Luke 24

This has to be one of my favorite stories in the New Testament.  The two guys are walking with Jesus and they don't recognize Him nor His amazing folding of the Scriptures until He gives thanks and breaks bread in their presence.  Then they respond by saying, you kidding me, no wonder our hearts were burning within us...we were walking and talking with Jesus.  Every time I think and read about this story, that is where I want to be every day of my life...walking and talking with Jesus so that my heart is burning within me.  Then I think about the truth that what you are hungry for, you will go after.  If you are hungry for Jesus, you will go after Him.  If you are hungry for Oreos, you will either go to your cabinet or to the store to get some...wait, not till you are done with this thought :).  Jesus said, "blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."  Awesome.  If I am hungry for Jesus, then I want to spend time with Jesus and when I spend time with Jesus, I WILL BE FILLED.  May we fill ourselves with Jesus all day today.  Now go eat some oreos.

Luke 23

An innocent man who is brutally crucified and according to Peter, no deceit was on His lips.  Friends, I find that amazing and believe that is why everyone at the foot of the Cross was impacted.  The soldier says, "certainly this man was innocent."  The people walked home beating their breast.  The women who followed Him stood by watching these things.  I can't say for sure, but I am thinking that some of Jesus' best ministry are the words He uttered from the Cross.  It would have to be something that crazy for a roman soldier who has done this sort of thing a hundred times before to walk away saying, "certainly this man was innocent."  Jesus' Words!  They have a way of changing a person life.  Yet, we have the opportunity to utter these same words.  Paul reminds us that we should have the same mind of that of Jesus Christ.  How awesome would it be for us to live our lives in such a way that people are around us long enough, that they would walk away saying of Jesus, there's just something about that NAME!  Let's practice Jesus Words tomorrow at work, at  home, and wherever else He leads us.

Luke 22

One of my favorite statements that I think Jesus spoke to the disciples was v.40, "upon reaching the place, he said to them, Pray that you will not fall into temptation."  In other places it says, "watch and pray that you do not fall into temptation."  What amazing and life changing words He gives us, because I am convinced that this is how He stayed pure.  Be alert.  Watch out!  Be on guard!  We are in a spiritual battle and the enemy is always on the horizon.  We need to be able to recognize it and pray for strength to walk away from it.  Even though Jesus is speaking to them at that moment I am convinced that this was a statement for us today.  If we could really be alert, we would strive better toward His heart.

Above all else, guard your heart for its the wellspring of life.

Luke 21

The widow teaches us pure faith.  Here she had nothing and yet she put all she had because she absolutely trusted in Jesus.  Jesus was her all in all and she lacked nothing.  That is a beautful example of faith!  How I continually wrestle with this issue and I long to have the heart of this widow.  I am reminded though that as we grow closer to Him the more we trust Him and the less than world entices us.  So my hope for me and for all of us is that we continually grow closer to the heart of God so someday Jesus would say of us, this person has put in more than everyone else and to have Him say so with a smile on His face.  Amen.

Luke 20

I am reminded at the end of this chapter the seriousness of being real with the Lord!  The scribes liked to look the part and be seen by all, but they were going to face condemnation.  Then you have those who are broken and can't do anything for themselves and yet Jesus does not condemn them.  So I read this and want to be real in my relationship with Christ and others.  Christ already knows me, but I can pull off fooling people, but I desire to know Him thru and thru which leads me to being a real person thru and thru.  The scary part is how easy we can play the part, but if we do play the part, we will pay for it.  Be real!  Love God and love others!

Luke 19

I love it when Zach has Jesus over and tells Him that he will pay back 4 times the amount of whoever he cheated.  If you go to Leviticus 6:5 it says that if you cheated someone, you would pay back 100% plus 1/5...so 120%.  Zach says he is going to pay back 4 times the amount, which is 280% more than what the law requires, now that is radical, but that is what GRACE does...it changes us from the inside.  The other part is that I'm guessing the Zach at the end of the day is poor, but He is full of Jesus and that is ENOUGH for him.  Isn't that a great story?  GRACE has been given to us, will it be ENOUGH for us?  Will it cause us to be like Jesus?  

Sorry that I have been hit and miss a couple of times this week :)  We are finishing up Luke, any suggestions on which Book to do next?  

Luke 18

I cannot tell you how many times I have prayed this prayer, "God, have mercy on me a sinner.". I love this man's heart because he doesn't compare himself to anyone, He recognizes that God is holy and he is not.  We have the tendency to think of ourselves OK cause we are better than so and so, but the Lord was sicken by the first guy.  Let's recognize His holiness, our sinfulness, and His mercy and live in that truth knowing that He will make us complete some sweet day :).

Luke 16

I am just simply reminded in Luke 16 that we die.  Whether we are rich, poor, saint, sinful, young, old, etc...we die.  How about that to start off this email.  But its the truth.  The story of the rich man and Lazarus reminds me that both of them die and that there is eternal life for both of them.  One eternal life is of Glory and Peace while the other eternal life is of pain and misery.  The great part is that God has already made His decision for us, but we have to follow through by accepting His amazing gift!  It is up to us though...no one else makes the decision.  The rich man was responsible for his choice and the poor man was responsible for his choice.  You are and so am I!  What will you choose?  God or world?  Then whatever we decide that is what we live out the rest of our days.  How will you honor the Lord with the rest of your day?  Find a few minutes just to thank Him and worship Him.  He is definitely more than enough for us!

Luke 15

I love how Luke 15 reminds me how much God loves me.   When something was lost how it broke His heart but when it was found, how much rejoicing there was.  You my friends are found and thus He rejoices over you!  There are those in our family, at work, in our neighborhood who are lost and how it breaks His heart.  Let's serve the lost and show them Jesus so there can be much rejoicing in Heaven.

Happy fathers day to you all!

Luke 17

Oh my, how many times I have been guilty of being one of the nine lepers in Luke 17?  The one person who does come back to give thanks wasn't even expected to come back cause he was a foreigner.  And when we think of leprosy another great word for it is SIN.  There were 10 sinners who stood at a distance and called out, Master, have mercy on us!  He does have mercy on us by giving up His life on the Cross and only 1 out of the 10 sinners come back.  And not only does the one come back but He truly understands what Jesus did for him, cause he falls down at His feet, giving Him thanks.  Do we understand how ugly our sin is?  C.H. Spurgeon wrote this some time ago - "an ounce of sin will hurt you far more than ten million tons of suffering."  This man recognized himself as this ugly sinner and came back to thank Jesus for rescuing Him.  Do you know that worship is our recognizing ourselves as a vicious sinner who comes back to bow before Him to say thanks time and time again?  May we represent the one!

Luke 14

And when you are invited, sit at the lowest place...wow, won't you admit that sometimes that is hard.  Some times we wrestle with wanting to be noticed, rewarded, appreciated and although there is nothing wrong with those desires, but when we can't be content because we haven't received those, then we are in trouble.  But, if we could learn this truth of sitting in the lowest place, I think we would see an improvement in our contentment.  I think Jesus and Paul both express this perfectly in their lives and in their words.  I really want to embrace this truth...do you?  Let's start tomorrow by putting others above ourselves.  

Luke 13

I love the words of David in Psalm 63 when he says, "in the shadow of your wings."  I can't think of a safer place to be than there!  Then Jesus says in verse 34 - how often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and YOU WERE NOT WILLING!  UGGG!  Not Willing?  Please please please understand the amazing invitation that you and I have been given, He is inviting us under His Wings of Protection.  Now please listen, under His wings bad things will still happen, but you are UNDER HIS WINGS.  Sometime I catch myself wondering what it would be like to experience what David did but as soon as I think that I hear these words from Hebrews, "He's the same yesterday, today, and forevermore" just sit under His wings and you WILL experience Him like David did.  We just need to accept the invitation.

While you are spending time with Him, enjoy this song from Fernando Ortega.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGm7ivZcW_w

Ladies, if you sign up to bring a side dish, just bring it.  The ladies of Benton have everything else ready to go.  To get there you will get off at Benton exit.  Turn right and then go about 2 miles and at the road sign 77/E, turn left and you will see the church with a bunch of cars.  From church it takes me about 25 minutes to get there.

I am hoping some guys are coming to do some labor.  Also, Andrea will be leading the prayer time around the city.

Looking forward to tomorrow with you all.  Thanks for giving up your time and energy on a Sat. to show Benton some love.

JT

Luke 12

Luke 12:20 - two words stand out to me in that verse.

Fool - Its like a horse wearing blinders so that it is not distracted by anything so it can stay on task.  Jesus is calling this man a fool because its as if he is wearing blinders to the needs around him so that he can get richer.  I hope that you and I aren't so on task that we fail to see people around us, especially those in need.  This man was walking by hurting families, hurting people, just so his little world could get bigger and better.  Jesus called him a fool!

Demanded - Your life will be demanded of you.  It is a term used in the banking world.  I borrow money they are demanding that I pay them back.  Here God is saying I gave you life and I blessed your life to be a blessing, have you have wasted your gifts, thus I want the life I gave you back.  Wow.  May we live our lives in such a way that God says to each one of us, "well done, my good and faithful servant, enter into the rest I have prepared for you!"  Bless someone today!

Luke 11

I love how the disciples had the courage to go to Jesus and ask the question, "teach us to pray."  How did they know about prayer, because Jesus modeled it for them.  Throughout the Gospels, how many times did the disciples find Jesus praying...then they would see a miracle take place and I believe they connected the two together.  So one of them finally speaks for the group and says, teach us to pray like you do."  Jesus doesn't break it down into a series or into points, He just simply leads them in a prayer.  We all know this prayer, but it truly does cover all aspects of life.  If you are not a praying person but would like to start, this is the pray for you...but don't just pray it, savor each word.  Soak in each line...what do you think each line means?  What does that look like?  Meditate on it before you move on to the next line.  This is a solid prayer to pray and it is the one Jesus taught the disciples to pray:

Father
Hallowed be your name
Your kingdom come
Give us each day our daily bread
forgive us our sins
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us
and lead us not into temptation.

AMEN!

Luke 10

How awesome would it be to hear our Lord say about us, "but one thing is necessary, (your name) has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from you"

Aww, to choose the good portion, which is sitting at the feet of Jesus.  What an amazing invitation we have been given.  Each one of us.  Martha is not a bad person, in fact, stuff has to get done.  We can't sit around all day, but when it comes down to it...sitting at Jesus' feet is the good portion.  Even if Martha would have just paused and sat at the feet of Jesus for even 7 minutes, I think her heart would have been touched and her attitude would have be amazing as she served Jesus and the guest.  It is critical for us all to just sit at the feet of Jesus which is where the good portion is.  Do you want the good portion?  I know I do!  It's at His feet!  Bow down before Him tonight and listen...whisper His name...Call out to Him...Honor Him...just spend time with Him.  

Luke 9

This question that Jesus asked the disciples may be one of the most pivotal question ever asked, "who do you say that I am?". The answer to that question reveals our true thoughts of Jesus.  A.W. Tozer said, "what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.". What are your thoughts this morning?  By the way, no matter how you feel, He sings over you with rejoicing.  His mercy was brand new for you today.  He wants to be with you today.

Luke 8

I absolutely love the faith of the woman in Luke 8:44 - she came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased.  What led up to her to go to Jesus.  Desperation?  She heard the good news about Jesus and figured she had nothing to lose?  What?  Doesn't matter...she worked through her fears and the fact that she was going to receive criticism from the crowd, cause she was unclean.  She didn't care, she just wanted to get to Jesus.  Can you picture the scene as she is working through the crowd just to get to Him.  How does Jesus respond to her heart?  Your faith as made you well.  Your struggle is over with.  Your fears are dead.  Your heart is mine!  GO IN PEACE.  There are many blessings for those who strive after the Heart of Jesus!  May we pursue after Him and Him alone.  What amazing faith this woman had.

Luke 7

The story of the sinful woman has always been one of my personal favorite stories in all of the new testament.  Just take the name woman and she (guys will have to work harder at this :)) and place your name in that story and then pray that you would become exactly that.  One who is never ever afraid to honor the King whenever and wherever.  Then as you learn to worship like this, may the words - "your faith has saved you; go in peace" ring very loudly in your ears each and every day.  Those who have been forgiven little love little, but those who have been forgiven much love much.  Which one are you?  Let's show Him our hearts true desire by loving much.

Luke 6

Our lives are about two things and two things only:  Jesus and people.  That's it!  The way we live that out is by having a healthy relationship with Jesus and then showing people to Him.  It saddens me that the pharisees missed that, but guess what...we do too.  Its not that complicated at all, but honestly, it is not simple because we aren't invested in an ongoing healthy place with Jesus.  If the pharisees would have gotten Jesus, they would have been one amazing light for Him, but because they didn't, they just added burdens on people, total opposite of our calling.  It is critical that we are with Jesus first!  So be with Him now!  Then we can help people.

Luke 5

I love the story of the four friends getting their broken friend to Jesus.  Their determination to get him to Jesus is what it is all about.  Nothing, not even a packed house or discouragement kept them from moving toward Him.  That's the heart we need to have for broken people.  That's what I'm praying to have as we start Benton.

Luke 4

After an intense conversation around who Jesus is, they wanted to get rid of Him.  I love v.30:  He was in their midst and then He was gone.  It cracks me up every time, what was that like?

Point I want to make though is this.  You follow Christ whole heartedly you will be misunderstood.  Even by people in the church.  You will be ridicule, but Jesus stayed on task, and this is early on in His ministry.  He stayed the course.  No matter what comes, stay the course.  We have an awesome example from Christ.

Luke 3

I love John the Baptist!  He was called simply to be a person who announced the coming of the Messiah.  That could not be an easy job and probably was misunderstood on many levels, especially since there wasn't a huge change in people's lives because of his announcement.  Nonetheless, he was faithful to his calling and did exactly what the Lord called him to do.  Well, our lives are no different today.  We also are called to announce the coming of Jesus to this generation. We are called to be faithful to what He desires of us and that is for us to announce the Good News of Jesus.  It is true that we will be misunderstood and even ridicule, but let's not waver in our calling.  Let's be a bright light in a dark place and people will be drawn to Him and changed forever.  How can we show our light today?

Luke 2

I love verse 52, in fact it is a prayer a I pray over my kids each night before bed:  May we grow in wisdom and stature and be in favor with God and with others.

Think about it...this is how Jesus grew up.  We don't know much about His childhood, but we know that this is a prayer for Himself.  It is a great prayer for us.  What would it mean for us to grow in wisdom and stature?  What would it look like if we were in favor with God and others?  May we desire to grow in our faith like Jesus did.  It was His custom to be in church.  He spent great time with the Lord.  He served and love others.  He was not about Himself but about bringing the Lord Glory.  Wow.  Let's desire that lifestyle, shall we?

Luke 1

When I think about Luke compared to the other Gospels, I think it is very missional minded, showing us a Jesus who went to places to reach people that no one else was going to reach.  Keep that in mind as you read through this Gospel.  It is my favorite, although John has been growing a lot on me of late.  What is your favorite Gospel and why?

Luke 1

I smile as I think about being one of those people waiting for Zechariah to come out and share with us a word about the Lord.  Instead, he comes out and he can't speak...i would be freaking out thinking on no, what is God going to do?  I would be wrestling trying to figure out the interpretation of my priest not being able to speak.  I wonder what the gestures were like from Zechariah to the people?  Reminds me though that sometimes God is silent with me and I don't like it.  But from this story is also reminds me that even when He is silent, He is still working.  He was giving Zechariah and Elizabeth a baby!  A baby with a very important part in the story of Jesus.  We also play a very important part in the story of Jesus.  So when God is silent, He is still very near and He is still doing something that is beyond anything that we could imagine.  Wait!!!

Again, if you would not like to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe down at the bottom of this email!

Exodus 40

Yay!  We did it.  40 days of reading Exodus.  But don't forget, the reason for this was to also celebrate and remember that Jesus was with us 40 days after His Resurrection before He ascended to the right hand of God.  He is now interceding for us.  He is our advocate today...fighting on our behalf.  Pretty awesome!

Exodus 40

Just like the Israelites followed the cloud, today you and I have God living in us, His Holy Spirit.  Man, if we would just learn to listen, He will lead us in the right path to the heart of God.  It's amazing that we have the gift of the Holy Spirit.  John 14 and 16 has some pretty awesome words from Jesus concerning the Holy Spirit.  He is our cloud leading us and we must be like Moses and Israelites and submit ourselves to His leading.  When we do, we will experience the heart of God like we never have before.

We will be starting the Book of Luke tomorrow.  We can get through Luke in 24 days.

Be sure to keep checking the blog page:  jtea24.blogspot.com

Also, i have about 10 people signed up to help with Benton on June 14.  I am hoping to have about 60 people.  Let me know if you are available to help.

Much Love.  JT

Exodus 39

I find it interesting that awhile back, Moses' father-in-law told him that he needed to not try to handle everything on his own, but give out responsibilities and here we are at the end of Exodus and we see the people getting a job done.  Moses walks around, sees that the job is done, is pleased with it and he blesses the people.  Moses has become a great leader, thanks to the advice of his father-in-law.  I will tell you personally this is one area I need people to pray over for me.  I don't desire to be that one guy, but I do love to work and thus I always find it easier to work and sadly, leave others out.  I don't want to lead like this, but I long to work with a team.  I totally get how pleased the people would be having Moses compliment them on their work and outcome.  This really hit home for me.  As we serve, serve as a team...it is fun, we accomplish more, and its the way God designed it.

I promise...that devotion had nothing to do with what I am about to ask you, you can ask Randy Shaw or Wayne Shockley...but this email should have gone out a week ago and I am just now getting to it.  So please don't feel convicted because of my devotion and my request...got it :)?

June 14.  Please mark your calendar cause I am inviting all of you to join the community of Benton to make a difference.  We are doing a work/prayer day to help start our new campus family.  So here is what we need you to consider:

1.  I am good to do labor, thus I will be a part of the labor team.  We need to clean out the whole church so that MAC CON can get in there and start moving and building walls.  We have to take out carpet, ceiling tile, trash, kitchen, etc.

A second team we could use are people who would be happy to provide a lunch.  We want to keep it simple, but also need food to work.  We are thinking sandwiches and side dish to serve.  If we get someone who is willing to bring a truck with a grill, then the church could provide hamburgers, brats, and hot dogs.  So if a few people want to help me gather this team...great.

Last team, if you are thinking, I want to be a part of this day but not up for labor, how about prayer?  I will have a map of Benton and will ask people to just do a good ole fashion prayer walk.  Let's pray for the whole city and surrounding communities of Benton.  We want lost people to find Jesus.

so...I am inviting my Exodus family to be a part of this day.  We will start at 9:00AM and will be finishing up around 2pm.  Now, this is the crazy part.  I would like to have a good idea of numbers so that we can make sure we have enough food, so if you are up for being a part of this day...please let me know through email.  What a great opportunity for us to come along side our new family and get this started off with good ole labor and prayer. Let's do this together.

JT

Exodus 38

I love this chapter as it focuses on community.  It wasn't just Moses or Oholiab or Bezalel that made all this happen, but it was the community of people that pulled this off.  For the people to experience the presence of God wasn't just on one person's shoulders but was on all the people, for the people were the ones to make it happen.

Likewise, today, it isn't the senior pastor, the executive pastor, or even the jr. high pastor :0 who pull this off...it's the people.  I was reminded of this truth yesterday as I sat with a man who told me how GREAT GOD was because of how the people of our church had served him and his family through some nasty storms.  I was moved by tears to hear how the church community is working in our city.  The people are what makes the church and nothing else.  The people who want to Glorify God with their gifts, is a church that is on move.

It is not what happens on the weekend that makes the church beautiful, but what happens monday - saturday that makes the church beautiful.

Exodus 37

Here we have specific instructions on how the ark of covenant is to be carried, right?  God is very clear about how it is to be handled and transported from place to place.  Now, fast forward a couple of hundred years later and we have David bringing the ark of covenant back from the enemies.  As they were hauling it on the backs of the oxen, it begin to slide and Uzzah reached out to rescue it and he died!  What's up with that?

Do you read anything in Exodus 37 about using oxen?  Some where along the way, someone came up with a great idea of using "technology" to make something easier.  The reason for the anger of God is because His commands were ignored...the Israelites became lazy in doing things.  There is a lesson here for us.  I was reminded this weekend of the beauty of conversation as Andrea's family got together without technology anywhere.  We were all gathered around a fire, in tents, in lawn chairs talking.  I mean, eye to eye conversation.  I love technology just like anyone else, but we have to find a very healthy balance about what is really important.  I fear that we are getting away from what really matters and that is people.  Just like the Israelites, they got away from what really mattered to the heart of God.  May God's heart be what we are after and may nothing come in the way of that pursuit.  Nothing.

Exodus 36

How awesome would it be if this verse described our churches today: "the people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do."  How awesome would it be if we were using all of our resources to bring a spiritual awakening in America again?

Let's not forget about all the sacrifices that have been made in the past to get us where we are today!  What kind of sacrifices and givings can you and I do today, to help tomorrow be a better, healthier, and Christ-honoring place to be.  May we honor the Lord today and remember the beauty of sacrifices made for us and to continue that blessing on to others.

Happy Memorial Day friends.

Exodus 35

Churches for years have try to figure out the best way to communicate giving to the Lord.  For example, our church doesn't exist without your giving.  To support our missionaries and pastors, it is important for you to give.  To build His Kingdom, we must give.  Give, give, give!  Well, this chapter says it point blank.  The Lord wants us to give.  Is that not enough?  The Lord desires that we give because it increases our faith.  When we give, our faith increases...and when we give more, our faith increases more.  He does not need our money at all, but He does want our hearts and He knows that one of the areas that will rob us of knowing Him is $.  Whether you have a lot or little and can give a lot or little, to Him it doesn't matter...He wants your heart.  A heart that freely gives is a heart that is free in Him.  We truthfully give, so we know Him more.  Hope that makes sense!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend.

Exodus 34

Can you believe that you and I have been offered the same invitation with a Holy God just like Moses received?  I read the last part of 34 and think to myself, wow, but as soon as I do then it dawns on me, why should I hold Moses up like that, because the way He came to the Lord has been extended to me like that.  The way the Lord spoke to Moses is even better for you and I today than it was with Moses.  Moses would hold the Scriptures and be like, this is utterly amazing, you can know the Lord through reading His Word, this would have been great.  His Word.  We have it.  God waiting to meet with us there!

I hope that you have been encouraged through Exodus...we have about a week left, so I might try to offer up reading a New Testament Book together.

Exodus 33

Lyrics from a Shane and Shane song called Without You:

If Your presence goes I don't want to stay
If Your presence stays I don't want to go
If Your presence goes I don't want to stay
If Your presence stays I don't want to go
I need You

I love the boldness and heart of Moses in this chapter.  "If your presence will not go with me, I am not leaving."  God even said, I will give you what I promise to give you but I am not going with you and Moses says, then I don't care about the promises because all I want is YOU.  Gosh, would that be our hearts.  I catch myself saying all I want is peace, Heaven, good gifts, etc but what I need to be pursuing is Him and only Him.  Matthew 6:33 reminds me that if I seek Him and Him alone, all these other things fall right into place.  Let's not be consumed on His promises...let's be CONSUMED WITH HIM!

Then, can you capture the scene as Moses walks through the camp and people come out of their tents to watch this amazing moment take place.  Moses is going to the Presence of God on behalf of the people.  They stand and watch Moses walk by...was there cool background music playing?  Then the cloud falls on the tent of meeting and God is meeting with Moses...goodness, now that would be an awesome movie scene, right?  Except for the fact that He is waiting to meet with us RIGHT NOW.  I had a moment a few mornings ago to have some quiet time with the Lord on my back deck, but I chose sleep instead and as I laid in the bed, I had this vision of Jesus sitting at my picnic table waiting for me, but I didn't go.  Now, it was not condemnation that stirred my heart, but the truth that I just missed out on Him.  Let's not miss out on Him today!  

Would we still go to the promise land even if He said He wasn't going?

Much Love, JT

Exodus 32

How many times do we do the same thing that Aaron does.  I cannot wait and thus, because I don't and run ahead of God, I miss out on His blessings.  Aaron couldn't wait and thought he was doing something noble.  What he was doing was worshiping another idol.  There are so many lessons here for us to learn, but the biggest one is waiting on the Lord.  Oh, how I wish is was that easy.  I don't want to wait...i want it now.  Well, He doesn't work like that and I need to embrace it...now :)  Let's not take matters into our own hands, but let's learn to be patient on the Lord.  He will provide.  He will come through.  He is always moving and working on our behalf.

By the way, I am excited about Exodus 33.  It is such a beautiful chapter.

Exodus 31

"I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills."  I love the church most when people use their God given gifts to serve others.  The church is most alive when we are using the talents that He has given us to encourage, strengthen, love, serve, care, help those who are in need.  La Croix Church has always amazed me with how many talented people there are giving themselves for God's Kingdom.  Bezalel and Oholiab are simply using what God gave them to build the tabernacle, a special place where God will dwell with His people.  When you and I use our gifts, we are simply pointing people to Jesus, who wants to dwell with ALL HIS PEOPLE.  How can we use our gifts today?

Exdous 30

So you walk into the tabernacle and the first thing you would see is altar of burnt offering!  It would not be a lovely thing to see, but its significance is out of this world.  You see, it represented the fact that through this means, we had communion with God.  This was serious business in the tabernacle.  Now fast forward and again you would encounter another offering that was not a lovely thing to see, but its significance changes the world.  What I am talking about is a broken, bleeding, disgusting act of torture done to an innocent man "who knew no sin and became sin for us" sacrifice.  Through His sacrifice on the Cross, we have constant communion with God.  Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  So, Exodus 30 is a rough read, but it leads us to what would be the greatest offering ever...Jesus Christ.  May you know the gift that you and I have today in Christ.

Exodus 29

I have shared this teaching before, but it has been a long time ago.  So, it seems weird that we would take blood and place it on the right ear lobe, right thumb, and right toe, right?  But I think it is amazing thing:  The right ear lobe - will we dedicate ourselves to hear the Word of God?  We cannot know Christ unless we are in His Word hearing from Him.  The right thumb - will we be doers of the Word and not just hearers?  The world needs to see Jesus and they will only see Jesus through us when we do what He tells us to do.  The right big toe - will we carry the Gospel with us wherever He takes us?  How beautiful are the feet of those who carry the good news.  So today, just take a second and let's dedicate our ears, our hands, and our feet to His service.

Exodus 28

Next make a medallion of pure gold, and engrave it like a seal with these words:  Holy To The Lord! - v.36. This was part of the clothing for the priest in the Old Testament.  They were set apart to minister to God's people.  Amazing how God was designing a plan to care for His people.  Years later, the ultimate Priest would give His life to redeem all people to Him and now, you and I are the priests.  We are the ones who God wants to use to minister to His people.  More importantly, because of Jesus, these words are on us:  Holy To The Lord!  Amazing how God brought all this together.  You and I are the apple of His eye...He sings over us with rejoicing.  May we honor Him with our lives today!

Exodus 27

Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil of pressed olive for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually.  This simply made me ask myself, what I am doing to continually keep the fire burning inside my heart!  Am I feeding my soul the right things?  Am I allowing the Lord to speak into my being or am I allowing others that space?  What am I filling my soul up with?  Is it good and healthy or is just like the rest of the world?  We have the Light in us, but it is up to us if we keep it shining brightly or putting a bowl over it.  Just like God wanted the Israelites to keep the lamps burning, He is desiring the same from you and I today.  May we keep the flame burning brightly.

Exodus 26

V.30 - There is no missing what God desired, "set up the Tabernacle according to the pattern you were shown on the mountain."  I love that what God wanted He had already revealed to Moses and Moses was following thru with it.  Moses had a heart that wanted to honor the Lord and thus he obeyed God's command.  What kind of heart do we really want?  A heart that is about making us feel good, warm, safe, secure or a heart that is absolutely sold out to Him doing exactly what He wants?  And I love that He doesn't leave us hanging, but that He has given us His Word to show us.  What a faithful Father we truly do have!  Let's get to KNOW HIM through His Word.

Exodus 25

vv.8-9 - and let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.  Exactly as I show you concerning the patterns of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so shall you make it.

If God said I wanted to meet with you and this is the way that it should be, don't you think we would do it.  His presence is going to be dwelling among His people and He wants it exactly, not just for His glory but for their protection.  That is why the next week of reading will seem very detailed and repeated.  But He is very serious about this and thus because He loves them and cares, He is being very direct.  Just take that approach as you read.  He wanted to dwell among His people.  Fast forward many years later and He would come to dwell among His people, but this time in human flesh.  What a story!  What a God!  We no longer have to go to a tabernacle because we are the tabernacle.  He dwells in us today.  Amen.

Exodus 24

Amazing!  Moses waited on the Lord, what were those 6 days like before God spoke on the 7th day.  Did Moses want to give up waiting?  Was he just preparing his heart for what was to come?  What was Moses doing during the waiting?  Regardless of what he was doing, he waited and on the 7th day experienced the full-on presence of the Lord.  How amazing is that!  I wonder what we miss out on because we don't wait?  I wonder what we miss out on because we don't slow down to prepare our hearts for His amazing power?  I think we could experience God in a whole new way if we just slowed down and listen....shhhhhhhhhhhhh!  "Speak Lord, for your servant is listening" would be a great way to pray through the day!

Exodus 23

I love vv. 20 - 33!  Two words that describe this whole section..."I WILL."  He is before us at all times and He is fighting for us.  He is our heavenly Father, and His love for us is perfect.  We get really confused sometimes here on earth because we get very comfortable with what this world has, but let's keep our eyes on Him and be constantly reminded that He has much more for us than this world.  I love His provision for us and when it happens, it does cause us to be joyful, but when we face storms in this life, we also need to remember that He is with us and is at work in us!  He is always ahead of us.  HE KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING and we need to trust that.  May we show Him our true love for Him today!

Exodus 22

Are you having fun reading Exodus now?  I hear a lot of passion in v. 31 where God says, "you must be my holy people."  What if we read that embracing that the Creator God was longing for us to be holy?  It means the world to Him that we would strive to be just like He is, would that impact us?  I'm telling you that it hit me like that today.  We are His.  We are His people.  He just wants to pour out all of His love on us and for us to be a beautiful reflection of who He is.  May we love Him fully giving Him our very best today and the next and the next and the next...

Exodus 21

Exodus will start getting interesting now, but I encourage you to push through...let's continue to honor Him thru the reading of His Word.  All I simply want to say is may we be people who love and who do not place burdens on people.  Remember one of my favorite quotes, "be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle."  How can we be a blessing today?  Name one person you will love on today and make it happen...outside of Mothers :)

Exodus 20

Exodus 20 simply is a way to show us how much He loves us.  The true love of God was for Him to give us boundaries that we would abide by.  It was God's way of showing us practical holiness.  It seems we approach the 10 commandments with a bit of negativity, but it really is amazing what God is doing with the Israelites here.  See, God does want us to enjoy Him and to enjoy life and thus to help us achieve that, He gave us truths that we need to embrace.  May we approach the 10 commandments realizing full on that He loves us.

Exodus 19

I love verse 17!  Imagine the scene, all are a bit anxious about this moment and then here comes Moses, leading them to the foot of the mountain.  What was going through their minds?  Then I thought about how I handle the weekend services at La Croix.  I do not approach the weekend at all like they did the mountain.  Why is that?  Maybe I need to better prepare my heart for what God has in store!  In fact, anytime we come into the presence of the Lord either through Scripture reading, worship, prayer, or any other kind of spiritual discipline, what would it be like if we would approach the Lord like the Israelites did?

Exodus 18

This is a chapter I needed to read today.  It is much better to serve in community than it is alone.  Now there are times where we just need to serve, but when it is a big project, it is so much fun to get people with you to serve, why?  You get more accomplished, you enjoy the company, and it is FUN!  I can't imagine the strain that Moses was feeling.  I think if he would have continued like this, he wouldn't have lasted long, but because of the advice and the fact that Moses did it, his leadership was able to last long.  These are good words for us.  Jesus sent the disciples out two-by-two, not individually.  If you are doing something today, invite a friend to do it with you.

Exodus 17

I just had the privilege of preaching this passage at Benton this past weekend.  As we walk the Christian life sometimes our "arms get tired" and we need people to hold them up...i have been there and I am sure you have too.  Reflect on your life and thank God for those people who stood beside you through hard times, because they were holding up your arms.  Think of a time or two in your life when you had the opportunity to hold up someone else's arms.  What a privilege it was to be there for them.  That is why we need a community of fellow christians in our lives...they hold up our arms and we hold up their arms.  When true community happens, we experience victory!!!

Exodus 16

I love Jesus' prayer when He says:  give us today our daily bread.  That is exactly what the Lord is doing for His people in Exodus and it truly is what He is doing today.  We can't do anything about yesterday, it's gone.  Tomorrow is out of our control, but in His faithfulness He has given us today what we need.  So let's celebrate today's gift and be in it.  Let's not dwell on yesterday or be concerned about tomorrow...i see the Israelites doing that too many times in Exodus.  Let's just make today special by being focused on Him.

Exodus 15

Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power.  Your right hand, O Lord, smashes the enemy.

His right hand is power.  His right hand smashes the enemy.  Maybe we should start praying for us to be in His right hand.  May His right hand be all over us!  I mean, Moses wrote a song about His right hand...there is something there to chew on.

Much Love, JT

Exodus 14

Here they have freedom, but their first of many trials come upon them and they want to return to Egypt...sound familiar?  It does for me, but I love Moses amazing steadfast faith in v. 13:  fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will work FOR YOU today.  For who?  Us.  Will we let fear or God win today in our lives?  Fear wants to destroy us and God wants to redeem us...you and I choose who we will serve!

Exodus 13

"With a strong hand, the Lord rescued you from Egypt." - Exodus 13:9

With amazing love, gentle mercy, and endless grace our Savior, with strong obedience, rescued us from SIN.  May we always do what the Lord instructed Moses to do, CELEBRATE!  Friends, today we are free!

Exodus 12

I love verses 26-27!  Our lives should look so different than the rest of the world that it causes our kids to ask why?  Why do we do this?  What is the story behind this?  We should live in such a way that it evokes curiosity from everyone else.  I see that happening here in Chapter 12.  Since the Israelties were living differently, they were spared and they bowed their heads in worship.  May we live differently every day of our lives!!!

Exodus 11

"Tell all the Israelite men and women to ask their Egyptian neighbors for articles of silver and gold" (verse 2).  This seems odd, except if God is commanding them to do it, it means He is up to something.  I believe that is a very simple teaching for us.  If He commands it, He is doing something.  Will we do what He commands?

I am back in cape, thus able to be better focus on my blog now.

Thanks for being gracious while I was gone.

Exodus 10

I love the obedience of Moses in this uphill battle.  Pharaoh gives him permission to go with all the people, like yay, this is a great moment.  Right?  Except Moses says no because pharaoh says no to the livestock...I'm like God, surely we can honor you another way, right?  I mean we are free, who cares about the animals...but Moses truly wants to honor The Lord full-on, now that is obedience.  Do we want His promises or His presence most?

Exodus 9

Interesting in what Pharaoh does in verse 27 with his sin statement, but once the dust settles, he is his old self again.  Boy, have I played this card too many times in life.  When we embrace what Jesus really took on for us, it should cause us not to mess around with repentance and confession, may our hearts be pure with Him.

Sorry it was late but got some good thoughts as we prepare for Benton.

Exodus 8

The part that stood out to me is when Moses says in verse 9, "tell me what time you would like for me to pray for you, your officials, and your people."  Wow.  How many times have I missed that?  What did Moses pray about?  I'm sure that it soften Moses' heart toward the Egyptians and Pharaoh...but also was unleashing the amazing power of God as well.  How would it be if we set a time each day and prayed for others!  Now that could do some good damage :)

JT

Exodus 7

I so appreciate verse 7 especially after what Moses has already been through to this point.  Now God is telling him to take the staff and cast it down before Pharaoh.  I would be at this point thinking, really.  I have put more burdens on my people...Pharaoh has a hard heart and you want me to THROW DOWN A STAFF!  But Moses is different than me because he is obedient :).  Through his obedience his faith is going to grow, reminding me that even when it doesn't make sense and yet I obey, then my faith will grow as well.  Good lesson for me!

I am leaving town for a church plant conference.  I will still be posting, but it will come at different hours each day, please be patient with me.

Keep checking the blog page www.jtea24.blogspot.com

Keep me in your prayers as we get Benton ready.

JT

Exodus 6

God speaks some amazing words in verses 6-8 to Moses and Aaron! I mean there are some sweet promises that God gives to them, but unfortunately the Israelites are so consumed with their today issues, that they can't see tomorrow promises.  I think that hit me because I do the same thing.  I allow my problems to drown out the promises of God, thus I become discouraged!  May we focus on the God promises!!!

Exodus 5

Honestly, verses 19-23 absolutely make me sick to my stomach.  Here Moses is doing exactly what He was told to do and it makes life harder for the Israelites...ugggh.  Moses goes to God and is very upset, but God is not DEAD and it is vital that you and I remember that.  He is always working, always moving, always doing something far better than our visual eye and mind can imagine.  Even when it is tough, we lean in even more.

Exodus 4

Exodus 4:10-11 speak straight to my heart because I was born with ear problems which led to speech problems.  For many years I had to deal with tubes and speech therapy.  As a kid, I knew I had something wrong so I didn't speak.  Then of course, I had to take speech in both high school and college and I swear to this day, I am not sure how I passed either course...and today, I am a minister.  I totally connect with Moses' excuse with the mouth, but I also connect with God's power to deliver Moses through it, because He has delivered me as well.  I am blessed to be able to speak for His Kingdom.

Exodus 3

So, Moses is standing at a bush that is not burning up and is called out from the bush.  Then when God told Moses to go, Moses had some excuses for not going, but the one line that hit me is when God said, "I will be with You."  Why wasn't that enough?  Better yet, why isn't it enough for us today, because the same promise is true for us as it was with Moses.  Is it because we know it will be hard?  Do we believe He is truly with us?  We must lean into that promise each day of our lives and know without a doubt that He is with us right now and all day long and "nothing is impossible with Him."

Exodus 2

This chapter has one of my favorite stories of all the Scriptures.  Moses' mom has to give up her son Moses to protect his life and so she floats him down the river.  Pharaoh's daughter sees this baby and takes him as her own, and uniquely Moses' sister Miriam walks along the Nile to see where Moses ends up.  As Pharaoh's daughter holds the baby, Miriam walks up realizing that Pharaoh's daughter cannot nurse the baby, so upon Miriam's request, she has the perfect person to nurse baby Moses...her mom.  Haha, that is awesome to see how God is all over this story.  Moses' mom gives him up to protect him and in return she gets permission to nurse him from Pharaoh.  May we never lose heart, God is always aware of what is going on in our lives!

Exodus 1

As we spend the next 40 days taking a journey thru Exodus, focusing on our "slavery" to "freedom" in Christ, we want to focus on each chapter and share out thoughts with each other.

Exodus 1:8 - it hit me today that the new king over Egypt did not know Joseph, and more specifically, did not know or care about Joseph's God.  How unique that we find ourselves in the same mindset today, where we have a generation that doesn't know or care about Creator God and things are messy.  It is a lot like the Israelites and what they faced in their day with this new king.  Let's be praying today for a generation to KNOW about our God which causes them to CARE for people and to LOVE HIM!