NoisemakersUnited.com

July 11th-12th, 2009

Mark 9:38-41

Sorry I didn’t post yesterday. It was a crazy evening. And plus, I didn’t really have much to say.

It’s not that I didn’t study yesterday. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. I studied really hard yesterday.

But I didn’t walk away with much.

Actually, I walked away kind of confused.

I read Mark 9:38-41 and was caught kind of off gaurd a little.

What got me was the whole backstory of this Scripture. See, the disciples tell Jesus that they saw a man casting out demons while they were traveling around after Jesus had sent them out. When they saw him, they told him to stop “because was not one of us” they told Jesus. By “us” they meant one of the 12 disciples. See, this man did in fact believe that Jesus was the Messiah. He believed the same things the disciples did. But because he wasn’t actually one of Jesus’ 12 disciples, they told him not to cast out demons any more.

Jesus goes on to tell them that they shouldn’t have done that. Jesus tells them that “no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me’. In other words, if this man was really using my name to cast out demons, then he’s a true believer because he wouldn’t be able to cast them out in my name if he wasn’t a believer. But then Jesus says something, and this is what threw me off…

Jesus then tells the disciples, “for whoever is not against us is for us.”

That’s an incredibly interesting statement.

Just think about that for s second.

Whoever is not against us is for us.

What does that really mean?

Well, that’s the question I’ve been seeking an answer to for the past 2 days. That statement has been on my mind for the past nearly 48 hours now. I’ve read a lot of stuff about that passage, although there’s really not a lot out there about it. Maybe it’s because no one else has figured it out just yet. But as of yet, I’ve come up blank with what Jesus was saying there. I’ve read some little things about it, but none of them really seem to quite hit it on the ead to me. Other people have some good ideas, but it just seems like they’re missing something.

Anyways, that’s where I’ve been for the past 2 days. Trying to figure out what Jesus meant by, “for whoever is not against us is for us.” Please let me know if you’ve got anything on this. I’d love to hear your thoughts or what you’ve found.

July 10th, 2009

Mark 9:33-37

“…they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.” -Mark 9:34

Isn’t this me! I am probably the LEAST humble person I know. I want to be the best at everything I do. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that, but it can take me over sometimes. If I have a thought about something that I think is better than yours, I’ll let you know it. I’ve had to learn to just say nothing at all so I don’t myself in trouble.

But the point is we all have this desire to be the greatest, above everyone else. So what am I supposed to do with it? I need to turn it on its head.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

I know this verse, but it seriously tells me what I need to do. The old way of doing things was to be the best for myself, so I would get the glory, and reward, and recognition. But now I am a new creation. I have a new way of doing things. The new way of doing things is to be the best so God can get all the glory, and reward, and recognition. But that’s not to say that I’m never tempted to go back to the old way. There are certainly times when I do things hoping people will know it was me who did it. It’s hard, especially as a musician.

The reason I started playing guitar in the first place was to try to become famous one day. That was the whole pupose behind all the pratices, lessons, bloody fingers, sweat, and tears. It’s really difficult not to let that be my motivation now. I want to be the best so that people can worship God freely, without distraction, and to the sound of music they really enjoy. It becomes even harder when those people I’m leading in worship become the very ones who are telling me how “great” I am, because that’s what I really wanted when I started doing all this.

And sometimes it’s hard to fight feelings of giving up on my gifts, and calling, so I don’t rob God of His glroy. But I have to remember 2 Corinthians 5:17. That old way isn’t even actually in me any more. I might let it influence me at times, but it’s not even a part of me. It’s been replaced with a new part. Inside of me is actually the desire to give God all the glory. The old is completely gone, and the new is what now consumes my entire being.

July 9th, 2009

Mark 9:14-32

“After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, ‘Why couldn’t we drive it out?’” -Mark 9:28

I can’t imagine how the disciples felt. It wasn’t all that long ago that they were all going around healing sick people and casting out demons on their own. All of a sudden then come across this one demon that at least 10 of them couldn’t do anything about. What were they doing wrong? What were they missing? Did thy use the wrong magic words or not wave their wand right? Ok, they did use magic words of wands, but something wasn’t working. What was it?

“He(Jesus) replied, ‘This kind can come out only by prayer. ‘” -Mark 9:28

There were missing prayer! Apparently the disciples had become so used to using their own words to cast out demons that when they came across this demon, prayer did even cross their mind.

But what about me? Don’t I do that same thing? When I find myself in a situation that I can’t fix, my reaction is not to pray. Actually I’ll usually get angry if I can’t fix it myself! If I get a flat tire driving down the freeway, but I realize I don’t have a jack to change the tire, what do I do? Pray? No. I get ticked of kick the tire, storm back to the trunk, throw the tire iron in the trunk, slam the trunk shut, stomp to the driver side door, swing it open, slam my hand down on the cell phone, call Desi huffing while it rings, yell the entire conversation with her, tell, not ask, to bring me a jack, get off the phone, throw it back in the car, stomp around the car cussing under my breath until she gets there, and then…

This also goes back to what God showed me yesterday about continually focusing on Him throughout the day. If I would’ve focused on God when my tire went flat, I wouldn’t have broken my cell phone, and I wouldn’t have upset Desi either. If would’ve been focused on God, I probably would’ve stopped and prayed for patience. I wouldn’t have reacted so poorly in my anger.

I need to stay focused on God throughout the day, and I need to make prayer a tool I regularly use to keep my focus on God. Prayer is a powerful tool that has been given to us. It would be an incredible waste not to use it.

July 8th, 09

Mark 9:2-13

“This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” -Mark 9:7

I love the exclamation point. “Listen to him!” Bam! In your face! It was said so emphatically that ending it with a mere period just wouldn’t do. It was said with such force that nothing would get the emotion across better than an exclamation point. So we know God really meant what He said. Now we should realize how important it is for us to do. I mean, anything God says is pretty important, but when He adds an exclamation point to it, we should really pay attention.

So listen to him! Listen to Jesus. Hear his words. Read his teaching. Do as he does. Say as he says. Live as he lives. Listen to him!

Am I listening? Am I hearing? In 1 Kings 19:11-13 it talks about Elijah waiting for God to pass by. How did God come? As a whisper. A soft voice. God’s word for Elijah to listen to. Am I taking time to listen quietly to the whisper of God’s voice? Some. But not enough.

I sit here morning after morning, reading, studying, praying, and journaling. Yes, I take this time to wait quietly for The Lord to speak. But what happens when I get up from here? I lose focus. Heck, sometimes I even forget everything I studied just a couple hours later. The problem is that I think that these few minutes in the morning is all I need to get through an entire day in the world. What am I thinking? I usually spend 45 minutes each morning doing this. Then I spend my other 16 hours and 45 minutes of my waking day out in the world. Which one do you think I listen to more? Which one influences me more? Which one is actually more important to me? That’s one thing Islam  got right. Stopping all throughout the day to pray is brilliant. You constantly take time to focus back on God. Just about the time you start to forget, “Dong, dong!” from the temple, and you’re reminded.

I need to up with ways to remind myself to listen to God throughout the day. Tie a string around my finger or something…

//

So that’s what I wrote this morning, straight out of my journal. As I was driving down the road this evening, I was listening to Charlie Hall’s new cd. He has a song called “Scenes” on there that talks about seeing God in all the different scenes of his life. Work, church, war, and family. The chorus goes like this:

I see you in every scene.

I bet You are thinking about me.

I have such a short memory, but You keep reminding me of You.

That couldn’t have been a better song for me to hear on the way home today. It reminded me of God, which I guess is the point. If you get a chance, you should definitely check it out.

That’s what I’m going to call this daily thing, “Bible Blog”.

Anyways, let’s kick this thing off!

July 7th, 2009

Mark 8:31-9:1

“If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” -Mark 8:38

Wow! Talk about getting my butt kicked by God; I’m in ICU right now! This is harsh. It makes me think. Makes me wonder. Makes me question. Makes me hope. Makes scared as hail!!! Seriously, this is a terrifying standard to hold up to my life! If I am ashamed of Christ, he’ll be ashamed of me. Like when you dad says, “I’m not angry; I’m jusr dissappointed.” AGGGHHHHH! That is so much worse then him being angry. It always feel worse to dissappoint than to anger someone.

I can’t even imagine standing in front of the Trinity as they look down at the floor, shake their collective head, and say, “We’re just so dissappointed in you, Travis.” Ouch.

Seriously though. This statement from Jesus makes me think of all the times I had a chance to really be bold but backed down because I was nervous, doubted, or was afraid of what someone might think. How many people are still searching for God? How many wrong decisions have I made? How may times has God been ashamed of me? All because I was ashamed(embarrassed, nervous, scared) of Christ.

I’m a pretty loud and straight-forward person, but I lack boldness. Very few times have I really been bold on Christ’s behalf. So now I ask for boldness. I ask that as I grow, so would my courage. I pray that as I become a stronger man of God, I would become a mightier warrior for His Kingdom. A man with courage. A warrior without fear.

“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” -Matthe 11:12