While listening to the song Mighty to Save and preparing the lesson for Sunday’s class(The last chapter of our study from Your Jesus is too Safe), I decided to look up Mighty to save. I feel confident that I have read the passage before, because the phrase Mighty to save comes from Isaiah 63: 1. I have read Isaiah before, so maybe I just forgot this passage, or more than likely skimmed over it to get finished with my bible reading for that day. But when I pulled it up on Wednesday and read the full passage, and then read the notes on the passage, I was blown away. Really I think my first thought was “Holy Crap!”
Here is the passage:
“Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save." Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress? "I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redemption has come.” Isaiah 63:1-4
If you don’t know, like I didn’t know, Edom was an enemy to Israel. So here is what is happening. The question “Who is coming from Edom?” in verse one is a question of fear. Who is this powerful guy with red garments on who is marching towards us. There was the concern that it was their enemy from Edom. But the response is “It is I, Mighty to save.” So God says, don’t worry it’s just me. And then he goes on to say, the reason my clothes are red is that I just went and destroyed your enemy and it is their blood that I am drenched in.
So God and Jesus are mighty to save because they will wage war against the evil in this world. They will destroy it. It is a powerful verse for us to hold onto as believers and it is a terrifying verse for those that are not. I guess the thing that hit me was that so often we get caught up in the loving side of God that we forget the all powerful side that wages war against evil and will ultimately destroy all evil in the end.
I was reading some of a sermon from Spurgeon on the idea of Jesus being Mighty to save that he gave in the 1850’s and it was impressive. One of the points that he made was that not only is Jesus Mighty to save us from evil of the world, but he is also Mighty to save us from ourselves. Not only does he wage war with the evil that we face, but he also wages war against the evil in our own hearts. Jesus is so powerful that he can enter our lives and completely destroy the evil in our hearts. It is not just about us making a decision to let Jesus into our hearts, he discussed the ability of Jesus to invade our lives whether we want him to or not, and turn everything upside down.
Just take a moment and stand in awe at the Mighty power of God and Jesus Christ!!!
(The reference from Spurgeon is just a summary of one of his points with my own wording and thoughts blended into it. You can see His full sermon if you google, Spurgeon sermon A Mighty Saviour. He says it far better than I can.)
About Me
- David Willy
- I am a husband and a father and I pray that I will continue to look more like Christ to my wife and children each day. I pray that all that I do will be used to give glory to the Father and Christ through the Holy Spirit.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Fake Christianity
I read a blog yesterday from Freakonomics titled We Pretend We are Christian. Obviously caught my eye right away. The blog was a response to a letter written to the authors of Freakonomics. The lady who wrote the letter said that she and her family live deep in the heart of Texas. She said that her and her husband have to pretend to be Christians so they won’t be made outcasts. She said they are agnostics, but when she had opened up before to the Christians that she had met about not being a Christian, they quit hanging out with them. Play dates just stopped all of a sudden. Her and her husband decided it would be easier to play along while out with others and just let people believe that they are Christians also.
The blog had several comments from people who said they do the same thing for the same reasons. It made me sad. What kind of response is that. “Oh, you aren’t a Christian? Goodbye. Don’t call me again.” It is that type of response that makes people not want to be associated with Christians.
We need to consider the familiar phrase that people use that we should be in the world and not of the world. We can not seclude ourselves from all people who do not believe the way we do. The church will never grow if we do. We can live among the lost people of this world, even develop relationships with them, but maintain our faith. We can't lock the church doors and expect the lost people are going to try to find a way in.
Thank God that Jesus didn’t live that life. If Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world but to save the world, and we are called the body of Christ, then we need to quit condemning the world and help lead them to the salvation that comes from Christ.
The blog had several comments from people who said they do the same thing for the same reasons. It made me sad. What kind of response is that. “Oh, you aren’t a Christian? Goodbye. Don’t call me again.” It is that type of response that makes people not want to be associated with Christians.
We need to consider the familiar phrase that people use that we should be in the world and not of the world. We can not seclude ourselves from all people who do not believe the way we do. The church will never grow if we do. We can live among the lost people of this world, even develop relationships with them, but maintain our faith. We can't lock the church doors and expect the lost people are going to try to find a way in.
Thank God that Jesus didn’t live that life. If Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world but to save the world, and we are called the body of Christ, then we need to quit condemning the world and help lead them to the salvation that comes from Christ.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Faithful Thomas
Ever heard of that guy? I came across a couple of passages shortly after I had heard someone make a “Doubtful Thomas” comment. So I just want to go on record in defense of Thomas. If you remember how the story goes, Jesus appears to the disciples after his resurrection from the dead. Thomas however was not there. When the others told Thomas about Jesus being alive he said “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my fingers where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” John 20:25. That single statement ruins a guy’s reputation. I want to remind you of a couple of other things to try to redeem this guy a little.
John Chapter 11 tells the story of the death of Lazarus. Jesus tells the disciples that Lazarus has died and says they are going to go to Lazarus. The disciples remind Jesus that the Jews had tried to kill Jesus there not long before. Jesus still makes plans to go and we have this statement. “Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.” The others seem to be trying to talk Jesus out of going to Bethany out of fear for his life, and possible their own, but Thomas is the one that says, let’s go die with him.
Now let’s take a look at Matthew 24. This is the Chapter where Jesus is telling his disciples about the future and about his return. Verse 4 says “Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you. For many will come in my name saying, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will lead many astray.” Then in verse 26 “So if someone tells you, ‘Look, the Messiah is out in the desert,’ don’t bother to go and look. Or, ‘Look, he is hiding here,’ don’t believe it!” So Thomas was following the instructions of the Christ. That is why he said unless I put my hands in his hands and side, I won’t believe it. He wanted to make sure that it was Jesus so he wasn’t being “Led astray” like Jesus had told them.
Finally let’s look at the death of Thomas. Thomas traveled and shared his faith in Jesus Christ. According to the story of his death, it would have taken place on July 3. Regardless of whether the date is accurate here is what happened to him. While in India Thomas was preaching about Jesus. He had been converting people to the Christian faith. Because of his preaching he was speared to death.
As I looked at these things I was shocked to see “The Doubter” being so faithful. He was willing to go die with Jesus. He followed Jesus’ instructions. He gave up his life preaching the Gospel of Christ. We should pray for that kind of faith and devotion.
John Chapter 11 tells the story of the death of Lazarus. Jesus tells the disciples that Lazarus has died and says they are going to go to Lazarus. The disciples remind Jesus that the Jews had tried to kill Jesus there not long before. Jesus still makes plans to go and we have this statement. “Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.” The others seem to be trying to talk Jesus out of going to Bethany out of fear for his life, and possible their own, but Thomas is the one that says, let’s go die with him.
Now let’s take a look at Matthew 24. This is the Chapter where Jesus is telling his disciples about the future and about his return. Verse 4 says “Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you. For many will come in my name saying, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will lead many astray.” Then in verse 26 “So if someone tells you, ‘Look, the Messiah is out in the desert,’ don’t bother to go and look. Or, ‘Look, he is hiding here,’ don’t believe it!” So Thomas was following the instructions of the Christ. That is why he said unless I put my hands in his hands and side, I won’t believe it. He wanted to make sure that it was Jesus so he wasn’t being “Led astray” like Jesus had told them.
Finally let’s look at the death of Thomas. Thomas traveled and shared his faith in Jesus Christ. According to the story of his death, it would have taken place on July 3. Regardless of whether the date is accurate here is what happened to him. While in India Thomas was preaching about Jesus. He had been converting people to the Christian faith. Because of his preaching he was speared to death.
As I looked at these things I was shocked to see “The Doubter” being so faithful. He was willing to go die with Jesus. He followed Jesus’ instructions. He gave up his life preaching the Gospel of Christ. We should pray for that kind of faith and devotion.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Life Lesson
“When you teach your son, you teach your son’s son.” The Talmud
My father and grandfather spent many hours taking my brother and I fishing. I can hardly imagine how they did it as often as they did. Well until today. My father-in-law called me earlier in the week and asked me if I would like to go fishing with him today. We made plans and I was really looking forward to it. I hadn’t been fishing for several months and the stock tank we were planning on going to has a track record of producing numerous bass every time we go. It is a great opportunity for my father-in-law and I to get away and tell some stories, laugh, and relax. Today as we were about to head out the door, I walked by the kitchen and saw Gideon standing there. He had no clue I was about to leave or that I was going fishing, and I could have easily slipped out the door while he was distracted. But as soon as I looked down at him I had to ask him. “Gideon, do you want to go fishing with daddy, uncle James, and your papaw?” Less than a half a second later I got the answer that I knew I would get. “Yep.”
Now once he gave the answer it changed the focus of the day. My goal had been to go out and relax with my father-in-law and brother-in-law, and do my best to out fish them both. Now my focus is going to have to be keep Gideon dry and keep him away from the cows. Of course I am going to try to do both of these while still trying to out fish our competition.
So we get all of our stuff together and we head out. When we pull up to the pond Gideon is screaming “Look Daddy! It’s the lake!” Before I can get him out of his car seat he is saying, “I need a rock daddy, I need a rock right now!” So we have been at the lake for 7 seconds and we already have screaming(happy screaming), and we are looking for a rock to throw in the water. Screaming and big splashes aren’t the best way to go about trying to catch a fish. But that’s o.k.
I very quickly had to talk to him about the poop. Gideon learned that if you throw a dried cow turd in the water, it will float. I tried to stop him, but the second I would take my eyes off of him he would find another dried turd and throw it in the water again. I like to think that this is because there were no rocks. But by the end of the day he seemed to be on a mission. Get as many dried cow turds in the water as he could. A couple of times he picked some up and said, “That’s Poop! Don’t touch it!” and then he went and threw it in the water. So really he was just looking out for me. He didn’t want me to touch the poop so he was sacrificing himself and getting rid of all the poop that he could. He is very thoughtful you know.
Now on to the fishing report. Remember this is the lake that always produces lots of fish and some really nice sized bass. Also remember, screaming paired with rocks, poop, and sticks being thrown in the water aren’t the best fish attractors. But I am proud to say that the Willy boys came out on top(which we often do.)
Total fish count of the day.
Father-in-law: 0
Brother-in-law: 0
Gideon(with a little assistance from his daddy): 1 fish, a pound and a half or 2 pound bass.
If you ask Gideon about it he will tell you exactly what we caught. “I caught a big ol’ Bass!” This day was not a productive fishing day, especially for this little lake. But it was one of the best days that we have ever had fishing out there. Because for a few hours on this warm February day, my father and my grandfather (who are both passed away) got to teach my oldest son some very important things. They taught him about the kind of worm to use. They taught him about frog eggs. They taught him that when you are reeling in a fish you have to keep reeling even though you are so excited about all the splashing that the fish is doing. Most importantly they taught him, and reminded me, that no matter how great or small the outcome is, if the day was spent sharing a moment with the people that you love, those moments will forever be the most precious things we hold onto.
I am sitting with tears in my eyes typing about this wonderful one fish day and thinking about how if it weren’t for my father and grandfather taking the time to teach me those things, I wouldn’t have been able to share it with Gideon and I wouldn’t be able to share those things with Josiah and any other children we might have when the time comes.
But my mind turns to God, and I think of the quote I included at the top of this post. I am thinking about the things that I am teaching my children and what I will be teaching my children. I worry about the wrong things that I will unintentionally teach them. I don’t want to teach my children something terrible that will be passed on to their kids. I want to teach my children the truths of God. I want to teach them to love and serve God. And when I teach them those things, those teachings will be passed on to my grand children and beyond.
It’s a beautiful thing!!!
My father and grandfather spent many hours taking my brother and I fishing. I can hardly imagine how they did it as often as they did. Well until today. My father-in-law called me earlier in the week and asked me if I would like to go fishing with him today. We made plans and I was really looking forward to it. I hadn’t been fishing for several months and the stock tank we were planning on going to has a track record of producing numerous bass every time we go. It is a great opportunity for my father-in-law and I to get away and tell some stories, laugh, and relax. Today as we were about to head out the door, I walked by the kitchen and saw Gideon standing there. He had no clue I was about to leave or that I was going fishing, and I could have easily slipped out the door while he was distracted. But as soon as I looked down at him I had to ask him. “Gideon, do you want to go fishing with daddy, uncle James, and your papaw?” Less than a half a second later I got the answer that I knew I would get. “Yep.”
Now once he gave the answer it changed the focus of the day. My goal had been to go out and relax with my father-in-law and brother-in-law, and do my best to out fish them both. Now my focus is going to have to be keep Gideon dry and keep him away from the cows. Of course I am going to try to do both of these while still trying to out fish our competition.
So we get all of our stuff together and we head out. When we pull up to the pond Gideon is screaming “Look Daddy! It’s the lake!” Before I can get him out of his car seat he is saying, “I need a rock daddy, I need a rock right now!” So we have been at the lake for 7 seconds and we already have screaming(happy screaming), and we are looking for a rock to throw in the water. Screaming and big splashes aren’t the best way to go about trying to catch a fish. But that’s o.k.
I very quickly had to talk to him about the poop. Gideon learned that if you throw a dried cow turd in the water, it will float. I tried to stop him, but the second I would take my eyes off of him he would find another dried turd and throw it in the water again. I like to think that this is because there were no rocks. But by the end of the day he seemed to be on a mission. Get as many dried cow turds in the water as he could. A couple of times he picked some up and said, “That’s Poop! Don’t touch it!” and then he went and threw it in the water. So really he was just looking out for me. He didn’t want me to touch the poop so he was sacrificing himself and getting rid of all the poop that he could. He is very thoughtful you know.
Now on to the fishing report. Remember this is the lake that always produces lots of fish and some really nice sized bass. Also remember, screaming paired with rocks, poop, and sticks being thrown in the water aren’t the best fish attractors. But I am proud to say that the Willy boys came out on top(which we often do.)
Total fish count of the day.
Father-in-law: 0
Brother-in-law: 0
Gideon(with a little assistance from his daddy): 1 fish, a pound and a half or 2 pound bass.
If you ask Gideon about it he will tell you exactly what we caught. “I caught a big ol’ Bass!” This day was not a productive fishing day, especially for this little lake. But it was one of the best days that we have ever had fishing out there. Because for a few hours on this warm February day, my father and my grandfather (who are both passed away) got to teach my oldest son some very important things. They taught him about the kind of worm to use. They taught him about frog eggs. They taught him that when you are reeling in a fish you have to keep reeling even though you are so excited about all the splashing that the fish is doing. Most importantly they taught him, and reminded me, that no matter how great or small the outcome is, if the day was spent sharing a moment with the people that you love, those moments will forever be the most precious things we hold onto.
I am sitting with tears in my eyes typing about this wonderful one fish day and thinking about how if it weren’t for my father and grandfather taking the time to teach me those things, I wouldn’t have been able to share it with Gideon and I wouldn’t be able to share those things with Josiah and any other children we might have when the time comes.
But my mind turns to God, and I think of the quote I included at the top of this post. I am thinking about the things that I am teaching my children and what I will be teaching my children. I worry about the wrong things that I will unintentionally teach them. I don’t want to teach my children something terrible that will be passed on to their kids. I want to teach my children the truths of God. I want to teach them to love and serve God. And when I teach them those things, those teachings will be passed on to my grand children and beyond.
It’s a beautiful thing!!!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Grow and Flourish
The Talmud is a book of the combined Jewish oral law that interprets how to fully follow God’s law and also gives some instruction on life. I came across this quote today and it really hit me that we need to remember something about God.
“Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, ‘Grow, Grow’.” --Chullin 60a of the Talmud
I thought this quote was a beautiful reminder of what God wants to see in our lives. If God would care about the growth of something as small as a blade of grass, he certainly wants to see our growth. He cares about our well being. Remember Luke 12?
“Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable yare than birds!”
Jesus tells us that he came to give us life more abundantly. The abundant life…What is it? We talked about it a little in class on Sunday when we discussed Jesus the Provision. Don’t assume this only means more stuff. Jesus provides our every need. God cares about you. There is more to this life than just getting by. We shouldn’t just be working to get to the weekend. Live the life that we have been given today. And while living the abundant life that comes from Jesus think about that image from the quote from the Talmud. Put yourself in that scene. God has put an angel over you that is whispering words of encouragement and growth. They are words to inspire you to walk the abundant life.
“Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, ‘Grow, Grow’.” --Chullin 60a of the Talmud
I thought this quote was a beautiful reminder of what God wants to see in our lives. If God would care about the growth of something as small as a blade of grass, he certainly wants to see our growth. He cares about our well being. Remember Luke 12?
“Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable yare than birds!”
Jesus tells us that he came to give us life more abundantly. The abundant life…What is it? We talked about it a little in class on Sunday when we discussed Jesus the Provision. Don’t assume this only means more stuff. Jesus provides our every need. God cares about you. There is more to this life than just getting by. We shouldn’t just be working to get to the weekend. Live the life that we have been given today. And while living the abundant life that comes from Jesus think about that image from the quote from the Talmud. Put yourself in that scene. God has put an angel over you that is whispering words of encouragement and growth. They are words to inspire you to walk the abundant life.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
What is that for?
I have one of my Grandfather’s dog tags on my keychain. Everywhere I go I have it with me. A very small thing really but a reminder of the greatest man I have ever known and the best role model I had in my life. I also have my wedding ring and another ring given to me by Sarah Grace. A symbol of our love and devotion. I started thinking about these things today and all things people carry with them as a symbol or a sign of someone or something that is important to them. I just started thinking about how we have these things but they really don’t even come close to representing the importance or the power of whatever they remind us of. For example, my grandfather’s dog tag is nothing compared to who he was and what he meant to me. It is only a small reminder of someone so great. My rings are just a symbol of mine and Sarah Grace’s love. They can never come close to explaining the love that we share. I don’t believe that we should get rid of these reminders by any means, I just found it ironic that we hold things dear to us and they don’t even come close to explaining what it is that they represent or who they are a reminder of.
While thinking about that I started thinking about religious symbols that we have or participate in that do the same thing. They remind us of something but are very simply a symbol of something far greater than the symbol itself.
Wearing a Crucifix or a cross can never come close to the weight and power of the actual cross that Christ was nailed to for our sins. Taking communion can never explain to the world that Jesus’ blood and body was given as a sacrifice for us. The act of Baptism doesn’t fully explain the symbolism of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection or how our sins have been washed away and that we are committing to die to our old selves so that Christ can live through us in our new life.
Now I in no way am implying that we need to get rid of these things. I think they should always be a part of our faith. I just think it is important that we don’t get so focused on the symbol itself that we forget the full weight of what they symbolize for us. These things need to remind us and most importantly challenge us to live up to the life that we are called to. A life where we admit our need of Jesus Christ to live and commit to let Christ reign and live through our lives.
While thinking about that I started thinking about religious symbols that we have or participate in that do the same thing. They remind us of something but are very simply a symbol of something far greater than the symbol itself.
Wearing a Crucifix or a cross can never come close to the weight and power of the actual cross that Christ was nailed to for our sins. Taking communion can never explain to the world that Jesus’ blood and body was given as a sacrifice for us. The act of Baptism doesn’t fully explain the symbolism of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection or how our sins have been washed away and that we are committing to die to our old selves so that Christ can live through us in our new life.
Now I in no way am implying that we need to get rid of these things. I think they should always be a part of our faith. I just think it is important that we don’t get so focused on the symbol itself that we forget the full weight of what they symbolize for us. These things need to remind us and most importantly challenge us to live up to the life that we are called to. A life where we admit our need of Jesus Christ to live and commit to let Christ reign and live through our lives.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
So Long Self
Water
Green Vegetables
Movies on the lifetime channel
Can you guess what this list is?
If you said things Dave would be willing to give up for Lent, you are correct. Today is Ash Wednesday of course, the beginning of Lent. These things don’t mean much for a good Baptist boy turned Church of Christer, but I was considering the idea of Lent today. Give up something or sacrifice something for a period of time so we can be reminded of the Sacrifices of the Lord. This doesn’t fully encompass all that Lent sacrifices means to believers who practice it, but is my basic understanding of it from reading up on it.
So the questions I ask myself are what should I give up if I were doing it? What is the point of making these sacrifices? Why do I have such a hard time giving up minor things in my life when really the point is to give up my whole life?
Living Sacrifices? Really? Why is that so hard to follow through on? My last post talked about the increase in the number of people who claim to have no religion and I asked what we could do to turn this around. While thinking on Lent today and reading some stuff online I started thinking that the way to turn things around is to give up my full life. I need to get out of the way and let God do what he can do. I don’t need to make excuses, those have never worked when talking with God. And I certainly don’t need to be proud of what I am good at. It doesn’t really matter what I am bad at or what I am good at. Because no matter how good or bad I am at something, God is far more powerful.
Do you want to grow God’s Kingdom with me? Then get out of the way and let God do his work first in you and then through you.
I came across this worship song tonight by accident. Or I guess you could say it was no accident at all. God was trying to tell me to give everything to Him.
Green Vegetables
Movies on the lifetime channel
Can you guess what this list is?
If you said things Dave would be willing to give up for Lent, you are correct. Today is Ash Wednesday of course, the beginning of Lent. These things don’t mean much for a good Baptist boy turned Church of Christer, but I was considering the idea of Lent today. Give up something or sacrifice something for a period of time so we can be reminded of the Sacrifices of the Lord. This doesn’t fully encompass all that Lent sacrifices means to believers who practice it, but is my basic understanding of it from reading up on it.
So the questions I ask myself are what should I give up if I were doing it? What is the point of making these sacrifices? Why do I have such a hard time giving up minor things in my life when really the point is to give up my whole life?
Living Sacrifices? Really? Why is that so hard to follow through on? My last post talked about the increase in the number of people who claim to have no religion and I asked what we could do to turn this around. While thinking on Lent today and reading some stuff online I started thinking that the way to turn things around is to give up my full life. I need to get out of the way and let God do what he can do. I don’t need to make excuses, those have never worked when talking with God. And I certainly don’t need to be proud of what I am good at. It doesn’t really matter what I am bad at or what I am good at. Because no matter how good or bad I am at something, God is far more powerful.
Do you want to grow God’s Kingdom with me? Then get out of the way and let God do his work first in you and then through you.
I came across this worship song tonight by accident. Or I guess you could say it was no accident at all. God was trying to tell me to give everything to Him.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
What Now?
In a recent study, research shows that in Texas the number of People attending protestant churches is down 20 % over the last decade and the number of people in Texas who claim to have no religion at all is up 7%.
Where does that leave us in 50 years from now?
I came across these stats from last year’s research and found it a little concerning. What can we do to change this trend? We see churches that are growing and mega churches being talked about all the time, but really what is happening is that these churches that are growing at fast rates are mainly doing so because they are getting members from other congregations. Even in our own church (which has grown quite a bit over the last decade) many of the newer members are from another church (ourselves included). And don’t get me wrong, it is important for believers to find a spot to call home and a spot to serve. I just wonder what we need to change to reach the un-churched. The changes churches have made are often meeting the needs of the churched, but the lost world is still lost and is growing according to the statistics provided in this research.
My question is very simple. What Now?
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28: 19-20
Where does that leave us in 50 years from now?
I came across these stats from last year’s research and found it a little concerning. What can we do to change this trend? We see churches that are growing and mega churches being talked about all the time, but really what is happening is that these churches that are growing at fast rates are mainly doing so because they are getting members from other congregations. Even in our own church (which has grown quite a bit over the last decade) many of the newer members are from another church (ourselves included). And don’t get me wrong, it is important for believers to find a spot to call home and a spot to serve. I just wonder what we need to change to reach the un-churched. The changes churches have made are often meeting the needs of the churched, but the lost world is still lost and is growing according to the statistics provided in this research.
My question is very simple. What Now?
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28: 19-20
Friday, February 12, 2010
The "L" Word
With it, we have life. With it we have purpose. With it the broken can be restored.
We get it from our spouse, our children, our friends, and most importantly God.
We should give it to all we encounter.
It is not just a feeling, but it produces the greatest feelings in the world!
Love: It makes the world go round
(Working in a Junior High around Valentines Day will either make you loathe the day with all your being, or turn you extra sappy. This year it has made me extra sappy.)
Sarah Grace: Thank you. I Love You!
We get it from our spouse, our children, our friends, and most importantly God.
We should give it to all we encounter.
It is not just a feeling, but it produces the greatest feelings in the world!
Love: It makes the world go round
(Working in a Junior High around Valentines Day will either make you loathe the day with all your being, or turn you extra sappy. This year it has made me extra sappy.)
Sarah Grace: Thank you. I Love You!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Did God Abandon Jesus on the Cross?
“It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.” Luke 23: 44-45
“About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, [fn] lama sabachthani?"-which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” Matthew 27: 46
My whole life I have heard interpretations of these verses, to mean that God was so disgusted by the sin that was placed on Jesus that he had to turn his back on Jesus. He couldn’t look at Jesus while he was covered with our sins. A book I am reading (Your Jesus is too safe) disagrees with that interpretation. So I decided to read the scripture references and do a little digging to see what I could find. I will put the info out there and let you think on it.
In the Luke passage it says the sun stopped shining, however no where in the passage does it say why it stopped shining. In one of my study bibles the notes on this verse bring up the age old interpretation that God had to turn his back on Jesus because of the sin. That is just an interpretation of the scene because scripture doesn’t clarify why this happened.
Now to the passage that is the basis for the belief that God had to turn His back on God. The Matthew 27 verse quotes Jesus asking why God had forsaken him, or in some translations, abandon is used instead of forsaken.
These lines are seen in Psalm 22. It is a prophetic Psalm and if you read it in it’s entirety it portrays what happened to Jesus on the Cross. Verse 16-18 says, “My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and feet. I can count every bone in my body. My enemies star at me a gloat. They divide my clothes among themselves and throw dice for my garments.” The end of this Psalm is a story of Great Joy about how God will come to his aid and he will tell people of the wonder of God and all people will praise God. David talks of praising God because “He has not turned and walked away. He has listened to their cries for help. verse 24”
When you get to the end of the Psalm you realize that David wasn’t questioning God, but that he knew that God would not turn away from those in need. He was saying, things are so bad I feel like you are nowhere near, however, I know that you will rescue the needy. I know you will not turn your back on me or others in need.
So if Jesus was quoting this Psalm, the question we have to ask is, Was he quoting it to show that this prophetic Psalm is being fulfilled through what is happening to himself on the cross, or was he quoting it because those first words, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?” were a portrait of what had actually happened. Did he mean that God had actually forsaken him?
Psalms were songs and prayers that would be recited and recited in their entirety. Logic would make you think that by Jesus calling to mind the beginning of that Psalm, he would also be calling to mind the whole Psalm, which we have seen is a Psalm about no matter how far away it seems that God is, he will not turn his back on his people.
Jared Wilson’s in Your Jesus is too safe, also brings to mind the promise that Jesus gives in Matthew 28 with the great commission. “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” We also have the promise of God in Deuteronomy 31: 6 which says “I will never leave or forsake you.” So since we have a promise from God, that He will be with us always, why should we assume that God had to turn his back on Jesus? The verse doesn’t say I will be with you always, except when there is sin in your life. Jared Wilson’s argument is that if God promises us he will never leave us, being disgusting impure people, why in the world would he turn his back and abandon Jesus who was the perfect son?
It was an idea that got me thinking about something a different way and I wanted to share it with you to consider. It can and will be debated from now until Jesus comes back. Then we can ask God ourselves if he abandoned Jesus. Until then remember the promise, and walk confidently in the promise that God’s word has given us. He will not leave us.
“About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, [fn] lama sabachthani?"-which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” Matthew 27: 46
My whole life I have heard interpretations of these verses, to mean that God was so disgusted by the sin that was placed on Jesus that he had to turn his back on Jesus. He couldn’t look at Jesus while he was covered with our sins. A book I am reading (Your Jesus is too safe) disagrees with that interpretation. So I decided to read the scripture references and do a little digging to see what I could find. I will put the info out there and let you think on it.
In the Luke passage it says the sun stopped shining, however no where in the passage does it say why it stopped shining. In one of my study bibles the notes on this verse bring up the age old interpretation that God had to turn his back on Jesus because of the sin. That is just an interpretation of the scene because scripture doesn’t clarify why this happened.
Now to the passage that is the basis for the belief that God had to turn His back on God. The Matthew 27 verse quotes Jesus asking why God had forsaken him, or in some translations, abandon is used instead of forsaken.
These lines are seen in Psalm 22. It is a prophetic Psalm and if you read it in it’s entirety it portrays what happened to Jesus on the Cross. Verse 16-18 says, “My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced my hands and feet. I can count every bone in my body. My enemies star at me a gloat. They divide my clothes among themselves and throw dice for my garments.” The end of this Psalm is a story of Great Joy about how God will come to his aid and he will tell people of the wonder of God and all people will praise God. David talks of praising God because “He has not turned and walked away. He has listened to their cries for help. verse 24”
When you get to the end of the Psalm you realize that David wasn’t questioning God, but that he knew that God would not turn away from those in need. He was saying, things are so bad I feel like you are nowhere near, however, I know that you will rescue the needy. I know you will not turn your back on me or others in need.
So if Jesus was quoting this Psalm, the question we have to ask is, Was he quoting it to show that this prophetic Psalm is being fulfilled through what is happening to himself on the cross, or was he quoting it because those first words, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?” were a portrait of what had actually happened. Did he mean that God had actually forsaken him?
Psalms were songs and prayers that would be recited and recited in their entirety. Logic would make you think that by Jesus calling to mind the beginning of that Psalm, he would also be calling to mind the whole Psalm, which we have seen is a Psalm about no matter how far away it seems that God is, he will not turn his back on his people.
Jared Wilson’s in Your Jesus is too safe, also brings to mind the promise that Jesus gives in Matthew 28 with the great commission. “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” We also have the promise of God in Deuteronomy 31: 6 which says “I will never leave or forsake you.” So since we have a promise from God, that He will be with us always, why should we assume that God had to turn his back on Jesus? The verse doesn’t say I will be with you always, except when there is sin in your life. Jared Wilson’s argument is that if God promises us he will never leave us, being disgusting impure people, why in the world would he turn his back and abandon Jesus who was the perfect son?
It was an idea that got me thinking about something a different way and I wanted to share it with you to consider. It can and will be debated from now until Jesus comes back. Then we can ask God ourselves if he abandoned Jesus. Until then remember the promise, and walk confidently in the promise that God’s word has given us. He will not leave us.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
It's What's for Dinner
“In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” Hebrews 5: 12-14
I recently saw a video that was taking a humorous approach to these verses. The main character in the short video talked about how he really loved being in the bible class that he is in. The teacher was so good and she really had a way with sharing the lessons from the bible. He was mid-twenties and the class he attended was the 2nd grade sunday school class at his church.
Now this was a little over the top, but something to consider. We must get beyond the milk and start getting to the meat. This is talking about God’s word. Am I still just taking a bottle filled with the simplest truths of God and struggling to keep it down or am I ingesting the solid truths of God that a mature Christian can handle?
This may take some work. We may even have to throw off teachings from our youth that are infantile explanations of what the word says. We may have to break from tradition to be able to get to the full truths of God.
Get into the word, be challenged by the word, and grow in wisdom that comes from the word.
Bible. It’s What’s for Dinner
I recently saw a video that was taking a humorous approach to these verses. The main character in the short video talked about how he really loved being in the bible class that he is in. The teacher was so good and she really had a way with sharing the lessons from the bible. He was mid-twenties and the class he attended was the 2nd grade sunday school class at his church.
Now this was a little over the top, but something to consider. We must get beyond the milk and start getting to the meat. This is talking about God’s word. Am I still just taking a bottle filled with the simplest truths of God and struggling to keep it down or am I ingesting the solid truths of God that a mature Christian can handle?
This may take some work. We may even have to throw off teachings from our youth that are infantile explanations of what the word says. We may have to break from tradition to be able to get to the full truths of God.
Get into the word, be challenged by the word, and grow in wisdom that comes from the word.
Bible. It’s What’s for Dinner
Monday, February 8, 2010
Dude, Where's your hope?
I have been thinking about hope lately. Thinking about the things that I hope for, and the things I should hope for. Hope is having this expectation or desire for something. One of my favorite movies is Shawshank Redemption. Near the end of the movie Andy writes a letter to Red and in the letter he says,
“Remember, Hope is a good thing, maybe even the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”
The thing we need to realize is there are two types of hope. We have a worldly hope and we have a heavenly hope. Worldly hope is what I focus on most of the time. I hope I can get a Wii soon. I hope the Astros go to the World Series this year. I hope I can get a bigger house or car soon. What we have done with hope is turned it into a genie in a bottle type wish thing. I wish for this, that, or all of those. But for Christians we have a hope that has more to it than a wish.
When I was doing the Thessalonians study last month I saw this verse and thought about it for a while. “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.” Now this verse is answering questions about Christians who have died, but I was thinking about the part of the verse that says “The rest of men, who have no hope.” Outside of Christ people have either no hope, or a false hope that anything will happen to them after they are dead. Outside of Christ the only hope someone can have is the wishful thinking hope of things they want to achieve or things they want to do on this Earth. And then it is all over in the end.
Thank God that we have a hope that is bigger than this. We have a hope that is not just wishful thinking but is an expectation in faith that something is going to happen. It can be a hope that we will be brought through a certain trial, or the hope that is focused on Heaven. I don’t just wish for these things, I long for them to happen and I am certain that they will happen because of my faith in Christ. It doesn’t mean all the pain will be taken away. It doesn’t mean that we won’t face problems, but it does mean that while we go through this life we will hold on to the hope that one day we will make it to the other side.
Listen to these words of Job
“But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he will stand upon the Earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see him for myself. Yes I will see him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought!” Job 19: 25-27.
Job understood pain and sorrow far more than any of us, but he held onto his hope. So let us ask ourselves this. Are we living as the rest of the world without any hope? Do we only have wishful thinking to carry us through? If so we need to be encouraged in the promises of God. We need to remember that no matter what happens; in the end we will see our Redeemer! It is with that knowledge that we can make it through all things. Just like Job was, let us be overwhelmed at the thought!
“Remember, Hope is a good thing, maybe even the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.”
The thing we need to realize is there are two types of hope. We have a worldly hope and we have a heavenly hope. Worldly hope is what I focus on most of the time. I hope I can get a Wii soon. I hope the Astros go to the World Series this year. I hope I can get a bigger house or car soon. What we have done with hope is turned it into a genie in a bottle type wish thing. I wish for this, that, or all of those. But for Christians we have a hope that has more to it than a wish.
When I was doing the Thessalonians study last month I saw this verse and thought about it for a while. “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.” Now this verse is answering questions about Christians who have died, but I was thinking about the part of the verse that says “The rest of men, who have no hope.” Outside of Christ people have either no hope, or a false hope that anything will happen to them after they are dead. Outside of Christ the only hope someone can have is the wishful thinking hope of things they want to achieve or things they want to do on this Earth. And then it is all over in the end.
Thank God that we have a hope that is bigger than this. We have a hope that is not just wishful thinking but is an expectation in faith that something is going to happen. It can be a hope that we will be brought through a certain trial, or the hope that is focused on Heaven. I don’t just wish for these things, I long for them to happen and I am certain that they will happen because of my faith in Christ. It doesn’t mean all the pain will be taken away. It doesn’t mean that we won’t face problems, but it does mean that while we go through this life we will hold on to the hope that one day we will make it to the other side.
Listen to these words of Job
“But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that he will stand upon the Earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see him for myself. Yes I will see him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought!” Job 19: 25-27.
Job understood pain and sorrow far more than any of us, but he held onto his hope. So let us ask ourselves this. Are we living as the rest of the world without any hope? Do we only have wishful thinking to carry us through? If so we need to be encouraged in the promises of God. We need to remember that no matter what happens; in the end we will see our Redeemer! It is with that knowledge that we can make it through all things. Just like Job was, let us be overwhelmed at the thought!
Friday, February 5, 2010
The problem with schools in America
So I am going to switch to a rant about a social problem instead of a religious problem for today’s post. I actually benefit from this social problem and I don’t really want it to change, but I am going to discuss some of the problems with the education system in the United States. This comes from a news report that I saw today.
There are several school districts (many of them around Indianapolis and New Orleans but not exclusively) who are canceling classes for Monday because the Super Bowl is Sunday night. Now don’t get me wrong, if my work told me we didn’t have to come to work on Monday I would be ecstatic. But this really is ridiculous. Because of a sporting event, we are going to cancel school?
Now I know some people are going to say, look it is just one day. But that is the problem. We have too many days as is. Plus we are teaching the students that a football game is more important than an education. Studies have show that the more days students attend school the better retention of information they have from year to year. It is one of the reasons why school systems in other countries far surpass ours. Now I know there are other things that they do that help their schools look better than ours like weeding out the poor performing students at early ages, but the fact that they go to school much more than our students helps them perform better in school. The extra days in school has a huge impact on math and science skills. There are some magnet schools in the US that have taken the same approach that schools in many Asian countries have. These magnet schools have longer school days, some Saturdays, and a summer break that is only about 3 weeks long. The schools are some of the highest ranking schools in their states. By the way, they happen to be schools that are in some of the poorest communities and are made up of almost all minorities. Groups that often perform lower in a regular setting.
I don’t want to give up my summer, and I like all the extra days off during the year, but there comes a time to call a spade a spade and admit that as long as we put time off as a priority in our education system, we will perform lower than we could. There will be those that will succeed no matter how few days they go to school and some who fail no matter how many days the attend school, but at the center we can be certain that taking days off (especially days like the day after the super bowl) will not benefit our children’s education.
If you are still reading, Thanks for letting me rant about something that is beyond the normal posts I put on this blog.
There are several school districts (many of them around Indianapolis and New Orleans but not exclusively) who are canceling classes for Monday because the Super Bowl is Sunday night. Now don’t get me wrong, if my work told me we didn’t have to come to work on Monday I would be ecstatic. But this really is ridiculous. Because of a sporting event, we are going to cancel school?
Now I know some people are going to say, look it is just one day. But that is the problem. We have too many days as is. Plus we are teaching the students that a football game is more important than an education. Studies have show that the more days students attend school the better retention of information they have from year to year. It is one of the reasons why school systems in other countries far surpass ours. Now I know there are other things that they do that help their schools look better than ours like weeding out the poor performing students at early ages, but the fact that they go to school much more than our students helps them perform better in school. The extra days in school has a huge impact on math and science skills. There are some magnet schools in the US that have taken the same approach that schools in many Asian countries have. These magnet schools have longer school days, some Saturdays, and a summer break that is only about 3 weeks long. The schools are some of the highest ranking schools in their states. By the way, they happen to be schools that are in some of the poorest communities and are made up of almost all minorities. Groups that often perform lower in a regular setting.
I don’t want to give up my summer, and I like all the extra days off during the year, but there comes a time to call a spade a spade and admit that as long as we put time off as a priority in our education system, we will perform lower than we could. There will be those that will succeed no matter how few days they go to school and some who fail no matter how many days the attend school, but at the center we can be certain that taking days off (especially days like the day after the super bowl) will not benefit our children’s education.
If you are still reading, Thanks for letting me rant about something that is beyond the normal posts I put on this blog.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
For one more day
Quite often I want to hold onto this world. But it is always for selfish reasons. I want to have more things, travel to more places, and have more fun. But then sometimes I get sick of a lot of the things in this world and I am ready to go to Heaven. Just think how great it will be to not have any of the problems that we face. No more pain and sorrow. No more sin. No more evil.
Yesterday while I was reading Philippians I came across this verse from Paul that completely threw me for a loop. I have read it before, but this time I looked back to make sure I read it correctly. I am going to type out the passage, because I think it should be my theme verse.
“For I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that causes me shame, but that I will always be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past, and that my life will always honor Christ, whether I live or I die. For to me living is for Christ, and dying is even better. Yet if I live, that means fruitful service for Christ. I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: Sometimes I want to live, and sometimes I long to go and be with Christ.” Philippians 1: 20-23
I have heard and read this passage several times. I just haven’t really thought about what Paul was saying here. Paul is torn between two things, heaven and life on Earth. Me too! But why is Paul torn? He says I don’t know which is better, Going to be with Jesus or staying here on Earth and telling people about Jesus. Don’t forget that this is written from Prison. “Do I want to stay here in jail and tell people about Jesus or do I want to go to Heaven and see Jesus? Hmmm, let me think about that.” How can you be torn about that question? You ask me that question and I am packing my bags (metaphorically of course, we all know we don’t get to take stuff with us). “See you later guys, good luck!”
This may be nothing new to you. I was just amazed at the Joy Paul has in serving Christ. I hope I can have that kind of joy. I hope that instead of hoping for more days on Earth to see and do great things, I will hope for more time to share Jesus with as many people that I can.
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.” --John Wesley
“We face a humanity that is too precious to neglect. We know a remedy for the ills of the world too wonderful to withhold…we have a CHRIST to glorious to hide. We have an adventure that is too thrilling to miss.” --Theodore Williams
Yesterday while I was reading Philippians I came across this verse from Paul that completely threw me for a loop. I have read it before, but this time I looked back to make sure I read it correctly. I am going to type out the passage, because I think it should be my theme verse.
“For I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that causes me shame, but that I will always be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past, and that my life will always honor Christ, whether I live or I die. For to me living is for Christ, and dying is even better. Yet if I live, that means fruitful service for Christ. I really don’t know which is better. I’m torn between two desires: Sometimes I want to live, and sometimes I long to go and be with Christ.” Philippians 1: 20-23
I have heard and read this passage several times. I just haven’t really thought about what Paul was saying here. Paul is torn between two things, heaven and life on Earth. Me too! But why is Paul torn? He says I don’t know which is better, Going to be with Jesus or staying here on Earth and telling people about Jesus. Don’t forget that this is written from Prison. “Do I want to stay here in jail and tell people about Jesus or do I want to go to Heaven and see Jesus? Hmmm, let me think about that.” How can you be torn about that question? You ask me that question and I am packing my bags (metaphorically of course, we all know we don’t get to take stuff with us). “See you later guys, good luck!”
This may be nothing new to you. I was just amazed at the Joy Paul has in serving Christ. I hope I can have that kind of joy. I hope that instead of hoping for more days on Earth to see and do great things, I will hope for more time to share Jesus with as many people that I can.
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.” --John Wesley
“We face a humanity that is too precious to neglect. We know a remedy for the ills of the world too wonderful to withhold…we have a CHRIST to glorious to hide. We have an adventure that is too thrilling to miss.” --Theodore Williams
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Who is your King?
This Sunday in bible class we discussed Jesus the King. I have just been thinking about it and wanted to go into a little more detail of some of my closing thoughts. Jesus Christ is called the King of Kings. So what is a king? One who has supreme authority and power over his kingdom?
Does Jesus have supreme authority in your life? There are 2.1 Billion people in this world that are Christians. Now this is an all encompassing figure that includes anyone whose faith is connected with Christ. But we will use it to make the point. Of the 2.1 Billion Christians (which by the way is roughly 1/3 of the worlds’ population), how many do you think submit to Jesus Christ as the supreme ruler of their lives? What about you? What about me? Is Jesus the king of everything in your life? Is He the king of your tongue? How about your check book? Your thoughts? Your work ethic? I have my doubts that the number is very high at all. I know the answer for me and I am not proud of it.
So what do we do? Now I know some people may want to argue that, we are not perfect people, so it is impossible to have Jesus as the supreme authority in our lives because we are sinful by nature. I am thinking back to something someone said to me recently along the lines of “Before Christians start getting down on themselves, we need to remember that even though we aren’t perfect, we are being transformed by Jesus and we will be made perfect in the end, so it is ok if we aren’t doing all the stuff we should be doing.” It made my skin crawl when I heard it and it still does. I NEED to recognize that I am nowhere near where I need to be, and that IS NOT ok. Now I am not saying that by me doing a better job that I can earn God’s grace and favor, but it is not ok for me to be in the same spot (spiritually speaking) today that I was in 5 years ago. I can’t just say Jesus will make up for it in the end, so I am alright. Jesus can transform our lives if we let him. My problem is that I let him have control of part of me, but I hold onto a few things. The things I really want to be in charge of.
So my challenge is to all of us. Think about the things in your life that Jesus is not the King of and give it over to Him. Pray for His supreme authority in your life. Let Jesus increase in your life while you decrease.
I am including a video that many of you have seen before. When I listen to this sermon segment on Jesus and all of the things that He is, I get goose bumps. Actual goose bumps not just saying that I do for emphasis. Look at what this has to say about Jesus Christ and let him be all of those things in your life.
Does Jesus have supreme authority in your life? There are 2.1 Billion people in this world that are Christians. Now this is an all encompassing figure that includes anyone whose faith is connected with Christ. But we will use it to make the point. Of the 2.1 Billion Christians (which by the way is roughly 1/3 of the worlds’ population), how many do you think submit to Jesus Christ as the supreme ruler of their lives? What about you? What about me? Is Jesus the king of everything in your life? Is He the king of your tongue? How about your check book? Your thoughts? Your work ethic? I have my doubts that the number is very high at all. I know the answer for me and I am not proud of it.
So what do we do? Now I know some people may want to argue that, we are not perfect people, so it is impossible to have Jesus as the supreme authority in our lives because we are sinful by nature. I am thinking back to something someone said to me recently along the lines of “Before Christians start getting down on themselves, we need to remember that even though we aren’t perfect, we are being transformed by Jesus and we will be made perfect in the end, so it is ok if we aren’t doing all the stuff we should be doing.” It made my skin crawl when I heard it and it still does. I NEED to recognize that I am nowhere near where I need to be, and that IS NOT ok. Now I am not saying that by me doing a better job that I can earn God’s grace and favor, but it is not ok for me to be in the same spot (spiritually speaking) today that I was in 5 years ago. I can’t just say Jesus will make up for it in the end, so I am alright. Jesus can transform our lives if we let him. My problem is that I let him have control of part of me, but I hold onto a few things. The things I really want to be in charge of.
So my challenge is to all of us. Think about the things in your life that Jesus is not the King of and give it over to Him. Pray for His supreme authority in your life. Let Jesus increase in your life while you decrease.
I am including a video that many of you have seen before. When I listen to this sermon segment on Jesus and all of the things that He is, I get goose bumps. Actual goose bumps not just saying that I do for emphasis. Look at what this has to say about Jesus Christ and let him be all of those things in your life.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Our Mission
Here is a video that is on Jared Wilson's Gospel Driven Church blog. I thought it was a good reminder of what we as the church should be doing. It hits on several of the things we have been talking about over the last month.
Crazy Heart
This post is going to stray from the focus of all of my other posts up to this point. But even in it I will get to something for you to think about and consider. Saturday night Sarah Grace and I went out on a date, which is a rare occasion these days. For a while our dates were dropping off kids at Grandma’s house for a few hours so we could go to the store or something minor and the polar opposite of “Romantic”. Fortunately that has changed. We went to see Crazy Heart with Jeff Bridges (and by that I mean Jeff Bridges was the main character of the movie, not that Jeff Bridges came to the movies with my wife and me. That would be an interesting third wheel).
The movie was fantastic. The only bad part about it for us was we were sitting on the front row. It was kind of like watching a tennis match. We had to constantly move our head left to right to be able to catch the whole scene. Back to the actual movie, Bridges plays a washed up, alcoholic, has been musician who is in desperate need of redemption in his career and his life in general. If you haven’t heard watch the trailer for it below.
Along with the movie I would also like to say check out Ryan Bingham’s Song “The Weary Kind” which is the theme song for the movie. I like this guy’s sound (and his sound doesn’t match his look)
Here is the some background to the date that made it special. A month ago we went to the movies and I wanted to watch Sherlock Holmes. Sarah Grace let me choose. I didn’t know what to expect in the movie, but I wasn’t expecting what we saw. I actually apologized to my wife in the opening scene. This was our first night out in a long time and I chose a movie that turned out to be much more action packed than I had expected. It was by no means romantic. I told Sarah Grace when we left the theatre that she got to pick the next movie we went to. Fast Forward to Thursday night of this last week. I start thinking about a date night and I ask her if she wants to go out on Saturday, to which she replies “Do you want to go see Crazy Heart?” She knew the answer. She knew it was the movie that I really wanted to see. And instead of pulling up my month old promise that she could pick the next movie, she offered that as the movie we would go see. It was a simple sacrifice, but it reminds me of how we should be, putting our spouses before ourselves. Thank you Sarah Grace. I Love You! And next time you can pick the movie you want to see. (Unless the new M. Night movie is out, and then would you mind sacrificing for me again?)
The movie was fantastic. The only bad part about it for us was we were sitting on the front row. It was kind of like watching a tennis match. We had to constantly move our head left to right to be able to catch the whole scene. Back to the actual movie, Bridges plays a washed up, alcoholic, has been musician who is in desperate need of redemption in his career and his life in general. If you haven’t heard watch the trailer for it below.
Along with the movie I would also like to say check out Ryan Bingham’s Song “The Weary Kind” which is the theme song for the movie. I like this guy’s sound (and his sound doesn’t match his look)
Here is the some background to the date that made it special. A month ago we went to the movies and I wanted to watch Sherlock Holmes. Sarah Grace let me choose. I didn’t know what to expect in the movie, but I wasn’t expecting what we saw. I actually apologized to my wife in the opening scene. This was our first night out in a long time and I chose a movie that turned out to be much more action packed than I had expected. It was by no means romantic. I told Sarah Grace when we left the theatre that she got to pick the next movie we went to. Fast Forward to Thursday night of this last week. I start thinking about a date night and I ask her if she wants to go out on Saturday, to which she replies “Do you want to go see Crazy Heart?” She knew the answer. She knew it was the movie that I really wanted to see. And instead of pulling up my month old promise that she could pick the next movie, she offered that as the movie we would go see. It was a simple sacrifice, but it reminds me of how we should be, putting our spouses before ourselves. Thank you Sarah Grace. I Love You! And next time you can pick the movie you want to see. (Unless the new M. Night movie is out, and then would you mind sacrificing for me again?)
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