lectio divina:: exodus 12

i’m going through exodus in my quiet time right now.
today i read chapter 12-
the last of the plagues-
the plague of the first-born.


God was finally going to get egypt’s attention for good-
by taking from them what they loved the most:
their children-
their first born sons.


God tells Israel to get ready for the destroyer to come-
He tells them to make preparations
so that the destroyer will pass over their homes.
as i read through the Passover story,
i couldn’t help but reminded
of Someone.


the Passover meal had to be a Lamb-
a male Lamb- that was perfect.
without defect.


“for He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us,
that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
(2 Cor. 5:21- nkjv)

“it was not with perishable things
such as silver or gold that you were redeemed …
but with the precious blood of Christ,
a lamb without blemish or defect.
He was chosen before the creation of the world,
but was revealed in these last times for your sake.”
(1 peter 1:18-20)

when the lamb was sacrificed,
the bones were not to be broken.


“they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead,
they did not break his legs.
Instead,
one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear,
bringing a sudden flow of blood and water…
These things happened
so that the scripture would be fulfilled:
"Not one of his bones will be broken,"
and, as another scripture says,
"They will look on the one they have pierced."


the blood of the lamb was taken,
and put on the doorposts.
it says this in exodus:


“take a bunch of hyssop,
dip it into the blood in the basin
and put some of the blood on the top
and on both sides of the doorframe…
When the LORD goes through the land
to strike down the Egyptians,
he will see the blood
on the top and sides of the doorframe
and will pass over that doorway,
and he will not permit the destroyer
to enter your houses and strike you down.”


if the bowl of blood was on the floor,
and they took a sponge and touched the top,
and then the sides of the door,
the destroyer would have seen something like this:





and would have chosen to pass-over.
crazy huh?


paul cuts to the chase and says this:
in 1 cor. 5:8 (nlt)
“christ, our Passover Lamb,
has been sacrificed for us.
So let us celebrate the festival,
not with the old bread of wickedness and evil,
but with the new bread of sincerity and truth.”

a final thought:
exodus 12:3 (the message)
says this:
“each man is to take a lamb for his family,
one lamb to a house.
If the family is too small for a lamb,
then share it with a close neighbor,
depending on the number of persons involved.”


our passover lamb is not just for us
and our families-
we need to share our lamb
with the families who have no lamb-
that they might be saved from destruction.


“then I looked and heard the voice of many angels,
numbering thousands upon thousands,
and ten thousand times ten thousand.
They encircled the throne
and the living creatures and the elders.
In a loud voice they sang:
"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth
and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!"

Then I heard every creature
in heaven and on earth
and under the earth and on the sea,
and all that is in them, singing:
"To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!"
(rev. 5:11-13)

take the journey

(from mosaic.org)

camp

undercover angels

last night i took the unis to elm street mission
in santa cruz-
it took me forever to park the big old bus
and by the time i got to the the kitchen,
everyone already had a job to do.
i found myself standing around-

but then i heard that music-
it was captivating-
i was drawn to it-
i haven't heard it
since my days of serving the homeless in modesto-
it was the sound of a crowd of homeless people,
loudly and passionately singing those classic hymns.
i have been to elm street mission
to feed the homeless dozens of times-
but i've never been to their church service.
i told the unis that they were on their own-
i was going to church!

and we had church.
i was amazed at what i saw and heard-
there was this toothless, homeless woman
playing those old hymns with so much soul,
that i did a double take.
she played this rickety old piano,
but it sounded like something out of a gospel church
in the deep south.

i would have never have guessed
that she had that kind of talent-
i looked around and saw people in dirty clothes
she played this old hymn,
"blessed assurance,"
it stayed with me all night-
it goes like this-

"blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior, all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior, all the day long..."

they shouted that song-
i could have wept right there.

the preacher came up-
i've met him on several occasions
he's a big guy and always encouraging.
he told stories of days
when he held cardboard signs
to raise money to feed his alcohol habit
and how christ had freed him from that.

i would have never guessed that he came from that life-
God took him off the street, and put him
behind a bible and in front of a crowd-
"this is my story-
this is my song..."

i guess the old saying is true-
"you can't judge a book by its cover."
there's an older saying that goes like this:
"keep on loving each other as brothers.
do not forget to entertain strangers,
for by so doing some people have entertained angels
without knowing it."

undercover angels-
i think i found some last night.

"this is my story-
this is my song..."

re-generate

re-create and
re-instate-
re-juventate,
re-susitate,
re-generate and
re-activate what makes your soul
re-sonate.




re-do and
re-view and
re-new and
rescue the soul in you.




re-fine and
re-fresh
re-lax and
re-flect
re-cline and give yourself a
re-cess.




re-pent and
re-turn
re-ceive and
re-member- be
re-conciled and
re-vere the One who
re-stores and
re-peals,
re-pairs and
re-veals- the One who
re-cycles, and
re-deems broken hearts, broken dreams, the One called
re-surrected.




re-ject and
re-pel-
re-volt and
re-bel against the lies that they sell




re-create your heart
re-novate your heart
re-form your heart
re-fuel your heart
re-model your heart
re-claim your heart




re-paint your point-of-view; and
re-write your script;
re-define success; and
re-invent yourself

rob's rules:

here are my top 10 personal rules for ministry:

1. never be without a watch, a pen,
and a pad of paper or breath mints
bad breath is the worst first impression-
so be mindful of your breath.
when it comes to having a pen and paper,
you never know when inspiration will hit-
and instead of just trying to remember,
write it down so you can be “fully present”
here and now.

2. be “fully present”-
this means be in the moment with the one you’re with.
don’t check your watch, don’t answer your cell,
don’t get distracted. this goes along with rule number 3:

3. there are no “little people.”
everyone deserves to be thanked, listened to, and valued,
no matter what they contribute, or what their title is
or isn’t.
this goes with rule #4:

4. be available-
billy graham was once a seeker-
and thank God he found someone
that could lead him to Christ.
as leaders, we have a reputation
for being inaccessible.
there is a sense that if people have spiritual questions,
they shouldn’t ask us,
because we’re too busy.
that’s bad.
nearly all of jesus’ miracles happened
when someone interrupted him.
we need to value our own time,
and at the same time,
allow ourselves to be interrupted.
that means making enough
margin for ourselves
that we have the space and time
to listen, care,
and hear the questions of others.

5. early is on time.
everyone is busy-
respect others’ time,
by showing up when you said you would.
this is a matter of integrity-
if you said you would be to lunch at 12,
show up at 12,
because you made a promise to be there.
if you’re going to be late,
call and let your appointment know.
you owe them that.
and when you do have to show up late,
make sure you have an apology and a good excuse.

6. leaders are readers
smart people write books.
if you want to be smart,
you have to learn from smart people,
and a great way to do that is to
read the books that they write.
its like a personal conversation with a great mentor.
reading takes a ton of time, and it can be boring;
you don’t have to finish a ton of books a year,
but you should always have one that you’re working on.
this goes along with rule #7:

7. listen to the culture
if 10 million americans are watching american idol,
do you think it would help you to be familiar with it?
if ‘the da vinci code’ was so important
that millions of people bought it and actually read it,
do you think that its important enough
for you to know what it says?
paul listened to his culture,
and it helped him to communicate the gospel on mars hill.
jesus used illustrations
that were familiar to the people in his culture.
i’m not saying, ‘read every book’or ‘watch every show,’
but if a bit of media is ‘scratching’
where millions are ‘itching,’
you should at least know why.

8. give it your best
we’re doing this for God-
and therefore, we ought to give it our very best effort.
he gave his best for us,
and he deserves nothing less than our best.
that means, we ought to use our best creativity
in our messages, graphics, events, etc.
everything should improve
and be better than it was last year.
good enough usually isn’t.
the world uses excellence so that it can get your dollars.
it uses excellence to keep its shareholders happy.
we are working for the almighty,
the Creator of all things;
and he is after something
far more valuable than dollars-
he wants to be reconciled
with his beloved lost sheep.
we owe it him and those sheep
to go the extra mile.
excellence can be expensive,
but effort isn’t.
go for it.

9. create margin
God speaks to us in the stillness,
so create time to be still.
ministry happens in the margins,
so make time for margin to happen.
be less busy.
this may mean that you have to make some hard decisions
regarding what is an important use of your time,
and what isn't.
and it may mean letting go of some activities
that someone else can gladly do for you.
this may mean that you have to temporarily
work ahead,
or schedule time to think forward-
do it!
you won't regret it-
the people we minister to
can tell if we are distracted, annoyed,
or feel too busy doing ministry to actually minister.
they aren't impressed with how busy you are!
build time into your day so that you can slow down.
your family,
your flock and your soul will be grateful.

10. leave them with a blessing
people come to church to meet with God.
so help them connect!
they meet with you,
because they know that they will be inspired,
encouraged, and blessed.
so bless them! inspire them!
look for ways to do that.
greet others warmly,
thank others sincerely,
listen intently,
laugh genuinely,
and send encouraging notes
(everyone loves to get mail!)
be an encouragement machine-
you can never underestimate
the power of an encouraging word.

so- if you’re a ministry leader,
these are some things that have been helpful for me,
and hopefully they will be helpful for you.

yes.

i just got back from a baptism service at arbor apartments.
my friend ken
has been leading bible studies there for years,
and today, 4 of the members of his bible study
got baptized in the pool!
a pastor who knew some of the people getting baptized
oversaw all of the speaking and baptizing,
so i was just there to watch-
and to support my friends gloria and athena
who were also being baptized.


as we listened to this man lead the meeting,
ken sort of pointed people out to me-
“this woman is off of drugs thanks to jesus!”
“this lady was in an abusive relationship,
but she kicked that guy out,
and now she is dedicating her life to the Lord!”
i was so inspired,
and now have a whole new respect for ken.
it got me thinking of pursuing some sort of bible study
in my own community.


my friends gloria and athena got in the pool-
they were a little nervous.
the pastor asked athena,
“have you received jesus christ
as your Lord and savior?”
in a word, she answered,
“yes.”
wow!
i didn’t know that she had given her heart to jesus!
and she proclaimed it to her world
and all of her neighbors,
new testament style!
with that one word,
“yes,”
all sorts of emotion was released in me-
i was in awe at the power of God,
to come and transform a life.
and if i wasn’t wearing my aviators,
that crowd would have seen my eyes well up with tears.
great job ken!
and hooray for jesus!


“if you confess with your mouth that jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God
raised him from the dead,
you will be saved.
for it is by believing in your heart
that you are made right with God,
and it is by confessing with your mouth
that you are saved.
as the scriptures tell us,
“anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”
romans 10:9-11
(new living translation)

super-pastor!

the rw 100

my favorite magazine, entertainment weekly, just put out its list of favorite things of the year.
its called the e.w.100.
so i thought i would make a list of my 100 favorite things of the last 6 months or so-
its called the r.w.100.

let’s start in the world of t.v.:
1. heroes
ok- this may be my favorite show ever. when it was on, i made sure that i had a close seat in front of the tv, the lights low and the vcr on. when it was over, i went online to see what the rest of the world thought. not only was the show awesome, but it had the best t.v. villain ever in my favorite character,
2. SYLAR!
3. man vs. wild
bear is the man! and now i totally know what i’m doing if i’m ever stuck in the everglades!
4. next food network star
something about watching people cook is fascinating
5. best week ever
6. the daily 10
this is a media review show on E! sort of like entertainment tonight, but it has more of a gen-x feel
7. the soup
8. flavor of love 2
oh my gosh- this has to be the funniest/ craziest reality show ever. flavorFLAV!
9. dog the bounty hunter
10. animusic
this show is absolutely hypnotic- i saw it on pbs one night and i was mezmorized. its like computer animated space-age instruments/ robots playing classical music.
11. the white rapper show
this was show on VH1 that was more than a reality show- it had some insightfull things to say about music, race, and poverty- and it was a crack up!
12. the daily show
totally “liberal,” but so funny!
13. yo momma
hilarious
14. shows about guys welding cars:
like, pimp my ride, trick my truck and biker build off. i can’t get enough of this stuff
15. miami ink
i’ve actually learned a lot about ministry from this show. these tattoo artists are so friendly and interested in others. it may be the fact that they are jamming needles into their clients, or it may be the genuine conversations, but their clients always seem to shed tears.
16. doo-wop reunions on pbs
when i see these on t.v., i always stop. being from modesto, i grew up on oldies, and these guys all still have it.
17. nooma
this isn’t really a tv show, but you can watch them on tv! and they are all so insightful.

awesome. now, from the world of sports!

18. the golden state warriors
i’m so proud of these guys! they barely made the playoffs, but then when they got there, they were the fist-place maverick’s worst nightmare. total underdog story!i didn’t just love the warriors, i loved their coach,
19. don nelson
i hated him when he coached dallas, but i loved him as the coach of GSW!
20. stephen jackson
total passion
21. baron davis
more passion, total fearlessness and unintimidated by dirk and the mavs.
22. barry bonds
at this writing, he’s at 749!
23. omar vizquel
cooler than the other side of the pillow
24. kuip/ kruk
these guys can take a boring game and make it hilarious
25. the sharks
they may not have won the stanley cup, but they won all of their hockey fights
26. steven a. smith
part sportscaster, part talk show host, part baptist preacher, and always fired up.
27. sportscenter
28. ufc
is this a sport? i don’t know, but its crazy!

how about the online world?

29. myspace
jesus tells us that the eyes are the window to the soul- unfortunately, everyone is giving everybody a window into their soul through myspace. but its cool to be able to keep track of what’s going on with your friends-
30. postsecret
heartbreaking- and so authentic- a reminder that even though everyone may look perfect on the outside, they cry for help on the inside.
31. blogs
its really cool that everyone can be the publisher of their own personal magazine.
32. wikipedia
i have grown to love this site in recent months. so informative!
33. biblegateway
i’ve been using this site for awhile, but its always super helpful in helping me search the bible.
34. ebay
what if you can’t find a mary poppins figure small enough to fit in a dollhouse in san jose?look on ebay!

what about the world of music?

35. window in the skies- U2
bono wrote a song for easter sunday!
36. the saints are coming- U2/ green day
this was the coolest moment of the year for the nfl- when the new orleans superdome re-opened for the first time,, the saints came home, and bono shouted for the world to hear: “after the flood all the colors came out!”
37. instant karma- U2
i’m not into karma, neither is U2, but they recorded this old john lennon song to benefit the crisis in darfur- and the song rocks.
38. live from milan- U2
noticing a trend? this little dvd is amazing. this version of ‘all i want is you’ is enough to make a stadium of italians weep.

ok- rob likes U2- what about other music?

39. continuum- john mayer
40. crazy frog
i just discovered this sort of goofy dance music. i love playing it in middle school- total energy
41. call me when you’re sober- evanescence
42. see the morning- chris tomlin
43. prince at the superbowl
purple rain in the rain? does it get any better than that? i mean, really?
44. light rock
VH1 did this show, the 40 most soft-sational-soft-rock songs. and i knew all of them and loved almost all of them. really, journey? hall and oates, lionel richie, chicago, the bee-gees; these cats are timeless.
45. musicals
yeah. i dig them. i can barely keep myself from singing along!mary poppins, grease, little mermaid, lion king, joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat; it takes a lot of talent to come up with lyrics that tell a story!
46. the 70’s
i’ve recently gone through serious 70’s phase: the doobie brothers, k.s. and the sunshine band, earth wind and fire, the bee-gees, marvin gaye, james taylor, simon and garfunkel, i know- maybe i should post this on postsecret! my secret is, i like music that no one else does!
47. the 80’s
janie and i go to the jungle every week and they are always blaring the 80’s station that isn’t just the cliché’ 80’s songs like bon jovi and wham, but songs that no one remembers unless they lived with them from bands like:howard jones, early r.e.m., hall and oates, early police, bananarama, early inxs, duran duran, the cure, and the go-go’s. jane plays, and i remember being a middle schooler!

what about the world of books?

48. prayer: does it make a difference? – philip yancey
i got to meet him and have him sign my book!
49. millennials and the pop culture- neil howe and bill strauss
probably the best book i’ve read in years about this current generation of teens
50. sex/god- rob bell
51. paul: a man of grace and grit- chuck swindoll
-i loved this book- it felt like i knew the apostle personally after reading it.
52. soul cravings- erwin mcmanus
every single page of this book has something profound to say- no joke.
53. dust press comics
biblical stories stunningly captured in comic book form
54. the gospel according to starbucks- leonard sweet
if you like starbucks and jesus, this is a great book!
55. a new kind of christian trilogy- brian mclaren
this is a really cool way to talk about theology and church practice- through a story with characters that you can find yourself caring a lot about.
56. trains of los gatos
i loved this little book! did you know that billy jones (of the billy jones railroad) actually inspired walt disney to buy a train of his own? and that train led to the creation of disneyland?!did you know that ‘vasona’ was originally a train stop? that was named after a farmer’s horse? i love this stuff.
57. on the move- bono
58. the lorax- dr. suess
i just discovered this book- its deep.
59. entertainment weekly
i love this magazine. i read it cover to cover. there was a couple of weeks between my subscriptions that i didn’t receive it, so i just went to the store and bought them.

here is a list of things that i like that go along with iPods:

60. the mars hill/ rob bell podcast
61. the mosaic/ erwin mcmanus podcast
62. iPod remote
how cool is this? i can turn a song up or down or off or switch the song from across the room!a must for youth pastors!
63. iTunes
what if you just want one song but you don’t want to buy the whole CD or break the law?what are the top 5 most popular songs by coldplay?
what other bands do coldplay fans enjoy?
iTunes!

what about the world of children’s products/ entertainment? here are my favorites:

64. children’s television
its hypnotic- it has a conversation with you- sometimes i wonder if i enjoy it more than janie!
some fun children’s programs are:
65. mickey mouse clubhouse
66. sesame street

here are some places i like to take janie lately:
67. chuck e. cheese
its clean now! like immaculately clean!
68. children’s discovery museum
they have this whole room just for making bubbles- its awesome!
69. smart toys stores
like, learning express and wooden horse
70. oak meadow park
janie loves the carousel and the train- they just started using the original steam engine again- it’s a pretty cool experience!
71. party stores
like diddams, affordable treasures and party america- we could spend hours in those, dressing up, buying candy, tossing balls, finid stuff with mickey mose, ariel and pooh bear on them.
72. speech therapy/ ann slade
i can’t thank ann enough for giving me the priceless gift of the sound of my girl’s voice and the pleasure of sharing a conversation with jane.

here are some random things that i love lately- most of them have been around forever, but i’m just starting to love the again or for the first time:

73. sky high sports/ jump sky high
74. snacktivities
this is a snack/ activity- like eating peanuts out of the shell or spitting sunflower seeds, or cracking walnuts. its therapeutic and kind of healthy.
75. kfc
i was too snobby to eat here for the longest time, but janie loves their popcorn chicken and i do too!
76. togo’s cookies
the best anywhere- especially the chocolate chip.
77. togo’s chicken noodle soup
if they are serving the chicken noodle, i’ll take it over a sandwich everytime. so good!
78. peanut m&m’s
i’m currently addicted
79. caffeine-
i’m addicted to that too- i love it the form of coffee, mountain dew, and red bull
80. banana-chips
81. the family life center (gym) at cathedral of faith
first of all, its really inexpensive. but really, what other gym plays praise music, stresses modesty, takes prayer requests, and begins aerobics with a prayer time? i love it! speaking of aerobics, lately i have enjoyed:
82. tae-bo
my friend Lloyd teaches this class- and i totally love it. he makes it so much fun. he is really teaching me a lot about welcoming new people. speaking of exercising, lately i’ve enjoyed exercising with a:
83. exercise ball
and it doubles as a toddler toy!
84. new almaden
i just discovered this neighborhood! its kind of mysterious- in a good way. another neighborhood i’m enjoying is:
85. westgate
they have everything! target, old navy, the jungle, barnes and noble and red robin!
86. the bank-starbucks
near oakridge- no one knows it’s a real starbucks! so its always pretty chill in there.
87. videogames for tickets
lately, when we are at chuck e. cheese or the jungle, i really get into the games where you can get tickets for winning. you can’t really cash them in for anything, but for some reason, i get so pumped seeing those tickets roll out of the machine! sometimes janie wins more though, and that deflates my ego.
88. poloraized sunglasses
i love these! they saved almaden yesterday! i could see the white smoke of a brush fire much more clearly with them on than off- i called out the fire department and they came out in full force- with airplanes, and helicopters!
89. zip down hoodies
pullovers are so 5 minutes ago!
90. light rail
i was too snobby to ride this for awhile, but it is so relaxing! especially during the day. if i have the time, i’ll take it downtown instead of driving. you can read, or just watch the valley pass by.
91. lava hand soap
-its like a hand massage every time you wash your hands!

here are some new attitudes that i’m having fun with. all of the guys who write about post-modernism like to put the prefix “post” in front of all sorts of words, and i will too-

92. post-pulpit
i’m over using music stands when i speak- at least for now. its more fun to hold my notes and walk around
93. post-serious
i laugh a lot more with students than i used to. and i’ve discovered that the world has not fallen apart. i think i’ll keep it up.
94. post-diet
for years, i’ve been doing the low carb thing. now, i eat less, eat (a little) better, i eat earlier in the night, and i exercise more. its way more fun.
95. post-driving
i love walking and reading or thinking or praying or listening to music or a message or a book on tape. i schedule a lot more meetings that are walking distance from my office or my house. i’ve been walking to church on saturdays to set up before sunday. its good for my body and great for my soul.
96. post-up-to-date-
there are no movies on this list! i haven’t seen any! and my life is doing just fine.there isn’t a lot of current music on this list either. i don’t listen ot the radio or watch videos.i don’t know what’s happening on lost, 24, american idol, or grey’s anatomy, and i feel fine.i don’t read every post sent out on myspace.i’m not that up to date on a lot of things, but i don’t mind.
97. post-aloof/ curiosity
learning is fun. so i ask a lot of questions to the people i meet, because everyone has a story- and each one is amazing. i think that its better to notice people and things and facial expressions than to be aloof. its fun to find out how things work or how they came into being.
98. post aloof/ helping
feeling like a hero is much more fun than being lazy. so i’ve been helping where i can, and i enjoy it. some of my favorite times in ministry have been when i was the helper, not the leader.
99. post-aloof/ enthusiasm
its just more fun to care. i’ve learned this from my daughter. fire trucks are fascinating to her. so are ducks and splashing and playdough and the sky. and why shouldn’t they be fascinating?! its so much more fun to be enthusiastic than bored.
its so much more fun to laugh at things that are funny than to try not to look cool.
next time your mind sees something amazing and says “whoa!” let your mouth say it too- and your eyes and your entire body. you won’t regret it.

and finally, number 100, on my list of recent 100 favorite things:

100. toddler conversations
this morning, janie came into my room, and we had a fairly long discussion about swimming, our favorite snacks, and our favorite places to visit. and “if i could save time in a bottle” i would have saved that moment forever. but i can’t, so i’ll just have to have as many toddler conversations that i can while she is still a toddler.
some people think that i’ll get over her voice and her words,
but i don’t think that i will.
thanks for reading!
-rob

oh feet!

deanna, janie and i were having lunch today-

we had the iTunes playing,

and we were listening to janie's new favorite mix:

"ay-wee-ol songs."

janie started saying,

"oh feet! oh feet!"

deanna asked

"are you saying 'no feet?'

that's right! ariel has no feet!"

janie just kept going:

"oh feet! oh feet!"

we were listening to ariel's signature song:

"part of your world,"

and she sang the lyrics:

"i wanna be where the people are
i wanna see-
wanna see 'em dancin'
walkin' around on those
what do you call them?

(and then janie and ariel sang in unison:)

oh feet!"

i guess that's the name of the song in janie's mind!

ariel!

what are you doing to my kid?!