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Tag Team

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

I used to love watching wrestling. I loved it even knowing it was scripted I just loved it. It was so much fun watching, Hulk Hogan, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Superfly Jimmy Snuka, and Macho Man. Those were some of the greats, but there was a bunch of great tag teams too. The Bushwackers, The Steiners, The Nasty Boyz, Legion of Doom, The Heart Foundation, and so many more. Tag team matches were so much fun to watch because you had one guy going at it then he tags his partner and then they are both in there doing their job and it was flips, and drops. Oh it was great!

That is what I think about when I read some of the passages towards the end of John when Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit. You and the Holy Spirit are supposed to tag team life and even though He is the predominant member of the team you are still a part of the team. He won’t do it all but He will equip you to do your part. There is no part of life that He won’t help with either.

In John 15:26-27 Jesus talks about how the Holy Spirit will bear witness or testify of Jesus and how the disciples were supposed to testify as well. Now before you go and say Jesus was talking to the Disciples remember there are enough other verses to support the idea that all Christians are supposed to bear witness of Christ. The point is that both the Holy Spirit and you are supposed to testify of Christ. Now this can be done a lot of different ways but the important thing is that both of you do it. It’s crazy that a function of the Spirit is to help you do your job. As you go about letting your light shine before men or giving an account of what God has done in your life you are being helped by the Holy Spirit. When you’re nervous or scared because you don’t know what to say He gives words. When you feel like you are not getting anywhere with the person you are talking to He is actually doing His part and convicting them and showing them Christ. As a preacher there has been many times I gave a message and someone said how did you know about X, and I’m like I didn’t say anything about that. It was the Holy Spirit working on that person. It has happen to me as I hear others as well.

Like I said there are quite a few things that He does, but for now I also want to point out that the Holy Spirit helps you resist fulfilling the lust or desires of your flesh. Galatians 5:16 says “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” and the word for Spirit there is the same as in John. It is the word “pneuma” which also means breath. So the actual breath of God which is His Spirit is with and in you helping you overcome yourself. Not just overcome the things in life but overcome you. Maybe you don’t need to be overcome but I know I do. I am all too aware that I am my own worst enemy. As you walk in the Spirit you cannot at the same time give into your own desires. It would be like walking down Main Street and Broadway at the same time. You cannot do it because these are two different places.

I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit. So thankful that He is always present to help me because man do I need the help. Knowing that He is in my corner and wants to be tagged in, knowing that He does not get tired or worn down, and that He can win every match I let Him fight in. That is a good feeling.

Just a thought,

Mike

Give us Bread daily

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

When my daughter gets home from school she usually asks two questions: first can I have a snack and second what is for dinner. Both questions relate to food and while one is permission to eat something knowing dinner will come soon they both have the same understand namely that we have food and she can have it. She does not wonder if we have food, she does not worry about if we will have more tomorrow she knows we will feed her it is a given in her mind. These things are settled, they are not questions to her.

Likewise in Matthew chapter 6 Jesus talks to the people about making God’s will and desires a priority in their life and not to worry about what you will eat or drink or wear. He says your Father knows you need these things so don’t worry about it. We question whether or not God cares for our physical needs and He does. Jesus says in Luke 4:4 which is a quote of Deuteronomy 8:3.

But Jesus answered him saying “It is written man should not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”

When we read this often times we emphasis the second part of this “but by every word of God” but there is a but there. If you have seen SchoolHouse rock then you remember the song about conjunctions and “but” is a conjunction. It serves the purpose to bring two clauses, phrases, or ideas together. In this case it connects the first idea that man needs bread to live and the idea that man needs the words of God to live. Both are required for a person to live a real life. Jesus is not proposing that we live off Unveriverse Juice like in Kung Fu Panda but that we need both our physical and spiritual needs met.

It should be a given in our mind that God cares for our physical needs, it should not be something we wonder about. Some who are either convinced miracles do not occur or are too scared to pray in faith for miracle make everything spiritual. Every reference to something physical becomes about a spiritual truth, and any attempt to seek something physical is met with charges of carnality. One of the many problems with this is that it leads to a belief that the physical world is inherently evil and there is nothing of value in it. This idea was popular during the Dark Ages and we see how well that worked out.

Some others who are so worldly minded have decided that everything is physical. It is not great faith that motivates them it is a love for the world and the things of the world. There are those who so love the world that they have named and claimed everything under the sun. I can admit I have been on both sides of this and fear that I will continue to battle this at times.

When we move to the point of settling the idea that God does care for our physical needs and physical well being we can move on to maturity and start to focus on His will, plans, and desires. We can pray for things like resources to accomplish plans, salvation for others, ways to reach the lost, ways to equip the saints, but it starts with an understanding that God cares about you physically and not just your eternal soul.

That is why Jesus tells us in the Lord’s Prayer to ask for this day’s bread. Don’t worry about what you’ll put in your belly tomorrow. Tomorrow has enough problems of its own sufficient are the issues of today. That does not mean you do not plan if you can but don’t worry about it. Be anxious for nothing but in all things with prayer and supplication let your request be known to God.

I would be remiss if I do not mention something very important. Jesus refers to Himself as the bread of life and this is part of the reason settling the question of physical provision from God in your life is important. When we first learn God provides for our physical we can then move on to understand that Jesus also provides for our spiritual provisions.  In John 6:27 & 35 Jesus says:

Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the father has set His seal on Him – 27

And Jesus said to them “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” – 35

We do need physical substance to survive but we need spiritual substance to really live. This is where wisdom in reading the Bible comes in. We need both but one is more important than the other, and the most important one is spiritual. Preference to your spiritual needs are always to be met first. If you can only choose between reading and pray or eating than reading and prayer are to be given priority. You are to feed your spirit before your body because that is the part that connects you to God and realistically skipping a meal is not going to kill you. It might make you grumpy but you probably won’t die (maybe if you are a diabetic but I don’t know anything about that). The point is again you need both and God cares for both but connecting with Him and spending time with Him is the most important thing you can do.

So how do we feed on the Bread of Life? We do it by praying, reading and studying the Bible, by worshiping, by serving, by making ourselves second, and I think most importantly by understanding our place. Our place is in Christ. Everything we are is tied with our resurrected Savior. Everything we need is found in Him, and there is nothing we need that is outside of Him because again all that we are is bound up in Him. I want to give you a few verses to chew on over the week.

Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:3, Ephesians 2:5-6, Romans 6:8, 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, 2 Corinthians 5:15-21, and Philippians 3:20.

The point of the matter is this; God cares for you. He cares for your body and your soul. We should rest the issues of physical provision and seek the Bread of Life so that we can truly be filled.

Just a thought,

Mike

A more excellent ministry

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

Sometimes I read the Old Testament and think “wow look how cool it was” or “people were hearing from God left and right.” But that’s just not true and in fact hearing from God was not common like we think. What’s more is that for a period when they did hear from God it was about judgement (see the prophets). We just have this idea of that is what was happening because we read the Bible like it took place in a short time period when actually the story of Abraham to Jesus is thousands of years. Moreover we think of Abraham and God sitting down and chatting all the time but really it was only a handful of times that God spoke directly to Abraham. A lot of times when we read the Bible we read what we want it to say or what we would like it to say or even what we think it says but not always what it says.

The reason I bring that up is I am re-reading Hebrews after a pretty quick read through the OT and came across Hebrews ch 8 which is fantastic. Specifically verses  6 & 7 (the rest of the chapter is pretty much a quote from Jeremiah 31) and it talks about how much better we have it.

But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.

We know that we have forgiveness of sins through Christ but we also have other things that come in that covenant. We have direct access to the throne of grace (Heb 4:6) which we can go to whenever we want. We do not have to wait for a specific time or season but when you need help you can go there all on your own because you have the Mediator. But still there is more.

You now have gifts from God like wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, other languages (tongues), and interpretation. All these things are given to us by God and yes it says “to some” but I see that as meaning more to the point of not everyone has all. The point is God gave gifts. Ephesians 4:8 says Christ gave gifts to men. But there is more.

On of the best things we have under the new covenant is knowledge of God. Specifically laid out in the new covenant is that we will be taught by God. You become a Christian and you get indwelt with that Holy Spirit (that means He takes up residence in you) and in that you get one on one teaching about God by God. Now that is awesome! God says I want to teach you about me. That is like having Bill Gates says he wants to show you how MS Office works. You cannot get a better instructor than the one who made it all.

Now as a side note to that there are a few things to keep in mind. If you want the instruction you need to read the Bible. You cannot get directions and avoid the manual. You need to pray and listen. If you want to talk to God then you actually need to talk to Him, and if you want to hear from God you need to actually listen. I know it sounds redundant but I have spoken with people who want to talk to God and hear from Him but do not want to pray or listen. Another thing you need is to spend time with other Christians. I know I said God will teach you but you need to spend time with other believers to be encouraged, and to help equip you for the work of ministry. Christianity is not a sit down and do nothing religion. You become a Christian and you get a new job title. You are now ambassador to the King of Kings. And in that some people have the ability and gifting to help encourage and equip you to do that job.

So just remember you have the better covenant, and you are now in the good o’le days. You can sit down and chat with God anytime you want so maybe you should take Him up on that offer.

Just a thought,

Mike

Thought on Kempis thought.

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

Thoughts Helpful in the Life of the Soul
Chapter 12: The Love of Solitude and Silence:

“Hence, for many it is better not to be too free from temptations, but often to be tried lest they become too secure too filled with pride, or even to eager to fall back upon external comforts.” – Thomas Kempis

I both like and dislike silence and in our modern day it is easier to not have silence than to have it. I like the silence because it is in the quiet that I can hear the voice of God, but it is also in the silence that I hear the voice of temptation and accusation. Thomas Babington Macaulay said “The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out” and I must admit that at times I am afraid of myself. I am not so much afraid of what I would do but what I am capable of doing and in the silence those fears can be seen. I am aware that it is also in that same silence God is pruning and bringing things to the surface so they can be dealt with but the pruning is painful while it happens so I wish to avoid the pain. But at the same time I desire the pruning because it will continue to remove those things I desire removed. It is a sad state to be sure; to desire the thing you do not want in order to be the one you wish to be. Maybe that is what is meant in Hebrews 12:2 where it says “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Christ had to do nothing to be God but in order for us to be reconciled (which He desired) He had to endure the cross. So too must I take up my cross not to be reconciled but to continue to prune away those things which are not fitting for a child of the King.

Real Issues….No thank you.

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

If I see one more thing on this lion that was killed I am going to tweak! On the average day there are 3,287 people sold or kidnaped and forced into slavery. There are also 21,000 people that die of hunger and hunger related issues. And not to mention the 900 daily abortions from PP. That means that since this lion was killed we have lost 98,610 people to slavery. Lives that are forever changed if not dead in a few years. 630,000 have died because of hunger. And 2,700 babies are gone due to abortion. This does not include the thousands that die due to drug related causes. But please go on and continue to lament over a dead lion. Lets make sure that the whole world knows his name. Let’s be sure to cause an uproar over it and let us make sure that the world knows that we will not stand for a dead lion. Lets get together and cry hold hands and talk about it because that is better than doing something about real issues, issues that affect our brothers and sisters. Issues that affect real human beings. Let’s not do anything about because that would require actually paying attention and we can’t do that because if I notice those issues if I really pay attention to them then I would also have to take a look at myself and see that there is really one thing I care about and that is me and mine.

We can cause a freakout fest over the lion because it does not really matter or affect me at all. I can complain and yell but at the end of the day it is still just a dead lion. If however I look around and see the real pain that is happening every day I have to admit that something real needs to be done and then I have to do something about it. I have to take real action and that would require something of me, something I am not willing to give. It would require me to give the one thing I care most about. I would have to give me.

Just a thought,

Mike

What a compliment

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

I was thinking about Daniel chapter 6 the other day and it stuck out to me that the plot against Daniel is a compliment. Theses other guys were out to get him because he was doing well. Some people just can’t stand when you do well. The better you are doing and the less attention you pay to them the more they hate you and I would say these guys hated Daniel because they ended up trying to get him fed to the lions. But that is not the compliment I want to talk about. No I want to be just a bit more specific. I would rather just point out verse 5 in that chapter because more than anything this is what I would want people to say of me.

     Then these men said “We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”   Daniel 6:5 NKJV

To break this down a little it means this; if we are going to find fault with Daniel it is going to have to be that following his God is against the rules. Basically they needed to outlaw something that he does in service to his God so there will be fault against him. They needed to change the rules so there would be blame. Daniel was so devoted to God so blessed by him that in order for something to be wrong it had to be said that bad was good and good was bad. That is a messed up system.

Now I could go a few different ways with this, but I am not (at least for now) I just want to say that their hatred for Daniel is a compliment and more so their proclamation that he is loyal to his God is a big compliment one I would say I want made against me. I know I have faults and failures but if there was one I could choose it would be that I am a light shining so brightly the love, grace, mercy, and compassion of Christ that the world is mad at me for turning on the lights.

Just a thought,

Mike

Hallowed be thy name

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

I want to give you a nice three point message on the phrase “Hallowed be thy name.” Three simple points that we probably all know but that can easily be forgetten. One reason they are easily forgotten is because we live under the new covenant, and while I am very grateful for this it also like all things has a flip side. All coins have a head and a tail side and if you look at one you are not seeing the other, and that is what sometimes happens with this topic. Living under the new covenant and blood of Jesus we do not have to deal with the sacrificial system and we enjoy constant grace and mercy, but because of this we can quite easily forget the holiness of God because that is something you are reminded of when you have to constantly be on guard not to trespass the Mosaic Law. Living in the goodness and mercy of God can lead to us forgetting who He is and who He is not. That is precisely why we need to talk about the simple phrase “Hallowed be thy name”

Point number one – What does it mean to Hallow His name?

To hallow His name means to not make it or Him common. It is to understand that God is holy. More than just holy He is Holy, Holy, Holy. Isaiah 6:3 says:

And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

God Himself declares in Leviticus 11:44-45, 19:2, 20:7 & 26 “I am holy” and He repeats Himself through Peter in the New Testament in 1 Peter 1:15-16. God wants us to know He is holy. He desires for people to know that He is a Holy God. He has names for Himself to let us know He is holy. Elohim Kedoshim (Holy God) in Lev 19:2, El HaKadosh (The Holy God) in Isaiah 5:16 and YHVH M’kadesh (The LORD who makes holy) in Ez 37:28. If you want God to teach you things about Himself then using the Holy Scriptures as a guide you will see that letting you know He is holy is on the list of things you will learn if you earnestly desire to learn who He is. But what does it mean for God to be holy?

In simplest terms it means He is not like you. It means He is separate or completely different. God is not common but is beyond the common in a way so drastic we cannot easily define it. We don’t fully understand what it is to be infinitely beyond us so our words fail often. So the first thing to understand is that to hallow (or make it holy or separate) is to understand that is the place His name belongs it belongs in its own category. It should not be linked with any other name. It is not God and. It is just God.

Point number two – Hallow His name because He said so!

I want jump back to Leviticus. Now as we mentioned we could go to Leviticus 11:44-45, 19:2, 20:7 & 26, or 1 Peter 1:15-16 which all say basically the same thing “Be holy for I am holy.” Leviticus in general is a great place to look for what it means to be holy because holiness is mentioned more in Leviticus than any other book in the Bible although Isaiah is a very close second. While we could look at these verses and I think that could be sufficient I think there is a point made in Lev 10:1-3 that I really think drives home the point and God is the one who made it.

Aaron had two sons that were priest with him and they brought in strange or profane fire into the tabernacle and God killed them. It was and is still is a very powerful statement. God refused to allow the strange fire to be brought before Him. His direction to Moses and Aaron after this was “By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified.” – Leviticus 10:3. God needed to make a very strong point to His fledgling created nation. He was in essence saying “If you are going to come to me then come on my terms.” It was a hard statement but one that needed to be made. Look at Acts 5 and see the story of Ananias and Sapphira and see that God made it after Christ’s resurrection as well. God is holy and tells us over and over that we must revere Him as holy. God’s holiness is not just a part of Him but it is one of the defining things about Him. He is Holy!

Lets make another OT and NT tie in. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 says “Do not quench the Holy Spirit” and the Holy Spirit is symbolized with fire. So we can see a connection where God says do not bring your ideas of worship and right living to me and tell me that this is what it means to live holy. We are not to mix the common with the uncommon or holy. We do not combine our ideas with His clear commands but instead we set Him in the place He belongs and then find out what we must do to serve Him.

Point number 3 – Because it is good for us!

God wants us to know that He is holy if we do then we will live differently. When we understand that He is not common we will not be common. When we understand we serve an uncommon God we will live as uncommon people. If we read the Proverbs we can start to see that a right understanding of who God is changes our perception on what right living is.

We can take that a step further and do as Jesus said to do and pray that way. When we live with an understanding that God is holy and separate it changes our actions because we want to be like our Daddy. When we pray with that same mindset we see a change in our prayer focus because we are being made different. God is in the process of conforming us into the image of His Son (Rom 8:29) and in that process we start to become more God minded. We start to live as Christ lived and that is living in total obedience and dependence. As God Jesus could have done as He pleased and what He decided to do was live as a servant in part so we could see how to live.

But this starts with hallowing His name. It starts with placing God where He belongs in our lives and that is above everything else. We have to get to a place where Jesus Christ and serving Him is more important than anything else. It is more important than your job, or your comfort, or your preferences, or ideas, or likes and dislikes.

Praying “Hallowed be thy name” is not so much words to say but is a way to live. It is saying in my thoughts, actions, words, and prayers I want you to be above it all God and I want to be uncommon like you.

Just a thought,

Mike

Reading the Old Testament

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

I have been thinking about the Bible and before you say well of course you have Mike let me clarify. I have been thinking about the Old Testament and what is included. You see the OT is the historical narrative of Israel from the calling and covenant made with Abraham to the end of the exile. That is somewhere around 2000-2500 years of history give or take but the exact time is not really all that important to this discussion. The focus is that we are talking about a long time with a relatively short record. The thing I find fascinating is that in the record (the Bible) there is not as much detail as you would expect to find but that is by design. History was not recorded for the same reasons we record history. Stories were excluded or included all for a single purpose. That purpose is to reveal God.

The stories of David and Goliath, Abraham and Isaac, Sampson, Haggar, and even Creation are not there to teach you about these people with their strengths/failures or event details although they can. No instead their purpose of being placed in Scripture is to teach us about God. The Bible is the story of God telling us something of Himself. 1 John 4:19 says we love because He first loved us and that is the point. We know something about God because He revealed it to us because if God does not teach us about Himself we get false ideas about who He is and what He wants (see the tower of Babel) and if we have a false view of God we serve a false god. Seeing as God Himself commands us not to serve false gods He has to take the initiative and teach us about Himself.

So we should look at the OT and see what is God trying to teach us about Himself and not what did David do. Yes we can and should learn things from David but David is not the main character. When he dies the story goes on because the main character is God with David playing a supporting role. This applies to everything in the OT including the Law. When God gives the Law He is trying to communicate something of Himself so instead of reading it and saying “I am glad I am under grace and not Law” we should read it and say “God what are you saying about yourself in this?” This does two things that are very important.

First is puts the focus back on God. It says God you are the main character not me. Not my place my position or my desires. What are you saying about you (yes in light of Christ coming)? I am not suggesting we read it in a vacuum but He was saying something about Himself and He says he does not change. So if God was something then He is still that thing remember He exists outside space and time after all the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world. So what was meant for learning is still good for learning. 2+2 = 4 that does not change when you learn that √(4)=2 you just have more information now. We have this idea that we are the center of the universe and I regret to inform you that you are not the center of the universe. You are of great importance to God shown in the fact that Jesus died on a cross for you but the story will continue when you die and there is a good chance that if we are all still here (people that is) no one will remember your name. So lets focus on what will remain and that is God and His Word.

The second thing it does is it starts to teach you. You might just be surprised what you find when you read with the expectation of learning something about God and doing things God’s way. I am constantly amazed what I find when I read with the desire to see Him. I go from one understanding to another one because the veil is removed and I can see things in a whole new light. I start to see certain things that I was sure meant one thing take on a whole new meaning because I understand God is trying to teach me something about Him.

I’ll end with this. God loves you. He loves you so much He gave everything to be with you. He is a caring, devoted, and compassionate Father. That has always been true and I enjoy reading things about my Dad before I knew Him.

Just a thought,

Mike

The attitude of Christ.

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

I was thinking about the attitude of Christ in John 8:11. Specifically I was thinking about how He loved the woman caught in the act of adultery and how He loved those about to stone her. Because I believe He was showing love to both the woman and the group wanting to take her life. So lets start with the group about to stone her.

They (the Scribes and Pharisees) brought the woman to Jesus as He was teaching and said “This woman was caught in the act of adultery and the Law of Moses says we kill her.” What Jesus did not do was argue, point out that they forgot to bring the man as well, tell them their right or anything else. Instead He wrote on the ground. Now what did He write? I honestly have no idea but I like to think He was writing down the sins of those around Him. Not with names just sins and those around Him knew which ones were theirs but that is just a thought. Then He told them to cast the stones, but the first person without sin should throw the first one. Then He went back to writing in the sand. They dropped their stones and left.

So how is this Jesus showing love? Because it made them realize their own sin. It makes sense the oldest dropped their stones first because age brings wisdom and you are aware of your own sinfulness. You know your shortcomings all too well. By not condemning them of their sins He shows mercy which is love.

Now the woman. It is easy to see how Jesus showed the woman love because the Law did say to stone her. She was guilty of adultery and adultery was punishable by death. So Jesus showed her love by stopping the crowd from killing her. That is pretty loving if you ask me. But the fact that He says “I do not condemn you either” is major and has some major theological implications but let’s not get sidetracked. Jesus showed love to both her and the crowd in the same way He could have condemned them both. The woman for her adultery and the crowd for their various sins.

Jesus shows love that is clear in the Bible. Jesus says “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” – John 3:17. Jesus was not looking to condemn anyone Jesus was looking to love people and set them free. He goes on to say that in 8:32 “you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free (hence the website and tattoo). So again to be clear Jesus loved people right where they were at no strings attached. Just pure love.

Now some people want me to stop right there. Jesus loved and did not condemn stop now before you offend someone. But I cannot stop there because the story does not stop there. Jesus goes on to tell the woman “go and sin no more.” Well if Jesus was loving her He still is. Jesus loved her enough to save her life and then tell her to stop sinning. It is not good for you or your relationship with Him. Jesus loves you enough to want you to not sin. That is love.

So where are you at today? Maybe you are the woman maybe you are the crowd. I don’t know but I do know Jesus loves you. I live my whole life from that basic idea. It is not a bumper sticker or phrase for me but it is everything. I live my life as someone who has committed sins that would make your head spin but Jesus still loved me. He loved me enough to spare my life and to tell me to go and sin no more.

Just a thought,

Mike