Thursday, January 24, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Prayer for the Nation
I pray that You would give our leader discernment, understanding, and knowledge so that our country may know stability internally and abroad. I give You thanks for our president according to Your Word, and thank You for working in and through his leadership so that we might lead peaceable lives in godliness and honesty. Amen.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Personal Sacrifice
Martin Luther King, III, said that to build a life and a world of peace and love requires personal sacrifice. And I could not help but think about what that sacrifice might look like in daily life. Not arguing to make a point. Not feeling superior to others. But also, stopping the internal monologue that justifies all those feelings that ultimately separate us from one another.Monday, January 7, 2013
DANIEL’S PENITENT PRAYER
Rev. M.D. Rogers
Daniel was already an old man, this was very close to the time that he was thrown in the Lions den. During that time, Daniel was reading and studying his bible, especially the book of Jeremiah. And from the book of Jeremiah, he read in chapter 29 that the length of time that Israel was going to be stuck in Babylon would be 70 years. Daniel was now close to 85 years of age. He had come into Babylon’s service as a teenager, in fact, we know that in the first year of King Darius, there would be only two years left that Israel would be stuck in Babylon. You would think that now that there would only be two years of captivity left, Daniel would be jumping for joy right? Maybe he would put on party cloths and have a party with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Guess what he did! He stopped eating, he started fasting, he put on sackcloth (like potato sacks) and he dumped ashes on his head, a sign of mourning, crying he PRAYED! His prayer was not a prayer thanking God that they would be free in two years either! Daniel started his prayer by remembering what God is like, that there is no God as great as our God, able to do incredible miracles. And he remembered that God is also a God who is flawlessly faithful to the promises he keeps, and God especially shows his love to those who keep his commandments.
But then he remembered what God’s people had done. He remembered how they refused to obey God. They went after idols, they worshiped demons. They broke the law God had given them. They rebelled against God’s rule in their lives and they refused to listen to the prophets that God had sent to correct them and lead them back to obedience. Even though the prophets went to kings and leaders and fathers, it seemed all the people of Israel would not listen to them. Daniel felt all the shame for what the people of Israel had done. He heaped ashes on his head. He saw again that the 70 years that God’s people were in Babylon was simply because they had not listened to God and obeyed his commandments for 70 times 7 years. He knew that the beautiful land and the wonderful city of Jerusalem had been reduced to a pile of rocks because all the leaders of Israel, and all the people, including Daniel and his parents had rebelled against God. Again and again, Daniel confessed to God his sins and the sins of his parents and the leaders of the people of Israel because he knew that even though they had been in Babylon for close to 70 years, really, the Israelites had not changed all that much. They still were not all that interested in listening to what God had to say in the bible. They still were not all that interested in hearing his commandments so that they would learn to obey God. And Daniel knew that the blessing of God would only come to Israel if they repented from their evil ways and turned their hearts around to listening and doing what God wanted them to. Daniel knew that the problem with Israel was not God, it was Israel. God is always faithful to the very things he promised and one of the things he promised was that if Israel refused to obey, then Israel would pay the consequences by being captive to a foreign king in a far away city - Babylon. He knew all their problems were nobody’s fault but their own.
And so when he cried out to God, when he was praying he thought God might hear him, in fact, God would hear him, and God would see what was going on, not because Israel, or even Daniel was such a great person, rather because God is a merciful God. And so he asked God to remember how kind he had been to Israel in the past, what he had done for Israel in taking them out of slavery in Egypt, what he had done in making them a great nation and giving them a beautiful city called Jerusalem. He knew that God would listen because of who God is!
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Show Yourself A Man
As David is on his deathbed, notice what he says to Solomon: “show yourself a man”. This is not based upon Solomon’s taking up the sword or being a shrewd king. David based his measure of a man upon how well Solomon could observe what the Lord his God required. When a man (or woman) follows after the Lord wholeheartedly, the journey ahead is so challenging that it will require both courage and wisdom. David knew that God would be far more adept than any human teacher to equip his earthly son with the skill sets for success. If it was good enough for Solomon, how about us? Are we willing to walk in His ways?
Saturday, January 5, 2013
You Snooze, You Lose...Rev.M.D. Rogers
It was 5:30AM and the alarm had just elevated its piercing voice and shook me out of my sleep and slumber. I really didn’t feel like getting up that morning. I mean I really wanted to steal a few more moments of blissful unconsciousness. It was one of those days where we had plenty to do. It was one of those days where we had to get up, pack the car, and get out on the road.You see it was time to take that long trek to see family members in a far away town. But like any trip, it required preparation. We had a lot to do. In fact, we had to do some things that we normally wouldn’t do at 5:30 in the morning. Because of this realization, I simply hit the snooze button every 15 minutes to prolong the sleep, but also the agony of realizing that I was stealing more and more time away from the preparations that needed to be done. However I promised myself that after this time hitting the snooze I would get up.
You ever felt like that? Sleeping, but needing and in some way wanting to get up, but our body wants to continue on in the daze of semi-awareness of what we must do. Wanting to sleep, but also wanting to awake and get the day started.
The Apostle Paul is speaking to a group of people just like that. These Roman Christians were such that felt like hitting the snooze button and sleep a little longer. They wanted to continue living in the Roman world as if it would go on forever. They wanted to simply hit the snooze button. You know when you hit the snooze button you don’t have to get up. When you hit the snooze button you delay the final reckoning.
You know and understand what I am talking about. Some have just simply hit the snooze button on God’s plans for them. We are not ready to go forward so we do whatever it takes to lesson the call of duty or responsibility on our soul. Many have simply hit the snooze button. We have been sleeping and the time to wake up has come. The alarm clock is shouting at you to get up. Some folks alarm clock is a child that was unexpected and unanticipated. And too many of us have simply hit the snooze button to continue life as it has always been. Perhaps the alarm clock to your soul has been a graduation which means it is time to stop being a burden to begin bearing burdens, but then some just hit the snooze button. Perhaps the alarm clock to your soul has been the call of God into ministry, but instead of moving forward into God’s plan we hit the snooze button and go on to as if nothing has changed.
The snooze button is so comfortable. The bed is so comfortable. Sleep is so comfortable, but we also must acknowledge that this sleep after an alarm ain’t really sweet. When God needs you to get up the sleep is not so sweet. And sometimes God will do whatever God has to do to wake us up from that rest of semi consciousness.
You Snooze, You Lose...Rev.M.D. Rogers
Executive Director-Pass The Ball...
Friday, January 4, 2013
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
My Christmas Reflection - Rev.M.D. Rogers
not going to wax eloquent about how the season I loved most as a child has
become the source of excruciating stress. I'll not waste a word on why it's
possible for me to reclaim Christmas.
Because I've done it. I've reclaimed Christmas. I've tiptoed into December with
a calm mind and a quiet spirit. I don't feel overwhelmed at all.
Lest you think I'm bragging, hear me out. I'm calm only in the aftermath of
crisis. For months I lived so far beyond my emotional, relational, and physical
capacity that in November I hit the proverbial bottom. Lacking the mental energy
to prepare adequately for a series of sermon about Advent, I ended up
embarrassing myself, and letting down some lovely people who had
trusted me to help them further their very worthy cause.
public humiliation and letting down people you respect that gets one's
attention. Immediately I canceled every commitment I possibly could, went away
for a long weekend to reflect on the state of my life, made an appointment with
THE wise counselor who has guided me through difficult eras in the past, and
enlisted close friends to help me chart a new path…
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
The Unfolding Promise -Rev. M.D. Rogers
Our story begins in the Garden of Eden in those tragic few moments after Adam and Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit. Paradise was violated by the entrance of sin. Satan had won, God's plan had been foiled, our First Parents had fallen from innocence. From that moment sin spread out across the earth, staining everything it touched.
What would God do? How would he deal with people who had chosen to turn away from him? Would he destroy Adam and Eve and start over again? No. Salvation begins with the simple observation that God didn't give up on the human race. God was determined to do something! He would not let Satan win the battle for planet earth.
The rest of the Old Testament is the progressive unfolding of God's plan to counteract what happened in Eden. At that point in time God made a promise that, while vague, was the first glimmer of hope after the Fall. That promise can be traced across the centuries as God slowly clarifies the promise by narrowing its scope. The promise in its purest form was this: God would do something about sin by sending someone to the earth. But who and how and where and when?
Let's trace the unfolding answer to that question:
1. He will be a member of the human race.
"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." (Genesis 3:15) This verse contains an amazing amount of information concerning God's plan to rescue the human race:
1. God's plan centered in a specific person.
2. That person would be a man.
3. He will enter the human race by being born of a woman.
4. He will do battle with Satan.
5. Satan will strike a blow against him but will not defeat him.
6. He will crush Satan and his power.
The Deliverer, when he comes, will be the "seed of the woman"—that is, he will not be an angel or some super-natural creature, but he will be a man and will enter the human race by being born of a woman. Genesis 3:15 is thus the first link in the long chain that leads us to Bethlehem.
2. He will come from the Semitic peoples.
"Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem!" (Genesis 9:26) After the Flood of Noah, the line begins to narrow. Noah has three sons, but the Deliverer must come from one of them. Noah declared that the Deliverer would come from the descendants of his son Shem—who is the father of the Semitic peoples of the world.
3. He will be a son of Abraham.
"I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing … all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." (Genesis 12:2,3) Many years later God spoke to Abraham while he was in Ur of the Chaldees, calling him to leave that city for a land God would afterward show to him. Abraham obeyed and ended up in the Promised Land. This represents a great narrowing down of the promise—from all humanity to one solitary man. The Deliverer must come from among Abraham's descendants.
4. He will be a son of Isaac.
"… through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed…" (Genesis 22:18) The promise narrows even further as God now specifies that the promise will come through Isaac—not through Ishmael.
5. He will be a son of Jacob.
"… All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring." (Genesis 28:14) Isaac had two sons—Jacob and Esau. By custom, Esau should have received the promise as the first-born. But he sold that right to Jacob for a bowl of "red stuff." Would God honor that transaction? The answer is yes, even though it involved some degree of unfairness on Jacob's part. In that mysterious dream of the stairway to heaven, God repeats to Jacob the promise previously made to his father and grandfather. Thus the line is narrowed again.
6. He will come from the tribe of Judah.
"The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his." (Genesis 49:10) Jacob had 12 sons. Which one would be chosen to carry on the promise? By rights it should have been Reuben, the first-born. But he sinned and was passed over. The same is true of Simeon and Levi. When Jacob came to his fourth son Judah, he uttered one of the most amazing prophecies in all the Bible. For 2000 years Genesis 49:8-12 has been regarded as one of the greatest Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament. Although Jacob was old and dying, with eyes of faith he saw through the mist to a day when the tribe of Judah would take leadership in Israel. The people of Judah would be lion-like in courage and strength. Their tribe would lead the way; the other 11 tribes would follow.
The scepter (the sign of regal authority) would rest with Judah until "Shiloh" comes. "Shiloh" is either a proper name for the Messiah or it is a Hebrew contraction meaning "he to whom it (the scepter) belongs." If it is a proper name, then "Shiloh" means "the one who brings peace." That may well be correct, since Isaiah 9:6-7 calls Messiah the "Prince of Peace" and Micah 5:5 says of the Messiah that "he will be their peace." If it is a Hebrew contraction, Jacob is prophesying that the Messiah will be the rightful ruler of the world. Both thoughts are true, of course, and it is possible that both thoughts are intended by the expression "Shiloh."
Here is a simple outline of Jacob's prophecy concerning Judah in Genesis 49:8-12:
1. Judah will be the dominant tribe in Israel. 8
2. Judah will be lion-like in courage and strength. 9
3. The Messiah will come from the tribe of Judah. 10
4. Messiah's coming brings peace, joy and prosperity. 11-12
Although Jacob predicts dominance for Judah, this prophecy was not fulfilled for many centuries. Israel's earli-est leaders came from other tribes:
Moses from Levi
Joshua from Ephraim
Gideon from Manasseh
Samson from Dan
Samuel from Ephraim
Saul from Benjamin
But after Saul was rejected, God chose a man from the tribe of Judah to be king.
7. He will be a descendant of David.
In I Samuel 16 things begin to change. After rejecting Saul as king, God chooses the youngest son of Jesse, a shepherd boy named David. He eventually becomes the king of Israel. In time he will be considered as Israel's greatest king, her model warrior, her finest statesman, her poet laureate and "the sweet singer of Israel." In this one man are bound up all the hopes and dreams of a nation longing for the fulfillment of the ancient promises.
At the height of his career God made an amazing promise to David. "… the Lord himself will estab-lish a house for you … I will raise up your offspring to succeed you … Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever." (II Samuel 7:11,12,16) This promise is the most specific yet. Not only will the Deliver come from the line of David, he will also rule over David's kingdom and will reign upon David's throne. More than that, David's "house" and "kingdom" and "throne" will last forever.
These sweeping promises go beyond merely the human rulers who followed David—Solomon, Asa, Hezekiah, Josiah, to name only a few. Although these men were righteous before God, because they were human, they could never reign from David's throne forever. Mortal men could never exhaust this great promise. It demands a Ruler who will live forever. But what person could fulfill that requirement? David could not have imagined the answer to that question.
The promise has now become very specific indeed. We have moved from a member of the human race to a descendant of Shem to Abraham to Isaac to Jacob to Judah to the tribe of Judah to David to the descendants of David and ultimately to someone who can reign forever on David's throne.
Who could the Deliver be and where will he come from and how will he be recognized? The next two promises begin to answer those questions.
8. He will be born of a virgin.
Many years pass as the people of God wait for the Deliverer to come from heaven. Then in the days of King Ahaz God once again narrows the line. This time he specifies how the Deliverer will enter the world: "… the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call his name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14) A virgin birth! I wonder what Ahaz thought when he heard that? Come to think of it, I wonder what Isaiah thought? Only God could have conceived of such an event. The Messiah will indeed be a member of the human race, but his entrance will signal that he is no ordinary person. He enters the world supernaturally because he is the One sent by the Father. In the fact of the virgin birth, we have a hint (though not more than that) of the Messiah's true identity—fully God (thus miraculously born of a virgin) and fully man (thus born of a woman).
9. He will be born in Bethlehem.
The line narrows once again—this time to specify exactly where the Messiah will be born. Out of all the cities and villages of Israel, he will be born in Bethlehem. "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times." (Micah 5:2) The phrase "from ancient times" could literally be translated "from days of eternity" (the NIV margin). This ties directly back to Genesis 49:10, which speaks of a ruler who comes from Judah. It also adds the crucial fact that Messiah's origins are from "days of eternity." This helps explain how the Messiah can reign on David's throne forever. Since his origins are from eternity, he will have an eternal reign.
When all these prophecies are taken together, we have an amazing portrait of the Messiah.
Ann Landers On the New Year
New Year's Eve
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