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  It can even seem like it is no longer applicable to today's world.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Is it just and old and outdated book?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

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?

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?

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???

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?

Who's Party is this?

Photo Credit

This is a great post that sums up a lot of what Jodi and I talk about this time of year...

A Holy Experience: When Christmas Gets Radical: Whose Birthday Is It Really?

Thoughts???

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?

The King Is Coming!

Advent, from the Latin word adventus meaning coming, or meaning the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.  

As I write this this first snow of the year is falling, Thanksgiving has passed, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are over, and we prepare for the flurry of activity called Christmas.  But how do we slow down and remember what the very first Advent was like?  How do we remember what it was like for the world to prepare for the King to come?  How do we celebrate Christmas, not for ourselves, not for presents, not for decorations, not for endless amounts of food, but for the King who through his life gave us life?

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  Luke 2:9-11 KJV

 Christ born into this world, as a gentle baby, would die for your sins.  Sins that you had not committed yet.  Sins that you may not even acknowledge.  But with God's unending grace and Christ's loving sacrifice, you are covered and your debt has been paid in full.

So how should we remember this extraordinary birth and subsequent amazing life?  What should the gifts sitting under our tree look like?  What thoughts should fill our heads as we wait in never-ending lines at the store?  What should our Christmas parties be?  

He is alive!

How do we make sure that when we talk about Christ that we make him feel alive to those around us?

This is a very important point.  Christ is alive.  As Christians sometimes we talk about the Bible and God, along with Jesus as if they were just stories, or things from the past.  It's not that we consciously decide to do this.  It just happens.  Sometimes it's the way we tell Bible stories... just like we were told.  And sometimes they become just that... stories.  But the Bible is God's Living Word. And Christ is (not was) God's Word alive in man.

Why does this matter?

Why does it matter to you?

It matters because we are not worshiping a statue or some old dead guy.  We are living in a relationship with someone who loves us.  We are in a relationship with someone who hopes we will grow closer to them.  We are in a relationship with someone who loves us and knows all of our dirty secrets... and still loves us.  This is as real and alive as any relationship we have with our friends, our family, anyone.

Why does it matter to people you know?

If you believe this and want others to experience this living breathing awesome God you know.  If you want the people around you to grow in a relationship with Christ, then you don't want to talk about Christ as if he was dead, or out dated, or stale.  He is alive! And that is how we need to communicate when we talk about him.

How do you make God come alive in your life?
How was Christ talked about in your life when you were a kid? ...when you became an adult?

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?

What would God look like to reach you?

If God was tyring to get your attention by showing up in your life, or by placing someone in your life, what would he look like?

In William P. Young's book, The Shack, the main character had a rocky relationship with his father, so God appears to him as an old woman. This made him much more receptive to what God had to say.

Or in the TV show Touched By An Angel, different characters were met by different angels. Some women, some men, some young, some old. They always seemed to know which one would be the right one to reach the person they were trying to help.

So if God needed to get you to listen to him, what would he look like? Who would he be?

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?