More thoughts on Bible Memory

 

Well, I did it. I finished memorizing all 260 chapters of the New Testament. A few years ago I wrote about my process of memorizingverses, here is an update now that I'm finished with my goal.

By memorizing the New Testament, I don't mean that I can currently quote every verse from Matthew 1 to Revelation 22; I mean that I have learned, memorized and quoted each chapter, one at a time. I have quoted them all to my friend Mike, who inspired me to take on this challenge.

I have told this story many times, but I'll tell it again here: in 2011, I was working at a church, and the pastor informed the staff that they were not only expected to memorize Romans 12, but they would be routinely tested on it. I panicked. I had never memorized a verse in my life. I reached out to my friend Mike. He is a Navigator- a group that is known for Bible memory, and asked him for his help. He agreed wholeheartedly. He also committed to memorizing it as well. I made flash cards and worked on it for weeks, but finally got to a place where I could kind of quote it correctly without any help.

When we finished memorizing Romans 12, Mike said, "what are we memorizing now?" I thought, "nothing! I have memorized an entire chapter of the Bible, isn't that enough?" He suggested Romans 6, and I reluctantly agreed. I made more flash cards; and this chapter was easier. I was getting the hang of this. I was using and developing muscles that I had never used before. After Romans 6, he said, "Now what?" and I said, "this might sound crazy, but let's go back to the beginning and memorize ALL of Romans!" and he agreed with excitement.

In those days, Mike and I used to meet for prayer at 5am on Thursdays. We would pray with other youth pastors for an hour, and then we would quote our chapter and discuss what it meant. In those days, I was not only memorizing each chapter of Romans, but I was memorizing ALL of Romans, and for a full year, I quoted it for 45 minutes each morning. I was lightning fast.

After Romans, we moved onto Ephesians, and mike challenged me to memorize one chapter of the New Testament each month, and we would finish in about 20 years. I learned a chapter a month for years. I would quote my chapter every day of that month. After awhile I stopped working at the Romans 12 church and we stopped meeting at 5am. We moved our meeting to Tuesdays at 4pm at a local sports bar. I had a long commute and I would quote my chapter once on the way to work and once on the way home.

Time went on, and when we got to the gospels, Mike's schedule changed and he did not have as much time to devote to Scripture memory. He ended up only memorizing the red letters of Jesus. Eventually Mike told me to go at my own pace and he would slow down. I started doing 1 chapter a week instead of one a month, Then two a week. When I got to the last book, Revelation, the chapters were so short that I was doing 3 chapters a week. As the end of my challenge was approaching, I was spending more and more time on it, so that I could hurry up and finish. I can genuinely say that in the last few months that finishing this goal was an obsession. I got up early in the morning to work on it, I worked on it on every car drive and errand, and worked on it every night before bed.

I try not to talk about this goal a lot because I am not trying to elevate myself above anyone else. The reaction that I usually get is that people are impressed, but for me, that's not what its all about. I feel like I ought to know what the Bible says and I feel like there is no good reason, for me, right now, not to do this. A long time ago, I was listening to a speaker telling a story of when he was studying in the Holy Land. He met a rabbi, and he said something to the effect of, "My rabbi is Jesus." The rabbi didn't miss a beat. He said, "no he's not. And you're not his disciple. Stop saying that. you're not using those words correctly." The speaker was taken aback and the rabbi said, "Do you know his words? I'm not talking about reading his words 5 minutes a day; have you memorized his words? If you were his disciple, you would memorize his words. That's what a disciple does." That was pretty convicting. And now, I see the call to memorize the Word, or to meditate on the Word, or to remain in the Word, or to remain faithful to the Word all over the Bible.

People often ask how- what are my methods? I have used all kinds over the years. For a long time I used hand motions and sign language. If a verse ended with a 2 or a 3, I would use a hand motion with 2 fingers or 3 to jar my memory. Lately I have been using jersey numbers. If a verse is number 16, I think about Joe Montana and try to imagine him in the verse. If its a 25, I think of Barry Bonds and how the things that he did might help me to remember the words in my verse. I have a different name for every number from 1-60 or so. But in the end, its all repetition. Its saying the words out loud in my car or in the shower or on a walk. Sometimes I write out the chapter by hand. There is no right or wrong way.

I have told this story many times, but I'll go ahead and say it again here: there are many, many times when I'm working on cards, or quoting from my cards, and it is purely a mental exercise. I am just trying to associate a number with a thought or use an acronym to remember a list of things. But there have been many, many times when I have been on a trail or in my car, and I have quoted a verse and I was struck emotionally by the words. I have often said, it was my voice coming out of my mouth, but it was God's voice speaking directly to my heart through these verses. So many times, I have quoted a verse, and it was the very things that I needed to hear in that very moment; and those intersections have brought me to tears. Other times, I am learning verses, and I turn over a card to see what's next, and what's on that card hits me like a ton of bricks. I find words that I haven't read for a long time, or a verse that has been so meaningful in my life, and I just didn't remember that it was in this particular chapter; and again, I am overwhelmed with emotion.

Of course, this goal has helped me in my ministry as well. I can often call to mind a word that would help someone, and gather a series of similar stories from different parts of the Bible and make a teaching series. Unfortunately, I can't say that even after memorizing the New Testament that I am a Bible expert. My friend Mike and I often say, "I can quote you what this chapter says, but I still need someone to tell me what it means." There are many parts of the New Testament where I can say, "I need to do some research on what the words of these verses actually mean."

In regard to my favorite parts, I still love Romans 12. I love anytime I can see the message of the gospel in a story. One of my favorites is when Jesus begins a story like this: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them..." I remember reading those words off of a verse card and welling up in tears. Another story that paints a picture of the Gospel is when Luke writes, "Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed..." I love that story. Philemon is a picture of the Gospel and I love to read it and quote it and reflect on it.   

After memorizing the New Testament, I thought, what now? Do I do the Minor Prophets? The Psalms? I'm going to go back to Romans and start all over from the beginning. I'll just do one chapter a week, and I won't ask anyone to test me. I don't feel like I need to do that anymore. Lord willing, I can do this for many years to come. Hopefully I'll get through the New Testament a few more times and have more insight, more times of refreshing, and more words to give to others.

So that's it! 27 books, 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, and so many stack of cards bound by a ring and a rubber band. For years, these cards have been a constant companion, in my pockets, in my car, and traveling with me wherever I go. Thanks to everyone who has quizzed me, sat with me at 5am and listened to me recite, and who cheered for me.

I tell kids all the time, you don't need to memorize the whole New Testament; but I think its good to always have a verse or a chapter that you're working on. Its good for your brain, your soul and your mentals. Psalm 1 says, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers."

God is love.
-rev-rob

adventures in candidating part 3

 

Unfortunately I have some more stories about candidating. I think I do a good job at interviewing, but I really hate it.

The Monterey Story:

A big church in the Monterey area called. When I walked up to the door it said "Office Hours Monday - Friday 9-5." This was weird to me. Most churches are closed on Friday. In the interview I asked the pastor, "what are your work rhythms during the week? He said, "Everyone here works Monday through Friday, 9-5. Then we do Saturday night service and work from 4-9pm and on Sunday we work from 7-1." that means that they work 7 days a week, and 50 hours. (and really for relatively lo pay).

After we met, he had me meet with another worker at the church. The worker said, "just between us, what do you think?" I said, "I think that you're working 7 days a week and that you're on the way to burn out." The worker didn't disagree. Or keep it between us. I wasn't called back.

In my interview, the pastor asked me, "do you agree that all healthy things grow?" I had heard this line of thinking before. It says basically healthy things grow. If your ministry isn't bigger this week than it was last week then its not growing, and therefore its not healthy. The reason its not healthy is the leader.

I was trying so hard to bite my tongue, but I just couldn't. I said, "cancer grows. is cancer healthy?" he said, "no, but you can agree with what I'm saying right?" I said "when the conditions are right, things can grow in a very healthy way. Its not a plants fault that its not growing, but the gardener's." again, I wasn't called back.

The Willow Glen Story:

I was looking for a role, and a friend of mine had a posting at his church. I applied for the role and texted my friend that I had applied. He said, "I'll have to call you before we consider you for this role." So he called and I told him why I left my last church and he said, "wow- so sorry to hear that. yeah, we are really looking for a part time entry level person. You would be too qualified. I really just wanted to hear what happened at your last church." Thanks.

The Peninsula story:

I interviewed at a big multi site church. I talked with the campus pastor, and he had green lights. I talked with the family pastor and he had green lights. Then they had me interview with an admin. After that, the headhunter called and said that they were not moving forward because the admin felt that I had no passion for the role. I asked why they said that. The headhunter said it was because the admin asked, "do you have any questions for me?" and I said no. I said, "did they ask my references if I had no passion for my work?" again they said no.

As I write this, I think of the hurt and frustration that I find when I look for a job. I think of the rejection that I deal with. But I'm reminded of the many, many friends who checked in on me every day during my job hunt. I think of my friends and family who listened to me vent and who kept on encouraging me that I would find something good and soon. And they were right.

I think about the good times that I had spending extra time in prayer, on trails on in the car with my daughter and wife. and it was all so stressful in the moment, but it was good. During this season, my theme verses came from Lamentations 3 that said,

"I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."

God is love.
-rev-rob

lectio divina:: mark 5

I have been memorizing the book of Mark and have actually been going through the book of mark in my daily readings, so I'm getting a lot of mark these days. 

I was recently memorizing mark 5 and I noticed something that I never noticed before. the chapter starts with a man who is demon possessed. his life is a mess. he is isolated. he is unpredictable and out of control. the bible tells us that he is housing a legion of demons in his body and heart. then jesus comes and sets him free. 

his change was so radical that when people saw him sitting down next to jesus, under control and dressed, they were shocked. after he was healed, the man had one request: let me go with you and be your disciple. 

what does jesus say? does jesus say no to that kind of thing? does jesus say no ever? there have been several times that I have seen in the gospels where jesus does not turn down anyone for anything. he interacts with crowds and heals every single person. he feeds every single person. but in this situation mark says this in verse 18:

"As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him"

here is a man who clearly loves jesus. he asks jesus for something simple- he even begs jesus for it, and jesus says no. this man prays for something, and jesus does not answer his prayer- he says no to this man's request. 

I guess that this is comforting to me- because I have been in this situation too often in recent years- asking and begging jesus for something- and getting a no. begging for my mother's health to be restored, begging for a new job, begging for a relationship to be healed; praying and praying, and getting a no. 

in those moments I question myself: why am I getting a no? is it because God is angry with me? is this a punishment? has he forgotten me? is he ignoring me?

in the story of the demon-possessed man, it says "jesus said no" but that sentence doesn't end with a period, but a comma. and after the comma there is a but.

the sentence reads, "As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."

Jesus said no to the demon-possessed man's request- but not because of the man's sins or because he disliked him, he said no because he had something more for him. he has an assignment for him, a new role. Jesus had a dream and a purpose for this man's experience and his story- he wanted to use this story to bring glory to himself. 

I put myself in this man's shoes. when jesus said no, and then go, I imagine that he was disappointed. he would rather be with jesus. he would rather experience more miracles; but jesus had something different for him- something better that he had dreamed for himself. 

mark goes on to write: "So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. and all the people were amazed."

in the end, people were amazed. jesus was glorified. people put their faith in him. and that was because jesus said no to his request. 

I like to think that God has not answered my previous prayers because He had something more for me; something better than I imagined for myself. and I hope that, just like in this story, that people will be amazed at Jesus; and that his fame will increase because of my obedience and trust. 

I don't know if anyone reads this, but maybe you have not received the answers to prayer that you have been looking for. maybe you have questioned yourself in the same way that I have. and just like the story, maybe God is saying no because He has something better: a new purpose; an assignment; a special job for you to do with your experience. 

God is love.
rev-rob

tre fontane

 once again I'm starting this post by saying, "its been a long time since I've been on here!" I wanted to make sure that I record these thoughts though. 

earlier this summer, we visited Rome, Italy to see my new little niece and Jane's baby cousin. while we were there, I wanted to make sure that we saw some special sites in the old city. 

of course I saw the colliseum. we saw the Roman Forum where the Caesars lived. I saw the Arch of Titus that had the fall of Jerusalem carved into it from 70ad.
 I saw the Pantheon which was jaw dropping. We ate pasta at a little spot outdoors.

we saw the trevi fountain 

but I knew, that if I was going to Rome, that I was not leaving Rome without seeing this one site; and its this little building called the mamertine prison. 

this building is on top of a prison. or really a dungeon. 

this is where both the apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul stayed before they were executed for their faith.The Roman emperor Nero wanted to crush the Christian Church,so he arrested all of the Christian leaders and executed them with the hope that it would destroy the church. 2 of those leaders were Peter and Paul.
this is where they waited to die. 
the mamertine prison is dark, and small dirty and wet.
there is only one way in and one way out, through a hole in the ceiling 

this post is where Peter was chained and beaten before he was thrown in. 

this hole is where Paul and his companions ripped up the floor. water filled the hole, and Paul baptized people who were coming to faith in Jesus while Paul was waiting to die.

This grate covers a stone. in latin its says this is where Peter rested his head. 

but a Roman soldier said to Peter- do you want to be like Jesus? then you should have a bloody forehead just like Jesus did.
and he smashed Peter's face against this wall and this stone-
and on the last smash, the stone became like clay and preserved the image of Peter's face and then it became stone again. This is the impression of Peter's face.

my friend helped me to get a private tour of this place and a few other places-
 and my tour was led by a professor of archeology named Paul. 

when Paul showed me everything in the Mamertine prison, I just said, can I sit in here by myself for a few minutes? and I did. to be honest, its was emotional and overwhelming. 

then Paul took Deanna and I to a place far outside of Rome called Tre Fontaine, or in Italian, 3 fountains. 

because the apostle Paul was a Roman citizen, he could not be executed for his faith. So the Romans took him far outside of the city to a hill. and killed him there. they wanted it to look like he was killed by robbers. this is where Paul was chained before he was killed. 

the executioner beheaded Paul at the top of a hill. his head fell down the hill and bounced 3 times. at each bounce, a spring of water burst out of the ground.

the Christians build a church on this site and put 3 fountains over the springs and the springs still flow to this day. 

when you walk into this quiet little room, you can hear the water trickling, you can smell the scent of water. again my tour guide told me all about this site, and then he gave me a little time by myself in this room. I brought a little bible with me all the way from San Jose and I opened it to 2 Timothy 4:6.

these were the words of Paul to Timothy before he died:
" ⁶ For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."

again, this was a pretty special moment for me- one that I will never forget. 

Paul took us to see the Apostle Paul's remains at an amazing place called Paul Outside the Walls. He showed us where Paul was kept when he was under house arrest and where he wrote many of the letters in the New Testament. 

I don't know if my tour guide Paul knew that I was a Christian or a pastor, but he was showing me a church called Peter in chains. he showed me these chains under a glass and he told me that these were the chains that the Apostle Peter was wearing on the day that he died.

and my tour guide Paul said, "why did the church keep these chains? why didn't they just throw them away? why did they build a whole church on top of these chains?"
I felt like I was in Sunday school all over again- what was the right answer? he said, "the church leaders wanted us to know that all of this is real. It really happened. Peter and Paul were real. Jesus is real. the stories in the Bible are real. Our faith isn't build on made up stories. all of this is real."

again- this was pretty cool- to have someone show me how that my faith and that the Bible is reliable and trustworthy. 

If you ever get the chance to go out to Italy, I highly recommend. If you need a tour guide, hit me up, I know of a good one.

God is love.
-rev-rob

lectio divina:: lamentations 3

I don’t know if anyone still reads this, but I wanted to write these thoughts down, so that I wouldn’t forget them. 

Over the last several years, I have been thinking a lot about mental health, negative thoughts, having the right mindset, and reframing past trauma. just the other day I was reading in the book of lamentations, and it seems like the author, Jeremiah, is thinking about all of the same things. 

Jeremiah had a good reason to struggle with his mental health. He was a prophet of God since he was a child, and he was given the task of delivering bad news to the nation of Israel. His job was to warn Israel about an attack from the Babylonian empire; and unfortunately for him, no one listened to his message or believed him. As a result, he was humiliated, and eventually imprisoned. On top of all of that, he witnessed the invasion from Babylon and the destruction of Israel with his own eyes. Bible scholars call him the weeping prophet. Lamentations are his songs of grief. 

In lamentations chapter 3, Jeremiah lists out the many reasons he has for grief. And then he says, “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.”

Twice he uses this phrase, “I remember." To me, Jeremiah is revealing where his mind and thoughts are. his mind and thoughts are on the past and on his pain; and the result is depression. he says “my soul is downcast within me.”

There is a link between where he is focusing his thoughts and his mental health. He continues, “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning;     great is your faithfulness.”

Again, he talks about his mindset and his mental focus: he says, “yet a call this to mind.” Instead of putting his mental focus on the pain of the past, he intentionally shifts his mental focus to God and his faithfulness; and the result is a change in his mental health. he says because of his new mindset, he now has hope. 

In verse 24 he says, “I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;”

He uses this phrase, “I say to myself…" To me, this says that he is speaking to himself and coaching himself to be disciplined in where he puts his mental focus. He is making a deliberate choice not to dwell on the past, but to focus his thoughts on God‘s goodness, faithfulness and kindness to him. 

I certainly don’t have the story that Jeremiah has, but I have seen my own share of grief over the last several years. This passage is a good reminder to develop the habit of asking myself where my mental focus is in any given moment.
Am I dwelling on the pain of the past? What is that doing for me?
Just like Jeremiah, it is only producing more grief.
This is a good reminder to be disciplined to change my mental focus and to remember all of the good things that God is doing and has done for me.
Just like Jeremiah, that shift will result in moving my heart from grief to hope.

I meet with my friend Mike every week and talk with him about these things. He often uses a metaphor about a record player. He often says “you need to change the record that is playing in your mind. You need it to change that record from the negative one to the positive one.”

A couple of years back, I read a book that challenged me to ask my thoughts three questions, 1. Is this thought true? If it’s not true, then I need to stop thinking it.
2. Is this thought helpful? By thinking this thought, am I helping myself? If not, then I need to be disciplined to stop thinking that thought.
3. Is this thought kind? Would I say the negative things that I am thinking about myself to a friend? If I did, would they still want to be my friend? If not, then, why would I say this thought to myself? I’m only being rude to myself.

In 2 Corinthians 10:5, the apostle Paul writes “we take captive every thought, to make it obedient to Christ.”
Again, this speaks to the habit that we need to take ownership of what we’re thinking, to ask ourselves where our mindset is, and to be disciplined to choose a better and more helpful thought.

There are some people that I know that are so good at this and they do it instinctively and effortlessly. for others, like me, we need some reminders to be more disciplined in our where our thoughts are being focused. 

Just like Jeremiah, it’s easy for me to let my thoughts veer toward the pain of the past, but it’s a much better choice to stop those thoughts, to change my mind, and to focus on the good things that God has done, is doing, and will do for me. 
 

God is love. 

– rev-rob

ReplyForward

3 questions for my thoughts:

Its been awhile since I have posted here! I almost forgot how to use this site!

I wrote an episode for my church's podcast- we are going through a series on identity in Christ, and I wrote about identity, but I also wrote about what I'm learning about overthinking, and nagging and negative thoughts. I have been studying this topic for a message series that I'm going to give to my students next month and I have been reading a lot on this topic. By far, my favorite book on this subject was written by 2 high school girls, L.E. and McCrae Acuff in their fantastic book, Your New Playlist. Here are some thoughts on identity in Christ and negative thinking from your pal rob:

Welcome back to the 3Crosses podcast! My name is Rob Walter and I'm the high school pastor here at the church. One of the things that God has been teaching me these days is this idea of taking captive my nagging and negative thoughts. I have grown to be so passionate about this and I have been reading a lot about this topics and I often talk about this topic with students friends and colleagues. I believe there is a connection between taking captive our nagging and negative thoughts and understanding our identity in Christ.

I don't know about you, but I often struggle with nagging and negative thoughts. In moments of stress and weakness I hear thoughts like, "you're not good enough; you'll never be good enough." "People reject you. No one likes you." "You'll never be as good or as popular or as effective as this person or that person." "You're not very good at this." What happens when we let thoughts like that roam around in our minds? We could repel people, we could be neutralized in our ministry for God, we could miss out on good opportunities that God has for us. We could not only damage our relationships and our opportunities, but we could literally do damage to ourselves.

The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:5 "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." In my studies on this topic, I have learned to apply this verse to my nagging and negative thoughts in three ways:

The first habit that I'm implementing is to identify that thought. Take it captive. Write it down. Say it out loud. When thoughts like these swirl around in our minds late at night or throughout the day, they are so powerful; but when w get them out in the open and into the light, they lose their power. So when I hear a negative thought, I write it down in my journal or on a list in my notes app. I say out loud, "I'm hearing a thought that says that I'll never be good enough." Recently I was having coffee at Cafe 4 with a friend and we were talking about this topic and I said, "I have this negative thought that says I'll never be good enough." The look on her face took all of the power away from that thought. She looked stunned. She asked, "Why are you thinking that? You should stop thinking that. Its not true."

That leads me to the second habit that I'm implementing: ask my thought three questions. These three questions have changed my thinking so profoundly in recent months; i learned them from L.E. and McCrae Acuff in their fantastic book, Your New Playlist.
Question 1 is: "Is this thought true?" Is it even true? This goes back to knowing what is true about our identity in Christ. When I hear a thought that says "I'll never be enough," I can remember that in Christ I am enough. According to the Bible I'm more than a conqueror; I'm created in Christ to do good works; I am a child of God and God loves me. I am a temple of the holy Spirit and God lives in my heart. In Philippians 4:8 Paul gives us a list of things to focus our mind on. He says, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." The very first thing on Paul's list is to think about things that are true. If they are not true, then you shouldn't think them; or like my friend said to me, "stop thinking that! Its not true."

Like I said, I ask my thoughts 3 questions, the first one is, "is this true?" The second one is, "is this helping me?" If this thought isn't helping me, I should stop thinking it. I was talking with a high school guy recently and he shared that he has a thought that he will never be good at chemistry. It will always be hard for him. He will never get higher than a B in chemistry. First of all, that thought isn't true, he can get good at it with the right help and resources, but its also not helpful. Thinking that thought over and over is not going to help him get an A. When you have a negative thought ask yourself, "is this helpful? Is thinking this thought helping me with my goals or fixing my problem?" If not helpful, then you should stop thinking it. You have control over the thoughts that you think and you can choose the best ones.

The first question that I ask my thoughts is, "Is this true?" The second is, "is this helpful?" and the third is, "is this kind?" When you hear a nagging, negative thought, ask yourself, "is this kind?" Is this a kind thing to say to yourself? Would you say it to someone else? If I said this thought to my friend 10 times a day, would I be a good friend?  Would my friend want to keep being my friend? If your negative thought  says, "you're not pretty." Would you ever say that to someone else? Of course not! That would be rude. If we wouldn't say that to someone else, why would we say that to ourselves? In my conversation with my friend at Cafe 4 I said to my friend, "Can you imagine if I told you 10 times a day that no one likes you? That would be so rude!" She said, "Rob- if you said that to me- that no one likes me- 10 times a day, not only would I not want to be your friend, but that would be abusive." She was right. So often, the meanest, rudest person in your life is yourself. We say things to ourselves that we would never say to anyone else. If its not kind, then its a bad thought.

Again, the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 10:5 "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." I have been applying this to my negative thoughts by first identifying the thought, second, asking my thought questions, and then third, I need to replace that thought with what is true. I need to make that thought obey Jesus. Again, this is why its so important to know your identity and who you are in Christ.

For every negative thought in our minds, there is a truth from the Bible that demolishes it. The Bible tells us that God demonstrated His love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. We didn't have to be enough for Him to love us. He is not waiting for us to be enough to show His love to us. We are loved by the almighty. The Bible tells us that His thoughts for us outnumber the grains of sand on the beach. The Bible tells us that we are valuable- God has a plan and purpose for our lives. We were hand-made by God and He is preparing us to do good works that He has designed just for us to do. We are effective for God- the Holy Spirit is living in me and working in me and through me. Jesus calls us friend. We are a part of the Body of Christ and just like every other part, we are important and essential to the plans that God has for the world.

It has been said that negative thoughts are like a music in a coffee shop. They are out there and they are affecting our mood and our spirit. But in this illustration, we have a pair of headphones. We don't have to listen to the music that is being played over the speakers. We can choose what we listen to. We can choose the thoughts that we think, and just like the Apostle Paul says, we should choose thoughts that are true, noble right, pure lovely admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. God has so much for all of us, but if we let these nagging thoughts discourage us, we can miss it. But when we remember who we are in Christ, we can walk in freedom.

God is love.
rev-rob

lectio divina:: john 5

 

This year I'm working through the book of John for my Bible memory. I just started John 5 and I found something that I never noticed before.

This is the story about Jesus healing a man at this mysterious healing pool in Jerusalem. The Bible says, "Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.  5 One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”
8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked."

As I read this passage again I noticed this line in verse 6, "When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” It says that Jesus SAW the man, and He LEARNED that the man had been paralyzed there for 38 years.
How did Jesus learn this? I think that Jesus stopped and noticed this disabled man; and the He stopped and took an interest in this man- and asked Him some questions and learned about Him.

I imagine that there was a bunch of disabled people sitting around this pool- but for some reason, Jesus went up to this particular man and took an interest in him. He asked questions, he learned his story, and He helped him.

This week has been filled with images of presidents and senators- of military generals and congressmen. Celebrities have been weighing in on current events on the news. But here the highest of them all, the King of Kings took an interest in the lowest of them all, a broke, middle aged invalid. This King was not too busy for this invalid, He didn't have a meeting that He needed to be rushed off to or an interview to give on live tv; this King had all the time in the world for someone that the world saw as invisible.

Its a reminder to be observant; to look every person in the eye and to treat them as a human being. Its a reminder to never be too busy to hear, or to notice or to show compassion. That's when we partner with the Divine and bring healing to broken places.

 

God is love.
-rev-rob

lectio divina:: john 2/ the wedding at cana

I've mentioned this before, but my friend Mike has challenged me to memorize one chapter of the Bible a month. We have been working on this project for years. We did all of the New Testament letters, and we recently started the Gospel of John. I recently memorized the story of the wedding at Cana, and I come away with some new thoughts that I never discovered before:

verses 1-3 say, "On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."

This interaction between Jesus and His mother makes me smile. She doesn't ask Him to fix the wine situation, she tells him that the wine ran out. All of us ask Jesus for things all of the time- and when we do, we fast, or we get on our knees, or we hold a special meeting at 5am, but when Mary asks for a miracle, she doesn't even ask- she just tells Him that the wine ran out. She assumes that He knows what she's saying.

Also, she asks for a miracle, but not for her, for the people who are hosting the wedding.

All of this leads me to a question, "how did she know that He could do it?" Had He been doing little miracles around the house? Was this leftover from when the angel spoke to her before He was born? Either way, she knew that He was the guy to fix the problem.

Verse 4 says, "Dear woman, why do you involve me?"Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come."

From the sound of things, Jesus wasn't interested in doing this miracle. But He does it anyway because of His relationship with the asker. Maybe He is one of the people that dislikes weddings. I also think its funny that He directly asks her a question and she does not answer Him. She assumes that He knows what she needs Him to do. 

Verse 5 says, " His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."

She doesn't say, "Thanks Son! I know that you can do this!" She just looks over at the servants and says, "Do whatever he tells you."

To me, that is what the bible is talking about when it talks about faith. Zero doubt. Complete confidence.

Verses 6-7 says, "Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim."

From what I can tell, these are hand-washing jars. They were filled with gross water that was crawling with germs. I wouldn't drink out of that. But Jesus was able to redeem these hand-washing jars to hold gallons and gallons of the most choice wine. He takes what is common and dirty and uses it to hold the sacred.

verse 8-9 say, " Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew."

From what I know about wine, it takes a long time to make. Everything has to be perfect for the wine to turn out right: the weather, the soil, the vines, the roots, the barrels, the wine cellar, etc; but Jesus is able to make great wine in an instant. He didn't touch the water, or talk to the water or even wave His hand over the water. He just told them to draw some of the water out. Jesus can transform hand-washing water to the choicest of wines in a heartbeat.

Not only that- Jesus gave this wedding party 120-180 gallons of choice wine. How much would that cost? It cost Jesus nothing.

When did it become wine? My guess is when they acted in faith and drew it out. I'm sure that these servants thought that He was crazy by asking them to give hand-washing water to the master of the banquet and to call it wine. But they did- and they were included on His secret. That was always His style- to share the best with the least. To give honor to those who had none.

verses 9-10 say, " Then he (the master of the banquet) called the bridegroom aside and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."

What does the bridegroom do? Does he say, "I don't know where that wine came from!" Does he say, "I had nothing to do with that wine!" Nope- he just takes that compliment with pride. Maybe he was so drunk that he actually thought that it was his decision to bring out all of that wine.

This is my biggest take-away from this story: the master of the banquet when to the bridegroom and complimented him on the wine. The bridegroom accepted that compliment! Yet the bridegroom had absolutely nothing to do with the wine. He didn't even ask Jesus for help- Mary was the one who did that. If I were Jesus I might say, "hey now- let's give credit where credit is due..." But Jesus doesn't do that. He lets the bridegroom get credit for a miracle that He did. He didn't mind making the bridegroom look good.

I feel like I'm the bridegroom. I get a lot of credit for things that I didn't do, Jesus did them. He does a miracle, but its me that is the one who gets credited. Its me who gets the accolades. I need to remember that I had nothing to do with the miracles that He does. He has been doing amazing things in me and through me for years, and I have been content to take credit. All along it was Him.

As leaders in ministry, we are the bridegroom- we have been taking credit for the miracles that Jesus has done- and He has been happy to let us look good and to take the credit. We must always remember that its all Him. 

As ministry leaders, we are the hand washing basins- we are just vessels that bear the miraculous. Apart from Him, we aren't much. We are unclean. But with Him, we are sacred vessels.

As ministry leaders, we are the servants who follow Him in obedience- who "do whatever He says," and then we get a front row seat to the miraculous. We are the ones who risk looking like a fool; but step out in faith and participate in the service of the Messiah.

God is love.
-rev-rob

adventures in candidating part 2

 I wrote a post a few years ago called adventures in candidating. you can read it here. candidating is a church word that means applying for a pastor job. Once again, I recently found myself candidating. I ended up at the most amazing church. I recently re-read my old post, and I completely agree with everything that I said before. This time, instead of lessons, I just have stories. here are a few that stood out- I'll label them by city:

The San Jose story- I talked with a church from San Jose for a long time. I sent them videos, I filled out their forms, I talked with the head of their search committee for hours. In the end, the head of the search committee told me, "our last youth pastor was a scientist- and he talked to the students about science. they were all really interested in what he had to say. that's really what we are looking for. as I review your talks, I don't see anything about science, so its going to be a no." 

The Cupertino story- I had a pastor reach out to me from Cupertino. He was thrilled to talk to me. He told me that we had so many friends in common and that I would make an excellent addition to their team. He told me that the discipleship pastor would reach out to me. The discipleship pastor reached out to me and had me give him my life story, my call to ministry, my philosophy of ministry and the basics of my theological beliefs. Then he told me that they weren't hiring right now, but maybe someday!

The Almaden story- There is a church in the Almaden neighborhood of San Jose. They called, and I was super-excited to meet with them. I have been following this church for years and have many friends who work there. I met with one of their pastors who told me that they had several campuses and several roles open. They seemed very interested in moving forward. Another one of their pastors called me a few days later and he was very excited to talk. He knew many of my former students and thought that I would be a great fit at the church. Then I got a call from their executive pastor who said, "we actually had people lined up for each of those open roles already. its not going to work out."

The Milpitas story- a head hunter contacted me and told me that he had a gut feeling that I was the right guy for a church in Milpitas. I did a video interview with them, and they kept asking me trick questions. They gave me scenarios that were trying to get to an answer to a question that they had. This church was really into NOT having women in leadership. They asked me, "if a middle school girl came up to you and told you that she felt called to be a leader in the church, what would you tell her?" I could tell that this was a trick question and that I was walking into a trap. I said, "I could pour water on that fire, or gasoline; and I'd find all the gasoline that I could and fan that flame." Their mind was instantly made up that I was the wrong guy for the job. The recruiter was furious.

There are more stories to share, but those are some of the more prominent ones in my mind. The entire experience was an emotional roller coaster. It was incredibly frustrating and heartbreaking at times. I found many of these churches to be very unprofessional in their processes. but then, there was:

The Castro Valley Story- I met the most amazing group of leaders, students, and volunteers

in Castro Valley. I fell in love with them and I hope to stay there forever.

God is love.
-rev-rob

 

reflections on 3 months of unemployment:

 

On April 26, I received a call that I had been laid off from my job at the church in Morgan Hill. Because of the Covid-19 virus, the church had lost income and had to make cuts. So- for the 2nd time in 3 years, I was looking for a job; only this time it was during a pandemic. Churches still aren't meeting, and none of them are hiring right now. The last time I looked for a job, I had several offers, and landed in Morgan Hill after 3 very long weeks of looking. I was hoping that I would find one even faster this time- not even close. It took almost 3 months. The church that I landed at is a dream church. I keep asking myself, "is this too good to be true?" This story had a happy ending, but getting there was quite an adventure. Here are some lessons that I learned in those 3 months:

:: I have come a long way, but I have a long way to go.

I consider myself to be spiritually mature- I'm a church leader, I have been following Christ for the majority of my life; but in those 3 months I discovered that I have work to do in the areas of trusting God with my security and my fears. There were moments when the anxiety of not having a job was overwhelming. I spent many, many hours out on a trail walking and praying. I did this partly to communicate with God, but mostly to get out of the house and to distract myself from my worries.

:: God is good, all the time.

We used to say that in the old days at church. I'm reminded of it in every season of life. Through those months, we never missed a meal, never missed a bill, never went without. God provided a new job and a new church for our family. He took care of us, just like He always has and always does.

:: my family is awesome.

I got to eat 3 meals a day with my family for months. We got to go to the coast several times. We shopped for plants at the plant nurseries, because they were some of the first business to re-open. We went on walks and drives. I was anxious and a little much to be with some days, but I'm grateful for that extended amount of time with them. Deanna supported me and cheered for me. She coached me and gave me her perspective. She listened to every detail of every interview. She is amazing.

:: restoration

I binge-watched a couple of shows about shops that restore broken cars, and in a lot of ways I was restored. I had been broken down by stress, anxiety and work. Over this time I ran at least a 10k every night for months. I dropped 30 pounds. I slept in, I napped. I slowed down. I'm ready to get back in the game and am feeling better than ever.

:: my call was confirmed.

I thought about doing all kinds of different work: kids ministry, working in the business world, even being a senior pastor, but I kept coming back to my call to work with students. I could never get away from it- and I never really even wanted to get away from it. That is the job that God made me for, and I have never been more convinced of it.

:: my former boss passed away

my former boss Galen went to heaven during that time. One night I was on a walk and I was thinking and praying and I began to remember his influence on me. He did so much for me- he was so patient with me. He was so kind to me. I remembered again how much I respected him and the way that he did ministry. For the last several years of my life, he was a real father-figure in my life. I remember praying on the night that he died, and thanking God for him; and wishing that I had spent more time with him in his last years. Not long before he died we had a special conversation over Facebook expressing our mutual admiration for each other.

:: team Rob

I have mentioned these friends before. They showed up in full force during my time of need.

Niki coached me on my interviewing. She gathered an army of former students to bombard my new boss with letters of recommendation on my behalf. She mobilized her family to pray for me.

Jonathan is an expert at underemployment insurance. His phone rings off the hook all day long. Many, many people call unemployment all day, every day to try and get their benefits, but Jonathan told me, "don't worry. I'm going to take care of all of this for you."

Chuck encouraged me with words that I hope to never forget: he said, "Rob, I want you to make a list of all of the students and a list of all of the parents and leaders that you have touched with your life. And when you do, please put my name and my son's name at the very top of that list." After I hung up the phone I just cried and cried at those thoughtful words.

Chris called me every single day. He listened to the ups and downs of every interview. He kept track of those details just as well as I did.

Trent was there to give me rare insight into the new people that I was meeting because of his vast network of friends.

Josh listened to me, cheered for me, and fought for me to get hired at his church. It didn't work out, but I'll never forget the efforts that he went to on my behalf.

Jeff advocated for me to get hired at his church. He took the decision-maker out to eat and campaigned on my behalf. He generously offered to send food to our home.

Many gave my family and I very generous and thoughtful monetary gifts. I am uncomfortable receiving any kind of gift, but they wouldn't take no for an answer. I was humbled and floored.

Mike, Grace, Tricia, John, Jim and Roxanne reached out nearly every day telling me that they were praying. They asked for updates and checking in after interviews.

Team Rob- I'm not worthy. They blow me away with their love and genuine concern. I want to be that for them and for so many more.

Millions of people are out of work right now, and my heart empathizes with them. I was reading in the book of Job the other day, and found a passage that spoke to my situation so clearly that I wrote every word of it in my journal:

Job 11:13: "“Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him,  if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,  then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear.  You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by.  Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety. You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor."

That's my story-
and that's my prayer for everyone searching for a job in this time of insecurity.

God is love.
-rev-rob