Happy Birthday Mom!

So today's my mom's birthday so I thought I'd tell you about her. 

Aside from the grace to know salvation, one of the biggest blessings I've ever experienced is the presence of my mother in this life. There are so many different things to consider when I begin to think about the ways my mom has made a difference in my life. Here are a few things off the top of my head:

• She decided that she would not abort me. So many people take this for granted. I am so thankful she valued my life even though she could have written me off as simply 'a fetus' or whatever term people like to use today to rationalize their irresponsible decisions, but she didn't and for that I am very grateful.
• She took her pregnancy seriously and did her best to manage her body and her diet responsibly in order to give me the best conditions for being a healthy baby.
• She took care of me and made sure all of my needs were met as a helpless baby. She endured sleepless nights and dealt with all my crap (literally... haha!)
• She kept her cool with me as an annoying little toddler. I can only imagine how much I drove her cray at grocery stores and the like. I would definitely be 'that kid'. You know the one I'm talking about... the one everybody in the store hates. "Where's his mother?" they all wonder.  My mom was always right there much to everyone's delight.
• She taught me how to get along with others. She taught me manners and how to interact with others socially.  This is kind of a necessity, considering how there are other people in the world than myself...
• She taught me to care for others. She would teach me about this with words from time to time, but I think I learned this more from observing the way she loved people and served them.
• She put up with me through all of the times I decided I break her rules and when I smarted off to her. This is huge. When I think back on my old self, I recall how stubborn and sarcastic. In a lot of ways, I am still like that but I don't think I am to the extent I used to be. I don't know how she dealt with me. I would've beat me with a stick and locked me away from society. Such patience and grace.
• She cooked for me...and still does! She is an INCREDIBLE cook! I absolutely love her food. She can make some of the best (insert food here) that you've ever had. She always gets mad when I can't decide on what I want her to cook when I come home from school. It's never because I'm indifferent, it's because I can't decide because it's all good. I know that my children one day are going to know her as 'the grandma who can cook'.
• Did I mention she cooks for me?
• She washed / washes my clothes. I hate doing this. If you know me, you know that I absolutely hate doing this. Don't really know why...I just do. Therefore, I appreciate this very much.
• She has always encouraged me to do whatever I want to do. If I wanted to play baseball, I could play baseball. If I wanted to do art, I could do art. If I wanted to take guitar lessons, I could take guitar lessons. A lot of parents try to mold their kids into who they want them to be, but my mom always let me be myself.
• She has always supported me in whatever I have done.  She loves me no matter what I do. If I succeed she congratulates me and tells me she is proud. If I fail, she comforts me and encourages me. I never have to worry about taking on a challenge without support.
• She believes in me. One of the reasons I have healthy self-confidence is because I know she believes in me. I appreciate that she really believes I can change the world if I want to.
• She loves my dad. In today's society that is a feat. She is committed to him and she actively shows her love for him through affection and service. I pray that my wife will be like her in this. My dad's very blessed to have her.
• Above all else, she loves Jesus. She has always exemplified this. She raised me in church. She always talked about how much Jesus loved me. She showed me His love by serving me and loving me unconditionally. If you think about it, pretty much everything I've listed up to this point testifies to this last and most important point. I am so thankful that she was there when I accepted Christ as my Savior. Long story short, late one night the Spirit moved in me and I went and talked stuff out with Mom and Dad. That night I was born again. Mom's been with me for both of my births. So thankful for that.

All that to say I have the best mother ever. I am truly blessed. I love her with all my heart and I pray that I may one day resemble a son almost worthy of her excellence.

Proverbs 31:10-31

10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. 11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. 12She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. 13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. 14 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. 15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. 16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. 17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. 18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. 19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. 20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. 21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. 22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. 23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. 24She maketh fine linen, and selleth it ; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. 25Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. 26She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. 27She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. 28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also , and he praiseth her. 29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. 30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

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.

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.
  

Thought For The Day

" How we live our days...is how we live our lives."

-Annie Dillard

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.

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.

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

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