A Challenge

Today I came across a hymn, that as I read it through became very challenging to me. The hymn was written from the perspective of the church sung at the Pastor or leader. The church family was calling to the Pastor to come, join, lead, and equip it for service for God. As I read over the hymn multiple times it gave me chills as I could distantly hear my faith family singing it to me calling and bidding me to come and equip them better to serve God together. Here is the hymn, entitled, "We bid you welcome in the name".

We bid you welcome in the name
Of Jesus, our exalted head.
Come as a servant so he came
And we receive you in his stead.

Come as a shepherd, guard and keep
This fold from hell and world and sin;
Nourish the lambs and feed the sheep;
The wounded heal, the lost bring in.

Come as a teacher sent from God,
Charged his whole counsel to declare.
Our ranks encourage, laggards prod
While we uphold you hands with prayer.

Come as a messenger of peace,
Filled with the Spirit, fired with love.
Live to enjoy our large increase,
And die to meet us all above.

by James Montgomery in the Lutheran Hymnal #262

Questions for Parents to think about

So I have been recently reading a book entitled, "Is a Lost Cause" by Marva Dawn, for my Master's class. This book is written to challenge church's and Pastor's about how they educate children and youth. She picks apart many different aspects of educating the children in the church from areas like worship and liturgy. While reading this book she has made me think and ponder much about what I believe about training up children in the church. But more importantly while I have been reading this book she has challenged and made me think about who and what I am as a father and how I educate my children about God and my relationship with Him. In the book she ends each chapter with contemplation questions for the reader to think about when it comes to kids in church. I wanted to give you today some of the questions I have been thinking and asking myself as a father as I have been reading this book. These questions made me think hard about my desire, love, teaching, and education of my kids when it comes to the most important things to know, my faith and love in Jesus.

In which dimension of social life have I noticed the greatest lack of moral character and do my kids know?

Are there any groups of people from whom I have noticed excellent results in raising of their children? What are their secrets?

Which aspects of the culture around me are useful for raising my kids in the faith? Which should be rejected outright? Which can be transformed?

How is the church a gift to my kids?

Are my children eagerly sharing their faith?

How often do I read the Bible with and pray with my kids?

How much are my kids involved with me in serving God at church and in the world?

Am I intentional about showing my kids, Jesus in my life?

Do my kids see and know that I love my wife and treat her like my most prized gift?

Do my kids see me pray, ask for forgiveness, tell others about Jesus, and sacrifice for Jesus because I love Him?

Final thoughts from yesterday's sermon- for the men

Proverbs 5 states,

For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. Drink water from your own cistern, running water from your own well. Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers. May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer— may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love. Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress? Why embrace the bosom of another man’s wife? 

So what do these verses have to do with being a Godly husband and man to your wife?

First these verses tell us that our wife is to be our only women in everything there is. This means that we are not to look at, wonder about, lust after, or deeply friend another women outside of our marriage covenant. We as husbands made a covenant with our wives before God so we better keep that covenant with our eyes, minds, mouths, hearts, and souls. We are united with our better halves which means they are ours and we are theirs with everything we are. This means we are not to look at another women, talk deeply and intimately with another women and any relationship with have with another women our wives had better know about and approve of.

The second thing these verses teach us is that our wives are our standard of beauty. This means, to borrow from another wise man, if your wife is blond, you're into blonds, if your wife is curvy, you are into curvy, if your wife is older, you are into older, if your wife is a good cook and great looking in an apron, you are into good food with a hot apron. Our wives must be the standard with which we find beauty and that is the line. Husbands are to love the way their wives look in the morning at the start of the day, in the night at the end of the day, and in the middle just after the kids have made a mess of her hair. Our wives better be the basis for which we as husband know what beauty is.

A third thing that these verses teach me, is that my wife better be the most pleasurable person to me. This first means that physically I must find the most pleasure in her looks, touch, feel, smell, taste, and everything that will physically bring pleasure to me. But is also means that my beloved must also be the place that I find the most pleasure in my life mentally, emotionally, and spiritually (outside of God, who is always my greatest joy and pleasure and pursuit). She must be the person who can drive my emotions to the highest form. She must be the person that sets my mind ablaze with conversation and thoughts. She must be the person in my life that drives me spiritually, challenges me spiritually, and that I am one with spiritually. My wife must be my greatest joy in this life with all that she is and does with me.

So have we made a true covenant with our wives and have we truly kept this covenant at all levels?

Quotable Friday on a Sunday

These are my 2 favorite quotes I heard today from different people in my life.

1) I love my faith God family.

2) Aging is not for wimps

Sunday's Questions

As I finish up preparing my sermon for Sunday, I wanted to share tonight some of the questions that formulated part of my sermon and some of the questions I will asking my people to think about as I teach through 1 Peter 3:1-9. Here are the questions and food for thought.

Wives

What is my husband’s identity?

What are my husband’s insecurities?

In what areas of life does my husband perform well in?

How can I give my husband more admiration?

How and where can I support my husband?

How can I be a better companion to my husband?

What are my husband’s physical needs?

Husbands- Rate yourself on a scale of 1-5

I include my wife in envisioning the future

I accept spiritual responsibility for my family

I provide special time for my wife to pursue her own desires and wants and special interests

I praise my wife often in public

I put aside distractions so I can talk with my wife and family

I seek the consolation of my wife on every major and most minor life decisions

I pray with my wife regularly

Together as a married couple as these questions

Are we partner or competitors?

Are we helping each other become more spiritual?

Are we depending on the externals or the eternal together?

 Do we understand each other better?

Are we sensitive to each other’s feelings or are we taking each other for granted?

Are we seeing God answer our prayers?

Are we enriched because of our marriage or robbing each other of God’s blessing?

Church Together, ask these as a member of our church family

What are my preferences and are they theologically vital in the faith and salvation?

In what ways has my pride influenced my preferences?

Would harmony describe our church well?

Am I sympathetic and compassionate towards others and their preferences and likes?

Does courteous describe how I relate to others in my faith family?

Am I forgiving of others when they hurt or offend me with their ideas or preferences?

Do I humbly follow Jesus and our leaders as they lead God’s church?

Would Jesus be happy as my wife? Husband? Or part of this church family?

Quotable Friday-Christian Atheist

I am working on a Sunday School lesson this week and came across one of my favorite lines from the book entitled, "The Christian Atheist" by Craig Groeschel.

"Knowing God can lead to a positive lifestyle, but the reverse isn't true"

Still thinking about my sermon

So I am praying and thinking about my sermon for this coming Sunday and I came across this post that I wrote back in late January and thought everyone might like it again. I know my beloved will.

Story #1
So we had only been married for 3 weeks. We had just celebrated our first Christmas together in our small 1 bedroom apartment. This first apartment was small, very quaint, and yet very homey. The only problem was the bathroom was right across a small hallway from the bedroom. Well a few days after Christmas I got the stomach flu and for 12 hours could not stop throwing up. My beloved had to listen to me very loudly be sick in only the first month we were together stuck inside. And she is still with me today.

Story #2
So my son was very young still and did not understand germs yet. And he was still young enough that he had a nuk and would carry it every where. I had a bad habit as a dad that when I found it on the floor, I would just clean it off with my mouth before I would give it back to him. My beloved always warned me about putting his nuk in my mouth because of germs. But I would never listen. Well you guess it he got the stomach flu one time and was sick for a few days. But I did not know he had the germs for a day or 2 so I was sticking his nuk in my mouth with his germs. Guess what? I got the stomach flu and was down for the count for a few days myself. She still reminds me of that story and putting the nuk in my mouth 8 years later.

Story #3
My beloved is out at a doctors visit and I am home alone with all 4 kids. When all of a sudden the baby in the group starts to projectile vomit and letting it fly. I start to run around and try and help her while the other 3 kids first stare at me and the baby and then run for the stairs and getting away. So now I have a sick kid throwing up with no help and vomit all over the place. My wife walks through the door a little later and jumps right in and helps start the laundry, and keep the crying baby happy and get the other 3 kids in order. My beloved came home and help set things back in place and made my life plain and simple again.

So what is the benefit of having our spouse as our best friend? They help us with the vomit when no one else will. Yes that is true but more importantly the benefit of having them as our best friend is they get to see us in the hardest moments and darkest and smelliest times and will still love us no matter what. God has given us a truly great blessing in our spouse and the benefit they can be as we deal with sickness, stupidity, and the challenging moments in life. Thank God for His great gift and then thank you spouse for being your best friend. Just don't vomit on them:)

Still Working on my Sermon

 Tonight I want to dive into a few other benefits of having a relationship with our spouses the way God created them to be. There are definitely more ways and benefits than I will list tonight and maybe later blogs will add to them. But here are 3 benefits that I have been reminded of over the last 24 hours or so.

#1- Pleasure

Now I know this is obvious to most married couples. Sex as God has designed it is amazing and for our spouse. But we can also find much pleasure in our best friend outside of the bedroom. I came across a picture of my beloved from years ago recently and through that picture I was reminded how much pleasure I can get out of just admiring the beauty that God created in her and the amazing gift of that beauty God has then given me. I love my close male friends but there is some pleasure (outside of sex) that I can only have with my beloved. The pleasure of being know intimately and the fun it can be to watch her know what I am going to do before I do it. The pleasure of snuggling in a warm blanket while we watch it snow on a cold winter day. The pleasure I can get when I hold her hand as we pray in church. Even the pleasure of knowing I am needed is something that only our spouses can bring. So there are many pleasures that can come into our lives by only having our best friends being our spouses. 

#2-Knowing ourselves better.

I have discovered and been reminded over the last few days that a great benefit to having my best friend around me all the time and know me the best, is the fact she can point out things in me that I might never have noticed. My best friend can see things in my life that I might skip or gloss over. She can remind me of things that I might have forgotten or chosen not to remember. Sometimes our biggest idols and deepest sins can only be noticed by others in our life and to have a best friend that can help open our eyes to these things is a huge benefit. Our spouses can challenge us to grow in areas, ask questions to make us think deeper, or even pry into corners to not allow us to hide things. Sometimes the best ways to discover the most about ourselves is by allowing someone to look into our lives and point things out. What better benefit than having the love of our lives be the person that can help us discover the most about ourselves.

#3-Worship

I have know since I was a teen that a place where great worship of God can take place is in a marriage. It has only been recently and after 10 years of marriage that I have truly started to discover what this worship is and looks like. Only in a marriage with our best friend can we; fight to the glory of God, forgive to the praise of Jesus, find pleasure that radiates God's glory, be sanctified with the Spirits power, have a prayer life that unifies, and on the list can go. In a marriage where each partner resembles their Savior, a true bond of friendship, love, respect, honor, compassion, and loyalty takes place and the worship and praise of God is found the most. Worship and praise to God should be an amazing benefit to have with our best friend who is our spouse and better half. Worshiping our Creator and Savior is so much better when we can do it with our best friend, and I have discovered this first hand as my praise of Jesus is so much sweeter when I can do it with my beloved.

Getting my Sermon Ready on Marriage

"Husbands, love you wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her"-Ephesians 5:25

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh"- Genesis 2:24

Over the last few months God has placed the burden on me about what it means to be a Godly husband and man. God has put a desire deep inside me to be a better leader, lover, friend, rock, provider, heartbeat, and partner for my beloved. Many times over the last few weeks God has reminded me through friends, situations, and His word that I need to take a priority in my relationship with my beloved. And over the last 10 days or so God as chosen a certain area to pick on and really convict me. My friendship to my wife has been an area that God has chosen to focus me on. Here are a few thoughts I have discovered and a few ways that I can improve in this area of my one flesh friendship.

First lets start with a few questions I have asked myself over the last week to gauge how my "friendship" is with my beloved.

1)Who is the person that I think about first, last, and most during my day?
2) When I accomplish something or have something exciting in my life happen, who do I want to tell first?
3) When God shows me an amazing truth about Him or His word, who do I want to share that with most?
4) Who do I want to go see that movie with?
5) Who do I want to do a book study with?
6) Who do I need to repent to first in my life?
7) Who can I cry with?

These are questions I have asked myself over the last week as I have been convicted by the Spirit about my friendship with my wife. God has exposed to me the fact that my wife needs to be the answer to all of these questions because for better or worse she is the one friend I have that is one flesh and should know me the most. As the verse in Genesis says my beloved is my one flesh. That should be the closest relationship I have on this earth, she should be my best friend.

Our spouses need to be our best friends. I should be enjoying the times I spend with my beloved the most. Our relationship should be filled with laughter, love, crying, and joy. My beloved and I should be full of devotion for each other and the passion of our lives after God Himself, should be for the best of the other member. As the verse from Ephesians reminds me, I need to put my wife first in my life (after Jesus) and her needs, desires, wants, joys, and passions should be placed first in my life. My wife and our friendship should be the most intimate relationship I have on the earth. She should be the one person that is free in this life to challenge me when I am wrong, forgive me when I repent, and grow with me in my walk with God.

My friendship with my beloved should be the most needed relationship I have. She should be the one who should meet my needs first and if she cannot she should be the one to help me find ways to meet them. I should then be the one who meets her needs and takes care of her first and if I cannot help her I should find a way to meet them. This also shows that our friendship should be two ways and not just a one way street. Our friendship should be growing together and blessing others by our relationship and marriage. Because of our friendship others should be blessed, God must be glorified, and the gospel must be preaching to a world by word and deed. The world must also see the gospel at work in our friendship and desire to know the Jesus that is at the center of our friendship. My wife must truly be my best friend with many benefits.

This has lead me to then ask 7 different questions about my friendship with my beloved.

1) What are her needs, wants, desire, and passions?
2) How can I cultivate our friendship and grow together?
3) How can I be a better friend to her?
4) What should I be prayer for her more about?
5) How can I pursue her and make sure she knows it?
6) What activities can we do together that she would enjoy?
7) How can we glorify God more together and preach the gospel through our relationship?

I pray that God will challenges others in their one flesh friendship as He has challenged and convicted me.

He is Risen

He Risen! He is Risen indeed!



Holy Week, Day 8: Sunday

Jesus is Silent

So there you are. You have walked with Jesus for 3 years. He called you by name from your dad's fishing business and set you at work to walk, talk, and witness His ministry. You have seen Jesus raise the dead, calm the storm, and healed blind people. You have witnessed Jesus feeding 5,000 with 3 loaves and 2 fish. You have heard Jesus teach in stories and then got a first hand explanation from Him alone. Jesus told you about His Heavenly Father. Jesus allowed you to see Him transfigured and talk with Moses. Jesus has been your best friend and closest partner over the last 3 years. You have seen Jesus love, generosity, and compassion for the sick, lost, and hurting. You have seen Jesus stand against the Pharisee's and take command when He needed to. Finally after 3 years you get to see your friend ride in on a donkey and get praised by the crowds and worshiped like you know He should as a Messiah. Then you get to have an intimate supper and experience the Passover meal with Him and hear Jesus talk about and pray about you and watch as Jesus washes your feet.

Then the pain starts. You see Jesus pray to God in agony, watch as one of your other friends betrays Him and helps the Jewish leaders capture Him. Then you watch your best friend get mistreated, falsely accused and treated like a criminal. You see Jesus beaten twice and put on public display. Then you hear the crowds shouting to crucify Him. Next you watch as Jesus is lead down the street with His cross and as you hold and stand by Mary, Jesus, mom, you watch your best friend be crucified as His bone crunch and He yells in pain. As He is dying He talks to you and asks you to take care of His mom and take her as your own. Then you watch Him take His last breath and die.

He is gone. This man that you have come to love, cherish, and listen to for wisdom and guidance is gone. You cannot talk to Him and ask Him what is going on and what will happen next. Jesus is dead and buried and now your best friend and Messiah is gone and there is nothing left. The man you have come to rely upon is not there and there is nothing He can say to help you understand or not hurt. There is now a void and hole in your life and you are not sure how to fill it. You feel lost, confused, scared, and stuck between a rock and a hard place. And your not sure where to turn. Jesus is silent and you have nothing. It is Saturday.

Praise the Lord that tomorrow Jesus will rise from the grave and give us victory and hope again. Praise the Lord Jesus is never silent and not here like John must have felt on this Saturday. I thank God and shout for joy I can pray to Jesus and know He hears me and will respond. Praise the Lord I can read His word and know the end of the story. Praise the Lord for the resurrection and the power and security it can give us. He is risen, He is risen indeed.

Quotable Friday

John 19:30
"When He had received the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished'. With that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit".

Jesus Compassion/Love

So there Jesus is, hanging on the cross. The blood, that is left in His body after the beatings and carrying the cross, is pouring out of the holes in His wrists and feet. The blood is beginning to drain into His longs and it is hard for Jesus to catch His breath. With every heart beat a surge of pain flows from His writs, feet, and head. Every time Jesus tries to adjust Himself or pull Himself up on the nails more and more His skin, bones, and muscles, tear and rip apart. But what is Jesus doing? Jesus is looking out at others, praying for others, and loving everyone that is around Him. Lets look at 2 of the last sentences Jesus get gasp from the cross.

Luke 23:43
Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise".

John 19:26-27
When Jesus saw His mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to His mother, "Dear women, here is your son" and to the disciple, "Here is your mother". From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

Wow, in the midst of all the pain and suffering Jesus has a compassion and outlook to others. Jesus forgives and welcomes a criminal on the cross next to Him, into the heavenly kingdom. Then Jesus sees His mom and looks out for her future and gives His mom over to His closest friend, John, to look after and finds her protection. I know Jesus is God and is perfect but this example should still inspire and push is to always be others focused rather than self focused. Yes, we suffer, deal with pain, loss, and heartache, but many others could get to meet Jesus because even in the midst of our own pain we are looking out for them and bringing them into the kingdom.

Jesus Prayer from the Cross

This is the most important week in the life of Jesus. This week is leading up to the most important 48 hours of Jesus' life. The moment and reason for why Jesus came to this world as a baby, to die for our sins in the most horrible way possible. There Jesus is, hanging from the cross, slowly dying by bleeding out and suffocation. Jesus is in extreme mental, emotional, and spiritual anguish because His holy heavenly Father was turning His back as Jesus took all our sin. Yet, Jesus prays from the cross and it is not for Himself, it is for others. Lets learn for a few minutes from Jesus' last prayer on the cross.

Luke 23:34
Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing".

Who is Jesus praying for?
Jesus is praying for those directly in His life at the moment who are sinning against Him and ultimately God.

What is Jesus praying for?
Jesus is praying for the forgiveness of others, most importantly those sinning against Him.

When is Jesus praying for them?
Jesus is praying while He is experiencing the sin and pain of those He is praying for.

Why is Jesus praying this?
So that God will forgive and take compassion on those who are causing Him pain and suffering.

How is Jesus praying for them?
Jesus is praying for them in complete love and compassion with an intercessory spirit.

How many times do we follow the example of Jesus in this prayer and pray for those in our life who are sinning against us and intercede for them to God the Father. I know in my life maybe 5% of the time if I am good. But I should be following Jesus' example and pray for everyone who sins against me and realize that if Jesus can do it for those who are killing Him, I should be able to do it and intercede for someone who has said a bad word about me and that is all.

Jesus Determination

So far we have looked at Jesus' humility and His meekness. I feel there is one more attribute of our saving Lord that falls right in line with these other two. That attribute is Jesus determination. Just read through John 18-19 and there is so much stuff from those chapters that should have made Jesus give up and stop the crucifixion that it is to long a list to fully show. Jesus is betrayed by a greedy friend and denied by a fearful friend. Jesus is falsely accused and treated with disrespect. Jesus is flogged twice, disgraced publicly, and shamed openly in front of His closest family. Jesus has a crown with 3 inch thorns rammed on His head and made to carry a weighty cross. Then He is nailed to the cross with 6 inch spikes and put up publicly to die in great pain, ridicule and shame.  All the while, Jesus closest person, His Holy Father, cannot bear to watch or be with Jesus because He is taking our sin in our place. Every human in history would have stopped after only the first step if they would have had the power to.

But Jesus never stops the parade and suffering. Instead Jesus stays determined to see this task through. Jesus knows that every minute after this moment would have been worse and that this dying on the cross thing would not be fun. Yet Jesus is determined to see it all through and come out in the end the victorious Savior. Jesus was determined through it all for you and me and it was His determination that help lead to opening the door for our salvation.

Jesus has the perfect determination that we need to emulate and follow His example. Our lives will never be as tough and challenging as Jesus was during those last few hours. And yet we can be determined to see whatever God has led us through and then give Him the glory, just like Jesus. We need to learn to follow Jesus example of being determined because than others will see Jesus in and through us and glorify God also and just maybe others will join us in the kingdom because we were determined like our Savior.

Jesus Meekness

Another attribute of Jesus that I think we do not give much attention to is His meekness. Jesus is the Son of God, the guy who spoke and the world came into being. Jesus said light and light showed up. Jesus said I want a dog and there was a dog. Jesus deigned the beauty of a rose and created the noise of thunder. Jesus walked on water and told the storm to cease. Jesus even told Lazarus to come forth and Lazarus came out of the grave alive.

But there Jesus was; getting hit with fist, knocked on the head and even spit on. Jesus stood before an unjust ruler, Pilate, and took false accusations from the Sanhedrin. Then, Jesus gets crucified and is hanging on the cross dying a horrible, painful, slow death, and even taking ridicule from the crowd, in front of His mom and best friend.

I know that if I had the power Jesus did at that moment someone would have been a pile of sand and some lighting would have been flying all over the place. But that is not what Jesus did. Jesus meekly stayed on the cross and took all of that even though He did not have to. 1 Peter tells us that, "Jesus did not retaliate when He suffered, and He made no threats". Jesus in all His meekness "entrusted Himself to the One who judges justly". That is true meekness. Trusting God, who can use His power perfectly to deal with things, even when we have the power to deal with it.

Jesus meekness is a great example for us to follow and next time you want to use your power, remember that even Jesus who had the true perfect power was meek enough to trust His Father, God.

Jesus Humility

Many Times when we think about Jesus we think about His love, compassion, miracles, teaching, parables, and other stories that we know. But how many times do we think of Jesus' humility? On Palm Sunday when Jesus rides a donkey down Broadway and all the people put palm branches down, we need to be reminded of Jesus humility.

So there He is. The Son of God, Creator of the World, the man who was, is, and is to come. This man is Jesus, the one and only person who could die for the sin of the lost and wandering sheep. And He knows all that. Jesus knows He is the man. Jesus knows that in less than a week He will die on a cross, the most horrible and humiliating death possible. Jesus also knows that in a week He will be rising from the dead, triumphant and victorious over the grave, death, and sin. And yet Jesus goes about this day normally and humbly.

Jesus tells His disciples to go and fetch a donkey, not some white horse big and proud. Then Jesus tells the disciples to place some cloaks on the donkey and just lead Him into Jerusalem and to His next stop on this important journey. Jesus never asks for fanfare, the roar of the crowd or to have His disciples shout praise. And when all of the shouting and hosanna starts, Jesus does not do His 'Rocky Balboa' impression or His 'All hail god and king' chants. Jesus just sits on the donkey and takes in the scene with His disciples. This is Jesus' humility at work.

Jesus is the one being that should and could be full of pride but He is never that. Jesus goes out of His way to love the lowest people and care for the needs of the least. Yet Jesus never talks about His humility because Jesus knows the minute humility is talked about it disappears. Jesus is the most humble person to ever have lived and walked the earth but He could and should have been the proudest. And the last week of Jesus' life when He ultimately is the only person that could pay the debt of sin, His humility shines the brightest.

This week as we think about Jesus' death think about His humility and try and imitate our Savior and His humble spirit. Humility is the true attribute of a Jesus lover.

Time for blogging

So, I am sitting here thinking about what I want to write for today's thoughts and it hit me that I am now having more time than ever to write and get some blogging done, except for the weekends. And I think over the next few weeks I want to do some series blogging. I still will try and do a blog about prayer on or around Wednesday but I might try and get some themes focused on each week. Next week I will try and take a look at attributes of Christ and focus on some that He showed a lot of during His last week. Then I might take an entire week and focus on prayer, not sure. But I think taking a week to look at or discuss a whole topic or connected topics might help in first my writing and second in the life of those who faithfully read me. What do you think? What topics or themes can I focus on that might inspire or help the faithful readers the best? This is where I need some feedback from those who faithfully or even sporadically read me. Please let me know face to face, email, or even by blog comments what you think about this change to a weekly focus and also what I can write about that would best benefit you. Thanks and God bless

Quotable Friday

This quote goes right along with yesterday's post about repentance. This quote comes from my favorite Pastor and writer, Kevin DeYoung and his great book, "The Good New We Almost Forgot".

"We have not really repented if we are only stirred, and not changed".

Repentance

Repentance means 2 important things that we must not forget.

First it means a change of mind. This means when we think about our sins we think differently, flee the thoughts that drove us to sin, and fill our minds with God and His word to keep our minds pure.

Second it means a change of heart. This means a change of directions, behaviors, and attitudes. We need to run from the sin and get rid of it from our life. And change direction and go in a new holy way.

We must have both important parts of repentance or else we are not truly repenting and not sorry for our sin. Which then means we do not stand before God clean and holy and we are still doomed for destruction. And if we do not have both parts are we truly Christian and in love with Jesus?

Attractions of Idolatry Part 2

A few post ago I wrote on the fact that the idols in our lives are very attractive. I learned this through the study I was in at the time from the book of Judges. Tonight I want to show that yes, the idols that the nation of Israelite's had to deal with were attractive but, we also deal with very attractive idols in the world today. Here is the list of the attractions of idolatry with a linked idol to each attraction to show that we deal with idols just like the Hebrew people.

1) Worship and an access to a god or goddess was guaranteed
I think this idol is food. Food is everywhere and in great amounts, especially in America. How many people do we know that worship their stomach and can get to it whenever they want.
2) Selfish
This idol is me, me, me. How many people do we know that worship themselves. In fact how many times do we worship ourselves and forget about God.
3) Easy
The idol that I think of that is easy and attractive to get is money. Money I think can also be the easiest idol to replace God in our lives. Money is easy and can be easy and is very attractive because it is easy to get a lot of very easily.
4) Convenient                                                                                                                                 
Family is very convenient to idolize. We are born from a mom and dad and we usually have sisters or brothers. Family is familiar and comfortable and family is all around us. Family is who we love and cherish so family is a very convenient idol. 
5) Normal or what everyone else was doing
Success in our lives and achieving that next promotion is what everyone else is doing right? This idol of success is a big one and we often forget we are doing it because it is normal and what each person, even those inside the church, are after. 
6) Logical and made sense in our world
How many romance and love movies and books have we seen or read. The world wants love and people desire love and romance so romance and the idol that it can be is very attractive, logical, and make sense in a love starved world. 
7) Pleasing to the Senses
The idol I think of when I think pleasing to the senses is entertainment. How many times do we spend the money to go to the movie, the baseball game, or on a video game, rather than send the extra to help God and His church further the good news of Jesus or help the needy neighbor down the street.
8) Indulgent and very satisfying
The idol that this is attractive with is called achievement. We all want to be recognized and get the reward because it feels good and is very satisfying. We all like to work hard and win the prize and feel great about our work, not because it glorifies God but because it makes us feel good. 
9) Erotic and full of pleasure
The idols that I think of when I think of this attraction is the idol of sex. Sex is very erotic and full of pleasure. Come to think of it I think you could put sex for all 9 of these attractions.

God has a sense of humor.....don't forget that

Many time when we think about God we think of His majesty and awesome glory. When we think of God's attributes we tend to think of His holiness, love, grace, mercy, and compassion. Sometimes we even let our minds wonder about God and we are reminded that God is joy, kindness, and goodness. But most of the time we tend to forget that God has a sense of humor and is the creator and designer of laughter. God loves to hear a baby giggle and a couple laugh over joys in life. God is the one who created the snort laugh, the wheezy laugh, the deep throat laugh, and the high pitch giggle. Think about how many different laughs that you know; God created and designed them all. So I know God has a sense of humor. Think of the platypus or the other funny creatures living in our world. Look at the creative ways we as humans all look different yet somehow all have similar traits. I know God has a sense of humor.

Here is a personal story from the last few days that I know gives God a sense of humor. I have been pursuing God and His journey in my life for over 5 years now. God has blessed me as of recently and placed a church family in my life to equip and grow with. Yesterday I was supposed to begin my first week in the office, studying, praying, reading, writing, and loving my new faith family. In the past 4 years at Lowe's I have only had to call in sick for myself 2 times, But Sunday evening, God in His sense of humor decided that I needed to get the stomach bug which turned into strep throat to keep me humble and laughing with Him. I love God for His humor and the way that when we know He is in charge in our lives and controls all things, we can laugh with Him.

So next time you think about God realize He created the laugh, designed things that make us chuckle, is controlling our lives with all our giggles, and has the most perfect and greatest sense of humor. Remember that humor because than we can laugh along with God and His good holy humor.

Kid President -How To Be An Inventor!

On a day I am feeling under the weather, this is a good cute laugh and yet very inspiring.

"Captain America" theological review

So I got to hang out with my best friend tonight and we went to see the new Captain America movie. Usually after I see a movie I discover a few theological ideas that the movie is trying to teach to the viewers. Captain America I have to say was a little different so I will break this post down into first a movie review and then a theological idea that I picked up on.

Movie Review

So "Captain America:The Winter Soldiers" is a thrilling, fast paced, adventure, spy movie. The actions starts a few minutes in and continues to almost the end when a few loose pieces are tied together and Marvel does what it does best, tie-ins to the next set of movies. Chris Evans does a good job at playing Captain America, as an individual that is driven by good and cannot understand when that good is compromised. I personally like Samuel L Jackson in this movie. I think his portrayal as Nick Fury is the best so far, for him, in this movie. Maybe because this is the most screen time he has gotten so far or maybe also because they play into the Nick Fury court when good looks like bad and bad looks like good. Ultimately this movie though is a spy thriller that is full of action and is all about what is good and should that good control others. I would recommend this movie to anyone for a good enjoyment to watch.

Theological Review

Honestly this movie does not teach or show much theology of any kind. Some might say differently but I feel this is just a strait action movie that goes from one point to the next. Something I did note though while watching is the fact that a main story line running though the movie is about protection. Who should protect who and how should that protection look. SHIELD is a organization that protects people and in this movie that protection is tested, a good protection verses and evil protection.. As I was watching this unfold, I realized that I can praise God that I have Him for protection. I do not need some organization, flying ship, or even superhero to protect me. I have Jesus, the one true hero, for protection and I have the sovereign all-powerful Creator to guide and keep me safe. That I think is the overwhelming truth that this movie cannot show and we as lovers of Jesus truly know. 

Reminding myself

So, the Lord has blessed my perseverance and patience in Him. The Lord has brought me to a new amazing faith family to love, guide, teach, equip, and serve. God has placed a burden on my shoulders and has brought me to a place that now more than ever I need His power in my life and a humble spirit to lean and trust on Him to provide. As I have been thinking and praying about my new role in this faith family I was reminded of a post that I wrote months ago. I need to reread it and remind myself that as I venture out into this new life and service for God somethings though in my life should and will not change. And in those areas and relationships that do not change I need to grow and become stronger in. My first priority in this life after God is the one area that will not change by this new adventure and in fact my relationship with my beloved should grow stronger through this new adventure and challenge. So here is a re-post from months ago about my relationship with my wife that I need to remind myself of.

Priority #1

 As I have moved one step further into my journey with God each day I seem to be reminded that no matter what I do, I must put my family first. I believe this will be vitally important when I get into full time Pastoral ministry. 

I have first learned to sense when my wife and better half is in need. I have notice that unless I bring her along with me in this journey and share with her a lot of what God is doing in me and through me, she seems lost. I have noticed that her gauge is tuned into mine. When I feel close to God she is strong confident and is a great support. But when I become distracted, disillusioned, and totally over burdened in life, she to can become irritable and a stress factor for me. This also then factors into her spiritual heart beat and relationship with God. This challenges me to because I believe that God makes the man accountable to Him for the spiritual heart and the wife. 

God is reminding me through each step that when, Lord willing, I become enthralled in my ministry and my faith family that I shepherd that I will only go as far as my wife's support. My wife must come first because then and only then will my ministry succeed. As Paul reminds us in Ephesians, "husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the church". 

This means practically that my ministry cannot come first before my wife. My wife must come first. She must be the ultimate sacrifice and my first choice. She must realize that she means the world to me and that even as the weight of ministry and love of God's children, she is still my first and most important love. 

God created the man and women and the relationship of oneness in marriage before sin entered the world, before His mission through Christ, and way before the church. This union is the foundation for the rest of the Christian life and it is also what I found to be the foundation for success in what happens next. That means and what I have come to realize my wife is the most important thing and relationship in my life next to my bond and relationship with God. 

Quotable Friday

"The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever"~ The shorter Westminster Catechism tweaked by John Piper

Are you enjoying God? Just God, not what He is doing or has done for you! We need to love Jesus for Jesus and who He is.

Mom Thank You-money and ministry repost

Thank you all for your prayers for my mother and her cancer surgery today. The surgery went well. The doctor feels he got all the cancer and after a round of chemo starting in a few weeks after her recovery, this cancer thing will be kicked from her. So thank you all for your prayers for her. Please continue to pray for her and my wife as they journey together over the next few weeks in this early recovery stage.

Also thank you all for your prayers as I have began my new amazing call with my amazing new faith family. I wanted to re-post a blog that I ranted on from this past October about money and share that God has answered and been faithful with my money desires for my family and also staying true to my faith family as I serve them. I praise God for His many blessings. So here is a re-post of my money rant from October 8th 2013 and God has truly blessed in spite of this rant.



"So first when I mean my journey, I am talking about the call of God in my life to serve Him and when I mean serve Him, I mean work in a full time pastoral role. This has been an interesting and exciting journey. I have trusted God each step of the way and He seems to teach me something new everyday. One of the biggest things I am continually learning about is the relationship between my family (my beautiful bride and my lovable and crazy kids) and my future ministry. A discussion I have been reading about over the last few days that has many sides to it is money and a Pastor. How much is to much and how much is not enough for a Pastor. That can be a tough question. This is where I think the relationship between my family and my ministry is important. I believe that my family should and will always come first before my ministry. I will dive into this conviction in my life in the next post but it is what has stemmed me with every decision I have made up to this point in regards to my position in ministry. But when it comes to money, I believe I need to make enough that my family is supported and not hurt by my ministry. This does not mean my family has to live in luxury and have a vacation home with 4 cars and a 4,000 sq/ft house, but what it does mean is my family is taken care of and not in need. The money level in my life and pay for doing God's work must not make my family despise the church and God for the sacrifice but love Jesus even more for the blessing and grace He has give the family for serving Him. This means as I am looking at the ministry God will lead my family in, the level of money that He will provide must be sufficient to support and meet the needs of my family. I have come to follow God's leading in my life by using money to guide me in my search and not have money be the root of evil and despair."

I praise God that He has answered and blessed in the money desires that I have had for my new exciting ministry with my new faith family and church home. 

Attractions of Idolatry

Recently I was listening to a lecture for my OT survey class. In the lecture the Professor was discussing the book of Judges and the attractions of idolatry that the Hebrew people were dealing with. In his comments the Professor stated that the Hebrew people continually gave into their idolatrous temptation and the attractions that it gave. For the Hebrew people it was merely impossible not to fall in to the attractions of idolatry unless they strictly and intentionally kept their eyes focused on God and His amazing grace in bringing them out of Egypt and His loving care in providing a Promised Land flowing with milk and honey. Here are the attractions that the Professor gave that idolatry had for the Hebrew people.

1) Worship and an access to a god or goddess was guaranteed
2) Selfish
3) Easy
4) Convenient
5) Normal or what everyone else was doing
6) Logical and made sense in our world
7) Pleasing to the Senses
8) Indulgent and very satisfying
9) Erotic and full of pleasure

First as I was thinking about the professor's comment about focusing on God intentionally and not falling into the attraction, I have to say that it is the same for us today. We today must continually focus intentionally and strictly on God. God has given us amazing grace on the cross and continues to give us grace daily. God has also in His loving care for us provided a new life filled with new hope and new joy in Him and His daily provisions. We are the same as the Hebrew people thousands of years ago.

Secondly I believe that we face the exact same 9 attractions in our idolatry today. Our idols might not be wooden or brass figures or animals sitting on our wall or in a stone temples that we must walk to. But our idols are all around us; money, power, sex, celebrities, our stomachs, family, jobs, friends, cars, other big boy toys, our lives, and the list could go on. And we might not have to walk to a stone temple but our idols do have other temples like; stadiums, movie theaters, malls, computers, houses, skyscrapers, and the list goes on.

So our attractive idols are just like the Hebrew people from Judges, they might change names, places, and sizes, but they are still there and they are still as attractive. Tomorrow I would like to open up the attractions and look at some of the ways our idols are just as attractive in the same categories.

Who is on First

In honor of April Fool's day and the Pirates winning on Opening day!