Passion Conference

The college group is gearing up to head on down to Atlanta GA to attend the passion conference. There is much excitement brewing within the college group at what this event will bring.

Advent

The Christmas season is upon us. And it is easy to get lost in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the season. But let us remember why we are celebrating. We celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. A great way to do this is to celebrate Advent and an easy way to do this is to take scripture that relates to the Christmas story to read each day. Each of the Gospels records the Christmas story, brief or expanded (except Mark).

So I encourage you to take the time and read Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38, 2:1-21, 2:22-38; John 1:1-18. look with new eyes on what the birth of Jesus means for us.

John 1:14

John 1:14

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (ESV)

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish. (The Message)

So the Word became a human being and lived among us. We saw his glory (glory like the that of a Father's only Son. (J.B. Phillips)

The Word became flesh and lived for a while among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (NIV)

As we enter into this Christmas season, let us remember the why we celebrate. Let us remember the reason behind the gifts, behind the traditions, behind all the glamour and the glitter. We celebrate because the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, we celebrate because the Son moved into our world, we celebrate because Christ Jesus became a man for our sake. We celebrate because Jesus came to save us.

camping trip

Here are some pics from our college camping trip. It was a cool and chill time. Some nice conversations by the fire and waking up way to close to the person next to you. ahh camping.

Titus

I am a dork. I know it, my friends know it, my family doesn’t let me forget it, and to be honest I have embraced it. My dorkdom can come out in many ways, and one of the most prevalent is my love for doctrine and theology. There are many people that have this same love, I am not special in this regard. But after going to school for this passion and becoming addicted to books, my dorkdom has increased.

I was thinking this week about right doctrine and how important it is for the modern church and for Christians. If I had a soapbox this would be it. I would gladly get up and scream till I was red in the face about how people have for too long just excepted what they believe and have never truly dug down under the surface to understand what is going on. The tirade would continue with how Christians might be the worse, they we are raised on a faith and never seek to question what we were taught and so our faith remains vague and non-relevant to our lives. This could continue for a long time, even though I doubt it would reach anyone or change anyone’s actions. But as I was thinking about sound doctrine and correct teaching, it struck me that for doctrine to be sound and for teaching to be correct it has to reach into our lives and change who we are.

That is to say that correct teaching results in a changed life. Why is this? Because when we come face to face with the truth of this world and the God who saves, we have but one response. A teaching might have all the facts, it might have all the right answers and be logical, but if it doesn’t result in a change than there is something lacking. I came face to face with this when I was studying the letter of Titus. Titus is a pastoral epistle, one of the letters that Paul wrote to his fellow workers. 1 + 2 Timothy fall into this category as well. Well the letters to Timothy stress sound doctrine, Titus “stresses worthy Christian conduct and insists that Christian conduct must be based on and regulated by Christian truth.” (D. Edmond Hiebert) For even someone that loves doctrine, living it out can still fall by the wayside.

Reading through Titus can be a very sobering experience. Again and again I was reminded that our lives reflect what we believe. Titus 1:16 “They professed to know God, but they deny him by their works.” These were Paul’s opponents. But we can still learn from them. This makes me look at my life and wonder, “Do I deny God by how I live even thought I might claim to follow him?” This can be a sobering thought. Then again in Titus 2:7-8 “Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in all your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.” It is by living out what we believe that our witness is given power and speaks the truth. Paul stresses this through out the letter, Titus 3:1 “…be ready for every good work.” And Titus 3:8 “… those who believe in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works.” We who claim to know Christ and God must put that faith into action.

Now if you are anything like me you can get down on yourself. You think, “man I mess up so many times, I can’t do this.” But we must remember that Paul is not saying that we can be perfect or that we will not mess ups, Paul himself said that he messed up and did the things that he did not want to do. This is our response, the trend and character of our life. We mess up, but is the general movement of our life pointed toward living out what we believe?

Also we mustn’t start to think that we earn anything through our response of obedience. Titus 3:5 “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy…” Living out what we believe is our response, it is not the start of our salvation. We know what God has done for us and so we respond by being obedient.

Titus can be a sobering read, but one that we all need to take to heart. We who profess to know Christ need to live out our faith. We need to make every effort to have a strong witness that speaks the truth of who God is. Following God is not just our head, it is not just our heart, it is not just what we do. It is all we are.

Titus 2: 7-8

"Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, have nothing evil to say about us." Titus 2: 7-8

This is a high call, but one that we must strive toward. When we take a look at our life, do we see a good witness for what we claim to believe, or do we see something completely different? No one is perfect, and Paul is not saying that we can be. But he is saying that we should make every effort possible to be men and women who strive to show God in all we do. So that when the people who do not know God look upon our lives, they can have nothing bad to say about us.

So, can people who don't know God speak bad about you, or are you are good witness for our faith?

College Camp out this weekend

Hey Guys,

Camping this Friday night! We are meeting at the church around 4 on Friday afternoon. Then we will head up for some fun in the woods. Bring your own equipment and your own food, though we night have some hot dogs for everyone to cook on the fire.

Everyone is invited.

Thursday Night Home group fire side

This Thursday we are having a little fire side home group. Making some smores and mayeb some hot dogs.

It should be a great time. All are invited. 7:30 at 4500 Kinkead Ave.

Verse of the Week

I was reading Galatians and came across 5:16 which states "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh."

I have been thinking a lot lately about walking by the Spirit and what that means for our lives. This section in Galatians is about the fruit of the Spirit and ends with the statement "If we live by the Spirit. let us also walk by the Spirit."

When it comes to the Spirit, we have the tendency to either over emphasize or not talk or think about it at all. It is so important, we see through out the Bible that we can't ignore it. So how do we rightly take into account the Spirit?

How can we walk by the Spirit?

Read Gal. 5:22-23

Thursday Night Worship

This Thursday night we are having another night of worship.

Come one come all!

Last worship night was pretty powerful, and I think that as we continue to do this it will just get more and more powerful.

Verse of the Day

Verse for the Day: Galatians 1: 10

"For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ."

How often do we seek approval from people? It seems that the motif for so many of our lives is seeking the please those around us... and if this reigns overall it can only mean that serving God falls by the wayside.

Which is more important to you?

idols

I have just started to read Timothy Keller's new book "Counterfeit Gods". So far it promises to be a great read just like everything of his.

I was thinking on the subject of idols and I remember one of my professors saying how we can focus on the idols of money, power, sex and all of that, but that the most insidious idol is our view of God. What he meant was that if we start to change who God is in our minds to allow us to do what we want, we have effectively made an idol. And it would be the most dangerous because it might appear just like the true God on the outside and we might not even realize that it is an idol. It really makes you think and it really shows the importance of knowing God and theology.

So is your God the one that you have crafted to fit your pleasure? or is your God the one found in scripture?

Control

God is in control. That might sound like a very "Christian" thing to say, it is one of those phrases that is thrown around by people who want to try to explain away a hard time or to try to give comfort to people in the midst of a personal tragedy. For whatever reason this has been a popular and well known saying. There are many that fall along the same category, such as "God has a plan", "God works in mysterious ways", and others. But do we believe this?

Do we honestly believe this? I am not talking about just believing like we know it to be true, or feel it to be true, but believe it so much that it bleeds into how we live and how we act and how we think about this world. Because that is what it means to truly believe that God is sovereign... it means that we know, we act, we think, we are who we are totally based on God being in charge and in control.

Proverbs 16:33

"The lot is cast into the lap, but every decision is from the Lord."

Compare and Contrast

Compare and contrast. Those used to be my least favorite questions in school. The teacher or the book would present two different things, be they systems of thought or different items, and they would ask you to compare and contrast. They wanted you to list what was similar about the two and also what was different. I might have disliked these questions because they required you to know everything about not only one thing but two. I remember for many homework assignments and on not that few of test comparing systems and also contrasting them. I would have to rack my brain to think how are these similar and how are they different. The great thing about this was that once you have done one, compare or contrast, the other was easy to do. You just had to list everything you haven’t mentioned. I was reading a Psalm the other day and I could not help but think of compare and contrast.

Psalm 36

1Transgression speaks to the wicked

deep in his heart;

there is no fear of God

before his eyes.

2 For he flatters himself in his own eyes

that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.

3The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;

he has ceased to act wisely and do good.

4He plots trouble while on his bed;

he sets himself in a way that is not good;

he does not reject evil.

5Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,


your faithfulness to the clouds.


6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;


your judgments are like the great deep;


man and beast you save, O LORD.

7 How precious is your steadfast love, O God!


The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.


8They feast on the abundance of your house,


and you give them drink from the river of your delights.


9For with you is the fountain of life;


in your light do we see light.

10Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,


and your righteousness to the upright of heart!


11Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,


nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.


12There the evildoers lie fallen;


they are thrust down, unable to rise.

Compare and contrast, that is what David is doing here in this Psalm. He starts with humanity. He speaks about our sinful nature in that our hearts listen to transgression and we do not fear God. This is so interrogated in our condition that we flatter ourselves to the extent that we no longer see our sin in our lives. We have blinded ourselves to our true state by thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought to. We speak deceit and we no longer do good. We don’t only talk evil but our actions are evil. Every aspect of who we are is tainted. Humanity is in the grip of evil so much that it is the thing we think about, before we go to bed and right when we wake up. We think on things that are evil and how we can get away with evil. We don’t fight it, we have given in and dwell in it.

Humanity is than compared to God. And through this comparison the majesty of God is made known and the fallen of man. That is the great thing about compare and contrast, it really lets us see where you can place things relative to each other. When compared to humanity God couldn’t be more different. Where man is supremely wicked, God is supremely good. His love is so vast that it can’t be measured. All of what he is, is so great that it is greater than the heavens, it reaches to the clouds, it is bigger than mountains, it is deeper than the seas. It is the love of the Lord and his vastness that allows people to take shelter under him. People find comfort, love, safety, refuge under God. God sustains and nourishes us. He provides and cares for us. He is the light and the life.

When compared to this, humanity couldn’t seem smaller. Compared to God we know our place in the world. This shouldn’t get us down. It shouldn’t be a source of despair. The focus is on the greatness of God. God is great, so great that he leaves humanity in the dust. It is for this reason we worship God.

So compare for yourself….

College Worship

We are planing on having our College Worship night this Thursday. we have not been able to have one yet, so this should be a good time to get away from studying and worship with some fellow students.

It will be a time of signing and a short message.

pour

I was just at my grandpa's funeral this pass week (sorry for having to cancel the worship night). It was a very moving time and hard in many ways, but also a great time to celebrate my grandpa's life. It is times like these that can get you thinking and wondering about your own life. If there is one thing that I can take away from this is that we need to make the most of every moment and really invest in people. That is what my grandpa did and the church was packed.

So let us really pour into those around us.

Home Group

Last night we had homegroup, and it went great.  Thanks for all that could come.  

We looked at one of my favorite passages, 1 Timothy 4:6-10.   I have written about this passage before and it has much to say for us.  It is about training and how we need to train in our beliefs as well as our bodies.  Check it out.  

Charge

2 Timothy 4: 1-5

1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (ESV)

 

            I have been reading 1 and 2 Timothy a lot recently.  And I love them.  I think that I am drawn to them so much because they give a clear charge to what a man or woman of God is supposed to do.  Paul is charging one of his pupils, Timothy, with the work of taking care and edifying a church.  There is no greater call, there is no greater charge.  I read through these letters and I can always pump myself up by acting like they were written to me.  “Adam, this is what I charge you…”  This might be a little silly, but I don’t think it is that far from the truth. 

            Paul might have been writing to a certain pupil who is no leading a church, but the charge and the advice is for all of us who claim to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  Any one can pick up these letters and take to heart what is written within them.  And we need to.  We need to take up these letters and learn what is expected of us and what we are charged with, especially if we claim to be leaders. 

            The first charge is to preach the word. We are called to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus to all, we are called to have this be such an intimate part of who we are that we can’t help but have it spill from our lips.  In order for us to preach and also for us to be ready always to explain our beliefs, the Word of God most dwell within us.  It must be undividable from who we are and how we think.  We must marinate in its richness.  It must soak through to our most inner being.  If this happened, we could not help but speak with God’s love, speak the truth of Jesus is to all we know, know intimately why we believe Jesus died for us.  Soak up the Word of God!  Dive in. 

            There is a reason for this.  Paul warns of a time when people will just want to hear what makes them feel good and happy, they will only want to hear what they like.  I have always found it funny that Paul says that the “time is coming” when this will happen because I have always found that it has already been here.  Human want to only hear what they like, they only want to hear what justifies them and gives license to how they think and live.  Think about it for a second.  All the way back to Adam and Eve we have heard what we wanted.  That is why when the serpent starts twisting the words of God, Eve goes right along.  It scratched her itching ear.  Why would the people put to death the prophets of God, if not because they want to hear teaching that justifies their lifestyles? This has been with us for as long as humanity has been in rebellion, and it is not going to change short of Christ coming again. 

            But this is why we have to be trained in the Word.  We have to be able to refute and correct this false teaching that will continually draw people into false belief.  We have to be so soaked and immersed in the Word of God that we can give the answer when needed, so that we can point the way and guide people back to Jesus Christ.  

            This is the charge.  Paul gives it to Timothy, but it is also given to us by God.  We who claim to believe in Jesus Christ have to take this to heart.  It might seem daunting or an immense task, but we are called to it and can do it only because of Christ.  It is the power of Christ working in the Word of God, speaking through us those around us, that makes this possible.  It is the power of God through Christ expressed by us as the instruments to reach the world and to edify the church.  This is the charge, the greatest charge.        

The Natural State

This wonderful saturday I went hiking up near Natural dam with Kacee.  This is just one of the pictures of that wonderful time.  But I will tell you something, hiking in the natural state equals spider webs in the face.... 

Youth

For the Youth at church I was an opposing mascot.... as a result they pied me.  The funny thing is that I didn't even know I have the pan still on my head.  

(the costume makes me look fat) 

BBQ Kick Off

We had our BBQ kick off for the fall home group and the college ministry last night.  It was a good time and thanks for all that folks that showed up.  In the future we will be exploring some scripture for the home group and next week is the first worship time for the college ministry.  

Here is some information that came from that night:

Contact info:

KT  right -5.75 Left -5.75 

AB right -2.50 left -3.00

DW right -7.00 left -7.15

SD right -2.00 left -2.50

AS right -15.75 left -13.75

MF right -2.00 left -2.25

JK none

MK right -8.5 left -8.5

AB right -.75 left -1.25 

PY right -2.55  left -1.35 

This always comes in handy 

Oscar Mayer Mobile

Oscar Mayer Mobile

Tuesday afternoon at the office.  

John Calvin

Here is a little something something by one of the great thinkers of the Christians faith, John Calvin.   Enjoy. 

 

“Now when in fact only one hears attentively and effectively, could it not have appeared that the way was blocked for Christ to make an entry? But afterwards from that frail shoot a famous church sprang up, whose praises Paul sings in splendid terms. Yet it is possible that Lydia had some companions, of whom no mention is made, because she herself far surpassed them. Yet Luke does not attribute the cause for this one woman having shown herself docile, to the fact that she was sharperwitted than the others, or that she had some preparation by herself, but says that the Lord opened her heart, so that she gave heed to Paul’s words. He had just praised her piety; and yet he shows that she could not understand the teaching of the Gospel without the illumination of the Spirit.

Accordingly we see that not only faith, but also all understanding of spiritual things, is a special gift of God, and that ministers do not accomplish anything by speaking, unless the inward calling of God is added at the same time.

By the word heart Scripture sometimes means the mind, as when Moses says (Deut. 29:4), ‘until now the Lord has not given you a heart to understand.’ So also in this verse Luke means not only that Lydia was moved by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to embrace the Gospel with a feeling of the heart, but that her mind was illuminated to understand. We may learn from this that such is the dullness, such the blindness of men, that in hearing they do not hear, or seeing they do not see, until God forms new ears and new eyes for them.

But we must note the expression that the heart of Lydia was opened so that she paid attention to the external voice of a teacher. For as preaching on its own is nothing else but a dead letter, so, on the other hand, we must beware lest a false imagination, or the semblance of secret illumination, leads us away from the Word upon which faith depends, and on which it rests. For in order to increase the grace of the Spirit, many invent for themselves vague inspirations so that no use is left for the external Word. But the Scripture does not allow such a separation to be made, for it unites the ministry of men with the secret inspiration of the Spirit. If the mind of Lydia had not been opened, the preaching of Paul would have been mere words; yet God inspires her not only with the mere revelations but with reverence for His Word, so that the voice of a man, which otherwise would have vanished into thin air, penetrates a mind that has received the gift of heavenly light.

Therefore let us hear no more of the fanatics who make the excuse of the Spirit to reject external teaching. For we must preserve the balance which Luke established here, that we obtain nothing from the hearing of the Word alone, without the grace of the Spirit, and that the Spirit is conferred on us not that He may produce contempt of the Word, but rather to instill confidence in it in our minds and write it on our hearts.“

Taken from Calvin’s commentary on the Acts of the Apostles (Volume 2)

Questions

I have had many conversations in my life where people are asking questions which I find ridiculous.   The old saying that there is no such thing as a stupid question may be true, but some questions do show some insight into the person asking them.  And in the case of questions about the faith tend to really show a lack of understanding and a lack of knowledge.  This is not to say that the person asking the questions is stupid or somehow inferior to someone who has the knowledge and understanding.  It just means that they have not been invested in like they should have been.  It means that someone failed them. 

 

            I really think that we should strive to understand our own faith.  Not just so we can look smart or look like we have all the answers, but so that we can answer questions when asked and also so we can just know the basics of what we believe.  How can we believe something that we don’t even know? So ask questions, you have to start somewhere.    

Check this out.  It is by Dr. Tim Keller and it a great short read.  

http://www.monergism.com/acidtest.html

Look into it

"God's control is absolute in the sense that men do only that which he has ordained that they should do; yet they are truly free agents in the sense hat they decisions are their own, and they are morally responsible for them." ~ J.I. Packer

I came across this quote in some of my reading and really thought it summed up nicely the reformed view of God's sovereignty and Human responsibility. This is one of those big theological questions that can rattle around in your mind and tend to drive a person crazy or at the very least keep sleep away. While I don't hold that you have to stand where I stand on topics such as this, it being non-essential for salvation, I do think that we all need to look into these deeper things.

Love of the Mind

I was driving by a Junior HIgh school today and noticed that the track was packed with students.  They were slowly walking around the football field, in groups and pairings.  As I watched them lifelessly drift through the motion of walking, I was struck that the scene looked an awful lot alike another.  It looked like a scene mostly viewed in movies, the scene of the workout yard in a prison.  I could not help but laugh when this comparison hit me.  I remember always thinking that Jr. High was a prison and here was another reminder of why.  It was perfect, the track and filed were surrounded by high fencing, the students were all under close supervision, and all the trapped personal wanted to be free.  

The sad part of this story is that is how the majority of students feel about their education.  They are there because they have to be there.  If it wasn't law that they attend, they would have been staying home and doing more enjoyable activities.  And with that mentality they go into learning, or at least going through the motions of learning.  It ingrains in them as sense that learning has to be forced upon them, or it instills the attitude of requiring someone to make them learn.  What does this do to us as a people?  

When we stop learning we stop growing.  It is a simple fact.  So many people don't know how to learn, or go about trying to learn on their own.  They have always had someone to spoon feed them what was required.  I have seen this so often in areas of the faith.  People don't know how to go about learning about God, Jesus, the Bible, the world through a Christian world view of anything like that.  They don't know how to learn.     

But if we take seriously the commands of Jesus and the commands of God than this is not an option.  Jesus says in Matthew 22: 37 "... You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."  It is the last object of the preposition phrase that we forget.  We claim to love God with all our hearts and souls, but we fail miserably with loving God with our minds.  We have been trained since little kids to be taught, so much so that we have not learned how to teach ourselves.  What would happen if a generation of Christ followers took it upon themselves to really love God with all of their minds?  I think the world would be changed.  Apologetics would be a natural move for Christians.  Church members would feel confident in sharing their faith.  Parents could explain some of the deeper things in their beliefs to their own sons and daughters.  

Do you love God with your mind?  

The train game

Have you ever trained for something?  I used to swim and we would train for meets and train to get as fast as we could get.  This would take serious time, many hours at the pool, in the weight room, working on technique.  Granted I did not put in as much effort or training as some, and there is one reason for that.  Training is hard.  You work yourself hard and push yourself to the limit.  This is not easy, it is not a cake walk.  Many people when faced with training will go the other way, they will seek a path of less resistance. 

            But training is a way of life.  We train all the time, we train in our jobs, we train for education, we train to do some skill or task better or faster.  We are a people that are in constant training.  So why is it that we break from that when it comes to what we believe?  So many people will move away from this training mentality when it comes to matters of the faith.  For some reason they will see faith or matters of the faith as something which requires no training.  How further from the truth could they be!  Logic compels us to think that if everything else requires training, should not what we believe and how we live it out require training as well? 

            1 Timothy 4: 7-8 states “Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths.  Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”

            Paul stresses here that training does not stop just with our body, or even with school, but that it extends into our faith.  We are to train ourselves in godliness, we are to train ourselves in the ways of our faith.  We can see the value of training in every other realm of our lives.  We see training helping athletes win medals, helping the military perform missions well, helping students pass courses and earn good grades.  That same benefit can also be applied to our faith. 

            The sad thing is that so many people don’t see the benefit or don’t realize what training can mean for their faith.  They don’t take the time and the effort to really train themselves in what they believe.  This leads to people not understanding what they believe, not knowing how to apply it to their lives, not living it out, and not being able to articulate it to others.  These people find it hard to impact the world without that training.  God can use them and does use them to reach people, but they are not good stewards of what God has given them. 

            Take apologetics for example.  This is just a big word for talking to people about what you believe and what they believe.  So many well wishing Christians will set out to open a dialogue with a non-believer and to try to give them reasons and arguments for why Christianity is true.  Well, if these Christians don’t have the training in what they believe, if they have not spent the time they will not be able to articulate the Christian faith.  And when someone that believes something different and has studied and trained argues with them, they can be shaken in their own beliefs, because they will not know how to respond.  The fact of the matter is that more non-believers have trained for what they believe than Christians.  Non-believers had to fight and figure out what it was they believed and so can articulate it.  This doesn’t make it right, it just makes them trained in a way of thinking.  But it is the Christians that should be in constant training.  We should be constantly seeking to edify ourselves in the way of the Lord. 

            How has your training been going?    

Get off our Butts

1 Timothy 6:11-16

“But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.  Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.  In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time--God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.”

 

            I have been reading through 1 Timothy for the last couple of days and this passage really stuck out to me.  This is one of the charges that Paul is giving Timothy and it stood out to me because of how active it is.  If you take a look at this passage you can see many actions.  Paul tells timothy to flee, to pursue, to fight, to take hold of, to make a good confession, and to keep.  Bam bam bam, it list action after action.  Our faith is not one of sitting back, it is not one of idle hoping that we will grow or be transformed.  Our faith is one of action. 

            Let’s look at these actions that Timothy and we are charged to do.  Paul commands Timothy to flee from all this, referring to false teaching and greed.  Timothy can’t be a devote man of God and have a life filled with things not of God.  This is not saying that a person desiring to serve God can’t sin, we all sin, but it is saying that those who desire to be teachers and leaders can’t have a life filled with that which is contrary to God.  We flee from this to create a space to be filled with godliness.  Without clearing sin away we won’t have the room for godliness.  It can be looked at from the point of view of the wilderness for the Israelites.  One of theories for why God brought the Israelites to Mount Sinai was that He wanted to strip away the culture and the way of life of Egypt before he introduce the way they were to live for Him from there on out.  So we clear our lives out to be ready to accept the things of God. 

            After we flee we are to pursue.  We flee from that which is not of God only to turn around and pursue that which is from God.  We pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness or endurance, and gentleness.  We are to pursue that which characterizes the people of God.  What does it mean to pursue?  In my mind it means to set out after something, it might take awhile and in fact we know that in this case it will take awhile, but we keep after it.  To pursue means that it is a journey, a quest, a mission.  We are told to give our life to this pursuit.  It is the pursuit to conform our lives to God.  To be a people of God we have to be a people of pursuit. 

            And this is not always easy, which is why the next command is to fight.  We are told to fight the good fight of the faith.  When we seek to live for God we will come against opposition.  The world and the enemy don’t want us to live for God and so we will face persecution.  2 Timothy 3:12 says, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”  The Christian life was never promised to be easy, but we are called to fight the good fight, to endure, to combat and battle that which is contrary to God. 

            We are then commanded to take hold of the eternal life.  We are to truly take firm grasp of this.  What does it mean to take hold of something.  I have to think that in this passage Paul is saying to make this faith your own so much so that it characterizes your whole being.  To take hold of the eternal life means that your whole life will be ordered around it and that it is the central part of who you are.  We take hold of this and never let go.  We take hold. 

            And lastly we are called to keep the commandment.  We are to stay strong, steadfast until Christ returns.  Until we die of Christ comes back we stand.  No matter what the world or the enemy throws at us we stand.  The world could come crashing down around us, our lives could unravel, loved ones could perish, illness could befall us, poverty could strike us and we will stand, we will keep the commandment given us.  It will not be stained and it will be above reproach.  That is what is means to be a Christ follower; that we stand and keep the commandment. 

            As I read this passage I am struck by the power of these actions.  We are called to give it all for Christ and this means getting off our butts, both physically and mentally.

 

Let’s get off our butts.       

Slave

I am sinner, unclean.  I am a man of unclean lips, unclean heart, wrapped in the filth of my life.  It amazes me that you would use me, it amazes me that you can redeem me.  You don’t balk at the sight I present, you don’t condemn me for my sins for they have been paid, they have been cleansed.  On my own I suffer, on my own I would languish in the pit.  But you have come down; you reach in to my filth to pull me to you.  You wash me, not with water where I would dirty myself once again, but with your blood, which now coats me.  What is my response?  It has to be my whole life.  Not just a little bit, not just some time or some actions of my life, but my whole life.  All that I am is the response.  You have saved me, you own me, I am not my own.  I am a slave, I am a bond servant, I am yours.  

1 Timothy 4:12

I have been reading through 1 Timothy. For some reason this one letter of Paul’s draws me.  It is easy for me to take the charges that Paul gives Timothy and apply them to my own life.  That makes this letter so much more personal and meaningful.  Now some people might think that it is a little weird to put myself in the place of Timothy, but I think it is only natural. 

            Timothy was a co-worker with Paul.  He was a young man that Paul picked up to help continue the mission of spreading the word of God and in many ways was Paul’s spiritual son.  Paul placed Timothy in charge of the church of Ephesus where he would no doubt face many challenges.  If we can’t relate to this how can we claim to be Christ followers?  We were all “picked up” by someone that invested in us to show us the truth.  It might have been a mother or father, it might have been a friend or co-worker.  But we all had someone invest in us and really show us the truth.  Even those of us that didn’t have someone overtly invest in us had people that encouraged us along the way.  And then most likely along the way we attached ourselves to other more mature believers to learn from and to emulate.  The point is that we all have fathers and mothers of the faith, people who have lead us and guided us, people who have shown us the way. 

            And we all have been placed in a ministry and face challenges.  “Hey wait!” you yell, “I don’t have a ministry. And I have not been placed in one.”  The fact of the matter is that if you claim to be a Christian, a Christ follower, than yes you have a ministry and you have been placed in one.  What is your ministry?  Look around you.  God has placed you where you are and you are called to make the most of it for his glory.  Some of us have a more clear cut idea and vision of what God has called us to, others have to struggle a little to see how their “normal” life can be ministry.  Though while for some it may be hard and some it may be clearer that doesn’t change that we are all called and placed in ministry. 

            One of the favorite verses from 1 Timothy is 1 Timothy 4:12 “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”  So many of us are young.  We are young in age, young in experience, young in our faith, or young in service.  But just because in might be young in this way or so many other ways doesn’t mean that we should feel like we have to take a back sit.  To the contrary, we are called to be the ones setting the example.

            I love this verse because I have always felt young, I might be getting older but I have always had a self-image of being very young.  And because of this I have felt like I have no “right” or “authority” to speak out or lead.  But this could not be further from the truth.  So when students look upon a ministry and think, “I can’t do this, I am too young.”  I have to say, if not you than who.  

The Church

1 Timothy 3:14-15 “I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how you ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of truth.” 

 

            I was reading this recently and was really struck by the description of the church.  So often when people talk about church it can be in vague terms or mean their building or something along those lines.  But what is the church?  At the very simplest, ecclesia, the Greek word used for church means gathering or assembly.  So at the very lowest form of description the church is a gathering of believers or a assembly of people who have put their faith in Jesus Christ.  But we also know that while this might be the make up, there is more to a church than just this base description. 

            The church is the household of God.  It is the home of God.  This brings to mind the loving images of our relationship with God.  God is our Father in heaven, he cares for us as his children, we are his sons and daughters, coheirs with Christ.  And while this conjures up the loving picture of a caring Father it also means that we are under someone else’s rules.  All Fathers have rules for their homes that they expect to be obeyed, and God is no different.  This is why Paul is instructing Timothy how people should behave if they are a part of God’s household, the church. 

            The church is also the church of the living God.  This is important.  We don’t worship some impotent, weak, cognitive exercise.  We worship the living God.  God is alive and He is active.  God moves in this world, his creation, he moves with purpose and intent.  God is alive.  Nietzche stated that God is dead, and there are many that operate under that belief.  But how wrong they are.  For Nietzche has since passed away, his body decomposing as we sit here, but God is very much alive.

            The church is also described as a pillar and buttress of truth.  The church is where the truth is celebrated and upheld.  The church is where the truth, the truth of Jesus Christ is proclaimed.  Jesus stated that he was the truth in John 14:6.  He is what is true in this world.  And the church is the organization, the organism that seeks to spread this truth, the truth throughout the whole of the world.  But what is truth?  Take a moment and define truth in your head.  It is one of those words that are so simple, so fundamental for our lives that it can be hard to define.  One of my professors once asked this question and no one could answer it.  Ina  room full of graduate students no one answered.  Truth is what corresponds to reality.  Jesus is truth because his claims and who he is corresponds to what is real, it fits the reality in which we live, it is the reality in which we live. 

            This is what the church is.  This is just one of the many passages that describes the church and what it is to this world.  But what does this verse mean to us?  It firstly means that when we claim to be believers, we are claiming to be part of the church and not only just the church, we are claiming to part of God’s household, part of God’s family.  As part of God’s family we have the comfort and security of knowing that God is our Father and takes care of us.  Our heavenly Father, Lord of the Universe, cares for us and takes care of us.  We rest in that comfort.  But also being a part of God’s family means that we have responsibilities.  All families have responsibilities, be it from taking out the garbage to taking care of the other family members.  God gives his family responsibilities as well. 

            The church is called a pillar and buttress of truth, and I think that the church needs to rediscover what that means.  We are the place where the truth of this world and how Jesus came to save us is proclaimed.  We need to be the place that is able to tell the world why it is the why it is.  That is the power of the church.  We have been given a sacred deposit, the gospel is the truth of this world and those in it.  People are searching for answers.  People are looking everywhere for what fits with what they know of this world.  And the church should be the place they find it.  This means that the church can’t be filled with fakers, it can’t be filled with posers.  This means that the church has to be filled with people that are willing to share their lives, the truth of their lives. 

 

            Does this describe the church as you know it?  I have to think that it should.  The bible has many verses and passages that outline what the church should be.  While we on our own can’t make this happen, we are called to be instruments in God’s plan to make the church into what He designed it to be.  Through Christ working in us, as individuals and as a group, we will be able to contribute to God’s kingdom by building his church.     

Things are not always what they appear to be

I just watched one of my all time favorite childhood movies the other day.  Yes that is right, the movie Labyrinth.  This movie really has it all.  It stars David Bowie, which in itself should make any movie no matter the plot line a blockbuster.  It has puppets a plenty, and not this any old puppets, but Jim Henson puppets which really are the best.  All the elements for a great movie are there, a modern mixed family with a semi-wicked step mother and the new baby.  It is not only a great movie it is the modern fairy tale.  

That for example this little guy in the picture.  It might have been one of the smallest parts in the movie, yet it is a part that sticks with you.  It is almost enough to make you start greeting people with 'allo.  

So why is this brought to my mind?  Well I was looking at some people's pictures of the book of the face and saw one of my "friends" picture of a brick wall.  As soon as I saw that wall I started to have a movie flashback.  It happened so fast I didn't know what was happening.  I was transported back to the scene in the movie Labyrinth where the girl just begins her journey.  He is running down an seemly endless path and happens to stop and lend against the wall... a brick wall.  A small voice pipes up 'allo.  She responds "Did you say hello?" and of course little worm man replies, "No, I said 'allo, but close enough."   He then precedes to give her a bit of wisdom, that in the labyrinth things are not always what they appear to be.  It is at this point that she realizes that there are ways that she hadn't been seeing.  

The worm's advice to the girl was true for the labyrinth, but I also think that it is true for us and our world as well.  Things are not always what they appear to be.  We can look around and think that things are in way when in fact they are completely different.  It seems like almost everyone puts on masks, that the motives for certain things are different than how they are expressed.  

It is our job to try to see things for how they really are.  We need to shed light on the reality.  "But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible." Ephesians 5:13.  

What would this mean in your life?  How do we go about shedding light on the reality of what is around us?  

Dying Men to Dying Men

So often it is easy to waste away time, to think that you can do that tomorrow or that the next day will be soon enough.  Many times this is okay, it doesn’t negatively affect your life and problems don’t result from it.  But what happens if we let this way of thinking ooze over into our whole life and mind?  What if when we start thinking about doing what we know we should do and acting and living how we know we should in this fashion, that tomorrow is soon enough or that when we get to it will be soon enough?  What happens if we start to view the sharing of the Gospel in this fashion? 

 

            This happens to us all.  We walk to life committed to share what we believe with everyone.  We honestly take scripture to heart when it says “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season…” (2 Tim. 4:2) and “…always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” (1 Peter 3:15)  We say this is how we should live.  We proclaim that this is how we are going to live.  And then we hit the world and somehow all that passion, all that conviction, all that desire to follow through melts away.  The idea of actually standing up for what we believe and being vocal about our God and Savior all of the sudden doesn’t seem so important in the face of possible ridicule and harassment.  How can the very center of who we are and our very lives all of the sudden become not as important to us as what people think about us and how they treat us? 

 

                        This happens to all of us.  I can be feeling bad or tired and not want to talk to people about the greatest single thing in this whole universe.  How messed up is that?  How can we ever claim to be too tired or too distracted from talking about the single greatest person, event, belief that we can possibly have?  I don’t know, but it happens.  In fact, if I am honest, which is something I like to do every now and then, I would have to say that I don’t have to be tired or feeling bad.  Sometimes I am just too lazy, or just don’t care enough to share.  When I think about that I cannot help but think how messed up and sad that is.  I, who claim to be a Christ follower, a person who lives and breaths because of Christ, who has salvation and hope and joy and peace because of Jesus, I who has dedicated my whole life to service to the Lord, sometimes can’t seem to find the motivation to share the Gospel with those around me. It is enough to make a person cry.  And the fact of the matter is that we all should be crying. 

 

            I don’t say this to make people feel bad.  I don’t say this to show how we all still need Christ and that we need to have a fire set under our butts.  I say this because it is a fact that we need to reorganize what we value in this life.  Which do we value more… sharing who Jesus is with people or what they think of us and how they treat us?  Answering that question will determine how you respond to this whole note. 

 

            What got me thinking along these lines was a book called “Words to Winners of Souls” by Horatius Bonar.  (which is one of my favorite names)   In this book he talks about a revival breaking out in Scotland.  This happened during a time of plague where many people were dying and the clergy had fled the cities.  Because the clergy had run away, lay people stepped up to preach.  “Then did they stand up in the midst of the dying and the dead, to proclaim eternal life to men who were expecting death before the morrow… Every sermon might be their last.” And then one of the best lines and questions ever.. “Truly they preached as dying men to dying men.  But the question is, Should it ever be otherwise?”  All of us, all of humanity is dying.  Why are we arrogant and think that there is going to be a tomorrow.  If we truly cared about spreading the Gospel and sharing whom Christ is, we have to have this mindset.  We have to think of ourselves as dying men preaching to dying men. 

 

So what is your mindset?      

Saved By the Bell

I ran across this article online... and as Saved By the Bell is one of my favorite shows from my childhood I just had to share this.  

"Three Stories from Saved By the Bell  by Mike Krumboltz:  

Few TV shows enjoy such fantastic devotion as "Saved by the Bell." Never mind that it's full of horrible jokes, horrendous fashion, and the hardest working laugh track in show business. "SBTB" still inspires big searches... and big controversies. Here's a rundown of three scandals currently gripping the alumni of Bayside High.

The Screech's Book
Dustin Diamond, who played Screech, has had a tough go since leaving his hit TV show. There have been money problems, a fight to keep his home from foreclosure, and even (ew!) a sex tape. A tell-all book seems like a natural, and that's what Mr. Diamond set out to write. However his memoir about his time on "SBTB" has been dropped by publisher Gotham Books. Some say that it was because many of the salacious details were "unverifiable," a charge that Diamond's reps refute. Regardless, the book has since been picked up by a smaller publisher. Good thing, as Diamond owes some serious back taxes.

Belding Betrayed!
As played by Dennis Haskins, Mr. Belding was the clueless if lovable principal on "Saved by the Bell." He was no A.C. Slater, but he was still a key member of the cast. So, you can imagine that ol' Belding was a wee bit perturbed that he'd been left out of the recent People magazine reunion.New York Magazine reports that Mr. Haskins called into a Detroit radio show to "voice his displeasure." In the interview, Haskins referred to himself in the third person saying, "If anybody deserved to be on that cover, it was Dennis Haskins." While his feelings were hurt by the slight, Haskins wants his fans to know that Dennis Haskins will live.

Where's Screech?
Mr. Belding wasn't the only "SBTB" cast member to miss out on the People reunion. Diamond was doubly dissed. Not only did Screech not appear in the 2009 photo, he was also photoshopped out of the 1989 inset. New York Magazine, which is clearly all over the "SBTB" beat, dug up the original photo and discovered that Screech had been "erased" and cropped out of People's version.  It's enough to make you almost feel sorry for the most annoying character in the history of TV.  Almost."  

Now Saved By the Bell has a very special place in my heart.  I used to go over to a friends house after school in elementary school and watch Saved By the Bell.  One of my room mates in college and I used to record it and then watch it all day long... in fact this addiction almost made me flunk out of college because so many classes were skipped in pursuit of this watching pleasure.  That same room mate bought be a Saved By the Bell T-shirt for graduation.  (ahhh friends, always there to help you mess up and then buy you a T-shirt to remember it by)  Saved By the Bell is so dear to me that i still watch the two episodes that are on TBS in the morning.  

I do believe that I remember all the episodes, and maybe could quote the lines to you.  I remember how the class had about 5 senior years... and were always on the verge of graduating.  I also remember how they went and college and why of course it wasn't the same and many will claim that it ruined the series... it is a guilty pleasure of mine.  And oh the joy when Zack and Kelly finally ended up together.  It is enough to almost make one cry... almost.  

It is funny how things stick with you from childhood.  Like nothing else the things from our childhood stay around, we love them, we hate them, we think about them and wish that we could still enjoy them to this day.  

What from your childhood sticks with you? TV, Movie, Book... anything