I've been leading our teenagers through a series on allowing God to increase and the importance of us decreasing. We have to come to a point in our lives where we admit we are only who and what God made us to be. We have nothing to boast of because all things come from God, our lives are given to us by God. Our abilities our gifts, our hope and joy are all gifts from God. Not one of us at any point did anything in our lives to overcome what God has given us. Sure, we work hard at what we enjoy or what we do for a living, but we are only manifesting the abilities and the drive that God has given us.
We also have no right to ask why. We are not created to understand all the things of God, only to trust in Him and cultivate a relationship with Him. There are a lot of reasons we have no right to ask Him why. My number one reason would have to be that we don't ever get what we deserve as Christians. We are born into a world full of temptation and sin. We sin regularly, and those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior admit we are sinners and ask God's forgiveness. None of us admit our sins and never do it again now do we. I would hate for God to answer my whys sometimes.
Psalm 130:3 "If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand"
Think about those words, let them soak in. I would absolutely hate to ask God why some little bad thing happened in my life and then have Him say hold on a minute let me pull up your report. Let's start with that day when you were 8 and work from there, is that okay or should I go further? Let's talk about the things you have done in your life that are far from what I desire for you. Now get comfortable, Jeff, this will take quite a while.
I don't think any of us wants that scenario, so next time something happens to you. Don't ask why, thank God that you aren't getting what you truly deserve. We deserve death, but instead we receive life in His Son who died on a cross for our sins.
Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
The dark side
So as a child there were several people who I almost idolized. To quote an old Randy Travis song, "I thought that they walked, on the water." I looked up to them and I thought they could do no wrong. That was a childhood view of them, but as I grew up I realized as Christlike as they may have been, they had flaws.
One of them was Reverend Armando Silverio, I remember staying at his house as a kid with his grandson and wondering if he had really ever sinned. I was around him a lot and saw a lot of people who looked to him for advice and for guidance. My grandma Gatlin was a major influence in my life as a child and I grew up and realized that she too made mistakes. My dad, my youth Pastor Todd Carr, my Pastor Mike Mott and on and on and on.
This is not a complete list of those whom I truly looked up to but this is close to the majority. Sorry if you looked at my list for your name and it wasn't there, odds are I figured you out a lot sooner, haha. But these are people who really seemed to have it all together. But, that was my childhood view.
As I have grown up(yes I am somewhat grown up) my views of God has changed as well. I have grown to understand more about God, and realize that I know less about Him as well. Like how has He always been, How is He everywhere, with everyone all the time? All questions that as I have grown up that I am glad I cannot answer. That is part of what makes God, God. I mean honestly, would you truly want to worship someone who had flaws? Would you want to worship a God who had a shady area, a bad side, or a major weakness. Think about superheroes and the way they were created, thought of and put into action. Each of them had a flaw and I believe that was an attempt to make sure they were mortal, and not godlike in any way.I also now understand that no bad things come from Him. God is good, all the time and that is all He produces.
1 John 1:5, This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
There you have it, GOd is light and in Him there is absolutely no darkness at all. There is not even a split second of wavering in Him. No temptations, no trials no anything come from GOd. He allows them into our lives, but He does not create them. So focus on God, on His unwavering goodness and see Him with true vision. He is perfect, without flaw, without anything but pure unrivaled perfection.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
One of them was Reverend Armando Silverio, I remember staying at his house as a kid with his grandson and wondering if he had really ever sinned. I was around him a lot and saw a lot of people who looked to him for advice and for guidance. My grandma Gatlin was a major influence in my life as a child and I grew up and realized that she too made mistakes. My dad, my youth Pastor Todd Carr, my Pastor Mike Mott and on and on and on.
This is not a complete list of those whom I truly looked up to but this is close to the majority. Sorry if you looked at my list for your name and it wasn't there, odds are I figured you out a lot sooner, haha. But these are people who really seemed to have it all together. But, that was my childhood view.
As I have grown up(yes I am somewhat grown up) my views of God has changed as well. I have grown to understand more about God, and realize that I know less about Him as well. Like how has He always been, How is He everywhere, with everyone all the time? All questions that as I have grown up that I am glad I cannot answer. That is part of what makes God, God. I mean honestly, would you truly want to worship someone who had flaws? Would you want to worship a God who had a shady area, a bad side, or a major weakness. Think about superheroes and the way they were created, thought of and put into action. Each of them had a flaw and I believe that was an attempt to make sure they were mortal, and not godlike in any way.I also now understand that no bad things come from Him. God is good, all the time and that is all He produces.
1 John 1:5, This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
There you have it, GOd is light and in Him there is absolutely no darkness at all. There is not even a split second of wavering in Him. No temptations, no trials no anything come from GOd. He allows them into our lives, but He does not create them. So focus on God, on His unwavering goodness and see Him with true vision. He is perfect, without flaw, without anything but pure unrivaled perfection.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
more of Him, less of me
So I am back on the wagon and working hard to get into great shape. I am eating sensibly, working out 5 days a week and playing some softball as well. All of this I am hoping is the recipe for me to decrease in size and weight. It's far cheaper to lose a little weight, and stay in fit condition than to buy all new clothes.
But this isn't the type of decrease I want to discuss with you. Decreasing is a sign of humility, it is humbling yourself to the point of allowing someone else to have full control. When we are really, really sick we ask God to take control and take away the pain and the sickeness. Why don't we just concede all control far before that point so that He can increase.
In John, John the baptist says this,"He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Think about those words very carefully. We are talking about a man who was thought by some to be Christ. Many followed him and listened to him thinking he was Jesus himself. But, repeatedly we see John in a position of having to clarify that point. Now, does that sound like someone who needs to decrease and have Christ increase? Not to me it doesn't. BUt still he made this comment, he felt the need to be less of himself and more of Christ.
I think of it in these terms. When I was single and starting out in college I was on my own(so to speak). I lived at home with my parents, I was however only responsible for me. I worked 2 jobs, made a lot of money for someone my age and eventually I was able to buy exactly the truck I wanted brand new off the lot. I was able to start saving up and eventually buy a nice car trailer and then a racecar. I spent my money on me and m needs/wants and that is who I was responsible for. It was all about me, I didn't concern myself a whole lot with the needs of others. THen, I got married to Tara and my thoughts about such things changed a bit. I was now finding myself concerned about our future, and our needs. I was now taking the time to meet her needs and our needs as a family. I had decreased and she had increased(not a fat joke, we all know I did the increasing in that area, haha). Then after about 7 months of marriage she was pregnant. I had not even adjusted all that welll to 2 people in the equation and now there were going to be three. yikes! I now find myself with two lovely little girls who are my world. I have decreased to almost nothing and it is all about them. I got my softball check which is extra money that we are putting away and decided to buy a few things with it. I bought some polly pockets for P.J. and a softball bat bag for Alexa. Not needs I know, but not the way I would have spent my hard earned money 9 years ago.
That is just a small piece of the equation as compared to what John the Baptist is saying. He is saying he needed to decrease to a point of thinking of JEsus, and His needs and then his own. Maybe not even taking his own wants into perspective at all.
Are you decreasing so that Christ can increase? Are you living in a way such that GOd is teh majority rule, and you are the minority in your own body. If not, I would suggest you think about John the baptist's example and pray about how you can follow it.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
But this isn't the type of decrease I want to discuss with you. Decreasing is a sign of humility, it is humbling yourself to the point of allowing someone else to have full control. When we are really, really sick we ask God to take control and take away the pain and the sickeness. Why don't we just concede all control far before that point so that He can increase.
In John, John the baptist says this,"He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Think about those words very carefully. We are talking about a man who was thought by some to be Christ. Many followed him and listened to him thinking he was Jesus himself. But, repeatedly we see John in a position of having to clarify that point. Now, does that sound like someone who needs to decrease and have Christ increase? Not to me it doesn't. BUt still he made this comment, he felt the need to be less of himself and more of Christ.
I think of it in these terms. When I was single and starting out in college I was on my own(so to speak). I lived at home with my parents, I was however only responsible for me. I worked 2 jobs, made a lot of money for someone my age and eventually I was able to buy exactly the truck I wanted brand new off the lot. I was able to start saving up and eventually buy a nice car trailer and then a racecar. I spent my money on me and m needs/wants and that is who I was responsible for. It was all about me, I didn't concern myself a whole lot with the needs of others. THen, I got married to Tara and my thoughts about such things changed a bit. I was now finding myself concerned about our future, and our needs. I was now taking the time to meet her needs and our needs as a family. I had decreased and she had increased(not a fat joke, we all know I did the increasing in that area, haha). Then after about 7 months of marriage she was pregnant. I had not even adjusted all that welll to 2 people in the equation and now there were going to be three. yikes! I now find myself with two lovely little girls who are my world. I have decreased to almost nothing and it is all about them. I got my softball check which is extra money that we are putting away and decided to buy a few things with it. I bought some polly pockets for P.J. and a softball bat bag for Alexa. Not needs I know, but not the way I would have spent my hard earned money 9 years ago.
That is just a small piece of the equation as compared to what John the Baptist is saying. He is saying he needed to decrease to a point of thinking of JEsus, and His needs and then his own. Maybe not even taking his own wants into perspective at all.
Are you decreasing so that Christ can increase? Are you living in a way such that GOd is teh majority rule, and you are the minority in your own body. If not, I would suggest you think about John the baptist's example and pray about how you can follow it.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Monday, May 25, 2009
A funny look at Romans 5
Okay so makybe I am taking this verse to another extreme but I felt like this is a good time to share this. There are Sundays I will admit that I am frustrated by the number of people who are missing in church, wednesdays that I am frustrated with the number of teens missing, and there are certainly days I don't like exactly what I am doing with the Betty Griffin House. But, I think of Romans 5:3-5 and I realize it is all of GOd's plan for my life and I remember what doesn't kill me will make me stronger. THis little story is quite hilarious. I can't take credit for it, it was forwarded to me by Frank Northcutt.
>
> If you don't laugh out loud after you read this you are in a coma!
>
> This is even funnier when you realize it's real! Next time you have a
> bad day at work, think of this guy. Rob is a commercial saturation diver
> for Global Divers in Louisiana . He performs underwater repairs on
> offshore drilling rigs. Below is an E-mail he sent to his sister.
> She then sent it to a radio station in Ft. Wayne , Indiana , who was
> sponsoring a worst job experience contest.
> Needless to say, she won.
> Hi Sue,
>
> Just another note from your bottom-dwelling brother.
Last week I had a bad day at the office. I know you've been feeling down lately at work, so I thought I would
> share my dilemma with you to make you realize it's not so bad after all.
> Before I can tell you what happened to me, I first must bore you with a
> few technicalities of my job.
> As you know, my office lies at the bottom of the sea. I wear a suit to
> the office.
> It's a wetsuit. This time of year the water is quite cool.
>
> So what we do to keep warm is this:
>
> We have a diesel-powered industrial water heater. This $20,000 piece of
> equipment sucks the water out of the sea, heats it to a delightful
> temperature, then pumps it down to the diver through a garden hose which
> is taped to the air hose.
>
> Now this sounds like a darn good plan, and I've used it several times
> with no complaints.
>
> What I do, when I get to the bottom and start working, is take the hose
> and stuff it down the back of my wetsuit. This floods my whole suit with
> warm water. It's like working in a Jacuzzi. Everything was going well
> until all of a sudden, my bum started to itch.
>
> So, of course, I scratched it
> This only made things worse.
>
> Within a few seconds my bum started to burn!
> I pulled the hose out from my back, but the damage was done.
>
> In agony I realized what had happened. The hot water machine had sucked
> up a jellyfish and pumped it into my suit.
>
> Now, since I don't have any hair on my back, the jellyfish couldn't
> stick to it.
>
> However, the crack of my bum was not as fortunate.
>
> When I scratched what I thought was an itch, I was actually grinding the
> jellyfish into the crack of my bum.
>
> I informed the dive supervisor of my dilemma over the communicator.
> His instructions were unclear due to the fact that he, along with five
> other divers, were all laughing hysterically.
>
> Needless to say I aborted the dive.
>
> I was instructed to make three agonizing in-water decompression stops
> totalling thirty-five minutes before I could reach the surface to begin
> my chamber dry decompression. When I arrived at the surface, I was
> wearing nothing but my brass helmet.
>
> As I climbed out of the water, the medic, with tears of laughter running
> down his face, handed me a tube of cream and told me to rub it on my bum
> as soon as I got in the chamber.
>
> The cream put the fire out, but I couldn't poo for two days because my
> bum was swollen shut.
>
> So, next time you're having a bad day at work, think about how much
> worse it would be if you had a jellyfish shoved up your ar*e.
>
> Now repeat to yourself, I love my job, I love my job, I love my job.
>
> Remember whenever you have a bad day, ask yourself, is this a jellyfish
> kind of bad day?
>
> May you NEVER have a jellyfish bad day!!!!!
>
> If you don't laugh out loud after you read this you are in a coma!
>
> This is even funnier when you realize it's real! Next time you have a
> bad day at work, think of this guy. Rob is a commercial saturation diver
> for Global Divers in Louisiana . He performs underwater repairs on
> offshore drilling rigs. Below is an E-mail he sent to his sister.
> She then sent it to a radio station in Ft. Wayne , Indiana , who was
> sponsoring a worst job experience contest.
> Needless to say, she won.
> Hi Sue,
>
> Just another note from your bottom-dwelling brother.
Last week I had a bad day at the office. I know you've been feeling down lately at work, so I thought I would
> share my dilemma with you to make you realize it's not so bad after all.
> Before I can tell you what happened to me, I first must bore you with a
> few technicalities of my job.
> As you know, my office lies at the bottom of the sea. I wear a suit to
> the office.
> It's a wetsuit. This time of year the water is quite cool.
>
> So what we do to keep warm is this:
>
> We have a diesel-powered industrial water heater. This $20,000 piece of
> equipment sucks the water out of the sea, heats it to a delightful
> temperature, then pumps it down to the diver through a garden hose which
> is taped to the air hose.
>
> Now this sounds like a darn good plan, and I've used it several times
> with no complaints.
>
> What I do, when I get to the bottom and start working, is take the hose
> and stuff it down the back of my wetsuit. This floods my whole suit with
> warm water. It's like working in a Jacuzzi. Everything was going well
> until all of a sudden, my bum started to itch.
>
> So, of course, I scratched it
> This only made things worse.
>
> Within a few seconds my bum started to burn!
> I pulled the hose out from my back, but the damage was done.
>
> In agony I realized what had happened. The hot water machine had sucked
> up a jellyfish and pumped it into my suit.
>
> Now, since I don't have any hair on my back, the jellyfish couldn't
> stick to it.
>
> However, the crack of my bum was not as fortunate.
>
> When I scratched what I thought was an itch, I was actually grinding the
> jellyfish into the crack of my bum.
>
> I informed the dive supervisor of my dilemma over the communicator.
> His instructions were unclear due to the fact that he, along with five
> other divers, were all laughing hysterically.
>
> Needless to say I aborted the dive.
>
> I was instructed to make three agonizing in-water decompression stops
> totalling thirty-five minutes before I could reach the surface to begin
> my chamber dry decompression. When I arrived at the surface, I was
> wearing nothing but my brass helmet.
>
> As I climbed out of the water, the medic, with tears of laughter running
> down his face, handed me a tube of cream and told me to rub it on my bum
> as soon as I got in the chamber.
>
> The cream put the fire out, but I couldn't poo for two days because my
> bum was swollen shut.
>
> So, next time you're having a bad day at work, think about how much
> worse it would be if you had a jellyfish shoved up your ar*e.
>
> Now repeat to yourself, I love my job, I love my job, I love my job.
>
> Remember whenever you have a bad day, ask yourself, is this a jellyfish
> kind of bad day?
>
> May you NEVER have a jellyfish bad day!!!!!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Independent
No I didn't take this rough morning I am having and get brain fade. I didn't think it was Independence day weekend instead of Memorial Day weekend, I just wanted to continue our study of that same passage in Acts 17. There is so much in just this little group of verses that tells us a lot about God.
Today I want to focus on His lack of dependence. Think about the most powerful, most reliable person you know. In our youth group we talked about this and realized that there are people in the world that we almost idolize. But there is no way we would want God to be anything like them. We don't fully understand God, we can't fully comprehend how He made everything and nothing made Him. How, He has always been and made man from dust, the earth and the heavens from dust and where did the dust come from? Who knows, I don't and I am okay with that. That is what makes God, God. I don't want to serve a God who needs some type of help, food, sleep, manmade things or even air. I want to serve a God who is all knowing, all powerful and everywhere all at one time. A God who knows everyone's thoughts, and everyone's future. A God who knew we couldn't live up to His expectations so He planned to send His Son as a Savior. That is who I serve, live for and share with anyone who will listen. That is what excites me about sharing the Gospel. Here are the verses again.
Acts 17:22-27 says, Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopaggus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are avery religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now that you worship as something unknown I am gong to proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of Heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. ANd he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that thye should inhabit the whole earth; and he deteremined the times set for them and exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. FOr in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, 'we are his offspring.'"
There, Paul shares with us that God is not served by human hands, does not live in a temple made by man, does not ned anything. Instead He provides for our needs. He knit us together in our mother's womb, He planned out all of our days and plans His provision over us daily. That is why I can proudly say that Our God is an Awesome God!
Thanks for reading and have a great Memorial Day weekend!
Today I want to focus on His lack of dependence. Think about the most powerful, most reliable person you know. In our youth group we talked about this and realized that there are people in the world that we almost idolize. But there is no way we would want God to be anything like them. We don't fully understand God, we can't fully comprehend how He made everything and nothing made Him. How, He has always been and made man from dust, the earth and the heavens from dust and where did the dust come from? Who knows, I don't and I am okay with that. That is what makes God, God. I don't want to serve a God who needs some type of help, food, sleep, manmade things or even air. I want to serve a God who is all knowing, all powerful and everywhere all at one time. A God who knows everyone's thoughts, and everyone's future. A God who knew we couldn't live up to His expectations so He planned to send His Son as a Savior. That is who I serve, live for and share with anyone who will listen. That is what excites me about sharing the Gospel. Here are the verses again.
Acts 17:22-27 says, Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopaggus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are avery religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now that you worship as something unknown I am gong to proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of Heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. ANd he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that thye should inhabit the whole earth; and he deteremined the times set for them and exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. FOr in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, 'we are his offspring.'"
There, Paul shares with us that God is not served by human hands, does not live in a temple made by man, does not ned anything. Instead He provides for our needs. He knit us together in our mother's womb, He planned out all of our days and plans His provision over us daily. That is why I can proudly say that Our God is an Awesome God!
Thanks for reading and have a great Memorial Day weekend!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
No more I and why
So I talked yesterday about clever speeches and illustrations and how they can hurt you, they are also quite helpful in the right crowd. Last night we had about as much fun as I can remember having in youth. We had a blast!
First, the night started off with an interactive game of "I". Each student was given 3 bead necklaces and every time they say the word I in a sentence they were forced to give up a set of beads. It was hilarious because many of our smart and cunning middle schoolers were trying hard to start conversations with people who would make the mistake. One even went and got someone to say I in a sentence and immediately reached for the beads saying, "Ha! I got you!" which meant he immediately had to return te beads because now he had said it. The game went on for a while as we hung out and messed around before youth started.
We talked about God, and 2 of the main things we need to get out of our vocabulary to be more understanding of God. The first ofcourse is I, we need to stop taking ownership in things that are God's. Our bodies, our possessions, our all belongs to God and once we get a grip on that we are more readily available to be used by God.
Second, we need to stop asking why. As a kid I recall never having the right to ask my parents why. Go clean you room, make your bed, eat all of your dinner, go to bed, you're not going there, you are going here, all are examples of things I was told. Any time I asked why it was as if I had no rights, no ability to ask these things. Well, if everything we possess belongs to God, then what right do we have to ask why?
None, we need to stop asking why things happen for 2 reasons.
First of all, we need to stop asking why because we don't want to start a scorekeeping situation with God. Why did something bad happen? Well, what have you done to deserve something good? God might ask, or which day did you not sin that I should not let something bad happen? God isn't like that and we should be glad that He isn't, He isn't someone we want to keep score with.
Secondly, we don't want to ask why because we don't have the right to make judgments. Think about it this way. My favorite food right now is fish, Tara and I have learned how to successfully cook fish ourselves(it's not just Gorton's fish sticks any more, hooray!) and I love it. Tara, and the girls don't like it. So with that having been said is fish good or bad? If you ask me I will tell you it is good, I like it so I think it is good. The girls will tell you no it's bad, they don't like it therefore it is bad. You see my point?
We don't make the decision what is bad and what is good in our lives because we don't know. God allows things to happen in our lives and it is all good to Him because it is part of His plan for us. I can list a hundred or more things that happened in my life that I immediately wanted to ask God why, why is this bad thing happening. Then, I realize down the road(sometimes years later) that it was actually a positive that God used to make me stronger or get me to where I am today.
Acts 17:22-27 says, Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopaggus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are avery religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now that you worship as something unknown I am gong to proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of Heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. ANd he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that thye should inhabit the whole earth; and he deteremined the times set for them and exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. FOr in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, 'we are his offspring.'"
There you have it, Paul says it best once again. Tomorrow I will talk a little more about dependency and the supremacy of God.
So stop asking why, stop saying I and you'll be more usable to God.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
First, the night started off with an interactive game of "I". Each student was given 3 bead necklaces and every time they say the word I in a sentence they were forced to give up a set of beads. It was hilarious because many of our smart and cunning middle schoolers were trying hard to start conversations with people who would make the mistake. One even went and got someone to say I in a sentence and immediately reached for the beads saying, "Ha! I got you!" which meant he immediately had to return te beads because now he had said it. The game went on for a while as we hung out and messed around before youth started.
We talked about God, and 2 of the main things we need to get out of our vocabulary to be more understanding of God. The first ofcourse is I, we need to stop taking ownership in things that are God's. Our bodies, our possessions, our all belongs to God and once we get a grip on that we are more readily available to be used by God.
Second, we need to stop asking why. As a kid I recall never having the right to ask my parents why. Go clean you room, make your bed, eat all of your dinner, go to bed, you're not going there, you are going here, all are examples of things I was told. Any time I asked why it was as if I had no rights, no ability to ask these things. Well, if everything we possess belongs to God, then what right do we have to ask why?
None, we need to stop asking why things happen for 2 reasons.
First of all, we need to stop asking why because we don't want to start a scorekeeping situation with God. Why did something bad happen? Well, what have you done to deserve something good? God might ask, or which day did you not sin that I should not let something bad happen? God isn't like that and we should be glad that He isn't, He isn't someone we want to keep score with.
Secondly, we don't want to ask why because we don't have the right to make judgments. Think about it this way. My favorite food right now is fish, Tara and I have learned how to successfully cook fish ourselves(it's not just Gorton's fish sticks any more, hooray!) and I love it. Tara, and the girls don't like it. So with that having been said is fish good or bad? If you ask me I will tell you it is good, I like it so I think it is good. The girls will tell you no it's bad, they don't like it therefore it is bad. You see my point?
We don't make the decision what is bad and what is good in our lives because we don't know. God allows things to happen in our lives and it is all good to Him because it is part of His plan for us. I can list a hundred or more things that happened in my life that I immediately wanted to ask God why, why is this bad thing happening. Then, I realize down the road(sometimes years later) that it was actually a positive that God used to make me stronger or get me to where I am today.
Acts 17:22-27 says, Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopaggus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are avery religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now that you worship as something unknown I am gong to proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of Heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. ANd he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that thye should inhabit the whole earth; and he deteremined the times set for them and exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. FOr in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, 'we are his offspring.'"
There you have it, Paul says it best once again. Tomorrow I will talk a little more about dependency and the supremacy of God.
So stop asking why, stop saying I and you'll be more usable to God.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
He is what we need
So we are working through a series with the youth on why we believe what we believe. Last week we talked about faith and what faith means to us. Why faith is important and we are slowly working into the supremacy of God and Jesus Christ as our Savior. There is so much that young people need to know, so much that they need to believe whole heartedly. Some of them take it for granted, some of them just don't take the time to truly test the words that they hear. They take their faith like a drink and rest assured that it is in there, and then when they are tested the crumble to the ground as if it never existed.
There is a lot of danger in sharing powerful messages and golden illustrations with young people. You don't want to be so clever and so cunning that they buy into it because of that. You want to make sure they get it, they get it straight from God and you are just the messenger. In a sense you want them to get the message, not believe in the message. You want them to hold whole-heartedly onto the Word and not your words. So illustrations are nice but they are dangerous if you put too much stock in them.
Paul said it well in 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power"
Make sure your faith does not rest on anyone, any person or any thing. Make sure it rests whole heartedly on Christ. Because man will let you down every time. One of the interesting things with our teens is I asked them how many people had someone in their life that they thought of as completely reliable. Many said it was their mom or their dad. As awkward as it may seem, I then had them share what they felt like that person they had chosen's weaknesses were. What is it that they tend to be less than reliable at, where do they stumble in life and so on? They could all share more than one weakness(this is a good thing, I'm not downing parents). Believe me I let them know about more than my share of goof ups and shortcomings. It's important though that they see that there is no one on earth that they would want to put their faith in.
It truly makes us appreciate the fact that we have full faith and confidence in a GOd who never rests, who never fails us, and who is all powerful and all knowing. There is no weakness in God, no area of grey or any such thing when it comes to God and that is why we can have 100% full faith.
Believe me, outside of CHrist not one person has ever walked this earth that I could put full faith in. And believe you me, I have known some amazingly godly people in my day, not one of them is half of what I need to put my faith in.
So rest your faith in God, not in anything anyone has ever said, not on anyone you have ever met on this earth.
Thanks for reading and have a great day! Stay dry!
There is a lot of danger in sharing powerful messages and golden illustrations with young people. You don't want to be so clever and so cunning that they buy into it because of that. You want to make sure they get it, they get it straight from God and you are just the messenger. In a sense you want them to get the message, not believe in the message. You want them to hold whole-heartedly onto the Word and not your words. So illustrations are nice but they are dangerous if you put too much stock in them.
Paul said it well in 1 Corinthians 2:1-2, "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power"
Make sure your faith does not rest on anyone, any person or any thing. Make sure it rests whole heartedly on Christ. Because man will let you down every time. One of the interesting things with our teens is I asked them how many people had someone in their life that they thought of as completely reliable. Many said it was their mom or their dad. As awkward as it may seem, I then had them share what they felt like that person they had chosen's weaknesses were. What is it that they tend to be less than reliable at, where do they stumble in life and so on? They could all share more than one weakness(this is a good thing, I'm not downing parents). Believe me I let them know about more than my share of goof ups and shortcomings. It's important though that they see that there is no one on earth that they would want to put their faith in.
It truly makes us appreciate the fact that we have full faith and confidence in a GOd who never rests, who never fails us, and who is all powerful and all knowing. There is no weakness in God, no area of grey or any such thing when it comes to God and that is why we can have 100% full faith.
Believe me, outside of CHrist not one person has ever walked this earth that I could put full faith in. And believe you me, I have known some amazingly godly people in my day, not one of them is half of what I need to put my faith in.
So rest your faith in God, not in anything anyone has ever said, not on anyone you have ever met on this earth.
Thanks for reading and have a great day! Stay dry!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
He's no Wizard of Oz
I come from one of those families that valued the Wizard of Oz. I am sad to say I have family members who can quote the whole movie word for word. They have seen it so many times that they close their eyes and quote every part to it, and that is scary. But have you ever thought about the whole theme to it, the whole feeling and vibe that is put off.
Dorothy is swept far away from home by a tornado, she meets the scarecrow who needs a brain(met plenty of those,haha), she later meets the tin man who needs a heart and the Cowardly lion. They embark on this journey and each time Dorothy runs into someone with a major need she tells them about the Wizard of Oz and where she is headed. Each time the story gains more credibilty in human terms and she is more convincing. THey finally get to the Emerald City(is that what it is, not sure) and they attempt to get into the city but have problems. Then, when they meet the wizard they are freightened and begging almost as if they have no confidence in his abilities at all. Then, they realize that he's just a man and that they have had the things they needed for the most part all along.
Hebrews 10:19-21 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and lving way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest of the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart full of assurance of faith,.....
We should not be like the characters of the movie and walk with assurance and faith and then go to God without it. We should have full assurance of our faith and understand that is the key ingredient in our prayer lives and in our Christian walk. Faith is the substance that gives us confidence in our prayers and in all of our interactions with God. We can enter the Holy Place, on our own, no we don't need a priest to go in for us because as Christ's body was broken our entrance was made available by the tearing of the curtain.
We have an all access pass to God, the maker of all things, the sustainer and giver of life. We should approach Him with full faith and full of assurance, not with trembling and a lack of faith. Our faith outside of our prayer life is useless unless it is alive in our prayer life.
So go to God with full confidence, full faith and see your life changed both in your walk and in your devotion times with Him.
Thanks for reading and stay dry!
Dorothy is swept far away from home by a tornado, she meets the scarecrow who needs a brain(met plenty of those,haha), she later meets the tin man who needs a heart and the Cowardly lion. They embark on this journey and each time Dorothy runs into someone with a major need she tells them about the Wizard of Oz and where she is headed. Each time the story gains more credibilty in human terms and she is more convincing. THey finally get to the Emerald City(is that what it is, not sure) and they attempt to get into the city but have problems. Then, when they meet the wizard they are freightened and begging almost as if they have no confidence in his abilities at all. Then, they realize that he's just a man and that they have had the things they needed for the most part all along.
Hebrews 10:19-21 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and lving way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest of the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart full of assurance of faith,.....
We should not be like the characters of the movie and walk with assurance and faith and then go to God without it. We should have full assurance of our faith and understand that is the key ingredient in our prayer lives and in our Christian walk. Faith is the substance that gives us confidence in our prayers and in all of our interactions with God. We can enter the Holy Place, on our own, no we don't need a priest to go in for us because as Christ's body was broken our entrance was made available by the tearing of the curtain.
We have an all access pass to God, the maker of all things, the sustainer and giver of life. We should approach Him with full faith and full of assurance, not with trembling and a lack of faith. Our faith outside of our prayer life is useless unless it is alive in our prayer life.
So go to God with full confidence, full faith and see your life changed both in your walk and in your devotion times with Him.
Thanks for reading and stay dry!
Monday, May 18, 2009
A slave no more
Have you ever thought about the things that you were a slave to before you totally gave your all to Christ? Maybe you haven't done this yet so you are still in slavery to some things. I can remember things that I was enslaved to and they aren't going to be the types of things that you think of.
I was enslaved to sports. I was so eaten up with baseball as a teenager that it was all I ever did. I got up thinking about baseball, I sat in class thinking about baseball, I had practice or a game of some sort probably 75% of the time through out the year. If I didn't, I would think of some way to squeeze in some batting or throwing. I had a huge target built in the backyard, I had a dad who would come throw me batting practice after he got off work. I had it, and I was ate up with it.
Then, I got out of high school and I gave up baseball for the ministry. I decided I wanted to answer God's call on my life and become a minister. I began working with teenagers again and spending time trying to reach teens with the Gospel. Changing lives and being there for young people was my new gig. But that is what it was, just a gig. I began racing more, and soon I was so ate up with racing that every conversation had a chance of being turned into a racing conversation. I would work on my car during the week with my dad, work on my reaction times or study time cards during the week and try to prepare myself for the next weekend's race. I was good at it, I won several races, even made money racing one year(that is a rarity for anyone racing at our level).
You read this and you say, "Come on Jeff, none of that is slavery to sin." I beg to differ.
I was called into the ministry at an early age. I felt God's calling on my life as a young teen. BUt, I chose to worship baseball for a time. THen, after high school in my early college days I worshipped racing. I dare say I worshipped racing while I was doing ministry. BUt, it was half hearted ministry, and whole hearted racing. I came to this realization one day during a quiet time about 10 years ago. Right then and there I threw away sports and racing. I told God if I couldn't handle them correctly to never give me the desire to do them ever again, so that I wouldn't fall into the pit of idolatry that I had been in for so long.
Romans 6:19-22 "I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have becomes slaves to God, the benefit you reap is holiness, and the result is eternal life."
So I ask you now, was I living in sin? Was I a slave to sin? Yes, it wasn't impurity or drugs, or stealing or any such things. It was actually worse, it was idolatry. It was enslaving me, rather than being God's slave.
Today, I live as a slave to God. One who is in total and complete awareness of who and what I am to live for as well as who and what I am in debt to. I am in debt to a Savior, God's own Son who died on a cross for my sins.
Yes I still race, God gave it right back and has never threatened to take it away. It is what I do on Saturdays. I have less than 2-3 conversations about it a week when I am not at the track. God has rewarded me with racing. That is where I get away from the demands of ministry. Where I don't stress over how I am going to get more people through our doors, how I am going to get the church to grow, over how I am going to get the people we have to work hard with me to get this ship turned around. It's where I shut it out and enjoy myself, being alone with God in my race car and win or lose it's a blessing to have it back the way GOd intended it. As a recreational get away. I am not a slave to it, I am skipping races for family things, for graduations and weddings like I never would before.
So I ask you, what are you a slave to? Is it work, school, money, power, pride, what is it that is your idol? Give it to God and see Him give it new meaning as you become His slave.
Thanks for reading and have a great day.
I was enslaved to sports. I was so eaten up with baseball as a teenager that it was all I ever did. I got up thinking about baseball, I sat in class thinking about baseball, I had practice or a game of some sort probably 75% of the time through out the year. If I didn't, I would think of some way to squeeze in some batting or throwing. I had a huge target built in the backyard, I had a dad who would come throw me batting practice after he got off work. I had it, and I was ate up with it.
Then, I got out of high school and I gave up baseball for the ministry. I decided I wanted to answer God's call on my life and become a minister. I began working with teenagers again and spending time trying to reach teens with the Gospel. Changing lives and being there for young people was my new gig. But that is what it was, just a gig. I began racing more, and soon I was so ate up with racing that every conversation had a chance of being turned into a racing conversation. I would work on my car during the week with my dad, work on my reaction times or study time cards during the week and try to prepare myself for the next weekend's race. I was good at it, I won several races, even made money racing one year(that is a rarity for anyone racing at our level).
You read this and you say, "Come on Jeff, none of that is slavery to sin." I beg to differ.
I was called into the ministry at an early age. I felt God's calling on my life as a young teen. BUt, I chose to worship baseball for a time. THen, after high school in my early college days I worshipped racing. I dare say I worshipped racing while I was doing ministry. BUt, it was half hearted ministry, and whole hearted racing. I came to this realization one day during a quiet time about 10 years ago. Right then and there I threw away sports and racing. I told God if I couldn't handle them correctly to never give me the desire to do them ever again, so that I wouldn't fall into the pit of idolatry that I had been in for so long.
Romans 6:19-22 "I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have becomes slaves to God, the benefit you reap is holiness, and the result is eternal life."
So I ask you now, was I living in sin? Was I a slave to sin? Yes, it wasn't impurity or drugs, or stealing or any such things. It was actually worse, it was idolatry. It was enslaving me, rather than being God's slave.
Today, I live as a slave to God. One who is in total and complete awareness of who and what I am to live for as well as who and what I am in debt to. I am in debt to a Savior, God's own Son who died on a cross for my sins.
Yes I still race, God gave it right back and has never threatened to take it away. It is what I do on Saturdays. I have less than 2-3 conversations about it a week when I am not at the track. God has rewarded me with racing. That is where I get away from the demands of ministry. Where I don't stress over how I am going to get more people through our doors, how I am going to get the church to grow, over how I am going to get the people we have to work hard with me to get this ship turned around. It's where I shut it out and enjoy myself, being alone with God in my race car and win or lose it's a blessing to have it back the way GOd intended it. As a recreational get away. I am not a slave to it, I am skipping races for family things, for graduations and weddings like I never would before.
So I ask you, what are you a slave to? Is it work, school, money, power, pride, what is it that is your idol? Give it to God and see Him give it new meaning as you become His slave.
Thanks for reading and have a great day.
Friday, May 15, 2009
If we are the body
Casting Crowns is one of the bands that I prefer to listen to, not just because of their sound but because of their lyrics. They have so many songs that they have written with so much to offer in their lyrics. I enjoy tremendously the richness of the scripture that is found in their songs. You sing along(yes we all do it) with the radio and then later you figure out you were singing scripture, how awesome!
They did one song that may have been their first big hit called if we are the body.
I'll share the lyrics with you:
It's crowded in worship today
As she slips in
Trying to fade into the faces
The girls' teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know
CHORUS
But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
There is a way
A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat
And quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances tells him that his chances
Are better out on the road
CHORUS
But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the Body of Christ
Chorus (2x)
If we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
Jesus is the way
THey are referring to Ephesians 1:22-23 "And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything in the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way."
So here's the question: If we are the body of Christ, why aren't we reaching out to others? WWJD? He spoke to and with anyone he ever had an encounter with. More importantly, when you have encounters do people realize that you are part of the body?
Thanks for reading and have an awesome weekend!
They did one song that may have been their first big hit called if we are the body.
I'll share the lyrics with you:
It's crowded in worship today
As she slips in
Trying to fade into the faces
The girls' teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know
CHORUS
But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
There is a way
A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat
And quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances tells him that his chances
Are better out on the road
CHORUS
But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the Body of Christ
Chorus (2x)
If we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
Jesus is the way
THey are referring to Ephesians 1:22-23 "And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything in the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way."
So here's the question: If we are the body of Christ, why aren't we reaching out to others? WWJD? He spoke to and with anyone he ever had an encounter with. More importantly, when you have encounters do people realize that you are part of the body?
Thanks for reading and have an awesome weekend!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
God uses us ALL
So do you ever get tired of watching television and seeing people with power who should not have it? You see people in political settings, in work settings, in fame and fortune who use their pull seemingly for bad things. They are people who we don't think deserve to have that power, that fame or that fortune.
I for one am sick of seeing people say things and affect our young people in ways that shouldn't be just because they are famous, or have a microphone in front of them. They say things, they do things that show little or no morality and definitely no signs of knowing the Lord.
Sure we all know Romans 8:28 "For we know that all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord." Sure, we know that those people doing these things probably don't know or love the Lord. We know that they are doing things that will work out for the good of us who do love the Lord, we just don't understand it.
I read the book the Shack which is a pretty good read once you get through some of the rough parts(especially as a dad). In this book they explain that if you ask why things happen, you are in affect playing the role of God. And no one has the right to do that for sure.
I find comfort in this verse when I see these "leaders" taking people in the wrong direction. Proverbs 16:2-4 "All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. The Lord works out everything for his own ends-- even the wicked for a day of disaster.
That is all I need to know of those who are leading people astray. That God works things out to His ends, and He is in full control.
So feel confident that God is in control, He is working it out no matter how bad it seems, and He is in full control.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
I for one am sick of seeing people say things and affect our young people in ways that shouldn't be just because they are famous, or have a microphone in front of them. They say things, they do things that show little or no morality and definitely no signs of knowing the Lord.
Sure we all know Romans 8:28 "For we know that all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord." Sure, we know that those people doing these things probably don't know or love the Lord. We know that they are doing things that will work out for the good of us who do love the Lord, we just don't understand it.
I read the book the Shack which is a pretty good read once you get through some of the rough parts(especially as a dad). In this book they explain that if you ask why things happen, you are in affect playing the role of God. And no one has the right to do that for sure.
I find comfort in this verse when I see these "leaders" taking people in the wrong direction. Proverbs 16:2-4 "All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. The Lord works out everything for his own ends-- even the wicked for a day of disaster.
That is all I need to know of those who are leading people astray. That God works things out to His ends, and He is in full control.
So feel confident that God is in control, He is working it out no matter how bad it seems, and He is in full control.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Spiritual Adultery?
So most all of us understand what adultery is. We have a full understanding of what it means to commit adultery, to cheat on a spouse or have relations with someone other than your marriage partner. We see it all the time, and we know what devastation it can bring to those who are hurt most by it. BUt, what about spiritual adultery. Is there such a thing, I think so.
In the book of Hosea there are parrellels drawn as to how God's people had committed spiritual adultery much the same way Gomer had committed physical adultery against Hosea.
Here are the parrellels:
Both are against God's law. And when we break GOd's law in full awareness of what we are doing, our hearts become hardened to the sin and our relationship with God is broken.
Both physical and spiritual adultery begin with diverting affection from one object to another. THe feeling that God disappoints can lead us away from Him. Feelings of disappointment are normal, human emotions and will pass with time as long as you don't act on them.
Both forms of adultery involve a process of deterioration, it's usually not completely impulsive. Diverting our affection is the first step that leads us into both sins.
Both forms of adultery involve the creation of a fantasy about what a new object of love can do for us. Such fantasies create unrealistic expectations of what a new relationship can do and only lead to disappointments larger than those felt before.
So in the end, yes we can commit spiritual adultery. We can wrap our minds and actions around a new object of our affection. It can be any range of things that we idolize in the place of God. It's another form of idolatry that starts in the mind and then moves to the heart. We think that some thing, some new product, group or action can bring us more joy than God Himself and so we go down that path only to find ourselves in greater need for God.
Hosea 2:20 says, I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord.
THere you have it, GOd will always be faithful to those who are faithful to Him. He will always forgive those with the purest of intentions and repentant hearts. He is going to betroth you in faithfulness, that means it is gauranteed to us so long as we acknowledge Him as Lord. Our love, our affections are based on that promise from Him. As long as we focus on Him, and let all other things come in a distant second place we don't run the risk of commiting such a sin.
Thanks for reading, took the meds yesterday after waking up in pain and slept till 11:00. Feeling much better today, thanks for your prayers and concerns!
In the book of Hosea there are parrellels drawn as to how God's people had committed spiritual adultery much the same way Gomer had committed physical adultery against Hosea.
Here are the parrellels:
Both are against God's law. And when we break GOd's law in full awareness of what we are doing, our hearts become hardened to the sin and our relationship with God is broken.
Both physical and spiritual adultery begin with diverting affection from one object to another. THe feeling that God disappoints can lead us away from Him. Feelings of disappointment are normal, human emotions and will pass with time as long as you don't act on them.
Both forms of adultery involve a process of deterioration, it's usually not completely impulsive. Diverting our affection is the first step that leads us into both sins.
Both forms of adultery involve the creation of a fantasy about what a new object of love can do for us. Such fantasies create unrealistic expectations of what a new relationship can do and only lead to disappointments larger than those felt before.
So in the end, yes we can commit spiritual adultery. We can wrap our minds and actions around a new object of our affection. It can be any range of things that we idolize in the place of God. It's another form of idolatry that starts in the mind and then moves to the heart. We think that some thing, some new product, group or action can bring us more joy than God Himself and so we go down that path only to find ourselves in greater need for God.
Hosea 2:20 says, I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord.
THere you have it, GOd will always be faithful to those who are faithful to Him. He will always forgive those with the purest of intentions and repentant hearts. He is going to betroth you in faithfulness, that means it is gauranteed to us so long as we acknowledge Him as Lord. Our love, our affections are based on that promise from Him. As long as we focus on Him, and let all other things come in a distant second place we don't run the risk of commiting such a sin.
Thanks for reading, took the meds yesterday after waking up in pain and slept till 11:00. Feeling much better today, thanks for your prayers and concerns!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Importance of feet
So we did this project many years ago in youth. I found this worksheet in the curriculum we had at the church and it had a listing of all the body parts. On it, there was a price for each body part and some things were really expensive and others were quite affordable. As the students started buying parts, and piecing together their bodies it became quite apparent that a few parts wouldn't make it. There just wasn't enough money to spend to get all of the parts needed to complete a human body. So they had to leave out things, some left out a hand, some one ear, others a nose, or organs and so on. Many got scientific about it and left out parts that they know people have had removed and still lived. It was a fun exercise that we did to help them realize that the church was a body, and there were no unimportant parts.
Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion,"Your God reigns!"
Now there are a few things about this passage that jump out at me. First of all, I have seen a lot of attractive people, never did they have what I would call beautiful feet. Feet just aren't attractive, their big, kind of unproportioned looking and rarely are they even worth looking at. Every year we purchase Tara a manicure and pedicure for Mother's Day. A time for her to be able to sit back and be pampered, having her nails done, some type of stone treatment done on her feet, and a pedicure all in one. She gets it all done, and I realize it is more about the act of sitting there and being taken care of than the cosmetics of it. Rarely do I even notice how the pedicure turned out, that's just how we are.
The quicked route to beautiful feet is sharing the Gospel. When we share the Gospel we cover several areas of life. We bring good news to a world that is full of bad news. We bring peace into the lives of people who are troubled, we bring salvation to those who do not know the Lord, and we do it in a loving manner. In the bigger picture we bring hope and joy to people who may never know either one without GOd's saving grace.
So get yourself a pedicure, and show off your beautiful feet as you share GOd's truths with a world that is lost and dying.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion,"Your God reigns!"
Now there are a few things about this passage that jump out at me. First of all, I have seen a lot of attractive people, never did they have what I would call beautiful feet. Feet just aren't attractive, their big, kind of unproportioned looking and rarely are they even worth looking at. Every year we purchase Tara a manicure and pedicure for Mother's Day. A time for her to be able to sit back and be pampered, having her nails done, some type of stone treatment done on her feet, and a pedicure all in one. She gets it all done, and I realize it is more about the act of sitting there and being taken care of than the cosmetics of it. Rarely do I even notice how the pedicure turned out, that's just how we are.
The quicked route to beautiful feet is sharing the Gospel. When we share the Gospel we cover several areas of life. We bring good news to a world that is full of bad news. We bring peace into the lives of people who are troubled, we bring salvation to those who do not know the Lord, and we do it in a loving manner. In the bigger picture we bring hope and joy to people who may never know either one without GOd's saving grace.
So get yourself a pedicure, and show off your beautiful feet as you share GOd's truths with a world that is lost and dying.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Friday, May 08, 2009
Available
THere are so many attributes of GOd that just blow my mind. THere are so many that we take for granted, and so many that we give little or no thought to. The first big one for me is that He is all knowing. The fact that He knows everyone's thoughts, everyone's feelings all at one time, that is a mind blower. Let's be honest, I can't remember what I was thinking about 5 minutes ago on the way to the office.
He's everywhere, that's right He is everywhere all at one time. He is listening to a prayer somewhere in China, meanwhile a service is startin in Australia, and meanwhile a men's prayer breakfast is going on at the same time right here in downtown St. Augustine. He's right there empowering each of those situations all at one time, all with equal power.
But have you ever taken the time to think about how available He is to you. You don't have a schedule of when to pray, set hours to call between, you just shut your eyes(or leave them opened if you are driving) and start talking to your Creator. That is such awesome news and I will tell you why.
First, I really need a haircut. I am startin to look a little bit raggedy so I will call the lady who cuts my hair today and see when she can squeeze me in. I went to her one time and she was noticably upset and shaken. She had been crying it appeared, so I went in sat down and she washed my hair and then started talking to me while she cut my hair. I simply smiled or made eye contact(scared to knod) as the conversation went on so she would know I was actively engaged in her words. She told me about 2 different situations she was burdened about, both equally heavy on her heart and on her mind. When the haircut was over, she smiled and thanked me for all I had done. What had I done, listened, gave her heartache and feelings validation.
Secondly, last night we experienced some internet issues on our laptop. For whatever reason we could not sign in to MSN. It wouldn't let us do anything, so Tara couldn't check her email, or let's be honest look at her Facebook. We called MSN about the problem to try to get it resolved. I called 4 times inside of about 30 minutes and she tried several times. THe first time was disheartening to say the least. I gave my name, zip code, the error message that was appearing, the problem all to an automated voice. THen it asked for billing info, street address, and so on. I gave all this info and then a voice comes on and says, due to call volume your call cannot be completed at this time, please try back again.
There is nothing worse than having a problem, it's even worse when you can't even talk to someone about it. And it's even worse to go through all the motions, get all set to talk to a techmician and boom, you're told they are too busy.
What if GOd did that just once in your life? Would He be the same to you? I think not, but we take that for granted.
Spend some time today thanking God for the fact that He is there, and waiting to hear from us. Most importantly he is never too busy to listen to our cares and our concerns.
Thanks for reading and have an awesome weekend!
He's everywhere, that's right He is everywhere all at one time. He is listening to a prayer somewhere in China, meanwhile a service is startin in Australia, and meanwhile a men's prayer breakfast is going on at the same time right here in downtown St. Augustine. He's right there empowering each of those situations all at one time, all with equal power.
But have you ever taken the time to think about how available He is to you. You don't have a schedule of when to pray, set hours to call between, you just shut your eyes(or leave them opened if you are driving) and start talking to your Creator. That is such awesome news and I will tell you why.
First, I really need a haircut. I am startin to look a little bit raggedy so I will call the lady who cuts my hair today and see when she can squeeze me in. I went to her one time and she was noticably upset and shaken. She had been crying it appeared, so I went in sat down and she washed my hair and then started talking to me while she cut my hair. I simply smiled or made eye contact(scared to knod) as the conversation went on so she would know I was actively engaged in her words. She told me about 2 different situations she was burdened about, both equally heavy on her heart and on her mind. When the haircut was over, she smiled and thanked me for all I had done. What had I done, listened, gave her heartache and feelings validation.
Secondly, last night we experienced some internet issues on our laptop. For whatever reason we could not sign in to MSN. It wouldn't let us do anything, so Tara couldn't check her email, or let's be honest look at her Facebook. We called MSN about the problem to try to get it resolved. I called 4 times inside of about 30 minutes and she tried several times. THe first time was disheartening to say the least. I gave my name, zip code, the error message that was appearing, the problem all to an automated voice. THen it asked for billing info, street address, and so on. I gave all this info and then a voice comes on and says, due to call volume your call cannot be completed at this time, please try back again.
There is nothing worse than having a problem, it's even worse when you can't even talk to someone about it. And it's even worse to go through all the motions, get all set to talk to a techmician and boom, you're told they are too busy.
What if GOd did that just once in your life? Would He be the same to you? I think not, but we take that for granted.
Spend some time today thanking God for the fact that He is there, and waiting to hear from us. Most importantly he is never too busy to listen to our cares and our concerns.
Thanks for reading and have an awesome weekend!
Thursday, May 07, 2009
National Day of Prayer
I was contacted last night and asked to lead a group at an elementary school in prayer. Today is national day of prayer and I was obviously excited about that opportunity. While a lot of pastors are gathered together praying, and a lot of pastors are praying with our leaders in this great city, I would much rather be in the trenches. Praying with an assistant principle, over a dozen teachers and a librarian. What better way to kick off my day than with a group of people where I want to take the Gospel praying. My heartbeat is for our schools and that is where you will find me with each and every opportunity I find. I think St. Johns County is blessed to have as many CHristian administrators and coaches as we do, as well as a God loving superintindent. From the top to the bottom and everywhere in between I am privledged to know such great warriors for Christ.
God's word tells us that where two or more are gathered, there He will be also. That is comforting and a blessing all wrapped up in one. How awesome to know that the creator of all things, the Father of our Savior, is waiting in an elementary school library for a group of teachers to come to Him in prayer. So I would challenge you today, and on into the future to pick out other believers in your workplace and pray. Invite God into your day, and into your workplace and see what amazing things He will do.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
God's word tells us that where two or more are gathered, there He will be also. That is comforting and a blessing all wrapped up in one. How awesome to know that the creator of all things, the Father of our Savior, is waiting in an elementary school library for a group of teachers to come to Him in prayer. So I would challenge you today, and on into the future to pick out other believers in your workplace and pray. Invite God into your day, and into your workplace and see what amazing things He will do.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
renew your mind
I have a few things that I like to say to our young softball players as they go on deck to get ready to hit. I feel that softball, like baseball, is mostly mental. If you put things in the simplest of terms you are asked to play catch which most all kids can do. You are asked to hit a ball with a stick, and they have to at some point throw the ball where you can hit it. It's as simple as that, but we make it much harder don't we. We over analyze, over think and then burn ourselves out to the point of not being able to do the things we need to. Well, we treat life the same way. Major on the major, minor on the minor. Keep the main thing the main thing and so on. We hear it, but we seldom do it. THe chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy fellowship with Him forever. Are we focusing on that, when we don't focus on that what do we do to recapture it? When we get worldly minded how do we change that?
Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
I find myself reading my BIble in the middle of the day sometimes. I read "My utmost for HIs highest" before I go to lunch at the schools, or before I speak somewhere for the Betty Griffin House. I do all of this to renew my mind. It starts off fresh and sharp, but as the day goes by sometimes it fades. I start to conform, and even get grumpy at times(I know hard to believe).
It's very important that we pick out a few different times during the day to renew our minds. We can't just pray in the morning, and before we go to bed and expect to keep God's perspective throughout our days. It's very important that we renew our minds and do it regularly. It's not all that different from a batter getting ready to step out onto the batter's box to face a pitcher. THey have to re-focus their mind, get ready physically and mentally. They do it each time they bat, not just the first time and take the next few times off. We should face life with the same plan, renewing our focus on God a few times through out the day. THings will get much easier then.
Thanks for reading and have a great day.
Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
I find myself reading my BIble in the middle of the day sometimes. I read "My utmost for HIs highest" before I go to lunch at the schools, or before I speak somewhere for the Betty Griffin House. I do all of this to renew my mind. It starts off fresh and sharp, but as the day goes by sometimes it fades. I start to conform, and even get grumpy at times(I know hard to believe).
It's very important that we pick out a few different times during the day to renew our minds. We can't just pray in the morning, and before we go to bed and expect to keep God's perspective throughout our days. It's very important that we renew our minds and do it regularly. It's not all that different from a batter getting ready to step out onto the batter's box to face a pitcher. THey have to re-focus their mind, get ready physically and mentally. They do it each time they bat, not just the first time and take the next few times off. We should face life with the same plan, renewing our focus on God a few times through out the day. THings will get much easier then.
Thanks for reading and have a great day.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Recruiting
So now in this day and time we can turn on ESPN or go to ESPN.com and find out just about anything we want to about any sport. One of the neat things that are readily available that wasn't when I was younger(besides the internet) is the ability to see player rankings. You can even see how highschool athletes stack up against their peers from all over the states. You can see who the top 100 recruits are in almost any sport. They base it on size, speed and IQ. Not the regular IQ like we do but for baseball it would be baseball IQ, for football it would be football IQ and so on. They use these determining factors, but still the recruiters like to come to the games and see them in action. They like to get to know them, and experience them in person as much as possible.
They do that for 2 reasons, first of all its to show interest in the player and insure their ability to sign them, second and more importantly it's to see a little more work ethic and heart. Coaches and scouts have to evaluate whether that player who is a star in highschool will work hard enough, and be disciplined enough to become and elite player at the next level. They don't want someone with GOd given talent that does nothing to better themselves or the team. They want devoted hard working individuals. Heart can be the difference in who they sign, if the number 10 player has more heart than the number 4 player then that is who they will lean towards.
Just as a recruiter sees the heart, so a pastor and church must also. We can't just thrust someone into a leadership role if they don't have the heart for it. They may be talented and may be exciting but if their heart isn't in it, and there's no passion then they will do more damage than good. You would think at this stage at Freedom we would be desparate for anyone to do anything, an able body to fill the role will do just fine. But that is not the case. We are about to start the first phase of growth at the end of this summer and that means we need dedicated, hard working people passionate about others learning about Christ. Whether they want to pray daily for the works of the church, come to work days or lead children's church and the nursery.
1 Samuel 16:7
But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
God saw Samuel in the selection process and He could see that Samuel was looking at the outward appearance and the strengths. God told him not to look for man's qualities, but for God's . God sees through to the heart, and we need to ask Him to guide us as we build His church at Freedom. We need His vision and not our rose colored glasses.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
They do that for 2 reasons, first of all its to show interest in the player and insure their ability to sign them, second and more importantly it's to see a little more work ethic and heart. Coaches and scouts have to evaluate whether that player who is a star in highschool will work hard enough, and be disciplined enough to become and elite player at the next level. They don't want someone with GOd given talent that does nothing to better themselves or the team. They want devoted hard working individuals. Heart can be the difference in who they sign, if the number 10 player has more heart than the number 4 player then that is who they will lean towards.
Just as a recruiter sees the heart, so a pastor and church must also. We can't just thrust someone into a leadership role if they don't have the heart for it. They may be talented and may be exciting but if their heart isn't in it, and there's no passion then they will do more damage than good. You would think at this stage at Freedom we would be desparate for anyone to do anything, an able body to fill the role will do just fine. But that is not the case. We are about to start the first phase of growth at the end of this summer and that means we need dedicated, hard working people passionate about others learning about Christ. Whether they want to pray daily for the works of the church, come to work days or lead children's church and the nursery.
1 Samuel 16:7
But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
God saw Samuel in the selection process and He could see that Samuel was looking at the outward appearance and the strengths. God told him not to look for man's qualities, but for God's . God sees through to the heart, and we need to ask Him to guide us as we build His church at Freedom. We need His vision and not our rose colored glasses.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Monday, May 04, 2009
a wrong view of Christianity
I run into interesting characters in my line of work with the Betty Griffin House. And, I must admit I struggle with the different views of people in this field of work, even those claiming to be Christians. They see so much and view so many things so far apart from the way I believe God intends.
Several of them have debated that Christianity was just created to make us feel less good about ourselves. To take the fun out of life and to make people carry around extra guilt. I can see where without much interaction with the Bible, without any knowledge of Christ and His life you could make that mistake. But I still don't permit it.
John 3:17 says, For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
Now, I know that anyone who has attended church for any amount of time has read and probably memorized John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life.
But, how many times have we read on and comprehended the next verse. The verse that tells us why Christ was indeed sent. Not to condemn us, not to bring shame to us, not to make us feel less good in our sinful nature. But simply put, He came to save us. That is all we really need to know about Him, that He came to save us from our sins and from Hell itself.
So don't let the perfect life of Christ discourage you, and certainly don't let others tell you that being a Christian is a drag. I promise you I have more fun than any non-Christian doing all the wrong things they may be involved in.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Several of them have debated that Christianity was just created to make us feel less good about ourselves. To take the fun out of life and to make people carry around extra guilt. I can see where without much interaction with the Bible, without any knowledge of Christ and His life you could make that mistake. But I still don't permit it.
John 3:17 says, For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
Now, I know that anyone who has attended church for any amount of time has read and probably memorized John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life.
But, how many times have we read on and comprehended the next verse. The verse that tells us why Christ was indeed sent. Not to condemn us, not to bring shame to us, not to make us feel less good in our sinful nature. But simply put, He came to save us. That is all we really need to know about Him, that He came to save us from our sins and from Hell itself.
So don't let the perfect life of Christ discourage you, and certainly don't let others tell you that being a Christian is a drag. I promise you I have more fun than any non-Christian doing all the wrong things they may be involved in.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
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