Frank's Bible Blog

Psalm 42-- Lessons from My Time in a Ford Pinto

I have vivid childhood memories of hot California summers riding in the back of my mother's Ford Pinto station wagon--the one with no air conditioning--and wishing more than anything to have something to drink.

To a young child, the few minutes drive in the heat seemed like an eternity. My thoughts were consumed with Kool-Aid, Coke, juice--anything to quench the thirst.

In Psalm 42 the psalmist describes a similar scene--no, not a young boy in the back of a Pinto--but a deer desperate to find a stream of cool, refreshing water. Likewise, the psalmist says, his soul desperately thirsts for God. His thoughts were consumed with meeting with God.

Just like the thought of a cold Coca Cola to a young Pinto-bound boy, or a cool stream to a weary deer, God was all this writer could think about.

What happens when we have that kind of fixation on the Lord? What happens when we reach the level where everything within us longs to be in the presence of God through His word, worship and prayer?

When that happens, it gives us an unusual ability to thrive in life.

Our tears of sorrow turn to joy (vv3-4).

When our innermost being is downcast, it gives us hope (vv 5,11).

When people tease us, look down on us, or even persecute us for our faith, it gives us strength (vv9-10). "Why so downcast?" the psalmists asks, "put your hope in God."

How thirsty are you for God today? How consumed are you with spending time in His presence? Maybe if we would be a little more consumed with God we would be a little less consumed by the pressures of life.

When is your next meeting with God?

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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com.

Psalm 30--Seeing Your Way Forward in the Dark

It's the middle of the night and everyone in your home is asleep. It's pitch dark but you silently make your way to the kitchen to get a drink. Although your hands are out to feel your way through, you don't need them. You walk unhindered to the refrigerator. You have made that walk so many times before in the light that you know your way around even though you can't see a thing. You know without a doubt that the refrigerator is there even though that is not confirmed until you grab the handle. You are able to see your way forward in the dark because of your past experience. Life is like that for the person of faith. As we move forward it is like walking in the dark--we are traversing unchartered territory. But we go forward with confidence because of the experience we have had in the past walking with the Lord. Psalm 30 is a great reminder of this. What is especially insightful isn't in the verses themselves (although they are amazing) but what is in the title, which David also wrote.  "A song for the dedication of the temple." David never saw the temple dedicated. David never saw the actual construction of the temple even begin. But David knew it would be completed so he prepared for it in faith. What was the song that would be sung when the temple would be dedicated? "Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning" (v5) and "You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy" (v11). The night is dark. The night brings sorrow. The night has tear-soaked pillows---but morning is coming! Rejoicing, dancing, singing--it's all coming in the morning! You can see it in the dark because you know the God of the morning. You can see it in the dark because all of your experiences with God declare His mighty power. You can see it in the dark because the Lord has been with you on past journeys and He has never let you down. You can see it in the dark because you walk by faith and not by sight. Faith is the incredible force that allows you to operate in the dark--but it's not blind faith. No, it is a solid faith based on the person and past work of Almighty God and the completed work of Christ on the cross. It is that faith that lets you see your way forward in the dark.

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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com.

Psalm 22--Turning Thanksgiving into Thanksliving

Each year here in the U.S. we celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November. It is a time for families to gather, for enormous quantities of food to be consumed, and in recent years, time to watch football. I would hope that most families also use the time to pause to reflect on and share about the things for which they are thankful. Personally, I love Thanksgiving. But the real issue isn't how we celebrate one day but how we live the 364 other days. Do we turn thanks-giving into thanks-living? Psalm 22 is a good primer on how to do just that. The first 18 verses prophetically describe the Messiah and His suffering on the cross. Thanksliving begins when you grasp the incredible sacrifice that Christ made for you. It continues when you speak openly of what Jesus has done for you (vv22-24) and you declare His work to the next generation (vv30-31). Thanksliving is exemplified when you follow-through on your commitments to God (v25) and live out before others what you say you believe. Thanksliving always keeps an eye to the future, knowing that these momentary toils will one day give way to "All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship" before Him (v27). One day we will be able to say "Thank you" face to face with our Lord. Until that day, let's live a thankful life and make every day thanksgiving.
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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com.

Zechariah 7--Results Not Just Rituals

On the surface it seemed like a legitimate question. A delegation of Jews went to the prophet Zechariah and the priests to ask if they needed to continue fasting in the fifth month like they did during their captivity years. Now that they were back in their homeland and nearing completion of the temple, was this necessary? God had a word for them in Zechariah 7, but it wasn't a direct answer to their question. Instead, God questioned their motives for doing the fasts in the first place. "When you fasted and mourned...did you really fast for Me--for Me?" (v5). God then shifted the focus away from the few days a year that they fasted to how they lived the other days of the year (vv6-10). God has never--and will never--be impressed by rituals alone. It has and always will be the motivation behind the rituals and how those rituals change one's life that concerns Him. The problem in this chapter wasn't the ritual of fasting, it was the people doing it. We go through the rituals today of praying, attending church, tithing, and even fasting. Those are good things to do but in God's eyes they are meaningless unless the motivation behind them is proper and the outcome of them is a godly life. Okay, you go to church on Sunday but how do you live the other six days? What difference does Sunday make in the rest of your week? When was the last time you took something specific from Sunday and incorporated it into your Monday? Are you going through the motions of a ritual or are you allowing the ritual to change you for the better?

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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com.

Zechariah 3-- Behind the Scenes

We finished our waffle cones at the little sea-side village ice cream shop and made our way for the door. "You can't leave," we were told, "they are in the middle of a shoot." The "shoot" the man was referring to was a movie that was filming in the street outside. We were "stuck" in that shop smelling those freshly made cones for another half hour while a major film star filmed a scene.  That scene, which took hours to set up and film, lasted less than a minute in the actual movie. Movie goers didn't see us sitting in the ice cream shop. They also didn't see all of the shops on the street get painted before filming. There were a lot of behind the scenes things that happened which they were unaware. In life, there are a lot of things happening, often in the spiritual realm, of which we are unaware. Zechariah 3 records a vision the prophet saw concerning Joshua who was the Jewish high priest following the Jews return to Israel from exile. Joshua was focused on seeing the temple rebuilt and proper worship restored. He was unaware of what was happening behind the scenes, as well as what was to come. We are told in the first two verses that Joshua was opposed in heaven by Satan, but God rebuked the Devil. As God's leader for the moment, Joshua was in essence standing between heaven and earth enabling the fulfillment of God's plan. With that kind of high spiritual profile position, it was no wonder he would be opposed directly by Satan. We are also told in this passage that
Joshua's iniquity was cleansed (vv3-5) and he was promised eternal prominence if he remained faithful (vv6-7). Even greater than that, we are told that Joshua was a sign of the coming Christ (vv8-10). Joshua was just going about his business trying to faithfully serve the Lord and lead others into His presence. Until Zechariah's vision, he had no idea all of this was taking place behind the scenes. You and I may not know what is taking place in the spiritual realms behind the scenes of our lives, but it is important to remain faithful regardless. One day we will understand it all. Until then, let's stay the course and run with perseverance the race that God has set before us.

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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com.

Genesis 9-- Gold Rush Obstacles

I am fascinated by stories of the various gold rushes back in the 1800s. Particularly interesting to me is the Alaska gold rush and the incredible hardships that prospectors had to endure just to start looking for gold. After a dangerous sail from Seattle to Alaska's shores, these would-be prospectors would haul an enormous amount of supplies and equipment across dangerous glaciers and over rugged mountains before making their way to the river areas where they would eventually begin their gold search. The stories of their treks are amazing. Some of these prospectors, however, after braving these incredible conditions would end up getting injured or losing their lives do to something seemingly "simple." They would get hurt after a drunken brawl, or they would slip down a hillside in the dark, or they would venture alone out of camp in the midst of a storm. They survived incredible hardships only to blow it on the other side. We see something similar in Genesis 9. After surviving the flood, God gives Noah a command (vv1-7) about filling and utilizing the earth. That is followed by God's covenant (vv8-17) to never again destroy the earth with a flood. The chapter closes with a curse (18-29) by Noah on his grandson, Canaan. Sometime after the flood and the family had established itself, Noah gets drunk. Exactly what happens next isn't completely clear in the text, but Noah is uncovered in his tent and discovered by his son Ham. Commentators disagree about the details, but the end result is a curse placed on the grandson. The details are not what is important but this is: Matthew Henry comments that "Noah, who had kept sober in drunken company, is now drunk in sober company." Noah maintained his testimony and survived the hardships of living in an incredibly wicked society and now blows it on the other side "of the mountain." The New Testament reminds us that if we think that we stand we need to pay attention less we fall. Sometimes we are most vulnerable to sin and failure once we cross the mountain and are out of the storm. The calm can cause us to let down our guard and make mistakes that we might not make otherwise. A reminder to all of us that we need to stay vigilant!
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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com. If you would like to share a comment about today's blog, you may do so at http://www.maxpoint.org/maxpoint/message_board.

1 Corinthians 11-- Navigating Different Cultures

It is always interesting going to a country I have never visited before. Every country has its own culture, traditions, and way of doing things. This is also true in the churches. In Nigeria, for example, women typically wear brightly colored dresses and large hats or full head coverings to church (also brightly colored). They expect women, all women, to do this. In Romania, the dress typically is very simple and only married women cover the heads. The style of worship also varies greatly from culture to culture. One culture may emphasize quiet meditation and prayerfulness in their services, while another may have dancing to loud drums.  Even here in the United States we have very different cultural styles when it comes to how we do church. In 1 Corinthians 11 Paul reminds us that regardless of our traditions and cultural preferences, we need to be other-focused (vv1-16). There are, however, some areas that are not open to traditional interpretation. One of those is the church's presentation of the Lord's Supper (vv17-34). While there certainly is freedom to when it is conducted and the exact manner it is done, God makes it clear that everyone should approach this ordinance with the utmost sincerity. This remembrance of Christ should be sacred. So, in areas where God is silent or gives us freedom, let's celebrate cultural diversity and respect the traditions of others. But where God is clear, let us be clear and keep sacred what He considers holy.

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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com. If you would like to share a comment about today's blog, you may do so at www.maxpoint.org/message_board.

1 Corinthians 8-- Ice Sculpting

Each year in Fairbanks, Alaska there is an ice sculpting festival. Massive chunks of ice are cut out of the area's frozen ponds and fork-lifted to the carving area where teams of sculptors from around the world assemble. Using chain saws, chisels, and even hair dryers, the artists transform the frozen water into life-sized works of art while an audience looks on. The assembled group watches the sculptors' every move, anticipating the outcome.

While you may never find yourself carving ice in front of an audience

, it is important to note that people are watching how you sculpt your life. They notice where you go and what you do. I Corinthians 8 is a reminder to all of us that we need to be other-focused. Paul tells us of the importance of not doing things that other believers consider wrong, even though there is nothing wrong in and of itself. Our focus should be on the growth and development of other believers, especially those who are young in the faith (v9). Sometimes that means we sacrifice some of our own freedoms so that we do not become a stumbling block to those who may be weak in the faith (v13). These brothers and sisters in Christ are watching you--they are looking up to you--and if you do things considered wrong, then it can really rock their faith, cause them to violate their own conscience, and even slip into a sinful lifestyle (v11). So let's always be aware of other believers. Let's help them as they sculpt their lives into something beautiful by watching how we sculpt our own lives.

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Frank Banfill is an author, international speaker, and president of MaxPoint Ministries, whose purpose is to help individuals, churches and ministries reach their full potential. Please forward this blog to your family & friends. Not a subscriber? Sign up now at www.FranksBibleBlog.com. If you would like to share a comment about today's blog, you may do so at www.maxpoint.org/message_board.