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The Story, Chapter 30 - Paul's Final Days I am often suspicious of highly motivated people, perhaps because I am much more of a laid-back kind of person. I think they call those energizer bunny types a Type A personality. I'm more a Type Z - when stressed, catch a few zzzzz's and deal with it when you wake up. Anyway, in Paul I see maybe one of the most highly motivated people I have ever read of. He's not just a Type A, he's A+! Type A's kind of scare me. They must be selling something. They must have some ulterior motives. Behind all that activity must be some devious charlatan eager to deceive me. In Chapter 29 of The Story I saw another side of Paul. I guess I saw the man that I had missed in all the activity. I often associated Paul with doctrine. I love doctrine. I studied doctrine and Paul was the master theologian. I have always been impressed with his spiritual mind. I also often associated Paul with his fast and furious missiona...

The Story, Chapter 29, Paul's Mission Have you noticed that in the last few years movies don't end when you think they do? Oh, there will be an ending, but after the credits role for a few minutes there will be some outtakes or additional scenes. I've found myself standing up, brushing the popcorn off me, and ready to go only to take my seat again to see these usually entertaining postscripts. I don’t have any insider information why producers do this, but I suspect that they reserve these scenes so we'll stay and watch the names of the many people who have made that movie possible - and it does take a bunch of people! I'm amazed at all the work that goes into making a movie, and usually the only ones we give credit to are the stars of the movie and maybe the producer and director. The same can be said of the early church. Most of us can name the main characters - Peter and Paul. Outside of them we might be able to blurt out a few more names, but most...

When LeBron James burst onto the NBA scene after a sensational high school basketball career a well-known shoe company capitalized on his fame signing him to a lucrative contract. One of their slogans used to promote their LeBron James's commercials was "We are all witnesses." I suppose we were all to feel a certain sense of privilege to be living at this time and in this place to be able to experience this incredible athlete. And, as a basketball fan, I am, to some degree, honored and privileged to see such a talent - except when he recently defeated my Boston Celtics! I've been a witness to quite a few athletic talents in my lifetime. As a Boston fan I especially remember with fondness and privilege watching the great Larry Bird, Bobby Orr, Carl Yastrzemski, and Drew Bledsoe. And as time passes I regale my sons with tales from my sports-watching childhood. I boastfully recite statistics and proudly recall championships. I was a witness! I noticed that ...

The Story, Chapter 27 - The Resurrection On occasion I’ll stop by a fast-food restaurant and find myself silently complaining about everything from the quality of the food to the service. The person who took my order seemed preoccupied with flirting with the kid behind me. I struggle to find a table that doesn’t have the marks of a three year old’s eating habits. I open my sandwich, take a bite and am repulsed by the mustard that I specifically refused at the counter. I immediately try to wash it down to find my soda has too little fizz making it taste more like medicine than a soft drink. To add to all this mayhem I hear the annoying sound of a kid’s meal toy ringing in my ear like a siren! I’m exaggerating a bit, but sometimes I just get annoyed at the low standards I frequently encounter. But then I think and realize that that’s what you get for the $3.99 special! You see, I can’t expect fine dining at a restaurant that has a playground. It’s unrealistic to think that I will get...

The Story, Chapter 26 - The Hour of Darkness Sometimes people's fortunes can turn on a dime. Ask Jack Polz. The Washington native woke up one Monday expecting it to be just another beginning of another week. The most excitement he typically had was gathering all the lottery tickets he bought throughout the week and setting down at the store he bought them at to see if he was a winner. Well, Monday, July 18 one of those tickets paid off big-time. Jack Polz was the winner of $6.4 million from the Washington State Lotto. Imagine the party that followed! His fortune turned on a dime! Ask Hunter Pence. Last Sunday, July 31, Pence woke up as the starting right-fielder for the last place Houston Astros. Not only last place Astros, but worst-record-in-the-league Astros. He was putting up some decent numbers and had even played in the recent All-Star game, but the Astros were going nowhere fast. By the end of the day he had learned that he was traded to the first place Philadelphia Phillies...

The Story, Week 25 - Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus was the epitome of an enigma wrapped in a mystery. Who really was this man? Questions abound about the true identity of this teacher from Nazareth. No doubt he was an extraordinary teacher, a charismatic leader, and an indisputable miracle-worker. But was he another prophet like Elijah? Was he another King like David? Was he another deliverer like Moses? Was he another father of a nation like Abraham? Jesus seemed to be like all these other Old Testament heroes, but there was no one category you could fit him in. He was all of the above wrapped into one plus a little something more. That little something more actually is a big something - Jesus is making a claim to be more than human. He makes claims that only God himself can make. This becomes especially clear in a discussion he has with the Jewish leaders when he makes the bold statement, "Before Abraham was born, I am." With this, Jesus is claiming not only to h...

The Story - Week 24 - No Ordinary Man Even though the Woman's Soccer team lost a heart-breaker to Japan in last week's World Cup final, soccer enthusiasts see the success of the team as a boom for soccer. No doubt more than a few young girls around the country were inspired by the team's performance and will either rededicate themselves to soccer or give soccer a try for the first time. And that gives soccer coaches and players chills thinking that more and more people will come to love the sport that has captured their hearts. For some it's not about winning or losing, it's about getting the word out about a great sport. That's how it is when you love something - you want more and more people to catch the fever! This week in The Story we have the retelling of one of Jesus' most well-known parables, The Sower and the Seed. Jesus says the Kingdom of Heaven expands as people spread the seed in as many places as possible. Those whose hearts have been cap...

The Story, Week 23 - Jesus Ministry Begins This week Jesus is off and running. After thirty years of "waiting it out" Jesus gets to the work he came here to do. Several things strike me about this chapter. Preparation by temptation Jesus goes through a time of intense preparation with a 40 day fast. Jesus realizes that spiritual focus is of utmost value as he begins his ministry. It's 40 days alone with the Father, apart from physical needs, and time to deal with any doubts or fears he has had about this mission. This preparation includes a time of intense temptation from the devil. In fact, the Spirit has led him to the wilderness for this exact reason - to face temptation. Satan's goal is to derail this mission, but the temptations actually have the opposite effect. Jesus gets more focused than ever. I never thought about temptation like that before - it can either get us off track or help us dig in even deeper. For Jesus, temptation serves the latter purpose. He le...

The Story Chapter 22 - The Birth of a King So, we are now into the New Testament, but I'm seeing all sorts of references back to the Old! Imagine just jumping into the Gospels without some background to build on. It would be like jumping into a trilogy and skipping episodes one and two and starting with three. It would be like watching Rocky V without watching the previous four installments (did anyone really watch Rocky V anyway?). You could probably get some sense of the story, but you would miss out on so much! No doubt we live under the new covenant but knowledge of the old proves itself so important. Right off the bat in this opening chapter of the New Testament we see repeated quotes, references, and allusions to the Old. Case in point: John's introduction to the story of Jesus has several allusions back to Genesis 1. "In the beginning," "light," "word of God". There's no doubt that John sees the coming of Jesus as somewhat of a new g...

Chapter 21 - Rebuilding the Walls Saying goodbye to a good friend is a bitter sweet experience - while fondly remembering all of your common experiences you bid farewell often without knowing when you'll see each other again. Reading chapter 21 in The Story stirred up some of those same feelings. With this chapter we wrap up what we call the Old Testament saying goodbye to all the friends we have made along the way. It has been quite a journey and it'll be a while before The Story will pick up again. Actually, for all of us making this journey together it'll be just next week when we'll pick up with the New Testament, but in real time there is a 400 year gap between Malachi and Matthew! God has graciously placed his people back in the Promised Land with Jerusalem's wall rebuilt and the temple (though not even close to the splendor of Solomon's temple) rebuilt and back in business, but now comes the long wait. Little did any of the Israelites know that the plan w...

The Story Chapter 20 - The Queen of Beauty and Courage "Do you believe in Miracles?" Those words will forever be associated with the unlikely victory of the USA hockey team over the indomitable Russian team in the 1980 Winter Lake Placid Olympics. Not only was this victory memorable because we won, but because "they" lost. "They" being what was regarded as the best hockey team on earth. The Russians had already proved their dominance in victories over an NHL All-Star squad, so a bunch of amateurs certainly seemed to be no challenge for the mighty USSR. "They" also being the arch enemies of the good old USA. They were perceived as such an evil threat in so many areas of our life that beating them in tiddlywinks would be cause for celebration. It was a classic story of good over evil -- underdog over prohibitive favorite! Esther tells that same story. A pretty but for the most part insignificant Jewess from the tribe of Benjamin (one of the smalles...

Chapter 19 - The Return Home When I was a kid I remember whenever I was in a place that had public telephones I would always check the coin return to see if I could pick up any extra change left behind by careless callers. It was rare to find anything but every once in a while I'd come up with a nickel or dime which for me was like a pirate digging up a buried treasure! However, one day I remember hitting the mother lode! I came upon several quarters left behind in two or three pay phones - it was by far the biggest payday of my treasure hunting exploits. Come to find out, those coins were not left behind carelessly but were placed there by family members. Knowing my tendency to check all the coin returns they had set me up!! Chapter 19 is a set up of sorts. After seventy years in exile God makes things happen. The Lord moves the heart of King Cyrus to send the Jews back to their land to rebuild what Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians had destroyed. Not only that but he opens up th...

The Story Chapter 18 - Daniel in Exile I was born and raised in Massachusetts. I live in Texas. Shortly after I had moved to the Lone Star State I came across a bumper sticker - "Keep Texas beautiful. Put a Yankee on a bus." Although that sentiment has not been characteristic of my life in Texas, I know how it feels to be an outsider. People talk differently, the food is different, customs are different and sometimes I have struggled just to fit in. All in all, the jokes and the jabs have all been in fun but still there is some discomfort in being a "foreigner.". Yet, my experience is minimal in comparison to what the Jews experienced as they were exiled to Babylon. The jokes and jabs were not in fun. In fact, the differences that existed were often times a matter of life and death. Conformation was often not an option, but a state-mandated requirement. This is the dilemma that Daniel and his three cohorts (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) find themselves in and the...

Chapter 17 - The Kingdom Falls There's always two sides to a story, including this week's story of the fall of Jerusalem. One side is really quite disturbing. Jerusalem is surrounded by the Babylonians, a famine sets in, the temple is burned and all the treasured possessions of the Jews are destroyed. The one side of the story is that God has simply had enough with these stubborn, rebellious people and they get what they deserve. But the other side of the story is equally disturbing. God who is broken-hearted. This time around I saw this story through the eyes, or should I say, the heart of God. Can you imagine the pain he suffered allowing such destruction to take place. God really deserved a better performance from his children! I have never experienced a house fire, but I painfully try to imagine the ache of losing all my prized possessions. Those pictures you worked so hard to pose for and then frame just right. The furniture you purchased after weeks of research. The cloth...

Chapter 16 - The Beginning of the End (of the Kingdom of Israel) Sad news in chapter 16 - The northern kingdom falls to Assyria. This however did not come without several warnings. Prophets predicted it and kings refused to listen so God delivered on his promise and sent the Assyrian armies into the capital of Samaria and took captive the northern kingdom of Israel. As the armies of Assyria turned their eyes toward Jerusalem the southern kingdom of Judah looked on and seemed doomed to the same fate. But instead of accepting defeat the young king Hezekiah turned to God's prophet Isaiah and he promised that Assyria will not take Jerusalem. In an interesting exchange we have two voices calling out to Hezekiah. The voice of the Assyrian general taunting him for having faith in his God. "Do you really expect your God to stand up against this army when all other nations and their gods have fallen so easily?" was the mocking of the Assyrian general. On the other hand you h...

Chapter 15 - God's Messengers Chapter fifteen introduces us to the work of the prophets as they confronted the evil and idolatry that had become standard fare in the nation of Israel. Elijah, Elisha, Amos, and Hosea are featured in this chapter as bold proclaimers of God's simple and direct message - repent or be destroyed! It's in this chapter that is recorded one of my favorite Old Testament stories - Elijah's meeting with God at the cave on Mount Horeb. Elijah has just experienced a great victory at Mount Carmel over the prophets of Baal, but in depression and desperation has fled to the wilderness. He's down in the dumps as he struggles with finding God in the mess that is Israel. He needs a fresh revelation of God and God gives it to him. The Lord instructs Elijah to go to the mouth of his cave hideaway because He is about to pass by. A great and powerful wind, an earthquake, and a fire all appear but neither of these carry the presence of God. Foll...

Chapter 14 - A Kingdom Torn in Two Earlier this year I invested quite a bit of my time watching Ken Burns' Civil War documentary. Like every other red-blooded American kid I studied the Civil War in school but I had never quite realized the impact that event had on our country until I watched this gripping series. It really is quite amazing that the country was able to stay together after four years of brutality. One thing that happens when countries experience times like that is that it is impossible for them to really live out the reason they exist. A majority of time, resources, and energy is devoted to simply surviving rather than concentrating on growth, expansion and serving its citizens. Disunity always results in dysfunction. And that's what we see in Chapter 14. The kingdom of Israel is no longer unified and the results are disastrous. Instead of being a light to the world, God's people struggle to survive, both politically and spiritually. No longer are king...

Chapter 13 - The King Who Had it All The story of Solomon is simply amazing. Having asked for wisdom to administer the nation of Israel, God grants not only that request but gives him a dose of wealth and honor that few have ever known. Reading through this chapter Solomon reminds me of those commercials featuring The Most Interesting Man in the World. You know, the guy described by the following: • "He is the life of parties he never attended." • "He once had an awkward moment, just to see how it felt." • "He's won trophies for his game face alone." • "His words carry weight that would break a less interesting man's jaw." • "Sharks have a week dedicated to him." • "He can speak French, in Russian." • "At museums he is allowed to touch the art." • "He bowls overhand." Solomon is THE MAN! Kings and Queens from all over come to sit as his feet and marvel at his wealth and wisdom. Nobles from around th...

Chapter 12 - The Trials of a King What was he thinking? How could David fall for the oldest trick in the book? Lonely night, can't sleep, beautiful woman and … well, you know the rest of the story. How sobering to see such a man of God fall so dramatically that he would not only sin morally but then arrange for the death of his lover's husband. I see two warnings in this chapter: (1) Sin can get us all. If Satan can find David's weakness then certainly he can find mine. Vigilance is required of all God's people, and although David finds forgiveness he suffers greatly from his sin. It's easy to throw stones at David, but perhaps even more sobering is his encounter with Nathan and his damning words, "You are the man." As we come to this chapter in The Story let's not forget that each one of is The Man. We are all guilty to some degree of egregious sins and we should all be asking that same question of ourselves - "What was I thinking?"...

Chapter 11 - From Shepherd to King Make sure you listen to our middle school students read chapter 11. Go to www.thestory4texoma.com for a link to the audio. In chapter 11 we are introduced to David -- the great king of Israel, great poet, and man after God's own heart. It is indeed a wonderful story. The youngest of his family he is hand-chosen by God through Samuel to succeed the less-than-impressive Saul. Even as a young man he demonstrates his courage and strength in his battle with Goliath. Have you ever read a more moving challenge against evil than his words on p. 120, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." It makes you want to get up and shout! And that's what his actions do. After he slays Goliath the armies of Israel surge ahead to defeat their enemies. All it took was one man to stand up for the rest to follow along! And ...