01/02/2025
Pizza ovens are just cool. what’s even cooler? The Bible
Here’s another average dude Bible study.
The tongue:
“Over my dead body.”
“I’ll sue them for everything they got.”
“If he does, I’ll punch him in the face”
Etc.
I keep seeing a recurring theme in scripture where God is trying to put us in our place. Imagine you’re God, you created the universe and everything in it, and a less, than microscopic amount of those atoms (us) vowing to do anything by your name.
By God you better...God ^%& it!…As God is my witness....
You get the point.
I set out on a Bible study once to read all the words from just Jesus in the Gospels and categorized them. I was actually surprised. Very few are about love.
It’s in there, but most are warnings, and unequivocally announcing his sovereignty. Look it up.
I’m God, you’re not. I love you; I am here, I have a gift waiting that you can’t even comprehend, but don’t try me.
Humility seems to get his attention in scripture, but so does bravado. Bravado is much more present here on Earth unfortunately. Think of all the destruction inflicted on this world by arrogance, boasting, lies, wanting to get back at somebody, wanting to be in control, stretching the truth, and my least favorite of all… passive aggressiveness. Passive aggressiveness is an epidemic of Biblical proportions, (no pun intended) and I am a magnet for it. I think it’s some sort of test from God.
Whatever human flaw you can come up with though, has been addressed in the Bible somewhere.
Check this out.
“The tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles.
For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and father, and with it we curse men, who all have been made in the similitude of God. No spring yields both salt water and fresh. But above all my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by Earth, or with any other oath. But let your yes be yes, and your no, no, lest you fall into judgement “.
James – 3
Wow. That’s why I dig this book.
Jesus, in speaking with the Pharisees once, was asked by them. “Why do your disciples not wash their hands before eating?” (Which was the law).
Pharisees, like most men today seem to have manmade laws tattooed to the inside of their eye lids.
Jesus responded “it’s not what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out. What comes out of the man is from the heart”. (The tongue). Boom, Mike drop.
One of the dudes I love to listen to is Tim Keller. He is in heaven now but was brilliant here on this rock. I heard him tell a story once, where after all his education to become a pastor, even going as far as to study Hebrew in his studies, (which I’m sure girls dug at frat parties). Said, when he was leaving a church to go to another opportunity once. Many members of his church came to give him a sendoff.
Not one person, not one, referred to a brilliant sermon he had ever preached.
Every comment was,
“I remember what you said to me at that funeral”,
“I remember what you said at the wedding”,
“I remember what you said when you visited me in prison”.
Think about it.
People don’t care how much you know, it’s when they know how much you care.
Your words (The tongue) might affect people far more than you ever knew. In negative or positive ways.
I was always ambitious, when that ambition for worldly things starts getting swamped by wanting to lead your family to heaven, the flaws in yourself and this world become glaring. Just try to live by Jesus’ teachings for one day, and you’ll see how fallen you are. It’s an hourly battle of seeing that you can’t do it. Why? Because we suck at this. The good news? Yes, we are in an hourly battle for our souls… but the battle was already won for us. That is literally the gospels my friends.
We didn’t need any more laws, opinions, pride, denominations, cathedrals, mediums, or theologians, we needed a savior, which was the whole point. Out of gratitude, when you set out on your day tomorrow, will the things you say or do pull heaven down? Or Satan up?
Try pulling Heaven down tomorrow. It’s hard to do and is completely foreign to what we know and think as humans. Tomorrow, at some point, some guy will give me the finger for some stupid reason, But if Jesus, 2024 years ago, let people drive spikes through his hands with a sledgehammer, the least I can do is try to live up to that kind of humility, so I will.
If you need landscaping, a pergola, outdoor kitchen, or pizza oven, I’m your guy. If you want to make it to heaven, I can’t get you there, but I know a guy.
