in Jesus. I am sorry for what I did to you and the family~~Dad
Saints, I pray for you and love you. Remember; it is a life journey to understand that God will not disappoint. There is soul healing in God’s loving Word and in the Church of Messiah’s Misfits. Remember my chains as I remember yours. Watch. Hold fast in the faith. Be brave and be strong to the end. Let all that you do, be done in love!
Semper Fidelis!
Phish Bowl Coffee House, P.O. Box 153, Loveland, CO 80539.
http://inthephishbowl.blogspot.com
An outreach of Calvary Chapel Loveland
While for many, the holiday season is hard, please remember that we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ who was sent as the Savior for the entire world. He wants that NO ONE should die, but that all would have life in Him. Shout to the LORD and let Him know how grateful you are for the chance to be alive in Jesus!
MERRY CHRISTMAS to all of you! Each of you are important to Phish Bowl Ministries, but more importantly, to Him. Blessings!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
PBM Nov 2011
Phish Bowl Ministries
November 2011
Matthew 4:19
“Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”
Dear Saints,
I pray that you are open to our Lord’s calling in your life. Over the last 6 months, I have been birthed into a new awakening in my role as a Doulos (slave) of Christ, which of course, is still a work in progress. I see many of the pieces some of which are clear and some are not, and He is still working out the “hows”. I feel at times as though I’m a kid at Christmas knowing that the next gift is the real cool one and after opening it, finding out how to use it. I’ve hoped to show you how Jesus is working in my life, but I don’t feel that I have done a great job of it.
The first part was “Coming out of my Tomb” and the second part is “Love”. The work which God is doing in me is so cool! He is showing me how to live, love and serve the Church and world daily, as a doulos, which brought me to 1 Corinthians 13. Now I’ve written too many Phish Bowls about my tomb time, so I hope that you will forgive me if we set that aside and move on to the Holy Spirit telling me “I want you to love and serve the saints in the truth”. He wants me to love them as they are now, not with the attitude of “if they would only grow up”; just love them here today, right now, right here. So as I sat down last month to write, I asked God two things: “How do I write so that the Saints will be able to apply your Word to their walk” and “How do I write in a way that points back to you”? At that time, 1 Corinthians 13 was put on my heart and it read to my heart, “Is this not how Jesus walked with the people? Is this not what our Lord does with us daily?” I will speak for myself and say “Yes, my Lord loves me, in spite of myself”!
Phish Bowl Ministries is a call to live holy and serve the Saints. Our mission statement starts off with “Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”. In our Bible verse, Matthew 4:19, Jesus said to them, “Come with me! I will teach you how to bring in people instead of fish”. (C.E.V.) I’m not here to tell you how or where to fish, but to fish! What is your fish bowl: home, work, soccer games, motorcycles, or golf? The list goes on and on. We can all do something to touch the world with the love of Jesus and just going to church on Saturday or Sunday and/or cutting a check is not all that we can do. Those are just the start. Jesus came to serve not to be served, so we need to serve. We are to serve in the spirit of love!
The world confuses love and lust; often so do believers. Unlike lust, God’s kind of love is directed outwardly towards others, not inwardly towards one’s self. It is completely unselfish. This kind of love goes against natural inclinations. It is possible to practice this love only if God helps us set aside our own desires and instincts so that we can give love while expecting nothing in return; thus the more we become like Christ the more love we will show to others.
(1 Corinthians 13:1-4) Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; (NKJV)
We are picking up where we left off last month. Please keep in mind how the Gospel showed us Jesus’ walk and how to apply it to our own walk. Ask yourself, “Do I or don’t I… XYZ”?
(Love): it does not envy: The envious person desires what another person has. The seed of envy can lead to anger and hatred. Those who are too busy envying each others’ gifts are unlikely to be using their own gifts in loving service to God and others. When we are stuck in envy, we are stuck in self-centeredness, self-focus, feeling sorry for ourselves. By doing this it is impossible to fulfill our God given role in the Church family.
(Love): It does not boast it is not proud: While some believers may have a problem with envy, others seem to have a problem with pride. Some Saints like to boast of what they have done or are doing, directing their energy towards themselves. Their service becomes not a tool of love for other, but self-achievement. They fail to point to God. Instead, they act as if someone should thank them over and over when we are the one who should be thanking God for letting us serve the Saints.
1 Corinthians 13:5) does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; (NKJV)
(Love): It is not self-seeking: Saints who are self-seeking seem to always want their own way. They are selfish, self-centered, wanting what they think is best. This is not God’s way. Saints need to use their gifts to serve others first, without self or selfish desires getting in the way.
(Love): It is not easily angered: Now look at this again. It does not say angered. It says “easily” angered. Do you find yourself “touchy”, “irritable” or “a bit overly sensitive”? Do people get on your last and only nerve? This is not the way of love. Saints should be able to serve one another with some latitude to follow God as they see fit.
(Love): It keeps no record of wrongs: Some Saints will remember every offense against them. Their offenses are not the big one that we bring up to the church to settle. No, these are minor ones---misunderstandings between believers. Love makes room for people’s flaws and willingly forgets these infractions. This then frees all of the Saints to grow and mature in Christ and to grow in their ability and comfort to serve the body. When toes are stepped on, when feelings are hurt, when that one Saint is just not loveable right now, love chooses to over look the problem and allow us to pass on the grace which God gives us to our fellow believer. Remember 2 Corinthians 5:19 tells us that “God keeps no records of believer’s wrongs”.
Some might be saying, “Timothy, are you taking the body’s inventory?” No, I just had to look inside of myself to see all of these short comings. As we are growing in our walk, we should be moving forward in some areas. It is not my job nor your pastor’s job to point this out to you. I have found that I already know in my heart what is not pleasing to our Lord. The Holy Spirit has convicted me of it. However, 1 Corinthians 13 tells us about a common thread of our fallen nature that all believers have. Paul wrote to not just one Corinthian, but to the Church as a whole. As it applied then, so does it apply today. I see it in me and I see it in my church (FCF). As a Doulos of Christ, my role is to serve my Master with J.O.Y. (Jesus, Others, You). I would hope that the Phish Bowl family would be a light in their own Phish Bowls. After Jesus washed the Disciples’ feet, He told them to go and do likewise. He showed us how to love, how to serve, how we are to live and yet so many Saints refuse to do our Lord’s (Master, King) will in our life. Next month… I Corinthians 13: 6-8.
So, last month, I touched on “Group” or “SOTMP” treatment. I’m now starting my second month. First month was CORE. I missed 3 on my test. I have learned about some thinking errors I have had for a long time. We are moving on to “The Road to Recovery” and “Disclosures”. I will be in “Phase One” for 6-9 months and will have met Phase One requirements. Then I need to wait for a bed at Arrowhead facility where I will do “Phase Two” which is a one to three year or more program. It goes back over Phase One information in more detail and they also look at us over a longer period of time to make sure that we’re OK to reenter the world.
*Work has been good…There’s a lot to do! Keep us all in your prayers and pray that I will lead as a man of God and not as a Marine. I know that the men like it better.
*I’ve lost 6 pounds which isn’t that good. I’ve been talking to Peter about a winter work out program. Pray about this one. I need help! As Barb told me…get outside!
Also, pray for Barb as she has a lot on her plate these days. Not to mention that she has to decipher my chicken scratch and get this out to you all.
Saints, I pray for you and love you. Remember: It is a life journey understanding that God will NOT disappoint us! There is soul healing in God’s loving Word and in the Church of Messiah’s Misfits. Remember my chains as I remember yours. Watch. Hold fast in the faith. Be brave and be strong to the end. Let all that you do, be done in love!
Semper fidelis!
Phish Bowl Coffee House, P.O. Box 153, Loveland, CO 80539.
http://inthephishbowl.blogspot.com
An outreach of Calvary Chapel Loveland
November 2011
Matthew 4:19
“Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”
Dear Saints,
I pray that you are open to our Lord’s calling in your life. Over the last 6 months, I have been birthed into a new awakening in my role as a Doulos (slave) of Christ, which of course, is still a work in progress. I see many of the pieces some of which are clear and some are not, and He is still working out the “hows”. I feel at times as though I’m a kid at Christmas knowing that the next gift is the real cool one and after opening it, finding out how to use it. I’ve hoped to show you how Jesus is working in my life, but I don’t feel that I have done a great job of it.
The first part was “Coming out of my Tomb” and the second part is “Love”. The work which God is doing in me is so cool! He is showing me how to live, love and serve the Church and world daily, as a doulos, which brought me to 1 Corinthians 13. Now I’ve written too many Phish Bowls about my tomb time, so I hope that you will forgive me if we set that aside and move on to the Holy Spirit telling me “I want you to love and serve the saints in the truth”. He wants me to love them as they are now, not with the attitude of “if they would only grow up”; just love them here today, right now, right here. So as I sat down last month to write, I asked God two things: “How do I write so that the Saints will be able to apply your Word to their walk” and “How do I write in a way that points back to you”? At that time, 1 Corinthians 13 was put on my heart and it read to my heart, “Is this not how Jesus walked with the people? Is this not what our Lord does with us daily?” I will speak for myself and say “Yes, my Lord loves me, in spite of myself”!
Phish Bowl Ministries is a call to live holy and serve the Saints. Our mission statement starts off with “Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”. In our Bible verse, Matthew 4:19, Jesus said to them, “Come with me! I will teach you how to bring in people instead of fish”. (C.E.V.) I’m not here to tell you how or where to fish, but to fish! What is your fish bowl: home, work, soccer games, motorcycles, or golf? The list goes on and on. We can all do something to touch the world with the love of Jesus and just going to church on Saturday or Sunday and/or cutting a check is not all that we can do. Those are just the start. Jesus came to serve not to be served, so we need to serve. We are to serve in the spirit of love!
The world confuses love and lust; often so do believers. Unlike lust, God’s kind of love is directed outwardly towards others, not inwardly towards one’s self. It is completely unselfish. This kind of love goes against natural inclinations. It is possible to practice this love only if God helps us set aside our own desires and instincts so that we can give love while expecting nothing in return; thus the more we become like Christ the more love we will show to others.
(1 Corinthians 13:1-4) Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; (NKJV)
We are picking up where we left off last month. Please keep in mind how the Gospel showed us Jesus’ walk and how to apply it to our own walk. Ask yourself, “Do I or don’t I… XYZ”?
(Love): it does not envy: The envious person desires what another person has. The seed of envy can lead to anger and hatred. Those who are too busy envying each others’ gifts are unlikely to be using their own gifts in loving service to God and others. When we are stuck in envy, we are stuck in self-centeredness, self-focus, feeling sorry for ourselves. By doing this it is impossible to fulfill our God given role in the Church family.
(Love): It does not boast it is not proud: While some believers may have a problem with envy, others seem to have a problem with pride. Some Saints like to boast of what they have done or are doing, directing their energy towards themselves. Their service becomes not a tool of love for other, but self-achievement. They fail to point to God. Instead, they act as if someone should thank them over and over when we are the one who should be thanking God for letting us serve the Saints.
1 Corinthians 13:5) does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; (NKJV)
(Love): It is not self-seeking: Saints who are self-seeking seem to always want their own way. They are selfish, self-centered, wanting what they think is best. This is not God’s way. Saints need to use their gifts to serve others first, without self or selfish desires getting in the way.
(Love): It is not easily angered: Now look at this again. It does not say angered. It says “easily” angered. Do you find yourself “touchy”, “irritable” or “a bit overly sensitive”? Do people get on your last and only nerve? This is not the way of love. Saints should be able to serve one another with some latitude to follow God as they see fit.
(Love): It keeps no record of wrongs: Some Saints will remember every offense against them. Their offenses are not the big one that we bring up to the church to settle. No, these are minor ones---misunderstandings between believers. Love makes room for people’s flaws and willingly forgets these infractions. This then frees all of the Saints to grow and mature in Christ and to grow in their ability and comfort to serve the body. When toes are stepped on, when feelings are hurt, when that one Saint is just not loveable right now, love chooses to over look the problem and allow us to pass on the grace which God gives us to our fellow believer. Remember 2 Corinthians 5:19 tells us that “God keeps no records of believer’s wrongs”.
Some might be saying, “Timothy, are you taking the body’s inventory?” No, I just had to look inside of myself to see all of these short comings. As we are growing in our walk, we should be moving forward in some areas. It is not my job nor your pastor’s job to point this out to you. I have found that I already know in my heart what is not pleasing to our Lord. The Holy Spirit has convicted me of it. However, 1 Corinthians 13 tells us about a common thread of our fallen nature that all believers have. Paul wrote to not just one Corinthian, but to the Church as a whole. As it applied then, so does it apply today. I see it in me and I see it in my church (FCF). As a Doulos of Christ, my role is to serve my Master with J.O.Y. (Jesus, Others, You). I would hope that the Phish Bowl family would be a light in their own Phish Bowls. After Jesus washed the Disciples’ feet, He told them to go and do likewise. He showed us how to love, how to serve, how we are to live and yet so many Saints refuse to do our Lord’s (Master, King) will in our life. Next month… I Corinthians 13: 6-8.
So, last month, I touched on “Group” or “SOTMP” treatment. I’m now starting my second month. First month was CORE. I missed 3 on my test. I have learned about some thinking errors I have had for a long time. We are moving on to “The Road to Recovery” and “Disclosures”. I will be in “Phase One” for 6-9 months and will have met Phase One requirements. Then I need to wait for a bed at Arrowhead facility where I will do “Phase Two” which is a one to three year or more program. It goes back over Phase One information in more detail and they also look at us over a longer period of time to make sure that we’re OK to reenter the world.
*Work has been good…There’s a lot to do! Keep us all in your prayers and pray that I will lead as a man of God and not as a Marine. I know that the men like it better.
*I’ve lost 6 pounds which isn’t that good. I’ve been talking to Peter about a winter work out program. Pray about this one. I need help! As Barb told me…get outside!
Also, pray for Barb as she has a lot on her plate these days. Not to mention that she has to decipher my chicken scratch and get this out to you all.
Saints, I pray for you and love you. Remember: It is a life journey understanding that God will NOT disappoint us! There is soul healing in God’s loving Word and in the Church of Messiah’s Misfits. Remember my chains as I remember yours. Watch. Hold fast in the faith. Be brave and be strong to the end. Let all that you do, be done in love!
Semper fidelis!
Phish Bowl Coffee House, P.O. Box 153, Loveland, CO 80539.
http://inthephishbowl.blogspot.com
An outreach of Calvary Chapel Loveland
Saturday, September 24, 2011
October 2011 PBM
Phish Bowl Ministries
October 2011
Matthew 4:19
“Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”
My beloved Saints of the Church, how are you? I pray for you all and ask our Lord to reveal Himself as a light that draws you to know Him better. I have a thirst to be a man of God. I long to hear “Good and faithful servant”; the truth be said, I’m not good or faithful and neither are you, if we are honest with ourselves. But, I’m so glad God the Father, when He looks at me, sees Jesus and His work. So I also ask when looking at each other that we see Jesus; let’s see any light. Let us see life, not death in our brothers and sisters. It’s so easy to spend the long nights going over every little thing. Do you know that your Father in Heaven is not doing this? He loves you and so do I.
If you have been following P.B. newsletter over the past month you can see that I have spent long nights going over every little thing. What you saw in my writing was soul sickness brought on by a love deficiency in my heart. I’m not talking in a world view, but a spiritual view. So I wish to share what love did to bring me out of the tomb, back into the Light and out of despair. It is a giving, selfless, expect-nothing-in return king of love. Let’s read 1 Corinthians 13 together:
(1 Corinthians 13:1-13) Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (NKJV)
In 13:1, we learn that great faith, acts of dedication or sacrifice, miracle-working power, or the ability to speak in any language in heaven or earth will produce very little without love. Although people have different gifts, love is available to everyone. Christians must not exalt gifts over character. Love is far more important.
13:2: Here we have three gifts mentioned:
1. Prophecy: the ability to bring God’s message to the church under the directive of the Holy Spirit. See also 1 Corinthians 14:3: But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. (NKJV)
2. Knowledge: While all believers ought to study in order to understand more and be able to teach others about why we believe, knowledge is nothing without love.
3. Faith: I do not believe that Paul is talking about saving faith here, but the faith to live out a life for God. You cannot live a Christian life void of love because it will be empty.
What does patient love among believers look like? Such love bears with annoyances and inconveniences without complaining. Such love does not lose its temper when provoked. Without Godly love in us, we will be impatient, short-tempered and irritable.
Love is kind. The Greek word translated “is kind”, Chrestevetai, occurs only here in the New Testament. “Kindness”, chrestotes, occurs in Galatians 5:27. It probably means the same as a similar word also translated as “kind” in Ephesians 4:32. “Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ, has forgiven you”. (NLT) Kindness takes the initiation in responding generously to others’ needs. The psalms and writings of the prophets say much about God’s kindness: (Psalm 18:50: Great deliverance He gives to His king, and shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants forevermore.; Isaiah 54:8 With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you," Says the LORD, your Redeemer. ; Jeremiah 9:24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the LORD.) Since we, as believers, have received kindness, we have the opportunity to act with kindness towards others. How does “kind love” look among believers? Such love is considerate and helpful to others.
13:3: Acts of charity and self-sacrifice can be for the sake of an ideal or with pride as a motivation. However, they are of no value for the kingdom, wrote Paul, unless they are done from the foundation of love for another. Now we move on to a list which we are going to break into two teachings. This month we will study “love is patient, love is kind and it does not envy”. I want us to think about each one and know more about them and why the Holy Spirit listed them as our foundation.
13:4: Love is patient or longsuffering in the KJV. Because love is so important among the believers, Paul went on to describe that love in more detail. How does love look when lived out in the lives of believers? First of all, love is patient. The term “is patient”, makrothumei, is the opposite of being short-tempered. “Long-suffering” or “slow to anger” is an attribute of God. Exodus 34:6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,; Numbers 14:18 'The LORD is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.'; Romans 2:4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?; 1 Peter 3:20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. In many places, God’s people are called to be patient, Ephesians 4:2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,; Colossians 3:12: Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 1 Thessalonians 5:14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all., and in Galatians 5:26, patience is a fruit of the Spirit.
Kind love is gentle and mild; always ready to show compassion, especially to those in need. Without love, even the great gifts can not be exercised with an eye to helping others.
So let’s stop there for now. Next month we will pick back up in 1 Cor 13:4 and finish off this list. Before we leave, let us take a quick look at 1 John. In five short chapters, John uses different forms of the word love 46 times. He wanted to teach his readers the importance of love in the Christian walk.
1 John
2:5, 5:2-3 Keeping God’s Word is proof that we love God.
2:10 When we love our brothers (sisters), we will live without stumbling.
2:15 We are not to love the world or the things in the world.
We cannot love the world and love God also.
3:1, 16; 4:9-11 God’s love prompted Him to make us His children through the death of
His Son.
3:11, 16, 23 Loving other believers is a fundamental requirement of the Christian
4:4, 11, 12 life.
3:10, 14; A failure to love other Christians raises serious questions about the
4:8, 20 genuineness of our faith.
3: 17-18 Genuine love always results in action, not merely sentimental words.
4: 7, 16 God is the source of all love.
4: 17,18 Mature love does not produce fear but instead, imparts courage.
4: 19 Long before we loved God, He loved us first.
As a doulos of Christ, one of my duties is to love my Master’s Church and to show that love, just as my Master shows me love. This includes not bad talking any of the saints and beating me up day and night. If God love me and knows me just where I am at, who am I not to love the spirit in me?
Most of you know that I am a convicted sex offender. Well, this week, I started “group”, a 6-9 month class that is required for me to take before I’m eligible for any parole. Please keep me in your prayers as I learn, apply and pass all requirements.
(Editor’s note: I thought the program was a 2 year program, so praise God that I am wrong!)
Please Saints remember it is a life long journey to understand that God’s will won’t disappoint us. There is soul healing in God’s loving Word and the church of the Messiah’s Misfits. Remember my chains as I remember yours. Watch. Hold fast in the faith. Be brave and be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
A message from one of Kevin’s teachings: Pollution corrupts externally; corruption pollutes internally. Just food for thought. Barb
Semper Fidelis!
1 Corinthians 16:13-14
Phish Bowl Coffee House, P.O. Box 153, Loveland, CO 80539.
http://inthephishbowl.blogspot.com
An outreach of Calvary Chapel Loveland
October 2011
Matthew 4:19
“Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”
My beloved Saints of the Church, how are you? I pray for you all and ask our Lord to reveal Himself as a light that draws you to know Him better. I have a thirst to be a man of God. I long to hear “Good and faithful servant”; the truth be said, I’m not good or faithful and neither are you, if we are honest with ourselves. But, I’m so glad God the Father, when He looks at me, sees Jesus and His work. So I also ask when looking at each other that we see Jesus; let’s see any light. Let us see life, not death in our brothers and sisters. It’s so easy to spend the long nights going over every little thing. Do you know that your Father in Heaven is not doing this? He loves you and so do I.
If you have been following P.B. newsletter over the past month you can see that I have spent long nights going over every little thing. What you saw in my writing was soul sickness brought on by a love deficiency in my heart. I’m not talking in a world view, but a spiritual view. So I wish to share what love did to bring me out of the tomb, back into the Light and out of despair. It is a giving, selfless, expect-nothing-in return king of love. Let’s read 1 Corinthians 13 together:
(1 Corinthians 13:1-13) Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (NKJV)
In 13:1, we learn that great faith, acts of dedication or sacrifice, miracle-working power, or the ability to speak in any language in heaven or earth will produce very little without love. Although people have different gifts, love is available to everyone. Christians must not exalt gifts over character. Love is far more important.
13:2: Here we have three gifts mentioned:
1. Prophecy: the ability to bring God’s message to the church under the directive of the Holy Spirit. See also 1 Corinthians 14:3: But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. (NKJV)
2. Knowledge: While all believers ought to study in order to understand more and be able to teach others about why we believe, knowledge is nothing without love.
3. Faith: I do not believe that Paul is talking about saving faith here, but the faith to live out a life for God. You cannot live a Christian life void of love because it will be empty.
What does patient love among believers look like? Such love bears with annoyances and inconveniences without complaining. Such love does not lose its temper when provoked. Without Godly love in us, we will be impatient, short-tempered and irritable.
Love is kind. The Greek word translated “is kind”, Chrestevetai, occurs only here in the New Testament. “Kindness”, chrestotes, occurs in Galatians 5:27. It probably means the same as a similar word also translated as “kind” in Ephesians 4:32. “Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ, has forgiven you”. (NLT) Kindness takes the initiation in responding generously to others’ needs. The psalms and writings of the prophets say much about God’s kindness: (Psalm 18:50: Great deliverance He gives to His king, and shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants forevermore.; Isaiah 54:8 With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you," Says the LORD, your Redeemer. ; Jeremiah 9:24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the LORD.) Since we, as believers, have received kindness, we have the opportunity to act with kindness towards others. How does “kind love” look among believers? Such love is considerate and helpful to others.
13:3: Acts of charity and self-sacrifice can be for the sake of an ideal or with pride as a motivation. However, they are of no value for the kingdom, wrote Paul, unless they are done from the foundation of love for another. Now we move on to a list which we are going to break into two teachings. This month we will study “love is patient, love is kind and it does not envy”. I want us to think about each one and know more about them and why the Holy Spirit listed them as our foundation.
13:4: Love is patient or longsuffering in the KJV. Because love is so important among the believers, Paul went on to describe that love in more detail. How does love look when lived out in the lives of believers? First of all, love is patient. The term “is patient”, makrothumei, is the opposite of being short-tempered. “Long-suffering” or “slow to anger” is an attribute of God. Exodus 34:6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,; Numbers 14:18 'The LORD is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.'; Romans 2:4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?; 1 Peter 3:20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. In many places, God’s people are called to be patient, Ephesians 4:2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,; Colossians 3:12: Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 1 Thessalonians 5:14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all., and in Galatians 5:26, patience is a fruit of the Spirit.
Kind love is gentle and mild; always ready to show compassion, especially to those in need. Without love, even the great gifts can not be exercised with an eye to helping others.
So let’s stop there for now. Next month we will pick back up in 1 Cor 13:4 and finish off this list. Before we leave, let us take a quick look at 1 John. In five short chapters, John uses different forms of the word love 46 times. He wanted to teach his readers the importance of love in the Christian walk.
1 John
2:5, 5:2-3 Keeping God’s Word is proof that we love God.
2:10 When we love our brothers (sisters), we will live without stumbling.
2:15 We are not to love the world or the things in the world.
We cannot love the world and love God also.
3:1, 16; 4:9-11 God’s love prompted Him to make us His children through the death of
His Son.
3:11, 16, 23 Loving other believers is a fundamental requirement of the Christian
4:4, 11, 12 life.
3:10, 14; A failure to love other Christians raises serious questions about the
4:8, 20 genuineness of our faith.
3: 17-18 Genuine love always results in action, not merely sentimental words.
4: 7, 16 God is the source of all love.
4: 17,18 Mature love does not produce fear but instead, imparts courage.
4: 19 Long before we loved God, He loved us first.
As a doulos of Christ, one of my duties is to love my Master’s Church and to show that love, just as my Master shows me love. This includes not bad talking any of the saints and beating me up day and night. If God love me and knows me just where I am at, who am I not to love the spirit in me?
Most of you know that I am a convicted sex offender. Well, this week, I started “group”, a 6-9 month class that is required for me to take before I’m eligible for any parole. Please keep me in your prayers as I learn, apply and pass all requirements.
(Editor’s note: I thought the program was a 2 year program, so praise God that I am wrong!)
Please Saints remember it is a life long journey to understand that God’s will won’t disappoint us. There is soul healing in God’s loving Word and the church of the Messiah’s Misfits. Remember my chains as I remember yours. Watch. Hold fast in the faith. Be brave and be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
A message from one of Kevin’s teachings: Pollution corrupts externally; corruption pollutes internally. Just food for thought. Barb
Semper Fidelis!
1 Corinthians 16:13-14
Phish Bowl Coffee House, P.O. Box 153, Loveland, CO 80539.
http://inthephishbowl.blogspot.com
An outreach of Calvary Chapel Loveland
September 2011 PBM
Phish Bowl Ministries
September 2011
Matthew 4:19
“Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”
My dear friends, I thank you for all of your prayers and concerns about how I am doing. I hope to speak clearly about the five year mark in prison. For many of us, the five year blues hit very hard. You wake up not wanting to start another day in what has become our world, our life. We ask God if He is ever going to hear our prayers and when will the answer come? It’s not always just one thing; we have many different things on our minds that hurt, such as: the memories of our kids. My daughter, Brontë turned 16 on the first. For most of us, thoughts of what we have done and what we are still doing to our kids because of putting ourselves first runs through our minds. So, we call out to Jesus and ask, beg, for relief.
So I take this and other stuff to the cross. I know the Word. I read the Word. I remind myself of God’s perfect plan daily. Still, I feel as if I’m Lazarus waiting in the tomb for my Lord to call me out from the dead to a life with the living, to a transformed new me. My favorite game to play with God is telling Him: “If only I was free, I could do this or that.” I remind Him of what kind of husband, father, and church-man I would be and how the world somehow is less without me.
My beloved, your concerns and soul-sickness may not be the same as mine, but something else might be bringing to your soul a dis-ease, a longing for something different from the life you’ve been living so far. We need Jesus’ help just as Lazarus did. When we find ourselves sick and tired of being sick and tired, only God’s help will do. The same breath that filled the life of Lazarus and brought him back, can and will do the same for us, to you and to me. The same sickness, the sickness of thinking we can earn God’s love. The thinking that if God would only work the way I want Him to, all would be just right.
So, I told you all last month, that I was in the desert looking for God…our loving God let me go. I packed my bags; I picked what to take and how to get there. I cried out to God, “I’m dying! Where are you? Why won’t You help me? Have I sinned so badly that I’m beyond Your love?” “God is kind, but He’s not soft. In kindness, He takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into radical life change.” Romans 2:4 MSG. What had to change is my image of God. I did not leave to go to the desert; I was coming out of it. Slowly, I let unbiblical thinking have a place in my mind.
“A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” Galatians 5:9
My image of God and how He works with His children was not the true God. So, I, in my power, in my thinking, left the loving God of the bible to live in the land of the if-thens:
If I was good enough, then…
If I was committed, then …
If I would read the right book, then…
If I was someone I was not, then…
One by one, each fell short and I retreated more and more into loneliness. First came walking to chow alone, then eating at a table without my friends, finding reasons to miss yard call, then a full out retreat from fellowship. I crawled back into my Lazarus tomb (my cell) and back into darkness.
What started this was my thinking of God’s timing and how He works. I put God on my time table. Then, I kept returning to my vacation home in the land of “what-ifs”. I abandoned what I knew was true and went so far away from it that I could no longer remember what it looked like until a friend asked me how I was doing and would not take the 10 minute cover story. He said, “That all sounds good, but I did not ask you how things are going around you. I asked, how are you?”
I was reading my bible daily, in service to the church body, and was in church 5 days a week. I was lonely because I turned from the Truth of a loving God and did not let close friends be in fellowship with me.
I know that God’s timing was not my timing in my mind, but now I had to apply what I knew about waiting to be transformed and His plans for me and for my family, to my walk.
God did not wake up this morning asking Moses, “How did Timothy Nathanael, my doulos get in prison”? God did not plan my sin, but He is making provision for its consequences. Including Brontë’ and Bishop having to grow up without their father. My father in Heaven knows how I feel; He watched 33 of Jesus’ birthdays from afar. Picture this as Mary and Martha sat with Lazarus. I wonder if they thought about what they did know about their friend, Jesus.
One thing that they knew about Jesus is that He did not hurry to get to Lazarus. From the age of twelve until the age of thirty, He remained quiet from the needy world---thirty years! We might consider this and think what a waste of time! During this time, as far as we knew, Jesus was growing up to be a carpenter. But what we need to know is this, when God saw fit to announce Jesus’ ministry, and not before, Jesus appeared in the “fullness of time”.
Jesus still works out our time. The word “time” in Scripture has two meanings in Greek. Chronos is literally time which can be counted on. This is where we get the word chronology. The other word for time is Kairos. Kairos time is far different than chronos time; it is “the appointed time in the purpose of God”. It is a “time in between” when God breaks through.
On the hot day in Bethany when Lazarus died, no plea from the begging sisters or concerned disciples could move Jesus to operate in their human chronos time table. They had to wait for the karios moment. Until that moment, Jesus would linger, Lazarus would die. I’m a lot like Mary and Martha; I have in mind the chronos time when Jesus should arrive. I seem to find it hard to understand that transformation is a slow process, on God’s timetable.
Consider this: The Potter forming clay on a wheel works and reworks the clay. He shapes the clay until it is transformed into His desired image. This is not a fast process. It’s not meant to be a fast process. It’s loving, intentional, deliberate, and purposeful. It may look slow from our point of view, but the Potter has had the timing in mind all along. Our Potter is Jesus and He knows all about kairos. Keep this in mind. In the end we will see beautiful workmanship because the Potter waited for just the right time.
Transformation is slow, not because God does not love us, but because God has a greater purpose in mind. Has it crossed your mind that God just might want you to be transformed more than you want to be transformed? As we go on in Lazarus’ story, Jesus tells His disciples that Lazarus’ illness was “for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it”. John 11:4
Glory talk goes on beyond our view point, beyond our time tables and beyond what we think is best. It allows God to break through at the most unusual time. Glory talk happens when God does something big and gets the credit which at times is the hard thing to understand whether you’re behind bars or when we’re in a crisis and just need God to show up. But, I do know this; when God seems distant and quiet, it becomes the fodder for fire in which glory begins to burn brightly.
It’s ironic that the times when God seems most absent can be the times when we get to know Him better. We read in Romans 5:5 that “hope does not disappoint us”. As our desperate heart cries out to the lingering Jesus, we wonder what kind of hope that could be. It’s in those moments God is birthing a new hope in us; a hope in who He is, not a hope in who we want Him to be.
Please Saints remember, it is a life long journey to understand that God’s will, will not disappoint us.
Glory is brooding, glory is about to be unleashed.
We can find healing in God’s loving arms and in a church full of Messiah’s Misfits. Remember my chains as I remember yours. Watch. Hold fast in the faith. Be brave and be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
Semper Fidelis!
Love, Timothy
Phish Bowl Ministries, P.O. Box 153, Loveland, CO 80539.
http://inthephishbowl.blogspot.com
An outreach of Calvary Chapel Loveland
September 2011
Matthew 4:19
“Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”
My dear friends, I thank you for all of your prayers and concerns about how I am doing. I hope to speak clearly about the five year mark in prison. For many of us, the five year blues hit very hard. You wake up not wanting to start another day in what has become our world, our life. We ask God if He is ever going to hear our prayers and when will the answer come? It’s not always just one thing; we have many different things on our minds that hurt, such as: the memories of our kids. My daughter, Brontë turned 16 on the first. For most of us, thoughts of what we have done and what we are still doing to our kids because of putting ourselves first runs through our minds. So, we call out to Jesus and ask, beg, for relief.
So I take this and other stuff to the cross. I know the Word. I read the Word. I remind myself of God’s perfect plan daily. Still, I feel as if I’m Lazarus waiting in the tomb for my Lord to call me out from the dead to a life with the living, to a transformed new me. My favorite game to play with God is telling Him: “If only I was free, I could do this or that.” I remind Him of what kind of husband, father, and church-man I would be and how the world somehow is less without me.
My beloved, your concerns and soul-sickness may not be the same as mine, but something else might be bringing to your soul a dis-ease, a longing for something different from the life you’ve been living so far. We need Jesus’ help just as Lazarus did. When we find ourselves sick and tired of being sick and tired, only God’s help will do. The same breath that filled the life of Lazarus and brought him back, can and will do the same for us, to you and to me. The same sickness, the sickness of thinking we can earn God’s love. The thinking that if God would only work the way I want Him to, all would be just right.
So, I told you all last month, that I was in the desert looking for God…our loving God let me go. I packed my bags; I picked what to take and how to get there. I cried out to God, “I’m dying! Where are you? Why won’t You help me? Have I sinned so badly that I’m beyond Your love?” “God is kind, but He’s not soft. In kindness, He takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into radical life change.” Romans 2:4 MSG. What had to change is my image of God. I did not leave to go to the desert; I was coming out of it. Slowly, I let unbiblical thinking have a place in my mind.
“A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” Galatians 5:9
My image of God and how He works with His children was not the true God. So, I, in my power, in my thinking, left the loving God of the bible to live in the land of the if-thens:
If I was good enough, then…
If I was committed, then …
If I would read the right book, then…
If I was someone I was not, then…
One by one, each fell short and I retreated more and more into loneliness. First came walking to chow alone, then eating at a table without my friends, finding reasons to miss yard call, then a full out retreat from fellowship. I crawled back into my Lazarus tomb (my cell) and back into darkness.
What started this was my thinking of God’s timing and how He works. I put God on my time table. Then, I kept returning to my vacation home in the land of “what-ifs”. I abandoned what I knew was true and went so far away from it that I could no longer remember what it looked like until a friend asked me how I was doing and would not take the 10 minute cover story. He said, “That all sounds good, but I did not ask you how things are going around you. I asked, how are you?”
I was reading my bible daily, in service to the church body, and was in church 5 days a week. I was lonely because I turned from the Truth of a loving God and did not let close friends be in fellowship with me.
I know that God’s timing was not my timing in my mind, but now I had to apply what I knew about waiting to be transformed and His plans for me and for my family, to my walk.
God did not wake up this morning asking Moses, “How did Timothy Nathanael, my doulos get in prison”? God did not plan my sin, but He is making provision for its consequences. Including Brontë’ and Bishop having to grow up without their father. My father in Heaven knows how I feel; He watched 33 of Jesus’ birthdays from afar. Picture this as Mary and Martha sat with Lazarus. I wonder if they thought about what they did know about their friend, Jesus.
One thing that they knew about Jesus is that He did not hurry to get to Lazarus. From the age of twelve until the age of thirty, He remained quiet from the needy world---thirty years! We might consider this and think what a waste of time! During this time, as far as we knew, Jesus was growing up to be a carpenter. But what we need to know is this, when God saw fit to announce Jesus’ ministry, and not before, Jesus appeared in the “fullness of time”.
Jesus still works out our time. The word “time” in Scripture has two meanings in Greek. Chronos is literally time which can be counted on. This is where we get the word chronology. The other word for time is Kairos. Kairos time is far different than chronos time; it is “the appointed time in the purpose of God”. It is a “time in between” when God breaks through.
On the hot day in Bethany when Lazarus died, no plea from the begging sisters or concerned disciples could move Jesus to operate in their human chronos time table. They had to wait for the karios moment. Until that moment, Jesus would linger, Lazarus would die. I’m a lot like Mary and Martha; I have in mind the chronos time when Jesus should arrive. I seem to find it hard to understand that transformation is a slow process, on God’s timetable.
Consider this: The Potter forming clay on a wheel works and reworks the clay. He shapes the clay until it is transformed into His desired image. This is not a fast process. It’s not meant to be a fast process. It’s loving, intentional, deliberate, and purposeful. It may look slow from our point of view, but the Potter has had the timing in mind all along. Our Potter is Jesus and He knows all about kairos. Keep this in mind. In the end we will see beautiful workmanship because the Potter waited for just the right time.
Transformation is slow, not because God does not love us, but because God has a greater purpose in mind. Has it crossed your mind that God just might want you to be transformed more than you want to be transformed? As we go on in Lazarus’ story, Jesus tells His disciples that Lazarus’ illness was “for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it”. John 11:4
Glory talk goes on beyond our view point, beyond our time tables and beyond what we think is best. It allows God to break through at the most unusual time. Glory talk happens when God does something big and gets the credit which at times is the hard thing to understand whether you’re behind bars or when we’re in a crisis and just need God to show up. But, I do know this; when God seems distant and quiet, it becomes the fodder for fire in which glory begins to burn brightly.
It’s ironic that the times when God seems most absent can be the times when we get to know Him better. We read in Romans 5:5 that “hope does not disappoint us”. As our desperate heart cries out to the lingering Jesus, we wonder what kind of hope that could be. It’s in those moments God is birthing a new hope in us; a hope in who He is, not a hope in who we want Him to be.
Please Saints remember, it is a life long journey to understand that God’s will, will not disappoint us.
Glory is brooding, glory is about to be unleashed.
We can find healing in God’s loving arms and in a church full of Messiah’s Misfits. Remember my chains as I remember yours. Watch. Hold fast in the faith. Be brave and be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
Semper Fidelis!
Love, Timothy
Phish Bowl Ministries, P.O. Box 153, Loveland, CO 80539.
http://inthephishbowl.blogspot.com
An outreach of Calvary Chapel Loveland
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Phish Bowl Ministries
September 2011
Matthew 4:19
“Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”
My dear friends, I thank you for all of your prayers and concerns about how I am doing. I hope to speak clearly about the five year mark in prison. For many of us, the five year blues hit very hard. You wake up not wanting to start another day in what has become our world, our life. We ask God if He is ever going to hear our prayers and when will the answer come? It’s not always just one thing; we have many different things on our minds that hurt, such as: the memories of our kids. My daughter, Brontë turned 16 on the first. For most of us, thoughts of what we have done and what we are still doing to our kids because of putting ourselves first runs through our minds. So, we call out to Jesus and ask, beg, for relief.
So I take this and other stuff to the cross. I know the Word. I read the Word. I remind myself of God’s perfect plan daily. Still, I feel as if I’m Lazarus waiting in the tomb for my Lord to call me out from the dead to a life with the living, to a transformed new me. My favorite game to play with God is telling Him: “If only I was free, I could do this or that.” I remind Him of what kind of husband, father, and church-man I would be and how the world somehow is less without me.
My beloved, your concerns and soul-sickness may not be the same as mine, but something else might be bringing to your soul a dis-ease, a longing for something different from the life you’ve been living so far. We need Jesus’ help just as Lazarus did. When we find ourselves sick and tired of being sick and tired, only God’s help will do. The same breath that filled the life of Lazarus and brought him back, can and will do the same for us, to you and to me. The same sickness, the sickness of thinking we can earn God’s love. The thinking that if God would only work the way I want Him to, all would be just right.
So, I told you all last month, that I was in the desert looking for God…our loving God let me go. I packed my bags; I picked what to take and how to get there. I cried out to God, “I’m dying! Where are you? Why won’t You help me? Have I sinned so badly that I’m beyond Your love?” “God is kind, but He’s not soft. In kindness, He takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into radical life change.” Romans 2:4 MSG. What had to change is my image of God. I did not leave to go to the desert; I was coming out of it. Slowly, I let unbiblical thinking have a place in my mind.
“A little leaven leavens the whole lump.” Galatians 5:9
My image of God and how He works with His children was not the true God. So, I, in my power, in my thinking, left the loving God of the bible to live in the land of the if-thens:
If I was good enough, then…
If I was committed, then …
If I would read the right book, then…
If I was someone I was not, then…
One by one, each fell short and I retreated more and more into loneliness. First came walking to chow alone, then eating at a table without my friends, finding reasons to miss yard call, then a full out retreat from fellowship. I crawled back into my Lazarus tomb (my cell) and back into darkness.
What started this was my thinking of God’s timing and how He works. I put God on my time table. Then, I kept returning to my vacation home in the land of “what-ifs”. I abandoned what I knew was true and went so far away from it that I could no longer remember what it looked like until a friend asked me how I was doing and would not take the 10 minute cover story. He said, “That all sounds good, but I did not ask you how things are going around you. I asked, how are you?”
I was reading my bible daily, in service to the church body, and was in church 5 days a week. I was lonely because I turned from the Truth of a loving God and did not let close friends be in fellowship with me.
I know that God’s timing was not my timing in my mind, but now I had to apply what I knew about waiting to be transformed and His plans for me and for my family, to my walk.
God did not wake up this morning asking Moses, “How did Timothy Nathanael, my doulos get in prison”? God did not plan my sin, but He is making provision for its consequences. Including Brontë’ and Bishop having to grow up without their father. My father in Heaven knows how I feel; He watched 33 of Jesus’ birthdays from afar. Picture this as Mary and Martha sat with Lazarus. I wonder if they thought about what they did know about their friend, Jesus.
One thing that they knew about Jesus is that He did not hurry to get to Lazarus. From the age of twelve until the age of thirty, He remained quiet from the needy world---thirty years! We might consider this and think what a waste of time! During this time, as far as we knew, Jesus was growing up to be a carpenter. But what we need to know is this, when God saw fit to announce Jesus’ ministry, and not before, Jesus appeared in the “fullness of time”.
Jesus still works out our time. The word “time” in Scripture has two meanings in Greek. Chronos is literally time which can be counted on. This is where we get the word chronology. The other word for time is Kairos. Kairos time is far different than chronos time; it is “the appointed time in the purpose of God”. It is a “time in between” when God breaks through.
On the hot day in Bethany when Lazarus died, no plea from the begging sisters or concerned disciples could move Jesus to operate in their human chronos time table. They had to wait for the karios moment. Until that moment, Jesus would linger, Lazarus would die. I’m a lot like Mary and Martha; I have in mind the chronos time when Jesus should arrive. I seem to find it hard to understand that transformation is a slow process, on God’s timetable.
Consider this: The Potter forming clay on a wheel works and reworks the clay. He shapes the clay until it is transformed into His desired image. This is not a fast process. It’s not meant to be a fast process. It’s loving, intentional, deliberate, and purposeful. It may look slow from our point of view, but the Potter has had the timing in mind all along. Our Potter is Jesus and He knows all about kairos. Keep this in mind. In the end we will see beautiful workmanship because the Potter waited for just the right time.
Transformation is slow, not because God does not love us, but because God has a greater purpose in mind. Has it crossed your mind that God just might want you to be transformed more than you want to be transformed? As we go on in Lazarus’ story, Jesus tells His disciples that Lazarus’ illness was “for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it”. John 11:4
Glory talk goes on beyond our view point, beyond our time tables and beyond what we think is best. It allows God to break through at the most unusual time. Glory talk happens when God does something big and gets the credit which at times is the hard thing to understand whether you’re behind bars or when we’re in a crisis and just need God to show up. But, I do know this; when God seems distant and quiet, it becomes the fodder for fire in which glory begins to burn brightly.
It’s ironic that the times when God seems most absent can be the times when we get to know Him better. We read in Romans 5:5 that “hope does not disappoint us”. As our desperate heart cries out to the lingering Jesus, we wonder what kind of hope that could be. It’s in those moments God is birthing a new hope in us; a hope in who He is, not a hope in who we want Him to be.
Please Saints remember, it is a life long journey to understand that God’s will, will not disappoint us.
Glory is brooding, glory is about to be unleashed.
We can find healing in God’s loving arms and in a church full of Messiah’s Misfits. Remember my chains as I remember yours. Watch. Hold fast in the faith. Be brave and be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
Semper Fidelis!
Phish Bowl Ministries, P.O. Box 153, Loveland, CO 80539.
http://inthephishbowl.blogspot.com
An outreach of Calvary Chapel Loveland
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Phish Bowl Ministries
August 2011
Matthew 4:19
“Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”
I, Timothy Nathaneal, a doulos of Christ, am blessed by our Lord, not in the way the world calls a blessing, but in the truth of the Bible. The world would call coming to prison a curse and would look at me and tell me God’s love is manifested in “things”. See I have “this” God’s love in me. When that “thing” is gone, it must mean that God is mad at me. No, this is not the God of the Bible. Now don’t lose me here. God does bless some of us with good “things”, He’s our Abba. As our Abba, He also corrects us when we have wronged Him. This is part of the relationship with a personal God. What I’m talking about is missing who God is in your life. We judge our walk with God by putting things into two boxes; first is “right” or “good” and the second one is “wrong” or “bad”. Fill the first box and we judge ourselves as being okay and we do this by looking at others around us or by some set of man-made rules. However, instead of doing this every morning, we must awaken knowing that Jesus Christ is living in us and then we know that because of Him that we are right. It is not by our deeds, but by His work on the cross. So then knowing this, the next step is God’s will for us today, not in days past where we did not do so great or in some future point, but now, today. We miss the loving relationship with Abba and His loving correction when we spend hours condemning ourselves for past sins. You have been set FREE! Not to sin no more, not to live in disobedience to His Word, but to awaken each morning and live in His Will; His will today for you, your walk with Him today. Barb’s sister, Nancy, is having a tough go of it these days and needs our prayers. Some would look at her and judge saying, “Oh, she must have done something for God to do this to her”. NO! As sad as it is (and this needs prayer), this is life. The reason is so we can choose to live because Jesus Christ is alive in us and we need to show the world this truth! So, I am blessed. I am blessed in my prison because He is in me. I am blessed in my past because He is in me. I am blessed in my future because He is in me. I will not allow you to label me anything but beloved son of God.
My dear saints, stop willfully sinning daily. Come out of the darkness and walk in the Light. I am free today, free to live for Christ. I tell you the truth, I’m freer than you! Take a moment and think on this.
“The happiest person I know is always the person I don’t know”. ----B.B.S.
Last night I sat awake until two a.m. condemning myself, trying in my own will to free myself from the demons that live to remind me of my past. How even today I fall short of the man God calls me to be. I awaken anew in the morning to greet the Lord and ask, “What is your will for me today”? Knowing that with the Holy Spirit in me I have the power to live out His will and that will is to love, to live, to forgive and never give up; not on my fellow man and not on myself.
Please Saints, live in Victory! Live for Christ and not this world. Find freedom in bondage to Christ. I love you all and wish none of you to perish. At the end, many will call out, Lord, Lord, but few will enter. If you are living to gratify yourself and the lust of this world, I will pray for you. Break the bondage of self-will and live in His will. “But I don’t know His will”, you say. Wake up, walk in the Light and at every step ask yourself, “Would the Lord of the Bible have me do this or that?” In that answer will be God’s will. At first it will be a 50/50 understanding, but as time goes on it will be 60/40 and the 80/20 and true joy will come into your heart to live. You too in chains will be free to live! Love your fellow man in spite of himself, for God loved you and me in spite of all of our sins and chose to die for us. So we must die to self and live for Christ.
You will not see me act as if I’m someone I’m not. I will not put on the mask of this world. I am raw at times with rough edges. I don’t always speak well and will not dress up to look right with my dead bones inside. Where I’m at today in my walk is right where God has me to learn something today for Him. I don’t know it all and never will and won’t act as if I do. To tell you the truth, I am a crayon Christian who knows how to make a pot of coffee and a bowl of Ramen soup and love on the hurt and wounded. Why? Only because He is living in me. Why? Because He loved me when no one else would and I know this pain.
Phish Bowl is short this month for two reasons. First, I’ve been out in the desert looking for God. Last month’s Phish Bowl opened the door to freedom for so many men, but at the same time, left me raw and beaten down. I opened a door that cannot be closed. A world of yesterdays, of a 100 Timothys in one room and all of them wearing a sign with a different name on it. They curse me, but I will not run. I will stand fast in the truth that Christ wore every one of those names on the cross as He hung there in my place. I have a long road. I have a story that must be told.
Second, Barb is getting ready to go out of town (pray for safe travels) and I could not write a word until tonight. Pray as I seek the Lord in how to go forth; I know His call on my life, but am lost in how to write a healing, loving message for the wounded Saints in the cells, on the street and in our homes. Brothers and sisters, we are not alone. We can find healing in God’s loving arms and in a church full of the Messiah’s Misfits. Remember my chains. Watch. Hold fast in the faith. Be brave and be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. Semper Fidelis!
I Cor 16:13-14
Phish Bowl Coffee House, P.O. Box 153, Loveland, CO 80539.
http://inthephishbowl.blogspot.com
An outreach of Calvary Chapel Loveland
August 2011
Matthew 4:19
“Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”
I, Timothy Nathaneal, a doulos of Christ, am blessed by our Lord, not in the way the world calls a blessing, but in the truth of the Bible. The world would call coming to prison a curse and would look at me and tell me God’s love is manifested in “things”. See I have “this” God’s love in me. When that “thing” is gone, it must mean that God is mad at me. No, this is not the God of the Bible. Now don’t lose me here. God does bless some of us with good “things”, He’s our Abba. As our Abba, He also corrects us when we have wronged Him. This is part of the relationship with a personal God. What I’m talking about is missing who God is in your life. We judge our walk with God by putting things into two boxes; first is “right” or “good” and the second one is “wrong” or “bad”. Fill the first box and we judge ourselves as being okay and we do this by looking at others around us or by some set of man-made rules. However, instead of doing this every morning, we must awaken knowing that Jesus Christ is living in us and then we know that because of Him that we are right. It is not by our deeds, but by His work on the cross. So then knowing this, the next step is God’s will for us today, not in days past where we did not do so great or in some future point, but now, today. We miss the loving relationship with Abba and His loving correction when we spend hours condemning ourselves for past sins. You have been set FREE! Not to sin no more, not to live in disobedience to His Word, but to awaken each morning and live in His Will; His will today for you, your walk with Him today. Barb’s sister, Nancy, is having a tough go of it these days and needs our prayers. Some would look at her and judge saying, “Oh, she must have done something for God to do this to her”. NO! As sad as it is (and this needs prayer), this is life. The reason is so we can choose to live because Jesus Christ is alive in us and we need to show the world this truth! So, I am blessed. I am blessed in my prison because He is in me. I am blessed in my past because He is in me. I am blessed in my future because He is in me. I will not allow you to label me anything but beloved son of God.
My dear saints, stop willfully sinning daily. Come out of the darkness and walk in the Light. I am free today, free to live for Christ. I tell you the truth, I’m freer than you! Take a moment and think on this.
“The happiest person I know is always the person I don’t know”. ----B.B.S.
Last night I sat awake until two a.m. condemning myself, trying in my own will to free myself from the demons that live to remind me of my past. How even today I fall short of the man God calls me to be. I awaken anew in the morning to greet the Lord and ask, “What is your will for me today”? Knowing that with the Holy Spirit in me I have the power to live out His will and that will is to love, to live, to forgive and never give up; not on my fellow man and not on myself.
Please Saints, live in Victory! Live for Christ and not this world. Find freedom in bondage to Christ. I love you all and wish none of you to perish. At the end, many will call out, Lord, Lord, but few will enter. If you are living to gratify yourself and the lust of this world, I will pray for you. Break the bondage of self-will and live in His will. “But I don’t know His will”, you say. Wake up, walk in the Light and at every step ask yourself, “Would the Lord of the Bible have me do this or that?” In that answer will be God’s will. At first it will be a 50/50 understanding, but as time goes on it will be 60/40 and the 80/20 and true joy will come into your heart to live. You too in chains will be free to live! Love your fellow man in spite of himself, for God loved you and me in spite of all of our sins and chose to die for us. So we must die to self and live for Christ.
You will not see me act as if I’m someone I’m not. I will not put on the mask of this world. I am raw at times with rough edges. I don’t always speak well and will not dress up to look right with my dead bones inside. Where I’m at today in my walk is right where God has me to learn something today for Him. I don’t know it all and never will and won’t act as if I do. To tell you the truth, I am a crayon Christian who knows how to make a pot of coffee and a bowl of Ramen soup and love on the hurt and wounded. Why? Only because He is living in me. Why? Because He loved me when no one else would and I know this pain.
Phish Bowl is short this month for two reasons. First, I’ve been out in the desert looking for God. Last month’s Phish Bowl opened the door to freedom for so many men, but at the same time, left me raw and beaten down. I opened a door that cannot be closed. A world of yesterdays, of a 100 Timothys in one room and all of them wearing a sign with a different name on it. They curse me, but I will not run. I will stand fast in the truth that Christ wore every one of those names on the cross as He hung there in my place. I have a long road. I have a story that must be told.
Second, Barb is getting ready to go out of town (pray for safe travels) and I could not write a word until tonight. Pray as I seek the Lord in how to go forth; I know His call on my life, but am lost in how to write a healing, loving message for the wounded Saints in the cells, on the street and in our homes. Brothers and sisters, we are not alone. We can find healing in God’s loving arms and in a church full of the Messiah’s Misfits. Remember my chains. Watch. Hold fast in the faith. Be brave and be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. Semper Fidelis!
I Cor 16:13-14
Phish Bowl Coffee House, P.O. Box 153, Loveland, CO 80539.
http://inthephishbowl.blogspot.com
An outreach of Calvary Chapel Loveland
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Phish Bowl Ministries
July 2011
Matthew 4:19
“Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”
I, Timothy Nathanael, a doulos of Christ, would love to package and send to the free world just a piece of what last month’s teaching did to the men’s hearts behind the walls. It’s funny, but not too funny, how the self righteous free world takes their walk so lightly. So many men have come up to me and asked me to teach more like last month. These are men who know the real price of sin and what it can do. When we are in our sin, we look at Jesus hanging on a cross, thanking Him for dying for our freedom (free choice) to commit that sin. When Christ comes down from the cross and exposes that sin to the world, we then cry out to the empty cross that we can’t pay the price which is too much, too painful; it’s costing us too much. We love the cross when it costs us little to nothing. When Jesus tells us to “pick up our cross” and follow Him, we ask for an easier, softer way. One in which we get to keep the world and all it’s pleasure and still get Heaven in the end. That is “cupcake Christianity”; no meat, and a lot of milk and juice.
We behind the wall will tell you, we are crying out to you. Torn from Paul’s teaching about Pastors who prefer a Sunday Ice Cream Social over a real sit down meal, dining on the Truth of God’s word. If your church does not look different from the world’s walk, then you must ask yourself why…and I will tell you the why. It is because the world has its teeth in you; your life; your church and your community will not change until you step up and walk like Jesus did.
Be forewarned, there is a price to a life of Christ. He will ask you for things you wish to not give up. But, I tell you the truth, anything He takes is because He knows what is best for us. He knows what we need and don’t need to fulfill His purpose in our lives.
As I sit here and write to you, I know something that stands in His way. The Holy Spirit has already put it on my heart and has put men around me who are holding me accountable. Now, it may be small to you, but is holding me back as a man of God. That thing is my tongue and it’s the tone of my voice. It’s words that a Christian should not say and a way of speaking that does not point to Christ and looks different in my world. How can I help to change the men in prison, if I don’t work on my shortcomings one at a time?
My beloved, how I love you all so much. Because of this love, I will pray day and night for you. Hear the great news of God’s love for you. He knows it will not take just a day; He has been working on me for 5 years and I will be in this school for at least 5 more years! God loved me so much, that He brought me to a place where I would spend day and night in His love, in His Word and at a point in my life that brought me to my knees as a broken man.
“We are all effected by our pasts, but it’s within the Power not to let what we have done dictate what we will do.” ---J.B.
Month after month, God brings me back to this point; we have all sinned and fallen short of God. If you call yourself a “Christian”, please start today to live like a Christian in the light and in the dark. If you do, I can tell you a truth; your past failures will no longer hurt your days and nights. God will use them to glorify Him and will set us free to live a full life. For my sisters in the walk start at Proverbs 31 (Proverbs 31:1-31) The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him: What, my son? And what, son of my womb? And what, son of my vows? Do not give your strength to women, Nor your ways to that which destroys kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Nor for princes intoxicating drink; Lest they drink and forget the law, And pervert the justice of all the afflicted. Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to those who are bitter of heart. Let him drink and forget his poverty, And remember his misery no more. Open your mouth for the speechless, In the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy. Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil All the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, And willingly works with her hands. She is like the merchant ships, She brings her food from afar. She also rises while it is yet night, And provides food for her household, And a portion for her maidservants. She considers a field and buys it; From her profits she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength, And strengthens her arms. She perceives that her merchandise is good, And her lamp does not go out by night. She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hand holds the spindle. She extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet. She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies sashes for the merchants. Strength and honor are her clothing; She shall rejoice in time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness. She watches over the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her: "Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all." Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates. (NKJV)) and for my brothers in the walk, we will go to 1 Timothy 3 ((1 Timothy 3:1-16) This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. Likewise their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory. (NKJV) and for the church body, we all can study and live out Titus 2 (But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things-- that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. Likewise exhort the young men to be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you. Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you. (NKJV))
God’s Word is a blue print to our lives. God has a lot to tell us and if we don’t read His Word, we will not be called “innocent” because we did not know. Instead, we will be called “fools”. (Insight into God’s word: Being called a fool is not a funny thing.) Know I write this because I truly love you all and wish you not to live blind, but to have the fullness of our Lord in your life as I do.
There is no sin too big for Christ’s blood or the love of God. If we repent (turn from our sins) and trust in Him, we will find freedom, even behind the walls. I speak as a man whose sins are many and big. Our enemy will tell us that our mistakes disqualify us from God. But I tell you that Christ died to make a way. Now you can be a mighty man or woman for God by helping others who have fallen in that same sin…you are not alone. If we don’t confess, Satan wins in our silence, and in our shame. Let me tell you what God has forgiven in me and what Satan uses against me. We all know that I am a sex offender, so let’s start there. Have we all not done something sexual of which we are ashamed? I have. I also have been sexually abused as a teen which brought great shame with scars so bad that at times my only wish is to die and be with Jesus in heaven. But, when I come across a brother who also has been used, I can show him that he is not alone any more in his shame and God does love us.
Next, how about murder? At 17, my adopted father asked me to help him commit suicide, and I did. I found him dead that night. That picture never leaves my mind and I was not sober for the next 19 months. Yes, add drug and alcohol to the list. Keep adding: I have been involved in two abortions: one, my child and one as a result of my ex-wife’s affair. I am also a thief, blasphemer and a liar. All condemned by God. But, that is not the end of the story because He makes all things new. I want to talk to the fallen Saints out there. I want to tell you of God’s redemption! Nothing is so bad to keep God away from you! He sent His only Son to die for this reason! He made the way. See, when I finally was broken, I found myself at the foot of a bloody and empty Cross knowing that all of what I have done in my life put Christ on that Cross. God raised Him from the dead so my sins could be forgiven. I believe that to be true. I believed He could heal me and make me whole. I tell you the truth: He is. “I’m not my past.” Today, I am a servant of the God Most High. He has given me a purpose, and showed me a future.
Saints, I still hurt. I still don’t like everything which I have done in my life. There is still pain. But, I can tell you there is now no more fear of “what if they find out?”
Today, I’m me in Christ. His son. I have a Father that loves me and a family that cares for me. All of this is because of Christ’s work on the Cross. Now if we take this gift to heart then we should want to live up to it and please our Father in Heaven.
Please start to live a walk that shows your forgiveness and the Holy Spirit living in you. Stop living like the world. Please repent. It will take time, but there is no time like now to start.
As we move on in Acts 4:1-37, I’m not going to add anything. I want you to see what a changed life looks like and next month we will see what a compromised life looks like. Please take your time and ask yourself about your walk.
Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, "By what power or by what name have you done this?" Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: "If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, "let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. "This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, "What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. "But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name." And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. "For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done. For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed. And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, "who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: 'Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the LORD and against His Christ.' "For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together "to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. "Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, "by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles' feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need. And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, (NKJV)
Brothers and sisters, you’re not alone any more. We now have all things in common. Help others to heal and in this you will have healing. Know that you can always write to me…I can’t throw any stones for as you can truly see, I’m the “Chief of All Sinners”. I love you no matter what you have done or have had done to you.
Updates: Well, after a month on the move, I think I might be down in one place for awhile. My new home is in the “Honor Pod” because I have chosen to live as Christ does, He shines through me and I get the blessings. We are the top 148 men at Fremont and I was the last to make it in. So, I’m on the bottom of the top. I am no longer the man I was because of His Word.
Work is slow to none. We had a week off, so I picked up some hours in the Furniture Shop working on the planer. As fast as it would pop out, I had to load it on a cart. I thank God that I still can work hard and I thank Tylenol for pain killers. We have fiberglass work pending, so please pray for our shop. Thanks.
Oh, my new cellie is an old friend and brother in Christ. God has shown us favor by letting us live in peace. Steve is his name and his family goes to Calvary Chapel and Steve is a practicing Hebrew-Christian. I know he will bless me with great insight into the Old Testament and the Jewish roots of our faith. Please take a moment and thank our Lord for His Blessing.
No sports this summer and no big plans, so no update on this.
Semper Fidelis. Remember my chains. Grace be with you all. Amen.
Phish Bowl Coffee House, P.O. Box 153, Loveland, CO 80539.
http://inthephishbowl.blogspot.com
An outreach of Calvary Chapel Loveland
To receive Phish Bowl via email, write to either of the above addresses. This helps to decrease expenses.
Timothy N. Tice
132753 (FCF) 6 Lower H5
P.O. Box 999
Cañon City, CO 81215-0999
July 2011
Matthew 4:19
“Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”
I, Timothy Nathanael, a doulos of Christ, would love to package and send to the free world just a piece of what last month’s teaching did to the men’s hearts behind the walls. It’s funny, but not too funny, how the self righteous free world takes their walk so lightly. So many men have come up to me and asked me to teach more like last month. These are men who know the real price of sin and what it can do. When we are in our sin, we look at Jesus hanging on a cross, thanking Him for dying for our freedom (free choice) to commit that sin. When Christ comes down from the cross and exposes that sin to the world, we then cry out to the empty cross that we can’t pay the price which is too much, too painful; it’s costing us too much. We love the cross when it costs us little to nothing. When Jesus tells us to “pick up our cross” and follow Him, we ask for an easier, softer way. One in which we get to keep the world and all it’s pleasure and still get Heaven in the end. That is “cupcake Christianity”; no meat, and a lot of milk and juice.
We behind the wall will tell you, we are crying out to you. Torn from Paul’s teaching about Pastors who prefer a Sunday Ice Cream Social over a real sit down meal, dining on the Truth of God’s word. If your church does not look different from the world’s walk, then you must ask yourself why…and I will tell you the why. It is because the world has its teeth in you; your life; your church and your community will not change until you step up and walk like Jesus did.
Be forewarned, there is a price to a life of Christ. He will ask you for things you wish to not give up. But, I tell you the truth, anything He takes is because He knows what is best for us. He knows what we need and don’t need to fulfill His purpose in our lives.
As I sit here and write to you, I know something that stands in His way. The Holy Spirit has already put it on my heart and has put men around me who are holding me accountable. Now, it may be small to you, but is holding me back as a man of God. That thing is my tongue and it’s the tone of my voice. It’s words that a Christian should not say and a way of speaking that does not point to Christ and looks different in my world. How can I help to change the men in prison, if I don’t work on my shortcomings one at a time?
My beloved, how I love you all so much. Because of this love, I will pray day and night for you. Hear the great news of God’s love for you. He knows it will not take just a day; He has been working on me for 5 years and I will be in this school for at least 5 more years! God loved me so much, that He brought me to a place where I would spend day and night in His love, in His Word and at a point in my life that brought me to my knees as a broken man.
“We are all effected by our pasts, but it’s within the Power not to let what we have done dictate what we will do.” ---J.B.
Month after month, God brings me back to this point; we have all sinned and fallen short of God. If you call yourself a “Christian”, please start today to live like a Christian in the light and in the dark. If you do, I can tell you a truth; your past failures will no longer hurt your days and nights. God will use them to glorify Him and will set us free to live a full life. For my sisters in the walk start at Proverbs 31 (Proverbs 31:1-31) The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him: What, my son? And what, son of my womb? And what, son of my vows? Do not give your strength to women, Nor your ways to that which destroys kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Nor for princes intoxicating drink; Lest they drink and forget the law, And pervert the justice of all the afflicted. Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to those who are bitter of heart. Let him drink and forget his poverty, And remember his misery no more. Open your mouth for the speechless, In the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor and needy. Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; So he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil All the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, And willingly works with her hands. She is like the merchant ships, She brings her food from afar. She also rises while it is yet night, And provides food for her household, And a portion for her maidservants. She considers a field and buys it; From her profits she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength, And strengthens her arms. She perceives that her merchandise is good, And her lamp does not go out by night. She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hand holds the spindle. She extends her hand to the poor, Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is clothed with scarlet. She makes tapestry for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies sashes for the merchants. Strength and honor are her clothing; She shall rejoice in time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness. She watches over the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her: "Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all." Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates. (NKJV)) and for my brothers in the walk, we will go to 1 Timothy 3 ((1 Timothy 3:1-16) This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience. But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless. Likewise their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory. (NKJV) and for the church body, we all can study and live out Titus 2 (But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things-- that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. Likewise exhort the young men to be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you. Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you. (NKJV))
God’s Word is a blue print to our lives. God has a lot to tell us and if we don’t read His Word, we will not be called “innocent” because we did not know. Instead, we will be called “fools”. (Insight into God’s word: Being called a fool is not a funny thing.) Know I write this because I truly love you all and wish you not to live blind, but to have the fullness of our Lord in your life as I do.
There is no sin too big for Christ’s blood or the love of God. If we repent (turn from our sins) and trust in Him, we will find freedom, even behind the walls. I speak as a man whose sins are many and big. Our enemy will tell us that our mistakes disqualify us from God. But I tell you that Christ died to make a way. Now you can be a mighty man or woman for God by helping others who have fallen in that same sin…you are not alone. If we don’t confess, Satan wins in our silence, and in our shame. Let me tell you what God has forgiven in me and what Satan uses against me. We all know that I am a sex offender, so let’s start there. Have we all not done something sexual of which we are ashamed? I have. I also have been sexually abused as a teen which brought great shame with scars so bad that at times my only wish is to die and be with Jesus in heaven. But, when I come across a brother who also has been used, I can show him that he is not alone any more in his shame and God does love us.
Next, how about murder? At 17, my adopted father asked me to help him commit suicide, and I did. I found him dead that night. That picture never leaves my mind and I was not sober for the next 19 months. Yes, add drug and alcohol to the list. Keep adding: I have been involved in two abortions: one, my child and one as a result of my ex-wife’s affair. I am also a thief, blasphemer and a liar. All condemned by God. But, that is not the end of the story because He makes all things new. I want to talk to the fallen Saints out there. I want to tell you of God’s redemption! Nothing is so bad to keep God away from you! He sent His only Son to die for this reason! He made the way. See, when I finally was broken, I found myself at the foot of a bloody and empty Cross knowing that all of what I have done in my life put Christ on that Cross. God raised Him from the dead so my sins could be forgiven. I believe that to be true. I believed He could heal me and make me whole. I tell you the truth: He is. “I’m not my past.” Today, I am a servant of the God Most High. He has given me a purpose, and showed me a future.
Saints, I still hurt. I still don’t like everything which I have done in my life. There is still pain. But, I can tell you there is now no more fear of “what if they find out?”
Today, I’m me in Christ. His son. I have a Father that loves me and a family that cares for me. All of this is because of Christ’s work on the Cross. Now if we take this gift to heart then we should want to live up to it and please our Father in Heaven.
Please start to live a walk that shows your forgiveness and the Holy Spirit living in you. Stop living like the world. Please repent. It will take time, but there is no time like now to start.
As we move on in Acts 4:1-37, I’m not going to add anything. I want you to see what a changed life looks like and next month we will see what a compromised life looks like. Please take your time and ask yourself about your walk.
Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, "By what power or by what name have you done this?" Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: "If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, "let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. "This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, "What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. "But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name." And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. "For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done. For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed. And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, "who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: 'Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the LORD and against His Christ.' "For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together "to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. "Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, "by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles' feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need. And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, (NKJV)
Brothers and sisters, you’re not alone any more. We now have all things in common. Help others to heal and in this you will have healing. Know that you can always write to me…I can’t throw any stones for as you can truly see, I’m the “Chief of All Sinners”. I love you no matter what you have done or have had done to you.
Updates: Well, after a month on the move, I think I might be down in one place for awhile. My new home is in the “Honor Pod” because I have chosen to live as Christ does, He shines through me and I get the blessings. We are the top 148 men at Fremont and I was the last to make it in. So, I’m on the bottom of the top. I am no longer the man I was because of His Word.
Work is slow to none. We had a week off, so I picked up some hours in the Furniture Shop working on the planer. As fast as it would pop out, I had to load it on a cart. I thank God that I still can work hard and I thank Tylenol for pain killers. We have fiberglass work pending, so please pray for our shop. Thanks.
Oh, my new cellie is an old friend and brother in Christ. God has shown us favor by letting us live in peace. Steve is his name and his family goes to Calvary Chapel and Steve is a practicing Hebrew-Christian. I know he will bless me with great insight into the Old Testament and the Jewish roots of our faith. Please take a moment and thank our Lord for His Blessing.
No sports this summer and no big plans, so no update on this.
Semper Fidelis. Remember my chains. Grace be with you all. Amen.
Phish Bowl Coffee House, P.O. Box 153, Loveland, CO 80539.
http://inthephishbowl.blogspot.com
An outreach of Calvary Chapel Loveland
To receive Phish Bowl via email, write to either of the above addresses. This helps to decrease expenses.
Timothy N. Tice
132753 (FCF) 6 Lower H5
P.O. Box 999
Cañon City, CO 81215-0999
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
PBM June 2011
Phish Bowl Ministries
June 2011
Matthew 4:19
“Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”
Dear Saints, I Timothy Nathanael, a doulos of Christ so wish, no pray that our LORD is alive in your lives. You know what kills me? Willful sinning! Knowing what you are doing is against God and some how lying to yourself that God doesn’t care. I’m not innocent of this; how I justify the things I call ‘not so bad’. However, when I read God’s words for my life, I am cut to the bone.
Here in prison I am called to live a life set apart from the world because of sin; but still my tongue grieves me. I’m told I have a wicked sense of humor. This statement should cause me to RUN! A ‘wicked’ humor…there is nothing funny about ‘wickedness’. I know how and where the Bible condemns this practice. At one time in my life, I justified using pornography to the point of acting out lust. Going to church, working for the church I chose to dismiss the warnings week after week. I know I was wrong, but still I willfully walked into a life style of sin. In some way, giving 10% of my time and 10% of my money allowed me to keep 10% of my sin. Let’s call it a pet sin; one I raised up from a puppy, feeding it, playing with it and making time for it. I fooled myself into believing it would not hurt anyone and God is a loving God who would not hold it against me. We all know we are sinners---right? So what is the big deal about a little private sin on the side? It’s not like I’m stealing anything from my family; I can’t be, they don’t know about it. So, how can it harm them?
God is not to be mocked!!! I hope that your pet will not bring you to prison, but know that the sin of sexual immorality has a high price! Those who are paying the price of my sin are my former wife, my kids, the church, my victims, the young women who used to fill our computer with smut. All so that I could have this little harmless sin; the harmless sin that landed me in prison, 10 years to life. Sin is never satisfied and once it grows up, you will not be able to control it and it will become the 800 pound gorilla in the room. You think your pet sin brings you happiness, let me tell you something about your pet once it is too big to hide. It will turn on you, your family, and your whole world and will beat you and them into an emotional state of death… (How’s that pet sin working for ya now? (Editor’s comment)
We are moving on in Acts to Peter’s second sermon and there is a lot in this; but just for a moment I want to look at two points; the first point here and the second in the middle of the teaching. As we read and study Acts 3: 11-26, note the number of times that Peter used the words “you” or “your”. Stand in this crowd with the people listening to Peter and know your sins…you handed him over…you rejected…you killed…what you did to Jesus. We say our little harmless sin has no price, but who paid the price of my willful sinning against God, against my family and against my victims? Jesus paid the price on the cross.
Let’s take a walk about in Acts 3: 11-26:
3:11 Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon's, greatly amazed. 12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 "The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 "But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 "and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
16 "And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. 17 "Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 "But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 "and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 "whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. 22 "For Moses truly said to the fathers, 'The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 'And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.' 24 "Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. 25 "You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' 26 "To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities." (NKJV)
I hope that you took time to really read this and mark in your mind all the “you” and “yours”; I know that I did.
12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
Peter took advantage of this opportunity not to talk about Peter, but instead to glorify Jesus, making it clear that this was done by God Himself. And the why?
13 "The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.
Why? So Peter could clearly point this Jewish crowd to the handy work of the very God they claimed to follow, Jesus. I want to take a look at something here, the wording “His servant Jesus”. In some translations, this is written “his servant Jesus”. Small ‘h’ and ‘s’ which miss a big point that would not have been lost to this crowd.
(Isaiah 52:13-15) Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. Just as many were astonished at you, so His visage was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men; So shall He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; For what had not been told them they shall see, And what they had not heard they shall consider. (NKJV)
Peter was identifying Jesus with the Servant-Messiah of the Old Testament. Also see Isaiah 42:1, 49:6-7, 53: 11. What we see here is Jesus giving His life as a guilt offering for our sins and in the next verses we will see the Father raise Jesus up from the dead as proof that this sacrifice was fully acceptable once, for all.
14 "But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 "and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
We rejected the “Holy” and “Righteous” one, but by using these two terms Peter was saying that Jesus was equal to God. He is telling them that this Jesus was God. Not only did they reject Him, they killed Him.
(1) 3:13 The Jews (us) had delivered Jesus to be killed though Pilate had decided to free him.
(2) 3:14 They (us) had rejected Jesus and requested the release of a murderer.
(3) 3:15 They (us) had killed Jesus, though God raised Him from the dead.
And all of this was witnessed by the 12 and 120, and their testimony is true.
* STOP: Back in the beginning I said there were two points. First one: It was our sins which put Jesus on the cross and we re-crucify Him daily by our willful sinning. The second is the Good News of the Cross. We have hope in the healing blood that we acted in ignorance. We can repent and He will refresh us.
16 "And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
Once again Peter points to Jesus as the healer. The NIV translates the final phrase of this verse as “this complete healing”. And Jesus can completely heal you as He has healed me. When He does this in your life, you can use your testimony to point to Jesus.
The Requirement of Repentance
John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus by preaching repentance. The Apostles’ message of salvation also included the call to repentance by acknowledging personal sins and turning away from it. Many people want the benefits of being identified with Christ without admitting their own disobedience and turning from sin. The key to forgiveness is confessing sin and turning from it. When we repent, God promises not only to wipe out our sins, but to bring spiritual refreshment. At first, repentance may seem painful because it is hard to give up certain sins. However, God will give us a better way. As promised in Hosea, “Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, he will reappear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth” (Hosea 6:3 NIV). Do you feel a need to be refreshed? ---Life Application Bible Commentary on Acts
17 "Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 "But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.
In the next ten verses, Peter will plea (as I am) to this crowd to make a life change. He starts off by calling them “friends”, “adelphoi”, literally brothers. He points out that their actions were done in ignorance (see Acts 17:30, Ephesians 4:18, 1 Peter 1:14). “Had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer”, most likely refers to Psalm 22, Isaiah 50:6 and Isaiah 53:1-12. The Jews had not expected a suffering Messiah; they were looking for a great ruler, a conquering king, not a carpenter that died a criminal’s death---they missed it. Does Peter hold this against them? No, with great love for his “brothers”, he explained that it wasn’t too late; not for them and for us.
19 "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,
In the NLT it is written “now turn from your sins and turn to God. Did you see that…? “Now”, not tomorrow, not when I’m found out, but today! They (us) had rejected, despised, and killed Jesus, but they (us) could still turn from their (our) sins, turn to God. “That your sin may be blotted out” NKJV, “wiped away” NASB, “cleansed” NLT. I want to look at this in two different lights.
1. The words “turn from your sins” are the standard Greek words (metanoeo) for repentance. The verb means to turn away from a former way of life and toward a new way of life. The term “cleansed” (exaleiphthenai) is often used in Greek as a figure of speech, meaning to erase, especially of writing. In this case, their eraser was God and the writing was a list of their (our) sins. Not just their (our) sin of killing the author of life, but all their (our) sins. (Also see Psalm 103:12; Isaiah 1:18).
2. By using the word “cleansed” instead of blotted out, there is a Jewish doctrine and Hebrew teaching. Deuteronomy 30:10 (For the LORD will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers), “if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statues which are written in the Book of the Law, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. That would be the first part “shav” a verb which indicates how God calls on His people to “turn back”. Not to add “cleansed” would tell them they owed a sin and guilt offering at the temple. Leviticus 4:1 “If a person sins unintentionally in any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and commits any of them…they become guilty”.
Times of refreshment by repenting and turning to God’s plan in Jesus as the Messiah, Peter announces that there will be a future blessing. They will be able to participate fully in the future times of refreshing when Jesus returns.
3:20 "and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 "whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.
Jesus must remain in heaven and the church now has His Holy Spirit as promised. But also it promised Jesus will return to us again. Many of us live as if this day is far off, but God tells us to live as if it was today and not to be caught sleeping.
3:22 "For Moses truly said to the fathers, 'The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 'And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.'
In verse 22 we are told to hear all things and in the NLT it says listen to all things. Hearing vs. listening. In ancient times, Moses had spoken of the prophet (the Messiah) who would come one day, Moses urged the Jewish people to listen to this one sent from God. Both the Hebrew (Deut 18:15, 19) and the Greek words translated “listen” mean more than just receiving auditory signals with one’s ears. The words contain the additional idea of hearing with a view toward obeying. What is your posture when the Word of God is presented? Do you hear it only? Does the message go “in one ear and out the other”? Or do you listen with the intention of being a doer of the Word (James 1:22)? Let the words of Christ lodge in your heart and change the way you live.
3:24 "Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. 25 "You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' 26 "To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities."
The message of salvation came first to the people of Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Moses Samuel and the prophets. They, of all the people, should have known the prophecies and recognized him when he came. They were to have been the prime beneficiaries of the blessings of the covenant.
Notice that the primary nature of the blessing was to turn them back from (their) sinful ways. Christ’s work at its core is to turn lives around, taking individuals on sinful paths and turning them from those paths of blessing. Israel had every reason to turn to Jesus---history, heritage, bloodline, centuries of warning from prophetic messengers. Though they had not recognized him, Peter concluded his message with the statement that God wants to turn people away from sin in order to “bless” them. This is exactly the opposite of what many believe. They consider God the ultimate party pooper, a kind of cosmic killjoy who wants to turn people from sin in order to make them miserable. Why do we tend to think like this? Because of the craftiness of our enemy. The consummate liar has been successful in tempting us to doubt God’s goodness since the beginning of the human race. If God withholds something from us, fruit in a place called Eden, illicit sex, etc.; it must be because He is trying to deny us some secret blessing. That is how we reason if we doubt the goodness of God. But, if we embrace the truth that God is good, then we acknowledge that God prohibits certain things in order to bless our lives “infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope: (Ephesians 3:20).
Don’t let Satan cause you to doubt God’s goodness.
Semper Fidelis!
Phish Bowl Coffee House, P.O. Box 153, Loveland, CO 80539.
http://inthephishbowl.blogspot.com
An outreach of Calvary Chapel Loveland
June 2011
Matthew 4:19
“Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”
Dear Saints, I Timothy Nathanael, a doulos of Christ so wish, no pray that our LORD is alive in your lives. You know what kills me? Willful sinning! Knowing what you are doing is against God and some how lying to yourself that God doesn’t care. I’m not innocent of this; how I justify the things I call ‘not so bad’. However, when I read God’s words for my life, I am cut to the bone.
Here in prison I am called to live a life set apart from the world because of sin; but still my tongue grieves me. I’m told I have a wicked sense of humor. This statement should cause me to RUN! A ‘wicked’ humor…there is nothing funny about ‘wickedness’. I know how and where the Bible condemns this practice. At one time in my life, I justified using pornography to the point of acting out lust. Going to church, working for the church I chose to dismiss the warnings week after week. I know I was wrong, but still I willfully walked into a life style of sin. In some way, giving 10% of my time and 10% of my money allowed me to keep 10% of my sin. Let’s call it a pet sin; one I raised up from a puppy, feeding it, playing with it and making time for it. I fooled myself into believing it would not hurt anyone and God is a loving God who would not hold it against me. We all know we are sinners---right? So what is the big deal about a little private sin on the side? It’s not like I’m stealing anything from my family; I can’t be, they don’t know about it. So, how can it harm them?
God is not to be mocked!!! I hope that your pet will not bring you to prison, but know that the sin of sexual immorality has a high price! Those who are paying the price of my sin are my former wife, my kids, the church, my victims, the young women who used to fill our computer with smut. All so that I could have this little harmless sin; the harmless sin that landed me in prison, 10 years to life. Sin is never satisfied and once it grows up, you will not be able to control it and it will become the 800 pound gorilla in the room. You think your pet sin brings you happiness, let me tell you something about your pet once it is too big to hide. It will turn on you, your family, and your whole world and will beat you and them into an emotional state of death… (How’s that pet sin working for ya now? (Editor’s comment)
We are moving on in Acts to Peter’s second sermon and there is a lot in this; but just for a moment I want to look at two points; the first point here and the second in the middle of the teaching. As we read and study Acts 3: 11-26, note the number of times that Peter used the words “you” or “your”. Stand in this crowd with the people listening to Peter and know your sins…you handed him over…you rejected…you killed…what you did to Jesus. We say our little harmless sin has no price, but who paid the price of my willful sinning against God, against my family and against my victims? Jesus paid the price on the cross.
Let’s take a walk about in Acts 3: 11-26:
3:11 Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon's, greatly amazed. 12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 "The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 "But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 "and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
16 "And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. 17 "Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 "But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 "and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 "whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. 22 "For Moses truly said to the fathers, 'The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 'And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.' 24 "Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. 25 "You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' 26 "To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities." (NKJV)
I hope that you took time to really read this and mark in your mind all the “you” and “yours”; I know that I did.
12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
Peter took advantage of this opportunity not to talk about Peter, but instead to glorify Jesus, making it clear that this was done by God Himself. And the why?
13 "The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.
Why? So Peter could clearly point this Jewish crowd to the handy work of the very God they claimed to follow, Jesus. I want to take a look at something here, the wording “His servant Jesus”. In some translations, this is written “his servant Jesus”. Small ‘h’ and ‘s’ which miss a big point that would not have been lost to this crowd.
(Isaiah 52:13-15) Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. Just as many were astonished at you, so His visage was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men; So shall He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; For what had not been told them they shall see, And what they had not heard they shall consider. (NKJV)
Peter was identifying Jesus with the Servant-Messiah of the Old Testament. Also see Isaiah 42:1, 49:6-7, 53: 11. What we see here is Jesus giving His life as a guilt offering for our sins and in the next verses we will see the Father raise Jesus up from the dead as proof that this sacrifice was fully acceptable once, for all.
14 "But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 "and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
We rejected the “Holy” and “Righteous” one, but by using these two terms Peter was saying that Jesus was equal to God. He is telling them that this Jesus was God. Not only did they reject Him, they killed Him.
(1) 3:13 The Jews (us) had delivered Jesus to be killed though Pilate had decided to free him.
(2) 3:14 They (us) had rejected Jesus and requested the release of a murderer.
(3) 3:15 They (us) had killed Jesus, though God raised Him from the dead.
And all of this was witnessed by the 12 and 120, and their testimony is true.
* STOP: Back in the beginning I said there were two points. First one: It was our sins which put Jesus on the cross and we re-crucify Him daily by our willful sinning. The second is the Good News of the Cross. We have hope in the healing blood that we acted in ignorance. We can repent and He will refresh us.
16 "And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
Once again Peter points to Jesus as the healer. The NIV translates the final phrase of this verse as “this complete healing”. And Jesus can completely heal you as He has healed me. When He does this in your life, you can use your testimony to point to Jesus.
The Requirement of Repentance
John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus by preaching repentance. The Apostles’ message of salvation also included the call to repentance by acknowledging personal sins and turning away from it. Many people want the benefits of being identified with Christ without admitting their own disobedience and turning from sin. The key to forgiveness is confessing sin and turning from it. When we repent, God promises not only to wipe out our sins, but to bring spiritual refreshment. At first, repentance may seem painful because it is hard to give up certain sins. However, God will give us a better way. As promised in Hosea, “Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, he will reappear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth” (Hosea 6:3 NIV). Do you feel a need to be refreshed? ---Life Application Bible Commentary on Acts
17 "Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 "But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.
In the next ten verses, Peter will plea (as I am) to this crowd to make a life change. He starts off by calling them “friends”, “adelphoi”, literally brothers. He points out that their actions were done in ignorance (see Acts 17:30, Ephesians 4:18, 1 Peter 1:14). “Had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer”, most likely refers to Psalm 22, Isaiah 50:6 and Isaiah 53:1-12. The Jews had not expected a suffering Messiah; they were looking for a great ruler, a conquering king, not a carpenter that died a criminal’s death---they missed it. Does Peter hold this against them? No, with great love for his “brothers”, he explained that it wasn’t too late; not for them and for us.
19 "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,
In the NLT it is written “now turn from your sins and turn to God. Did you see that…? “Now”, not tomorrow, not when I’m found out, but today! They (us) had rejected, despised, and killed Jesus, but they (us) could still turn from their (our) sins, turn to God. “That your sin may be blotted out” NKJV, “wiped away” NASB, “cleansed” NLT. I want to look at this in two different lights.
1. The words “turn from your sins” are the standard Greek words (metanoeo) for repentance. The verb means to turn away from a former way of life and toward a new way of life. The term “cleansed” (exaleiphthenai) is often used in Greek as a figure of speech, meaning to erase, especially of writing. In this case, their eraser was God and the writing was a list of their (our) sins. Not just their (our) sin of killing the author of life, but all their (our) sins. (Also see Psalm 103:12; Isaiah 1:18).
2. By using the word “cleansed” instead of blotted out, there is a Jewish doctrine and Hebrew teaching. Deuteronomy 30:10 (For the LORD will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers), “if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statues which are written in the Book of the Law, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. That would be the first part “shav” a verb which indicates how God calls on His people to “turn back”. Not to add “cleansed” would tell them they owed a sin and guilt offering at the temple. Leviticus 4:1 “If a person sins unintentionally in any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and commits any of them…they become guilty”.
Times of refreshment by repenting and turning to God’s plan in Jesus as the Messiah, Peter announces that there will be a future blessing. They will be able to participate fully in the future times of refreshing when Jesus returns.
3:20 "and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 "whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.
Jesus must remain in heaven and the church now has His Holy Spirit as promised. But also it promised Jesus will return to us again. Many of us live as if this day is far off, but God tells us to live as if it was today and not to be caught sleeping.
3:22 "For Moses truly said to the fathers, 'The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 'And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.'
In verse 22 we are told to hear all things and in the NLT it says listen to all things. Hearing vs. listening. In ancient times, Moses had spoken of the prophet (the Messiah) who would come one day, Moses urged the Jewish people to listen to this one sent from God. Both the Hebrew (Deut 18:15, 19) and the Greek words translated “listen” mean more than just receiving auditory signals with one’s ears. The words contain the additional idea of hearing with a view toward obeying. What is your posture when the Word of God is presented? Do you hear it only? Does the message go “in one ear and out the other”? Or do you listen with the intention of being a doer of the Word (James 1:22)? Let the words of Christ lodge in your heart and change the way you live.
3:24 "Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. 25 "You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' 26 "To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities."
The message of salvation came first to the people of Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Moses Samuel and the prophets. They, of all the people, should have known the prophecies and recognized him when he came. They were to have been the prime beneficiaries of the blessings of the covenant.
Notice that the primary nature of the blessing was to turn them back from (their) sinful ways. Christ’s work at its core is to turn lives around, taking individuals on sinful paths and turning them from those paths of blessing. Israel had every reason to turn to Jesus---history, heritage, bloodline, centuries of warning from prophetic messengers. Though they had not recognized him, Peter concluded his message with the statement that God wants to turn people away from sin in order to “bless” them. This is exactly the opposite of what many believe. They consider God the ultimate party pooper, a kind of cosmic killjoy who wants to turn people from sin in order to make them miserable. Why do we tend to think like this? Because of the craftiness of our enemy. The consummate liar has been successful in tempting us to doubt God’s goodness since the beginning of the human race. If God withholds something from us, fruit in a place called Eden, illicit sex, etc.; it must be because He is trying to deny us some secret blessing. That is how we reason if we doubt the goodness of God. But, if we embrace the truth that God is good, then we acknowledge that God prohibits certain things in order to bless our lives “infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope: (Ephesians 3:20).
Don’t let Satan cause you to doubt God’s goodness.
Semper Fidelis!
Phish Bowl Coffee House, P.O. Box 153, Loveland, CO 80539.
http://inthephishbowl.blogspot.com
An outreach of Calvary Chapel Loveland
Saturday, April 23, 2011
PBM May 2011
Phish Bowl Ministries
May 2011
Matthew 4:19
“Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”
To the Saints behind and outside the wall: I, Timothy Nathanael, a doulos of Christ pray that you will listen to the call of the Holy Spirit on your life; the return of our Lord Jesus the Christ is coming soon. Father God has work for you to do; souls need your help in healing. We need to open our heart, our homes and our hands to get to the work that we are called to do. How clearly the depravity and self centeredness of the world looks through the bars of prison. How many years I was lost in the church playing Christian instead of pursuing the Kingdom to come. I was pursuing worldly and selfish treasures which I will testify, if God desires can be gone in a flash of an eye. Do not think that God is OK with your disobedience because He is slow to wrath. This is His loving mercy! Have you become deaf to the Word that is preached to you every Sunday? You are not innocent, I was not innocent. We turn a blind eye to the suffering around us and at the same time look Jesus our Christ in the face and tell Him 100 reasons why we could not help. I tell you the truth, we are not innocent! Grace does not give us the right to sit on the sideline; this is not a spectator sport. We act like arm chair quarter backs watching the Sunday game. Get up! Getting into the game is what matters! How can you run a race from the bleachers…I don’t know! I tell you this because I truly love you, my beloved. I so badly want God to open a door so I can shout, “Repent…repent”! Jesus will meet you even in the pit! The Holy Spirit will counsel you in the pit. There is time for you to turn to God’s way. I beg you dear Saints…the time is short.
Now to the Church doing God’s work; stay faithful and don’t lose focus. I too run this race daily with you my brothers and sisters. There have been some concerns about the work of Phish Bowl behind the walls; worthy is our LORD. Yes, it is true that the coffee shop and food kitchen have been closed temporarily due to rules of the program pod in which I live (Mental Health). I tell you the truth; they can and will kick you out of the program for buying a soda pop for someone. They are trying to do so to a brother as I write this copy. Oh to obey God or yield to the authority God has put over me. What a tight rope we walk. However, I will not lie: I can not refuse basic needs as it would be a greater sin to let a fellow human go without a Bible or hygiene than to yield to that authority. We will continue to walk side by side with any man whom god brings to my door step; healing them with the Word of God. Since moving to this pod, I have been scouting out a small group of believers to start a weekly Bible study based on the “The Walk of Repentance”. As for the family of Phish Bowl in the free world, there will be no change. This ministry letter will continue as long as our Lord wishes this message to be told, even though I foresee a time when it will be written underground. Thank you all for your concern. Remember our Lord is on His throne and I’m His servant; His will is my life. For the faithful suppliers of Phish Bowl Coffee House, the soup kitchen and hygiene cabinet are well supplied. Thank you for your love gifts. Your faithfulness at a time like this shows your love for our Lord and that I do not alone. Instead, as Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 tells us:
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Blessed is His name for He is my comforter and supplier; worthy of all worship!
Now back to Acts. I do hope that last month’s copy fed you with thoughts about your walk and your church. Does it look lie the Acts 2 church? If not, have you asked your pastor why? This is the example that the Holy Spirit set down! If you’re in an Acts 2 church, ask how you can get plugged into this fellowship and start living a full life for Jesus!
A walk about in Acts 3:1-4:37. (NKJV)
Many times when I start a study as I’m reading through the passage, I make mental notes of things I wish to stop on for a thought. Now for your sake the Holy Spirit only gives so much room each month for teaching. Also I am limited to a couple of commentaries: A Jewish roots of Acts book and my trusty sword, a NKJV study Bible which was given to me by my spiritual father, Pastor Kevin. I love to dive deep into the Word, looking at some of the things we glance over quickly. I so wish I had the internet to see what our fellow teachers have found to pass on to you. Let’s start off with just reading God’s Word without me getting in the way. Then I will just highlight some points.
Acts 3:1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us." 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them--walking, leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10 Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. 11 Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon's, greatly amazed. 12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 "The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 "But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 "and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. 16 "And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. 17 "Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 "But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 "and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 "whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. 22 "For Moses truly said to the fathers, 'The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 'And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.' 24 "Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. 25 "You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' 26 "To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities." 4:1 Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. 5 And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, 6 as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, "By what power or by what name have you done this?" 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: 9 "If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, 10 "let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 "This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' 12 "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." 13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. 14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. 15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, 16 saying, "What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 "But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name." 18 And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 "For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." 21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done. 22 For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed. 23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 "who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: 'Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things? 26 The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the LORD and against His Christ.' 27 "For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28 "to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. 29 "Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 "by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." 31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. 32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. 33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. 34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, 35 and laid them at the apostles' feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need. 36 And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, 37 having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.
Here is how the Holy Spirit has put it on my heart to break this into bite size teachings. This month 3:1-11; June 3:12-26; July 4:1-31 and August 4:32-37. At this time line it looks as though we will be in Acts for all of my prison time!
Sometime after the day of Pentecost, perhaps as much as a couple of years later (Doctor Luke does not tell us), we pick up at Peter and John going to the temple. In my opinion, the reason that this is included is a three fold purpose. First, the Apostles are ordained by God with power to take this message to the world (See Acts 2:42 “The Apostles Doctrine”); second, just like Pentecost, this message of the Christ has the power to save (Acts 4:4) “However many of those who heard the Word believed, and the number of the men came to be about 5000”; third, is not as clear, but I still see it, Peter publicly denied Jesus three times in front of some of these men. Now we see him publicly proclaim his faith in this Jesus: first at Pentecost (Acts 2:14), second at Solomon’s porch (Acts 3:12) and thirdly when He answered the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:5). After this, we will see a very bold Peter in the work of the Lord as a preacher and spokesman of the early church. (Things to look up: a résumé of Peter, usually paired with John, healed others [Acts 3:1-10, 5:15]; raised Dorcus from the dead [Acts 9:36-42]; imprisoned frequently [Acts 4:3, 5:18, 12:3]; gave passionate sermons to religious authorities [Acts 2:14-39, 4:5-12, 5:29-32]; given a vision in which he was commanded to take the gospel to Cornelius---gentiles [Acts 10]; wrote 1st and 2nd Peter and, by church tradition, was crucified upside down for his faith and outspoken testimony of Jesus the Christ).
Acts 3:1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
According to Josephus, the priests at the temple “twice each day offered daily animal sacrifice required by the Law of Moses” [see Numbers 28: 1-8] and also referred to in Judaism as the Talmud (A book of Jewish law, the collection of ancient Jewish writings that forms the basis of Jewish religious law, consisting of the early scriptural interpretations Mishnah (the primary body of Jewish civil and religious law, forming the first part of the Talmud) and the later commentaries on them). It seems clear that in these early stages of the Church, the Apostles and other believers (who were all Jewish) continue to observe the set times of worship in the Jerusalem temple.
Acts 3:2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple
It was not surprising to find poor and crippled people begging for a handout near the temple. It was a good spot; no self-righteous member of the Sanhedrin could be seen publicly ignoring the poor. Charity is one of the central principles of Biblical and Jewish practice. “For the LORD your God is the God of gods…He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing [Deut 14:29]. It was also written to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him [Isaiah 58:5-8].
In the Tobit (a book of the Roman Catholic Bible and the Protestant Apocrypha that contains the story of Tobit) it is recorded: Give alms of thy substance; and when thou givest alms, let not thine eye be envious, neither turn thy face from any poor, and the face of God shall not be turned away from thee. If thou hast abundance, give alms accordingly. If thou have but a little, be not afraid to give according to that little, for thou layest up a good treasure for thyself (Tobit 4:7-11).
Here are some fun facts per Jewish tradition:
· A poor person is considered poor who has less than 20,000 barley grains; a man with more is not entitled to the “poor man’s tithe” or charity.
· Women take precedence over men in receiving alms.
· Poor relative are taken care of before strangers.
· A traveler in a foreign town who is out of funds is considered to be poor and may take aid.
· A man is still eligible for charity if he possesses household goods which he could sell but needs in order to maintain himself.
· But a man who refuses to use his own means to support himself or family is to be ignored.
· The principle consideration in giving alms is not to shame the recipient; the most valued form of charity is that which is conducted “in secret”.
· There was to be no shame attached to being poor. A man was considered to be a “good man” if he did everything he could do to avoid receiving charity. Rabbi Akiba charged his son Rabbi Joshua…”treat your Sabbath like a weekday rather than be dependent on man.”
Now I know some are saying enough with all this Jewish stuff, we are the church. Oh my beloved, you should have never asked since the New Testament has so much more to say about the poor!
· James 1:27 “undefiled religion before God…is this: to visit (take care of) orphans and widows in their trouble”.
· Romans 12:13 “distributing to the needs of the Saints, given to hospitality”.
· 1 Timothy 3: one of the requirements is “hospitable”.
· Revelation 2:8-11: The Smyrna church receives praise from Jesus because of their work even though they are poor.
· Galatians 2:10: going to see and talk to Peter, James and John (who blessed) Paul’s and Barnabas’ ministry to the Gentiles, only desired that they would remember the “poor” which they were eager to do.
Mt 25:31 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 "And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 'for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 'I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' 37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 'When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 'Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' 41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 'for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 'I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' 44 "Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?'
It must be said…I must say it, if only it doesn’t drop on deaf ears and blind eyes: Today the organized church has wealth. I suppose that if one could put together all of the holdings of all the churches, groups, denominations, and non-denominations across our country alone, we would find the church wealthier than any other organization around. Yet, we ask why the Church lacks power: Why we don’t see revival! It’s because the world does not see Christ’s love through His church. What they see is us fighting over words and tradition ready to cut down our brothers and sisters over things that don’t really matter. All that matters are the who, what and when of Jesus the Christ and Neighbor.
Mt 22:34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" 37 Jesus said to him," 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 "This is the first and great commandment. 39 "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
I want to make something very clear: In no way am I condoning compromise. “It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error. It is better to be hated for telling the truth than to be loved for telling a lie”. ---Adrian Rogers
The Word tells us “truth in love” and this is what I’m calling for, not tolerance for sin. If Phish Bowl had a choice, it will always be willing to receive the world’s disapproval instead of our Lord’s disapproval! This Jesus who died on the cross for our sins is the same Jesus who gave us the Bible. God’s Holy Word does not condone sin! Jesus clearly said in John 14:15 “If you love me, then keep (obey) my commandments.” If we truly believe God, we must also believe and practice His Word, and not just the parts that appeal to our way of thinking.
Acts 3:6 Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." “In the name of Jesus Christ” is not some kind of magic word that if we speak them over something, God must do it. So many times I hear a man tell me, “I pray in Jesus’ name but nothing happens”. Jesus is not a genie in a bottle! I know right now some are about to rip this teaching up, but please hold on for just one more passage: Mt 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' If you are still with me, and I pray you are, the two things I want to look at are: 1. Three times this group tells Jesus; “Lord, Lord. We did this or that in your name”. 2. Jesus tells them He did not know them, but He gives us the key “He who does the will of My Father in heaven”. It is not the words at the end of the prayer; it’s your walk coming into the prayer.
At the end of Acts 3:6, Peter even tells us “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk”.
At times in Scripture, I love hidden pictures for us to find:
v1: at the temple (doing God’s work)
v6: the man got up and walked (faith)
v7: took him by the hand (Holy Spirit & healing)
v8: entered the temple…praising God (Came into the family, worshiping God)
v9: All the people saw him walking (a life change)
v10: Then they knew (used his testimony to bring others to Jesus)
What else can be said? Worthy is our Lord of all praise. I know how much I love this time together with you and God’s Word. Each time it strengthens my walk behind the wall. Blessed be His name. I will pray to the Father to guide you as time will get darker in this world as the time grows near. I pray you are a lighthouse for the lost to come to. “Good Phishing”.
Updates:
I have a new cell and new cellie with good old friend and brother in Christ, Randy. Please keep in prayer this union of two brothers shining in the pod for the LORD!
No baseball this year for me. I will not set any goals for this summertime; just to enjoy the sun.
Work: Keep us in your prayers. The tanks are done now and we are hoping for a contract.
An old street friend has contacted me. I cannot give any details. Please pray as we walk through the door of restoration.
Phish Bowl Coffee House, P.O. Box 153, Loveland, CO 80539.
http://inthephishbowl.blogspot.com
A ministry of Calvary Chapel Loveland
Tim’s address as of April:
Timothy N. Tice
132753 (FCF) 6 lower G19
Canon City, CO 81215
May 2011
Matthew 4:19
“Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”
To the Saints behind and outside the wall: I, Timothy Nathanael, a doulos of Christ pray that you will listen to the call of the Holy Spirit on your life; the return of our Lord Jesus the Christ is coming soon. Father God has work for you to do; souls need your help in healing. We need to open our heart, our homes and our hands to get to the work that we are called to do. How clearly the depravity and self centeredness of the world looks through the bars of prison. How many years I was lost in the church playing Christian instead of pursuing the Kingdom to come. I was pursuing worldly and selfish treasures which I will testify, if God desires can be gone in a flash of an eye. Do not think that God is OK with your disobedience because He is slow to wrath. This is His loving mercy! Have you become deaf to the Word that is preached to you every Sunday? You are not innocent, I was not innocent. We turn a blind eye to the suffering around us and at the same time look Jesus our Christ in the face and tell Him 100 reasons why we could not help. I tell you the truth, we are not innocent! Grace does not give us the right to sit on the sideline; this is not a spectator sport. We act like arm chair quarter backs watching the Sunday game. Get up! Getting into the game is what matters! How can you run a race from the bleachers…I don’t know! I tell you this because I truly love you, my beloved. I so badly want God to open a door so I can shout, “Repent…repent”! Jesus will meet you even in the pit! The Holy Spirit will counsel you in the pit. There is time for you to turn to God’s way. I beg you dear Saints…the time is short.
Now to the Church doing God’s work; stay faithful and don’t lose focus. I too run this race daily with you my brothers and sisters. There have been some concerns about the work of Phish Bowl behind the walls; worthy is our LORD. Yes, it is true that the coffee shop and food kitchen have been closed temporarily due to rules of the program pod in which I live (Mental Health). I tell you the truth; they can and will kick you out of the program for buying a soda pop for someone. They are trying to do so to a brother as I write this copy. Oh to obey God or yield to the authority God has put over me. What a tight rope we walk. However, I will not lie: I can not refuse basic needs as it would be a greater sin to let a fellow human go without a Bible or hygiene than to yield to that authority. We will continue to walk side by side with any man whom god brings to my door step; healing them with the Word of God. Since moving to this pod, I have been scouting out a small group of believers to start a weekly Bible study based on the “The Walk of Repentance”. As for the family of Phish Bowl in the free world, there will be no change. This ministry letter will continue as long as our Lord wishes this message to be told, even though I foresee a time when it will be written underground. Thank you all for your concern. Remember our Lord is on His throne and I’m His servant; His will is my life. For the faithful suppliers of Phish Bowl Coffee House, the soup kitchen and hygiene cabinet are well supplied. Thank you for your love gifts. Your faithfulness at a time like this shows your love for our Lord and that I do not alone. Instead, as Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 tells us:
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Blessed is His name for He is my comforter and supplier; worthy of all worship!
Now back to Acts. I do hope that last month’s copy fed you with thoughts about your walk and your church. Does it look lie the Acts 2 church? If not, have you asked your pastor why? This is the example that the Holy Spirit set down! If you’re in an Acts 2 church, ask how you can get plugged into this fellowship and start living a full life for Jesus!
A walk about in Acts 3:1-4:37. (NKJV)
Many times when I start a study as I’m reading through the passage, I make mental notes of things I wish to stop on for a thought. Now for your sake the Holy Spirit only gives so much room each month for teaching. Also I am limited to a couple of commentaries: A Jewish roots of Acts book and my trusty sword, a NKJV study Bible which was given to me by my spiritual father, Pastor Kevin. I love to dive deep into the Word, looking at some of the things we glance over quickly. I so wish I had the internet to see what our fellow teachers have found to pass on to you. Let’s start off with just reading God’s Word without me getting in the way. Then I will just highlight some points.
Acts 3:1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look at us." 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them--walking, leaping, and praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10 Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. 11 Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon's, greatly amazed. 12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: "Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 "The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 "But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 "and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. 16 "And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. 17 "Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 "But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 "and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 "whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. 22 "For Moses truly said to the fathers, 'The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 'And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.' 24 "Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. 25 "You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' 26 "To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities." 4:1 Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. 5 And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, 6 as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, "By what power or by what name have you done this?" 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: 9 "If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, 10 "let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 "This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' 12 "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." 13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. 14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. 15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, 16 saying, "What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 "But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name." 18 And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 "For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." 21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done. 22 For the man was over forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed. 23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: "Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 "who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: 'Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things? 26 The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the LORD and against His Christ.' 27 "For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28 "to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. 29 "Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 "by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus." 31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. 32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. 33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. 34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, 35 and laid them at the apostles' feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need. 36 And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, 37 having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.
Here is how the Holy Spirit has put it on my heart to break this into bite size teachings. This month 3:1-11; June 3:12-26; July 4:1-31 and August 4:32-37. At this time line it looks as though we will be in Acts for all of my prison time!
Sometime after the day of Pentecost, perhaps as much as a couple of years later (Doctor Luke does not tell us), we pick up at Peter and John going to the temple. In my opinion, the reason that this is included is a three fold purpose. First, the Apostles are ordained by God with power to take this message to the world (See Acts 2:42 “The Apostles Doctrine”); second, just like Pentecost, this message of the Christ has the power to save (Acts 4:4) “However many of those who heard the Word believed, and the number of the men came to be about 5000”; third, is not as clear, but I still see it, Peter publicly denied Jesus three times in front of some of these men. Now we see him publicly proclaim his faith in this Jesus: first at Pentecost (Acts 2:14), second at Solomon’s porch (Acts 3:12) and thirdly when He answered the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:5). After this, we will see a very bold Peter in the work of the Lord as a preacher and spokesman of the early church. (Things to look up: a résumé of Peter, usually paired with John, healed others [Acts 3:1-10, 5:15]; raised Dorcus from the dead [Acts 9:36-42]; imprisoned frequently [Acts 4:3, 5:18, 12:3]; gave passionate sermons to religious authorities [Acts 2:14-39, 4:5-12, 5:29-32]; given a vision in which he was commanded to take the gospel to Cornelius---gentiles [Acts 10]; wrote 1st and 2nd Peter and, by church tradition, was crucified upside down for his faith and outspoken testimony of Jesus the Christ).
Acts 3:1 Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
According to Josephus, the priests at the temple “twice each day offered daily animal sacrifice required by the Law of Moses” [see Numbers 28: 1-8] and also referred to in Judaism as the Talmud (A book of Jewish law, the collection of ancient Jewish writings that forms the basis of Jewish religious law, consisting of the early scriptural interpretations Mishnah (the primary body of Jewish civil and religious law, forming the first part of the Talmud) and the later commentaries on them). It seems clear that in these early stages of the Church, the Apostles and other believers (who were all Jewish) continue to observe the set times of worship in the Jerusalem temple.
Acts 3:2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple
It was not surprising to find poor and crippled people begging for a handout near the temple. It was a good spot; no self-righteous member of the Sanhedrin could be seen publicly ignoring the poor. Charity is one of the central principles of Biblical and Jewish practice. “For the LORD your God is the God of gods…He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing [Deut 14:29]. It was also written to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him [Isaiah 58:5-8].
In the Tobit (a book of the Roman Catholic Bible and the Protestant Apocrypha that contains the story of Tobit) it is recorded: Give alms of thy substance; and when thou givest alms, let not thine eye be envious, neither turn thy face from any poor, and the face of God shall not be turned away from thee. If thou hast abundance, give alms accordingly. If thou have but a little, be not afraid to give according to that little, for thou layest up a good treasure for thyself (Tobit 4:7-11).
Here are some fun facts per Jewish tradition:
· A poor person is considered poor who has less than 20,000 barley grains; a man with more is not entitled to the “poor man’s tithe” or charity.
· Women take precedence over men in receiving alms.
· Poor relative are taken care of before strangers.
· A traveler in a foreign town who is out of funds is considered to be poor and may take aid.
· A man is still eligible for charity if he possesses household goods which he could sell but needs in order to maintain himself.
· But a man who refuses to use his own means to support himself or family is to be ignored.
· The principle consideration in giving alms is not to shame the recipient; the most valued form of charity is that which is conducted “in secret”.
· There was to be no shame attached to being poor. A man was considered to be a “good man” if he did everything he could do to avoid receiving charity. Rabbi Akiba charged his son Rabbi Joshua…”treat your Sabbath like a weekday rather than be dependent on man.”
Now I know some are saying enough with all this Jewish stuff, we are the church. Oh my beloved, you should have never asked since the New Testament has so much more to say about the poor!
· James 1:27 “undefiled religion before God…is this: to visit (take care of) orphans and widows in their trouble”.
· Romans 12:13 “distributing to the needs of the Saints, given to hospitality”.
· 1 Timothy 3: one of the requirements is “hospitable”.
· Revelation 2:8-11: The Smyrna church receives praise from Jesus because of their work even though they are poor.
· Galatians 2:10: going to see and talk to Peter, James and John (who blessed) Paul’s and Barnabas’ ministry to the Gentiles, only desired that they would remember the “poor” which they were eager to do.
Mt 25:31 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 "All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 "And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 'for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 'I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' 37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 'When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 'Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' 41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 'for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 'I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' 44 "Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?'
It must be said…I must say it, if only it doesn’t drop on deaf ears and blind eyes: Today the organized church has wealth. I suppose that if one could put together all of the holdings of all the churches, groups, denominations, and non-denominations across our country alone, we would find the church wealthier than any other organization around. Yet, we ask why the Church lacks power: Why we don’t see revival! It’s because the world does not see Christ’s love through His church. What they see is us fighting over words and tradition ready to cut down our brothers and sisters over things that don’t really matter. All that matters are the who, what and when of Jesus the Christ and Neighbor.
Mt 22:34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" 37 Jesus said to him," 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 "This is the first and great commandment. 39 "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."
I want to make something very clear: In no way am I condoning compromise. “It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error. It is better to be hated for telling the truth than to be loved for telling a lie”. ---Adrian Rogers
The Word tells us “truth in love” and this is what I’m calling for, not tolerance for sin. If Phish Bowl had a choice, it will always be willing to receive the world’s disapproval instead of our Lord’s disapproval! This Jesus who died on the cross for our sins is the same Jesus who gave us the Bible. God’s Holy Word does not condone sin! Jesus clearly said in John 14:15 “If you love me, then keep (obey) my commandments.” If we truly believe God, we must also believe and practice His Word, and not just the parts that appeal to our way of thinking.
Acts 3:6 Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." “In the name of Jesus Christ” is not some kind of magic word that if we speak them over something, God must do it. So many times I hear a man tell me, “I pray in Jesus’ name but nothing happens”. Jesus is not a genie in a bottle! I know right now some are about to rip this teaching up, but please hold on for just one more passage: Mt 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' If you are still with me, and I pray you are, the two things I want to look at are: 1. Three times this group tells Jesus; “Lord, Lord. We did this or that in your name”. 2. Jesus tells them He did not know them, but He gives us the key “He who does the will of My Father in heaven”. It is not the words at the end of the prayer; it’s your walk coming into the prayer.
At the end of Acts 3:6, Peter even tells us “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk”.
At times in Scripture, I love hidden pictures for us to find:
v1: at the temple (doing God’s work)
v6: the man got up and walked (faith)
v7: took him by the hand (Holy Spirit & healing)
v8: entered the temple…praising God (Came into the family, worshiping God)
v9: All the people saw him walking (a life change)
v10: Then they knew (used his testimony to bring others to Jesus)
What else can be said? Worthy is our Lord of all praise. I know how much I love this time together with you and God’s Word. Each time it strengthens my walk behind the wall. Blessed be His name. I will pray to the Father to guide you as time will get darker in this world as the time grows near. I pray you are a lighthouse for the lost to come to. “Good Phishing”.
Updates:
I have a new cell and new cellie with good old friend and brother in Christ, Randy. Please keep in prayer this union of two brothers shining in the pod for the LORD!
No baseball this year for me. I will not set any goals for this summertime; just to enjoy the sun.
Work: Keep us in your prayers. The tanks are done now and we are hoping for a contract.
An old street friend has contacted me. I cannot give any details. Please pray as we walk through the door of restoration.
Phish Bowl Coffee House, P.O. Box 153, Loveland, CO 80539.
http://inthephishbowl.blogspot.com
A ministry of Calvary Chapel Loveland
Tim’s address as of April:
Timothy N. Tice
132753 (FCF) 6 lower G19
Canon City, CO 81215
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)