MARCH 8, 2025

  “Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. And experience is often the most valuable thing you have to offer.” 

― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

DEUTERONOMY 5-7

9Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. 10But

those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction;

he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.

11Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.(7:9-11)

MARK 12:1-27

1Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 2At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. 5He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.

6“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

7“But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

9“What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture:

“ ‘The stone the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone;

11the Lord has done this,

and it is marvelous in our eyes’^a ?”

12Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.

JOURNAL 

I remember the day as if it was yesterday. Samford University matt drills...it was my first semester after transferring from JUCO to play football. It was the second week and I had already missed one matt drill from oversleeping. I had stayed up late studying and forgot to turn the volume up on my alarm. All of a sudden I woke up at 5:50 am and we had to be there at 5:50 with matt drills starting at 6:00. Sheer panic and terror, I can recall the pit in my stomach even now. I sped across campus and got there just as it was starting. I tried to sneak in and get in the stretching line. Of course there was no sneaking in...my attempt was greeted with muffled snickers and laughs. I had blown it...I knew it and later in the day I received the most severe tongue lashing of my life by my QB coach ( Jimbo Fisher ).  He told me that if I was ever late again he would convert me to Tight End and my Quarterback days would be over. 

Fortunately I got the message...for the the next 2 years I was obnoxiously early to any meeting, practice, gathering etc. In fact I became so paranoid about being on time that I would consistently wake up several times a night in sheer panic that I had overslept. 

It's really interesting to look back on times like this and see the impact of an experience. For me it made an impression that has stayed with me for the last 33years. A few years ago Jimbo was speaking at the Quarterback Club here in Birmingham, a friend of mine invited me to attend and I was able to take my oldest son. He joked with me about those days as if it had just happened. In some ways it seemed like it but also it confirmed the value of experience, whether success or failure. 

God has created us to learn from experiences and that's why it was so important that Jesus himself came and lived and died. He doesn't just give us empty commands...he gets it, he understands and therefore can be trusted for his words, his stories and his experiences. 

54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

MATTHEW 27:54

MARCH 7, 2025

  “I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?” 

― C.S. Lewis

DEUTERONOMY 3-4

 29But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. 31For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.(3:29-31)

MARK 11:20-33

27They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. 28“By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”

29Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.30John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!”

31They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ . . . ” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)

33So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”

Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

JOURNAL 

The pharisees had an agenda...Jesus did not fit their idea of the Messiah. So they were intent on exposing him as a heretic and a fraud. As a result Jesus threatened to expose their motives or at least outsmarted them in a way that left them silent. 

Most people never really willingly expose their true agendas. Vulnerability and true honesty too often is seen as weakness not strength.  While Jesus does play coy with them in the end he has no hesitation exposing who he is and what is mission and purpose are. 

Jesus is here for us always, we can always be honest, always be vulnerable. It is why he came to establish connection and relationship. He is the calm in the middle of the storm, he is the answer when the world has only questions, he is a savior when the world offers condemnation and hate. 

7“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

9“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

MATTHEW 7:7-12

MARCH 6, 2025

 “Keep a clear eye toward life's end. Do not forget your purpose and destiny as God's creature. What you are in his sight is what you are and nothing more. Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take nothing that you have received...but only what you have given; a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice, and courage.” 

― Francis of Assisi

DEUTERONOMY 1-2

29Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. 30The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.” (2:29-33)

MARK 11:1-19

15When they arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves. 16And He would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17Then Jesus began to teach them, and He declared, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’e? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’f”

18When the chief priests and scribes heard this, they looked for a way to kill Him. For they were afraid of Him, because the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.

JOURNAL 

I love that Jesus went in and disrupted the "business" of the church. I love that he called it for what it was a "den of robbers". It was no longer a sacred place for "all nations"...all people. This is the real kingdom that Jesus was trying to "teach" them about. 

I really wonder if in all our striving and "business" if we truly have not missed the heart of God. In our obsession to secure financial freedom have we missed spiritual freedom? In our quest to be "right" have we erred and traveled a path not to the heart of God but rather further into our own fear and selfishness? 

It is the same way when it comes to our hopes and dreams and the things that block us along the way. The question is do we really trust God or do we trust man? Do I truly believe that the God who created heaven and earth is with me? If so then why do I fear, why do I doubt, why do I despair? 

No man is above God. God is the authority and ultimately holds all the cards. The Bible is filled with example upon example of times when God does the unthinkable and moves a mountain of impossibility. Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, David, Moses, Daniel, Peter, Paul etc. God is a God who never seems to do things the easy and conventional way. Probably because we need reminders that we are not God and ultimately we need him. Also I think it forces us to go the path of obedience instead of self-reliance. 

Thank you Father for this reminder. Thank you for again flipping over the tables of my doubt and faithlessness. Thank you for your word that lets me know that you never leave me and that you will never forsake me. Your spirit compels me to act...to go forward...to love the unlovable, persist in the hopeless, overcome despair,  break down walls, move mountains, defy traditions and slay giants.

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

HEBREWS 12:1-3

MARCH 5, 2025

  “The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?' But...the good Samaritan reversed the question: 'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?” 

― Martin Luther King Jr.

NUMBERS 34-36

9Then the Lord said to Moses: 10“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, 11select some towns to be your cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone accidentally may flee. 12They will be places of refuge from the avenger, so that anyone accused of murder may not die before they stand trial before the assembly. 13These six towns you give will be your cities of refuge. 14Give three on this side of the Jordan and three in Canaan as cities of refuge. 15These six towns will be a place of refuge for Israelites and for foreigners residing among them, so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there. (35:9-15)

MARK 10:32-52

“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

JOURNAL 

God is a God of refuge that calls us to serve. Throughout scripture these two themes are consistent. God rescuing those in need as well as calling us to do the same. All of life really can be viewed through the lens of these two themes. 

While this can seem simple...however in a world of self-promotion and monetary success...living it is a great challenge. To see greatness measured in how I serve is such a life-giving idea. When I think back on my own life I can recall many situations where I failed in this objective. As a result I see the anxiety and stress of trying to attain levels of superiority rather than the humility of service. 

From the prodigal, to the widow, to the samaritan...it is abundantly clear that God calls us to serve with compassion. 

11In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

ROMANS 6:11-14

MARCH 4, 2025

  “I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours..” 

― Henry David Thoreau

NUMBERS 32-33

50On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho the Lord said to Moses, 51“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, 52drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places. 53Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess. 54Distribute the land by lot, according to your clans. To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one. Whatever falls to them by lot will be theirs. Distribute it according to your ancestral tribes.

55“ ‘But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. 56And then I will do to you what I plan to do to them.’ ”(33:50-56)

MARK 10:1-31

13People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

JOURNAL 

What does it mean "to receive the kingdom like a little child"? I think it goes back to truly living in the moment and limiting your mind and heart to the here and now. That's the one thing about small children...everything is immediate, they really don't care about tomorrow or a week from now. They also are not concerned about wealth or position or titles. They live completely in the moment. 

While living as an adult...I do have responsibilities to plan, and think about the future, etc. However, it's all again in the interpretation. This doesn't mean that I live irresponsibly and completely indulgent but it does mean that my hope and faith is childlike. It means I see God through childlike eyes that does not limit him or dismiss him. 

So what does that look like? It's all in the context and I think it's way deeper and simpler all at the same time. I think it would mean that I would  be bold in the moment, and not consumed with fear or shame, worry or doubt. It means that I will be open-minded, hopeful and full of joy. Not a bad way to live...this is the mind and heart of the kingdom of God.

14For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15from whom every family^a in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

EPHESIANS 3:14-19