A little summer break...

I'll be taking a little break from blogging while we study the book of Romans and enjoy the summer.

Bible Study

No real post this week.

Come to class prepared to talk about what Bible study we want to do.  What book or topic do you want to study?

Types of literature in the Bible

A new blog series is going to be starting at biblegateway.org.

Go read Genres of the Bible.

Just do it.

This week I finally did it.  I started running again.  I have not be running since the middle of January.  So as I was trying to breathe and not really enjoying my run.  I began thinking, one of the main reasons I really enjoy running.  I began thinking about how studying the Bible is a lot like running - at least for me.

Running is something I know I should do.  Reading and studying the Bible is something I know I should do.

I just need to do it. No hesitating, no procrastinating, no excuses, no fear.  I just need to press on and do it.

I think the same reasons that hold us back from things like exercising or doing other things that we know are good for us are some of the same things that hold us back from God's Word.  We make excuses, that we don't have the time, we don't know where to begin, we don't know the right way to do it.

Just like in running, you are never going to get better at it if you don't get out there and do it.  You are never going to get better at reading, studying, and applying the Bible to your life if you don't do it.

What holds you back from reading the Bible? 

There is not just one way to read the Bible.  Dive in and try something, if it doesn't work for you try something else.  Maybe you have always wanted to read the Bible straight through from beginning to end.  Try it.  Maybe this never worked for you.  Try a topical reading plan.  If those don't seem right, find a study guide that will walk you through.  Just keep trying things until you find the right way for you to keep reading your Bible.

What works for you?
Is there a reading plan you have wanted to try?

Reading With Friends

 We have come so far as a society.  We can play games like Words With Friends with people all around the country, even all over the world.  We can post pictures and party invites and even what we ate for lunch instantly on Twitter and Facebook for all our friends and family to see.  But, many people choose to read and study the Bible in solitude.

Is this how we are supposed to study the Bible?  How do we get the most out of God's Word and what it means for our life?

Prior to the invention of the printing press, it was rare for people to own books, including the Bible.  This meant that people read and studied the Bible as a community.  Once books became affordable, more and more people could own their own Bible. This also began to change the way we read and studied the Bible.  We began to read the Bible on our own in a quite corner of our home.  There were no other people their to discuss and share with as we read.

How does this change our understanding of the Bible?  How does this affect our accountability to continue studying God's Word?

As society has continued to change and we move more and more from printed material to digital, how do we use new technologies to become a more connected community of believers?  Can we once again read and study the Bible together, but with and even larger community?  Can this ever replace a face to face community?

Here are some thoughts from Bobby Gruenewald, the Innovation Leader for the YouVersion online Bible...

http://qideas.org/video/the-bible-in-a-technological-age.aspx

How do I use this book?!?!

While discussing what topics people wanted me to cover on this blog, one came up that really stuck with me.

I am going to begin a series on how we read and study the Bible and apply it to our lives in today's world.

When this topic came up, I really felt excited.  Every time I really dig into studying the Bible, I love the feeling I get when I realize how relevant and true it is still today.  However, sometimes, at first glance the Bible can be confusing and even intimidating.  It can even seem like it is no longer applicable to today's world.

I believe with everything within me that the Bible is God's Living Word and is just as relevant and just as important to our lives as it was to the people that are in the event recorded in the Bible.

When we study and pray and discuss the Bible, it becomes so much more than just words on paper.

How do you view the Bible?  Is it alive and relevant to your life?
How do you read and study the Bible? Do you read the Bible?
Do you feel disconnected from the stories?
Do you feel the Holy Spirit speaking to you through the pages of your Bible?
Is it just and old and outdated book?

No matter what your views, please follow this series and  join in the discussion.

Temporal Existence and Friendship

I have been really busy at work for the past few weeks straight (part of why my post is going up so late).  I even had to work last weekend.  This and some other events, and maybe the lack of sleep, and being sick... well, I have been thinking about temporal existence.  I didn't even realize it, but those two words were just bouncing around in my head, over and over.  Temporal, from the same Latin root at temporary.  Why was I thinking about this.  Sure, we are all only here for a portion of eternity.  Then when Jodi told me about how her grandpa was starting to go to lunch and other such things with a friend that had recently lost his wife, it hit me.  We are all only here on this earth as we know it for a limited period of time.  What we do with that time is of the utmost importance.

We only have a set amount of time, and we don't know how much, to spread Christ's love to this world and to grow in it ourselves.

Let me say that again a little more bluntly.  We only have right now to love Christ and bring those we love to him.

An important part of doing this is friendship.  Friends like Ruth and Naomi.

But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.  Ruth 1:16

Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”  Ruth 1:17

We can all use friends like this that have our back and would die for us.

We could all use friends like Job had.

When Job’s three friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, heard about all the troubles that had come upon him, they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they could hardly recognize him; they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was.  Job 2:11-13

Finding a friends that will just sit and be with you is an amazing thing.

So while our time as we know it is limited, what we do with that time can result in unlimited potential.

What kind of friend are you?  What kind of friends do you have?
How is this helping you in you life?  How is this helping you in your walk with Christ?
How is this helping you bring others to Christ?

 

Exiled

This week, read this article.  It's a little long, but it is very good.

The Rise of Exiles by David Kinnaman

Read the comments too...

With words like bullets...

This week I am just going to link to two post from my personal blog.  It has been dormant lately, but these posts seem very relavant this week.

With words like bullets...

The silent witness

The more talk, the less truth; 

the wise measure their words. 

The speech of a good person is worth waiting for; 

the blabber of the wicked is worthless. 

The talk of a good person is rich fare for many, 

but chatterboxes die of an empty heart. 

Proverbs 10:19-21

The Message

How we see the world

 

Lord give me your eyes...

We don't see the world the way God does, or for that matter even the way he intended we see it.  We see the world through a lense that distorts things based on our experiences.  We see hate and fear where God sees hope and love...

Take for example the sad event of Trayvon Martin.  If George Zimmerman had been able to see an unobstructed view of the world, not tempered by his fear and bias, Trayvon would still be alive and with his parents.  If the police that responded could see clearly... we could go on and on...

We cannot escape our experiences though, and they do shape us.  If we are raped by a black man, we will likely be fearful of other black men.  If we were abused by an older women, we may harbor anger toward older women.  If we always see bad news about religious zealots, we may have a negative view of religion.  This is part of how the world shapes us.

So how do we overcome this?  After all, it is just part of our human nature.

The only answer is by turning to God... Asking to please see the world through his eyes.

How distorted is your view?

How has your past changed the way you see the world?

How do you keep this from negatively affecting your view?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In 1726, St. Patrick used a three leaf clover to demonstrate the Holy Trinity, the three distinct parts of God in one.  What a great object lesson, almost like God himself had placed a  clue there waiting for us to find.

How many times does this sort of thing happen? How many times do these clues, that may help further our relationship with God, go unnoticed?

What things do you see in your surrounding that remind you of aspects of God?

How can we use the things around us to help others understand God and his love for us?

There is evil in this world... What can I do?

There is evil in this world. We must admit that. So what do we do about it? Well, here is what a few friends are doing about one of the worlds worst criminals.

You may have seen this since it has been passed around the internet quite a bit this week.  But not all evil is as big and bad as Joseph Kony.  Most of us don't know war criminals and terrorists, but we do still come face to face with evil.

Sometimes, we probably don't even notice it. Sometimes it is small things, comments that eat at us, things in our past, looks from people that make us uneasy...

What kinds of evil do you struggle to face in your life?
Are there bigger evils in the world that you want to fight against?

Please Rescue Me

Falling on my knees in worship

Giving all I am to seek your face

Lord all I am is yours

My whole life

I place in your hands

God of Mercy

Humbled I bow down

In your presence at your throne

I called you answered

And you came to my rescue and I

I wanna be where you are

In my life be lifted high

In our world be lifted high

In our love be lifted high

- Written by Hillsong United  

- Performed by Aaron Gillespie

Sometimes we need rescued.  During this season of Lent as we prepare to remember the sacrifice Christ made for each of us, let us all remember, that if we need rescued... He is there.

Every year I play out the Jesus Christ's life story in my head as we go through the holidays.  At Christmas time we celebrate the amazing birth of our Savior.  I like to think of this as the part of the movie where the world doesn't even know that it is going to need a hero.  There is always plenty of joy and celebrating.  As we approach Lent, this is when we start to see the gritty dark parts of the story.  Things are starting to fall apart.  And the Good Friday comes and it is a dark and stormy day and the hero dies to save us even though we are undeserving and some of us even condemn him.  None the less, he dies for all of us.  Then Easter arrives and the hero concurs death.  Amazing.

So during this time of year, when I'm remembering the broken world that sent Jesus to the cross, how am I broken?

How do I need rescued?  Am I placing my whole life in His hands?

Lint and Lent

Well as many of you know, we have had our share of bumps in the road recently... water heaters, clothes dryers, sick kids...  I think we have made it through the this round of life detours.  The water heater is working great, the kids seem like they're getting better (except for Dylan having some breathing trouble this week), and the dryer is back working.  And all just in time for Lent!

Coincidentally, we have begun paring down around our house.  After writing the Consuming post a few weeks ago, it seemed like I was hearing God speak to me through radio news stories, and bits and pieces of conversations, that we needed to slim down out accumulation of stuff, and slim down our bills.

So we have been going through the house and getting rid of things.  This has been mostly (almost exclusively) Jodi, I am working on getting better at this.  And we are going to be canceling our cable and home phone.  It feels liberating.  We are breaking chains that bind us to this world.

So with Lent upon us, I am invigorated and ready to sacrifice the things that I hold onto that are keeping me from you Lord.

What things hold you back from a relationship with Jesus?
What keeps you from growing in your relationship with him?
What things bind you to this world?
What things could you not live without? Why?

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him -Proverbs 3:5-6

Would Jesus use Facebook?

Earlier this week I was reading an article, Take It and Tweet It by Matthew Nickoloff, that talked about how we can use Facebook, blogs, and other social media as a digital ministry.  This is something that really hit home with me.  I am trying to do this kind of thing with my blog, but the article really made me think when it noted that "people are not looking for information, but relationships".  This really hit me.  I am not that big on digital relationships.  I have probably been very hypocritical when you break it down that a digital relationship is just a relationship.  I always talk about the importance of relationships in bringing people to Christ and growing in your relationship with Him... BUT... I don't really live this out on Facebook, or Twitter very well.  I hope my blog has been more relational than informational (please someone hold me accountable if it isn't).

So, I guess the point is that my view that Facebook and other social media is accelerating the downfall of society is changing.  Social media is only going to be as good as the things we post through it.

Would Jesus us Facebook?  You better believe it.  I think he would be all over Facebook, reaching people right where they are.  His friend count would be increasing daily.

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations your friends on Facebook, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Matthew 28:19

Think about it... how many people can you reach though your social media accounts that you already have?

How can you be a herald for Christ through social media?

Life gets tough

Sometimes life gets tough.  We have had our share of detours recently it seems.
Water heaters, dryers, sick kids, loved ones lost... Life indeed gets tough sometimes.

This week I've really been searching and praying for what to write.

So I decided to write about hardships.  Jodi pointed me to this blog post on enduring the curves life throws at you. Listen to the song linked in the post, it will lift your spirits if you are struggling.

How do you get through the hard times in life?

Do you have a Bible verse, or a hymn, a song, a prayer that lifts you back up?

How do you remind yourself that God has not left you alone to make it through these trials?

Sinner

What is a sin?
How do you define sin?
How does the Bible define sin?
Are some sins worse than others?

If you start looking for answers to questions like this on the internet, you see lots of different view points.  You will find some people that are trying to reason if being homosexual (and discussing if that is a sin) is less of a sin than killing someone.  You will find lots of verses in the Bible that talk about sin.  First let's try to define what sin is.

If you look the word up in the dictionary you will find that sin is an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law.  I define sin in a much broader manner.  Sin is anything that goes against the will of God.

So once you dig through what sin is and are left with discussion after discussion trying to rank sins you realize that the Bible does not give us an all inclusive list of what sins there are and which ones are the worst, and maybe some others that aren't that bad.

What you will find if you keep searching for answers in the Bible is that we are assured that we are all sinners.

FOR ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD - Romans 3:23

If you are reading this, you are a sinner.  If you never read this, you are a sinner. But, keep reading...

YET GOD, WITH UNDESERVED KINDNESS, DECLARES THAT WE ARE RIGHTEOUS. HE DID THIS THROUGH CHRIST JESUS WHEN HE FREED US FROM THE PENALTY FOR OUR SINS - Romans 3:24

Yes, God sent his son to pay for your sins and set things right.  Even though none of us deserve this grace, we all receive it if we believe in the Lord.  It doesn't matter which sins you have committed, or how you rank them, or if you rank them.  You have been given the same gift that the sinner next to you has been given.

God love each and every one of us with the same unconditional love, so do you really think it matters to figure out which sins are worse than others???

Consuming

This week I'm just posting a link.

The Appetite of North America


This is a very thought provoking article that was posted a qideas.org.

Read it, think about it, comment.

Faith Like A Child

Wow...

How do we keep a child like faith?

Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.  Luke 18:17

As we mature in our faith and in our life, sometimes we make things harder than they should be.  We over think, we second guess, we doubt.  Christ knew that we would do this and made a point of it (Mark 10:15, and Luke 18:17). How do we make sure to grow and mature in our faith, but not out grow that awe and wonder that we had as children?

I love seeing my kids discover and learn about Jesus Christ.  The amazement in their eyes as the hear how much Christ loves and care for them is inspiring.

Do I still have the look in my eyes?  Or have I lost it because I have made my faith too complicated.

How do you keep your faith fresh and uncomplicated?

Do you still say wow when you hear John 3:16?

Engage!

How do we engage with the world around us?

This year I am all about challenges.  So far the family's goal for the year of not eating out is going great.  Jodi and I don't even want to eat out right now.  So, it seems like a great time for another challenge.

How do we engage with the world around us?  How do you engage with friends, family, coworkers, strangers...?

Our church's vision is to impact and influence our community and world with the love of God.  So in order to do this we have to engage and interact with people.  We have to talk to people that are outside of our church.

So here is the challenge part.

How do you do this now?  How can you do better?  What seems to work well?