Putting Christ Back In Thanksgiving!

Now a days it seems as though the big push for some Christians is to put Christ back in Christmas.  I believe this to be a good and noble cause.  If not I wouldn't have gone to see Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas which is all about that.  Side note: overall it was a good movie.  With that being said I think it is more important for us to worry about putting Christ back in Thanksgiving.  I mean it is already a religious holiday and you are able to Go to a Christmas Eve service at most churches.  It isn't hard to put Christ back in Christmas.  In my opinion the hard part is making sure that we are jerks about how we put Christ back in Christmas.  A large part of that movie.

If you ask people what is the point of Thanksgiving today some may try to tell you about pilgrims surviving a harsh winter.  Most will simply say something simple like food and family.  Instead, I would like to suggest that Thanksgiving should be just as much about Jesus as Christmas morning is about Jesus.

You may be thinking something like, "Okay that's fine and dandy, but how do I do that? We already tell each other something that we are thankful for!"

Well, below are my thoughts on what Thanksgiving with my family/extended family is going to look like this year. (Not necessarily in this order though for family reading this.)

1. Everyone arrives at my sisters house with their food to share and mingles until everyone arrives.
2. We gather together in prayer to thank God for both the blessings this year and for getting us through the hard times we have experienced.
3. After prayer we eat! (I mean you don't want the food to get cold,)
4. While eating let people talk about what they are thankful for and how God has strengthened them through trials. (See previous post.)
5. A little time to enjoy the friends and family God has given us. (During this time I am going to take the kids aside and read the toddlers a simple book about God and thanksgiving.  Later I will read Squanto and The Miracle of Thanksgiving by Eric Metaxas to my niece who is in 3rd grade.)
6. We will gather together to recite a responsive reading and read Psalm 147.  
7. We will then sing a few hymns together praising God for Who He is and all He has done.
8. The last song we will sing will be O Come, O Come, Emmanuel to help usher in the Advent Season.  We will also do an ornament exchange.
9. Lastly, we will relax with one another and slowly leave to go to our own homes.

So those are my thoughts on Thanksgiving and Jesus.  It's not elaborate.  It's not shouting at people. it is about finding a way to praise and honor Christ at home with family.  Now will it be okay if not everything on my list happens?  Of course!  As long as we keep our focus on Jesus we can't go wrong.
 Instead,

I hope and pray that you have a wonderful and Christ Centered Holiday Season!

Thanksgiving Thoughts Part 1

As a parent, the one prayer request that is consistently coming out of my mouth is patience.  If you have to ask why, you don't have a toddler or interact with one on a regular basis.  Then there are the jokes about asking God for patience because He will give you more opportunities to be patient.  While this is true, I am thankful for any situation that is trying.  You may find that weird, but it's Biblical.

During my morning devotionals I have been reading the book of Revelation.  In both 13:10 and 14:12 it calls the believers out in a similar statement:

   “Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.” (Revelation 14:12, ESV)  

The context here is that there is a lot of bad stuff about to happen to people who have faith in Christ.  Some may be taken captive, while others may be executed.  It is in this dire moment that the endurance of the saints (believers) is called for.  But, it begs the question, how do believers build up endurance to face this type of circumstance successfully?  Moreover, will all have enough endurance to make it through this suffering.

We find the answer to that question in the passage below:

   “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2–4, NASB95)  

James clearly tells us to rejoice in the daily struggles that come our way.  This is so counter cultural!  We live in a society that enjoys complaining about everything.  From the way our government is leading to the WiFi not being fast enough at Starbucks.  The former, by the way, is not a trial in my opinion.

So what do I rejoice in?  I rejoice when my arms hurt after lifting weights.  I rejoice when my bodacious bride has to work long nights because of either conferences or other school events.  I rejoice when our car breaks and we have to put hundreds of dollars worth of repairs on our credit card.  I rejoice and praise God daily when my left knee and right ankle are hurting.  I rejoice when I share the good news of Jesus and I am met with indifference or humiliation.  I consider it joy when __________ happens.

How can I rejoice in those circumstances (all of which and more have been in the last month)!?  I am able to rejoice because I know that God is good.  I am able to rejoice in the midst of these hard times because I have read the rest of the book of Revelation: God Wins!  I can rejoice because I have not suffered to the point of death on a cross.  I can rejoice because I have not, nor will I ever be forsaken or abandoned by God.  As a result, my faith is strengthened.  So when bigger things come my way I will have the endurance to withstand the darkest day.

However, if you don't learn how to rejoice in the day to day hard things that go on in life, how can you hope to be able to stand (endure) when your faith is truly blindsided?  The is answer is you can't!  If you fail to take joy in the difficulties of strengthening your faith, than you will fail to stand when great hardship hits you.  I have experienced some hardships this year and have come out stronger.  I praise God for it!  If you want to talk more about this or could use some prayer regarding this please contact me.

Lastly, remember that we can't start to compare 'hard times' that we are experiencing with that of friends and family.  The reason is that we all go through different seasons and because not everyone expresses pain the same way publicly.  Also, we have this great promise from God:

"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." (1 Cor.10:13)  One of these temptations is to leave God behind when oppression strikes.  However, the only way to endure tragedy is to embrace God's help even when you feel like He abandoned you in your hour of need.  Just because He didn't intervene, doesn't mean He left you.

So remember this Thanksgiving to “give thanks in ALL circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, ESV)

This is the song that Christian Hip-Hop artist Tedashii wrote after losing his one year old son Chase.  Listen and learn about endurance better than I could ever write about it.

Getting Back To Basics

I haven't written anything in awhile.  So before I get back into the swing of things I would like to take a moment to get back to the whole point of why I write.  The name of this Blog is "It's All About The Relationship."  The reason for that is it envelops the ideas of the two greatest commandments: Love God and Love Others.  Most of the stuff that I write in this blog I hope fits under that category somehow.

(Disclaimer: I am still and always will be learning the lessons mentioned below...so please don't take it that  I've got it figured out.)

Now while I believe that the Church in America does a decent job at teaching these commandments, I'm not sure how well Evangelical Churches as a whole are doing when it comes to teaching how to live these commandments/how far reaching into our everyday lives they are.  I mean Jesus did say that these two commands sum up the entire Old Testament/TANAK (Jewish name for it)!

We fail to teach how God is using our relationships with other people--whether it be parent, spouse, sibling, enemy, friend, coworker, or neighbor--to shape us into His Son's likeness.  I know so many that want to be a better parent, but don't know how to be one.  They look at the plethora of parenting books in the store, but have no idea which of the many conflicting voices to listen too!

Instead, why don't we stream line it for them.  Get someone to teach them about the greatest parenting methods of all time: Those of our heavenly Father!  Gary Thomas says that, "The Bible doesn't give many direct commandments of how to parent.  Instead, it shows us how our Heavenly Father relates to His difficult children (a paraphrase form Sacred Parenting)."  We can learn a lot about patience, consequences, love, appropriate boundaries/rules, and more if we just remembered that God reveled Himself as Father for a reason,

The same goes for spouses!  Jesus revealed Himself as the Bridegroom and the Church as the bride!  Again, we can learn so much about what these relationships should look like if we would remember simple points like this.  People would see large sections of scripture in a whole new light.

God made us to be relational beings because that is what His essence within the Trinity is!  In the end all any of us has is our relationships with God and others.  If we tried to parent like our Heavenly Father and be a spouse like Christ and even understand what it is to be a Child (Son) from Him, there wouldn't be as many conflicting voices pointing the true way.

So when you are preaching, teaching, or doing your daily devotionals ask this question: What relationships are addressed here and how can I become more Christ like to those in my life?

It will be difficult, strenuous, even painful at times if you decide to embark on this adventure...but you will be able to say that it was worth it!  If you would like someone to walk with on this journey, please let me know and I would love to have walk along side me as I also continue to learn these lessons and/or I can point you in the direction of someone else who can walk with you.

Next Up:  Putting Christ Back In Thanksgiving!


Until next time enjoy "Loving God, Loving Each Other" by The Gaither Vocal Band

The Giver

Today I went and saw the movie The Giver and thoroughly enjoyed it.  So if you don't read any further please let me tell you that you will not be disappointed if you spend the money at the theater to see this movie!  This is the best adaptation of a young adult book that I have seen in a very long time and I now look forward to reading it as my most excellent wife has been telling me to do for quite awhile.

Now I would like to take a moment and explain why I enjoyed this movie.

1. The story is not about overthrowing a corrupt post apocalyptic government like so many others in this genre.  Instead, it is about what sacrifices would we have to make to live in a Utopian society.

2.  It engages you to think about emotions.  Are they good, bad, neither, or both?  What would happen if we got rid of these emotions?  Would we be better or worse?

3.  It engages a the Christian to think about the duty that we have to educate people why some actions are evil.  The reason is because without knowing if something is good or bad how can we expect them to do the right thing.

4.  Cinematicly speaking the story was told very well.  The Cinematography was very good and almost always helped the story to progress while not being a distraction.

5.  The acting was done at a high level.  Nuff said.

6.  Lastly, it made me what to talk about the numerous themes afterward.  I could tell that the source materiel was extremely good.  The story stuck with me and was not forgetable like many YA movies today.

I look forward to reading the book and seeing the similarities and differences.  I hope that you give this movie a chance.  If you have teens in your home take them to see this movie.  This is the type of movie that deserves to be supported at the box office.  If you see it, please let me know what you thought of it.

UPDATE:
Read the book, and not surprising I greatly enjoyed it.  I would definitely recommend reading it.  The ending was a lot more interesting in the book!

I am currently on the second book in the in The Giver Quartet -- Gathering Blue.  What I like is that it doesn't continue with the same story, but actually looks at similar issues from a different point of view.  Once again a very good book.

Be Wary of Familiarity

Familiarity with a person, especially your spouse, can be dangerous.  It's dangerous because we get lazy in our relationship with this person.  We stop listening intently to what the other person is saying because we assume we know what he/she will say.  While we may be right most times there are two big problems with this approach.

The first is that we should be constantly striving for better communication.  If we get lazy there is a good chance that the margin of error will slowly increase.  Not to mention it will cause consternation for the other person.  

The second is that we stop trying to get to know the other person.  This has two negative aspects.  First we miss out on learning new stuff about this person.  The second is that we can become arrogant assuming that we know what the other person wants in any given situation and we stop asking the person what they want.  As a result, when he/she rejects the decision, or even gift, another rift is formed in the relationship with both finding wrong in the other.

However, this is not true only of human relationships, but it is also true when it comes to our relationship with God.  Case in point, I lead a small group of men in Bible study on Thursday nights.  We recently started going through the Gospel of Mark.  We got to 2:1-12 the story of the man paralyzed and lowered through the roof by his friends and healed by Jesus.  It's easy to almost skip the story assuming you know what it is about.  I was tempted to skip my study on this passage and wing it because I have heard this story since I was a child.  I'm sure glad I didn't, because God taught me things that I had never noticed before.

Here are just a few bullet points of what He taught me:

1. The paralyzed man and his friends were looking for physical healing. Jesus was concerned with spiritual healing.  Initially all he does is forgive the man his sins.  He does not heal him.
2. The Pharisees where indignant towards Jesus for doing what they though only God could do.  (Indeed God is the only One who can truly pardon our wrongs.  However, He does call us to forgive one another repeatedly...even the sin of familiarity.) 
3. The reason that he healed the paralytic was so that the people there would know that He had authority to forgive sins.
4. This paralyzed man received a blessing from God beyond forgiveness.  This blessing was to reveal Gods glory to everyone who was watching.  It was primarily for the benefit of the people watching and secondarily for the man who experienced the healing.

However, this is not out of the norm in scripture.  Recently, I have been trying to escape being overly familiar with God and seeking Him out in new ways.  As a result,  I spent the last month and half going through the book of Ezekiel for my devotions.  God flat out states this in the passage below.

Ezekiel 36:23 (ESV)  And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

In the verses that follow God explains how He is going to restore the nation.  However in verse 32 He reminds the people that it is not for their sake that He is restoring them.  Instead, it is because He is concerned with His glory primarily.  His secondary reason is so that the nations will know that He is the one true God.

Ezekiel 36:32   It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.

Both accounts teach us the same thing.

1. The greatest blessing an individual can receive is forgiveness of sins.  
2. If God decides to bless us beyond this than we should ask what is the reason that God has chosen to bless me.  Is it primarily a loving gift from Father to child, or is meant to bring glory and lead people to Him?  If it is the latter than we should ask how we can join Him where He is working.

So if you have become familiar in your relationship with your parent, spouse, or child please take time to sit down and listen to them.  Ask them what they want to do sometime and do it with them.

If you have gotten a little to familiar in your relationship with God I encourage you to listen to Him and seek Him out in a place you haven't in a long time.  That might be extended periods of prayer, on a personal retreat, a new devotional, or a book of the Bible you haven't read in a very long time.

God has blessed me greatly as I have gone through the book of Ezekiel, which I ignored for a long time, I hope that He uses this to bless you also!

R.I.P. Makes No Logical Sense

Whenever a famous person dies, Robin Williams being the most recent, my Facebook newsfeed blows up with statements like R.I.P. ____________.  However, it makes no sense to say Rest In Peace no matter what your worldview happens to be.  Let me break down my reasoning.

First, if you are a Christian like me than you should already know that there are only two options.

1. You believe that the person who died was a believer in Jesus Christ.  As a result, it is assumed that person will enter into paradise/heaven and be not just at peace, but he/she will be rejoicing forever in God's presence.
2. You believe that the person is not a follower of Christ.  As a result, that person will experience everlasting torment because they are forever separated from the grace of God.  This is a sad moment and in this life I do not rejoice over anyone who has failed to turn to God.  But it is truth that this person will in fact Not Rest In Peace.

Second, if you are a Spiritualist / New Age in your personal philosophy then everyone just becomes one with the great spirit in the sky and you loose all sense of your individuality.  As a result, you do Not Rest In Peace.  You no longer exist as an individual anymore.

Third, if you are an Atheist, as it seems Robin Williams was, then you believe you cease to exist.  It's not even like you went to sleep without waking up.  Because sleep means you have the chance to dream.  Everything you were becomes dust and forgotten.

If in fact Robin Williams was an Atheist I believe that he has now become a Theist: For every knee shall bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD.  Sadly, it is to late for him if this is true.  I hope it is not.  But if it is true he is Not Resting In Peace.  Instead, he is experiencing the absence of the grace of God.  If you want a picture of what that looks like rent the movie What Dreams May Come starring Robin Williams.  It has horrible theology and is filled with syncretism.  Worldviews mashed up together as many in America do daily, not knowing how they contradict one another.

In the movie Williams character is traveling through hell to try and find his wife who went there because she committed suicide (Not an unpardonable sin as this movie states).  He is trying to retrieve her.  However, she is lost in a world of grey and black depression.  Everything is hopeless.  Hope is not even a word in her vocabulary.  She is lost in misery and regret.  That is an accurate depiction of what hell could be like.

So I want to encourage you to take this time to think about life and death.  It will certainly come for you whether you like it or not.  Think through it logically.  If I am wrong then I am surprised that we don't see suicide as a common thing because of all the emotional and physical suffering that happens in this world.  If instead I am right about Jesus and life after death, then I encourage you to start asking questions about God.  It can't hurt you.  Because in the end you, me, and even famous entertainers such as Robin Williams will be forgotten eventually (and sooner then you may think).

I dare you to ask me about the hope that I have in me and why I believe that I will do more than just Rest In Peace when I leave this world behind.

Updated:
I hope that I am wrong and that at one point in his life he did cry out to God for salvation but slid away from Him because Satan got a hold of him through depression. However, we live in a world where everyone wants to believe that everyone is going to have a happy afterlife Christians included. My point is that not everyone will. We sing songs about our faith and how 'when we all get to heaven what a day of rejoicing that will be.' Well for some it will be a day of mourning. That is why it does grieve me whenever I hear that someone has died without Christ. That goes for both Williams and the latest inmate to die on death row. For we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and we all need the Christ as our Savior. So my hope in pointing this out with a real person is that this will become more real to people. My prayers are with his family and friends. May they reach out to Christ and I hope that the Church will reach out in love to them as His arms and feet! Lastly, I am sorry if I came across with no heart for the man and his loved ones.

Let's Do Lunch...

I'm a good American because I love food.  As a Evangelical Christian I also enjoy a good old fashioned Potluck!  Food is all around us.  We can get it fast or slow.  We have easy access to snack food which is the food that we eat between our meals.

All this to say we live in a time and place that purposefully going without food for a day is seen as both absurd and very difficult.  So it comes as little surprise when I ask Christians if they have ever fasted and the vast majority answers no.  You read that right.  I don't ask if they have fasted recently, but if they have ever fasted.  The sadness that is located here is that we know Jesus fasted and that he expected His followers to fast also.

   “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.” (Matthew 6:16, ESV)  

Instead, much of the evangelical church has ignored this spiritual practice.  So the obvious question is 'Why!?'  Why have we not fasted?  The simple reason is that fasting isn't easy.  In America we are all about easy and dulling pain any way we can.  The most popular way we dull pain is with food.  So giving up food is giving up our pain killer.  We have a thing called 'comfort food' for a reason.  It is what we use to comfort us.  Instead, we should be turning to Jesus and His bride, the Church, for comfort when we experience pain.

   “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4, ESV)  

So before you begin trying to fast, ask yourself if you need to first learn how to take your pain to God and your brothers and sisters in Christ.  If the answer is yes talk to God and others about this issue.  Stop reading this post for the time being and work on this.  Remember to take things one step at a time.

Next, there are two primary reasons that you would fast.  The first is that the current situation you are in calls for it.  This could be something as big as making a big decision where you need God's wisdom to be able to go forward in any direction.  It could also be because you are hurting so much that you can't see outside of the painful circumstances that surround you and you need to gain God's perspective on the matter.

The second reason is that God is calling you to a season of fasting to build your relationship with Him.  That's it.  How does this increase our relationship with Him?  It's because the whole point of fasting is giving up a physical daily need and replacing it with a spiritual need.

Take the time and energy that you devote to thinking about, preparing, consuming, and cleaning up after your food...and devote it to God.  Use the time to read His Word, to pray, and to serve others.  The easiest way to serve others is thinking about how much money you would spend on food on a given day and donate it to feeding the homeless.  This could be giving a lunch sack to someone on a street corner or donating to the Phoenix Rescue Mission.

Lastly, consider this: If we don't have the ability to discipline our bodies to avoid eating food for a few hours, how can we expect to discipline our hearts and minds to be conformed to the likeness of Christ?  If we are to die to self and live for Christ we must remember that dying is a painful endeavor, but it produces eternal rewards.

   “And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”” (Matthew 4:2–4, ESV)  

Weighted Spirituality

Something that I have been convicted about for some time is the issue of my weight.  I recently had my annual physical at the V.A. so that I could get a consult to see a doctor regarding my left knee which has been giving me problems since last summer.  Before I saw my doctor I had to have the dreaded weigh in.  I weighed in at 245 pounds.

Now I know what many are thinking.  Stuff like, hey you're 6'1", that's not bad...or, wow you can't tell.  Well the problem is that I can tell.  I look down and I'm not happy with what I see.  The Holy Spirit puts it to m that I am not living the disciplined life that I have been called to live.  For, we are not spirit only, nor are we just bodies.  God created us with both working together.  But nobody has said anything to me about my weight!

I recently began reading a book by favorite spiritual formation author, Gary Thomas, titled Every Body Matters: Strengthening Your Body to Strengthen Your Soul.  He makes this very true statement in chapter 2.

"The curse of today is that so many Christians equate bodily sins with sexual sins.  The only possible bodily sin, in their minds, is related to lust.  If they're not sinning sexually, they believe these verses don't apply to them.  The contemporary age of the church is the only generation that has believed this."

He later goes on to say that we have completely disregarded the sins of gluttony and sloth in the teaching time at church's today.  We often speak about gossip, sexual purity, lying, anger, and other issues.  However, the two aforementioned sins are left untouched.  I believe the reason for this is that it hits home a little to hard.  Especially for pastors.  (Note: Not all overweight pastors suffer from these two sins there are other problems that cause weight gain.)

   “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1:22–25, ESV)  

I am tired of being someone that knows with my mind what to do but doesn't practice it when it comes to my body.  For how well can I truly discipline my spirit if I am unwilling to discipline my body and make  the sacrifices that are needed, especially when they are really not sacrifices.  I need to die to self and live for Christ.  So that, when I am older, if the Lord grants me the days, I will be better able to continue to serve Him.

I know that this is going to be difficult for me.  Much is going to weigh on my eating habits (pun intended).  The reason why is that I have mild asthma, chronic right ankle pain, and issues with my left knee that need to be resolved (hopefully in the near future).  So I am going to need to do a lot of praying surrounding this issue and constantly rely on the Holy Spirit to help me to discipline my body so that I may grow closer to Christ and be more useful to Him.

So for the next year the passage below is going to be my theme verse along with the song by Tedashii.  Give a listen.  Let me know what you think and I appreciate your prayers I begin to cut out fast food, soda, and other foods in my diet that are not good for my body that doesn't get nearly as much exercise as it needs.      

   “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:24–27, ESV)  

You Listen To Hip-Hop/Rap Music!?!

Last week I went to Lamp Mode's "Hold Em High" Concert.  Lamp Mode is a Christian hip-hop/rap record label.  When I told people that I went to a hip-hop/rap concert I get mixed reactions.  The majority are surprised (mainly because I like country and bluegrass so much).  A few even still look down on the genre because they are either unaware of Christian artists or they don't believe it is Godly to listen to this style of music no matter what.

Well I would like to take a moment to let you know why I not only listen to hip-hop/rap, but why I am a big fan of it now.

1.  When I listen to artists such as Shai Linne, JSon, Tedashii, or many others it's akin to getting a sermon.  In fact, I've listened to sermons that don't have nearly as much depth and theological weight as some of their songs.

2.  Many people that I know teen's through 30's really like rap as a genre.  So for me to do a better job reaching out to them as a pastor I must enter into their world.  It is ludicrous for me to expect them to take up my personal music taste.  As long as what they are listening to is God honoring, or if I can point them in that direction with their genre, why would I fight against it.  Music is the language of the soul.  So by learning to listen to their music, I am learning how to communicate with their hearts not just their heads.

3.  After having listened to a good amount of Christian Rap artists it has now become one of my favorite genres of music.  I listen to a Tedashii album like I listen to a Disciple album.  I listen to Shai Linne's 'Doxology' like I listen/sing along with a Matt Redman album.  It has become a source of edification and a source for worship.

So if you have never listened to hip-hop/rap before because you only think of trash that passes for rap music in secular society, I encourage you to check out some of these Christian artists.  I would love to point you in the direction of some very Godly men with up lifting and challenging lyrics.

Likewise, if you have a friend and/or family member that listens to secular rap get them a Christian rap album as a present.  I would suggest something by either Andy Mineo or Lecrae to get them started.  These lyrics will start to affect their soul in ways only God knows.  Moreover, I think these guys are just as talented if not more talented than most secular artists.

Now y'all holler at me if you got any questions!  :-)

Appreciating Patience

We say God is patient, but all too often I don't think we really appreciate that thought.  I would like to help with that understanding that concept.  Now I could say look at all the prophets and how many told the people to repent and turn to God and still they didn't listen.  However, I think that approach is part of what makes it difficult to understand how patient God is just as much as just looking at a single verse stating,

 “But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” (Psalm 86:15, ESV)

Instead, I want to look at one man's life.  That man is Jeremiah, nicknamed the weeping prophet.  Why was he called the weeping prophet?  The answer is simple.  His ministry started when he was a young man and it spanned a couple kings.  He was called by God to preach to the people repentance.  The problem is that they would never listen to the words God gave him.  Lastly, he would see many of his countrymen die and the best hauled off in shame to captivity.  Pretty hard cup to swallow, but drink it he did.

He started his ministry off with this declaration:

   “Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (Jeremiah 2:12–13, ESV)

He lets them know that there are two primary sins that they are guilty of.  The first is that they left the One True God.  He who is the author and sustainer of life.  Jesus picks up this imagery of living water when he talks to the woman at the well (John 4).

The first sin alone would be enough.  The second is both sad and a slap in the face.  They gave God up for something that is worthless.  Not just worthless but detrimental.  Think about the image of a broken cistern for a moment.  It can't give you fresh water nor can it hold the water in it.  So because it is stagnant it carries disease to all who come to it.  So instead of life, they receive death.

Now several decades pass.  Jeremiah is no longer the youth that he was.  He has continued to spread the message of repentance that God gave to him.  As a result, he has been beaten, imprisoned, and had his life threatened at different times.  During the final siege of Jerusalem he is thrown into a broken cistern and partially sinks into the filth.  Then the king has him removed from the cistern because he needs some advice.  However, Jeremiah tells the king that he doesn't want to say anything because he won't listen and will just want to kill him.  So, after the king promises not to kill him Jeremiah gives the same answer.  He tells him if he asks God for forgiveness, walks out the gates, and surrenders he will be taken into captivity, but will have his life as a reward.  

The King refuses. (Jeremiah 38)

Jeremiah is an old man and God's patience for his people has come to an end.

The cities defenses fail and the city is taken.  King Zedekiah tries to escape, but he is overtaken by his enemy.  His sons are killed in front of him and he is blinded with the death of his sons being the last thing he ever saw.  He is led away naked with the best of his people, that weren't killed, into exile for 70 years.  The most tragic timeout in history.

God was patient with his children for a long time.  He kept calling them to repentance.  He allowed natural consequences to happen because of their disobedience.  But still they would not turn back to him.  We call Jeremiah the weeping prophet...but how do you think God felt as he watched his children being led away into exile because they wouldn't turn to Him?

God is extraordiarily patient with us.  However, that patience eventually runs out.

The Good News:

1. God disciplines us because He loves us!
2. Discipline in this life is not meant to be permanent, but to bring us to repentance.
3. God always gives hope of restoration in times of discipline if we seek Him.

So, if you have had people in your life calling you to repentance listen to what they have to say.  Don't harden your heart against God for something as meaningless as wealth or your pride.  Turn to God before it is to late.  Don't test God's patience!

If you have children...don't be surprised when they disobey you.  However, if they are willfully defiant don't be too proud to ask for help to reach them.  God used Jeremiah and other prophets.  Use the people God has put in your life to help you.  Do everything you can to bring your kid(s) back to God, including changing yourself, because you don't know when God's patience will run out.

Check out my favorite parenting book!  It teaches us how to change our kids by changing ourselves first.

http://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Parenting-Raising-Children-Shapes/dp/B004HBBSQI

Spiritual Mothers

We are quickly approaching another Mother's Day!  Just two years ago this day took on special meaning because my beautiful Sophia was born the day before Mothers day that year.  As a result, it would be very easy for me to write about how amazing and sacrificial my wife has been for our family, what my mom did for me and my sisters, and what countless other mothers do daily to raise their children.  Instead, I want to go in a slightly different direction.

Take a look with me at the following passage:

   “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.” 

(Titus 2:3–5, ESV)  

So why would I pick this passage to discuss Mother's Day?  The reason is that while it is difficult for a woman to go through 9 months(ish) of pregnancy and go through the ordeal of labor pains to deliver a baby this is not the most difficult part of motherhood.  Instead, it is only the beginning of the pain and sacrifice a mother with go through.  Moreover, you do not have to have participated in this beginning stage to motherhood to be a spiritual mother.

Some women are unable to have a child.  We live in a fallen world and that includes not just our spirit but the body that it indwells.  But I want to encourage you women of faith that are unable to have a child that you can still be a spiritual mother.  That is what Paul is telling us.

In the passage above he begins by stating what a mature Christian woman should look like.  This includes reverence, not attacking other peoples character, and not leaning on alcohol instead of the Holy Spirit.  I see too many women referring to wine as the thing that gets them to the end of the day of Facebook.  It saddens me.

The reason it saddens me is because these women have not had mature women in Christ teach and demonstrate to them what it looks like to be Godly.  I have been blessed to know many mature women in Christ.  The problem is that the church in this country has done a poor job on helping people get into one on one discipleship relationships.

If you are young in your faith and/or life and want to know what it means to be a woman of God and would appreciate help to get there I encourage you to get in touch with your church's women's ministry, pastor, someone you look up to, or ask me for a name of a mature woman to help you start growing closer to Christ and your family.

If you are a woman who has been blessed to have other Godly women raise you up and be your spiritual mothers I would encourage you to start praying about who you could adopt as your spiritual daughter.  Realize I didn't say think about whether or not you want to do it.  Instead, I told you to do it because that is what God desires you to do according to this passage.

My hope and prayer is that my own daughter will have several women that she calls her spiritual mothers, like my friend Ilene pictured above reading to her.  The reason is the more Godly women she has in her life the more likely she is to turn to God in her daily life.

Remember, you don't have to be perfect.  No mother is perfect.  All you have to be willing to do is to be open and honest with your spiritual daughter, be willing to make sacrifices for her, and know that from time to time she might hurt you as she grows in Christ.

But in the end, you will be so glad that you made the sacrifice to be a spiritual mother!

Prayer...A Lot Like Dancing

Lately, one of my favorite things has been whenever Sophia asks me to turn on Dij.  This means that she wants to me to play Captured by The Digital Age.  Once the song begins to play she says hand, hand, hand.  So I grab her hand and we begin to dance.  Right now that means a lot of bouncing up and down, throwing one leg up, standing on my feet, and me holding her while I dance with her in my arms.  I'm doing most of the work right now.  But slowly she will start to like other music to dance to and her skills will increase beyond recognition.  

Prayer is a lot like this.  Let me explain.  Replace Sophia with you and put God where I was.  When you are a child in your faith you are unencumbered by much of the formality that we sometimes attach to prayer.  We pastors teach different forms of prayer like ACTS, Lectio Divina, The Lord's Prayer, etc....  Now those are all helpful, but sometimes we sacrifice to much.  Instead, what we sometimes need to do is let our heavenly Father know the tune that we would like to dance with Him and let Him lead us.

What does he mean the tune?  Well think about it.  We often decide to listen to music that either matches the emotions that we are currently feeling or that we want to start feeling.  When I am worn out I'll play Worn by Tenth Avenue North.  When I'm angry I turn on Johnny Cash's song Mobil Bay.  Don't ask why it works for me, it just does.  Or I might put on Anger Management by Lecrae.   When I just wanna praise God I'll turn on I Saw The Light by Crowder.  That song makes me want to dance every single time!  

The point is that God let's me call the tune and the Holy Spirit leads me as I pray and try to sort through the emotions that I am dealing with.  It isn't always pretty.  Sometimes I stand on God's feet and let Him do all the dancing/talking while I just cling to Him like my precious Sophia.

As the years have passed I have learned more intricate dance moves.  One of which is Lectio Divina, which I will explain/demonstrate next time.  But just because someone else you know is a better skilled dancer doesn't mean that God doesn't enjoy dancing with you just as much.  I dare you to ask any father to answer the following question:  Which would you say you enjoyed more...Dancing with your daughter when she 2 or when she was 22 the night she got married?  I believe the answer to that would be something like this.

It's hard to compare.  I love her the same and our relationship has evolved over the years.  But no matter how old she is or how well she dances, I will always delight in dancing with my darling daughter.

So my hope and prayer is that if you have been avoiding God in prayer because you are afraid you will mess up, it will look/sound funny, be embarrassing, and/or step on God's toes...let me encourage you to stop fretting.  No one but your heavenly Father will see it when you mess up.  All He cares about is that you want to spend time with Him on the dance floor.

So pick a tune of joy/silliness, sorrow, contemplation, or a mix playlist and step out onto the dance floor of prayer with your heavenly Father.  You won't regret it. 

 

What Are We Waiting For?

There are a few things that I’m pretty sure everyone does.  One that everyone does on a regular basis (besides sleeping) is waiting.  Here are just a few things that we wait for.

1.      Child to be Born (talk to 9 month pregnant woman)

2.      In line at places like the Bank or MVD (Anger Management may be needed)

3.      Christmas / Birthday (watch kids)

Waiting is in the Bible a lot also.  Look at how long Abraham and Sarah waited to have a child! Think about how much God repeatedly waits for His people to return to Him!  He calls out to them again and again and waits for them to respond.  God is slow to anger (Psalm 86:15).  He is willing to wait on us even when we are hard headed (Makes you think about how you wait at the MVD).   Or, what about the 400 years of hard times and silence Israel endured waiting for the gift of Messiah!

And speaking of Messiah…what about the day in between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday?  This day that is labeled “Holy Saturday” on calendars.  The disciples were unsure of the resurrection.  While the possibility was most likely in their heads, they weren’t expecting it.  So Saturday I assume they were in the upper room waiting and feeling confused.  They were probably praying and meditating on what Jesus said to them the night He was betrayed.  They hadn’t dispersed yet. 

You see God uses waiting to grow us into mature believers.  Think about how much time you spend waiting for something or someone.  Now take a moment and think about how much of that time you waste. 

When Jenny and I were waiting for Sophia to be born we were constantly praying for her.  We were asking God to prepare us to be parents as much as possible.  I was getting her room ready putting all her furniture together.  We began to read books about parenting babies.  I read and meditated on scripture that speaks to being a good father (including what makes our heavenly Father good).

When I am in a line I take the time to pray (1 Thessalonians 5:17) or read a book that’s point fits into this list:

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” (Philippians 4:8, NASB95)

When I am waiting for a holiday such a Christmas or Easter I seek God with a more focused energy than usual.  On Holy Saturday I pray for people in my life and in general who are unsure about the resurrection of Jesus.

We do a lot of waiting in this life.  Let’s use the time well and remember that good things come to those who wait…

Jesus Never Stops Caring!

I have an undergrad in Bible and a Master of Divinity and I have read The Gospel According to Luke several times.  I say that only because as I was reading the book Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas he quoted a passage in Luke that takes place during the Passion narrative and I didn't remember this passage AT ALL!  As I examined the passage in my Bible God spoke to me reminding me that I don't know it all, that it is a life long and everlasting (heaven) pursuit of getting to know Him...and that JESUS NEVER STOPS CARING FOR US!

The passage is Luke 23:26-32.

   “And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.” (Luke 23:26–32, ESV)  

This section begins and ends with Jesus being "led away" to be crucified.  It continues with Romans conscripting Simon to carry the cross for Jesus because He no longer has the physical strength to carry it.  This is a beautiful look at how we are called to carry one another's burdens and to mourn when our brothers and sisters in Christ mourn.  After this moment the other three gospels are silent regarding what happens next.

Luke tells us that there were a bunch of people following Jesus, mourning and lamenting His imminent death.  This is where something strange happens.  Jesus stops, turns towards them, and tells them to stop weeping for Him.  Instead, they are to weep for themselves and their children.  He explains the reason for this is that the day is approaching when judgement will fall on the nation of Israel.  (This is why He refers to them as Daughters of Jerusalem.)  In that day the judgement will be so fierce that the women who were once called accursed for their barrenness will be called blessed.  The reason is that they will only have to fear for themselves and not for their babies.  Jesus then quotes a section of Hosea regarding how people will welcome death in exchange of having to stand before God's wrath.  (While I believe that this is a further prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by Titus in 70 A.D., this truth can also be applied to those who do not know Christ today.  For when He comes again and all eye's have the Truth appear.  They will fear the coming destruction.)

Verse 31 can be a bit confusing.  Jesus is the green wood and the people are dry.  He is communicating in word pictures here.  Think about it...Jesus is the only righteous one to ever walk on this earth.  Now at the hands of the Romans through the blessing of the leadership of Israel He is being handed over for death.  But how easily does green wood burn?  It is extremely difficult to burn fresh wood.  On the contrary a nation that is filled with a works based righteousness and is far from God will be consumed easily.  

Now comes the beauty of this passage.  Jesus in excruciating pain and at His physical limitations is still concerned for the people around Him.  He lets them know that there is no need to weep for Him because He is in charge.  He is going to the cross willingly for their benefit.  And now for their benefit He preaches repentance to the nation once more.  

What I see in this passage is that JESUS NEVER STOPS CARING ABOUT US.  That while we still have breath on this earth it is never to late to repent and turn to Him.  So to mom's and dad's when you are at your physical limits you will be amazed at what your spiritual limit is.  Because no matter how good or bad my daughter behaves I will always do everything in my power to help her.  And we have the Good Father  That is the type of caring that Jesus continually has for us.

So when life isn't fair and you are physically and emotionally spent...rejoice in the trials and let family, friends, and co-workers know why you can rejoice.  Let them know about the hope that is in you.  The reason is, it may be the only way someone finds out that JESUS NEVER STOPS CARING ABOUT US.

Good Friday...Not Just About Jesus

Holy Week contains many significant days within it.  One of those days is Good Friday.  It’s called “Good Friday” because of the amazing act that Jesus did on the cross on our behalf.  So we focus on the work of the cross and the pain and sacrifice that Jesus endured.  This is a good thing to do.  As a result, we often forget about the pain that our Triune God experienced. 

We get so focused on Jesus that we forget that God exists as three persons in perfect unity within the Trinity.  So how was the Trinity affected by this momentous occasion?  For a brief moment in time Jesus became the embodiment of our sin.  In that brief moment the perfect fellowship found in the Trinity was disrupted.  Matthew describes the event in this way:

“Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. But the rest of them said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” Many women were there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while ministering to Him. Among them was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.” (Matthew 27:45–56, NASB95)

As a result, the Father grieved over His Son, The Spirit was unable to be Comforter (Acts 9:31, 2 Cor. 1:3), and Jesus felt forsaken and completely alone.  All that agony and pain was experienced by God.  He knows what it feels like to be helpless, rejected, and completely isolated.

So fathers and mothers out there God knows what it feels like to be completely helpless while watching His child suffer to the point of death.  So when you see your child going through a difficult time that you can do nothing about take your cares to God the Father for He can sympathize with your pain.

Friends and Siblings when you are far from a friend in need and you can’t hold them in your arms and share their pain know that the Holy Spirit is able to be there in your absence.   Pray that the Holy Spirit would come and give them peace and comfort.

To those who are suffering and feel as though you are all alone, know that you have a Savior who can sympathize with what you are going through.  That Jesus surrendered His life when He was at His lowest and loneliest point in His life.  Go to Him and cry with Him for He truly understands your pain and what you are going through.

We have a God who is not far off but desires to be in community with us.  He desires to be with us through our pain.  And though Christ felt forsaken while He bore our sins, the Father promised that as long as we are in Christ that He will never leave us or forsake us. 

Remember this Good News on Good Friday!

**Inspiration for this post came from the book 

Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas: Chapter 2, page 31.**

Sophia...God's Teacher Sent For Me

On Sunday morning I got up at 5 am so that I could go to the church and have quiet time with God and prepare for the day.  In the meantime Jenny was amazing because she took the time to give Sophia a bath because we had let time slip away the night before.  That day went quite well and we were able to start Holy Week off quite well.

That evening we went over to my in-laws home and had dinner with them.  Afterwards, Jenny and her mom took Sophia to the nearby park to play while her dad and I talked about books that we had been reading lately.  Eventually they came back and like we left to go home at about 8 so that we could get Sophia down by 8:30. 

When we got back Jenny washed Sophia’s hands from playing in the park and I got her into her pajamas.  As Jenny began nursing her before putting her down for the night she remembered that she had forgotten that Sophia hadn't been wearing socks at the park.  As a result, her feet were pretty dirty.  So I got a wipe and began to clean my little girl’s feet.  

While doing this the Holy Spirit brought to mind how on the night of Jesus’ betrayal He washed His disciple’s feet.

                                                

 “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”” (John 13:3–11, ESV)

  

The reason why I told you the story with this passage is that Sophia is my child there is nothing that will ever change that fact (even stinky feet).  Similarly when Jesus told Peter that he was already clean, He was making a similar statement.  Once we have accepted Jesus as our Lord & Savior we have been cleansed by His blood and will never need to be completely cleansed again. 

However, that does not mean that our sin nature has been completely eradicated.  We are still prone to get a little dirty because we live in a fallen world.  So as we walk through this world we are bound to get a little sand on our feet.  So we need to approach Jesus and both ask and allow Him to clean the dust of this world off our feet.  This is the process of sanctification.  The process of slowly but surely looking more and more like Jesus as we grow our relationship with Him.

So, when you sin take it to Jesus for He is faithful to wipe you clean.  And when someone does wrong to you don’t be afraid to go up to them in love and offer forgiveness and cleansing to them.  Because Jesus does this for us we need to be willing to do this for others in our life.

Lastly, if you have children in your life and you hear God speak to you, don’t forget to share it with them.  These are excellent teaching moments that God gives you as a parent.  Even if you don’t do it in the moment don’t be afraid to come back to it and explain to them what God said to you.  If you don’t share God with them…who will?

Here We Go Again

As I was having a conversation with someone the other day I mentioned how Palm Sunday was approaching and her response was that it came quick this year.  I don't believe she meant that it was early this year.  Last year it came about as early as it can come on the calendar.  What I believe she meant is that she was looking forward to this day happening so it kind of caught her off guard.

How often does this happen to most Evangelical (protestant, non roman catholic) believers.  In my opinion it happens way to often.  The reason is that we spend an entire month preparing for the celebration of the birth of Christ.  However, when it comes to the death, burial, and Resurrection of Christ we only spend a week.  Sometimes less if we ignore Palm Sunday.  

So tell me...which is more important to our faith: His birth or His death & resurrection?  While the former is important to get the latter I believe that we should spend more time preparing to celebrate His death & resurrection than we do His birth.  It is the cornerstone of our faith!  It is the reason that we have hope!

So my encouragement is that this year you take at least this full week to prepare your heart to celebrate what Christ has done.  This means a lot of reading!  Read the different accounts of trial, execution, and resurrection this week.  You can even watch two of them.  Both Matthew and John are on DVD.  

The second this is praying.  Talk to God.  Let the Father know how thankful you are for sending down His Son to take your rightful place on that cross.  Ask Him for forgiveness of your sins and ask the Holy Spirit to point out an area of sin and weakness that He will help you start to overcome.

Third, take time to fast this week.  Even if it is just a single meal.  Take that time and the time until the next meal to really seek God.  Deny self for a short while to seek God and His Kingdom first.  Ask Him to show you where He is at work around you.  Then ask Him how you can join Him in His work.  

Lastly, look for opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus.  Be intentional this week.  If the hope in you is real than let your light shine before all that are around you.  Announce the goodness of God!

Don't let this Easter slip away like others by attending Church hearing a similar sermon and going home with family to eat ham and hard boiled eggs.  Instead, use this week to build your relationship with Christ our LORD and Savior. Make this a week of contemplation and celebration capped off with a big party at your church with your brothers and sisters on April 20th. 

God be with you!