My Favorite Scripture

I think this is my favorite scripture. If not, definitely in the top 5:

When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples. Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, "Whom are you seeking?" They answered Him, 'Jesus of Nazareth.' Jesus said to them, "I am He." And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. Now when He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground. Then He asked them again, "Whom are you seeking?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus answered, "I have told you that I am He. Therefore if you seek Me, let these go their way," that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, "Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none."

―John 18:1-9

I don't even wanna say nothing. This speaks for itself, hahaha! GLORY!

The Paradox of God's Kingdom

"For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it."

―Jesus Christ (Luke 9:24)

This sounds ridiculous at first, you gotta admit. But this is sort of a thesis statement to "The Paradox of God's Kingdom," and if not a thesis, at least a main supporting point. So what does he mean?

Think of it like this:

It's not until you surrender to God what you want the most, that you actually get it. In this case he was talking about life itself, but this goes along with everything.

To walk in authority and power, you need to live a life of submission .  I've been taught my whole life that those who surrender in nature are the weak ones. Whether the "survival of the fittest" in evolutionary theory or the focus on individualistic entrepreneurship in capitalistic America, I've been socialized, as well as many others into thinking that submission, in it's simplest form, is contrary to exercising power and authority. I'm here to tell us that submission to God is the only way to walk in true power and authority. Backwards? I know. It doesn't make sense. But that's the point! God chooses to work through the "weak" things on purpose. By raising up those who submit to Him in their weakness, He makes them strong through the cross of Christ just to prove His glory. Take a look at this.

'The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. As the Scriptures say,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise
 and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”

So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.
Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.” '

―The Apostle Paul (From writings to the church in Corinth, 1 Corintians 1:18-31)

If you don't believe it look at me, an ex-pervert and ex-doubter who's only known personal assignment from God is to be a father and impact lives. And it's all because God's message of love reached my ears by His grace, and I responded in submission. Jesus died for my sins and defeated death so that I could live in life and connection with God forever. Now I have power. Now I have authority. Now I have hope. Now I have Jesus and now He has me. He has plans and purposes to use me that have eternal consequences I never would have dreamed of. If you know me, know that I'll always make myself available to talk. This is serious business and I am not typing it lightly. Once we hear the truth about Jesus and what He did, we have a choice to either accept Him and receive eternal life, or reject Him and receive eternal death. One of my friends was really hurt by this truth. He called it a manipulative ultimatum, a power move on God's end. Many people feel this way, but we're not justified in our logic. We're rebellious against God and our souls are what need justifying. Don't let your feelings or your intellect stop you from gaining the one thing that everyone is looking for but can't see. It has many names―love, acceptance, intimacy, security, hope, adventure, purpose, drive, strength, power, confidence―and they are all found in one name, Jesus Christ the Son of God. I'm begging you to look into this. If you know me personally I want to let you know that I am never too busy to help you make that informed decision. Please hit me up if you have any questions. Because if you choose to only look at one side of a story then that makes your decision biased. If you don't know me, ask a friend who does, a friend who's life shows the power of this paradox.

To be fully satisfied in all of the desires God has given you, you need to "hate them" 

"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple"

―Jesus Christ (Luke 14:26, NKJV).

Another translation fills the gap on the interpretation of this scripture really well. It says:

"If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple."

―Jesus Christ (Luke 14:26, NLT).

Whether its family relationships or even your own life, if you love these things more than Christ then... Well most importantly He says you "cannot be My disciple." Let that sink in for as long as it needs to, don't just overlook it. I was tempted to overlook it when I was writing this blog post. If you call yourself a disciple of Jesus, then He said these words just for you. And without his leadership as "teacher" in your relationship, you will never be taught how to enjoy these desires in the fulness of how they were designed. All these things―love, acceptance, intimacy, security, hope, adventure, purpose, drive, strength, power, confidence―they will be abused and twisted into issues, pains, and temporal ecstasy. The purpose for all your desires is to enjoy the Giver. And when you enjoy Him through them, their purpose no longer becomes short lived and temporary but long lasting and eternal.

Some examples:
Sex
Power
Wealth
Dream Job
Hobbies
Future Spouse
Relationships

My God, my God....

Wait… sooo…..
I never knew how God brought Judah out of the Babylonian captivity until now. Read it for yourself, it’s a trip. For exactly 70 years they were brought into exile because of their disobedience to Him and His law. God told them beforehand through Jeremiah, that they would be in captivity for exactly 70 years, and they didn’t listen. And then, God let Nebuchadnezzar take them captive in Babylon, where they would be captives for 70 years. Why 70 years? I didn’t know this either but the 70 years made up the Sabbath for the land that Judah didn’t keep in disobedience.

“And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.”

-2 Chronicles 36:20-21

There's no mistaking God's sovereignty in this. Everything perfectly lines up. It's not like he was like, "oh well, I guess I'll let them fend for themselves and see what happens..." No, this was a parent disciplining his children. His eyes never left them. Even while He "removed his hand of protection," He was in complete control. And then how does he get them out? This is crazy. Ok, first imagine living in captivity for 70 years (assuming you weren’t killed by the sword when Babylon invaded, and assuming you survived the 70 years, and assuming you were young enough when taken captive to not die of old age). At least more than half of Judah after 70 years had to have been born in captivity. They never even knew their homeland. They didn’t know what it was like to be a people group set apart for a purpose, let alone a nation that governs themselves. Ok with all that in mind, in comes God. I don’t even want to paraphrase this one, here it is:

“Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,

Thus says Cyrus king of Persia:
All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem. And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.”

-Ezra 1:1-4

Nuts right? And what about the Israelites? Sure they're freed, but they've been in exile for 70 years. How can God expect them to find unity under one banner, to gather the strength and hope needed to believe in Him now that they are on their own? Oh, let's look at the next verse:

"Then the heads of the fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, with all whose spirits God had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem."

-Ezra 1:5

God raised up leaders. His spirit had moved them at the necessary time. He is sovereign. He is loving. My God, my God....