Off The Beaten Path

In the Beginning

2011-04-30T09:55:00.001-05:00

The Bible

2011-04-20T09:32:00.005-05:00

The Bible is unlike any book ever written. From a Lord who is ceaseless in love came a message that is timeless. Its worth is priceless and its application is endless. These teachings are ageless, but to some they are useless, because with shameless hearts they think less of the words that would make them blameless before their sinless savior.

I ran across this New York Times article from 1909, talking about how the Bible is the most popular book of all time. You should read it.... it's pretty interesting.

Read the article here!

Unexplained Miracle

2011-04-18T10:40:00.004-05:00

I've been reading a book called "Fingerprints of God," which deals with the psychology and biology of faith. As I read, it is fascinating to me how that doctors have discovered a link between illness and God. That is to say that when I person is sick, they can pray and find psychological healing that is unexplainable to scientists. How is it that a person can have such unhealthy levels of stress, turn to say a prayer, and suddenly have peace? The phenomena is baffling to doctors.

So, once again we discover healing that only God can provide. A God able to bind the wounded. A God who heals the broken soul.

Get "Fingerprints of God" on Amazon.

Stop Hurting Me!

2011-04-13T17:07:00.007-05:00

In Acts 9:4 Jesus tells Saul as he walks along the road, "Stop hurting me!" The catch was, Saul hadn't ever met Jesus before. So, why in the world would Jesus make such a statement as this? The answer is simple. Because Saul was hurting Jesus' friends. That's the kind of friend I want to have. One who gets hurt whenever I am hurting. One who goes out of his or her way to protect and stand up for my rights. Jesus is all about doing this for those who trust in him. He protects. He defends. He understands. Jesus gets us when others just can't.

There are a lot of people in this world looking for defenders. Many people need advocates. The time has come for someone who can help. Jesus is what we are looking for. A good, faithful friend.

John 15:15- No longer do I give you the name of servants; because a servant is without knowledge of what his master is doing: I give you the name of friends, because I have given you knowledge of all the things which my Father has said to me.

Pac-Man Fever

2011-04-13T10:42:00.003-05:00

Today my son asked if he could play Pac-Man at home. As he put it, "The games you used to play were a lot of fun. Puzzle games." Then he asked a question. "Dad, were there any bad games when you were a kid?" I answered, "No. Not really." He said, "Things were better then."

I can assure you, things were not always better back then. However, when it comes to temptation in technology, we don't realize how hard our children and grandchildren have it. It might be time to start looking at the temptation our kids face and ask ourselves, "Is it fair?" Then, maybe we should do our kids the service they have been wanting from us and "pull the plug." Kids have it hard enough without us bringing sin into our homes. Or, maybe we should just look at the ratings and ask ourselves, "Do they really need to play this game?" If we could help just one kid preserve his or her innocence a little longer, wouldn't it be worth it?

I'm Back

2011-04-13T09:55:00.005-05:00

Sorry for the long delay in writing here on the blog. I've been really giving myself lately to counseling people and working on my first book (set to be on Amazon.com this fall). However, I have realized that I need to start writing again, as I see more and more reasons to keep the blog fire burning. Thank you to all who write me and tell me you've missed my blog. I haven't forgotten. Just been writing in another format.

- Chris

Meet My Old Friend Molek

2010-11-15T09:45:00.004-06:00

Zephaniah1: ⁴ “I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place, the very names of the idolatrous priests— ⁵ those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the LORD and who also swear by Molek.

So, my question is, "What's a Molek?" It sounds like a bad haircut from the 80's really. Thing is, when I read this verse, that's the only word with no real point of reference. Of course, I've been told a little about Molek. Less famous than his counterpart Baal, Molek was a Canaanite god who was worshiped through human sacrifice. So basically, to worship Molek one had to reject the authority and rule of Jehovah God and place one's individual experience above the human life of others. Ok.... so now I get it. Basically Molek is where God is taken off his throne, others are objectified, and I am glorified. Wow, so now I know what a Molek is.

A Molek is when we would rather sacrifice the needs of our children and God's call for us as parents, so that we can gratify the cravings of laziness. A Molek is when we sacrifice integrity by watching movies and television that are inappropriate for Christians. A Molek is when we lose our influence, by objectifying and demoralizing women. A Molek is when we hurt God's children through gossip, being judgmental, or by being racist. A Molek is when we love this world so much that we reject the creator of it. A Molek is when we let fear prevent us from being truthful with others about our need for Christ and to cast off the sin that entangles us all. A Molek is when we make worship all about us and not about God and his church. A Molek is when we ignore the hungry, the hurting, the broken as a way to maintain peace in our own lives. A Molek is when we become so self absorbed, that God is forgotten and people are run over.

Yes, I know Molek. Molek is everywhere. According to Zephaniah, worshiping both Molek and the Lord God will result in destruction. We cannot have two masters... so we must decide who we will worship. God or Molek?

Another Night At A Temporary Inn

2010-10-18T09:21:00.002-05:00

C.S. Lewis in his book "The Problem of Pain" talks about the fact that we humans will never experience true peace here on earth. The reason for this is simple. God wants us always to remember that there is something better out there for us. "This world is not our home." So, we dwell on this earth in "pleasant inns," not mistaking our temporary shelter for the permanent homes God has for us in eternity.

Suppose C.S. Lewis is right. What if God in his great love, purposefully chose to allow us to endure trials here on earth, if for no other reason than to remind us that this place is not where we want to be? What if pain on earth were a tool of evangelism? Could sorrow be an instrument of God, always reminding us that life here is not like life there?

Today, no matter the trial, no matter the sorrow, we find temporary peace. Our peace comes from the inescapable truth that good things are coming on the horizon. No matter how hard we try or want it, earth will always have some level, some amount of pain. And yet, just like the light from the empty tomb overpowering a wooden cross, God's blessing isn't far away either. One day we will be with him in comfort. One day we will have our permanent peace.

- Chris Johnson

A Poem About Slime

2010-08-13T10:58:00.003-05:00

Maybe we all did come from slime,

the goo that grew to form mankind.

A single celled organism,

evolved into our disposition.

And so we find ourselves here today,

a spineless, souless lump of clay.

Without a future and without a past,

a life formed from a souless mass.

Unless of course we all are wrong,

and something more did come along.

To create the life we know and love,

perhaps it was a God above.

By Chris

What Bonhoeffer Said About Discipleship

2010-08-10T11:06:00.004-05:00

I ran across this quote and had to share it. There are a dozen little gems here, so good luck digging!

Jesus Christ must suffer and be rejected. This is the "must" of God's promise in which the Scripture is fulfilled. Jesus was the Christ who could still be celebrated in suffering. That suffering could still be the basis of all the world's pity and wonder. Suffering as something tragic could still carry within it its own value, its own honor and dignity. But Jesus is the Christ who is rejected in suffering. Being rejected takes away from suffering any dignity and honor. Suffering and being rejected are the summary expression for the cross of Jesus. Death on the cross means suffering and dying as one who is rejected and cast out. Jesus must suffer and be rejected by virtue of divine necessity. Any attempt at thwarting the necessary is satanic, even and precisely when it comes out of the circle of the disciples, for it does not want to let Christ be Christ... Thus for Jesus it now becomes necessary to relate the “must” of suffering to his disciples in a clear and unambiguous way. As Christ is Christ only as the suffering and rejected one, so the disciple is a disciple only as one who suffers and is rejected, as one crucified with Jesus. Discipleship understood as being bound to the person of Jesus Christ, places the disciple under the law of Christ, that is, under the cross.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

If you enjoyed this reading, try "I Want to Live These Days with You- Dietrich Bonhoeffer."

Walk By Faith

2010-08-04T20:30:00.003-05:00

Judges 7:2 The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her. 3 announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.' " So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.

My brother-in-law, Guy Stover, spoke tonight about trusting in God. I really liked the idea that he brought up about us truly trusting the Lord, even when the odds are stacked against us. Trusting him, when it doesn't seem like we should... now this is faith.

Today I read a quote from Benjamin Franklin that says, "The way to see by Faith is to shut the Eye of Reason." I suppose that is what Gideon had to do when God said, "You have too many men." At some point, faith requires us to believe, even when nothing makes sense.

I guess if faith were easy, it wouldn't be faith. That's the thing about faith. It has to be difficult to work right. So, we trust, even when the light of reason has faded. Even when logic and reason have departed. Even then, we walk by faith and not by sight.

Crime Stopped By Jesus

2010-08-03T20:00:00.000-05:00

What Is The Greatest Risk In Christianity?

2010-08-03T12:09:00.009-05:00

What is the greatest risk in Christianity? The risk of doing the wrong thing? The risk of saying the wrong thing? The risk of overstepping boundaries? The risk of changing something or doing something that shouldn't be changed or done?

As a kid growing up, those were the risks I was concerned about. "Be careful when doing your work Christian. Be careful that you don't overstep. Make sure you don't speak out of turn. Be aware that you will be judged for your actions and words." These seemed like good rules to go by at the time.

Then I read the story of the talents in Matthew 25. You know the one. A man goes away and entrusts 5 talents, 2 talents, and 1 talent to his workers. After the journey, he returns to find that the workers have invested and doubled his money. All do this, but one. The man with 1 talent says, "Master, I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you."

Fear and worry about the master's hardness, prevented the worker from investing. The master agrees with his servant, that he is indeed a man who "harvests where he hasn't sown and gathers where he has not scattered seed." However, the master won't agree that he is a "hard man." In the end, the master kicks the servant out of his presence for his unwillingness to invest the master's money.

So, according to this story, what is the greatest risk in the kingdom? The risk of overstepping bounds? The risk of saying the wrong thing? Or, could it be the risk of being paralyzed with fear because we don't know the master? The risk of thinking God is "hard" when he is actually generous? The risk of risking nothing?

We are challenged today to risk something for God. To speak when we need to speak, to make changes when they are appropriately needed, to be bold as he has called us to be, to start new things and do new things that are worthy investments for the Lord. We are cautious in our investing. We are aware that we work for the king and handle his money, which he has entrusted to us. We know not all things belong to us, and so we leave those things as they are. We recognize there are things that God has entrusted into our hands, talents that he wants us to invest. We are forever cautious to invest wisely. But we also realize that the greater sin is not the sin of doing or saying too much. Rather, the greatest sin is doing or saying too little!

For more on this subject, check out Lucado's book, Cure For The Common Life.

Before There Was "Friends"... There Was Friendship

2010-08-03T11:05:00.001-05:00

It's Harder To Frown Than To Smile

2010-07-31T11:02:00.007-05:00

I'm sure you've heard that saying, "It takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile." Science is still not exactly sure how many more muscles it takes to frown (most estimates seem to be around 3x's). Still, the number really isn't important. What matters is the amount of effort it takes to come across badly, verses coming across good. And, this saying isn't just true of facial expressions. I've noticed that it's true of how we treat others as well.

It's harder to avoid than it is to acknowledge.
It's harder to snub than it is to support.
It's harder to maintain a lie than it is the truth.
It's harder to live life feeling sorry for one's self than it is to be content.
It's harder to be bitter than it is to be joyful.
It's harder to maintain power than it is to share.
I could keep going, but you see my point.

It's too hard to maintain a frown. It's too much work to always avoid a brother. I'd rather just go the opposite direction and live a life of redemption, true forgiveness, and peace. It's not really about Christianity (although that's a good reason too). Rather, being kind just sounds easier to me.

USA TODAY Remembers Kyle

2010-07-29T09:38:00.008-05:00

STROUD, Okla. (AP) — Authorities say a high school golf star was killed in a single-car accident hours after competing in the All-State golf tournament in Broken Arrow.

Bethel's Kyle Lewis was alone in his car, which left the road and struck a bridge embankment on the Turner Turnpike near Stroud on Monday. Authorities say it's unknown why his car left the road.

A moment of silence will be observed at the remaining All-State events this week.

Lewis, a graduating senior, had signed a letter of intent to play golf at Oklahoma and had planned to move to Norman next month. Oklahoma golf coach Ryan Hybl says the team is mourning Lewis' death. He says Lewis "was going to be a great ambassador for our university."

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Taken from USA TODAY

If We Could Erase Yesterday

2010-07-27T11:45:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I posted a blog about being ready to be called home with God. Hours after that blog was posted, one of our kids in the youth group, Kyle Lewis was called home.

May God bless his family through your prayers, good Christian.

- Chris

Are You Ready To Go?

2010-07-26T11:38:00.004-05:00

I wasn't watching the clock, I was just sitting, relaxing, and minding my own business. Suddenly I looked up and my family was at the door ready. Jessica looked and said, "It's time. Are you ready to go?"

I've been thinking a lot about the parable of Matthew 25:1-13. As the parable goes, ten maidens waited for a wedding party to begin, anticipating the arrival of the groom. However, five didn't bring oil for their lamps, so were forced to leave early to buy oil, before the groom made an appearance. Anyway, while they were out, the groom arrived and shut the door to the party, leaving five of the maidens outside and alone.

As I listen to that parable, I think about the sorrow of not being ready when one's time is up, when one's number is called. We never know when God will return. We never know when our time will come. What we do know is that today is the day for faithfulness and obedience.

Are you ready to go? The clock may be ticking down faster than you realize.

Isaiah 55:6
Seek the LORD while he may be found, call on him while he is near.

Hebrews 4:7
Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.

Stephen Hawking on God

2010-07-26T10:31:00.004-05:00

Stephen Hawking in A brief history of time c.1988

"One can imagine that God created the universe at literally any time in the past. On the other hand, if the universe is expanding, there may be physical reasons why there had to be a beginning. One could still imagine that God created the universe at the instant of the big bang, or even afterward in just such a way as to make it look as though there had been a big bang, but it would be meaningless to suppose that it was created before the big bang. An expanding universe does not preclude a creator, but it does place limits on when he might have carried out his job!"

"We Don't See What Abraham Sees"

2010-07-22T11:08:00.003-05:00

Matthew 22:31 But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, 32 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living."

Blinded By Sin

2010-07-22T10:15:00.003-05:00

Matthew 6:22 "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!"

I think sometimes we don't realize how much darkness we have within us. Our gaze has been tainted, our insight is blurred, and our perceptive is hazy. Why is this the case? Because of sin. Sin has been blocking our view and so we find ourselves unable to see straight for the plank within our own eyes.

Sin in the life of the Christian results in spiritual blindness. The problem is, the blind don't know they are blind. Many times, the blind feel so confident in their ability to see that they communicate with arrogance, self-centeredness and a spirit of judgmental condemnation. This is the trouble with blindness. Such a condition cannot respond accurately and with a clear understanding.

God calls us today to remove the sin from our lives. By casting out sin, we will see more clearly in our other relationships. Casting out sin results in light's exposure. Light's exposure is not to be feared, but is rather a joy to those who desire to walk in the truth.

What Is Integrity?

2010-07-21T09:56:00.001-05:00

The Whole of The Empty Tomb

2010-07-19T09:20:00.003-05:00

"If there were no empty tomb... this would all just be for nothing." I've heard that a hundred times and read it from scripture more often than I know. Every time I read it or hear it, I think of this statement from the perspective of Christian evidences. "If God hadn't raised from the dead, then Jesus was a sham. The empty tomb validates Christ."

The empty tomb doesn't just validate Christ though. The empty tomb validates us. It validates our journey, our struggle, our fight against sin, our life-long sacrifices and never-ending challenge to be more in Christ. The empty tomb is a resounding trumpet call, and a banner for victory. The empty tomb draws us towards peace that passes understanding.

As Peter raced towards the tomb, he must have been filled with a world of emotions. Would the object of his faith still lay dead in a closed cell? Would his convictions remain lifeless and overpowered? Would his failings triumph over his faith? Would death, depression, guilt, hostility, emptiness, and sorrow reign? No. As Peter ran up to the tomb, death had departed. Loneliness had left. Sorrow had fallen short. All that was left was the possibility and optimism of a new glorious day!

Today we celebrate an empty tomb. A reminder that in the end, peace and life and love will reign once more. We race towards that day, knowing that victory will come, even though death and sorrow seem so prevalent along our journey.

My Private/Public Faith

2010-07-07T15:11:00.007-05:00

God enters by a private door into every individual. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
As soon as a man has found Christ, he begins to find others. -- Charles H. Spurgeon

Within the heart of Christianity lies a single dilemma. If God calls man to share the good news with the whole world, why does he spend so much time speaking about the secrecy required of the believer? In other words, why emphasize "praying in secret" when God also tells his disciples to be an example to non believers? Why does Christ sometimes call his followers to keep silent about what they have seen, and other times to "proclaim from the roofs?" Even in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says in two different verses both "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" and also, "don't do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven." This conflict can be difficult to understand.

There are lots of answers to Jesus' teachings on this. Some situations involve context, while others require an understanding of God's plan for the cross. Obviously some verses have to do with boasting, while other texts emphasize spreading the Gospel. However, that isn't really why I am writing today. I am not concerned with why Jesus encouraged both a private and a public Christianity. Rather, I want to suggest that Jesus wants every Christian to have both. We all need both a private and a public Christianity.

Reading through the "parable of the yeast," Jesus says that the kingdom of Heaven is like yeast being worked into dough. Interestingly, commentators disagree as to the nature of Christianity in regards to this parable. Some say that yeast in dough is radically transformative, creating bold and undeniable changes. Others suggest that yeast in dough is silent, quiet, incognito and "slow rising." What if Christianity were both? What if Christianity were radical, and secret? What if it were hidden and bright?

God has called us to a loud faith. One that proclaims broadly and shares boldly the message of truth. Likewise, he calls us to a quiet faith. One which secretly lives out the message and silently contends for righteousness. Can we have both? Can we learn to balance a private and public walk with God? What would such a faith look like? Isn't that the question?

How Can We Trust That Which Is Unseen?

2010-07-07T10:46:00.000-05:00

I Forgive You!

2010-06-27T18:21:00.001-05:00

Jesus: Removing the Toughest Stains

2010-06-27T16:04:00.006-05:00

Romans 7:20- Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

Romans 7:24-25- What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

I've really been enjoying our class on Romans at church. One of the things I enjoy about it has been found in this text. As Paul speaks of sin, he reminds us of the all too common problem so many of us face. Often times, we want to do good, we want to be righteous, but we simply aren't. Most of the time, we are at war within, struggling to be exactly what God calls us to be. In the end, we find ourselves "losing the battle" to the desires of our hearts. Paul, comes back and addresses this issue by saying, "Who can save me from this cycle? Well.... Jesus of course!"

Sometimes we need something to penetrate our hearts deeper than we have the ability to do. We've tried scrubbing the crud off of us, tried removing the grime from our lives, just to be left with disappointment, sadness, and bloody knuckles. Isn't it good to know that there is one here who can get deeper? One who can get deep down where we can't and eliminate the filth that we've been struggling to eliminate. I think that's Paul's point here. Sometimes hard work can't resolve an issue. Only the creator of the heart knows how to truly purify the heart. Try scrubbing.... and you may just end up depressed and disillusioned. Ask him to scrub, and see what happens inside of you. Maybe that is what Paul's talking about.

How Big Is The Universe?

2010-06-22T16:49:00.001-05:00

Some questions only true disciples get to ask

2010-06-16T12:42:00.009-05:00

I was talking to a friend the other day who indicated he had some doubts in his faith. He told me, "I almost feel like an atheist, asking if God is real." As I heard him talk, I realized that he was wording his question wrong. The issue was not that he felt like an atheist. Rather the issue was that he was questioning the church's relevance in the world today. My friend knows God's word. He loves God and has followed him even to do mission work. Still, he is asking himself about how relevant his faith is to the world. What about the Christians who get caught up in sin and can't get out? What about the homeless dying in the streets? What about the churches that don't get along? What about the power of TV and how it seems to influence others in ways that a single person speaking for Christ never could? Yes... my friend had a good question. But it was a spiritual question. The question of a true believer, not a spiritual weakling.

In John 1 the apostles first meet Jesus and say that he is amazing. "You're the king of Israel, the one John spoke of, the one Moses wrote about." By Mark 4 in the boat, they are asking Jesus, "Don't you care if we drown?" John the baptist starts off his ministry telling the disciples that Jesus is the lamb of God. Later in prison, he sends word to ask Christ "are you the one to come, or should we expect someone else?" Moses self sacrificially denied himself Egyptian treasure, caring about the other slaves, and boldly defending them even to the point of murder. Years later, he stands before God and asks the Lord if he will send someone else, since Moses "can't speak." I guess my point is that there are some level of questions that only a mature disciple has the right to ask. Only a Peter in the boat with Jesus gets to ask Jesus if he cares. Only a John in prison gets to question God's identity. Only a Moses before the burning bush can question God's decision making. If we heard these questions, we might just say to Peter, John, or Moses, "You are unspiritual."

Nope, these are the questions of the faithful. Only disciples get to ask those kind of questions.

What questions have you asked God? Maybe you aren't an atheist at all. Maybe you are a true believer on a journey with God.

Artificial Insemination And The Search For Identity

2010-06-14T14:20:00.004-05:00

I was given this article about children born through artificial insemination. The stats are staggering!

"Two-thirds of adult donor offspring agree with the statement 'My sperm donor is half of who I am.' Nearly half are disturbed that money was involved in their conception. More than half say that when they see someone who resembles them, they wonder if they are related. About two-thirds affirm the right of donor offspring to know the truth about their origins. Regardless of socioeconomic status, donor offspring are twice as likely as those raised by biological parents to report problems with the law before age 25. They are more than twice as likely to report having struggled with substance abuse. And they are about 1.5 times as likely to report depression or other mental health problems."

Want the whole article? Read it here!

Thanks to John Clemmons for the link!

What would you do?

2010-06-13T16:45:00.000-05:00

Sort of reminds me of a parable I read once.

How To Convert A Criminal To Christ

2010-06-09T16:43:00.001-05:00

God's Workmanship

2010-06-09T15:58:00.005-05:00

I've been running into a dilemma while doing my counseling outside of church. I want to try and help people see their true self worth. The problem is, I'm not allowed to mention God unless they do. So, how do you tell someone the true value they have, when God can't be mentioned?

Today I'm reading through Ephesians again and I ran across that verse, "we are God's workmanship." It gets me to thinking about some of those famous paintings I discovered when I was an apprentice missionary in Europe. I saw a few Rembrandt's, some Picaso's, some Dali's, and a famous one by Da Vinci (guess which one). Some were breathtaking. Others were pretty ordinary. All were famous and priceless. What gave them value? The value of the work was found in who the artist was. The value of workmanship is determined by the worker. This is God's work. I am God's work. One cannot appreciate value until one understands the maker.

Wish I could tell my clients, "Without God, you are just human. But with God, you are priceless."

Video: In Every Aspect of Life, God Is There!

2010-06-07T15:19:00.003-05:00

If God had a fingerprint, what would it look like? Possibly 1.618.

Do What You Came For, Judas!

2010-06-03T08:45:00.006-05:00

Yesterday I was reading through Acts and made a powerful discovery. In Acts 1, the Apostles make mention of Judas' betrayal of Jesus, and then never mention Judas again. In fact, Judas is never mentioned again in scripture! Even references to Judas are eliminated from scripture. In I Corinthians 11 when speaking of the Lord's Supper, betrayal is referenced. Outside of this though, there is really nothing to bring us back to Judas. One reason for this could be because as humanity, we all denied and crucified Jesus. In other words, Judas was not the enemy of Christ, but an instrument representing all of us. "We all killed Jesus" seems to be the theme of scripture, not just Judas alone. Still, I wonder what Biblical truth this has for me in my life.

You'd think if someone murdered and betrayed Christ, everyone would be talking about that guy. I mean, there is no one more despicable than Judas... right? The whole "kiss" thing must have left his mark on society back in the first century. Still, we never read about apostolic anger towards Judas. Peter never spends a chapter in his letter talking about his frustrations with his old "friend." That is so the opposite of me.

When people hurt us, how do we respond? Do we talk about the hurt? Do we dwell on the pain? Do we dissect their character, paint them as demonic, and think about their disobedience and sin? The apostles just moved on. I don't know how or why. Maybe because they loved God so much. Maybe because they knew that we are all guilty before God. Maybe they just understood the bigger role Judas played and that each of them were capable of the same thing. Either way, Acts 1 concludes the story of Judas in scripture.

The Ways of Jesus Are Perfect!

2010-06-02T12:21:00.004-05:00

Psalm 77: ¹² I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds. ¹³ Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God?

They may be difficult or complicated. They may not always make sense. They may be hard to swallow and harder to live by, but Christ's ways are always good. Jesus' ways are perfect. They are perfect in so many ways and on so many levels. Christ's ways remind us who we are to be. They challenge us in moments of victory. They lift us up in times of struggle. Christ's ways are a lamp unto our feet, a light unto our path, a rock of solid foundation within the storm, and a mighty fortress when the enemy attacks. Who is like Jesus? Who moves and leads and saves and strengthens as our God does.

Never forget the God of your youth. Never reject the one whose ways are perfect. Jesus' ways are right... always... no matter what we think or feel.

The Ways of Jesus Are Impossibly Hard

2010-06-01T19:27:00.004-05:00

I still remember sitting in Bible school when the teacher said "Jesus' yoke is easy and his burden is light." At the time, I was 23 and so I just raised my hand and shouted out, "That seems like a contradiction since he also says you've gotta hate your father and mother, carry your cross daily, and turn the other cheek." The teacher rightly rebuked me for my disrespect, and unjustly ignored me for having a legitimate question worthy of being addressed.

So, whoever said following Jesus is easy was nuts (with the exception of Christ himself who was inspired, spirit-filled, and sinless). Seriously, imitating Christ is a standard that seems so lofty and high... who could ever reach it? Maybe for some people following Christ is simple. As they get older, it becomes easier and more simplistic. I can buy that! For me though, Christianity is just plain hard. I see those who have walked the long road for years faithfully... and yet, even they couldn't stand up to the scrutiny of God's plumb line (or ruler for those of you who are measuring). The standard reaches deep and wide. No one is worthy, not even one.

Maybe this is the place where I talk for a while about grace. Maybe here is where we discuss how we've all been forgiven, we all are not worthy, we are all saved by grace through faith. Maybe so. Still, before you toss me a simplistic bone to answer my heart's dilemma, remember that this is an enigma that has plagued me for years. Is it easy to follow Jesus? Depends on who you ask. Depends on when you ask it.

Raising Kids... Comedy Video

2010-05-27T17:10:00.003-05:00

Hate to see our youth teens graduating, but am proud of them. This one is for you parents out there.

Just a spoonful of Jesus...

2010-05-26T13:31:00.007-05:00

Matthew 5:6

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled."

I have been thinking a lot about why God isn't mightily working in our lives, like he could be. Why do we feel so spiritually weak? Why are we so ineffective? Why do we fail so often or fall into sin so regularly? There are so many questions here and often times few answers. I just want to ask God, "Where is all of this power you talk about? Why can't we move mountains? Show me this peace, this joy, this _______ that the Bible speaks of, but that seems so elusive to me." Once I'm done complaining, I often times pick up my Bible, I read a verse, I say a prayer, and then I go fast to sleep, ready for a new day of failures and frustrations.

I wonder sometimes... what if the problem is that my spirituality isn't filled with me thirsting for God deeply. Maybe I'm drinking too shallow. Maybe I'm sipping Jesus and not swimming deep in him. What if instead of picking up a gallon of God, I'm drinking from an eye dropper. I've chosen a thimble of theory, a spoonful of spirituality, or a drop of divinity, but I've forsaken the fountain of flowing water of my Lord. Why do we fail? Because we'd rather dip our tongues in God's word for a second and then spend all day long watching TV. Guess what? In the end, all we've done is show him that we thirst for television.

It's time to thirst for God! Time to drink deep! Time to jump into the fountain free and take a long, refreshing swim!

How much does God love you?

2010-05-25T11:34:00.002-05:00

My kids used to ask me, "Daddy, how much do you love me?" I'd always raise my arms up and say, "This much." It made sense to them, since my arms were so much bigger than theirs. That was an easy game to play. Dad has big arms, he can reach really far, and his love is really wide.

God's arms are invisible. How will we ever know how big God's love is, when God has no arms? And then I remember God coming to earth in the flesh. At the cross, he raises his arms outward and says, "Guess how much I love you?" How wide are those arms? Wider than we will ever know.

The business of Christianity

2010-05-25T10:31:00.003-05:00

"As is the business of tailors to make clothes and cobblers to make shoes, so it is the business of Christians to pray." Martin Luther

Which gets me to asking..... "Am I in the business of Christianity?"

Video: Why we are here!

2010-05-19T10:51:00.001-05:00

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

2010-05-17T08:38:00.005-05:00

Lately I've been thinking a lot about fear. Fear is a funny thing because it can often be so unfounded. It's like, "paying interest on money you have not borrowed" - Zig Ziglar. Point being, I wonder how many wars, how many church splits, how many divorces occurred because of fear. People getting scared and "running off with their thoughts." Christians "jumping to unnecessary conclusions." How many times have I let fear determine the truth, rather than let the truth be determined by reality? Fear is such a powerful force in the world and it should not be underestimated. So, controlling fear might very well mean controlling fate. Possibly, he who takes fear by the horns holds destiny in his hands.

Happy Mothers Day From Mr. T

2010-05-06T14:39:00.000-05:00

Climbing, Coasting, and Crashing

2010-05-06T11:43:00.002-05:00

I've been thinking a lot about what people really want out of life. Sometimes we find ourselves crashing and burning. Slamming into sin, watching our lives fall apart under us, finding ourselves knee deep in a world we never imagined for ourselves. No one dreams of crashing and burning. And yet, this is the place that we can find ourselves.

When we crash, often the response is to turn to God. After all, God can make us soar again. God lifts us up under his wings and elevates us above the clouds. He rockets us forward to new heights. It only makes sense that when we are flat on our backs we would turn to the Father.

The thing is, most people really don't want to go quite as high as God wants to propel them. They are content flying under Satan's radar. They have been happy for years just coasting and don't want to get too close to God's glory. After all, God's glory may be good, it may be filled with joy and peace and love, but it also can be hot around the collar. Where God dwells, men are exposed to the truth of themselves. People who get extreme for God are also the types who are criticized, martyred, and who become social outcasts. One can't keep his or her feet in this world and soar with God at the same time. A decision must be made.

Truth be told, most people just like to coast. They enjoy the freedom of flying under the radar, simple and free. With their heads in the clouds, people want to glide. The thing is, God didn't make us to glide. God made us to shine like stars high above the world we live in. Thus, coasting eventually results in a loss of altitude, a drop in cabin pressure, crashing and burning. People who choose to coast (and don't climb towards God) just end up crashing.

If you ask people, would you rather be Holy or Happy, most people will say, "Happy." Most people just want to get by. They like flying gently with the birds. Fact is, that kind of flying is for the birds. We need people willing to climb, willing to soar above the clouds where its hot. We need people willing to go the distance with God, to an altitude of holiness. Cruising has gotten us nowhere. Cruising is getting us killed. Climbing, now that's where its at!

Here's all you've gotta do

2010-05-05T08:44:00.010-05:00

I'll never forget the day I was walking along in Scotland and I told a woman all she had to do. I was an apprentice missionary 15 years ago, and I spoke trying to convince an elderly lady that if she wanted salvation and to be right with God, all she had to do was _____ .

Maybe there's a time and a place to show the simplicity of the Good News, but I'd like to suggest that the wording "all you've gotta do" demonstrates the problem we have in understanding the Gospel.

In the last few years, I've heard "all you've gotta do" around every corner. All you've gotta do is be baptized. All you've gotta do is believe. All you've gotta do is call Jesus into your heart. All you've gotta do is get right with God. All you've gotta do are these 5 steps for salvation. All you've gotta do is go to church.

Jesus' words are so contrary to ours. For example, in John 3 where we get both the powerful message of simplistic belief in Jesus, as well as the call for baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit, Jesus never says "all you've gotta do." Rather, Jesus argues that if Nicodemus wants to enter the kingdom of God, he must be "born again." The point is, Jesus doesn't say "Get into magic water. Say a magic prayer. Follow these magic steps." Rather, Jesus is arguing for total and complete surrender of self over to God. While total and complete surrender of self surly involves death in baptism, the gift of the Spirit, and salvation by grace through faith, Jesus doesn't just say "Do this simple act" or "think this spiritual thought." Instead Christ pushes for a transformed mind and lifestyle based on death of self and life to God.

Again, when the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray, Jesus could have given them any combination of words. Surely if the sinner's prayer was the solution to mankind's problem, Jesus would have just quoted that prayer to his disciples. Likewise, Christ could have told them to pray that God give them "the answers" to salvation. He could have said, "When you pray, just ask me into your hearts." Likewise he could have said, "When you pray, ask God for help understanding the five steps." No, Jesus talked to them about God's holiness and relationship to his people. How mankind needed to submit to God's will and direction. How the kingdom was advancing and they needed to be less about themselves than about that kingdom. Does that mean Jesus hates prayers that begin, "Lord, come into my heart?" Does that mean that believers shouldn't repent or confess or be baptized? No. Rather it means that God is calling his people to something much greater than they might actually understand.

Christianity is not a quick fix or an easy 1,2,3. Christianity begins and ends with a cross. Christianity is about a lifestyle, a change both internally and externally. A move from self towards God. One should be careful when saying, "Here's all you've gotta do." Jesus never did that.

Mark 10: 17 "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"¹⁸"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. ¹⁹You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'" ²⁰"Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy."²¹Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

A story of sacrificial love

2010-05-04T13:51:00.003-05:00

90-Year-Old Ready For Prom - Kansas City News Story - KMBC Kansas City

I'm telling you.... if this isn't a story of self sacrifice... I don't know what is. "Ummm, Sure Granny. Join me at the prom."

Yes, you look good. But you're also lifeless!

2010-05-03T11:08:00.005-05:00

Luke 11:⁴⁰ You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?

I've heard Jesus say that a dozen times in scripture. Speaking about fig trees, whitewashed tombs, dirty cups... things that look OK on the outside but are rotten in the middle. I've gotta tell you, when I read verses like these, most of the time I think to myself, "Praise God that I'm no Pharisee." It's as if I can just ignore these warnings, because pharisees are legalistic religious jerks, so I don't have to worry about falling in their footsteps.

In a real way, I think I might be missing out on an important point made by Jesus here. Christ isn't just calling them legalistic in these passages or warning them about being "nice." Jesus is arguing (I believe) that one's faith needs to be more than just structure and system, it needs to also be sincere.

There are lots of trees in the Forrest. However, some lack fruit and leaves. They stand tall enough alright, but they also are dead. No water nurtures their core, and they become just lifeless husks. What would I rather be? A living sapling 2 inches tall, or a towering cedar with no life? My life sometimes looks towering. The structure is all there. 2.5 kids, wife, career, friendships, religious heritage, house, and credentials. Still, all I've done is built up structure without life. Rather a little tree with life than a big dead tree. Rather less credentials or success with Jesus than accomplishments without him.

Yes, my tree is big, but is it watered by Christ and bearing his fruit? If not, I'm just a dead tree, a whitewashed tomb, or a dirty cup.

Count your blessings

2010-04-30T09:46:00.006-05:00

Last month I went camping with a friend. While we were out in the wilderness, he turns to me and says, "I've been thinking lately about counting our blessings. You should start counting yours, I bet you would be surprised what you have from God." I don't know why my friend said this, and assume that something in me comes across so critical that he decided to share with me this piece of advice. Regardless, I really appreciated my friend's observation. Whether he sees it or not, I do need to know this wisdom and apply it to my life. I have gone on far too long without counting my blessings.

Today I recall all that God has given me. Salvation and countless blessings in the Lord, a roof over my head, a car to drive, a solid job that pays well, a loving wife and kids, good friends, a wonderful place to live in the world, a caring church family, a peace that comes from knowing Christ Jesus, a country where I can speak and worship as I choose, money in my pocket, food in my stomach, and so many other gifts as well.

Today is a day to remember my blessings. Thank you God for all you give me. Forgive me God for acting as if these things aren't valuable to me.

Image used with permission: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulgalipeau/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

Science and Spirituality

2010-04-29T15:07:00.003-05:00

If there were a Holy Spirit...

2010-04-28T09:36:00.007-05:00

John 3- ¹⁰"You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? ¹¹I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹²I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?

If there were a Holy Spirit... I'm sure he'd like us to realize his relationship to God. I bet he wouldn't appreciate being told what he can and can't do. I bet he'd be more interested in us longing for his presence, rather than us longing for his presents. I suppose he would want us to realize that he doesn't enjoy dwelling in foul temples. I imagine he would remind us that he wields us, we don't wield him. I bet he would appreciate us removing some of this worldliness, so the spiritual could dwell free.

If I wanted to know about Nascar, I'd speak to a person who's life bore Nascar fruit. If I wanted to know about computers, I'd speak to a person who bore computer fruit. If I wanted to know about cooking, I'd speak to a person who bore cooking fruit. If I want to know about the spirit, I should speak to those who bear spirit fruit.

Galatians 5- ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Image (Copyright Gospel Communications International, Inc - www.reverendfun.com)

A simple quote dissected by Christianity

2010-04-23T07:41:00.007-05:00

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou

As I read this quote, my first question is, "Is there any Biblical truth to this?" I mean, we all know that people like to be made to feel good (and hate to feel bad), but what does the Bible say? Is it right to make people feel good (or wrong to make them feel bad)? Understand, some people here are going to read this blog and say, "That's the problem with you Christians. You always question the most obvious truths." I get it, to an outsider my question sounds ridiculous.

Look, in the last few years of ministry, I keep coming back to this question about who I am in the kingdom. Am I a preacher or am I a teacher? Am I a Paul or am I Barnabas? Is it better in Christ to be a voice calling out "Repent!" or to be a gentle whisper encouraging "You can make it." What does God want me to be?

From my perspective, Christianity has always been a rule of absolutes. Everywhere I went was a new absolute about ministry. As a young Bible student- "You need to always be serving people." As an apprentice missionary- "Always be evangelizing." At preaching school- "Always contend for the faith." At Christian college- "Always study broadly and question what you've been taught." As a missionary- "Always be busy for God." As a grad student- "Always dig deeper." As a minister- "Always invest in people." At some point we ask ourselves, "So what exactly am I to always be again? Don't some of these absolutes contradict? When should I be bold and when should I be gentle? When should I be a wall and when an open door?"

Maya Angelou's words resonate in my heart. Maybe it's because I'm supposed to not listen to her as a source of wisdom. Maybe it's because I hear a little of Qoheleth in her voice... "Meaningless.... meaningless...." Maybe it's because what she says sounds so right, but contradicts so many absolutes I have learned over the years. Regardless, I want to say that I do like this quote. I think it does sound Christian and I agree with it totally. Yep, I'm gonna use this quote and make it my motto for a while- "Always....." Let me try that again, "Consider how you make people feel, because people will forget what you said and what you did."

You don't have a soul!

2010-04-21T14:12:00.007-05:00

You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.
- C. S. Lewis

Last year I buried my first person. I've been in some form of ministry for 15 years now, and I've done a lot of different stuff. However, burying someone is a rather new experience for me. As I watched my friend pass on, I was utterly amazed by the truth that although "outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day." I saw so much spiritual growth in my friend, weeks and days before drawing that final breath. And then like that.... poof.... my friend was gone.

I wish I could live with C.S. Lewis' mindset that "I am a soul." I wish I could always remember my friend's journey and remember that this outward body is just a temporary shell. I am more than flesh. I am so much more than flesh that flesh does not even define me. I am indeed "spirit."

Today, remember that first and foremost, "you are spirit." Walk as though reality states that you are primarily above this plane of existence. Rise above the dirt and soil of this world and begin to breathe in the air of a different reality. You don't have a soul... you are a soul. May that soul forever be linked to the eternal Father above.

What's in the next room?

2010-04-19T09:26:00.006-05:00

Death is no more than passing from one room into another. But there's a difference for me, you know. Because in that other room I shall be able to see. - Helen Keller

Self sacrifice seems so foreign to us. And yet, as we grow to know Christ more, it becomes amazingly clear why we do what we do. Because, in giving up here in this life, we gain for ourselves treasure in another. Like Christ's parable of taking the lesser seat, when we sit down at God's table in an inferior place, the master of the banquet is able to "bump us up" in a place of position and authority. By giving up of the flesh, we gain in the spirit. One must never forget that "in the next room" the blind shall see. If that's true, what about the poor in spirit, those who hunger for righteousness, or the meek?

Whatever happened to the "niceties?"

2010-04-14T10:40:00.007-05:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about the niceties of etiquette. You know what I mean, things like saying "hello" or goodbye." Greeting people when walking down the street, saying "How's it going?" or acknowledging people based on their successes. I've just been thinking a lot about this. It seems to me that sometimes the more "spiritual" we get, it is common that the niceties are the first things to go by the wayside. It's like, if we have passion, we can't greet people anymore. If we have fervor, we can no longer smile or be kind. If we learn God's ways, we automatically have to start also ignoring our brothers and sisters in Christ. So prevalent is this truth in the Christian world, that I constantly find myself returning to scripture to remind myself if God has any comment on "kindness." Did Jesus save us from our sins, just so we could all become missional jerks? Is God cool with us using our passion for him to "blow off" our brothers? I mean honestly, isn't that the world's complaint about us? I think most people would rather just step into a bar than into a church building. At least in a bar people greet each other and have an honest smile.

I'd like to suggest that if Christianity isn't kind, it becomes one dimensional. I'd like to suggest that on most occasions, Christ was kind. I'd like to argue that if Christ was ever unkind, it was for a holy reason and purpose. Jesus was able to "wield the sword" of passion and forcefulness so well, because he was a genuinely kind individual. We struggle to wield passion and forcefulness, because many times it is the only weapon in our arsenal. Sure, God calls us to carry a forceful sword as warrior, but we must never forget our role as doctor, softly holding the scalpel of delicate precision, ready to gently cut away sin's cancer.

Luke 6:35- But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

Class at Tulsa- It requires pressing on!

2010-04-13T10:11:00.008-05:00

Here are a few minutes of audio from my lesson at Tulsa. If you like the preview, you can buy the CD online from the good people of the Tulsa Workshop here, and I believe you will be able to get the MP3 shortly, for a cheaper price. Enjoy!

Thorn in the flesh

2010-04-13T08:22:00.004-05:00

What if Barnabas was Paul's thorn in the flesh? No, I'm not suggesting that he was, but rather just raising an interesting thought. Here the two of them had gone on adventures together, worked together, fought together, until the day when the two parted company. As best as I can tell it, the split seems to me to be over their differences in worldview. One man, willing to go to the ends of the earth for a mission. The other man, deeply enmeshed in mentoring and encouraging relationships with those in the kingdom. The two had purpose together until one day, God moved them in separate directions. How did he eventually split them (or multiply their work)? He did so over a disagreement concerning ministry and their giftedness in that regard. Now, Barnabas loses and so does Paul. Each loses according to his heart's passion and desire. Barnabas loses a friend and someone he feels needs encouraging. Paul loses a teammate and one he feels needs a greater missional spirit. However, both win as well. Barnabas wins by gaining a new coworker in John Mark, who he can encourage and lead. Paul wins in that he gains a Timothy and a Silas, until later joined by a healthy and more missional John Mark. So, God is glorified and his mission of love continues on. Now, that doesn't change the fact that Paul and Barnabas are both hurt. The thorn of losing a worker or a friend can be a difficult pain to endure. Still, God moves powerfully and his grace is sufficient, even when there is a thorn left in the flesh.

Welcome to Postmodern Oz

2010-04-12T13:46:00.003-05:00

People today are a little bit like Dorothy on her journey home.

They are disillusioned with the path they have been told to walk, and with good reason. What began as a colorful new experience into uncharted territories has resulted only in greater frustration.

The long path has taught them not to trust anyone. Their companions along the way have turned into excess baggage. Their experience has been revealed as a sham.

Ultimately, people today feel duped. Like Dorothy, they have wasted valuable time, just to learn that the secret to life was right under their noses from the start. People feel as if they’ve been lied to by the establishment. “Really, all I have to do is click my heals together? I had the answer all along? Then why exactly did you tell me to walk this path?”

We have learned, it is not the almighty wizard in his grand temple that saves us. The wizard has been exposed. The curtain has been removed and behind it was just an old man with buttons and whistles. The bravery that he offered, the knowledge that he claimed to impart, the heart that he said he could give… these were just parlor tricks, diplomas and pocket watches designed to give a person a warm feeling inside, but never actually fill that empty void deep within one’s chest.

So, people today long for a better place, a simple place. They don’t want emerald cities, they want to go home… back to their black and white lives. The place where people are real. Back to Kansas. Back to where they can consider the only lesson they got on this journey, “There’s no place like home.”

How do wasps store up food?

2010-04-09T12:30:00.001-05:00

Sweating Bullets and Shedding Blood

2010-03-23T09:30:00.004-05:00

It says that as Jesus prayed in the garden, his sweat drops were like blood (Luke 22:44). In the garden? Before the cross? I've never bled spontaneously, so I don't know how that works. I'm told that "hematohidrosis" is the name for what happened to Jesus, when blood passes through the sweat glands due to stress. Very strange if you ask me.

So, what makes a man start to bleed before he's ever pierced? What gets the blood flowing before he's ever beaten? Why is it that Jesus shed his blood before the cross? Maybe its just a biological way of saying that God's redemptive power would flow freely. Maybe the sweat drops of blood show us that Jesus was so willing to shed his blood, that he didn't need man's effort. This was a gift given of God. A fountain of salvation that flowed out from Jesus unto man. When Christ's blood should have rushed to his heart to sustain his strength, when Christ's blood should have stayed in his flesh to elevate his life, Jesus' blood left him prematurely. Christ's blood spontaneously gushed out of him, before the nails and the thorns and the whips and the stakes. Jesus' blood flowed free.

Thanks to Charles Spurgeon's devotional Look Unto Me.

What Makes Christianity Radical

2010-03-22T08:56:00.004-05:00

What makes Christianity radical is not the music or the lessons. What makes Christianity radical is not kindness or fairness. It is not doctrinal truth and it is not acts of service. These are all good things, important things, crucial things to Christianity, but they do not make it radical.

What makes Christianity radical is when Christians act like Christ. When Christians love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them. When Christians consider the needs of others over themselves. When Christians serve widows and orphans for no acknowledgment and no reason but God alone. When Christians eat with sinners and tax collectors, regardless of reputation and pride. When Christians get burnt 490 times and keep coming back for more. When Christians take it on the chin, don't freak out, don't exploit others, don't harbor personal bitterness, don't throw people under the bus, don't seek to be heard, don't need a box or podium to stand on, don't fight for their way or their right or their ideals or their passions. When the Christian starts dying, only then does Christ truly live.

What separates Chris from Christ is more than just a letter "t." It is a cross. Until I understand this truth, my Christianity will be soulless, lifeless, and without power. Christianity was supposed to be radical. The cross makes Christianity radical.

Loving Oscar doesn't guarantee being loved

2010-03-19T09:54:00.005-05:00

So, evidently taking home that little golden man doesn't ensure that your real man will come home with you. Looks like the New York Post has made a staggering discovery about success... It doesn't satisfy (read the article below). Wonder what other accomplishments people live and work for, only to lose everything in the end? Just as Ahab's obsessive pursuit of the whale ended in tragedy, so our obsessive pursuit of this world is guaranteed to sink us. Nothing can fill that empty void but God.

Oscar love curse

By TODD VENEZIA

Last Updated: 9:14 AM, March 18, 2010

Posted: 3:10 AM, March 18, 2010

Winning an Oscar is a blessing for any actress' career -- but for her love life, the award can be a devastating curse.

In the past dozen years, nearly every woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress has broken up with her husband, boyfriend or lover -- some just months after thanking them from the award show stage.

This week's Sandra Bullock and Kate Winslet love dramas are only the latest in a long string of Hollywood heartbreak that goes back to March 1998, when rom-com sweetheart Helen Hunt thanked boyfriend Hank Azaria as she got the award for "As Good As It Gets."

She called him "the very best man I know" and married him later that year. In just six months, they were divorced.

The rest of the Best Actress list reads like a roll call of romantic ruin.

* Gwyneth Paltrow won in 1999 for "Shakespeare in Love." At the time, she was in love with hunky actor Ben Affleck. Just two months after she accepted the award, the couple were broken up.

* Hilary Swank won in 2000 for "Boys Don't Cry." It was her first of two Oscars in five years.

But all that success couldn't help her personal life. A year after winning in 2005 for her role in "Million Dollar Baby," she split from husband Chad Lowe, whom she had called "my everything" during her acceptance speech.

* Julia Roberts, who won in 2001 for "Erin Brockovich," broke up with boyfriend Benjamin Bratt just three months after she got the award. They had been together for four years.

* Halle Berry won in 2002 for "Monster's Ball," and called husband Eric Benet "just a joy of my life" as she made her acceptance speech. The couple split the next year, after reports Benet cheated.

* Charlize Theron, who won in 2004 for "Monster," split with her longtime actor boyfriend, Stuart Townsend, this past January. As she accepted her Oscar, she said of Townsend: "I have to thank my incredible partner in crime. You are one hell of a partner to have. Thank you for standing by me."

* Reese Witherspoon accepted the Best Actress award in 2006 for playing Johnny Cash's wife, June Carter, in "Walk the Line." By the end of that year, she was done with her husband, actor Ryan Philippe. He had reportedly met actress Abbie Cornish as they were filming the movie "Stop Loss."

* Kate Winslet, who won for playing a Nazi in "The Reader" in 2009, saw her marriage to director Sam Mendes go kaput this week -- amid reports that he had grown close with actress Rebecca Hall.

* Sandra Bullock won for "The Blind Side" earlier this month, only to suffer through reports that her husband, famed motorcycle builder Jesse James, was cheating on her with a tattoo model.

The only other two winners to escape heartbreak are Helen Mirren, who won for "The Queen" in 2007, and Marion Cotillard, who won for "La Vie en Rose" in 2008. They are both still with their significant others.

Original article posted on the New York Post website

Who has more... Colt McCoy or Tom Brady?

2010-03-10T10:49:00.002-06:00

I wanted to show Colt McCoy's worldview in contrast to Tom Brady's. Which of these two people would you rather be?

Bobby Knight, Bill Parcells, Jesus- Not what you expect.

2010-03-08T08:05:00.006-06:00

I once heard a comparison made between Bobby Knight and Bill Parcells. The comparison was that both were good because they never coached the way they were expected to. When a player did well, he was always expected to step up to the plate and "do more." However, when a player failed, that player often surprisingly, received encouragement. Now, looking at these two coaches, I question if there was ever an encouraging bone in their body. Still, if the professional commentary and observation is true, it would stand to reason why their players often respected them the ways that they have seemed to.

I think sometimes that God is this way. It amazes me how that God's standard is so high, that he calls us to constantly be growing, changing, and becoming more like Jesus. Jesus is an impossible standard to reach. And yet, God calls us to that standard none the less. We have been called to be better, love more, do greater things, and give of ourselves as Jesus did. Once we realize that we have arrived, we quickly learn just how far we have failed. James 4:17- Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

At the same time, isn't it amazing how God elevates the humble, redeems the sinner, and washes clean those who need washing? God's love is so broad, so big, so ultimate, that it is difficult to imagine where we would be if he were not willing to clean our wounds and forgive our transgressions. I John 1: ⁵This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. ⁷But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. ⁸If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

This balance really is crucial. The whole idea that we are called to perfection, yet washed of our sins is a fascinating concept, worth our time, thoughts, and effort. Yes, it is good to know that we have such a loving God that will hold our feet to the fire, that we might be the very best we can be; while at the same time offering us relief when we realize our faults and fail him.

Kung Foo and Blocking

2010-03-05T10:58:00.006-06:00

Someone told me today about one lesson that Kung Foo doesn't need to teach. That one lesson is "how to block." The point is that when it comes to self defense, blocking tends to come more naturally. It doesn't take too many black eyes before one learns to protect the face.

Life can be a little like this too. When blows come in, we naturally learn to deal with them. I think God loves us a lot. I think his love for us can result in a bruised lip at times, but the whole purpose is to teach us how to spar. Going toe to toe with the Lord isn't for wimps. Jacob did it one night and came out with a limp and a new name. I don't want a limp, just to get a new name. I don't want to get a black eye from the almighty, just to learn something about life or myself. However, God is wiser than I am. I have to keep remembering that. We can't forget that God is doing something, teaching something, building something, transforming something. He is transforming us, one lesson, one match, one bout at a time. That's a good thing. God is good. Even when he throws a right jab.

3D HD TV 4 ME

2010-03-04T17:11:00.004-06:00

You know, back when I was 7 and we got our Intelevision (a competitor with Atari back in the early 80's), I thought that I had seen everything. Now, three decades later, I consider how DVD's, Wii's, Blackberry's, and Ipods have revolutionized my world. By this point I'm thinking, no more gadgets... I've got it all! Guess what? It looks like we are just a few years away from everyone owning a 3D television (here's the story). Look, I'll be honest with you... if everyone buys a 3D TV in HD, I'm sure I'll get one (although I'm certain I'll wait until Walmart has them for $450). I really have no problem with cool stuff. I actually like cool stuff. I just want to say that before the craze hits, this won't make any of us any more happy. Actually, it may just contribute to moms and dads continuing to sit around and zone out while their kids become human zombies whose brains are rotting out (maybe a little over the top, but you get the point). I look forward to the day when I can watch TV with my kids and say, "I remember when Andy Griffith was in black and white.... and in 2 dimensions." They will sit in awe and say, "Like a book?!"- This assumes that my kids will know what a book is by this point. Anyway, technology is cool for sure, but it doesn't fulfill. Only God can do that, and he says that there is "nothing new under the sun." Those are his words, in a book.

How great is our God?

2010-03-03T11:19:00.003-06:00

According to an article by NASA scientists, Chile's 8.8 earthquake may have changed the rotation of the earth on its axis. Because of this, days may be shorter in the future. I don't know if this is all true, and I definitely tend to be a skeptic when scientists talk about the earth. However, this information does lend itself to the question, "If an 8.8 can change the earth's rotation, what about 9? What could a 10 do?"

As I sit here thinking about this massive world that we live in, I can't help but consider the hugeness of God who can in an instance, shorten days and change the course of the earth. The same God who brought Egypt to its knees with bugs, can bring Chile or even us to our knees with sliding plates and fault lines. We should never forget God's awesome power, whether to change, or to build, or to destroy.

Can Belief Help With Depression?

2010-03-01T11:33:00.002-06:00

I ran across this article about new research into how faith can help those dealing with depression. Take a look and see for yourself!

Is God Active?

2010-02-26T10:04:00.004-06:00

Is God active?
Does Jesus care?
Does prayer work?
Does good come from God?
Does the Holy Spirit still move?
Do miracles actually happen today?

Now that depends on who you ask.... doesn't it? Some people don't really need theology or doctrine to answer those questions. They can see the proof... living!

Thank you for your prayers for Baby Kayden!

Why having everything isn't enough...

2010-02-26T08:29:00.005-06:00

What is Tom Brady looking for?

I can be a real jerk sometimes.

2010-02-25T09:48:00.003-06:00

I am patient, I am kind. I don't envy, I don't boast, I'm not proud. I'm not rude, I'm not self-seeking, I'm not easily angered, I keep no record of wrongs. I don't delight in evil but rejoice with the truth. I always protect, always trust, always hope, always persevere. I never fail.

Yep... that list about sums it up.

What is Sacrificial Love?

2010-02-24T12:03:00.002-06:00

Why I hate Facebook

2010-02-17T14:45:00.004-06:00

There are a lot of reasons why I enjoy Facebook. Reconnecting with friends. Seeing what people are up to. Looking at pictures of how people have changed. Yes, Facebook is a good thing. However, I feel the need to say that the same reasons I enjoy this site, are the reasons I dislike it. I hate going on the pages of people I grew up around, just to realize that they have left God and want nothing to do with him. I hate learning new and saddening information about old friends who have abandoned their vows, negatively changed their lifestyles, and rejected their spirituality. I despise finding pictures of "Christian" friends getting drunk at clubs or acting in ways that don't reflect Christ. Yes, I will admit... there are times that I do hate Facebook.

Facebook has caused me to lose a lot of respect for people. I hate that. The fact is that Christians are supposed to be different. We just aren't anymore. We're just like everybody else.

Maybe when I click that button and say, "Yes, I'll be your friend," I am thinking about real friendship. Not the kind of friendship that says, "I'm cool with you living in sin, losing your dignity, rejecting your integrity, destroying your relationships, and throwing God under the bus." Maybe to me, friendship is about fighting for people. Maybe friendship to me means that you try to help people when they start to drop off the deep end, even telling them what you are concerned about, knowing that even if they reject your friendship, you tried to be honest with them as a friend would.

We need more actual friends on Facebook. We need more people willing to put their neck out as friends, willing to challenge the system, willing to be brave for the sake of their friends.

The Crux of The Matter

2010-02-04T09:23:00.004-06:00

I don't know how many times I've driven downtown, looked at a church and seen a big cross mounted above the door or on the roof. I can't tell you how many churches in the phone book use the cross as part of their logo. There is no way for me to count all of the crosses I see on an almost daily basis. From wall art to necklaces to clothing... the cross is everywhere. And for this reason I confess I have come to grips with a tragic fact about myself... While the cross is almost daily present in my life, I have for years neglected to understand its significance. The cross is more than I imagined it to be. This image is not simply just an object of faith. The cross is not just a symbol of Christianity, a reminder of Jesus, the way Jesus died, or even a story to be told. The cross is even deeper than all of that. The cross is a pattern. The kind of pattern that you copy. The kind of pattern that you memorize and trace and follow. The cross at its core is an example of what Christianity is to look like. Not just Jesus' Christianity, but my Christianity. My Christianity is to be more than church, more than rules, more than heaven, more than grace, more than worship, more than all of that. Christianity is to be about self sacrifice. Blood, tears, pain, sweat, blisters, uncomfortable, lonely, broken sacrifice. Christianity should resemble the cross, plain and simple.... that is the crux of the matter.

Philippians 3 ¹⁷Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. ¹⁸For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ

Why do we let the Salvation Army do all the work?

2009-12-09T08:47:00.002-06:00

Are we redemptive as a people? Do we care about the lost? Are we there to help the needy? The Salvation Army has those goals. What about us?

Debbie Downer

2009-12-07T14:01:00.003-06:00

If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. Jeremiah 18:7-8

Not to be "Debbie Downer," but sometimes I think to myself, "Dude, we are all going to die!" Now, I know what you're thinking, "Very good Chris. You understand how life works." But, I'm serious here! Look at American culture. Look at the TV shows we watch. Notice the commercials, the music, the things we look at. I hate to say it, but I don't really even blush any more with some of this stuff. Sin is so prevalent, so common... when are we going to change? Are we any different from our culture? Or, are we just like everybody else?

I think it's killing me. Really. I just feel so gross inside sometimes. So, I wonder if it isn't time for repentance. Maybe the time has come to remove the sin, run from the worldliness, and cut the TV! I hate to be a freak. I hate to sound like a werido, but things are just getting really bad out there. So, that's it. Just a thought. Just the idea that maybe the time for repentance is at hand. Otherwise, its just gonna get worse. That's how life works!

Becoming An End To Myself

2009-12-02T20:48:00.004-06:00

"What is pride but the craving for undue exaltation? And this is undue exaltation, when the soul abandons Him to whom it ought to cleave as its end, and becomes a kind of end to itself." -Augustine

Sometimes my kids and I discuss Theology. They are so black and white, so right and wrong. It would make me laugh if it weren't so scary. So, we discuss Theology and the kids talk about other religions and other faiths... they use words like "their gods" and "our God." They are so innocent, and yet so profound at times. "Daddy, we follow the real God... not the fake god." Like I said, it is both deep and childlike, both funny and scary.

It gets me to thinking about something though. What if I actually believed that the God of the Bible was so holy, so unique, that all other things were just "false gods?" Imagine a world where "the real God" stood alone. Likewise, a world where "fake gods" were exposed and treated as they deserved to be treated, "fake." In that world, surely I would acknowledge God as ruler and king of the universe. However, I would also see through all of the counterfeit deities that suppose themselves to be the God of the Bible. I would rid the world of these evil gods, like a child throwing rocks into a pond. Nothing would prevent me from destroying every idol, toppling every Baal, and stripping every icon in the name of Jehovah!

But then.... I would run into a singular problem. You see, in my quest to rid the world of these false gods, I would have to address a single hurtful truth... "I am the greatest idol in my life. I am the great false god that rules me. I worship myself." This is the problem that so many of us would face. At some point, we became the sacred icon of worship. At some point, we became the idol.

This is what pride is all about. Abandoning Him who created me, who saved me, who is the Alpha and Omega, beginning and end. And I, in his stead, becoming "a kind of end" to myself. This is the problem of life. How can we remove the idols from our lives, when the idols are our lives?

Fall Reflections

2009-10-21T16:35:00.004-05:00

I've been alive 34 years and only now am I learning this lesson, which seems so obvious to me. Today as I drive to work and enjoy the beautiful colors of the leaves, the scene which is magically painted by God's hand and named "fall," I am reminded of one truth... the beauty that I see today is a result of death. Death is all around. And while I might not like death, want death, or feel comfortable with death, Jesus has called me to die. Christ calls me to humble myself and carry my cross. He calls me to lower my pride and give up so much of who I am for his name's sake. And in doing this, I see the magic of new brilliant color painted and displayed in my own life. Jesus calls people to death... beautiful, magical, bright, death. This is what the early church had when they cared more about one another than they did themselves. This is what Jesus did when he spoke such amazing words while hanging on the cross of Calvary. The time of dying has arrived. So, today we embrace death. Not because we want death, or hope for death, or like death. Not because we know what it is to die. Rather, we realize that being born again, carrying the cross daily, and being transformed means that we lose a little of who we are. And in doing so, we see beautiful colors, wonderful shades and incredible tones within ourselves. Without death, there could be no fall. Without death, who can experience the brilliance of Jesus?

Smile

2009-10-21T13:38:00.001-05:00

Believe In Yourself

2009-10-05T15:56:00.001-05:00

I ran across this and thought it was a good reminder that sometimes we forget the value that God sees in us.

Your Pain Is Legitimate

2009-09-17T09:01:00.007-05:00

I think sometimes in life we question the legitimacy of our pain. We think so hard about the "starving kids in Africa," that we feel illegitimate or selfish when we ourselves are in sorrow. We minimize our suffering, at least with others, as a means to behave "spiritually" in the presence of those we seek to influence.

Today I was reading Hosea 9. In the text Hosea is speaking and seems to indicate that having a miscarriage (v14) is devastating in the lives to those it effects. In the verse, Hosea argues that if God were going to punish a person, miscarriage might be a good route to go. I've witnessed tons of people in my life experience pain. Many times they are righteous people who feel deep heartache over their loss. Often, friends and family fail to relate, simply because the pain is so obscure or unique to that person suffering. People want to help or want to care, but simply cannot because they have never experienced what YOU are going through. Such pain and sorrow is just too deep for anyone to relate. However, God understands. That same God who knows that miscarriage is devastating to God's enemies, also knows how devastating it can be to God's children. So, while pain may seem silly or shallow on one level, God gets it.

Today I write to all of those who feel pain and sorrow and are not living in deepest darkest Africa. I write to those who have food for their bellies but no will to eat. I write those surrounded by friends who are feeling all alone. I write to those who have nice lives, but just enough sorrow in them to feel as if they are drowning. To you I say, "GOD GETS IT." God gets your pain. God gets you. So, it's ok to be honest when you hurt. It's ok to acknowledge the legitimacy of sorrow. Yes, there are still starving children in Africa, whom God loves and whom we need to be concerned. Yet, that doesn't make your pain illegitimate.

Pick A Side

2009-05-21T10:33:00.005-05:00

1 Samuel 29:1-31:13
John 11:55-12:19
Psalm 118:1-18
Proverbs 15:24-26

At the end of I Samuel, David is fighting for every side of the battle that one can fight on. First he's with the good guys, then he's with the bad guys, then he's good again. I just watch him and think, "that's nuts... pick a side!" Fact is, that David was a man being lead by God. In this story, he's flip-flopping all over the place... but here's what I notice. David's always winning. So, he may be here or there... he might be fighting this army or that one... but he's always where God needs him to be. David always wins with God. So, that's the moral to this one. Follow God! It may take us all over the place, but we must follow him! Those who do so, will experience great victory.

Jesus Wept.... Rather, Jesus Hurt

2009-05-21T10:08:00.006-05:00

1 Samuel 26:1-28:25
John 11:1-54
Psalm 117:1-2
Proverbs 15:22-23

John 11: ³³When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. ³⁴"Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied. ³⁵Jesus wept.

I was reading from different versions for this text and got to noticing verse 33, saying that Jesus was troubled (some texts say angered). The Greek work for this "being troubled" is ἐτάραξεν with a wide range of definitions (click the word to read them). None of the definitions given seem (to me) very "Christ-like." That's just to say that when I think about Jesus, I never imagine him to be the things that this word is said to be.

This text gets me to thinking about the humanity of Jesus. Jesus hurt like they hurt. He understood human pain. I don't know what caused Jesus to weep. Was he upset by the situation? Frustrated with their faith? Did this event remind him of the problem of sin? Or did he just cry for a friend who had been hurting? Who knows. What is clear is that this event frustrated, confussed, perplexed, and upset Christ. So, that's where we find ourselves today. We sit here, with a good God who for whatever reason, cries when exposed to death. Does it bring peace? It can. Some will read and see what they need to see. They will look and find peace. They will see God's glory. Others won't. This verse encourages me. Jesus looked at this situation and was perplexed. He hurt and mourned in this moment. I find God's glory in Christ's humanity.

The Right Way To Knife A King

2009-05-19T14:42:00.006-05:00

1 Samuel 24:1-25:44
John 10:22-42
Psalm 116:1-19
Proverbs 15:20-21

I Samuel 24: ³ He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. ⁴ The men said, "This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.' " Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul's robe. ⁵ Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe.

I love this story. David's men here believe that God is giving Saul into their hands. So, David cuts off a piece of his robe. Then, moments later, David is sorrowful that he acted in such a way. This is just a reminder of what it means to have great integrity as David did. David didn't just read into scripture to find justification for his actions. Rather, when he acted, he realized that sometimes his understanding might be flawed. So, David seeks to be a man of integrity. In the end, David honored Saul by his actions, because his heart was broken before God.

The Difference Between Shepherds and Hired Workers

2009-05-18T11:04:00.005-05:00

1 Samuel 22:1-23:29
John 10:1-21
Psalm 115:1-18
Proverbs 15:18-19

John 10- ¹¹"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹²The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

What is the difference between shepherds and hired workers? Shepherds care about the sheep and workers care about themselves. Which one are you when you are working with people?

Bad Times

2009-05-18T10:36:00.006-05:00

1 Samuel 20:1-21:15
John 9:1-41
Psalm 113:1-114:8
Proverbs 15:15-17

John 9: ¹As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ²His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" ³"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.

This week I am attending two funerals. There is nothing fair about what is happening in the lives of our church members. Our good friends are suffering right now and we watch as they endure hardship. No words seem appropriate, no prayers seem sufficient, and we just hurt inside... for the hurt that they feel.

And then I run across John 9:1-3. Like before, I am reminded that pain and suffering happen and according to this verse, sometimes its just random. The big question is, "How will we see God's glory during this time?" I've been seeing God work this week. I saw God in the love and faithfulness of a friend as he compassionately served his hurting wife this week. I saw God's glory as family's discussed heaven, delivered chicken, and said broken prayers. Do I understand what is happening in the big scheme of things? Nope. Do I understand why God takes one and leaves another? No I Don't. Do I wonder "who sinned" when pain comes to a family? John 9 reminds me that these types of questions aren't worth my time. What is worth my time is turning to God in the midst of the pain. Good things can come, and they will come. Right now, I just need to turn to the source of peace. God is just in his decision making. So, we trust him, knowing that he will do the right thing. He always does.

Freedom

2009-05-17T16:27:00.005-05:00

1 Samuel 18:5-19:24
John 8:31-59
Psalm 112:1-10
Proverbs 15:12-14

John 8: ³¹To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³²Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Jesus offered them freedom, but many preferred to live in slavery. Why? Who knows? Maybe because people would rather enjoy painful lives filled with sin. Maybe the right road seems too tough. Possibly obedience is a characteristic that most would rather live without. Either way- when freedom was offered, the people chose slavery.

David and Goliath

2009-05-15T14:16:00.005-05:00

1 Samuel 17:1-18:4
John 8:21-30
Psalm 111:1-10
Proverbs 15:11

In I Samauel 17 David faces his giant. It gets me to thinking about the giants in our lives that we sometimes let reign and rule, without actually addressing them and putting an end to them. David reminds us that there is no reason to wait. The time to face our giants is now.

God Sees The Heart Within

2009-05-15T14:05:00.005-05:00

1 Samuel 15:1-16:23
John 8:1-20
Psalm 110:1-7
Proverbs 15:8-10

I Samuel - The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.

The good news and the bad news are the same news. The good news is that God sees the heart, so we can be ourselves with him. We can know that he sees us as we really are, and not based on the trivial things of this world. However, that's the bad news too. Since we can't fool him, God sees past all of the ridiculous and self deceived fronts that we put up. He knows the real us, which is often times not very appealing.

So, what do we do? How do we respond to this challenge of God seeing the reality? We give our hearts to him. We speak openly and honestly with him, knowing that he can't be fooled. We love him, and confess our sins. Why? Because God sees the inside.

200% Satisfaction

2009-05-15T13:49:00.005-05:00

1 Samuel 14:1-52
John 7:31-53
Psalm 109:1-31
Proverbs 15:5-7

John 7:37- "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink."

I'm always amazed as I walk into Wal-Mart that they claim to offer 200% Satisfaction. Don't believe me? Just look up on their walls and see what's painted. Sure, when I walk into Wal-Mart I never see an employee able to help me, it takes me a ton of time to find what I'm looking for, and the lines tend to be longer than ever. However, I feel good inside knowing that my satisfaction is guaranteed to such a high percentage.

Honestly, we all know that these places are just offering gimics when they say they can satisfy to shuch a high degree. That's what seperates companies from Christ. They claimn it, and he does it. Come to him when you thirst, your satisfaction is guaranteed.

Was Jesus Who He Said He Was?

2009-05-14T08:53:00.004-05:00

1 Samuel 12:1-13:23
John 7:1-30
Psalm 108:1-13
Proverbs 15:4

John 7:¹²Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, "He is a good man." Others replied, "No, he deceives the people.

I've heard it said a dozen times. "Jesus was a good man but not the savior of the world." It's an easy statement for skeptics and atheists to make. After all, one can't help but look at his ministry and life and see that he does good things. Jesus heals and helps, so he must be good, right? The catch is that Jesus claimed to be more than good. Christ's ministry was more than helping and healing, he was the sinless savior of the world. The people in John 7 have a great point here. "No one is good if they claim something and then are actually something else." In other words, if Jesus heals people but also deceives everyone, does this really make him a good man? Of course not. So, Jesus is one or the other. Either Jesus was God in the flesh, our salvation, or he was a deceptive liar. He was never just "good." One who makes those types of claims and does those types of things can't be called good. He was either God or the devil, that's for sure.

The Food of Christianity

2009-05-13T18:35:00.006-05:00

1 Samuel 10:1-11:15
John 6:43-71
Psalm 107:1-43
Proverbs 15:1-3

John 6: ⁵³Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you."

I've been doing a lot of thinking this week about consuming Jesus. What does it mean to pu Christ deep within you? How does one drink deep of Christ and fill up with him? The thing is, Jesus for so many of us is just a hobby, just a trade that week can take on every once in a while and do from time to time. Christianity is more than just about taking on Jesus as a snack. We are to feast on Christ. We should be eating of him continually. Once Jesus is placed deep within us, only then will we know what it is to be full of him. So, we eat and drink deep. Only Jesus can satisfy our hunger and quench our thirst.

She Survived An Abortion

2009-05-12T14:44:00.001-05:00

For King and Country

2009-05-12T13:21:00.006-05:00

1 Samuel 8:1-9:27
John 6:22-42
Psalm 106:32-48
Proverbs 14:34-35

I Samuel 8- ⁶ But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. ⁷ And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.

This is a sad day in Israel. The reason is simple... they have rejected God by saying that they need the leadership of someone besides him. I think about the founding fathers of this country, and the desire they had to have as little government as possible. As history tells us, the desire to live without a king and be governed by God alone was what made this country unique. Why choose to be ruled by another? Why ask for a yoke of slavery? It is God alone that is to be our ruler. And yet, people are constantly turning from God and towards government. So, there might be a message to us today. Turn towards God. Seek God first. Doing so will bring life, liberty, and tons of happiness.

We Can't Help You

2009-05-12T13:11:00.005-05:00

1 Samuel 5:1-7:17
John 6:1-21
Psalm 106:13-31
Proverbs 14:32-33

John 6: ⁷ Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!”

"Fact is, we just don't have what it takes." Have you ever heard a company say that? McDonald's confesses, "We'd like to serve Billions, but are unable." Burger King states, "How can you have it your way? We have burgers and that's all. Go somewhere else if you want selection." No one says that they are incapable. No one confesses weakness. No one admits to inadequacy. No wonder we don't see miracles any more. Everyone thinks they can do it on their own. We need people willing to say the truth, "I can't do it. But, I know who can." That's the attitude we need. I am weak, but God is able.

Talking To God

2009-05-12T12:54:00.004-05:00

1 Samuel 2:22-4:22
John 5:24-47
Psalm 106:1-12
Proverbs 14:30-31

In I Samuel 3, Eli tells Samuel to respond to God by saying, "Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening." In this text, Samuel doesn't know God's voice, nor does he know how to talk to God. Only with Eli's help can Samuel converse with the Almighty. This reminds me of the importance of teaching our children, disciples, and friends how to talk to God and listen to him. Jesus' disciples ask him to teach them to pray. We know that John the Baptist gave similar lessons to his followers. So, it stands to reason that we should teach the next generation about speaking with God as well. We are to share the message of communicating with God to those around us. How does one know God, how does one listen to God, how does one speak to God? This is a essential to the young disciple, desiring to be lead to know Christ. Through our teaching, they can know the truth that so many others must learn on their own.

Godly Mother

2009-05-08T14:07:00.005-05:00

1 Samuel 1:1-2:21
John 5:1-23
Psalm 105:37-45
Proverbs 14:28-29

I Samuel 1 reminds me of the importance of having a godly mother (here's another Mother's day thought I suppose). The thing is, Hannah desires a child so much and prays for a blessing in the form of a son. God blesses her, and the response to that blessing is giving her son back to God. This is what it means to follow God. Just as my wife pointed out in the story of the miraculous catch of fish, the Apostles needed fish, miraculously caught fish, and then left that fish to follow God. What is it about God that causes people to forget their needs and desires to follow him? Sometimes, God gives us our desires. Often we might turn around as a result of the blessing and say, "Now I give this over to you." That to me is an incredible act of faith. It shows how priorities can shift as individuals discover God. Hannah was indeed a woman of faith. Her example reminds us that we shouldn't get caught up in the blessing, but more in the individual doing the blessing.

Home Is Where The _______ Is

2009-05-07T14:03:00.005-05:00

Ruth 2:1-4:22
John 4:43-54
Psalm 105:16-36
Proverbs 14:26-27

Proverbs 14: ²⁶ He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge.

When did homes stop being places of refuge and turn into places where kids became exposed to all of the world's evils? Why is it that the home is now a gateway to pedophiles, an open door to sexual immorality, and a window into the corrupt and perverse ways of the wicked. Children trapped like flies in the world wide web. Kids caught like fish in the broad-cast net of television corporations. Yes, the home used to be a place of refuge. But, when the home has been invaded, where does one hide? If the world and its ways have open reign within my house, where do my children go for an escape? Do they run to the world when I won't protect them from it?

Your God Is My God

2009-05-07T13:38:00.006-05:00

Judges 21:1-Ruth 1:22
John 4:4-42
Psalm 105:1-15
Proverbs 14:25

Ruth told Naomi "Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God." As I read those words, I remember the loyalty of a faithful daughter-in-law, willing to follow Naomi to the grave. However, these words don't just show the character of Ruth, they also show the character of Naomi. Had Ruth's mother-in-law never set the example, never braved the path, never lead the way, Ruth would not be seen as the woman she is today. Ruth was a faithful woman to God, because Naomi was also a faithful woman to God. After all, Ruth had said that she would do exactly what Naomi had done. So, they shared experiences, they shared people, and they shared God. The best thing that a mom (or even mother-in-law) can do is to pave the way. By Naomi's example of showing the path that was to be followed, Ruth became the woman obedient to God. Thank Heaven for those willing to lead by example. Through that example, others are able to find God.

May 4- Why Plot Evil?

2009-05-05T08:26:00.003-05:00

Judges 19:1-20:48
John 3:22-4:3
Psalm 104:24-35
Proverbs 14:22-24

Proverbs 14- ²² Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.

I don't really understand why Christians sometimes plot out ways to hurt other people. To me, this makes zero sense. And yet, they do. One might say, "If you're plotting evil, you've already gone astray", and that might be true. Still, the verse says that those who plot evil will come to that point. I just don't get why Christians would do this. Why try to hurt people? Why try and be destructive just because you can? Christianity is about something else entirely. Love and faithfulness mark Christianity. So, why plot evil?