His Blogs are Higher Than My Blogs...

A Valentines Day Post From Me, a Man...

2012-02-03T09:33:00.002-05:00

Every movie, V-day card, and jewelry commercial tells Valentine's Day from a women's point of view. The entire holiday is catered to women. So here is my take from my perspective...a man.

Our culture is inept at love. Movies are made to make money, not instill timeless values of love.

Here's what I think:

Ladies:
Little girls believe in fairy tales. Women believe in consistent, compassionate, tender-yet-strong, self-sacrificing, attentive and stable men.

Men:
First of all, "bro" is a pronoun. Second of all, man up and love your wives as Christ has loved the church. Appreciate her--cherish her. Tickle her until she cries, hold her when she's sad, and defend her when she's attacked. If you don't know what it means to love as Christ loves, find a man who knows and make him teach you. Loving as God loves makes you courageous, not wimpy.

Ladies:
Man up and stop looking for Prince Charming and instead find Prince "I will still love you when you are 68."

There are no perfect marriages or relationships because there are no perfect people. Read the Bible, do what it says. Discard most everything else. 1 Corinthians 13 is a great place to learn how God defines "love."

I wish I could come up with clever titles.

2012-01-09T11:57:00.006-05:00

At times, there are things obstructing our view from seeing God's message to us. God sees things that we cannot see--even about ourselves. He knows us so much more intimately than we even know ourselves. Our perceptions, expectations, or thoughts could be getting in the way of seeing what God is saying. We read God's book through the filter of our perceptions, expectations and thoughts. What if He is wanting to show you something different... different from what you think you already know?

^{Psalm 139 1-12
1} O LORD, you have searched me and known me!
² You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
³ You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴ Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
⁵ You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.

⁷ Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
⁹ If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
¹² even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.

God sees the darkness as clearly as the light. Ask Him to illuminate the parts of Yourself that He is wanting to show you. He is wanting us to be like Him. There are times we think we are being like Him but we are not. We can glorify our thoughts and opinions by thinking they are the same as God's. Open up His book and ask Him to change you. Allow the Scripture to show you what God's thoughts are. Don't assume you know.

Be open to hearing from Him, it may be different from what you expect.

What does it mean to have a servant's heart?

2011-07-30T13:39:00.002-04:00

Being on vacation this week has given me an opportunity to catch up on podcasts while driving. I have been doing a lot of driving. One guy I absolutely love listening to is Timothy Keller. That guy knows the Scripture, and he is so stinking smart. He inspires me to want to get smart. I listened to his sermon "Marriage as Commitment" the other day. While he was recapping the sermon series, he defined what it means to have a servant heart in marriage.

He said there are three parts of having a servant's heart in marriage, and having a servant's heart is absolutely essential to having a healthy relationship.

1. The ability to receive criticism without being crushed.
He said to do this you have to take your mind of yourself and you have to let go of self defensiveness.

2. The ability to give criticism without crushing.
Criticism isn't used to wound or to win, but it is given out of genuine love for the person and a desire to demonstrate that love in honesty. This is criticism given with the right motive, and at an appropriate time, and with a healthy dose of love and sincerity. None of us are perfect. Criticism isn't given because we are perfect, or better, but because we both are flawed and need each other's perspective and vision to be better.

3. The ability to forgive without residual anger.
All of these can be challenging, especially this one. It's possible though. It is called grace. Give it freely because you need it too.

I'm only beginning to learn...

If any man boasts, let him boast in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:31

Moved by love, but captured by grace

2011-06-30T01:10:00.005-04:00

Please read this post slowly.

I was watching a television show earlier and I found myself really connecting to a person in the show I wouldn't normally connect with. I caught myself liking her much like I catch myself singing unintentionally. I surprised myself so I had to think about it. What was it that was making my like her? I realized it was the love she showed to the people around her.

If you have ever been caught off guard by an unexpected hug or kiss from a child, you know the feeling I'm talking about. People are moved by love. That is the only reason the Hallmark Movie channel exists. Believe me, it's not because of the good story lines.

You can love and not be gracious, but you can't show grace and not love.

The love of God moves us, but it is the grace of God that captures us. God could have loved us without dying. He was not obligated to save us. Sin was our problem not God's. He created us and made every effort to warn Adam and Eve of the consequence of disobedience. He is perfectly right and just to allow us to face the full penalty of those choices. The grace so mysterious and amazing. He isn't obligated to do anything about our sin or lostness, but yet He chooses to offer us mercy, and it is a free gift. God chooses to be please with us based on no merit of our own. He chooses to be gracious when we deserve wrath.

[You should get to a quiet secluded place to think about that for a while.]

After you have thought about that for a good while, then remind yourself of what it cost Him to give you that gift freely.

"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:6-8, ESV)

When we fully realize the grace of God, it captures us. Love that deep and selfless is overwhelming...

As a child, I played outside every day in the Summer's heat. When I would get over-heated, I went inside for some refreshing red kool-aid. My soul, though deserving of God's wrath in Hell, is refreshed by His grace. He gives me new life.

I want to drink in God's grace like red kool-aid--purposefully savoring the flavor of each drop as it flows over my tongue.

If I titled this post you probably wouldn't read it.

2011-06-28T11:35:00.007-04:00

I read about a prophecy given at the Azuza Street Revival 100 years ago. Part of the prophecy said, "There will come a time when there is an over-emphasis on worship to a God they no longer pray to." I can't authenticate that prophecy, but that certainly seems like a trend.

Trendy churches (and I love trendy churches because most of them are super missional) have nights of worship, but the prayer meetings of our parents have died.

You cannot over-emphasize worship. God is worthy of our worship, and so we should worship Him. However, the worship God desires is given from the depths of meaningful relationship with Him, and that relationship is built upon and thrives in prayer. In my opinion, we commit spiritual and relational fraud when we worship and do not pray.

We love categories. When we put people into categories, we make ourselves feel better. Let me illustrate. If there are people who really pray, we say they are "intercessors," or "prayer warriors." What we are really doing is excusing ourselves from not being an intercessor or prayer warrior. If we treat it like a special gift or role, it is okay for us not to be it. After all, didn't Paul say a hand is not a foot, and a foot not an eye? Well...the problem there is that intercession is not in that list of Spiritual Gifts.

I think our expectations of prayer and God's are different. I think we've lost the concept of praying for hours on end until we have heard an answer. Should we be able to snap our fingers and expect God to speak like we do when we hold a treat in front of the nose of a dog and say, "speak?" God is not a dog we can command, and he is not lured by treats.

From God's perspective, what does "earnest prayer" look like? From our perspective, it may look like 10 minutes, but what is it from God's? We need to line up with God's expectations because He's not going to bend to meet ours. After all, He is God.

I want to be known as a man of prayer, but not by other men, by God.

Father, may we be ever after your heart. Stir the desire to pray within us. Forgive us of our apathy. Amen.

Lord let us BE

2011-05-26T13:59:00.004-04:00

I heard someone once say, "We must focus on being before doing." What he meant by that was that as professional ministers, we should first focus on being men of God before we go out doing men of God type things. After reflecting on that I have concluded that our "being" comes from "being with Him." Lord, let us BE.

From time to time I encounter people, sometimes friends, who mystify the spiritual journey. They ask me how to feel close to God. I ask, "have you been reading the Bible?" I can tell by the look on their face that is too simple an answer for the question. But it isn't. Lord, let us BE...with You.

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love." John 15:9

I've heard people ponder out loud, "What does it mean to 'abide?'" Then they go on to offer their own idea of "abiding." The people I mentioned would much prefer to draw their own conclusions about God by thinking and rationalizing than doing what seems to be work, reading the Bible. By doing so, they then make god who they want him to be. Or in some cases, they listen to what others have to say and find the opinion that best suits them. You cannot know God through others, you must know Him for yourself. Lord let us BE...found in you and not trying to be found in others.

"If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love." John 15:10

What does it mean to abide? We must obey Him to abide in Him. See how easy that was? The answer was found in the very next verse. If only we would decide to know God for ourselves by searching His scripture to know Him.

Are you abiding in His love? How do you know? Obedience is the fruit that our abiding in Him produces. Obedience does not make you abide. You can try and obey God without truly being transformed by Him. Judas fooled the apostles. Eventually, the truth will come to light.

"Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son." 2 John 9

Lord let us BE...ever after Your heart.

Trying to find "Love"

2011-02-17T19:31:00.003-05:00

People spend their lives searching for love, and a love that lasts. Love is fleeting, it is temporary--replaceable--or at least our culture says. People say they "fall in love" and when the emotions fade, they say they "fell out of love," as if the falling into and out of were forces that we cannot control or manipulate. Love is a fickle force, an inconsistent companion.

A love like this is no love at all. What measures love? What contains it like a prisoner, or offers a credible definition?

Ideas are constantly changing. This is because people are so impressionable. We like to think of ourselves as intelligent and free thinkers but honestly, much comes from the movies we watch, the music we hear, and the people we know.

What if this cultural understanding of love was a grave mistake? What if this concept of love was an illusion and a poor representation of real and actual love? What if God "loved" us the way WE "love" people?

How would the world be different if God loved the way we love?

Imagine if God's love was only temporary.

Imagine if it faded.

Imagine if it could be changed based on corrupted emotions.

Imagine if God was selfish and only loved based on what we could give Him or do for Him.

When I was a teen, I got annoyed when people suggested I didn't know what love was. I knew what love was in movies and I felt that way so then how could I not know what love was? What I didn't know then was that love is not emotion. Love is a choice. Love is commitment. Love is choosing to serve the other person. Love is valuing the other more than self. It isn't a feeling, it is a choice. It isn't fickle, it is enduring. It isn't a force that comes upon you without any ability to resist it, it is work.

This reality of love doesn't sell movies or music and it certainly isn't glamorous...but it is true, and that's the best kind.

The Tension of His Presence

2011-01-03T17:47:00.003-05:00

Isaiah 64:1-5

Prayer for Mercy and Help

1 Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down, That the mountains might quake at Your presence—
2 As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil— To make Your name known to Your adversaries, That the nations may tremble at Your presence!
3 When You did awesome things which we did not expect, You came down, the mountains quaked at Your presence.
4 For from days of old they have not heard or perceived by ear, Nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.
5 You meet him who rejoices in doing righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways. Behold, You were angry, for we sinned, We continued in them a long time; And shall we be saved?

The answer to that final question is a resounding "Yes!"

I love that God acts on the behalf of the one who waits for him. When I think about requesting God's presence, I don't often think of his presence as something that causes everything to tremble before him. I think of his presence as something sweet and comforting. Both are true. I'm reminded of the line in from Narnia when Lucy (I think) asks if Aslan is safe. The humanoid beaver answers, "No! He's not safe...but he's good."

I love the Old Testament view of God. I think we sometimes make God a little too cute and cuddly when we should be trembling before Him, but yet confidently trusting in His Son at the very same time.

In this new year, are you prioritizing more time with him in his presence? Tremble before him...

"“For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being,” declares the Lord. “But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word." Isaiah 66:2

I Want to Walk in Fellowship with the Spirit, and in His Power

2010-12-01T12:28:00.005-05:00

I hear a lot of voices complaining that there isn't enough time in the day. The American culture is one that values busyness. If we are constantly busy, that means we are important, well liked, valuable, or attractive. To complicate matters, we have too many devices and sources of information that are constantly calling to us for our attention. Personally, I own two tvs, a Wii, an Xbox 360, a laptop, an iPod, an e-reader, and a smart phone. Whoa, that's a lot of stuff.

We choose busyness because of cultural expectations of livings styles, and, I think, because it makes us feel important. Regardless of the reason, we choose it. We choose our jobs, friends, and gadgets. And then at the end of the day, we reflect and feel cheated that we did not have more time to do more things.

This may shock you, but God hasn't shortened the days. We have filled our days and our time with immediate and temporal distractions that prevent us from the Eternal.

When I read Acts, the thing that sticks out to me the most is how closely they walked with the Spirit. Visions, prophecy, miracles, healings, and the like were every day occurrences. They didn't happen infrequently, it was normal. Now this is funny. We automatically assume that God changed how he works rather than looking to ourselves to see what has changed in us. And I'm not calling out non-Pentecostal Christians here, I'm calling out Pentecostal Christians here. What we don't have legitimately, we have been guilty of manufacturing. Ever had an "Evangelist" try to push you down in service? I have.

What has changed? We spend around five minutes a day in prayer rehearsing a list of prayer requests we have memorized and call that having relationship with the Holy One of Israel? God is an all-consuming fire. He will not fit into your 5-10 minute window.

I want to be a man of great faith and prayer. I want the Holy Spirit to empower me daily. Not just to pray in tongues and have goose bumps, but to expand Your Kingdom daily. Fill me. Change my heart to earnestly desire time with you. I want to walk with Your Spirit, not in a kooky over-spiritual Pentecostal way, but in truth and power. Teach me what that means. Amen.

With His Breath...

2010-11-23T10:08:00.002-05:00

Isaiah 11:4
"But with righteousness He will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; and He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips he will slay the wicked."

When I read this verse this morning, the first thought that came into my mind was, "With the breath of his lips he decreed 'It is finished.'" And with that statement, the power of sin and the powers of this world were slain. Sin has no power over me.

Hallelujah!

[Shortest blogpost ever]

Vision of God

2010-11-10T22:31:00.001-05:00

I think my very favorite chapter in the Old Testament is Isaiah chapter six. It is such a neat story. Isaiah is in the Temple and has a vision of God. It is the most majestic description of God. I love the imagery. But above that, I love putting myself in Isaiah's shoes and imagining what it felt like to see God in that way. The feelings of awe, amazement, and wonder had to be overwhelming. How could they not be?

You can't see a vision of God in his majesty and walk away with the same feelings about yourself as you had before. It isn't possible. It could be nothing but life changing. I'm not talking about I just had a good piece of cake "life changing." I mean everything I now do is profoundly effected by the person and character of God.

Upon seeing God, Isaiah had a very unique and powerful realization. Seeing God made him see himself. That was an awkward sentence. Take two: seeing God made him aware of himself, and his own short comings. I read recently, "The more time I spend with Jesus, the more unlike him I realize I am." I think that is true. The more we get to know God, the more we see in ourselves that needs to be changed and conformed into the likeness of his son.

I wish I could have a vision like this one. God, give me visions. I want to be changed by a vision of your majesty. I don't think I could continue any kind of selfish behavior after seeing you in your glory. Change me.

He said what?!

2010-11-10T17:47:00.000-05:00

I learned something about myself this past week: I really care what people think of me. I like to think that I don't because if I cared what people think of me, that would be pride.

It is really interesting to see what God uses to show us ourselves. I pray from time to time for God to show me myself. I realize there are aspects of myself that I don't see well, or at all. My intent is for God to show me what he wants to work on within me. In the past four to five years, I have grown a great deal in the area of humility; I still have work to do.

I brood over hurt. The things people say that are hurtful are multiplied in my own mind. I take those negative and critical things said to me or about me and make them worse. I wish there was a switch in my head where I could just turn that part of my brain off, but it is part of how I'm wired.

Becoming more like Christ is caring less what people's opinions are of me. Instead of focusing on myself by internalizing that pain, I should focus more on him. If my value is found in him and in him alone, people's opinions of me--whether right or wrong--do not matter. He judges my heart, my motives, and my efforts. There may be others who volunteer for that position, but he isn't interested in giving it to anyone else.

Thank you Lord for revealing this to me; now, come and change my heart.

Politics and the Gospel

2010-11-04T09:55:00.000-04:00

Many years ago, I had a good friend who despised his dad. He despised him because all he seemed to do was point out what my friend did wrong. He didn't take out the trash, he didn't wake up at the right time, he didn't do whatever his dad wanted him to do. Every detail of his life was analyzed and criticized by his father. He never once felt like his dad thought he did anything correctly. His dad had all these rules for him, but never showed my friend any love. They never went on fishing trips, or to baseball games. They didn't go camping, and did not watch tv together. As much as my friend wanted to be loved by his dad, he only felt judgment. So, he despised his father when really he desperately wanted to be loved and accepted by him. He wanted to be affirmed; but instead, he became bitter.

Rules without relationship will always end in rebellion. I have had people I didn't know well, and maybe didn't even like, try to correct me. I didn't listen to them because I didn't know them, let alone like them. But if someone I truly love gives me the same correction, I am much more likely to listen, because they are invested in me and I know they love me. Their motive isn't to tell me I'm wrong, but to make me better.

In the past couple years, I have gone through a major paradigm shift. I believed that Christians should vote for righteousness, because that is what God stands for. God demands righteousness of all people. I was wrong. I drank the kool-aid, and I was wrong. I know this sounds foreign to almost everyone who goes to church. I will try and explain.

The goal and mission of Christ's Church (meaning you and me) is not to make unrighteous people live righteously. Our mission is to share God's truth with them so that the Holy Spirit can begin the work of righteousness within them. If we force righteousness onto people whom God has not begun a work in, and has no relationship with, we are only causing them to rebel against God more. If our goal is to share God's truth and the hope we have in Christ, our political efforts are working against that goal because we are pushing people farther and farther away from the cross and pushing them to their own destruction.

I don't want that blood on my hands.

Politics will never save America. Politicians do not carry the Gospel, and only the Gospel is powerful to save. If you believe a Christian politician is going to have a positive effect for the Gospel, you are deceived. Their effect is neither positive nor negative. Want to know why? Because God is SOVEREIGN. His efforts are so high and above us that his purposes and his intentions cannot be stopped no matter what force comes against him or his people. People who once had God's mission in their heart finds themselves with a million different people wanting a million different things from them.

I want to live my life in a way that every decision I make is weighed in light of God's mission. I do not want any decision I make, or vote I caste, to create a stumbling block for any person to hear and receive the Gospel. The New Testament Church did not try to change the governments they found themselves under--even when those governments were killing Christians mercilessly. Why? Because they were not citizens of this world.

I know this post is going to raise more questions than it answers for most people. I hope that you will email me to continue the discussion.

Let us abide in him

2010-10-05T18:10:00.000-04:00

"Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love." (John 15:9-10, NASB)

I love John chapter 15. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. He tells us to "abide" in him, and if we do, the Father's love will abide in us too. I have heard a lot of sermons and talks on this passage. Many of them have weighed the meaning of "abide." Sometimes scripture is clear on something but we spiritualize, allegorize, or theorize instead. If only everyone would read on to verse 10, they would know exactly what Christ is meaning when he uses the somewhat cryptic word "abide."

Keep my commandments... I love it when scripture interprets itself. Keeping God's commandments aren't negotiable. I think we preach keeping God's commandments the wrong way when we do though. We are saved by faith, and faith alone. We do not keep God's commandments in an effort to be loved by God more, or even to be "good." We keep the totality of God's commands because we love him. That is the reason Jesus gave for keeping his commands in John 14:15. If we love him, we will do it, but not out of a sense of compulsion or obligation, but out of pleasure. This is a paradigm shift for many of us, I know.

John is one of my favorite New Testament writers. My favorite thing he wrote is in 1 John:

"For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome." (1 John 5:3, NASB)

If you love him, you won't treat his commands with contempt. I challenge you to search your heart. Do you have contempt in your heart toward God's commands?

Grace greater than all my sins.

This is not surprising.

2010-09-11T19:15:00.000-04:00

I sat down with my computer just now with twelve different ideas for blog posts, and now none of them seem to fit. I want to write something that has meaning, but I can't find the words.

When we find ourselves speechless, we should listen. We really aren't as intelligent and wise as we imagine ourselves to be.

Are you taking advantage of the opportunities the Spirit gives you to sit and listen, or are you too busy telling everyone--including yourself--what you think?

Most people consider me quiet, but I still think I talk too much. We talk about things that do not matter. "What did you do today?" "I took my dog for a walk. He made a poopie; I picked it up in a plastic baggy." "How nice. Where did you get the baggy?" "I used a Walmart bag." "Recycling, I love it!" "I know. :)" --> pointless garbage. Let's not forget to spur each other on to righteousness. I'm not so extreme to say every conversation we have should have eternal significance, but how much time do we waste each week talking about insignificant trivial drivel, and how many meaningful conversations do we actually have? I wish I had a a study to quote right now, but I can only guess.

Pray that the Holy Spirit will make you aware of the opportunities to talk about meaningful things that we often don't see, or choose to ignore.

My Lord, may it begin with me. Amen.

Starbucks and God's Word

2010-07-21T17:07:00.000-04:00

The thought occurred to me the other day, if we say we love God, but do not know his word, it is much like saying we love Starbucks without ever going into one. People may have told you they love Starbucks, and maybe you have a favorable opinion because of the good things you have heard. Here's the thing, if you haven't actually tasted Starbucks coffee, how do you know you love it.

I love God's word. I struggle though to study it as I should. Don't get me wrong, I do study it. I have written in the front pages of my Bible, "This is where I am feed, and from which I feed others." I LOVE God's word, and I look to listen to preachers who are expositors. I want to preach and listen to sermons where God's words are on display, not the thoughts of the speaker. I want God's words to be the main event. Too many want to be entertained, and too few want to know God's words.

I get the following compliment a lot when I speak, "I enjoy listening to you preach because you put jokes into your sermons." Honestly, I don't intentionally put jokes into my sermons. Those things that people find funny aren't planned, they are just part of my personality and come out while I'm speaking. I don't like getting that compliment too often. I don't want you to approve of me as a speaker because what I said held your attention, or made you laugh. God's word should be a priority regardless.

If God's word is being proclaimed, we all should make every effort to be present in mind. Seems like our culture is one where people listen to sermons passively. If someone zones out, it is the preacher's fault.

It is by God's scripture we primarily know God. That is how God decided to reveal himself to us. The Scripture is rich. Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Reflections on Camp

2010-07-01T15:26:00.001-04:00

I love camp. I have always loved going to camp. This year was no different. It was difficult, for reasons I won't share on here, but I still had a wonderful time. One of the hard parts is getting attached to the kids in your cabin. Who wants to be the creepy guy who tries to hang out with kids who where in his cabin once everyone is home? Not this guy. Ok, maybe a little but I didn't do it.

Something in the lake seriously tried to eat me. I still have a bit of a rash on my leg, and my leg didn't even touch the water. I have been taking Benadryl all week to try and make it go away.

There was one thing about camp that impacted me the most. It was the realization that so many of the kids do not have fathers. And many who have fathers, have bad fathers. I have of course known this is true for some time, but for some reason it hit me hard at camp. My heart was broken. There were a few times I nearly wept. Most of the kids are unaware the extent not having a father affects them. They are aware of the loneliness and many other of the easily noticeable effects, but it goes so much deeper.

I cannot imagine how I would have turned out if I had gown up in the homes of some of those kids instead of my own.

My heart still hurts.

Love Redefined

2010-05-16T15:38:00.000-04:00

I am really glad the Tiger Woods debacle is finally winding down. I grew quickly tired of hearing about his multiple affairs. One day on CNN, the pundits were discussing if it is possible in today's society for a man to not cheat. One person said our society has evolved to the point that we no longer need monogamous relationships. According to her, monogamous relationships were a means for surviving. She made it sound like a good thing, as if it is social progress.

When I see real love--genuine love--I am amazed by it. Love is truly an amazing mystery. My parents have been wonderful examples. Love is endangered. Our society's definition of love is slightly more than sexual attraction. When a relationship gets to the point sexual attraction is dwindling, suddenly the "love" is fading.

Genuine love is endangered. "Love" is being redefined by what has become normative socially. Real love transcends common behavior or belief. God's love existed long before our culture did. The degradation of love is not progress; it is the opposite of progress.

I am truly amazed at God's love. It is a mystery.

1 Jn. 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Not only does it not know us, it does not know love because it did not know God.

Our culture does not even know it has redefined love, nor does know what it has accepted as a poor replacement for what love really is.

The honest and difficult truth is that it is painful to love like God loves. I am working to love like God loves, but it hurts my pride and my sense of what I deserve to love like he loves. People do not live up to my expectations.

But seriously, when have I fully met God's expectations?

This post promises to be cool, and make you cool by reading it.

2010-04-05T13:14:00.000-04:00

I remember a time when my family was going to the mall to have a family portrait taken. It was a pretty big deal considering we had only had one other family portrait made in my lifetime. I remember it so well because I got into a fight with my mom before we left the house. Our fight was over how I was going to fix my hair. Keep in mind that I was twelve or thirteen at the time. In the end, she pulled the "I'm your mother and do as I say card or I'll have your dad beat you until you wish you had it as good as Cinderella--before the fairy godmother" card. I'm glad she did too, because I was a misinformed adolescent and I would have looked like a rabid, cross-eyed, porcupine in our family portrait. The funny thing in all this is an argument made by my mother before the trump card. She said, "I have studied what looks good." I still remember her saying that, and I still remember laughing. I knew that what she thought looked good and what I thought looked good were not even in the same language. I wanted to look cool in my picture.

I know now "cool" doesn't exist. It cannot be measured or mutually agreed upon. It is electrical/chemical impulses in someone's brain. It cannot be defined or explained. The popular preference changes too often. What is cool today is laughed at tomorrow. "Coolness" is all about being approved by others.

"Many people, including some of the Jewish leaders, believed in him. But they wouldn’t admit it to anyone because of their fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue. For they loved human praise more than the praise of God." Jn. 12:42, 43

People's perceptions can be very powerful over us. Our desire to be approved and praised by others can affect our decisions in negative ways. It certainly did for those who were believing in Christ but wouldn't admit it publicly. When we decide to follow Christ, there is no box we can check that says we have the right to remain silent. Our faith should inspire faith in others.

"Your approval or disapproval means nothing to me, because I know you don’t have God’s love within you. For I have come to you representing my Father, and you refuse to welcome me, even though you readily accept others who represent only themselves." Jn. 5:41-43

I really like how the NAS translates that first part. It says, "I do not receive glory from men." Pursuing the approval of men is futile. Nothing is ever truly accomplished by being approved by our peers. It is only temporary; it rarely lasts long. I am really concerned because there is a new type of Christianity that is very concerned with being cool. They aren't only concerned with being considered "cool" by other Christians, but non-Christians as well. Why waste time chasing something temporal and fickle? Our energies are much more valuable than that. Scripture warns us too many times to not be attached to the culture around us. Why would we try to be affirmed by it?

Who are you living your life for? I hope the answer to that is God. God isn't concerned with your music choices, the movies you think are good, or even how you style your hair. God's primary concern is to remake you by making you more like his son. In order to do that, we have to die to ourselves so that we can live for God. The only opinion that matters is God's, and he is not impressed by the latest fad. He has seen too many come and go.

I have been reading another blog called "Stuff Christians Like." It is a great blog, and very funny. He pokes fun at Christian culture. He poked fun at himself for trying to be a "hip Christian." In another post, he talked about litmus test questions to determine if someone was a "cool" Christian. One of the questions was, "hey you want to go grab a beer after church and discuss the sermon?"

There are some who think if you believe the Bible to be inerrant, you are uncool and very ignorant. One man, who is seeming to lead a charge on a new Christianity, called substitutionary atonement "divine child abuse." Universalism is quickly becoming "cool" for Christians to believe. Substitutionary atonement is foundational to the Gospel. Without it, there is no redemption. What is trendy and cool should never affect theology or doctrine.

I tread lightly here because I don't want to fall into the opposite extreme which so many others fall. That other extreme is to reject every thing cultural. Extremes breed extremes. We should not be so culturally disconnected that we don't even know who we are trying to reach. We have to know our audience, and to do that, we need to know what is going on in our culture. On the other side, we should not be so infatuated with our culture that we need to be approved by it, or validated by it. That is wrong too.

Don't fall into the trap of having to be approved by the culture in order to be "relevant." We don't have to try and make the Scripture relevant. It is relevant. We must only understand it to see its relevance. Once we understand it, we can make culturally appropriate bridges. You can't make the culture fit the Bible, you must take the Bible to the culture. Contextualization.

Twitternoia

2010-03-24T13:16:00.000-04:00

My life is chronicled online. I have a Myspace page I never use, a Twitter account, Facebook, and a blog. A person who does not know me at all could know me pretty well with a simple Google search. I'm conflicted. I am conflicted because I wonder if I am overly transparent. I am conflicted because I do not want to be another plastic faced pastor, I want to be genuine. I recently tweeted that I reject the idea that pastors are not supposed to have a personality. There are good reason why pastors are often plastic faced. So much of what they say and do are scrutinized and criticized.

I'm conflicted.

Twitter has become a great source of encouragement and inspiration. There are many Christian leaders who tweet daily. A sentence no longer than 140 characters can be so powerful. The most inspirational so far has been Rick Warren. I have so much respect for him now. It isn't that I didn't respect him before, I just didn't know much about him. I didn't run out and read Purpose Driven Life when that craze was on going.

Passion Communicates

2010-03-14T00:23:00.000-05:00

I love to hear pastors preach with passion. When pastors preach with passion, people want to listen. It is hard not to listen. We want to give our attention to things that matter. Passion is created by such things.

Passion impassions--it inspires. When we preach with passion, it creates passion in those that hear it. At the very least, it makes people admire our passion and wish that they too were passionate. That is a good place to start, and we all have to start somewhere.

Pastors can be good actors. Don't simply act passionately, be passionate. There is a difference.

What are the things that you are passionate about? Are there things that you should be passionate about that you aren't? Self examination is a key component of growth.

Challenging Faith

2010-02-05T12:51:00.001-05:00

I was recently contacted by a friend who reached out to several people to ask some tough questions about faith. My friend has been questioning what he has been taught. I reached out and offered to dialogue and this is my first response to the questions I was given. The questions were concerning the Bible being the "Word of God." I hope you find my responses helpful. Feel free to leave comments or questions. - Josh

Dear Friend,

You bring up a very good question, and I understand you asking that question. This is foundational because if you have no confidence in the Scripture as being from God and His explanation of who He is, then you are left to come to your own conclusions of who you think He is--or if He is at all. You mentioned that you think that I am firm in my beliefs and I would agree with you, but probably not for the reason you think. There was a time when I considered myself knowing a lot about God and the Bible, but I thought I knew a lot more than I actually did. When I went to HBC, I began to see how little I knew. Everything I thought I knew was challenged. I examined all my beliefs, and I genuinely wanted to find the truth even if that led me away from what I thought was true. I came to the conclusion that almost all of what I knew was second hand. It was not from me personally studying the scripture.

To answer your question in short, I do believe that the Bible is the authentic self-revelation of God. And I believe that it is inerrant in its original manuscripts. Unfortunately, we do not have the original manuscripts. Fortunately, we have over 3500 different Greek New Testament manuscripts represented. All of those are not complete manuscripts. Even if we did not have all of those manuscripts, 97% of the New Testament can be reconstructed from quotations of the NT in the writings of the Early Church Fathers. I have studied the science and procedure behind reconciling variations between the manuscripts, and I have studied many variations in the Greek myself. and I am confident that we have an accurate New Testament. (If you want to know more about the variants, I can share some of that with you. I can give you examples of the variations that occur, but I'm not going to bore you with that unless you want to know.)

In writing the Bible, I believe God inspired the writers, but not in a word-for-word kind of way. I believe the inspiration was more conceptual. Individual personalities and educational backgrounds shine through the texts. The books of Matthew; Mark; 1 & 2 Peter; John; Revelation; and 1, 2, & 3 John were not written with the style and precision as the letters of Paul, and the Gospel of Luke-Acts.

The Bible does claim to be the "Word" of God. I understand your hesitation in accepting that blindly. You have probably heard this argument before, but I'll share it in case you haven't. The Gospels were written within 30 years of Jesus' death. Most experts believe there were written records that predate the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. This means that there were plenty of people around who were at the events described who could have disputed the accuracy of these written accounts. We know from Church tradition, and for some, outside sources, that the 12 (including Matthias) were all executed for their faith, except John--and that wasn't for a lack of effort. We know from outside sources of history all they had to do to not be executed was admit that they made it up. The Apostle John was boiled in oil. Peter and several others were crucified. Others were beheaded. My point is, I'm not willing to lose my life over a lie, even a big lie. They stood nothing to gain by preaching this lie. They were not trying to over throw the government, and they were not becoming wealthy. They were persecuted at every turn. They stood nothing to gain from preaching a lie. So, why die for something you know not to be true? Why endure horrible torture for something you know not to be true?

Stories from other cultures often do sound familiar and are similar to stories and ideas found in Judaism. But I do not think there is sufficient evidence to prove that those ideas occurred in the other cultures before Judaism. Critics assume Judaism borrowed from other cultures rather than considering the possibility that other cultures borrowed from Judaism. Have you ever played the childhood game of telephone? You know the game; you have a circle of kids and you whisper a secret from one person to another until it goes all around the circle and then the last person in the circle repeats what he was told. Think of history in similar terms. Assume God created Adam and Eve as found in Genesis. God walked and talked with them every evening. We do not know how much time elapsed from the time God created them and when Adam sinned. I think people assume it was pretty quick, but the Scripture does not say, nor do I believe Scripture intends to give an impression of how much time passed. At any rate, God spent a considerable amount of time with Adam and Eve before the fall. Even after their sin, their relationship with God was greatly changed, but it was not completely ended. There were new parameters put in place. God required animal sacrifices as a type of atonement. So, we know their contact with God did not completely end. Moving on, God revealed Himself to Adam and Eve directly. It was then the responsibility of Adam and Eve to share the revelation of God with their children. Then we come to Cain and Able. One obeyed God and one chose not to obey God. One died and one was caste out. What do you think was the story of God that Cain taught his children? Remember, it is the responsibility of the parent to pass along the revelation of who God is, and a parent's choice in this manner has influence over the course of generations and generations to come. Cain's story of God changed, and thus generations and generations after him were impaired by his choice.

A lot of people find this unfair. I understand why they feel this way, but at the same time we are not in a position to tell God what is fair or isn't fair. God tells us what is fair. Scripture is unapologetic for the universality of the curse of sin. Adam's sin affects everyone. This may seem unfair, but then we remember that we too have sinned and am not in a position to defend ourselves. Sin was not and is not God's problem. It was and is our problem. Unfortunately for us, we are powerless to change our circumstance, but fortunately for us, God is merciful and has provided a way of redemption for those who believe, follow, and love his son.

Nearly every culture has a flood story. Looking back, we can see how culture has affected the story around the world, but there are many common elements between the different stories. You can find versions of the flood story in Hawaii, the Americas, Africa, Australia, Europe, the Pacific Islands, and Asia. There are three basic elements that most of the stories agree on: 1. All human and animal life was destroyed by water, 2. A boat, ark, or some kind of water vessel was used as a way of escape, 3. The human race was saved by those on the water vessel. Individual stories line up in different points to the Biblical version. The similarities from the Hawaiian story are striking. It sates. after the time of the first man, all mankind was wicked except for one righteous man named Nu-u. The story goes on to describe how Nu-u made a canoe with a house on top of it, in which Nu-u stored lots of animals, food and plants. Then the water came and covered the earth destroying everything except his family, and the animals in the house on the canoe. After the water went down, Nu-u went out and looked up at the moon. Nu-u thought the moon was Cain, the great god, and Nu-u worshiped the moon. Cain was very displeased with Nu-u's actions; so, Cain rode a rainbow down to earth to correct Nu-u. Cain did not punish Nu-u because it was a mistake. And when Cain left, he left the rainbow behind as a symbol of his forgiveness. Hawaii is on the other side of the world from where the flood story occurred. It is really striking that there are so many similarities to the Biblical account even though its culture is so far removed from the Biblical writers. There are differences, and those differences are certainly understandable considering the time and distance between the cultures.

Critics will not likely point out this story when talking about cultures that Judaism borrowed from. They would most likely point out the Sumerian flood story, because the two cultures were within close proximity with each other. The two stories are very similar, but no one can definitively prove which version came first.

For our faith to be real-really real-we have to challenge it at some point. I celebrate the fact that you are challenging your faith; I do not look down on you. There are far too many people who have a disingenuous faith. We don't need any more of those. I wish everyone would ask these challenging questions and search out the answers for themselves like you are doing. I am also very glad that you are not walking away from the faith without giving an opportunity for people to respond to the questions you have. Kudos.

Sincerely,

Josh

A New Year and a Fresh Perspective

2010-01-01T15:03:00.000-05:00

A new year brings new opportunities. I want to take advantage of every new and fresh opportunity that God gives me. Recently, I have been feeling stagnant. Everything is familiar. I do the same things, and I think the say ways. I'm ready for something fresh. God does not change, but he is always fresh and new. God does not become old--we do. We get stuck in the circular events of our lives and we do them without thought. Our rituals become instinctive--muscle memory takes over and we do what we are supposed to do.

I want to love God with more fervor than before.

I want to evangelize with more consistency.

I want to be more effective in my places of ministry.

I want to be more intentional about mentoring others.

I want to know God more intimately.

I want prayer to be a discipline that defines my life.

I hear the Lord calling me to his presence. I hear him calling my name. I want to go to that place and not allow the circular events of life to distract me. It doesn't take a change in calendar year to bring an opportunity for more consecration, but I can't help but think about the things that I could have done better over the past twelve months. These are not my new resolutions. I've never done the new years resolution thing. These are my goals. I just want to be more like Jesus.

Easy Buttonn Christianity

2009-10-25T23:30:00.000-04:00

[Note to Staples: If "Easy Button" is a registered trademark, please do not consider me in violation of said trademark. I intentionally misspelled "button" as to not make myself in violation of any marketing trademarks or copyrights. Please consider this free publicity. You have now had free advertising to three people. Thanks.]

I think everyone knows where this little blog post is going.

The American Way is no longer put in lots of hard work and be determined to succeed--pulling oneself up by his or her proverbial bootstraps to get ahead. The American Way is now "let me see how far I can get with doing as little work as possible, maybe even no work at all."

Maybe, just maybe the corrupt and pathetic apathy of the culture surrounding the Church will not enter therein...

Skubala (Paul said it), it's too late. My question to you, Easytakerouterwayerperson, is, who told you it was supposed to be easy? When Christ told the disciples to take up their crosses and follow Him, He was asking them to follow Him even if it meant certain death. That is certainly not easy. They may not have fully understood Him, but it wasn't for a lack of explanation. Christ certainly knew that His life was destined for the cross, as well as many of his followers.

The call of Christ to us today is not any different. That special call was not for a select few "Super Christians" a.k.a. Apostles. The call of God is still to follow Him even if it means certain death. "Certain death" and "Christianity" have never been in the same breath in reference to the American Church. Maybe we suffer from the out of sight out of mind disease.

There is a cost to discipleship. We may not all pay that cost with our blood, but if genuine, we will pay it with our service. Take a full accounting of the cost, and then choose Christ anyway and you will know joy everlasting.

Father,

You have been so patient with Your church. Suffer with us a little longer. Turn our hearts toward You and set us ablaze with passionate devotion that disregards any cost or percieved sacrifice. How could we consider anything we give to you a sacrifice in deep contrast to the gift of Your very life? Give us perspective, and makes us live.

Amen.

Beautiful Holiness

2009-10-09T02:21:00.000-04:00

"For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome." 1 John 5:3

The above statement does not make sense to scores of people who see religion as an imposition of unnecessary rules and regulations. Religion is an inconvenience to the modern man or woman. Of course the law of God is foolishness to those that do not know Him. For for those of us who do, it is new life.

In the 7th chapter of Luke, Jesus went to a Pharisee's house whose name was Simon. While He was there, a woman from town came to the house to see Jesus. The woman's reputation caused the Pharisee to scoff at Jesus under his breath with his friends. Jesus, because He knew what they were thinking, used it as a grand opportunity to challenge the Pharisee's thought with a story. The main point of the story was, "those who have been forgiven much, love much." This is a powerful and subtle point.

The strict lifestyle that was far and away above biblical mandate was not a means of forgiveness for the Pharisee. He was someone who was respected, perhaps revered, but yet did not know the forgiveness of God. The woman certainly did. She was respected by few--maybe none--but she knew God's forgiveness. God responds to true repentance with forgiveness by way of His grace. Those of us who have truly tasted that grace respond to Him with our love.

If I was the one translating the verse above, I would make a subtle change. I would say, "For this is the love for God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome." The genitive case of "God" would allow for that variation, and I think it more accurately captures the thought. The commandments of God are not burdensome because we are motivated by our love to obey Him. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." Obedience is not a means to God's salvation, it is the response to it. Because God has saved us, we obey Him.

It is work, I know. I certainly do not deny that, but it is work that I love. I deeply love God and want to please Him, but it is not a burden--it is a privilege.

The commandments of God are only burdensome to those who have not known His forgiveness. Take a hard look at yourself and "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

God responds to genuine repentance and faith by granting forgiveness. We then respond to God's free gift with sincere love. Sincere love always produces, as a fruit of its sincerity, obedience.

Not only are the commandments of God not burdensome; they are beautiful.

Speak Lord for Your servant heareth.... (Maybe)

2009-09-30T11:35:00.000-04:00

My pastor asked me yesterday (Tuesday) to combine the youth and the adults and teach the adult Bible study tonight (Wednesday). I prayed all afternoon yesterday for some direction from the Lord. Speaking to the youth is a lot different than speaking to the adults. It is hard to tailor a talk to both groups. The adults that come to Bible study on Wednesday nights are in a much different place spiritually and life stage than the youth are. Generally, you design a talk by either spiritual issues, life stage issues, or a combination of the two.

All afternoon and night yesterday and still no direction. The first thing I do this morning is start praying again. I woke up and laid in bed and prayed. Sometime after getting up, a topic popped into my head after a dozen topics which I had already discarded. Yes! This is a great opportunity to talk about the complex issue of homosexuality and the Church. Homosexuality is relevant for adults who need to know more about it, and teens who interact with homosexuals every day in their school.

A couple months ago, I was challenging my students to reject teenage social norms, and not be defined by the social group they fit into, to be "called out" and be counter-cultural. We took a lot of time that night naming and defining the different social groups of their schools. I was a little surprised that "gays & bi's" was its own group. Nine years ago when I was in High School, there were maybe two or three openly gay or bi students. Now there are enough to constitute its own group. This is a very important issue that students need guidance. Unless we teach them God's design, the enemy will teach them his.

I have done a lot of study in this area already, but I was refreshing for the topic when I realized something. In a month that has five Wednesdays, we do not have our children's program Odyssey. The children that still come will come into the adult Bible study with whomever brought them. Homosexuality being provocative already, is a bit too scandalous for five-year-olds.

Ok Father, I'm ready to hear from You.... Again!

Legalism and Holiness

2009-09-23T02:05:00.000-04:00

Legalism and holiness are two areas that the lines can sometimes seem a bit blurred--at least to some. I come from a "Holiness" background, and a trend that I have noticed is a pendulum swing in the opposite direction in many of my peers. What we need is not more "freedom in Christ" but a better understanding of true and sincere holiness.

Legalism is a poison that corrupts and destroys. It corrupts good intentions, and it destroys faith. At its heart, legalism is one of two things. It is either based in one's pride, or more innocently, an attempt to earn something that can never be earned. Pride is the worst of the two--if there is a "worst." I believe pride was the biggest motivation for the Pharisees of Christ's day. I can imagine them praying aloud in the temples and the synagogues. I'm not sure if it was customary to close one's eyes while praying then as it is today, but if it was, a good Pharisee might have looked around to see if people were being impressed. If one is really good at being legalistic, it can be an empowering thing. Not only do you get to feel good about yourself, you also get to feel superior to homeboy or homegirl who are not as good at being "Christian" as you.

The alternative is at least more noble, but wholly misguided. Righteousness is not earned, it is received by faith. But now, we have arrived at a paradox. Righteousness is received by faith, but true faith will always produce righteousness. Our best efforts to be righteous fall short. The fallacy that many of my peers come to is we must accept and embrace that we fall short as the normal Christian experience. I have to be careful here, stay with me. Many of us identify with that because it has been our experience. Too many have found justification for his sin by saying righteousness is received by faith and not by doing.

The difference between legalism and holiness is found mainly in the motivation. Legalism is self-serving; whereas, Holiness is complete surrender. Surrender to what or whom? The Holy Spirit initiates and cultivates holiness within us as we are surrendered to Him.

"Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the deeds of the flesh." (Gal. 5)

Father,

Examine my heart. Go deep inside me to the places that I have hidden from you and from myself. Shine the light of your truth and holiness in those dark places and expose to me the things that I pretend aren't there and then shower me with Your grace.

Amen