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  It can even seem like it is no longer applicable to today's world.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Is it just and old and outdated book?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?

 

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?

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?

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?

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?

A New Year, A New You, A New Relationship

Once again, it's that time of year when we all start thinking about New Year's Resolutions.  Getting fit, losing weight, eating healthier, saving more money...  We tend to talk a pretty good game, but by February (or maybe even early January) we have often already fallen short of our goals.

Why do we do this to ourselves?  I think for probably six or more years in a row I have resolved to get in shape and lose weight.  I have even done pretty good a few years, for at least the first half of the year.

This year I need to take a different approach.  Jodi and I have a big goal that we are about to tackle, and I know that it will be a really great thing for us if one year from now we can sit back and have almost finished.  Or goal - NO EATING OUT FOR ONE YEAR.  Yep, that's a big one.  But this year I am very confident.

The difference -

This year I have made sure to include someone else in all my planning leading up to this.  I think you know Him.  God really likes to be involved in us setting goals in our lives, and when we pray and involve him as we set goals, they seem to become much more achievable.

So this year, as you resolve to lose weight, get in shape, eat right... get God involved.

A great way to involve him is also to set goals regarding your relationship with him.  I find the years I have resolved to read my Bible more, or set aside time for devotion, achieving my other goals went a lot smoother too.

So what are your goals this New Year?

The Three Little Matches

Once upon a time, there were three little matches.  One day the matches were talking about how they wanted to burn.  The first match said that he wanted to make sure not to burn too bright, or too fast.  He wanted to burn very slowly. So when he was ready to burn, he said he would stay very still and do his best to control his flame and keep it very small and dim.

The second match thought that didn't sound like a lot of fun.  He said I want to burn very bright.  I want to have the most beautiful and bright flame a match can have.

The third match thought for a while, then slowly began to speak.  He said that what he really wanted most of all was to burn bright and ignite other matches that would hopefully go on to light more matches until all of the matches were burning bright together in the biggest, hottest, and most beautiful flame the world has ever seen.

What kind of match will you be for Christ?

How can we be more like the third match?

Pause and Give Thanks

While we all search furiously for our elastic waist pants and puffy shirts...
let's not forget to pause...
and give thanks.

For me and my family, once again, we have had a hectic, sometimes trying, but amazing year.  I want to thank God for Dylan, who is growing into a young man much too fast; Lincoln, who has grown up so much this year it is hard to believe; and Kristian, who will be one year old in just over two weeks.  I also want to thank God for Jodi, my amazing wife, who has strength and love and understanding much beyond what she gives herself credit.  She is also incredibly supportive of me, no matter what.  But most of all, I want to thank God for his grace and love.  I do not deserve the blessings I have received.  Please help me be a herald to the world and carry the good news of you to all those I may encounter so they will know your love and experience your grace.

What are you thankful for this year?

A wedding, a vacation, three kids on a plane, in-laws, and puke!

What do these all have to do with eachother, besides the first part of my vacation (oh there was also pinkeye and carrying two car seats and three kids' luggage through the Chicago airport?

What they all have in common is patience.

When I said I was going to post a blog while on vacation, I didn't know what I was going to write about. Well God has put this topic on my heat and mind. Now just to clarify; I like my in-laws. We get along great. I love being with my kids. But when family vacation consists of dragging three kids through busy airports to go to a wedding were one is the ring bearer, with pink eye, the other two were by God's grace kept quiet by sleep for one and a mother in-law with an abundance of fruit snacks for the other, while my wife was also in the weeding... The puke came later, but you get the point.

So, now to the point of this post.

Love is patient.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
1 Corinthians 13:4 NIV

If we profess to follow Christ, it is important to act and speak out of love. Love is patient. So when life really gets going, I mean really going. Remember to be patient. And act out of love.

If God is love...

If God is love, why did he kick Satan out of heaven?

This was the question Dylan came up with last week...

My first thought was wow, how do you answer that? Then as I thought a little, I realized that God never stopped loving Satan. He simply realized that if Satan stayed in heaven that he would have destroyed it. So, while he stilled loved Satan, God knew he had to get him put of heaven.

This is an important point for us to remember. Sometimes love is tough. When we find ourselves asking things like why does God allow pain? Maybe there is a reason... Maybe we are seeing tough love...

We don't always understand God's actions (or inactions), but God always loves us.

Have you seen or experienced God's tough love?

Putting the pieces back together

Every day we live out our lives. We tend to fill up our time with a lot of things.  Work, hobbies, family, friends, chores, sleeping, eating...  Why do we do all of these things?

Recently I have been trying to keep this in focus.  My job has been very hectic and my typical 9-5 (actually 7:30 - 4:30) job has been spilling over into my nights, and weekends.  It has been taking away from my family's time.  I have been tired and stressed, and it has shown in my attitude.  I'm not proud of this.  So what do we do about this?  Sometimes we have to be busy.  Often times we have very mundane and trivial things that just have to be done.  So how do we do these and not get our priorities out of line?

Brother Lawrence, a 17th century monk, discussed this in great length.  He wrote The Practice of the Presence of God the Best Rule of a Holy Life about this.  A more modern take on this is Steve Case's God is Here, Connect, which was inspired by Brother Lawrence's writings.  Lawrence's main point was that no matter what we are doing, we should be doing it for God and we should be doing it with God.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  Colossians 3:17

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.  1 Corinthians 10:31

If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.  1 Peter 4:11

We don't necessarily change what we are doing.  But we change how and why we are doing it.  I'm sure that if I can readjust my attitude while working extra hours, that my attitude toward my family when I get home will be much different.  I'm sure their attitude toward me, and feelings about me working more, will also change.

So what does God expect from us...

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?  Deuteronomy 10:12

I pray that I can begin living my life with this constant clear connection to God.  I pray that I can make every moment and every action in my life for God.  I pray that you will, too. 

In His image...

But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?   2 Corinthians 2:14-16 NIV

How do you smell this week?

How have you seen God exemplified by someone's actions this week?  How have you tried too exemplify Christ?