Family Time

With the holiday season upon on, we are probably going to spend some time with our family. Spending time with my family has got my mind pondering my faith family also. My faith or church family has become very important to me over the last few months and I have discovered that sometimes my faith family is even closer and more important to me than my real family. The New Testament is full of commands and words for the faith family. Jesus and the New Testament writers tell the members of the church to act and do many things for the other members of the church. These commands are sometimes called the "one another" passages. I want to take a look at some of these commands to remind myself as family times happen during this season there is also actions I need to be doing for my faith family.

care for one another- 1 Cor. 10:16
love one another- John 13:34-35
host one another-1 Peter 4:9
receive one another- Romans 15:7
honor one another-Romans 12:10
serve one another-Gal. 5:13
instruct one another- Romans 15:14
forgive one another-Col. 3:13
motivate one another- Hebrews 10:24
build up one another- 1 Thes. 5:13
encourage one another- 1 Thes. 5:11
comfort one another- 2 Cor. 1:3-7
pray for one another- James 5:16
confess sin to one another- James 5:16
esteem one another- Philippians 2:3
edify one another- Romans 14:19
teach one another- Col. 3:16
show kindness to one another- Eph. 4:32
give to one another- Acts 2:45
rejoice with one another- 1 Cor. 12:27
weep with one another- Romans 12:15
hurt with one another- Romans 12:15
restore one another- Galatians 6:1-5

Listing all of these commands out in a list has made me realize I have a long way to go until I am truly fulfilling my duty and role in my faith family. I pray that as we spend time with our family and our faith family during this coming time of celebration of Jesus' birth, that we will remember the importance of our actions to one another as a faith family.

Thanksgiving: Leftovers

Psalms 118:21 "I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation."

I pray everyone had a blessed thanksgiving holiday yesterday and that we were all able to reflect and be thankful for the amazing God who loves us and lets us know He loves us. As I was pondering the holiday yesterday and then the fact Christmas is now less than 4 weeks away I started to think about the correlation between thanksgiving and hope.

I shared a few days ago about what the focus of our thanksgiving should be. I believe that most Jesus lovers are very thankful people. Those of us who love Jesus truly are thankful for the ways He loves us. We are thankful for the blessings and gifts that God gives us, like our friends, family, material blessings, and spiritual blessings. We are truly a thankful people for how God showers acts of grace on us, His children. But has I pointed out in that post, we tend to miss a lot of the time that it is God that we should be thankful for. Yes, be thankful for the things He give us, but it should be focused primarily on who God is. Be thankful for the fact of God as the creator, sustainer, and Being we can have as a Father. To truly be thankful to God we must enjoy and bask in who God is and all that means. Be thankful for the blessings but more importantly be thankful for GOD and JESUS.

As, I was pondering the Christmas season coming up I began to think about hope also I am finding out in my life and the life of other Jesus lovers, we can fall into the trap of hope and the focus of hope the same way as thanksgiving. What should we hope in? I find in my life sometimes I am hoping in what God can do for me. I am hoping in the fact God can provide me with a better financial state, or a position in the ministry, or even little things like a better car. But when I am hoping in what God can do or change for me I miss the point. Yes, when I pray I should hope in what I am praying for and hope in God doing something for me, but I should be hoping in God. When I hope in God I should hope in who God is with all His attributes and qualities. I should hope in God and His love for me, His power to help me grow, His provisions for me, His answers for me. I should be hoping in all that God is and let Him do for me and my prayers what He desires. I find if I hope in what God can do, what happens when He sees it differently and acts differently then my hope? Hope in God so that my hope will never change or be crushed.

I find a connection here between my thanksgiving and my hope. Yes, it is good to be thankful and hope in what God can do, BUT WE NEED TO TRULY JUST BE THANKFUL AND HOPEFUL IN WHO GOD IS FOR US. That is a lesson and reminder that I need to preach to myself daily because then in all that God allows this life to throw at me, I will always be thankful for everything and hopeful in all of life.

I pray as we approach Christmas, our hope in God and in the power of His Son will grow.

Thanksgiving: Results

Colossians 2:6-7 "So then, just as you received Jesus Christ as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness".

So I have often wondered, in a somewhat sinful way, how can I recognize a thankful person? How do I know if someone is thankful for what they have or not? As I ponder these questions, I think the real question that I am asking is, what is the result of thanksgiving in a person's life?

I think there are many ways a thankful person can reveal himself or herself to others. But I would like to focus on 2 important ways that a lover of Jesus will show others they are thankful in their heart. I want to highlight 2 results of thankfulness.

The first result that thankfulness brings into the life of a person is joy. Someone who is truly thankful for blessings from God, whether it is people or stuff, is the person finding great joy in what they have. If I am truly a joyful person, even if I have very little, I am thankful for it and find joy in every circumstance or gift given. A thankful person realizes that God is the great giver of gifts, starting with His Son, and they will find joy in everything that their Heavenly Father and loving Lord does and gives. Joy in a thankful person will emulate everywhere if they are thankful.

The second result of a person being thankful is generosity flowing from them. A person who truly is thankful for what they do have wants to share those gifts and blessing with others. They want to share with others next to them that might not have as much blessing and gifts A thankful person is also always looking to pour into others around them and shower them with the great blessings and gifts they have been given and ultimately share the thankful spirit with them. The flow of a generous spirit is always started at the fountain of thankfulness.

Both of theses results are also a great way to check the thankfulness level in our hearts. If we are struggling in the joy factor and are not feeling generous to others maybe we should start to be more thankful deep from within and let that thankfulness flow out for others to see in our joy and generosity.

Thanksgiving: Focus

Hebrews 12:28 " Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, "

When we truly stop and think for just a few moments we have a ton of things to be thankful for.
We can be thankful for our health; whether we have come through a trial this year, have not had any health problems this year, or are feeling good right now even as a health struggle is going on.
We can be thankful for the relationships in our lives; like a great friend that encourages and strengthens us, or a child that might bring us great joy, or even a spouse that loves us even in our worst moments.
We can be thankful for the material stuff in our lives; like a warm dry house, or a car that can take us places, or even a refrigerator that keeps the milk cold and the ice cream frozen.
We could be thankful for the job that drives us nuts sometimes.
We could be thankful for the church family the showers blessings on us.
We could be thankful for our freedom and the privilege it is to live in this time and place.
We can even be thankful for the small things in life; like I am thankful for the 90 I just received on the past essay test I took.
We have a lot to be thankful for and it might only take a few moments of thinking to come up with a dozen or more.

But what should be the true focus of our thanksgiving? God and God alone.

Who gave me the 90 on that test, or gave me the great friends, wife and kids? Who provided the job and gave me the house and car? Who's money is it that bought the tv or food I just ate? Who ultimately is providing the turkey and deep fryer to cook it in for Thanksgiving? God and God alone. Every blessing I have is given by God and He is the source for all I have. Yes, be thankful for people and things but God should be where the thanksgiving starts, stops, and always be.

So this Thursday as we are thankful for a ton of thinks and people, remember that God should be the focus of all the thanks we give because without Him and more importantly Jesus death, we have no reason to be thankful for anything.

Thanksgiving: Purpose

Colossians 3:15 "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Being thankful is a command in the Bible so over the next few days leading up to Thursday I want to reflect on a few things about thanksgiving and the spirit of being thankful. Tonight I want to focus on the purpose of thanksgiving and why the reason behind it is so important.

There are many reasons behind the idea of thanksgiving. There are many factors that can contribute to it and quiet a few purposes to the reasons we are commanded to be thankful. Being thankful will create a joyful people, it will stir in our hearts a love for God and others around us. But one of the biggest reasons for the command to be thankful is the perspective it brings.

When we are thankful for life, others, blessings, and the many great things we have, it will keep us in the right perspective. When I am thankful for the blessings from God it keeps me humble to realize what He does for me and what I could never do for myself. When I am thankful for friends and the joy I find in them, it keeps me in the right frame of mind where I cherish them and do not feel arrogant towards them. When I am thankful for family (especially my beautiful better half) it keeps my mind focused on their needs and my perspective is set on them and not on my own life. When I am thankful for my health and the amazing life I have in this country, it keeps me in awe of the greatness of others in medicine or those who gave me my freedom.

What I believe is the correct perspective for thanksgiving is humility. To truly be thankful first we must be humble, it is a prerequisite. I find this to be true in my life. When I am arrogant, prideful, and focused on my own stuff, I am never thankful. But when I am stripped down and humbled, then and only then am I truly thankful for everything. When I am humbled to the point where I ask, "Why not me" then I find I can be truly thankful for the blessings that I do have. The less I have the more I seem thankful for what I do have. I have truly discovered that humility leads to truly being thankful.

So the purpose and command for being thankful is to drive us to our knees and be humble. Next time we find it hard to be thankful, first check the level of humility in our lives.

Worry

Today in my ABF class I lead a discussion on the topic of worry. Here is a few of the thoughts I had this week about worry, how it can show itself, and what it can lead to.

We tend to worry about things in life because we are ignorant of who God is and the promises He has given us of His love and complete control over out lives. We need to respond to worry by studying the Bible.

When we worry it is a control issue. We want to be able to fix what is going on in our lives and control the circumstances that are happening to and around us. This is a selfish and a form of Idolatry in our lives. Instead we need to worship God by giving Him back the thrown of our lives and living in faith of Him, which will then result in us loving others first and desiring to serve those around us facing bad circumstances.

Worry is another form of being anxious and instead of it we need to be at peace with what God is doing.

We tend to worry sometimes because of our guilt about something, so instead of worrying we need to repent and turn it over to God.

We worry sometimes because of immoderation. We love this world to much and the things in it, which in turn can kill our joy if we are in bondage to this life and the worry it can bring.  So we should be generous with everything realizing that everything we have is God's and the only place to find joy is in the Lord. We should also kill our affections for this world and only focus them on God.

Worry can also happen when we worry about future blessings and passions for God. We instead of worrying about God's gifts we need to shout, I Trust God!

Worry can lead to confusion and deception in our lives, it can be a distraction to our mission. Worry leaves us vulnerable to other sins we could commit and ultimately worry makes us cowardice. So in response to worry we need to set our minds on and commit our lives to God. We need to be prepared and know God never said this life would be easy and with courage we need to keep remembering God's provisions in the past for us.

Satan leads us to worry because it can cause us crippling fear. So instead of worrying pray to Jesus.

Worry in the base form is an act of unbelief. So believe that Jesus loves us and does everything for our good.

Worry is finally a sin. So instead of sinning, do like Jesus commanded in Matthew 6:33-34 and Seek first the kingdom of God. 

As I close my thought on worry for now, my Pastor in this morning sermon taught us on worry from Luke 12 and I want to share the poem he used to illustrate why we should not worry. This taken from verse 12:24.

Said the Raven to the Sparrow,
“I should really like to know
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so.”

Said the Sparrow to the Raven,
“Friend, I think that it must be
They have no Heavenly Father,
Such as cares for you and me."

Trust

I had someone give me a great analogy today and I wanted to share it with all.

Trust is like a savings account. In order to receive trust from others we must slowly and continually make a deposit in the trust account. After making many deposits the trust level that others have in us will build;d up. But it will only take one action we do and others will lose all that trust we had build up. 1 mistake or action in destroying the trust others have in us will take away years of many small deposits we put in the account.

Here this today made me stop and think about how many times I have done things that have depleted my trust account and how I should be continually makeing deposits in others lives because I am not perfect and will make that mistake again and deplete my account.

Withholding Scripture from the Pew

Here is a question that I was asked to respond to in my Church History class and I thought some of you that might read this might find the question and then my response enlightening. 

Question
 I am looking for whether or not you see any validity in the argument of the Roman Catholic Church in its withholding Scripture from the laity in order to preserve the Sanctity of Scripture. Do you see any places in your reading of church history which show that allowing people access to Scripture is detrimental to the body of Christ? Or was this simply a power game by the Roman Catholic Church?

Answer
I do not honestly see any good that will come from the Church withholding Scripture from the Pew. I understand that the parishioner on average do not understand the depth and width of what is said in the Bible but even the newest or youngest person can understand something from the Bible. I believe that a simple plan of Salvation and a life of a Christian could be understood from a simple reading of the Bible.  The Romans road or the Gospel of John as a whole is good examples of this.

I do believe that withholding the Bible from the pew is in part a power game but not totally. Yes, if the leadership in the Church is the only ones who know the Bible and what it says, then it keeps them holding the keys so to speak. If the Pope and other Church clergy are the only ones that understand what the Bible is about then it keeps them in the spotlight and it will have the people coming to them for understanding. This part is defiantly a power game and is what I believed is designed to keep leadership intact and pure from corruption. I also believe that tradition has a lot to do with this outside, of the power and position issue. I find that the Catholic and Orthodox Church sticks close to church tradition. So what the church did in the past that worked then is to be done even today. This I think plays a factor in keeping the Bible out of the pew and withholding it from the average person.

I can understand why the Catholic Church does this and I can see some of their arguments for their position. The normal average person in the pew could do great injustice and bad interpretation of what the Bible says. Yes, some passage are easy to understand and easy to interpret and even apply to life. But there are also hard passages of Scripture, parts that are deep in meaning or parts that are wide in certain applications, to understand and a lot of Scripture passages that could be misinterpreted. I honestly do not know enough of Church history to give good concrete examples of this happening in a large scale but I believe this happened and is still happening today. Without the knowledge, education, and wisdom that leadership and Pastors could bring the Bible could be used very badly and even heretically by people in the church.

That is why God calls certain men and women into ministry, to equip others to a better understanding of God and His word. Rather than withholding the Bible from the people saying it is their fault that they do not have or could understand the Bible, put the blame on the leaders for not equipping their people to truly understanding the Bible and what it says. This is a great argument for why I believe expositional preaching is a must in the church. Tear open the Bible and show the average people in the pew that the Bible is deep and wide and our God is amazingly beautiful in His creative word, rather than withholding the Bible from them.  Show them what it says on their laps rather than keeping the Bible off their laps.

I am a Heretic

Yesterday I started my blog out with this opening paragraph.

" I was listening to a lecture for my Church History class last night. The Professor stated something that has stuck with me all day and I think has made a huge impression on my life for years to come. He stated, "heresy is anything that stands in the way of salvation" Wow, this sentence hit me hard. I had to go back and play it a few times just to make sure I heard what he was saying. I truly believe there is nothing wrong with his statement. And it should hit us as lovers of Jesus hard. "

Tonight I want to explore 2 more areas I believe that I am a heretic in the way I stand in front of the work of the Gospel.

The third area I believe I am a heretic is in my relationship with others in Jesus' church. We as members of Jesus Church are called to love one another. This is a command in the Bible because there are 36 different verses alone in the New Testament that deal with the "one another" relationship in the family of God. The world is watching the church too. The world is waiting for the "hypocrites" to fall victim to sin and defame the name of Jesus by their actions. And I fall continually into the camp of a Christian and lover of Jesus who does not always act like my Savior. I sin and I definitely sin against my fellow children of God. When I sin against my brothers and sisters in Christ it hurts the gospel the most. When the church does not love one another or care for one another or are generous to one another, the world sees. That stops the work of the Gospel in the lives of others. Hurting our cause when we stab each other in the church or fight over small details is a huge barrier for the Gospel to climb. And I fall victim to this camp a lot of the time. I do not care for my brothers in the Lord, I do not always show them mercy and grace like God has shown me. I fall victim to this heretical act a lot. 

The fourth area I am a heretic is in my own life and the power of transformation. God is continually calling for His children to grow and be changed more and more into the image of His son. If I truly claim to love Jesus with all my heart, soul, and mind, I should truly become more and more like Him and less and less like the world. But when I refuse to change and grow because I like how I am, I am standing in the way of the Gospel at work in my life and I am a heretic. The Gospel is supposed to change me and make me grow as the Holy Spirit works it deep into the dark parts of my life. But if I fight the Spirit and do not respond to His conviction I am ultimately rejecting the Gospel and am a heretic. The gospel is designed to change and grow me more into the image of Jesus so that the world can see Jesus through me. The world should be seeing the change that the Spirit is doing in my life and desire through seeing that growth to first praise God and second desire to experience that change also. But when I refuse change and do not respond to the conviction of the Spirit it hurts the power of the Gospel. I need to let the Spirit transform me so that I stop being a heretic and be more like my Savior. 

I hate thinking of myself as a heretic but I have discovered that I am a lot of the time. When I sin openly and purposefully against the world, when I do not do something Christ glorifying when I should, when I hurt my fellow believer, and when I reject transformation by the Spirit; I am a Heretic. This has changed my view a lot because I do not want to be a heretic or called one.

Heresy

I was listening to a lecture for my Church History class last night. The Professor stated something that has stuck with me all day and I think has made a huge impression on my life for years to come. He stated, "heresy is anything that stands in the way of salvation" Wow, this sentence hit me hard. I had to go back and play it a few times just to make sure I heard what he was saying. I truly believe there is nothing wrong with his statement. And it should hit us as lovers of Jesus hard. 

Here is the Webster’s definition of heresy: An opinion or a doctrine at variance with established religious beliefs, especially dissension from or denial of Roman Catholic dogma by a professed believer or baptized church member.

Here is the definition that I have come up with thanks to my professor. Hersey is anything done or said that gets in the way of the Gospel. In this definition the gospel is the good news of what God through Jesus as done for humans.

Now I will be the first person in the line that says I am not a heretic. But wait for a minute, if a heretic or someone who spreads heresy is someone who stands in the way of the Gospel or the act of Salvation, I need to jump to the front of the line that yells, YES I AM A HERETIC. There I said it and I would hope that after I explain myself others would be willing to admit that they too are heretics sometimes.

So if a heretic or heresy spreader is someone who stands in the way of the Gospel here is a few times or a few ways that I would be included in that group. First, I am a heretic when others who do not know the Gospel do not see it in me and in fact see the opposite in me. There are times in my life when I do not act like Jesus at all. I in fact hurt Jesus by acting negatively and sinful towards others who need to know Jesus. I lie, boast, say arrogant things, say hurtful things, steal with my time, and do other sinful acts in my life around others that do not know Jesus. When I do these acts of sin I am a heretic because I am standing in the way of the Gospel reaching their heart and instead helping to close their heart to the Gospel.

Second, I am a heretic and stand in the way of the Gospel when I do not do something I know I should. There are times in my life when I know what the right thing to do is, or when I know the right and honoring thing to say is but I do not do it. When I do not love my neighbor, when I am not honest and hide the truth, when I do not extend grace and mercy to others in my life and the list could go on, I am a heretic. When I commit sins because I am not doing what is right I am a heretic. I am not necessarily committing a sin on purpose but none the less I am a heretic for standing in the way of the Gospel showing the power in should be bringing in me. 

Now I know this seems very harsh or the use of the wording of heretic is not right. But think about it, the mission that Jesus gave His church and His lovers was to spread His fame, glory, and good news to the whole world. When we as lovers of Jesus are not doing His commands and instead are standing in others way that is as bad as it gets, that is heretical. That should be harsh and give lovers of Jesus great pain. It is heresy to stand in the way of the power and love of Jesus to reach others. 

Tomorrow I will explore 2 more areas and ways that make me a heretic or spreader of heresy. Even now as I type this it still gives me chills down my spine. Lord, please pull this heretic out of me. 

Proverbs 2:1-5 Revisted

Last night for your reading pleasure I posted Proverbs 2:1-5 as my blog post. I believe that posting that verse alone could speak volumes in and of itself. I have been looking and meditating over those verse for a few days now as I have been thinking about the transformation we all are called to as lovers of Jesus. I believe a large number of verses in the Bible could point to the fact we as lovers of Jesus are called to a transformation not just in our life when we decide to start chasing after Jesus but also a daily transformation as we desire to look more and more like our Savior and less and less like the world. I think Proverbs 2:1-5 can help lead us in that daily transformation, so here are a few of the thoughts I have had over the last few days as the Spirit of God illuminates the text in my heart.

#1- I find it interesting that both the ear and the heart need to be attentive to wisdom and understanding from God. What this is telling me is that a life of love and desire for Jesus that is transforming is not a half way project. We must put our entire being, both the mind and the passions, into the life of growth. If anything we do is only done half way and with 50% effort it never is complete and looks awful. That means in order to experience full and true growth in Christ, we need 100% of ourselves in the process. We need to give our ears to listening to God and our hearts into the full change that is called for. Putting full effort into growth then will lead to the treasure aspects mentioned in verse 1. We can only truly find that great and perfect treasure in God when we put everything into it.

#2- The 4 verbs mentioned in verses 3 and 4 show me that there is a human responsibility to change. We can not just sit back and wait for God to grow and mature us, we need to get off our laurels and do something. The 4 verbs mentioned are calling, raising, seeking, and searching. We are commanded to call out to God for insight and raise our voice for understanding. This means only God has the answers to what we need and not the world. Where do we turn when we need help in what to do, God or the world? These verses say we need to turn first and only to God for the knowledge in the way of life that loves Jesus. After we call out we are to seek for and search it out. This shows God is not merely going to put the answers right on our lap but we are to seek and find what He is telling us. We are to search out for the answers from God like we would search out a treasure.

#3- I love the phrase "fear of the Lord". Do we really fear God? I will someday explore the concept of fearing the Lord, but for now it brings a few things to mind. First, Jesus is called a lion in the Bible. We fear the power and furious nature of the lion, do we fear God in the same way as we fear a lion? Second, God is the Creator if of all things. God at any moment has the power to wipe out His creation, like a potter could destroy his clay. Do we fear God in the fact He could kill us in any moment? Third, God is all powerful, which means He controls all the actions that happen in our lives. Do we truly live in fear with God because He is the only person that has total control over everything we deal with?

Proverbs 2:1-5 has given me great comfort over the last few days as I have tried to understand what a life that loves Jesus looks like. It has reminded me to seek and call on God as I fear Him and am more transformed into the image of His son.

Proverbs 2:1-5

My son, if you receive my words

and treasure up my commandments with you,

     ²     making your ear attentive to wisdom

and inclining your heart to understanding;

     ³     yes, if you call out for insight

and raise your voice for understanding,

     ⁴     if you seek it like silver

and search for it as for hidden treasures,

     ⁵     then you will understand the fear of the Lord

and find the knowledge of God.

Transformation

So in preparation for my Discipleship hour class tomorrow I have been thinking about 2 verses that seem to be pulling in the opposite directions. In my class we have been going through the book "ChristianAtheist" by Craig Groeschel. We are focusing on the chapter tomorrow entitled, When you believe in God but don't think you can change. We are going to look at what the Bible says about change or transformation and what it looks like in the person who loves Jesus. This study brought me to 2 verses: 2 Corinthians 3:18 and Philippians 2:12-13.

2 Corinthians 3:18 states, "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit". This verse tells me 3 important truths about the change that can and should take place in my life. First the Holy Spirit brings the conviction into my life. The areas in my life that need changed will be illuminated by the Spirit. Second, the Holy Spirit brings the desires to change into my life. Third, He brings the change into my life. This verse shows me that it is by the power of God that I change and are transformed into a better image of Jesus.

Philippians 2:12-13 States, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure". The phrase work out your own salvation kinda scares me. This simply means that there is a daily fight to be more and more conformed into the life of salvation. Simply put this is sanctification. Paul is telling the Philippians that they are required to work their change and transformation out for themselves daily. This is the will of God and the verses do conclude with the fact God works in us for His good pleasure. But there is that human responsibility in our transformation.

So there is 2 factors in our transformation, God and us. God changes us by His power for His good will but God also calls us to work out the transformation for ourselves. This is very much a tough question and topic to figure out. Proverbs 2:1-5 I think helps highlight this challenge for us. I will explore this set of verses tomorrow.

But for tonight, take joy and hope in 3 important truths from the set of verse explored earlier.

1) We are required to grow, change, and transform more and more into the image of our Savior Jesus.
2) The Holy Spirit will empower us, guide us, and equip us to that change and growth.
3) If we truly love Jesus we will desire to grow more like Him and play our part in the change and transformation.

Birthday Prayer

Holy Loving King
Thank you for who you are
Thank you for loving me and sitting on the throne of my life
Thank you for the ways over this past year you have shown me you are in control

As you know it has been another year of life for me
And you have given me many blessings this year
Thank you for 4 healthy and enjoyable children
Thank you for my better half that loves me to death and defends me with a passion
Thank you for my church family and my closets friends that have given me strength and encouragement
Thank you for the many blessings that I have even forgot that happened to me this past year

You know the challenges that have come into my life this year
I know that you have allowed them into my life for a reason
I pray as I look into the next year that the challenges from this past year will grow me more

I pray that this coming year Father, that you will give me strength to follow where you lead
Please give me the strength to be the husband who loves your gift with all patience
Help me Father to be a better father this coming year as I raise and guide your blessings to me
And Father, grow in me a desire to love you more this year

LORD I pray now that this coming year will be full of blessings but also challenges
because you know I seem to grow the most in adversity
So i pray as I look into this coming year of life that the coming storms will draw me closer to you
And I pray that those same storms will draw me closer to my wife and children as I follow your lead
Thank you for the ways you love me even now reminding  me as I talking with you

I pray that this next year I will honor and praise you as I chase after you
I pray that others will see my love for you over the next year even more
And I thank you for allowing me to love and talk with you about this past year
In Jesus powerful and loving name Amen

Getting in our own way

I am reading a great book right now called, "Why We Love the Church" by Kevin DeYoung. In one of the open chapters he talks about the mission of the church and why God created it. He asks some very important question in relation to how the church is presenting the good news of Jesus. These questions got me to thinking about how I am presenting the gospel to others or how I am not presenting the gospel to others.

1) Are we getting in the way of the Gospel?- This question got me thinking and praying about my life and how the actions I do or do not do or the words I say stand in the way of the message of Jesus. How many times do I hurt or stop the work of Jesus because I do something that is contrary to that message? How many times do I say something that does not honor Jesus and sheds a bad light on the true message of love and mercy? Am I really getting in the way or hurting the gospel message because I am not given the power in my life over to Jesus to run it?

2)Are we believing the Gospel?- This is a big question because it asking do I really believe what I am preaching and telling others? Does my life match what I am saying? How may times does my life show that I truly believe what I am telling the other person?

3)Are we relying on the power of the Gospel?- Is my life built such that I am truly living in the power of Jesus and not in my own power and pride? Does my life truly reflect living in the arms of Jesus and showing others that Jesus is all that I need? Jesus is all that we ever need, do others actually see that?

4) Are we getting the Gospel out?- How many times do we actually say or do something rather than slink back into the shadows? If Jesus is truly all we need and we live in that power, His boldness should shine through us and the Gospel better come out somehow to others.

5)Are we getting the Gospel right?- How much time do we spend in the Word of God so that when the time comes we can fully and faithfully give a report of who Jesus is and what He has done for us and is still doing? To live in the power of the Gospel we need to live in the Word of God and let it saturate us.

6)Are we adorning the Gospel with good works?- Does our life reflect the faith we have. I am not saying by this that works save us, but if we live in Jesus and love Him, that love better show to others in the works of faith. Faith without action is dead. Does the Gospel look better to others because of what we are doing?

7) Are we praying for the work of the Gospel?- We need to be a people of prayer. My blog the other day talked about when we should be praying, FIRST. Before we ever present the Gospel to others we need to be on our knees praying for the hearts what will be touch and for the power of Jesus to impact others. Prays first and pray often.

8) Are we training our children in the Gospel?-I got nothing to add to this question because this one hit me the hardest. My children will make an impact of Jesus if they love Him to. Am I doing my job as their father in showing and teaching them about Jesus and His powerful message? My kids are my greatest mission field right now, am I doing my job. I pray that I am and I pray that God will cover up for my short comings when it comes to the Gospel and my kids.

Which question hit you the hardest, like the #8 hit me in the gut?

Bad Day

So it has been one of those days. You know the type of day when nothing goes your way. The day when it seem everyone is out to get you. The type of day when the breaks do not go in your favor. The day when every time you turn around someone else is mad or there is something else to fix. The day when you are late for work and projects all come due ahead of schedule. The type of day when you keep sinning and keep fighting in vain. You know the type of day when you want to just crawl back in bed and either start over or skip to tomorrow. We have all had those days and for some people they seem to be more often then others. Well today I had one of those days. Glad to say I am writing this at 930 at night so the day is almost over.

I needed to listen to another lecture tonight for class and it was not really what I wanted to do after the day I had, but my determination or the stubborn part of me made the rest of me listen to 60 minutes of the Professor talk about 1 Corinthians. Boy was I glad God led me there.

1 Corinthians 15:19 says, "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men".

Wow, that is exactly what I need to hear. This verse is in the middle of Paul's talk about the resurrection and the hope we as lovers of Jesus should have in that. That is exactly what I need to hear on days when all hope in that day seems lost. If I only have hope in what Christ can do in today, this life, and not in the future, I should be pitied most of all by men. That is music to my ear after a day that could be called a bad day. Christ is the hope for the future and the hope in the resurrection to a time when bad days do not happen anymore. Yes, Christ can give us hope for today, but it is a hope for today that is looking toward the hope of a better day to come. I can hope in Christ in that someday I will no longer have bad days. Amen

So next time I am having a bad day and I know that even at lunch time the day could get worse, I can still have hope in the future of a resurrected life with no more bad days. In the middle of my next bad day I can hope in the future good days in Christ. Praise the Lord!

Pray first

I have been thinking a lot about prayer and the fact when we do pray we are tapping into the great power that exist, God. A great preacher once stated, "We can do more than pray, after we have prayed, but not until". What does that say about the importance of prayer?

That says that we must pray first. How can we do something or say something without having first tapped into God. Why do we try and live our lives without first going to God on our knees? Prayer is where life must begin and be at continually. When life gets hard go to prayer and ask God for strength. When life is easy pray and praise God for the blessing. When life is frustrating go to God and ask for patience. When life is challenging go to God and ask for peace. When someone hurts us go to prayer and ask for love. When the day is young go to prayer and ask for guidance. When the day is done pray and be thankful we made it through. When our body hurts go to prayer and ask for healing. When someone we love hurts pray and ask for their comfort. When someone's soul is on the brink of hell pray and ask for courage.

Pray is the power cord into the outlet of Jesus. Pray first, pray last, pray continually, pray boldly, pray fearlessly, pray pray pray. We cannot do anything without pray.

Ourselves first

Sorry I tried to post this last might but the server was down.

The great Puritan preacher John Owen said, "A man only preaches a sermon well to others if he has first preached it to himself. If he does not thrive on the 'food' he prepares, he will not be skilled at making it appetizing for others. If the Word does not dwell in power in us, it will not pass in power from us".

We must preach the Gospel to ourselves before we can ever preach it to others. We must have the Gospel and it's power encompass us before we can ever share it with others. We must be the first to forgive, show mercy, extend love, be filled with joy, and give encouragement; before we are to witness and tell others about the power and grace of Jesus.

We must preach to ourselves first.

Framework

This week I read a small little book entitled, "Preaching for God's Glory" by Alistair Begg. Even though this book was about expository preaching and the crafting of a sermon I found a sentence in it to be very applicable for my life outside of the pulpit. This sentence and the idea that was understood from it got me to think about when I interact with people in the world around me what is my foundation.

"While we recognize that one's theological framework affects our view of the Bible, we need to work hard to ensure that the Scripture rules our framework, not the other way around".

So the Bible should be the foundation of who I am. The Bible should be the foundation of what I am about. Every aspect of what I say, what I do, how I act, and what I think, should start from Scripture. The framework of who I am should be from the Bible. That means my position on election should not be who I am, but what the Bible tells me about my salvation. My ideas about Spiritual gifts should not be my focus, but what the Bible tells me about the gift and blessings God has given me to use for Him should be what I understand.

This means practically, other people should not see my thoughts and hear my words, they should see Scripture and get a clear picture of what the Bible says lived out. Others should not hear my words, they should hear what Jesus is telling them through my voice. This means that others should not see a framework of who I am and what I am about and my personality, but they should see what God has done in me and is continuing to do in me and through me. The frame work of who I am has to start from the Bible.

This means then that I must be going back to the Bible for what I know. When I have questions about life where do I turn, myself or God's word? When I do not understand why things happen, do I go inside myself and mind to figure it out or do I go back to Scripture to see what God is saying? To have the foundation of the Bible to live I must know the Bible. So is the framework of what I think me or is it Scripture? Where do I turn, myself or God's word?

In order to have a framework in life of the Bible so other see God not me, I must have the framework of Scripture as my thought. This must mean I turn to the Bible daily for everything I need. great thoughts to live by and remind ourselves of daily in this busy fast paced world.

Souls

So as I have thought about the battle ground of the life of the lover of Jesus, I thought of another struggle I have sometimes. That struggle would be seeing other people as souls. Another way to put this is to see others as Jesus sees them.

This struggle kicks me in the butt so many times, especially when the person I am looking at is either someone I do not like or get along with or is someone who I realize is not a believer in God but I enjoy spending time with. I have to keep reminding myself when I am with either type of person that God loves that person for his or her soul and would in His desire see that person love Him back. This means if I truly love Jesus the way I claim I do, I must pursue that person no matter what it costs me for their soul. I must love that person for their very essence, which is a created being designed to worship and praise God.

That means this person is not their for me to dislike or treat how I want , but to treat them and love them for their soul. To many times I find myself loosing the battle and forgetting about the soul and eternity of the person I am dealing with. I pray as God grows me and I chase after Him, this is a battle and a strong reminder that I need. People are souls and those who do not know the forgiveness of God and love of Jesus will spend, with their soul, and eternity away from God, because I forgot about their soul.

I am a Pharisee

This is a post three days in the making. Since the sermon at church this past Sunday, these thoughts have been cycling through my head. I have been trying to think of a clear way to put them on paper so someone else can see what I have been thinking and understand my mind.

The sermon this past Sunday was from Luke 12. When the end of verse 1 was talked about I got cut deep to the heart. "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy". Ouch. When I heard that it hurt. When I mean hurt, really it felt like my body shuttered and I felt an ache. That verse hit me hard. Almost immediately images and moments in my recent life flashed before my mind. Times when I was a hypocrite, just like the Pharisee, shown in my minds eye. I grimaced in pain as I realized men in the Bible I did not like, I was like. I am a hypocrite. There I will say it again, I AM A HYPOCRITE. And even as I say it now it still
hurts.

As I started to think about the times in my life I am a Pharisee (I will use this word from now on because I think it stings in a different way than hypocrite) I realized that I could split the times up into 2 groups. The first group was times I did what was right and said the right think but not with the right motive. The second group was times when I sinned in private and no one saw me, my sin was not public, my own, my precious, my private sin. Let me try and expose what I mean in each group and then finish with what I have realized since that gut check.

The first group was moments in my life when I was not necessarily sinning but I was not doing anything good. I was a Pharisee to the core. This was times when I gave money to a friend, with the thought then he would have to owe me back. Or the time I gave someone a ride when their car was in the shop but I knew that they would buy me lunch. Maybe it was the time I told someone about Christ because I knew another Christian was listening. These were the moments in my life I did something that was good or showed mercy, not because I loved Jesus but because I had a selfish motive. The more I have thought about these moments, I have come to the conclusion it is a sin, because my pride and selfish motive is driving my action, not my love for God. What should drive these moments in my life and what should push me to show love to others in word or action is my affections for Jesus, not my pride. The Pharisee's did everything for show and their pride, not for their affections for God. I am a Pharisee.

The second group of moments that flashed before my eyes is when my sin or action happened in the dark. Times in life when my sin was mine, it was my private sin that no one else knew or saw. The time when a coworker offended me in the morning so at lunch I just sat in my car festering over it thinking bad about him. The time when I became jealous over a good friend of mine getting something that I have always wanted. These were moments when I lived deep in my sin and no one else knew it. I thought about the time when I said I was going to do something, then never did and lied about it. These were moments in my life when no one but God knew I sinned. These were times when I knew I sinned and I wallowed in it because it was my sin, my own, my precious (I know I sound like Gollum but I think Tolkien was making a reference to this as the ring). And that is what the Pharisees did, they hid their sin from others. They wanted to look good and seem good, but Jesus called them white washed tombs. That would be a good description of me in these moments. I am a Pharisee.

But there is hope. I have discovered this over the last few days as these times and moments in my life keep coming back to me. The blog I read today reminded me that sanctification (or the act of growing as a follower of Jesus) is an act of God's grace in our lives. Life is a war zone, it is a battle. But the grace of God is sufficient to carry me through to the end and make me a stronger lover of Him.  That means God knows I am going to stumble and be a Pharisee but He still loves me in those moments and will love me enough to grow me to not be a Pharisee as much and fight the moments I tend to be a Pharisee. Now I am not saying that I am not responsible for the Pharisee moments and I need to not do them but I have hope that in this battle zone and fight of sin, God is on my side giving me strength to fight the moment. So yes I am a Pharisee sometimes but God will guide me through to beat them back and give me strength to be a lover of Jesus more than I am a Pharisee.

Faithful

Thank you all for the prayers while I took my essay church history test. After nearly 3,000 words typed today not sure I have anymore left in. I will start to post again tomorrow.

The Lord is faithful and I know no matter the outcome of the test His will will be accomplished and He will be glorified.