Who Are The Rechabites?

"Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak with them and bring them to the house of the LORD..." 

- Jeremiah 35:2

Are you the rule breaker?  If not, more than likely you know "that guy."  The one who tries to defy every rule just because.  Who likes to do the opposite of what you are supposed to do.  Maybe your a parent who has a disobedient child.  We all have a streak of disobedience in us, an urge to not obey the rules, to be our own person.  Besides, no one can tell me what to do...right?  Or can they?  The people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem were God's chosen people, yet constantly refused to listen to the voice of the LORD.  In fact, God speaks to them saying,

"...I have spoken to you persistently, but you have not listened to me.  I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, "Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.  But you did not incline your ear or listen to me.""

- Jeremiah 35:14b-15

God uses the example of the Rechabites in Jeremiah 35 to show us a picture of obedience.  Because they feared and respected their father they obeyed him.  They did not drink wine all the days that they lived and did not build houses to dwell in because that is what their father commanded them not to do.  They spent their lives living in tents being obedient and listening to the instruction of their father.

You may not listen to the speed limit signs on the interstate, the "no trespassing" sign, or the cancer warnings on tobacco products but there is one person we must listen to.  You see, because of Judah's disobedience God brought disaster upon them.  He gave them every opportunity to listen to him.  He persistently sent prophets to speak to them but their hearts turned cold.

Don't let your heart grow cold.  Understand who God is, the creator, the author of life and death.  Understand who we are, his creation, created to bring glory to Him.  My prayer is that wherever you are at in your spiritual journey you would start to listen to God.  I don't care what you think about "Christians" or "Church" but I do care that you listen to what God says in Scripture.  I challenge you to open the Bible, seek Him, and he will be found by you.  He is the God of all hope, full of grace, mercy, truth.

Bad Day

So we have all had bad days before.  Some days are bad because of one really bad event that takes place while others can be bad because every little thing seems to go wrong.  Well today was one of those days.  I over slept my alarm by 2 hours which never happens.  I am not behind and trying to figure out how I am going to get everything done.  While I am quickly grabbing some breakfast our breaker for toaster goes out.  I then proceed to our dungeon basement to flip the breaker and notice a large amount of water and extreme dampness down there.  After careful inspection it seems that during the storms that happened here while we were in Alaska water seeped into our basement.  As I am inspecting the basement I hit my head a few times, find another spot that needs patched, and notice that the roof where our wood burning stove pipe goes up needs resealed.

At this point in time I am stressing about the new ministry website that needs done along with all the events of the morning.  I sat down to take a deep breathe and my wife walks up to me, hands me her Bible and says, "read this."

I opened the Bible to Psalm 44 and it says,

"O God, we have heard with our ears,
our fathers have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
in the days of old:
you with your own hand drove out the nations,
but them you planted;
you afflicted the people,
but them you set free;
for not by their own sword did they win the land,
nor did their own arm save them,
but your right hand and your arm,
and the light of your face,
for you delighted in them." v.1-3


God's word is such a great reminder.  We will face affliction, we will have bad days, hear bad news, make bad purchases, and at times make bad decisions.  In the midst of the "badness" we must never forget our position in Christ.  We are saved, redeemed, rescued, loved, secure, complete, whole, and much more because God loved us so much that he sent his son Jesus Christ to die in our place.  We can rest in the fact that its not about us, its about him and his glory.  So if you are having a bad day like me, pick up the Bible and read it.  Be reminded of how great and awesome God is and how much he cares about you, even in your bad day.

Why Is A Story Told?

Have you ever sat down and thought about why stories are told?  Stories have different purposes at different times.  Some are just for simple entertainment, some are meant to communicate a point, and others can be a way of recounting history.  This leads to another question, what makes a story a great story?  What are some of your favorite stories?

I would tend to think "great" stories, or our most favorite stories are the ones that move us in our hearts. They make us laugh hysterically, cry unceasingly, and to act with courage.  Have you ever told someone a true story but they didn't believe you?  The disciples know how you feel.  Check out John 20:24-25;

"Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.  So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord."  But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe."

The disciples were telling Thomas a true story, a story that aligned with what Jesus taught them and a story all of his close friends were telling him was true.  Yet I wonder if Thomas was still grieving the loss of Christ, I wonder if this story seemed too good to be true.  Even though Thomas refused to believe their story at first he ultimately found it to be true and believed.  The fact that the story was true didn't change but Thomas's belief in the truth changed.

John 20:31 says, "but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

The Bible is God's words to us.  It is 66 books of pure truth at our fingertips yet we often don't believe the words on the page.  We are missing out, Thomas was on the verge of not recognizing and believing the greatest story ever told.  My prayer is that you wouldn't disbelieve that greatest story ever told.  Jesus came as a man, died on a cross, and rose 3 days and paid the due penalty for our sins.  By grace we are saved, through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen!

Quick to hear, slow to speak

"Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.  Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls."

- James 1:19-21

We love giving out opinions.  We love to hear our own voices.  Whether the subject is sports, politics, theology, or just practical life advice we tend to be slow to hear and quick to speak.  When we are slow to hear and quick to speak we often are more easily angered.  This can lead us to seek to be right rather than seek to understand.  A friend from Chicago always tells me, "seek first to understand and then be understood."  The point is that we often are ready to respond before we allow the other person to finish speaking.  We begin to generate our response and stop listening.

James not only is warning us not to do this relationally but more importantly in our ultimate relationship.  Many times we are not quick to hear from Scripture.  We formulate our response to a passage without ever carefully inspecting what it is actually saying.  Later on in James he talks about how the Bible is like a mirror.  We must carefully look into the mirror and examine our lives.  If you remember when you went on a date you starred into the mirror a little longer.  You made sure you searched all over for those zits and blemishes before you went out to meet that special someone.

How often do you look into the mirror of Scripture?  How intently do you look into it?  Is it a quick glance?  Or do you take you time and carefully examine, observing and listening to what the words of God have to say?

I encourage you to take a look in the mirror.  Look closely, take your time, and allow the word of God to show you the blemishes and bring healing and encouragement to you.

Coming to America

Tuesday evening my wife will arrive in the US for the first time since August.  This year long process is finally nearing an end.  Through it all we both have grown individually and together as we have seen God's faithfulness, provision, and hand in our lives.  There have been many tears, many laughs, and many memories.  In the past year I have gotten a small taste of what it should be like to long for heaven.  Just as I have been longing to be with Bek my longing to be with Christ has increased.  It has caused me to love him more, seek him more, and keep my eyes on him.

This evening my neighbor lady came over as a few of the guys and I were having dinner.  She is all alone and just wanted someone to talk to.  She cried and poured out a lot of hurt from her life.  Don shared the gospel with her and made sure that she understood Jesus's atoning work on the cross for salvation.  I couldn't imagine what it must be like to be all alone with no spouse, no friends, and no family.  Waking up each day just waiting to die.  I was thankful for my wife, my church, my family, and my friends.  My challenge for you today is just to ask yourself this question, "Who can I be a friend to today?"  My neighbor Ann just needed a friend today.  Someone to talk to, someone to pray for her and encourage her.  Will you be a friend to someone today?

New Off The Wall Logo

My wonderful wife is currently using her graphic talents to create a new logo and t-shirt design for Off The Wall Ministry.  Here is a sneak peak as we continue to work toward a finished product.  Leave some comments and let me know what you think.

Seize The Summer

As you may know I am about to embark on a journey with 12 other people across 6 states over the next two weeks called Seize The Summer.  Through worship, drama, and preaching we hope to ignite people of all ages to "Seize The Summer" for Christ.  One of my favorite passages in Scripture is found in 1 Corinthians 15:58 and it says,

"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."

During the summer we tend to take vacations, whether it be from school, work, or just to get away for a week or two.  Often time that vacation carries over to our spiritual life.  We become more self-focused and less God-focused.  Our commitment to God tends to decrease while our hours of daylight increases.  As we travel together over the next two weeks please pray for us, but also take a look at your summer and be purposeful to seize it, to take hold of the opportunities you have to grow in Christ and love people.

I will try to blog on what is happening and also share our team devotionals with you as well.  Also check out http://polenband.wordpress.com for pictures and video from the tour.

Sermon Notes from Titus 3

This morning I was blessed to have the opportunity to share the message at Countryside Chapel.  The people of the church have grown near and dear to my heart and I am excited to get to know everyone more and walk with them as I move into a role as one of the pastors.  Here are some notes from this morning's sermon from Titus chapter 3:

1. We All Need A Reminder
- We are a forgetful people, we constantly need to be reminded of Biblical truth and what a Godly life should look like.

2. We All Need To Understand The Gospel
- How deep is your understanding of the Gospel?  Do you understand terms like "regeneration," "justification," or "grace?"
Regeneration: to be born again, or born from above (see John 3)
Justified: to declare or treat as righteous (see Romans 4:1-8)
Grace: God's enabling power


3. We All Need To Devote Ourselves To What Is Excellent & Profitable
- Do you live a purposeful and intentional life for Jesus?  Do you build others up or tear them down?

Summary:  We all need to read Titus 3 and other Bible passages (especially the whole book of Romans & Ephesians 2) to be reminded of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We need to study and un-layer all that Christ accomplished for us on the cross and in turn worship and adore him with thankfulness.  Many of us are held back by a fear of truly understanding the grace and mercy of God.  Living a life abandoned to Christ, fully trusting him, following him in faith is scary for many.  My prayer is that you would "taste and see that the LORD is good" and you would know Jesus and his love for you in an intimate way.

Eat God's Words

"Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts." - Jeremiah 15:16

How precious are the words of God to you?  Are they sweet to your taste?  Do they bring you joy?  Do they breathe hope and thankfulness into your life?  Jeremiah digested and delighted God's words.  He spoke them for the people's good.


When we "eat" God's words, when we digest them and let them be nutrition for our souls it makes us spiritually healthy.  Just as in the physical sense we need to have a healthy diet balanced with exercise so we also need a healthy spiritual diet and work out our faith.


Notice Jeremiah said "your words became to me a joy..."  It takes perseverance, commitment, and discipline.  Just as it is hard to stay away from the sweets, to be disciplined to work out we fight the same battle spiritually.  Distractions lead us away from our Bible and prayer quickly eludes our minds.  God will reward your commitment to him and his word with joy and delight.  Ask for spiritual wisdom and insight as you are committed to study his word and your life will change.


My challenge for you today is to set for yourself one spiritual goal for Bible Study.  Find someone to hold you accountable and do it!  My wife and I are personally committing to memorizing 1 Corinthians 13 by June 5th.  My prayer for you is that you would digest the Word of God and it would be joy and delight to your heart.

Northern Ireland Update 7

Beki and I have been praying every morning for our situation and a few days she told God, "I just want to know when my interview is."  Well, a few hours later we got an email that told us her interview is May 24th.  While the downside is that it is far away the upside is that we finally have a date.  We are praying for the possibility of moving the date up to the end of April or first of May however there are no guarantees this will happen.

In preparation for the interview Beki has to get a medical done in London as well as prepare all of our paperwork.  Please keep us in your prayers as we begin to make plans to move forward with the interview and our return home.