​MEN LIVING AND LEADING THEIR FAMILIES. WILD ON A PATH OF DISCOVERING THEIR OWN WILD HEART — EXPERIENCING A LIFE OF JOY, UNTAMED PASSION, AND FREEDOM. REAL MEN WHO CREATE A SPACE WHERE THOSE THEY LOVE CAN GROW, THRIVE AND FOLLOW THEIR LEAD. JOIN THE TRIBE!

WILD ON THE PATH is a place for men to come into their own, to figure out how we are uniquely hardwired, and lead our families. It is a community of men sharing in their commonality, discovering how to live from a wild heart for God, pursuing a life of passion, adventure and freedom, walking with God on a path to become the men and leaders that He created us to be. That is to say, "Wild on the Path!" It is also a place for family and friends to help inspire the men who lead them!
We hope that you will choose to take this journey with us as not only men, but as brothers, seeking to thrive in our uniqueness on the wild path of Jesus and that you will become the leader you were intended to be!
At some point in our lives, either through disrupting circumstances or in response to the deep cry of our hearts for more, most of us come to realize that our daily lives are far away from the true desires we have deep in our hearts, and from the promise that Jesus offers from the depths of his own heart…

“I came so that they may have real and eternal life— more and better life than they ever dreamed of” (John 10:10 - MSG).
At this crucial point, in his love, God is offering us the possibility to stop, reflect, and ask the kind of questions that will help us redirect: So ask yourself..

• WHAT KIND OF LIFE AM I EXPERIENCING?
• AM I UNSATISFIED OR STUCK IN A RUT?
• WHAT KIND OF MAN HAVE I BECOME?
• DO I KNOW MY VALUE?
• WHAT KIND OF IMPACT AM I HAVING ON THOSE I LOVE?
•DO THEY RESPECT ME AND LOOK TO ME AS A LEADER?
What if there is more!— what if there is a path to experience that “life to the fullest” that Jesus talks about? What if you could live with passion, adventure and freedom, with a true sense of meaning and purpose while becoming the man God created you to be? And what if from the overflow of who you are becoming you could create an atmosphere of love, joy and peace where those you love grow and thrive under Your care?
There is a path that only gets followed by a few who are wild enough to journey on it, those who choose to walk it come to know that it leads to life well lived, but it is a process that they have submitted themselves to so that they can become that kind of man. This wild path is out there! It is available to those few willing to accept God’s invitation to be shaped, formed and forged by Him into the tribe of men He created them to be. These are men who choose to live as part of this wild tribe on the path! We invite you to join us on this wild path!
​
“This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. Jeremiah 6:16.

Every man asks the question at some point in time or another. "How was I supposed to feel?" In a culture that has emasculated men at every turn men don't really know how to act or feel. Any attempt to stand up in the way we are individually hardwired is met with resistance, wokeness, and even the deconstruction of everything we know  that is considered manly. We hope that this short journal will help you determine how to better lead, serve and love in the way that Jesus hardwired us to be as men when he experienced everything that we do.
​
…For I’m trained in the secret of overcoming all things, whether in fullness or in hunger. And I find that the strength of Christ’s explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty.—Paul. Philippians 4:12-13 [The Passion Translation].

​To become like Jesus we need to befriend his emotions. It’s important to appreciate that Jesus is a feeler who experiences and expresses deep and vivid emotions about many things in life. Too often the cultural picture painted around the nature of Jesus is docile at best. A deeper look into the feeling and emotions of Jesus that are recorded in scripture reveal that Jesus lived a wildly passionate, loving, and robust, lifestyle as a man.
Most don’t like to hear this kind of terminology in relationship to the emotions of Jesus but He truly was a was a feeler and still is! You might take issue with that statement as a man, in fact most Christian leaders today seem to. We’ve been very busy emasculating the very true nature of men as seen in the life of Jesus for quite some time in our church culture. Early in my life and even in ministry, I was discipled to disregard my emotions and soon became captive to a host of feelings and emotions that were labeled as insignificant and I was shamed as being over emotional, too sensitive. In todays culture, No adult man wants to be spanked and labeled as someone who overreacts to shame! (butt•hurt). Thus, even in matters of spirituality; if I did not comply with the religious mindset or If I rallied with empathy to those who were being who were being religiously shamed for sin; I would be spiritually emasculated, deprived of my ministry role and identity, and shamed into following the religious mindset and protocol as a young Pastor.
The truth is that Jesus felt all the struggles that we do. He was despised and rejected of men and experienced everything that we do including temptations to sin, so he empathizes with us to help us grow in emotional wholeness and holiness
Hebrews 4:15. He understands humanity, for as a man, our magnificent King-Priest was tempted in every way just as we are, and conquered sin.
If we admire and bond with Jesus the Feeler, then it will help us put more value on the emotions that we and other people have. It will encourage us to convey more emotion in our relating, praying, leading, preaching, and teaching. It will help us to clothe ourselves with the compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience of Christ and to love and lead our families and those around us.
Colossians 3:12. You are always and dearly loved by God! So robe yourself with virtues of God, since you have been divinely chosen to be holy. Be merciful as you endeavor to understand others, and be compassionate, showing kindness toward all. Be gentle and humble, unoffendable in your patience with others.
Social psychology research backs this way of thinking about feelings by showing that emotional intelligence or our (EQ) is the key to success in relationships and work and it starts with a self-awareness of how we feel as individual men and women along with the understanding that Jesus felt the same things that we do.
In the Bible, Jesus demonstrates the full range of human emotions and expresses them in perfect love. We will start by identifying over 39 different emotions that Jesus experienced. That’s a lot of emotions! Personally, as men we may not be able to even name 39 different emotions, much less feel and verbalize them as easily as women might!
Note! I am not advocating that a man should go through life whining about every little thing that gets in their craw! On the other hand, the term “Man-Up” has been all too often used as an excuse to be unempathetic towards each other. As spiritually healthy men, we should be in touch with the feelings and emotions that will cause isolation, unhealthy independence, and those things that will keep us from living as a king, a leader, and  a lover of our family, our community, and the world around us.
I have taken these examples from a truly important guide to my personal spiritual direction named Bill Gaultiere. Bill has grouped 39 feelings and their Bible references into eleven core emotions: anxiety, anger, shame, sadness, pain, surprise, hope, faith, love, joy, and peace. Each offers a mirror to help us to verbalize our emotions and receive Jesus’ empathy… It is also important to note that Jesus took upon Himself all of the feelings and emotions that we experience when he received 39 lashes on his back. I have highlighted more than 39 because that is just how complete the work of the Cross is! It goes far beyond any feeling or emotion that I can experience.
These are eleven emotion words that Jesus experienced, and that we also experience, they are not just emotions — they’re conditions of a whole person. They include emotions, as well as intentions, attitudes, physical states, and relational postures. (They are seen in the outflow of Jesus’ nature and character as a reference to what we experience as Christ is lived through us.)
As you consider Jesus’ 39 emotional states below, let them serve as a mirror to you. Our Lord is reflecting to us the language of feelings:
​
Anxiety
Preparing to go to the cross, Jesus prayed with such great anxiety that he sweat drops of blood
Luke 22:44. He prayed even more passionately, like one being sacrificed, until he was in such intense agony of spirit that his sweat became drops of blood, dripping onto the ground.
He also felt afraid!
Hebrews 5:7. During Christ’s days on earth he pleaded with God, praying with passion and with tearful agony that God would spare him from death. And because of his perfect devotion his prayer was answered and he was delivered.
Pressured
Luke 12:50. But first I must be immersed into the baptism of God’s judgment, and I am consumed with passion as I await its fulfillment
Troubled
John 11:33; 12:27 When Jesus looked at Mary and saw her weeping at his feet, and all her friends who were with her grieving, he shuddered with emotion and was deeply moved with tenderness and compassion. - “Even though I am torn within, and my soul is in turmoil, I will not ask the Father to rescue me from this hour of trial. For I have come to fulfill my purpose—to offer myself to God.
Terrified.
Mark 14:33. He took Peter, Jacob, and John with him. An intense feeling of great horror plunged his soul into deep sorrow. And he said to them, “My heart is overwhelmed with anguish and crushed with grief. It feels as though I’m dying. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Anger
Jesus was angry with the Pharisees who opposed him healing the man with a deformed hand on the Sabbath.
(Mark 3:5). Then looking around at everyone, Jesus was moved with indignation and grieved by the hardness of their hearts and said to the man, “Now stretch out your hand!” As he stretched out his hand, it was instantly healed.
He also felt boiling passion
(John 2:17) That’s when his disciples remembered the Scripture: “I am consumed with a fiery passion to keep your house pure!”
Stern displeasure
(John 11:33, 39) When Jesus looked at Mary and saw her weeping at his feet, and all her friends who were with her grieving, he shuddered with emotion and was deeply moved with tenderness and compassion. He said to them, “Where did you bury him?”
“Lord, come with us and we’ll show you,” they replied.
Then tears streamed down Jesus’ face.
Seeing Jesus weep caused many of the mourners to say, “Look how much he loved Lazarus.” Yet others said, “Isn’t this the One who opens blind eyes? Why didn’t he do something to keep Lazarus from dying?”
Then Jesus, with intense emotions, came to the tomb—a cave with a stone placed over its entrance. Jesus told them, “Roll away the stone.”
Then Martha said, “But Lord, it’s been four days since he died—by now his body is already decomposing!”
Jesus looked at her and said, “Didn’t I tell you that if you will believe in me, you will see God unveil his power?”
He was also indignant!
(Mark 10:14-15). When Jesus saw what was happening, he became indignant with his disciples and said to them, “Let all the little children come to me and never hinder them! Don’t you know that God’s kingdom exists for such as these? Listen to the truth I speak: Whoever does not open their arms to receive God’s kingdom like a teachable child will never enter it.”

Shame
By choice, Jesus experienced a shameful death on the cross for our sins
(Hebrews 12:2). We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!
He also felt depressed
(Mark 14:33) and forsaken (Mark 15:34).

Sadness
From the Mount of Olives, Jesus looked down on Jerusalem and wept with sadness because they rejected God’s offer of peace
(Luke 19:41-42). When Jesus caught sight of the city, he burst into tears with uncontrollable weeping over Jerusalem, saying, “If only you could recognize that this day peace is within your reach! But you cannot see it.
He also felt grief
(Mark 3:5), deep sighs (Mark 8:12), deep distress (Matthew 26:37), crushing grief (Mark 14:34), and tearful (John 11:35, 43).

Pain
Jesus experienced terrible pain when he was flogged.
(Mark 15:15). Because he wanted to please the people, Pilate released Barabbas to them. After he had Jesus severely beaten with a whip made of leather straps and embedded with metal, he sentenced him to be crucified.
He also suffered (Luke 24:26, Hebrews 2:18, 1 Peter 2:21), and was hungry (Matthew 4:2, 21:18), thirsty (John 19:28), and weary (John 4:6).

Surprise
Jesus felt amazed by the faith of the Roman officer
(Luke 7:9). Jesus marveled at this. He turned around and said to the crowd who had followed him, “Listen, everyone! Never have I found among the people of God a man like this who believes so strongly in me.”
He also felt astonished as he prayed to his Abba about his cross (Mark 14:33).

Hope
Jesus’ love for God and us comes from his hope 
(1 Corinthians 13:7 Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others. Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up.
(Colossians 1:5). Your faith and love rise within you as you access all the treasures of your inheritance stored up in the heavenly realm. For the revelation of the true gospel is as real today as the day you first heard of our glorious hope, now that you have believed in the truth of the gospel.
This is the wonderful message that is being spread everywhere, powerfully changing hearts throughout the earth, just like it has changed you! Every believer of this good news bears the fruit of eternal life as they experience the reality of God’s grace.
He also felt curious (Luke 19:5).

Faith
Jesus lived by faith (confident trust) in God, showing us how to do it. (Paul says, "I live by the faith of Christ" in…
(Galatians 2:20). My old identity has been co-crucified with Christ and no longer lives. And now the essence of this new life is no longer mine, for the Anointed One lives his life through me— we live in union as one! My new life is empowered by the faith of the Son of God who loves me so much that he gave himself for me, dispensing his life into mine!
See also John 15:12.)

Love
Jesus felt genuine love for people like the Rich Young Ruler (Mark 10:21), Martha, Mary, and Lazarus (John 11:5), and his disciples as he washed their feet (John 13:1).
He had deep friendship love that altered his movements as a man. So much so that He returned back to the area where they were going to stone himhim instead of isolating.
(John 11:1-11) In the village of Bethany there was a man named Lazarus, and his sisters, Mary and Martha. Mary was the one who would anoint Jesus’ feet with costly perfume and dry his feet with her long hair. One day Lazarus became very sick to the point of death. So his sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, our brother Lazarus, the one you love, is very sick. Please come!”
When he heard this, he said, “This sickness will not end in death for Lazarus, but will bring glory and praise to God. This will reveal the greatness of the Son of God by what takes place.”
Now even though Jesus loved Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, he remained where he was for two more days. Finally, on the third day, he said to his disciples, “Come. It’s time to go to Bethany.”
“But Teacher,” they said to him, “do you really want to go back there? It was just a short time ago the people of Judea were going to stone you!”
Jesus replied, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight in every day? You can go through a day without the fear of stumbling when you walk in the One who gives light to the world. But you will stumble when the light is not in you, for you’ll be walking in the dark.”
Then Jesus added, “Lazarus, our friend, has just fallen asleep. It’s time that I go and awaken him.”
He felt compassion. (Matthew 9:36; 14:14; 15:32; 20:34), and sympathy (Hebrews 4:15).

Joy
Jesus was exceedingly joyful when he saw that 72 ordinary disciples were able to minister the power of God’s kingdom to people (Luke 10:21). He also felt rejoicing (John 15:11; 17:13), glad (John 11:15), and thankful (Matthew 11:25).
Hebrews 1:9 says, “Jesus was anointed with the oil of gladness “more than any of His fellows.” That is, He had a gladness about Him that was unparalleled in any other person. Truly, whoever looks at the Lord cannot help but be impressed with Him. One would think however, that the secret to such attractiveness, effectiveness, and joy would be very complex. One would think that Jesus must have understood esoteric mysteries and implemented difficult methodology. But such is not the case, for throughout the scriptures, we see the simplicity of the secret Jesus understood that produced in Him the life that was so successful and so beautiful. What was this secret? The very foundational principle that governed His entire life was His relationship with His Father. Jesus would pause for union with the Father so frequently that He would proclaim to His followers, “I and my Father are ONE! And, If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.”

Peace
Jesus felt peace from heaven’s world and shared this with his disciples before he died
(John 14:27). “I leave the gift of peace with you—my peace. Not the kind of fragile peace given by the world, but my perfect peace. Don’t yield to fear or be troubled in your hearts—instead, be courageous! “Remember what I’ve told you, that I must go away, but I promise to come back to you. So if you truly love me, you will be glad for me, since I’m returning to my Father, who is greater than I. So when all of these things happen, you will still trust and cling to me. I won’t speak with you much longer, for the ruler of this dark world is coming. But he has no power over me, for he has nothing to use against me. I am doing exactly what the Father destined for me to accomplish, so that the world will discover how much I love my Father. Now come with me.”

He also felt rest (Matthew 11:28) and refreshment (Mark 6:31).

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for giving us empathy and grace in all of our emotional difficulties in order to help us love God, ourselves, and the people around us. There is no one thing that you didn’t feel or experience, and nothing you can’t redeem, heal, or repair!

Wild on the Path is a ministry of:
"The Redeemed Adventure Project,"
The Soul Renovation Project.

​Contact us at www.johnfairrington.com

Ever feel separated from where you belong! Ever felt discarded, misplaced, or that you have lost your usefulness? I have often stated that if for some reason we feel separated from God then our feelings are lying to us and we need to call those feelings liars. This prompted a letter from a very confused individual who had suffered much pain in their life. I quote part of it here.

"l don't think our feelings lie. I don't believe they are good or bad. I believe they just are and are responses to what's going on around and within us. ... When I feel defective and unworthy, the feelings aren't lying to me--that's how I feel. I believe feelings are a fact. The truth upon which that fact is based is what I need to change."

Anyone who has bothered to observe the paradoxes of life knows that feelings and facts are strange bedfellows. At times they seem to be friends who cannot exist without each other and, at other times, mortal enemies.
From my own observations, I have decided that feelings are fickle critters that can't seem to decide where to give loyalty. I have seen this play out in every aspect of our culture such as: Covid-19, Gun Laws, Church function, Family relationships, and Religious influence. If you don’t think feelings and facts are perpetually being manipulated by The Press, The Government,  and a Godless Culture then… Well that’s just naive!  This Culture has simply been responding to to feelings and not the truth of the matter for a long time now. 

Now let me give you an example of how this bears out practically. If a huge truck is bearing down on me, the feeling of fear is a direct result of true and imminent danger; but when I detect no true and immediate danger and yet have feelings of fear, what does that say about the truth of the feeling? Or, one can experience the opposite circumstance--a true and present danger without any feeling of fear. Here again, I must ask about the truth of the feeling. Compounding this struggle further, feelings, fickle as they are, become terrible tyrants when they are the rulers of our lives rather than mere providers of information. For this reason, we must somehow rule them in order to establish their role in a healthy way.

It is very evident that the so called “experts” on things from the media, government and even science are telling us one thing and that our physical observations, feelings, and experiences, are telling us something else. This poses a dilemma in christianity because some will tell you that giving more weight to our physical observations, gut feelings, and experiences, is the way to discovering the apparent truth. This is a Godless philosophy that will never allow us to navigate life or know the truth. Why? Because truth becomes reduced and compromised by what is called cognitive dissonance. Cognitive dissonance supposedly occurs when what we are told does not align with what we experience. It basically states that experience based on our feelings is the only way for truth to become more apparent. This philosophy is a diversion from real Truth as we are about to discover.

The whole subject is much larger than this blog can chew so let's narrow the confines to our opening subject.

To what degree can we trust our feelings, experiences, and observations in this culture and how do we navigate them in relationship to God and all things spiritual? Perhaps I should deliver some further definitions before we continue. I believe that feelings are the results of many things, but truth may or may not have anything to do with them. Truth, to me, is Jesus himself as the living Word and the Bible as the written Word. I would imagine that definition to be acceptable to most who read this although we live in a culture that has all but tried to eliminate the truth of scripture. Facts are merely or supposedly accurate bits of information about the world. Feelings are our emotional responses to information, truth and experiences.

With those definitions, let us propose some situations. What if my friends are planning a surprise birthday party for me, and, as I notice what seems to be strange behavior, I become angry and think they are doing something bad. Regardless of my observations, the truth of the matter is different from the reactions of my emotions. Consequently, I must call my feelings liars. (This is a trait that the Woke Generation hasn’t the capacity to understand!)

Suppose I feel that God doesn't love me or that he is getting even with me. The truth is that God is love and that he is forgiving, and ever present with me, thus my feelings do not represent the truth and are lying to me. Does this mean that feelings are not real. No. Feelings, though real, are neutral (neither good or bad) but they are not always accurate. When they do not reflect what we know to be true, i.e., Jesus and the Bible, then we must be brave enough to call our feelings liars and act out of what we know to be the truth rather than our feelings.
​
God is Compassionate, Merciful, Slow to Anger, Abounding in Love and Faithfulness, Forgiving of Wickedness, Rebellion and Sin. Regardless of how I "feel," I choose to believe those truths about God. The Nature of Jesus was that He was a Servant, He did not Lord It over Others, He Lead by Example, He was Humble, As A Child, As the Younger, As the Least, Last, Used No Force on Us, Was Not Driven by Selfish Ambition, Made Himself of No Reputation, Was Fully Human, Obedient, Unto Death. Consequently, I will demand that my feelings conform to that Truth. If you are wondering about these characteristics of Jesus and how they are supported in scripture, take a look at Philippians 5:2-11.

As for me, I will devote myself to what I know to be true of the nature and personality of Jesus Christ. Who made the proclamation in Matthew that it was the confession “You are the Christ” that He would build His Church on. I will continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers because I choose to believe those truths about the the world we live in and the Body of Christ. He is with you, He is Truth, and He is the only Way!

Now throw your feelings out and trade up for the Real Truth!

Luke 7:11-12
11 And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. 12 Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 14 And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. 15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.

Happy stories collide with sad stories for a reason

    Jesus had traveled with the disciples and many others with him about 25 miles from Capernium, where he had previously healed a centurion's servant. He then travelled to a town called Nain. The name Nain means lovely or pleasant and Jesus is now making this 25 mile journey in a processional or with a parade of people with him. There is no doubt in my mind that this procession was one of celebration and anticipation of what the Lord might do in Nain that next day. Smiles on faces, songs perhaps being sung. It truly was a joyous storyline that had been unfolding. But when He got to the gate of the city and there was another procession of people. It was a different Story line altogether where they were carrying a dead body wrapped up in a basket, a basket for the purpose of transporting a person to their place of burial. It was the son of a widow and that procession was that of a funeral procession. Not a procession of rejoicing, celebration and anticipation but a procession of tension, distress, anxiety, desperation and death. Ring any bells in your story?Here in this story, I see a divine collision happening as the procession of Jesus and many people with him are traveling into the city when at the same time there is also a simultaneous procession of many people going out of the city. This collision of story if you look closely demonstrates that there are always two or more unique and very different story lines happening at any given moment.
    There are many with stories of celebration and anticipation and at the same time there are many with stories of death, consternation, loss and desperation going on at the same time. Jesus sees this precision along with this Mother who had lost her husband and now only living son and it says in this passage that Jesus not only saw her but he had compassion on her. He had compassion on her in the way that he has always had compassion on everyone of us in that he took her pain in his heart. This was a realization for Jesus because it wouldn’t be very long before his mother Mary who was a widow at that point, Joseph having died when Jesus was yet a teenager Mary would encounter her own son, the only begotten son being led out of the city, as she wept. He could see no doubt that this was the desperation and consternation of this woman's situation. He sees the anguish, confusion, depression, and realizes prophetically no doubt that this is the same thing that his very own mother will be experiencing in the not so distant future.
Now watch what Jesus does coming from a story of anticipation and celebration as he collides with a story of pain and tension here in Nain. It says that He had compassion on her and tells her “weep not.” How is that compassionate you ask? It sounds crazy! How is what you are asking compassionate the mother might say. We are burying my son, there is loss, I have nothing left! We are carrying him to the tomb where He will be laid to rest and you say weep not! But Jesus knew what he was about to do not just in this circumstance but on behalf of you and me. It was in anticipation and celebration of the Joy that was set before him. It was for us who have been ravished by sin and death that he proclaims weep not and resurrects this young man in the same way that after having been laid to rest himself, He would provide life for all of us who have been sentenced to death, ravished by sin, experienced loss, despair, disdain and the inane.
    The story of our life is short! We can simultaneously experience joy and celebration in one moment and at the same time experience loss, and despair. The real key to seeing the plot of our story have a glorious ending is by having our stories collide in a place that is altogether lovely and pleasant. His name is Jesus and he is the reason that our stories collide simultaneously! Weep not! Let not your heart be troubled!

The Divine collision of scripture

    I would like to give you just a couple of examples of how stories, types, and names collide across the span of scripture and then leave you to your own discoveries of how they unfold throughout the bible and even in your own story.

The Name Game

    These guys were important not merely for who they were but by what their stories tell and what there names meant.
    Peter - His name means "Rock".  Not The Rock, as in Petra. That is in reference to God but Peter’s name references a small stone. You remember how dogmatic Peter had a tendency to be. Oft remembered for lopping off the ear of the centurion in the presence of Jesus. Peter is a picture of the Stone tablets that the Law of God or Ten Commandments were written on.
    James - His name is Jacob in the Hebrew. In both cases, James or Jacob both mean “Supplanter" or “Replace”.
    John - His name means "Jehovah has Grace" in both Greek and Hebrew.
    Combine the stories of these three guys together and you will realize why that when they were called apart by Jesus from the other twelve that it is always in the order of Peter, James, and John. No exception!
Why?
The “Stone” or Law has been “Replaced” by “Grace”.
The Law has been superseded by grace and these three men knew it more than anyone else!

Propitiation and the Mercy Seat
​
    One of my favorite collisions in scripture is the correlation of the Mercy Seat of Exodus 26:34 and the work of Propitiation that is mentioned in Romans 3:25. If you are not one who goes deep into the stories of the Bible then this is a huge collision that is frequently missed in our churches unless you are in a place of fellowship that meets frequently for the purpose of the exegetical study of God's Word. I say this because I firmly believe that this kind of study is of the highest priority in the day and age we live in. I went through much of my life and most of my ministerial training without ever hearing about the connections that cover the whole span of scripture so, allow me to explain to the best of my ability the story of how Jesus put a lid on it!

Jesus Put a Lid On It!

    As you may very well may know, God Himself became a Man and absorbed the wrath of His own indignation. The mystery of the Trinity, the mystery of propitiation is
that God actually inflicted death on a cross upon Himself.
    Now we won’t go into the deep theological perspectives of grace, justification, and propitiation here. Let’s not forget, I too am a commoner, and a sinner. That being said, the custom of many is to dissect Romans in such a way that we will get bogged down in theological debate rather than simple application. So, allow me at this point to throw out this one big word for a moment and define propitiation so it is simple to apply to a common pinhead such as myself.
    The word Hilasterion, or “propitiation”—A word we don’t hear much today—is used only five times in the entire New Testament: Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:1–2; 1 John 4:10; and Hebrews 9 are four of them. The Hebrews reference is really cool because it gives us insight and understanding. You see, in describing the mercy seat, the author of Hebrews uses the word hilasterion. The mercy seat, or hilasterion, covered the ark of the covenant. It was like a lid. The ark of the covenant contained the law. Now, this is where it gets interesting because, through the mercy seat, God says, I know you’ve broken the law. I know you deserve to be consumed because of it. But I’m going to put a lid on it through the sacrifice of My Son. He is the helasmos, the mercy seat, the propitiation. It’s not something He gives. It’s who He is!

Whoa!… This is Melting My Brain!

    If you are getting what I’m laying down then you now understand that Jesus has come between you and the broken law. The wrath that the Father should have vented on me and you was instead placed upon His Son, who died in your place.
    The fifth use of the word “propitiation” is found in Luke 18:10–14. It is a brief illustration, concerning the prayers of a Pharisee and a tax collector. If you look at verse 13: “God, be merciful to me a sinner.” It begins with “God” and ends with “sinner.” The middle phrase, “be merciful”—the verb form of hilasterion stands between God and sin. Every one of us is in one of two categories. You’re either the self-righteous Pharisee, or you’re the tax collector, grateful that Jesus is standing between God and your sin.
    When I first began to understand the work of propitiation I finally gave in and gave up on the idea that something I was doing would appease the wrath of a Righteous Judge. Wow! Talk about a game changer and major impact on how my personal story plays out!
Propitiation adds an entirely different dimension to what Paul calls “so great salvation” (Hebrews 2:3). It’s not just the Father saying, “I’m going to settle mankind’s problem judicially.” No, He deals with it personally. That God would love me so much He would actually become the object of His own wrath frees me up in a profound way. Not only did He put a lid on it, He became the lid!

    I know I’m a sinner. But because He absorbed the anger that should have been poured out upon me, I can walk throughout the rest of my days, weeks, and years because the story of God is being perfectly planned and played out in my life personally and for the first time in my life I can recognize the divine collision of God’s Story with my story and the Old Testament Pictures with their New Testament Truths and counterparts. Furthermore! I recognize that the tensions and difficulties that come into my story are there by divine providence!

   I have shared all of this to establish that anything with a heart can be used for God’s purposes, but the ones with a heart and tendency to be a little rogue can do mighty things! This kind of heart is a diamond in the ruff! It can and should be cultivated in relationship and likeness to the way it was created to be. It is the same with a human heart and that heart should be cultivated in a relationship with the very one who created it to begin with. If you are a person who has been described as “a little rogue” throughout your life, It’s okay to not like the bit, it’s okay to go bareback, it’s okay to think a little differently than the other horses, and most importantly it’s okay to out walk, out ride, and out run, the other horses. Find your heart, give it to God, and discover the great purpose of a rogue heart! You may just be a Mustang!

God Doesn't Call The Qualified, He Qualifies The Called

    “Jacob was a cheater, Peter had a temper, David had an affair, Noah got drunk, Jonah ran from God, Paul was a murderer, Gideon was insecure, Miriam was a gossip, Martha was a worrier, Thomas was a doubter, Sara was impatient, Elijah was moody, Moses stuttered, Abraham was old,… and Lazarus was dead. God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called!”
    No matter where you are in your life with God, HE is qualifying you for his service because you are called. He can help you overcome the mistakes you have made, and even use them to help others. Just allow Him to use you.

1 Corinthians 1:27-29
27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.

Eliminate the Disqualifications

Judges 1:19    
And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.
    
     Why couldn’t Judah drive out the inhabitants of the valley? Because their eyes were fixed on the iron chariots rather than on Almighty God. If your eyes are fixed on the Lord, I care not how formidable your foe might be, it can be overcome. But if your eyes are on the obstacle - if you’re focused on the problem, if you’re in bondage to your past - you will not drive out your enemy no matter how small it is. You’ve got to lift your eyes higher and fix them on the Father. Yes, the enemies of Judah had chariots of iron, but if Judah had lifted their eyes higher and focused upon the One who has twenty thousand chariots at His command (Psalm 68:17), they would have been victorious.
    Judah had successful campaigns when they were high up on the mountain tops, but they got their tail whipped in the valley. We have tendencies to live on in the story of our past. This is most prevalent when the message of grace we teach, lacks the components of mercy that was also provided with the new covenant. Unfortunately, this allows grace to be doled out on the terms of others and has cultivated a false perception that leads God’s loved ones to think that because we’ve had problems with iron chariots previously, we need always be fearful whenever we see them on the horizon. This perception is just not true! We need to be a people who put the past behind us - past defeats, past discouragements, past wounds, past failures, past sins have all been covered by Christ our mercy seat and propitiation.

    “This one thing I do,” said our brother, Paul, “forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). We need to put the past away and lift our eyes higher - beyond the failure of the past, beyond the chariots of the present - to the high calling of God Who enables us to do all that He asks of us. SO... LET'ER BUCK!

A Heart After God

    “David was a real pinhead! How could David be considered a man after God’s own heart?"
    To understand why David was a man after God’s own heart, we need to see what characteristics he had to qualify for such what seems to be a rather lofty description. In the book of Acts, the apostle Paul speaks of God’s feelings about King David:

Acts 13:22
“After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.”

    My observation as to why David was considered to be a man after God’s own heart is found right in the verse: David did whatever God wanted him to do. But an even more obvious question is how could God still call David a man after His own heart when David committed such terrible sins, including adultery and murder?

A Pointed Heart

    We learn much of David’s character in the book of Psalms as he opened up his life for all to examine. David’s life was both a portrait of success and failure, and the biblical record highlights the fact that David was far from perfect. But what made David a cut above the rest was that his heart was pointed toward God. He had a deep desire to follow God’s will and do “everything” God wanted him to do. He was a man after God’s own heart. Let’s look at some characteristics of David’s life to discover what that entails:

Absolute Faith

    Part of why David is called a man after God’s own heart is that he had absolute faith in God. Nowhere in Scripture is this point better illustrated than in 1 Samuel 17 where David as a young shepherd boy fearlessly slew the Philistine, Goliath. Shortly before the duel, we see direct evidence of David’s faith when David says, “‘The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’ And Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you!’” (verse 37). David was fully aware that God was in control of his life, and he had faith that God would deliver him from impending danger. How else would one venture into a potentially fatal situation with such calm and confidence? David knew early on in life that God was to be trusted and obeyed. As we see in the Word, David’s simple faith pleased God, and God rewards David for his faithfulness.

He Loved the Word

    Another reason David was a man after God’s own heart is that he absolutely loved God’s Law. Of the 150 psalms in the Bible, David is credited for writing over half of them. It seems to me that David wrote mostly while in various and often troubling times in his life, David repeatedly mentioned how much he loved God’s perfect Word. We find a beautiful example of this in Psalm 119:47–48: “For I delight in your commands because I love them. I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees.” It is not hard to see his complete adoration for God’s Word. Also notice how David “meditates” on God’s statutes. God granted David understanding and wisdom through daily meditation. We would do well to not only read God’s Word but also think about it throughout the day, for God loves us to think about Him. “Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways” (Psalm 119:2–3).

Thankfulness

    David was a man after God’s own heart in that he was truly thankful. “I wash my hands in innocence, and go about your altar, O Lord, proclaiming aloud your praise and telling of all your wonderful deeds” (Psalm 26:6–7). David’s life was marked by seasons of great peace and prosperity as well as times of fear and despair. But through all of the seasons in his life, he never forgot to thank the Lord for everything that he had. It is truly one of David’s finest characteristics. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” (Psalm 100:4, ESV). As followers of Jesus Christ, we would do well to follow David’s lead of offering praise through thanksgiving to our Lord. After he sinned, David was truly repentant. David’s sin with Bathsheba is recorded in 2 Samuel 11:2–5.

   The mighty fall hard, and David’s fall included adultery, lying, and murder. He had sinned against God, and he admits it in 2 Samuel 12:13: “David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the LORD.’ And Nathan said to David, ‘The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.’” But admitting our sin and asking for forgiveness is only half of the equation. The other half is repentance, and David did that as well. Psalm 51 is David’s prayer of repentance to God: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!" (Psalm 51:1–2).

    David was a man after God’s own heart because he demonstrated his faith and was committed to following the Lord. Yes, his faith was tested on a grand scale, and he failed at times. But after his sin he sought and received the Lord’s forgiveness. In the final analysis, David loved God’s Law and sought to follow it exactly. As a man after God’s own heart, David is a role model for all of us.

Rogue Love for The Rogue Heart

    This passage stands alone and on its own merit concerning the wild, passionate, unbridled, rogue love that the Lord has for you. And you thought you were unlovable!

Psalm 139:2-23
You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O LORD, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night," Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day Darkness and light are alike to You. For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand When I awake, I am still with You. O that You would slay the wicked, O God; Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed. For they speak against You wickedly, And Your enemies take Your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts;

Rogue Heart/New heart Same thing!

Jeremiah 17:9.
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

    This passage of Scripture has come up over and over again and it is often used by those who are fatally Calvinistic in their interpretation of scripture. It is most often used to characterize the depravity of the believer and in my opinion has kept believers all over the world stuck in their story, stuck in their sin and unable to enjoy the new heart, nature, spirit, along with the new creation that we have become. Scripture is very clear that the issues of the depraved heart are directed to the heart condition of the unbeliever. It has been my personal and humbling experience that any heart that is not submitted to God is a depraved heart. This type of heart can reside in the worst of us in the same way that it can in the self-righteous, or religious. Depravity is an equal offender in the hearts of those who will not access The Work of Grace under the New Covenant through Christ.

Ezekiel 36:26
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

    That deceitful and incurable heart is that stony heart that is taken away and is replaced by a heart of flesh! The Holy Spirit gives His people a new heart and causes them to walk in obedience! And not only is the heart new, everything is made is new. The regenerated person is a new creation and no longer possesses a lifeless heart of stone.

2 Corinthians 5:17
So that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

I have been hovering on the meaning of this powerful verse and had the opportunity to sit down with someone who really is becoming a good, trustworthy friend, and someone who I really enjoy being transparent with. This morning we began to hash through some of the dynamics and tension that comes from this line of thinking that we are about to discuss.

Galatians 6:1-2 KJV [1] Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. [2] Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

I think there is more to bearing one another's burdens then has traditionally met the eye!

Would you be free from the burden of sin? We sing it In our churches regularly. Is there a link though? Is there a part for us to play in the bearing of the burdens of one another? We all know that the provisions for the forgiveness of sins is only accomplished through the work of Christ Jesus on the Cross and the power in His blood but was the model we were given through this glorious work intended to be lived out practically through us? Was the example by Christ set so that we would forgive, bear, forget, restore, and do life with one another without the expectation of any consequences that could come culturally on the chance that  we were to forgive the wrong person? (Can that even happen?)  Did it include bearing the burdens of the sins of those who have wounded us! Finally, does this fulfill the law of Christ?

I would venture to say that we all believe that the list of our sins, shortcomings, and stupidity are blotted out in totality by the blood of the Son of God. But I also think that many Christians aren’t healthy because they fail to understand this foundational and profoundly simple truth in its totality.

For example, many know they’re forgiven—but they have a hard time believing the one who hurt them is. “You can’t ignore the abuse, the trauma, and the anxiety that has been inflicted upon you,” they are told. “It must be dealt with.”  But wait a minute! It has been dealt with by Jesus’ blood on the Cross. He hung on the Cross of Calvary dying for the very sin that bugs us in others. Therefore, for us to say, “We must dig it up and talk it through,” or, to not allow forgiveness and bear the weight and burdens for those who have offended us the most, makes a mockery of what Christ did on Calvary. It basically diminishes a work that was done for all and now becomes selective in scope. We all hurt Him, and we all have offended Him! He cried, “It is finished,” It’s done! It’s paid for. And that means for those who are offenders and also for those who have been offended. So be forgiven and forgive one another. Fact of the matter is, I was the person in the wrong and He bore my burdens anyway and without any regret or even saying Ooops!

Is this too dangerous to teach in today’s church? I know it may sound risky to some but to me, there is only one question of any importance and that is... Did Christ take that kind of risk on me? If the answer for you is yes then, it may just radically reform your perspectives on grace therefore fulfilling the Law of Christ.

Food for thought! When we are under the load and the heavy burden of sin, my prayer is that as believers we would carry one another though, even when we’ve been hurt, even when it is an inconvenience, or an imposition. Even when our reputation is at risk, or those around us think it abuses the some law of grace. With grace the laws have been done away with! By bearing one another’s burdens in this way we fulfill the law of Christ.

Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

So many Questions to ask ourselves...

• How and in what fashion did the Lord forgive you? 
• Was it complete, were you justified, were you restored to a state of righteousness? 
• Did Christ change the record on your past sins?
• Were you the one who hurt Him like so many of us, all of us have? 
• Do I forgive others in the way it was modeled through Christ?
• Do I keep a record of my sins and the sins of others?
• Am I willing to die to my selfishness, selectivity, spiritual pride, dogma, religiosity in order to bear the burdens of those who sinned against me?
• Do I practice selectively in matters of forgiveness and bearing someone's burdens? 
• Is it easier to forgive someone who confessed their sins to you than it is to forgive someone who has sinned against you personally? There is no difference in the Christ model!

I'm just saying!

I know these are hard questions but, I have been contemplating them and I think they are all important to ask if I am to see the law of Christ fulfilled in the way it was intended for me. Let this challenge your thinking and root out any signs of religion, legalism, or hurts that we place on one another. And more than anything may it change the way we respond to one another, causing us to see each other through the lens of Jesus who lavished us with His love and compassion while we were the biggest risk He could have ever taken.

Food for thought!

Chapter 3  "A Rogue Story"

Hero’s, Villain’s, or Both?

    As you take a look at some of these random characters, notice that there is a plot that has been designed by God and that each story has one or sometimes all of the characteristics and roll’s that play out in the story of God, some stories have characters that played multiple roles. Most had both Hero and Villain characteristics while a few had just one, or the other. They all were randomly chosen for the purpose of showing that all of their lives and stories demonstrate that God see’s the big picture, He knows the plot from beginning to end and that in most cases there is a plan being worked out in their story that encourages us in our walk with God or illustrates the consequences of not following Him as was the case with Saul. Suffice it to say, everything is being played our to an expected end and for the pleasure of our Creator.

King Saul - Bad Apple, Nemesis, unknowingly fosters a Noble hero and a giant killer.

    The very first king of Israel, a head taller than any of his contemporaries, the predecessor, mentor and nemesis of King David, the father of Jonathan. His son, Jonathan, was a noble hero, but Saul was not.
    Saul started off okay, but his relationship with God was so thin that God didn’t have any room to work with him and so he kind of let himself go and went downhill fast. He was the fraidy-cat of the Philistines, Goliath in particular, and became a deranged mad man who slaughtered God’s priests. He attempted to kill his own son twice, and hounded his best follower, David, for years until Saul finally met his death after consulting with a witch because he was so out of touch with God.
    Read about him in 1 Samuel 8-31. It is one of the richest portions of the Bible in terms of story, character and lessons for real life.

Job - A Story about When you’ve been good but now you have it bad!

     Job is the original good guy in the age-old question: Why do bad things happen to good people? Job was about as close to perfect as you could get and still be human. He loved God. He loved people. He used his great wealth and wisdom to help people. Then disaster struck. His wealth, his ten children and his health were all taken away. Left with nothing but suffering, his friends come to comfort him. But, instead of encouraging him, they start accusing him, and add insult to injury. Finally, he has a “face-to-face” meeting with God. God answers with a set of unexpected questions of His own. Job’s story is told in the Biblical book bearing his name.

Abel - and His Brother and Murderer Cain. A Story of Sibling Rivalry

    Abel found favor with God and Cain did not. Read about it in the book of Genesis. Abel is listed as a hero of the faith here. first child born to the human race,
    Cain, grows up to become a murderer, killing his own brother in a fit of jealousy. Made bad decisions and even worse sacrifices.
    I am drawn to this story because it Correlates well with my own failure in that if I believe that my works, sacrifice, and self-righteousness are sufficient offerings to the Lord that it will ultimately be my demise. Only the Lamb of God should ever be my offering.

Samuel - A Story of What God does when we give everything to Him.

    The great prophet, son of Hannah, the childless woman who prayed for a son and promised to give that child to God. She did after he was weaned; she dropped him off at the temple where Eli the priest and his evil sons were the religious leaders of the day. Samuel was still a boy when God started talking to him. Eli and his sons were killed, but Samuel grew up to be the leader of Israel, and the one who selected both Saul and David to become Israel’s future kings. Samuel’s story is told in 1 Samuel and he was a guy who often performed the hard tasks that Saul was not able to perform. For instance He hewed Ahaz, an enemy king, into a 1000 pieces. He was able to do this because He frequented the Altar of the Lord in Gilgal.
    He appointed his sons to judge over Israel but they were deemed unfit and God Appointed a King. Sammy didn’t make an issue of it, I think he just had a fleeting moment where his radio got all staticy!       The main theme throughout Samuel’s life is that God alone should receive the glory and honor. Read about him In 1 Samuel.

Esther - From Harem to Queen and saving a Nation. 

    A number of women come to mind as important Bible personalities including Eve, Mary, Sarah, Rachel, Elizabeth, Miriam, Mary Magdelene, Deborah, Ruth and so on. But Esther stands alone in the category of saving an entire nation by her courage. Chosen to join the harem of Persian King Xerxes, she rises to the position of queen in time to uncover a plot to destroy the Jewish people. She might have the power and influence to stop the plot, but only if she risks her own life to do so. The book that bears her name is unique in that God is not mentioned once in the book, but His fingerprints are all over the events.
    Although God is never mentioned in the book of Esther we can see His acts in the background. Nothing gets past God! His timing is always best but we need to wait for Him before we act and realize that it’s dangerous to jump out before it’s time Your background does not hinder your future with God. Esther was an orphan. God still exalted her and used her. Some of Jesus’s disciples where fishermen, tax collectors, and one was a Doctor. Your background does not determine what God can do with you but your simple faith does!  A powerful story!

Samson - Buff guy with a thing for bad girls. Ends up blind guy with bad haircut but finishes well! 

    This guy very well may have been bipolar! He could go from Hero to Villain in 3 seconds flat. Famous for his great strength, he was an individual fighter rather than a leader of men. Dedicated at birth as a Nazirite, he never had his hair cut. He believed this was the reason for his prowess in harassing his enemies, particularly the Philistines.
    Not good at interpersonal relationships, he picked the wrong women and had a propensity for making many enemies. This long-haired strong man once picked up the jaw bone of a donkey and killed a thousand Philistine soldiers on the battlefield. He is still the UFC Belt holder of all time in my book! If Samson were alive today, he would probably spend some of his life in jail–let’s just say he was no choir boy. But he had a job to do, and he did it well, that is until his woman friend, Delilah gave him a bad hair-cut and sold him out to the Philistines for 140 pounds of silver. Now Samson wasn’t opposed to getting back in the ring even though the Philistines had blinded him and put him in prison. He had one last appearance on stage where he finally retrieved his honor, and got back his belt, by killing thousands of Philistines before the curtain fell. Samson’s story is told in Judges 13-16. He was both a Hero and a Villain in the plot and his story warrants exploration and comparison of our own!
Keep your vows and stay away from bad girls. When you feel like you are blind to what God is doing in your story, realize that even though you are a pinhead, God is not finished with you yet!

Jonah - God can use a person even though there is something fishy about them!

    Famous for being swallowed by a “great fish,” he had a knack for going the wrong direction. Ring any bells? Ever felt like you’ve thrown overboard? Jonah’s real contribution is presiding over the greatest mass conversion of all time meanwhile learning a few things about human prejudice, what complaining gets you, how storms in life can move you, and how God’s love is at work in you at the same time.

Elijah - Prophet, Part Rain Man, Part Trash Talker and Disposer of False Prophets. Good with fire too! 

    The great prophet who stared down an entire nation and didn’t blink. After King David, Israel split into two nations. The northern kingdom went from bad to worse until they were ruled by a truly depraved couple, King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. Elijah walks onto the scene and announces that rain won’t fall without his own personal okay. Then he disappears. For the next three years a bone-dry nation searches for Elijah, but he’s nowhere to be found, until one day he shows up again and offers a showdown on Mount Carmel: your god vs. my God.  Elijah was a Prophet on Steroids. His successor Elisha was noted for receiving a double portion of the Elijah stuff and didn’t like having his bald head made fun of! Elijah got a little whiny at the Brook of Cherith when it ran dry and briefly thought God’s provision was for the birds!

Peter - A smart fisherman with a propensity to cause trouble! Freaks out around Little Girls!

    Originally known as Simon, his name was changed to Peter by Jesus, and he became a leader of the early church. Hanging out with Jesus will make a smart man out of anyone! Peter had listened to, eaten with, and traveled alongside Jesus for three years. The result was obvious. He was also noted as being impetuous, bull headed, a fisherman, a sword wielding ear lopper, and I’m afraid  little girls around burn barrels put him right into a state of denial. Still He stuck with Jesus and that is important because as we spend time hanging out with with Jesus, we will take on His characteristics just as noticeably, as readily, as wonderfully as did the fisherman-turned-scholar: the apostle Peter.

John the Apostle - Can’t you hear that Thunder? 

    Among Jesus’ twelve disciples, Peter, James and John formed an inner circle. Out of them, John appeared to be Jesus’ closest friend here on earth. He wrote one of the Gospels, three important letters (which are recorded in the Bible) and the powerful book of Revelation. John mentioned himself as the one Jesus loved.
    John was initially a walking powder keg whom Jesus called a “son of thunder” (Mark 3:17). John was upset because someone outside the circle of disciples was using the name of Jesus to see people released from demons. “We told him to stop because he’s not part of our denomination,” he said. “He doesn’t share our doctrinal understandings. He’s not one of us.” We do this as well. People can be saved, blessed, helped, and strengthened—but because we might not have doctrinal agreement, we put them down. Because they might worship differently from us, we find fault. Such is not the way of love.
    John went through an incredible transformation himself. You see, John is known as the “apostle of love” because more than anyone else in Scripture, John both preaches and personifies love. Another result of being impacted by the work of Jesus.

Paul - Once a poacher of Christians, Goes to work for The Save the Christian’s Foundation!

    He was originally Saul (not the king, but the persecutor of Christians who lived a thousand years later). This guy started out as a orange vested, one-man, hunting machine, with a no bag limit tag fresh out of a Sportsman's Warehouse. He became Paul the Apostle after having a powerful encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. First Barnabas, and then Silas were his ministry partners. Most of the books of the New Testament were written by Paul who became a powerhouse leader in the early church. go figure! He is responsible for much of our understanding of Christianity. Paul first bridged the gap between Jews and Gentiles by demonstrating that the way of Jesus was open to anyone, regardless of ancestry. Such a stark contrast in his story! There is hope for you and me!

David - Shepherd, Giant Killer, Worship leader, Womanizer, Murderer, King, Huh?

    Best known for facing the giant Goliath and beating him with a sling and a stone, David was the most famous king of Israel, one of the greatest men who ever lived. Author of most of the Psalms, his story is told in 1 & 2 Samuel. He was a shepherd, a worshiper, He had a heart after God and sadly, he is also often remembered for his greatest failure, his sin of adultery with Bathsheba, who later became the mother of wise and wealthy King Solomon. There is much we can relate to in the life of David.

Abraham - Father of many generations, Simple faith, accounted unto Righteousness! Gets ahead of things!

    The father of faith and ancestor of nations. In reality, If it were not for some of his major mistakes, Israel would have deign in a great famine! God made His promise to make Abraham the Father of many generations while Abe was still worshiping idols like a Moon goddess. He had a propensity for taking things into his own hands and got ahead of things with his handmaiden because he and Sarah thought that they were too old to cut the mustard! His son Isaac was born to him at age 100 when his wife, Sarah, was 90. Isaac became the father of Jacob and Esau. Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, and his descendants became the nation of Israel. One of Jacob’s sons was Joseph (not the husband of Mary mother of Jesus) who was sold into slavery by his brothers, but, in a great turn of events, he was delivered to Egypt by Ishmaelite's or the direct descendants of Ishmael. (Ishmael was the byproduct of Abraham's sexual relations with Hagar who was Sarah’s handmaiden). Joseph ended up becoming second-in-command in Egypt, and in that position he saved his family, providing food for them during a terrible famine. Abraham trusted God and it was accounted unto him as righteousness!

Jabez - The Lord hears you!

    Jabez is only mentioned in a few verses of scripture and is known for his famous “Prayer of Jabez” mentioned in 1 Chronicles 4:10: Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!’ And God granted what he asked.
It is a simple prayer prayed in faith and serves as a powerful example of answered prayer and receiving blessing from the Lord.

The Thief - On the Cross, Saved by the Bell!

    We do not know much more about the thief on the cross other than he was: A criminal, crucified next to Jesus, and brought into paradise at his death. His powerful story is told in Luke 23:32-43, that describes the conversation between Christ and the two criminals crucified alongside of him.
    The first criminal mentioned mocked Christ, “Save yourself and us!” (23:29). The other criminal, of whom we are writing, defended Jesus in a humble manner, acknowledging the justice of God and the innocence of Christ. His response to the mocker was, Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong. Then in verses 40-41 he pleaded with Jesus to “remember me when you come into your kingdom.” This desperate and humble cry for mercy is all that God needed to welcome him into the family of God. Jesus answered, vs 43. “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
    What an incredible story! A man who presumably led his entire life in opposition to God, by the great mercies of God, was able to be saved in his dying moments. This demonstrates that a humble heart that cries out to God for salvation will be heard!

Romans 10:13)
    Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Ehud - An uncouth lefty Gets used by God!

    The story of Ehud comes right out of Judges 3, but would fit in nicely into the plot of a James Bond movie.
    Israel was under the oppressive rule of Eglon the king of Moab so they cried out to the Lord for deliverance. The Moabites were idol worshipers who did evil in the sight of the Lord. God sent Ehud a left handed man who would have been considered unfit along with his cubit-long (about a foot and a half) sword to assassinate the king and liberate God’s people from his rule.
    Ehud must have been a smooth talker, because when he told the servants of the king that he had a “secret message” for him (Judges 3:19), they left Ehud all alone with the king who was built like Jabba the Hutt. Ehud’s “secret message” was the sword that he brought and a stab to the belly Eglon as he was sitting on the pot, which killed him!
    Then Ehud quietly locked the doors to the roof to keep the guards out and made a quick getaway. When Ehud returned to the people of Israel, he led Israel in conquering their enemies the Moabites.
    It is a great picture and story of how when the Word of God (the Sword) is thrust to the core of our lives, how that the Dirt comes out!

Jesus - Author, Savior, Super Hero, and oh let’s not forget God! 

    The whole Bible is centered around Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, Savior, the God Man, the solution to the problems caused by our own waywardness and the only Way to living a great Story! Jesus is the center of it all! If you place Him as Lord of all in your life, you will be able to see your story through the lens of The Creator of the Universe, Author and Finisher of our Faith!