Christmas greeting

 Just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.  Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus this coming year.  Marion and I pray for you often. 

Slight detour

   So about a week ago Marion and I were talking and she was talking about the shortest verse in the bible John 11:35 "Then Jesus wept."  She said that she had always heard of the verse but what she wanted to know was why.  She got me thinking.  About a week later I was reading in the book of John and came to chapter 11.  I hope this week you read John 11:1-44.  In verse 1-3 we discover Lazarus lived with his sisters Mary and Martha and they sent a message to Jesus that Lazarus has taken ill.  Look at verse 4 wouldn't you love to be told this when you or someone you know is sick?  "But when Jesus heard about it he said `Lazarus's sickness will not end in death.  No it happened for the Glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this'."  Now I don't know about you but between me, my wife, my sister, my grandma and my mom you could almost write medical journals.  From snake bites, epilepsy, broken bones, fractured elbows, tendons pulled away from muscles, bruised kidneys, kidney stones, hydrocephalus, cancer, and spina bifida we've had it.  And I would love to God was using all this for his glory. 

  So Jesus knows Lazarus is sick and verse 5 says even though he knows this and pay attention to this clue as to the weeping thing.  Jesus loves these people.  Now let that sink in knowing all that he stayed away 2 more days.  Then he tells the disciples "Let's go back to Judea."  The Disciples response.  "Hey look here Jack people tried to kill you when you were there last.  You can't go back."  Verse 9 and 10 they couldn't change his mind.  I mean really arguing with the Son of God not usually a good tactic.  Besides he had a plan.  "I love it when a plan comes together."  In verse 11 Jesus tells them Lazarus is asleep and he's going to wake him. Then he had to make things simple.  "Lazarus is dead!"  D E D Dead. Verse 16 is awesome!  Thomas is like most macho guys ya gotta love his response.  "Let's go too and die with Jesus."  He's like they portray warriors in movies "It's a good day to die." 

  So they get to Bethany and find out Lazarus has been in the grave 4 days.  They have already buried him, thrown dirt in his face and gone back to the church to have potato salad.  There's people everywhere mourning the loss of Lazarus and Jesus is looking for Mary and Martha remember he loves these people. Verse 21 is the cry of every person on the planet who has ever lost a loved one.  "Lord if only you had been here, my brother would not have died."  Now here's where her faith slaps the grim reaper full force upside the head.  Verses 22-27 she secures her faith in the Grave Robber.  Death says Lazarus is mine but Jesus said "I am the Resurrection and the Life.  Think of this like the part of the movie Return of the Jedi.  The Emperor has done all he can and Luke Skywalker simply says "You failed your Highness I will never turn to the Dark Side!  I am a Jedi like my Father before me!"

 So Martha runs to get Mary.  "The Teacher is here and wants to see you."  No hesitation she went to him.  Now she gives the "if only" speech.  Jesus sees her weeping and other people and he was filled with deep anger and deeply troubled.  Then we get to the grave and he weeps.  I've heard it said grief has stages.  Look at what Jesus goes thru because he was fully God and fully man and he wept.  He wept because he cared and he loved.  And don't you forget that he cares because what he did next proved it.  He prayed and brought a dead man back to life.  We were dead in our sins and he died to bring you and me back to life. 

Earlier I called Jesus the Grave Robber and the term came from this classic song.  Grave Robber by Petra http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj-tpOH21NM

Remember God cares for you so much He sent his Son to give his live for you.  This is a song that popped into my head as I neared the end of this study. 

If I had on chance to tell you something by Rebecca St. James.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Bs_hSsbI2A

I found 2 versions of this next song and both are so wonderful I had to share them both. 

Amazing Grace/ My chains are gone by Darlene Zschech, Kari Jobe and Mandisa http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJb8lNSfJKI

Amazing Grace/ My chains are gone and Shout to the Lord by Darlene Zschech http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0eJL5-Xlgw

I heard this song as a kid and it has stuck with me for yrs.  Rise Again by Dallas Holm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBqoQJRNepo

Finally if you aren't playing the air guitar or drums by the end of this song then you aren't having fun. 

Ain't no Grave by Selah/ Jason and Adam Crabb  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1my1iI6RxU

Freedom in Christ

First a disclaimer before we get right into things.  If any of you have noticed that I'm sending these bible studies out a little later than normal well there's a reason for that.  Due to mine and my wife's work schedules she had asked me to simply send the e-mails to her like I did with everyone else.  around Thanksgiving twice Marion mentioned she missed that time together studying the bible with me.  That was a wake up call to me.  God used it to get my attention and remind me that our marriage needed that time set aside.  If I am to be the spiritual head of the household as God called me as a husband to be I need to set that time aside to spend with God and my wife.  so if things seem delayed have no fear you will get your dose of your weekly Bat Cave blog but not till after I get to have bible study with my wife.   

  Some of this might be controversial and if it is to you I don't mean to offend you.  We as believers have freedom in Christ.  I have been to many churches in the 37 yrs of my life.  Some worship in different ways, some have lots of rules and regulations or they will impose things on you and tell you it's their way or you're not right before God.  I've been to churches that dictate how you can dress, which versions of the bible you can read and make decisions on the music you can listen to.  Galatians 4 and 5 talk about us having freedom.  To quote the group 4 Him "Freedom can only be known in the love of Jesus."  In the early church the Jewish Christians were always telling the Gentiles(that's us non Israelites) we had to obey the law and be circumcised in order to be right with God.  Now maybe I'm weird in thinking this but what about the women folk?  last I checked circumcision would be physically impossible for them.  So according to Jewish logic they can't be made right with God?  Nah I can't even buy that for a dollar.  Jews were big on rules and regulations and traditions.  See the Galatians were becoming confused and misled by what the Jewish believers were forcing on them.  Galatians 4:8-12 "Before you Gentiles knew God you were slaves to so called gods that do not even exist.  So that you who know God (or should I say now that God knows you) why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world?  You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years.  I fear for you.  Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing.  Dear brothers and sisters I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things for I have become like you Gentiles--free from these laws."  Paul goes on to impress on the Galatians their freedom from these traditions and rules.  Gal 5:1 "So Christ has truly set us free.  Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law.  We discussed this last week the law can't save us and we can't keep it only Jesus death on the cross can save us.  Gal 5:5-6 "But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us.  For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, their is no benefit in being circumcised of being uncircumcised.  What is important is faith expressing itself in love"  Faith expressing itself in love think about that phrase and what it could look like.  As Americans we have freedoms with those freedoms comes a bit of power.  Yes we have freedom in Christ to worship certain ways.  A wise man named Stan Lee had this to say about power and the freedom that comes with it.  "With great power there must also come great responsibility."  We can worship and interact with other believers in many ways and yes we have freedom but there's responsibility that comes with it.  Gal 5:13-15 "For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters.  But don't use your freedom to satisfy you sinful nature.  Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.  For the whole law can be summed up in this one command `Love your neighbor as yourself'.  But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out!  Because of your destroying one another"  Let go of rules and tradition find your salvation in Christ's completed work on the cross.  Misty Edwards sums this up well when referring to our purpose and relationship with God.  "For I was made to love you and be loved by you."  There is freedom in our worship don't use it to hurt others but serve in love. 

This is the story of our Freedom.  No Need to Explain by Geoff Moore and the Distance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbd3JNY8IsQ  if you're looking for the words to the song they are right below the video. 

Freedom by 4Him http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLoh2MW-Vbc

Freedom is here by Hillsong http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xSopsvstzk I first heard this song at Real Life Corpus and I have to say just this one thing.  the song is heavy on drums while Hillsong does a good job I like the song best when my good friend Chris Godoy is playing the drums. 

Galatians 4:4-7

Over the coming weeks you will probably hear a lot of mixed messages about Christmas.  Some good, some Santa filled you might even read or hear something about elves, trolls, orcs, dwarves and knights wait that's not right.  In Galatians chapters 2 and 3 it talks a lot about how we are slaves to sin and the law couldn't save us or give us a new life.  I know people who think I keep the 10 commandments so I'm going to heaven.  Guess what you can't keep them it's impossible and the law alone can't save us.  Galatians 3:16 "Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ not by obeying the law and we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law.  For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law."  What I Zac would like you to get is the meaning behind Christmas this year.  It's not about giving/receiving gifts, not about family, not about reindeer, sleet deer, snow deer, root beer or even yes dear.  Christmas is about the greatest gift ever it's about the King of Kings sending his son to be born to die on a cross for you and me.  Romans 3:23 "For everyone has sinned, we all fall short of God's glorious standard."  Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."  This is what Christmas is really about.  Romans 5:8 "But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.  Christmas is also about a matter of timing God's timing to be exact,  Galatians 4:4-7 "But when the right time came, God sent his son, born of a woman, subject to the law.  God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could he could adopt us as his very own children.  And because we are his children, God has sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts prompting us to call out `Abba Father'.  Now you are no longer a slave but God's own child.  And since you are his child God has made you his heir."  See Christmas like Easter finds it's meaning in cross and it ends with a wedding by a glassy sea.  It's about the greatest love story rescue mission ever.  Rejoice in the reason for Christmas this year because you are loved.  "we are loved beyond our ability to comprehend." 

let me know take you on a trip through the bible through music and we start with this

The Greatest Story Ever Told by 4Him http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeaE28lKumo

World View by Audio Adrenaline http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HD3t9DjqVY

A Strange way to save the world by 4 Him http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBCVIJBB7o4

Mighty to save by Laura Story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYqogpLpC5Q

Glorious day by Casting Crowns http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xODpgyqGCYM

Lord I lift your name on high by Hillsong http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0nn8QT2-VQ

Holy wedding day by City Harmonic and JJ Heller http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyMRglSxF0E

remember this as you go thru this Christmas season.  How He loves by Jesus Culture http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VNFSqBrzYA

God's not done with you and me because our life with him is truly a Great Adventure.  The Great Adventure by Steven Curtis Chapman.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVFPjIp6nkk 

Galatians 2:10-13

    We can learn something from Peter and Paul's confrontation here in these verses.  Paul basically calls out Peter on his actions.  "But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong.  When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who were not circumcised.  But Afterward, when friends of James came, Peter wouldn't eat with the Gentiles anymore.  He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision, as a result other Jewish Christians followed Peter's hypocrisy and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy."  It's easy to read this and just think okay that's just Bible history Jews vs Gentiles it doesn't mean much today.  "I think not Baby Puppy!"  Follow me to a typical Sunday potluck, to a church to a school, to a party.  Follow me to the world of fear and favoritism.  This realm's ruler is a Troll called Fear and Peer Pressure.  Now for those of you who don't know what a troll is let me educate you because even WWE Chairman Vince McMahon gets this wrong.  Trolls in the Forgotten Realms universe stand about 6 ft tall and they're as strong as all get out, they look like a giant walking stick.  The only way to kill a troll is to hack it to pieces and burn it because it's limbs regenerate.  Pay attention again to Peter he chose to play favorites with different groups of Christians and others followed his example.  I see it happen in the workplace when a manager will treat one employee better than another and they think there is no problem with that.  Someone somewhere along the way notices.  I know people who become like Peter and turn into a two-faced person.  See they play favorites so long they don't even know it.  Wake up call time we're taking a little trip in the New Testament for more insight.  "Yes indeed it is good when you obey the Royal Law as found in the scriptures: `Love your neighbor as yourself' But if you favor some people over others , you are committing a sin, you are guilty of breaking the law."  James 2:8-9.  Peter was a leader in the early church and his actions caused others to be led astray.  Paul stepped up to the troll of fear and peer pressure Peter had given ground to.  And Paul said "This isn't right!  The things you're doing are impacting others You need to stand down Peter there's a problem here.  ."  See we need to learn this here when we are in a group don't play favorites.  Don't be 2 faced in your dealings with others.  Someone along the way is going to call you out on it and God is going to hold you accountable.  Where I work we have a lot of places to sit and it's easy to play favorites and sit only with certain people.  I try hard not to stick with one place because I can sit by anyone and I'll do my best to get along I don't play favorites.  I have seen it where people will follow another person and won't associate with others due to fear and peer pressure.  That's not good God calls us to minister to others if we're too busy only spending time with our favorites we miss out on a ministry opportunity.  Step out of your comfort zone this week and let a new person know they matter to God.  Fight the troll!

 

This song reminds us of a simple truth.  People need the Lord by Steve Green http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AibBR6j2g54

 

Reminder number 2    We need Jesus by Petra http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpaJHGKrdDI

 

Reminder number 3    Heart to God and Hand to man by Geoff Moore and the Distance with back up vocals by Ashley Cleveland.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH8mJwHF_EY

 

Keep your heart and motives pure before God.  Search my Heart by Hillsong http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mqKT21HqqQ

 

Then let your love for God pour out.  From the inside out/song to sing and With everything by Hillsong http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92QFcpy0XC4