I imagine that the next morning there were more than a few conversations about the contortions of the dancer on America’s Got Talent. There were even more than a few people who brought it up on YouTube to show their friends.  It has most likely been pasted on a wall or two on facebook.  I’m sure that tweets can be found about his moves, and even his unique haircut. But my guess is that if we followed this man through the rest of his week or month, we would find that much of his life was average.  There would be those moments, that made us gasp, but eventually even that would fade if we saw it enough.

Jesus, in Mark chapter 2, heals a paralytic.  This mans story is amazing.  From the friends who brought him to Jesus to the controversy that broke out at his healing.

¹ A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. ² So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. ³ Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. ⁴ Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. ⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

⁶ Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, ⁷ “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

⁸ Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? ⁹ Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? ¹⁰ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” He said to the paralytic, ¹¹ “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” ¹² He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Mark 2:1-12 (NIV)

While there is much to be learned here about the faith of a few good friends, who are determined to bring their friend to Jesus.  Much could be said about their resourcefulness and about the crowd that was a constant in Jesus day.  But for me this time through this chapter I was captured by the last 7 words of this account, “We have never seen anything like this!”  I am sure that the next day in Capernaum, and the area it was being discussed.  Unlike the gentleman with the amazing dance moves, when the crowds followed Jesus for a few weeks or months this phrase became a norm.

Those 7 simple words are the story of Jesus “We have never seen anything like this!”  If we truly look into the life of Christ in the pages of Scripture, and in the lives of his people we are left with nothing else to say except, “We have never seen anything like this!”  So here is the challenge, as you find and discover those exciting new glimpses of Jesus, talk about them, post them on your facebook page, tweet about them, post a clip on YouTube.  Lets help Jesus go viral in our community and in our world.

<>< Just a beggar on a journey.  Craig

The pages of Scripture remind us that we are not left hanging on the fence, we have been chosen!  Jesus in John’s Gospel toward the end of his ministry reminds his disciples for the days to come that they have been chosen!

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” John 15:16

This was not a new idea for them, they had long considered themselves to be God’s chosen people. This is a title given to them by God himself.

“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.” Deut. 7:6

What a claim to be chosen out of all the people on the face of the earth,… his treasured possession!  But before you get all stuck on yourself or your people, Deuteronomy reminds us why they were chosen.

^” The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments” Deut. 7:7-9

God’s reason is better then ours – we are chosen – simply and purely because God loves us!

And we are chosen for a purpose John says, “so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last“  So as you dwell and enjoy your chosenness, remember that you were also called out to bear fruit – fruit that will last.  May your life draw others to know Christ, and may the fruit of your life of faith impact the next generation with fruit that will last!

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9

<>< Just a beggar on a journey.  Craig

It is a simple concept with a powerful end result.  One activity on the web triggers another action on the web.  The posting of this blog post will begin a chain reaction through the use of ifttt tasks.

The  task shown above is one of three tasks that will begin when this post is “posted.”  The link to my new post is shared with Facebook, my twitter account, and my LinkedIn account.  all while I do nothing!  But this is just scrating the surface what what this website can do:

• Get a text message if it is going to snow tomorrow.
• Get an email if your favorite feed is updated.
• move a copy of all your instagram photos to your dropbox
• receive a text if you have a new message on your email program.

AND if you are not even sure what to ask it to do for you, they have the site populated with thousands of “recipes” to help get your creative juices flowing!

So go and get the web working for you!  Let your facebook groupies know that you just posted a new devo on your Youth Website, and tweet all your youth followers that a new event was posted on your blog.

Have fun and let me know what creative uses you came up with for this great site.

<><Craig (aka The UthGuy)

• Firefox
• Google Chrome
• Picassa
• DropBox
• Skype
• Itunes
• Flash
• Java
• Adobe Reader
• Gimp
• yea it is a long list

But what if you could install all these and many other free ware favorites with one click of the mouse!  Well now you can thanks to NINITE.  Just select what you want to install and it creates a file that does all the work for you in one click of the mouse!

<>< Craig

Mark tells us the account of a man who also perhaps wishes he could go back and make different choice.

⁴⁰ A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” ⁴² Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. ⁴³ Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: ⁴⁴ “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.
Mark 1:40-45 (NIV)

Coming to Jesus for healing was the single greatest thing this man had ever done.  He had seen, and been part of an amazing miracle.  In Jesus day it was long understood what contact with an unclean person meant, the clean person became unclean in the encounter.  But this day it was God who turned the tables upside down, when contact with an unclean person meant that the clean person remained clean, and the unclean also became clean.  This was a complete reversal of flow, from clean to unclean.

Even though Jesus gave him what Mark called a “strong warning” to keep this healing to himself, he instead started to share.  I’m not sure if it was just one or two people, who passed the word but scripture says he “spoke freely” about the amazing news.  I’m sure based on my ofttimes responses to Jesus that the man probably rationalized away the sharing of the story. “Jesus certainly did not mean don’t tell ANYONE, he just meant….”  ”Jesus would be ok with my sharing if I give him all the credit.”

But this mans ignoring of Jesus words had a huge consequence as mark records, “As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places.”  Time for a do over, time to wish for a chance to change a choice.  It seemed like a good idea at the time.

This beggar often takes the word of God as a suggestion, unless I have a better idea.  I also am sure that, though often unseen, my choices have left a great wake of consequence.  In my 25+ years of teaching I have developed a routine that I use in teaching.  I ask students to grab their Bible, hold them over their head and repeat after me, the words of 2 Timothy 3:16-17. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” I then add my own tag, “Jesus said it, I believe it, ‘nuf said.”

It is time to start putting my ideas of a good or bad idea in perfect line with God’s idea.

<>< Just a beggar on a journey.  Craig

This is the first in a series of posts “beggars journey” as I simply share what God has shared and challenged me with on this humble journey through the Word.  My journey begins in Mark’s Gospel.

It is in the very first chapter of Mark’s Gospel,  the amazing account of Jesus driving out an evil spirit. In fact it is the first miracle that Mark records in his brief Gospel.

²¹ They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. ²² The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. ²³ Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, ²⁴ “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!”

²⁵ “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” ²⁶ The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. ²⁷ The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching–and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.” ²⁸ News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
Mark 1:21-28 (NIV)

In this short retelling of the event I am struck by a simple fact. Even the evil spirits recognize Jesus “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!”  The question that comes to my mind today as I reflect on these words is simple, “Do I recognize Him?”  As I reflect on the times and ways that God moves in my life and speaks through his Word, I must ask if I recognize him.  If I don’t, is it due to the fact I have distorted Jesus into my own self made image of who he is.  Do i recognize him for the Eternal Son of God who rules with all sovereignty over my world.

I pray that on this Journey of Faith I would look not to my own ideas, but to the amazing portrait painted by Scripture of Jesus.  After all if we are to reflect Him to the world I better make sure that image I reflect looks more like Jesus and less like me!

<>< Just a beggar on a journey.  Craig

Our movie was showing on screen 16 of 18.  It was about a half mile walk to the theater from the ticket booth.  On the way I passed several theaters with retractable belt crowd control set up outside the doors to the individual screens.  Even at the sight of those I was unaware of the tragedy that was about to take place.  As we entered our theater and moved to our seats we noticed about 50-60 other people in the room, a room which was not even close to full.  Finding a good seat in this theater was not hard.

The lights dimmed and the previews rolled.  Everything was happening just as it does on any normal day at the theater.  Soon the previews were over the the remaining lights dimmed to black as the feature started.  For the next 107 minutes our movie played.  There was no glitch with the projector or sound system, we were not even bothered by anyone talking or texting near us.  In fact nothing seemed odd or out of place even when the theater broke into applause as the end of the show.

It wasn’t until I was leaving the theater, passing the roped off areas of the other theaters, now filled with people waiting for the next show which was still some time away that it hit me – the tragedy that is.  Three of the 18 screens, the biggest ones, were showing the same movie, “The Hunger Games”. It was of course opening weekend.  I can’t comment on the Hunger Games, since I have neither read the book or seen the movie yet.  But I was witness to the tragedy that only one screen in the theater, and it was way in the back 40, was showing the movie “October Baby.”  It was also opening weekend for this movie.

The message of “October Baby” I can speak about, because I have seen it.  It is a powerful message about faith and family, about lies and truth, about anger and forgiveness, about life.  Yes, that is what the movie was about, Life.  As an adoptive parent it was especially meaningful to me as I reflected on our own journey to be family.

The tragedy I witnessed was simple 3 screens for a movie, that could be a fine piece of cinema, but only 1 to a movie that was amazing.  The tragedy will not stop here.  October Baby will not play long in theaters, it will quickly move to DVD and even more quickly fade into obscurity except for a fairly faithful group of people who will continue to show and talk about it with fondness, and a box of tissue.

I hope that both of you who regualary read this blog will go see October Baby and that you will convince two people to go see it, and they will convince two people to go see it and they will convince… well I think you get the point.

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Easter ideas Packet

Holy Week and Easter Coloring Pages

Easter Story Cookies

Here is an Holy Week Event for children sponsored by Cross View Lutheran Church in Edina, MN.  This event is designed to help children and families have fun, and hear the real story of Easter through storytellers, drama, puppets and more. Cross View Invites families from all around the Twin Cities to this family friendly event.

Want to hear the Focus on the Family “Imagination Station” story for Holy Week and Easter?  Click Here!

¹² Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ¹³ “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’”
Matthew 21:12-13 (NIV) 

As i read these words and recall these events in the life of Christ I often find myself focusing on what Jesus chased out of the Temple.  We even like to cheer for Jesus as he breaks up the little Mafia like activity that was present there. We hear the “common” man shouting, that “finally someone has stood up to them.”  But there is a danger about dwelling on this part of the account.  It can lead us to judgement, of those who we think should be chased out of the Church today.  At least that is a road I find it easy for me to go down.

Instead, lets focus on the next verse.  Lets see that it is what comes next that matters.

¹⁴ The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.
Matthew 21:14 (NIV)

We need to spend more time seeing not what Jesus chased out, but on what Jesus welcomed in to the temple.   Jesus brought hope back to a temple that seemed to often remind people only of how far they were from what God wanted, and never reminded them about the Love and compassion of God.   We need to make sure that our churches are places that welcome the spiritually blind, and lame and by God’s powerful Spirit share with them the Christ who heals!

Lets face it – in most of life it’s what comes next that matters:

• After you have in true repentance come to see forgiveness
• After you have been filled with Joy and Peace at a Sunday Morning Worship service
• After you have said words that you wish you could take back
• After you have seen the Lord at work in your life
• After you have reach rock bottom and realized you can’t make it one your own

It’s what comes next that matters…. As long as what comes next is Christ you are equipped:

• To Share the forgiveness you have received with others
• To tell others about the joy you have found in Worship
• To seek forgiveness from those you have hurt
• To offer praise and thanks to God for his work in your life
• To hold on to the one thing that will never change, or let go of you – Jesus

So now that you have just read this blog, what comes next?  What to share you next step – leave us a comment below.

<>< Craig