Thought For The Day

Here's a good word of encouragement from Francis to live uncomfortably for the glory of God. Check it out.

Guidelines To Reading Broadly

• Know Doctrine. Be grounded theologically before you ever consider starting to read broadly. Scripture is constantly beckoning us to beware of false teaching. How are we to recognize false teaching if we are not familiar with truth? 
  
• Pray for discernment as you read. It is important to guard yourself from becoming slowly engulfed in the ideology of what you are reading. If it's not Scripture, it's flawed. Some books are more severely flawed than others, but all of them were written by men - men still susceptible to the effects of the fall. Hopefully the authors you are reading have the intention to be as faithful to the Scriptures as they possibly can be. If that's not the case, you probably shouldn't waste your time on it.
• Confirm what you think is truth in the Scriptures. This is along the same lines as the first point I made. The only thing that we can hold to as absolute truth is Scripture. If what we find in the reading seems to be true we must compare it to Scripture.

Weekend Recap

This past weekend I was blessed to be able to lead worship at my home church's retreat for the singles ministry. It was an incredible weekend for several different reasons: (1) I got to help lead worship - one of my favorite things to do, (2) I heard some incredible teaching from our Associate Pastor, Bill Decker, (3) and I got to actually rest and take a nap by the lake in my hammock.

The weekend's theme was 'Rebuilt'. We went through Isaiah 58 and talked about how the people were doing all of the right things, yet had sin in their lives that was had not been dealt with. During Saturday night's message I got convicted of a lot of sin that I consider 'not a big deal sin'. I think you know what I mean by that. I tend to play off a lot of sin by excusing it as 'little sins'. Here are some of the little sins that we talked about:

• Ungodliness. How often do we not even consider God's will in our decision making?
• Anxiety. Anxiety is the lack of trust in God.
• Unthankfulness. Enough said.
• Discontentment. How often do I get flustered about the circumstances in life that I can do nothing about?
• Pride. Pride is moral self-righteousness. It comes in three different forms. (1) Pride of Doctrine, (2) Pride of Achievement, (3) Pride of Independent Spirit.
• Selfishness. (1) Selfish Interests, (2) Being Inconsiderate.
• Lack Of Self Control. Self Control is the ability to control or govern one's desires, impulses, emotions, and passions. This is different from 'will power'. Pagans can have enough 'will power' to obey self-determined rules; only Christians can have the 'Self Control' that comes from the Holy Spirit during the sanctification process.
• Impatience and Irritability. How quickly/easily  do I lose my cool?
• Anger. "We often get angry because we are trying to protect idols in our lives." Dang.
• Being Judgmental. (1) Politics, (2) Church, and (3) Social Settings. "If it isn't dishonoring to God, you don't have a dog in the fight." Again, dang.
• Coveting. Envy is the painful awareness that some has an advantage that you don't have. Jealousy is acting on your envy.
• Sins of the Tongue. (1) Gossip, (2) Lies, (3) Slander, (4) Critical Speech, (5) Harsh Words, (6) Insults, (7) Profanity, (8) Coarse Joking. I got eight slaps in the face on this one particular point... Ouch.
• Worldliness. Have I become attached to the temporary things of this world?

*Don't worry, he used a lot of Scripture to back it up, I just didn't have paper with me to write them down. I got the points from someone later. 

Also, he delivered this message in such humility. On most every point he actually confessed ways he had personally failed recently. I felt like his style of communicating allowed everyone listening to let their guard down because he was able to convey that he was a sinful, fallen human being just as they were and he was no more holier than they were just because he is on staff at a church. I was very impressed with his sermons. I was very blessed to be able to hear them and I anticipate emailing him later this week to express my gratitude for the work he put into preparing them.

Here was a view from my hammock by the lake.

HSBC D'Now 2009: A Call To Grace

This weekend was incredible. It was my home church's DiscipleNow Weekend. I actually had the honor of helping lead worship for roughly 400 students with a good friend of mine, David Devane. We had some great worship experiences throughout the weekend with the youth. David Nasser was the speaker for the weekend and did a phenomenal job. He really challenged everybody to actually live grace out instead of solely experiencing it at this specific event. Lots of memorable moments and lots of lives won for the Kingdom. Glory to God. Also found out that people actually read this blog. Feels good to know I'm not simply typing for myself -- even though I was quite satisfied with it. :-)

Business Strategies In The Church (Part I)

Lately something has been really bothering me. I have been hearing a ridiculous amount of information on how to make church the next big thing and how to make it culturally relevant, cool, hip, and visitor friendly. This is all well and good, but it seems like we sometimes forget that the gospel is TOTALLY counter-cultural. It says that we must DENY OURSELVES. How visitor-friendly does that sound? Not very? My point exactly.

We need to stop making church a business in our minds. We can treat it like a business and grow our church into a gathering of 5,000 clients every Sunday or we can let the Holy Spirit transform the lives of sinners and sanctify them on the time table he wishes to do so. Church growth is too big of a deal to often in ministry. Sometimes numbers can be one of the deadliest things in ministry. I truly believe the devil uses numbers often to destroy churches and their leaders. If the numbers are low, a pastor can quickly become frustrated and feel unsuccessful. If the numbers are high, the pastor can become conceited and believe that he is what is growing the church.

As I mentioned earlier, I think that business strategies, numbers, and making church 'cool' are all good if they are put in their proper perspective. God is the one who grows His church. You can have the best everything (environment, ministers, coffee, etc.) and not grow a single person if the Lord wills so. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you can have what seems to be the lamest, most outdated church style in the world and grow by leaps and bounds if the Lord wills so. Bottom line: It's God's church. He will grow it. Let's get over ourselves and stop acting like we're more important than we are. Let's stop trying to sell church and  Jesus like the marketing department over at Apple sells iPods. Trust in God. Do your part: be faithful, be strategic, cast vision, but don't forget to trust God in all of it.

In case you are wondering where all this is coming from, it's been building up in me for a while. It seems to be this recurring notion that I see popping up on blogs everywhere and a huge emphasis in the modern day church. Again, I think all of them have their proper place in ministry, but it just seems like a lot of people have forgotten about God and the fact that He has a plan, that will not and cannot be thwarted. This is great news for the church. God WILL grow His church regardless of how good we are at making it 'cool'. 

*I have a feeling this will probably rub some people the wrong way. I pray that it doesn't come across as a shot at any individual, but as a concern that I have for a group of bloggers and churches. Anyway, there's my soapbox for the day.

Reflections From 'Crazy Love'

Here are some quotes from the last chapter of Francis Chan's book Crazy Love (which I highly recommend) that have really got me thinking about my life.

• We say things like, " I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," and "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." Then we live and plan like we don't believe God even exists. We try to set our lives up so everything will be fine even if God doesn't come through. But true faith means holding nothing back. It means putting every hope in God's fidelity to His promises.
• ...if I stop pursuing Christ, I am letting our relationship deteriorate. We never grow closer to God when we just live life; it takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness.
• The Holy Spirit is the One who changes the church, but we have to remember that the Holy Spirit lives in us. It is individual people living Spirit-filled lives that will change the church.
• How we believers live out our lives is a microcosm of the life of the church.
• The world needs Christians who don't tolerate the complacency of their own lives.
  

World Hunger: What's That?

I can't imagine hunger. I really can't. My concept of hunger is nothing more than a few hours without food. In many places all across the globe, hunger is a HUGE problem. I want to become more and more burdened for these people and places. When I see things like this video below, my heart is broken for them. But the reality is I eat a cheeseburger within 4 hours of my heart 'breaking'. I think I am going to fast in the next couple of days to pray for these people. Perhaps you would like to join me.

Something cool about this video is that this substance they have created called 'Plumpynut' could be a huge answer to prayer concerning world hunger. It's cheap and effective. Sounds a lot like something the church could use to share God's mercy with countless individuals dying of starvation... I pray that more American Christians will begin to be burdened by these people. I know that it is so easy to forget them in America because it's the land of milk and honey, but I also know that it doesn't mean we aren't held responsible for not being the loving, merciful arm of Christ that is extended to them in their need. Remember these people. Micah 6:8.

Grace and peace.

A Year In God's Word

So I'm embarking on a journey that I have never completed (or come close to completing...). I am going to read through the entire Bible this year. In the past I have attempted valiantly and succeeded up to somewhere around Genesis 22 before dropping out.

However, I have now adopted a reading schedule that should expose me to all of God's Word this year. It's pretty cool. In the mornings I read a couple of chapters from the Old Testament. Around midday, I pause and reflect on a couple of the Psalms. Finally, at night before I got to bed, I read a couple of chapters in the New Testament.

I really like the way it works. In the morning, I wake up and am encouraged by the story of God's faithfulness to His people. Around lunch, the Psalms hit me right between the eyes, because they relate so well to how I feel so often around that time of day. Finally, before I go to sleep, I get to read the Gospel and reflect on it until I fall asleep. There is no greater blessing to 'count' at night than the Gospel.

I also appreciate this schedule because it keeps me disciplined and it saturates my mind with the things of God, rather than the things of this world. I have no doubt that the Scriptures will change, mold, and chisel me into a more disciplined saint and a more successful soul winner. I anticipate great things through this process. Please keep me in your prayers.

If you're interested in reading along with this schedule, click here.

Grace and peace.

(Sermon Reflection) Peter: The Apostle Of Hope

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Hunter Street Baptist Church

Buddy Gray

Hope Series

Here are some things that I heard, that struck me.

• Peter had some positive things going for him when we first encounter him in Scripture. --- Faith (Mark 1:17-18), Spiritual Insight (Matt 16:15-16)
  

Most of the rest of the message touched on his failures to highlight specifically how Jesus gives hope to and restores a messed up man. These failures in particular help me to realize how Jesus is able to use a 'wretch like me' to do incredible things for His kingdom's purposes.

• We see Peter's overconfidence, pride, and arrogance at the last supper. (Luke 22:33-34)
• At Gethsemane, when Jesus asks Peter to stay awake and pray, he fails to do so and falls asleep after a single hour. He doesn't grasp the importance of prayer or being spiritually vigilant. (Mark 14:37)
• When they come to arrest Jesus, Peter gets impulsive and cuts off the ear of the servant, which Jesus then heals. Jesus is always cleaning up his messes it seems.
• Pride --> Prayerlessness --> Impulsiveness
• For the last bit of Jesus' life, Peter followed him at a distance. Peter wanted to be comfortable with the world and blend in, rather than suffer with Jesus. (Mark 14:54)
• When Peter has denied Jesus three times, Jesus turns to him and looks and a rooster crows. (Luke 22:60-62)
• To Peter, the rooster crowing to Peter was something that triggered memories of his failures and sin. It was something that haunted him. (Luke 22:60-62)
• After Jesus' resurrection, Jesus specifically mentions Peter's name (apart from the group of disciples) which implies his restoration in Jesus' sight. (Mark 16:6-7)
• After Jesus appears to the disciples while they were fishing, Peter is sitting around the fire with Jesus. It was only a few days ago that Peter was sitting around a fire in a courtyard when he was denying knowing Jesus. Such a contrast of how he has been restored so quickly. One of the most distant moments from Jesus and one of the most intimate moments with Jesus were both spent around a fire within a matter of days.
• After Peter has been restored (John 21:17-18, 19a), he becomes incredibly affective for the kingdom of God. For example, at Pentecost he preaches and thousands come to know salvation. (Acts 1:15, 2:14, 4:8, 10:44)
• God uses our worst moments to prepare us for our divinely appointed purposes. 

The main takeaway points from this sermon:

• There is hope after failure.
• God uses broken people to accomplish great things.

A New Year

Here are some of my goals, wonderings, and predictions for this upcoming year.

Personal Goals

• Be immersed in God's Word
• Constantly be in communion with God
• Create intentional relationships
• Use my finances faithfully
• Invest in the local and global church
• Read at least one book per month
• Watch less television
• Exercise consistently

Wonderings

• What's Obama's presidency going to look like? How fast will things change? How radical will the changes be? Will there be near as much change as he promised?

Predictions

• There will be an attempted assassination on President Barak Obama
• The economy will remain crappy for most of 2009
• Healthcare quality is going to decrease drastically
• Homosexual marriage is going to be legalized

Facts

• God is still going to be on His throne

New Year's Prayer

Here's a Puritan prayer that I read on Tim Challies' blog earlier this evening concerning the New Year. It was moving to me. I pray you will benefit from it, as well.

O Love beyond Compare,
Thou art good when thou givest,
when thou takest away,
when the sun shines upon me,
when night gathers over me.
Thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world,
and in love didst redeem my soul;
Thou dost love me still,
in spite of my hard heart, ingratitude, distrust.
Thy goodness has been with me another year,
leading me through a twisting wilderness,
in retreat helping me to advance,
when beaten back making sure headway.
Thy goodness will be with me in the year ahead;
I hoist sail and draw up anchor,
With thee as the blessed pilot of my future as of my past.
I bless thee that thou hast veiled my eyes to the waters ahead.
If thou hast appointed storms of tribulation,
thou wilt be with me in them;
If I have to pass through tempests of persecution and temptation,
I shall not drown;
If I am to die,
I shall see thy face the sooner;
If a painful end is to be my lot,
grant me grace that my faith fail not;
If I am to be cast aside from the service I love,
I can make no stipulation;
Only glorify thyself in me whether in comfort or trial,
as a chosen vessel meet always for thy use.

Al Mohler's Suggestions For Reading

Here's a link to the most brilliant person in Christianity today and his thoughts about reading. Here's the link.

Grace and Peace. λύτρον

How Should I Feel About This?

Yesterday me and my dad spent some good ol' father/son time in the local Barnes & Noble. We are both avid readers, so we could probably spend hours upon hours there without getting bored (we actually did end up spending like 3 hours).  We were rummaging through some books in the Christian section and I stumbled upon this one.

I honestly am not sure what emotion this book brings up in me... Part of me wants to laugh at how outlandish and ignorant I consider it to be. Another part of me recognizes that the guy who wrote this probably believes the stuff he wrote is accurate and true and that terrifies me. This guy is not walking alone in his ignorance, but those who buy this book and read it are having their perspectives tainted. In today's society, Christianity is beginning to take on the face of a God who desires nothing but health, wealth, and prosperity for everyone. After having thought all this out, I guess I feel kind of bad for laughing... 

Any thoughts? Feel free to comment.

Grace and Peace. λύτρο

Christmas Thoughts

Here's some stuff that I've been pondering over the course of the Christmas season:

• The shepherds are the first to hear about the Savior's birth. For some reason, God chooses the shepherds (ranked low in societal status) to reveal Himself to and then uses them to spread the Good News. God has always had a heart for the humble and He uses them in mighty ways.
• Something I've never thought about...this was breaking news for everyone in the world at the time of His birth. For countless years people have been waiting on this King they've heard prophecies about and He was finally there! Oh, what a feeling it must have been. On Christmas Eve, no one knew it was Christmas Eve! It was just a another seemingly ordinary night. It's cool to think about what they must have felt like to hear this news. We need to tap into the joy that they had when they realized the gravity of Jesus' birth.
• It's so easy to get so caught up in stuff around Christmas. There's so much to do...most of which is unnecessary and self-imposed. It's so easy to get caught up in self and to forget about our calling to love others as Christ has loved us. It's easy to worship stuff - not necessarily physically bowing down to an ipod, a hunting rifle, or new clothes, but figuratively spending more time, resources, thoughts, and energy on them instead of God-honoring things.
• I read a quote the other day that struck me. It was about us feeling good about how much we give. The quote was, "God not only looks at how much we give, but how much we keep." I thought it was pretty simple, yet profound. Changed my perspective on giving.
• The sense of tradition can callous one to some really beautiful things. For instance, many of the traditional Christmas songs are incredible. I've never really focused on what some of them say. I sang them often, yet my singing was merely a mindless repetition of a tradition and not a song of praise to my Savior. Some of my personal favorites are "Silent Night","O Come, O Come Emmanuel", and "Joy To The World.

I've been thinking about more, and I'll address them in later posts probably. This is just some big stuff I've been thinking about. I pray that you all are having a merry Christmas. May you take a moment and in solitude contemplate what the Savior's birth actually means for the world and especially to you as a Believer. I am so thankful to be finding myself wanting to grasp the gravity of Christmas and what the coming of Jesus means. I pray it will be the same for you.
Grace and Peace. λύτρον

Spurgeon: Humorous Story

One of my heroes of the faith is C.H. Spurgeon. He was the pastor of the London Tabernacle in the mid-1800's. He is often referred to as the "Prince of Preachers." He was a brilliant man and an incredibly gifted speaker. I love to read his sermons. Anyway, today I thought I would share with you a humorous story about him. Some background: He loved to smoke cigars. He was quoted saying this: "There is rarely a day when the son sets when I have not partaken of the blessed leaf." He liked them so much that he often would go outside after preaching his sermon, light up a cigar, and shake the hands of those who attended his church. One day an older lady approached him as he was shaking hands and said, "Pastor Spurgeon, when are you going to quit smoking those confounded cigars?" He responded, "Madame, when I smoke them to excess." She then asked, "You just finished preaching and you're smoking one; what do you consider excess?" His response: "Madame, I would consider it excessive if I were smoking two at the same time." Priceless.
Grace and Peace. λύτρον

Final Encounter

It's officially the last Encounter in the US. That's such a cool thought. As I sit here listening to soundcheck I am praying for the day when students in Hong Kong get to experience a service like this one with a talented worship band and a message from Matt Dean. I sincerely am excited for the students in HK. They are in for a real blessing. I can't imagine how tremendous of an impact the Grace Campus team will have in HK, but judging from the thought of how much they have impacted the already very 'Christianized' culture in Auburn, it will be HUGE! I am expecting to hear big things about them in the upcoming years. I hope to somehow continue to serve them in whatever way I can. I hope that you will continue to keep the Grace Campus team and the city of Hong Kong in your prayers. They will be sorely missed here in Auburn, but we affirm and rejoice in their committment to follow God's call. God is faithful to those faithul to Him!
Grace and Peace. λύτρον

To Write Love On Her Arms

Today is the second annual 'To Write Love On Her Arms Day'. To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA) is a non-profit organization that advocates for those struggling with addiction, depression, self-mutilation, and attempted suicide. The whole idea behind the movement is to support those struggling with these issues by showing love and support for them. This is a great cause and there are a lot of people involved. While I do support it, I want to clarify and make sure that it is clear that the only true 'rescue' and 'remedy' for the hopeless comes not in the form of human-to-human care and concern, but in the form of love in which Jesus Christ demonstrated on the cross where he purchased many sinners. This love is referred to as Agape (pictured above in Greek). This is the only kind of love that offers true hope for the hurting, victory for the defeated, and life for the dead. Thanks be to God for His incredible love. Oh, how He loves us so!
Grace and Peace. λύτρον

An Unexpected Reflection

Last night, I was skimming the channels and I stumbled upon a talk show where a young girl was telling the host that she was going to sell her virginity to the highest bidder. When I heard this, I was immediately outraged. I thought to myself, "How can this beautiful girl, created in the image of a holy God, find herself so cheap that she is willing to sell something as valuable as her purity?" This righteous anger and hatred toward this sin continued to build up within me and my heart broke for this young girl. As I prayed for this girl, my thoughts shifted to myself. The more I thought about the situation, the more I saw myself as this girl. How often is it that I don't recognize my true identity - a Child of God? How often do I 'sell myself' to the Enemy in exchange for the promise of temporal pleasures instead of pursuing my purity as invaluable? It makes me think of the song "Wedding Dress" by Derek Webb, where he describes himself as a whore who puts on the bridal gown and flees from her Perfect Groom, Jesus. It is my earnest desire to learn to hate my sin as much as the Lord does. The more I hate my sin, the more I pursue holiness. The more I pursue holiness, the further I get from my flesh. The further I get from my flesh, the closer I get to Jesus. The closer I get to Jesus, the more I treasure Him. The more I treasure Him, the more my life displays Him. The more my life displays Him, the greater impact my life has for Him. The greater impact my life has for Him, the greater my heavenly reward. The greater my heavenly reward, the more crowns I get to lay down at His feet in total worship. Oh, what joy lies ahead!
Grace and Peace. λύτρον

How I Long To See Nature Redeemed!

Having spent last night at one of the most naturally beautiful places I have ever been, I am finding it hard to comprehend what the future holds for creation. Scripture says that the true beauty of all creation was tainted and distorted in the fall. This is a hard thing for me to grasp because I find nature so incredibly beautiful as it is - in it's fallen state. If I think that nature is this beautiful and incredible in it's fallen state, I can't begin to fathom how awestruck and delighted I will be when I first glimpse at the indescribable beauty of the New Earth and all of nature in it's redeemed state. It is one of my heart's greatest longings and I look forward to the day I will take in it's beauty and turn to it's Creator in praise and adoration.
Grace and Peace. λύτρον