Today's Reading:
Mark 1-3
Numbers 1-2
Okay, so I have gotten a little behind on my posting. Not my reading. I am still very much keeping up with my reading. I encourage you to read Mark 1-3 (it won't take long) and Numbers can be a little hard to get through but stick with it :-) Today I want to share a devotional I read on Saturday by Oswald Chambers. It is very good and something to think about. Have a great day.
Verse "For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves."- Romans 14:7
"Has it ever dawned on you that you are responsible for other souls spiritually before God For instance, if I allow any private deflection from God in my life, everyone about me suffers. We "sit together in heavenly places." "Whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it." When once you allow physical selfishness, mental slovenliness, moral obtuseness, spiritual density, everyone belonging to your crowd will suffer. "But," you say, "who is sufficient for these things if you erect a standard like that " "Our sufficiency is of God," and of Him alone. "Ye shall be My witnesses." How many of us are willing to spend every ounce of nervous energy, of mental, moral and spiritual energy we have for Jesus Christ That is the meaning of a witness in God's sense of the word. It takes time, be patient with yourself. God has left us on the earth - what for To be saved and sanctified No, to be at it for Him. Am I willing to be broken bread and poured out wine for Him To be spoilt for this age, for this life, to be spoilt from every standpoint but one - saving as I can disciple men and women to the Lord Jesus Christ. My life as a worker is the way I say "thank you" to God for His unspeakable salvation. Remember it is quite possible for any one of us to be flung out as reprobate silver - ". . . lest that by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."
Tomorrow's Reading:
Mark 3 (Re-read it)
Numbers 3-4
Monday, February 21, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
It all becomes so clear...
Today's Reading:
Matthew 27
Somewhere in Leviticus :-)
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Though he (Jesus) was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Philippians 2:3-8
I learned something long ago, and the longer I study the Bible it proves itself true. The BIble explains the Bible. Yeah, I know it may sound confusing. What I mean is that one verse found in the Bible, in order to understand it fully, you have to know another verse...and that other verse is explained by yet another verse somewhere else in scripture. The Bible is not a random collection of do's and do nots. It is not a self help book filled with a random collection of advice. It is God's grand story. A tapestry so beautifully interwoven that if you take but one thread from the story...it unravels. It would be missing something so important as if one ripped the page out of a novel or cut 10 very important minutes from a movie. It is God's grand painting. The more verses I learn and take to heart the greater my ability to understand fully the truth God wants to reveal in His word.
Tonight I read Matthew 27...the story of the crucifixion of Jesus.It has the ability to read very dry...it's extremely historical in nature. No embellishment...no drama...no fancy words meant to illicit emotion. It is merely a history...and not overly exciting I must say.
But then I remember the words of Philippians 2:3-8 and Matthew 27 takes on a whole new significance. (Yes, you should read Matthew 27 :-)
Jesus was God...and suddenly I think of the scene in the Old Testament where Moses wishes to see God's Glory and God informs Moses quite simply "You can't handle it Moses." I am reminded of how great and beyond us God truly is...and yet here is Jesus in Matthew 27, being that very same God, born as a man and humbling himself to the death on a cross (the most brutal form of death ever concocted) described in Matthew 27...
...and all for me, and you, and anyone else that has ever lived. When I take the identity that the Bible gives me of Jesus in Philippians (and dozens of other verses) Matthew 27 takes on it's full meaning and it is at that time that I find myself reading such a dry, historical recount of a man's death and find tears of joy streaming down my face...because I "Know" who it is that is being beaten, tormented, flog, abused and crucified...
....and I know why He is doing it...all to show me love the world has never seen before or since to bring me back to Himself...it is God in human form...Jesus, the Christ.
Do not make the mistake of reading the Bible as if it is simply a collection of ancient proverbs because if you do you will simply miss the point.
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his gone and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
So often quoted, and perhaps so often glossed over with a "yeah, yeah, I know that." that we fail to appreciate the magnitude of what happens in Matthew 27.
Let us not become so fixated upon one part of the painting that we miss the painting itself in all it's beauty.
Thank you Jesus for what you did in chapter 27 of Matthew...because it means everything :-)
Matthew 27
Somewhere in Leviticus :-)
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Though he (Jesus) was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Philippians 2:3-8
I learned something long ago, and the longer I study the Bible it proves itself true. The BIble explains the Bible. Yeah, I know it may sound confusing. What I mean is that one verse found in the Bible, in order to understand it fully, you have to know another verse...and that other verse is explained by yet another verse somewhere else in scripture. The Bible is not a random collection of do's and do nots. It is not a self help book filled with a random collection of advice. It is God's grand story. A tapestry so beautifully interwoven that if you take but one thread from the story...it unravels. It would be missing something so important as if one ripped the page out of a novel or cut 10 very important minutes from a movie. It is God's grand painting. The more verses I learn and take to heart the greater my ability to understand fully the truth God wants to reveal in His word.
Tonight I read Matthew 27...the story of the crucifixion of Jesus.It has the ability to read very dry...it's extremely historical in nature. No embellishment...no drama...no fancy words meant to illicit emotion. It is merely a history...and not overly exciting I must say.
But then I remember the words of Philippians 2:3-8 and Matthew 27 takes on a whole new significance. (Yes, you should read Matthew 27 :-)
Jesus was God...and suddenly I think of the scene in the Old Testament where Moses wishes to see God's Glory and God informs Moses quite simply "You can't handle it Moses." I am reminded of how great and beyond us God truly is...and yet here is Jesus in Matthew 27, being that very same God, born as a man and humbling himself to the death on a cross (the most brutal form of death ever concocted) described in Matthew 27...
...and all for me, and you, and anyone else that has ever lived. When I take the identity that the Bible gives me of Jesus in Philippians (and dozens of other verses) Matthew 27 takes on it's full meaning and it is at that time that I find myself reading such a dry, historical recount of a man's death and find tears of joy streaming down my face...because I "Know" who it is that is being beaten, tormented, flog, abused and crucified...
....and I know why He is doing it...all to show me love the world has never seen before or since to bring me back to Himself...it is God in human form...Jesus, the Christ.
Do not make the mistake of reading the Bible as if it is simply a collection of ancient proverbs because if you do you will simply miss the point.
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his gone and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
So often quoted, and perhaps so often glossed over with a "yeah, yeah, I know that." that we fail to appreciate the magnitude of what happens in Matthew 27.
Let us not become so fixated upon one part of the painting that we miss the painting itself in all it's beauty.
Thank you Jesus for what you did in chapter 27 of Matthew...because it means everything :-)
Sunday, February 13, 2011
We All Need a Loyal Friend...
A Friend is Loyal
“But the thing that makes Woody special is that he'll never give up on you. Ever. He'll be there for you no matter what.” (Toy Story 3)
We are in the middle of a 5 week series called “New Friend Request.” It is my hope that at the end of this series we will have better idea of why we need friends, what things make a good friend and how to choose our friends wisely. The big idea I want us to take away from these 5 weeks is this...“Your friends will determine the direction and quality of your lives.” The people you hang out with and spend time with the most will have a direct impact on the choices you make. Proverbs 13:20 says this exact thing.
“Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble”
“Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces.” (The Message)
Last week we talked about the importance of friends. A person alone in this world is in trouble. We all need a friend. We were designed to have friends. Genesis 2:18 says that after God made the first man He said “It is not good for the man to be alone.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 echoes this sentiment. “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”
We need a friend or two in our life...but we need the right kind of friend. The type of friend God wants for us.
This week I want to talk about what makes a true friend.
Yesterday I watched Toy Story 3. (Great movie if you haven’t seen it by the way. )The main character is Woody. Now Woody is far from perfect. he gets jealous, He does selfish things at times, but the thing I love about Woody is he cares about Andy (his owner.) He wants to bring Andy joy. He feels like that is his great calling in life, to be there for Andy. We all know the theme song to Toy Story right....
You've got a friend in me. You’ve got a friend in me......( you can sing along if you like :-)
It’s a great song (I think.) There is one line in this song though I want to focus in on. It says “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you. We stick together we can see it through.” That’s a friend. You find someone like that, you have got yourself a loyal friend and we all need a loyal friend. Someone who sticks with you no matter what. We all need a friend...and those friends should be loyal.
Woody says it perfectly “What matters is that we're here for Andy when he needs us.”
That is true friendship. It is that kind of attitude that makes a loyal friend. Being there for someone else. We all want a friend like this, don’t we? We all need a friend like this don’t you think? A loyal friend. Someone who cares more about us that they do about themselves?? A true friend is loyal. I mean...don’t you want to know that the friends you have in your life care more about you then they do themselves? The problem is, many of your “friends”...they don’t care about you. They care about themselves...If are friends will determine the direction and quality of our lives, are these the “friends” we want determining our choices and future? Are these the people you want choosing the kind of life you have? People who don’t really care about you???
We all need a loyal friend.
Proverbs 17:17 says it perfectly I think. “A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.” The word here that says “loyal” comes from a hebrew word which means the same thing as love. The ESV translation says it this way “A friend loves at all times.” What kind of love is it talking about?? It’s the love that God has for us. The love He showed on the cross when He died for you and me. That’s what a loyal friend looks like. They love, like Jesus, at all times.
Now friendship can be a tricky thing. We read a verse like this and think a friend is someone who just accepts us for you we are. Doesn’t loving someone mean you just accept them?!?! Now while it is true, a true friend is someone who accepts us for who we are...that’s not the only thing a friend should do. See, you can accept someone without actually loving them but if you love someone you will accept them.....but you will do more. We, many times, are willing to settle for a friend who simply accepts and we don’t go any further. People like to be accepted. Acceptance is an important part of a any friendship, but it’s only one part. There are people I went to high school and college with, people who got into all sorts of trouble who had friends that accepted them but didn’t actually love them. And many times it was those “friends” that got them into trouble to begin with. Acceptance is important...just not the only thing.”
I watched a special last night on a guy by the name of Lemmy. Lemmy is the lead guy in a heavy metal band called Motorhead. As I was watching the documentary it got me thinking. See, in the metal world friends are tight. Metal guys stick close to their metal cohorts. They accept each other as they are. But that is all they do often. They accept each others drug use, alcohol consumption and other destructive behaviors. They quite often accept each other to death.
Hey I want a friend that accepts me...but at what cost???
Proverbs 18:24 says “There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.” I like how it puts the word “friends” in quotes because one who destroys is no friend at all. One accepts another to death...a friend who simply accepts but is not willing to love (you will see the difference in a moment) is no friend at all. It is that type of friend that will destroy your life and your dreams. A person who makes and chooses friends too easily is in trouble of destruction.
But a person who thinks and chooses their friends wisely is smart because a real friend sticks close. A loyal friend will accept you, but they will also do so much more. The word friend used here and other places in the Bible is a word that means “one who loves.”
Someone who loves you accepts for who you are, but they are not willing to leave you there. A loyal friend cares about what is best for you. A loyal friend is even more concerned about you than they are about the friendship. They are more concerned with what is best for you than they are with being accepted by you and what is best for you is what God wants for you. A loyal friend, biblically speaking, is a person who accepts you for you who are but also wants you to grow closer to God and will do whatever is necessary to help you achieve this.
We need friends that help us grow closer to God, not further away.
“A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.”...“A friend loves at all times.”
As we go through our day, we need to ask ourselves, am I making friends that love me? Am I creating relationships with people who will draw me closer to God or am I making “friends” who will destroy me? Do I have loyal friends in my life? Your friends will determine the direction and quality of your life. A phony friend won’t take you in the direction you want to go...you need a loyal friend to get you where you want to be.
“The thing that makes a true, loyal friend special is that they'll never give up on you and helping you become the person God’s wants you to be. They will never give up on you...Ever. They'll be there for you no matter what.”
“But the thing that makes Woody special is that he'll never give up on you. Ever. He'll be there for you no matter what.” (Toy Story 3)
We are in the middle of a 5 week series called “New Friend Request.” It is my hope that at the end of this series we will have better idea of why we need friends, what things make a good friend and how to choose our friends wisely. The big idea I want us to take away from these 5 weeks is this...“Your friends will determine the direction and quality of your lives.” The people you hang out with and spend time with the most will have a direct impact on the choices you make. Proverbs 13:20 says this exact thing.
“Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble”
“Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces.” (The Message)
Last week we talked about the importance of friends. A person alone in this world is in trouble. We all need a friend. We were designed to have friends. Genesis 2:18 says that after God made the first man He said “It is not good for the man to be alone.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 echoes this sentiment. “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.”
We need a friend or two in our life...but we need the right kind of friend. The type of friend God wants for us.
This week I want to talk about what makes a true friend.
Yesterday I watched Toy Story 3. (Great movie if you haven’t seen it by the way. )The main character is Woody. Now Woody is far from perfect. he gets jealous, He does selfish things at times, but the thing I love about Woody is he cares about Andy (his owner.) He wants to bring Andy joy. He feels like that is his great calling in life, to be there for Andy. We all know the theme song to Toy Story right....
You've got a friend in me. You’ve got a friend in me......( you can sing along if you like :-)
It’s a great song (I think.) There is one line in this song though I want to focus in on. It says “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you. We stick together we can see it through.” That’s a friend. You find someone like that, you have got yourself a loyal friend and we all need a loyal friend. Someone who sticks with you no matter what. We all need a friend...and those friends should be loyal.
Woody says it perfectly “What matters is that we're here for Andy when he needs us.”
That is true friendship. It is that kind of attitude that makes a loyal friend. Being there for someone else. We all want a friend like this, don’t we? We all need a friend like this don’t you think? A loyal friend. Someone who cares more about us that they do about themselves?? A true friend is loyal. I mean...don’t you want to know that the friends you have in your life care more about you then they do themselves? The problem is, many of your “friends”...they don’t care about you. They care about themselves...If are friends will determine the direction and quality of our lives, are these the “friends” we want determining our choices and future? Are these the people you want choosing the kind of life you have? People who don’t really care about you???
We all need a loyal friend.
Proverbs 17:17 says it perfectly I think. “A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.” The word here that says “loyal” comes from a hebrew word which means the same thing as love. The ESV translation says it this way “A friend loves at all times.” What kind of love is it talking about?? It’s the love that God has for us. The love He showed on the cross when He died for you and me. That’s what a loyal friend looks like. They love, like Jesus, at all times.
Now friendship can be a tricky thing. We read a verse like this and think a friend is someone who just accepts us for you we are. Doesn’t loving someone mean you just accept them?!?! Now while it is true, a true friend is someone who accepts us for who we are...that’s not the only thing a friend should do. See, you can accept someone without actually loving them but if you love someone you will accept them.....but you will do more. We, many times, are willing to settle for a friend who simply accepts and we don’t go any further. People like to be accepted. Acceptance is an important part of a any friendship, but it’s only one part. There are people I went to high school and college with, people who got into all sorts of trouble who had friends that accepted them but didn’t actually love them. And many times it was those “friends” that got them into trouble to begin with. Acceptance is important...just not the only thing.”
I watched a special last night on a guy by the name of Lemmy. Lemmy is the lead guy in a heavy metal band called Motorhead. As I was watching the documentary it got me thinking. See, in the metal world friends are tight. Metal guys stick close to their metal cohorts. They accept each other as they are. But that is all they do often. They accept each others drug use, alcohol consumption and other destructive behaviors. They quite often accept each other to death.
Hey I want a friend that accepts me...but at what cost???
Proverbs 18:24 says “There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.” I like how it puts the word “friends” in quotes because one who destroys is no friend at all. One accepts another to death...a friend who simply accepts but is not willing to love (you will see the difference in a moment) is no friend at all. It is that type of friend that will destroy your life and your dreams. A person who makes and chooses friends too easily is in trouble of destruction.
But a person who thinks and chooses their friends wisely is smart because a real friend sticks close. A loyal friend will accept you, but they will also do so much more. The word friend used here and other places in the Bible is a word that means “one who loves.”
Someone who loves you accepts for who you are, but they are not willing to leave you there. A loyal friend cares about what is best for you. A loyal friend is even more concerned about you than they are about the friendship. They are more concerned with what is best for you than they are with being accepted by you and what is best for you is what God wants for you. A loyal friend, biblically speaking, is a person who accepts you for you who are but also wants you to grow closer to God and will do whatever is necessary to help you achieve this.
We need friends that help us grow closer to God, not further away.
“A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.”...“A friend loves at all times.”
As we go through our day, we need to ask ourselves, am I making friends that love me? Am I creating relationships with people who will draw me closer to God or am I making “friends” who will destroy me? Do I have loyal friends in my life? Your friends will determine the direction and quality of your life. A phony friend won’t take you in the direction you want to go...you need a loyal friend to get you where you want to be.
“The thing that makes a true, loyal friend special is that they'll never give up on you and helping you become the person God’s wants you to be. They will never give up on you...Ever. They'll be there for you no matter what.”
Thursday, February 10, 2011
You welcomed me...
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
(Matthew 25:35 ESV)
I work with people, and I would love to say I lived this verse out...but I don't. In many ways I am a loner, a hermit. I like to be by myself. I enjoy quiet. I enjoy stillness. It energizes me.
But when I am around others, I like to know that others want me there. When we welcome another person, when we share and show love to our fellow man we are doing the work God put us here to do. The words above were spoken by Jesus. He said that when we do these things for others it is as if we are doing them for Him.
I know one group of people that wants to be welcomed more than any other...the middle school student. They want to know they are known, seen...important. That someone cares who they are just the way they are. That someone knows their name and is glad to have them there.
Of course I guess we all are that way :-)
And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
(Matthew 25:40 ESV)
The great thing about Jesus is this...He is God (and God in all his "hugeness" is beyond anything we can ever begin to comprehend.) And yet Jesus did not think of equality with God as something to cling to, gave up his divine privileges; and was born as a human being.
and then He humbled himself and died a criminal’s death on a cross....because He wanted to welcome us...
welcome us and bring us back to God.
Oh that I might welcome others the way He has welcomed me
(Matthew 25:35 ESV)
I work with people, and I would love to say I lived this verse out...but I don't. In many ways I am a loner, a hermit. I like to be by myself. I enjoy quiet. I enjoy stillness. It energizes me.
But when I am around others, I like to know that others want me there. When we welcome another person, when we share and show love to our fellow man we are doing the work God put us here to do. The words above were spoken by Jesus. He said that when we do these things for others it is as if we are doing them for Him.
I know one group of people that wants to be welcomed more than any other...the middle school student. They want to know they are known, seen...important. That someone cares who they are just the way they are. That someone knows their name and is glad to have them there.
Of course I guess we all are that way :-)
And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
(Matthew 25:40 ESV)
The great thing about Jesus is this...He is God (and God in all his "hugeness" is beyond anything we can ever begin to comprehend.) And yet Jesus did not think of equality with God as something to cling to, gave up his divine privileges; and was born as a human being.
and then He humbled himself and died a criminal’s death on a cross....because He wanted to welcome us...
welcome us and bring us back to God.
Oh that I might welcome others the way He has welcomed me
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
What I fear most...
Today's Readings:
Leviticus 6-7
Matthew 25:1-30
What do I fear most you ask???
Austin Powers' quotes aside, what is the thing I fear most?? Spiders...yes, they creep me out. Being alone in the dark...no thank you. The movie "Daredevil".....not scary, just really bad.
There are many things that I fear, but the thing I fear most is the thought of my middle schoolers getting involved with the wrong people. I've seen it too many times. I saw it growing up. I saw it in high school. I saw it college. I have seen it in the lives of adults. Nearly 42 years of life and I have seen it happen all to often. Just now I think about the fact that I have taught elementary school for 18 years now. Taught at summer camps for 6 more years. Been a middle school pastor for almost 3 years...it goes without saying that thousands of students have passed through my classrooms (with countless more being seen on the playgrounds of recess and lunch.)
and how many times have I seen a life derailed by the choice to hang with the wrong crowd.
By no means am I saying we wall ourselves off. I don't believe there are bad people and good people. And besides, Jesus did call us to live in a walled city. What I am saying is that our kids need to be careful who they invite into their inner circle. They need to be thoughtful about who they allow to influence their lives.
Tonight I read Leviticus 6-7. Leviticus 7:19 says "Meat that touches anything ceremonially unclean may not be eaten; it must be completely burned up." There are many verses in the Bible that talk about things that are clean and unclean.
In Deuteronomy 7:3-4 it says "You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods."
There is a definite warning throughout scripture to be careful about putting ourselves in a position or among people that may lead us astray. I encourage my students to make friends with students who may not believe in all they believe. I don't believe Jesus wants us to shun others simply because of how they live. Jesus himself went to those that needed Him most...but he took 12 other guys with Him :-) We need be careful is all. I want my students to have friends around them, an inner circle, who help them grow closer to God and make good choices. That way they will have the support needed to keep them from following the "wrong" crowd (and in the process those friends may be helping to change a few lost lives as well :-)
In Epic Jv we are learning about friends. How to find friends and build lasting friendships that draw us closer to God. We learned a verse on Sunday. Ecclesiastes 4:12 "A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken."
What I fear most is that students, in their longing to find friends and someone who "loves" them will venture off alone into a world that does not love them and take them down a path of death and destruction. "Walk with the wise and become wise;
associate with fools and get in trouble." (Proverbs 13:20)
Foolishness, like uncleanness, has a way of rubbing off and making us foolish as well. This is what I fear most, especially when it comes to my middle school friends.
Tomorrow's Reading:
Leviticus 8-10
Matthew 25:31-46
Leviticus 6-7
Matthew 25:1-30
What do I fear most you ask???
Austin Powers' quotes aside, what is the thing I fear most?? Spiders...yes, they creep me out. Being alone in the dark...no thank you. The movie "Daredevil".....not scary, just really bad.
There are many things that I fear, but the thing I fear most is the thought of my middle schoolers getting involved with the wrong people. I've seen it too many times. I saw it growing up. I saw it in high school. I saw it college. I have seen it in the lives of adults. Nearly 42 years of life and I have seen it happen all to often. Just now I think about the fact that I have taught elementary school for 18 years now. Taught at summer camps for 6 more years. Been a middle school pastor for almost 3 years...it goes without saying that thousands of students have passed through my classrooms (with countless more being seen on the playgrounds of recess and lunch.)
and how many times have I seen a life derailed by the choice to hang with the wrong crowd.
By no means am I saying we wall ourselves off. I don't believe there are bad people and good people. And besides, Jesus did call us to live in a walled city. What I am saying is that our kids need to be careful who they invite into their inner circle. They need to be thoughtful about who they allow to influence their lives.
Tonight I read Leviticus 6-7. Leviticus 7:19 says "Meat that touches anything ceremonially unclean may not be eaten; it must be completely burned up." There are many verses in the Bible that talk about things that are clean and unclean.
In Deuteronomy 7:3-4 it says "You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods."
There is a definite warning throughout scripture to be careful about putting ourselves in a position or among people that may lead us astray. I encourage my students to make friends with students who may not believe in all they believe. I don't believe Jesus wants us to shun others simply because of how they live. Jesus himself went to those that needed Him most...but he took 12 other guys with Him :-) We need be careful is all. I want my students to have friends around them, an inner circle, who help them grow closer to God and make good choices. That way they will have the support needed to keep them from following the "wrong" crowd (and in the process those friends may be helping to change a few lost lives as well :-)
In Epic Jv we are learning about friends. How to find friends and build lasting friendships that draw us closer to God. We learned a verse on Sunday. Ecclesiastes 4:12 "A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken."
What I fear most is that students, in their longing to find friends and someone who "loves" them will venture off alone into a world that does not love them and take them down a path of death and destruction. "Walk with the wise and become wise;
associate with fools and get in trouble." (Proverbs 13:20)
Foolishness, like uncleanness, has a way of rubbing off and making us foolish as well. This is what I fear most, especially when it comes to my middle school friends.
Tomorrow's Reading:
Leviticus 8-10
Matthew 25:31-46
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Be Ready, for the Lord is Coming...
Today's Readings:
Leviticus 4-5
Matthew 24:29-51
"So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming." (Matthew 24:42)
Tonight at Epic Jv (middle school group) I shared Ephesians 5:15-17 with kids..."So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do."
Today, as I read Matthew 24, I was reminded about the need to live thoughtfully. We should think carefully about our choices. We should not live life just hoping for the best. We should have a plan. We should think about each day before it happens. My fear, as i work with my middle school students, is that too many of them aren't thinking about life. They don't have a plan for each day. Heck, most adults don't take a careful look at their life and their choices.
How often do I run headlong into life without a thought or a plan...and then wonder why things don't work out.
I want to live a life of purpose and meaning. I want to live a life of joy and peace but it will not happen by accident.
It takes thought, understanding, and effort. I want to make the most of each day by living the life I was created to live and be the man God made me to be.
I like to think I am on the right track...but I need to stay close to the one who gave me His all...
So that when He comes back He might find me doing all the right things.
Leviticus 4-5
Matthew 24:29-51
"So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming." (Matthew 24:42)
Tonight at Epic Jv (middle school group) I shared Ephesians 5:15-17 with kids..."So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do."
Today, as I read Matthew 24, I was reminded about the need to live thoughtfully. We should think carefully about our choices. We should not live life just hoping for the best. We should have a plan. We should think about each day before it happens. My fear, as i work with my middle school students, is that too many of them aren't thinking about life. They don't have a plan for each day. Heck, most adults don't take a careful look at their life and their choices.
How often do I run headlong into life without a thought or a plan...and then wonder why things don't work out.
I want to live a life of purpose and meaning. I want to live a life of joy and peace but it will not happen by accident.
It takes thought, understanding, and effort. I want to make the most of each day by living the life I was created to live and be the man God made me to be.
I like to think I am on the right track...but I need to stay close to the one who gave me His all...
So that when He comes back He might find me doing all the right things.
What is Epic Jv??
Here is a copy of my message from Tuesday February 8, 2011 (Excuse the typos and incomplete thoughts...these are sometimes a incomplete draft and I fill in things on the fly :-)
What is Epic Jv??
Epic Jv is many things I believe. First, I think this is a place where one can find friends. We talked on Sunday about how important friends are, that we all need friends. That without friends we are in trouble. Epic Jv is a place where we can find friendship.
Epic Jv is also a place where we can have fun. There is no doubt that Epic Jv is a Happy Fun Time :-)
But most important of all I believe and I hope that Epic Jv is a place where we can find faith. A place where we can seek God and begin to live for Him and Him alone. In order for us to begin to live for God there are certain things we need to do. Remember when we learned about Haggai and how the people were encouraged to begin building God’s house. They were told to start rebuilding the temple of God, a place where people could learn about and worship their creator. We need to begin to build God’s house in our lives.
Now when you build a house, the first thing you do is lay a foundation. The foundation is the most important part of the house. If the foundation is bad, the whole house is bad and will eventually fall apart. If the foundation of our life is bad our lives will fall apart. But if we build our lives upon a firm foundation, if we build our lives upon the correct thoughts and ideas…our life will stand.
The Bible says in Matthew 7:24-25 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.” When we build our lives upon the words of Jesus…when we build our lives upon the thoughts of God…we have lives worth living.
Tonight, very quickly, I want to go over 7 things, some of which we have already talked about, that we need to understand and begin to put into our lives if we want our lives to be built upon a firm foundation. These are the ideas I want you to leave Epic Jv knowing and applying in your lives.
Authentic Faith
Simply put this is the belief that God can be trusted and He will do all He has promised to do. Do we understand what it means to follow God? Are we trusting God with the important areas of our life? If we want to have faith in God, and He want to live as God wants us to live then we need to understand what that means to have faith. It is knowing who God is and what He wants for our lives and for the world around us. Here is the verse you should memorize. It is Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”
We should be developing an authentic faith that trusts God in all areas of our life.
Spiritual Disciplines
One of the ways we develop an authentic faith is by learning how God sees us and the world around us. When we see as God sees, we will do as God says. And how do we see as God sees? We pray and we spend time daily learning about Him by reading the Bible. The verse we need to remember is Romans 12:2
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Are you spending time daily in prayer and reading God’s word?? If not, you need to begin. It is why I text verses. It is why I post them on facebook. It is why I write my blog. I don’t do those things for me, I do them for you I do these things so that your attitudes and behavior might begin to change as you start to see the world through God’s eyes.
Healthy Friendships
This is what we are learning about on Sundays. Your friends will determine the direction and quality of your life. The people you hang out with and spend time with the most will have a direct impact on the choices you make. You need to start finding friends and creating friendships that draw you closer to God. The verse we should remember when it comes to friends is Proverbs 13:20
“Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble”
“Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces.” (The Message)
We need to learn how to build good friendships and avoid bad ones. Are you establishing healthy friendships and avoiding bad unhealthy ones?
Wise Choices
Every day you are faced with many choices…many important choices. Are you making the wise choice? Are you asking yourself “What is the wise thing for me to do?” Are you making wise choices in every area of life? Are you walking and living wisely? The verse here to remember is Ephesians 5:15-17
“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.16Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.17Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.” (NLT)
“So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times! Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.” (The Message)
As we grow closer to God and learn what He wants for our lives we can then start to make wise choices.
Ultimate Authority
We tend to think rules keep us from being free when in truth it is the exact opposite. True freedom is found under authority. If we want to be truly free and live free lives than we need to realize that God is in control. Also we need to realize that God has put people in our lives that we need to submit to. Our parents, our teachers, Principal at the school, junior high pastor As a young person you have to realize that God is the ultimate authority and that it is God that has placed people over us in our lives. The question you have to ask yourself is “are you submitting to the authorities God has placed over you?” The key verse to remember is Romans 13:1-2
“Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished.”
“Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it's God's order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you're irresponsible to the state, then you're irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you're trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear.”
Others First
Selfishness comes naturally to us all. We don’t need to learn how to be selfish. Selflessness however must be learned. Jesus who is our ultimate example of how to live, put the needs of others ahead of His own. We need to do the same. Humility and service. The key verse to remember here is my favorite one…it is Philippians 2:3-11
“Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. 5-8Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion." (The Message)
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.4Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
What’s The Point?
When you leave this room, when you leave Epic Jv, my hope is that I will stories. Stories of how you are living out your faith in God. Stories of how every day, you are reading the Bible and growing closer to God. Stories of how you are making good choices about the friends you have. Stories of how you had a friendship that was taking down the wrong path and you ended it or stories of how you were a great friend to someone else. Stories of about how when you were faced with a tough choice, you made the wise choice. Stories about how you are choosing the right thing to do. Of how you are putting others first. Stories of how you selflessly look out for the needs of others. I want to hear stories from your parents, from your friends or from you about how your life has been changed by Jesus.
What is Epic Jv??
Epic Jv is many things I believe. First, I think this is a place where one can find friends. We talked on Sunday about how important friends are, that we all need friends. That without friends we are in trouble. Epic Jv is a place where we can find friendship.
Epic Jv is also a place where we can have fun. There is no doubt that Epic Jv is a Happy Fun Time :-)
But most important of all I believe and I hope that Epic Jv is a place where we can find faith. A place where we can seek God and begin to live for Him and Him alone. In order for us to begin to live for God there are certain things we need to do. Remember when we learned about Haggai and how the people were encouraged to begin building God’s house. They were told to start rebuilding the temple of God, a place where people could learn about and worship their creator. We need to begin to build God’s house in our lives.
Now when you build a house, the first thing you do is lay a foundation. The foundation is the most important part of the house. If the foundation is bad, the whole house is bad and will eventually fall apart. If the foundation of our life is bad our lives will fall apart. But if we build our lives upon a firm foundation, if we build our lives upon the correct thoughts and ideas…our life will stand.
The Bible says in Matthew 7:24-25 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.” When we build our lives upon the words of Jesus…when we build our lives upon the thoughts of God…we have lives worth living.
Tonight, very quickly, I want to go over 7 things, some of which we have already talked about, that we need to understand and begin to put into our lives if we want our lives to be built upon a firm foundation. These are the ideas I want you to leave Epic Jv knowing and applying in your lives.
Authentic Faith
Simply put this is the belief that God can be trusted and He will do all He has promised to do. Do we understand what it means to follow God? Are we trusting God with the important areas of our life? If we want to have faith in God, and He want to live as God wants us to live then we need to understand what that means to have faith. It is knowing who God is and what He wants for our lives and for the world around us. Here is the verse you should memorize. It is Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”
We should be developing an authentic faith that trusts God in all areas of our life.
Spiritual Disciplines
One of the ways we develop an authentic faith is by learning how God sees us and the world around us. When we see as God sees, we will do as God says. And how do we see as God sees? We pray and we spend time daily learning about Him by reading the Bible. The verse we need to remember is Romans 12:2
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
Are you spending time daily in prayer and reading God’s word?? If not, you need to begin. It is why I text verses. It is why I post them on facebook. It is why I write my blog. I don’t do those things for me, I do them for you I do these things so that your attitudes and behavior might begin to change as you start to see the world through God’s eyes.
Healthy Friendships
This is what we are learning about on Sundays. Your friends will determine the direction and quality of your life. The people you hang out with and spend time with the most will have a direct impact on the choices you make. You need to start finding friends and creating friendships that draw you closer to God. The verse we should remember when it comes to friends is Proverbs 13:20
“Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble”
“Become wise by walking with the wise; hang out with fools and watch your life fall to pieces.” (The Message)
We need to learn how to build good friendships and avoid bad ones. Are you establishing healthy friendships and avoiding bad unhealthy ones?
Wise Choices
Every day you are faced with many choices…many important choices. Are you making the wise choice? Are you asking yourself “What is the wise thing for me to do?” Are you making wise choices in every area of life? Are you walking and living wisely? The verse here to remember is Ephesians 5:15-17
“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.16Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.17Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.” (NLT)
“So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times! Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants.” (The Message)
As we grow closer to God and learn what He wants for our lives we can then start to make wise choices.
Ultimate Authority
We tend to think rules keep us from being free when in truth it is the exact opposite. True freedom is found under authority. If we want to be truly free and live free lives than we need to realize that God is in control. Also we need to realize that God has put people in our lives that we need to submit to. Our parents, our teachers, Principal at the school, junior high pastor As a young person you have to realize that God is the ultimate authority and that it is God that has placed people over us in our lives. The question you have to ask yourself is “are you submitting to the authorities God has placed over you?” The key verse to remember is Romans 13:1-2
“Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished.”
“Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it's God's order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you're irresponsible to the state, then you're irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you're trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear.”
Others First
Selfishness comes naturally to us all. We don’t need to learn how to be selfish. Selflessness however must be learned. Jesus who is our ultimate example of how to live, put the needs of others ahead of His own. We need to do the same. Humility and service. The key verse to remember here is my favorite one…it is Philippians 2:3-11
“Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. 5-8Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion." (The Message)
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.4Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
What’s The Point?
When you leave this room, when you leave Epic Jv, my hope is that I will stories. Stories of how you are living out your faith in God. Stories of how every day, you are reading the Bible and growing closer to God. Stories of how you are making good choices about the friends you have. Stories of how you had a friendship that was taking down the wrong path and you ended it or stories of how you were a great friend to someone else. Stories of about how when you were faced with a tough choice, you made the wise choice. Stories about how you are choosing the right thing to do. Of how you are putting others first. Stories of how you selflessly look out for the needs of others. I want to hear stories from your parents, from your friends or from you about how your life has been changed by Jesus.
New Friend Request Series Week #1: We All Need a Friend
This is my sermon fro Sunday February 6, 2011 called "We All Need a Friend" in case you misses it (There are typos and incomplete thoughts :-)
We all Need a Friend
The Bible is a really cool book. It is just the best thing ever written I think. The creator of the universe has shared Himself with us in this book. His thoughts, His wishes, His will, His love...everything we could possibly want to know about God and how He sees the world is contained in these pages and for the next 5 weeks we are going to dive headlong into this book and discover what God has to say about friends.
Who likes friends?? I like friends. Friends are fun, in fact one of the cool things I hear quite often in this room (In Epic Jv) is people saying “hello friend.” It was Heather who started this. (DESCRIBE) I know Kelsey Hougen says it all the time. But there is no doubt that we all like friends. Friends are important to us. It’s why Facebook is so popular I think. You can have so many friends :-) I remember when I first got on Facebook, everyday I would get a little message that said “you have a new friend request.” and I would be like “Yeah...more friends.” It made me feel good. It made me feel important. It made me feel loved and like my existence meant something. That people were glad I was alive. It is because We all need friends.
I have 390 friends on Facebook....but what does that really mean?? Am I really that popular? Don’t answer that question because I know I’m not. How many of my “friends” on facebook am I really that close to? Now, I don’t mean to say I don’t like them, that certainly is not true. I love them all. In fact, when I look at my friends on facebook it is like looking at a timeline...I am 41 years old and when I look at my friends list it’s a little history of my friends. Kind of like a friend museum or a friend hall of fame. Friends from my neighborhood growing up, friends from high school, college...every one of my friends on facebook is someone who at one time or another played a big role in my life.
Friends do play a huge role in our lives...Proverbs 13:20 says “Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.”
That is quite a contrast. There is no middle ground is there. Walk with wise, Good...walk with fools...bad
We all need friends but more than that we all need friendships built upon love and acceptance. We all need friends that encourage our walk with God not ones that hinder it. Our relationship with God should never be compromised because of a relationship we have with another person. We do all need friends, that much should be clear and your friends, the people you “choose” to hang out with and spend time with, the people you invite into your world will play a big role in your life the same way all of my friends on “facebook” have played a big role in my life.
Big Idea, and don’t ever forget this one...Your friends will determine the direction and quality of your life.
Friends are important. We all need them and there is a great verse in the book of Ecclesiastes that talks about the importance of friends. It is Ecclesiastes 4:12. Actually I will read you verses 9-12....
"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
We all need friends is the short summary of these verses. We are happier when we have friends than when we are alone in the world. We are more successful in life when we have friends. God designed us this way. In Genesis 2:18 after God made Adam, the first man he said “It is not good for the man to be alone.” When we selfishly live for ourselves than we are doomed to fail but if we serve one another in friendship we find meaning. If we face trouble alone (and don’t forget, God has promised we will all face trouble) we will be defeated but if we have good friends, friends that have our back we can get through the trouble. If you think you can do life alone...you are wrong.
But our lives will also be determined not only by whether we have friends or not but by the quality of our friends.
Two applications I see here. First is this. You need friends. Good friends, and please make every effort you can to come to church these next 5 weeks because we are going to learn how to choose our friends, what to look for in a friend and how to be a friend. We all need a friend or 2...or 390 :-)
...and there are kids at your schools, in your neighborhoods, in this room that need a friend like you. A friend that will draw them closer to God. A friend they can stand with when the bad times come, when Life gets rocky. A friend that loves them. There are kids who haven chosen friends for themselves that will abandon them or lead them in the wrong direction. They need a friend like this rope.
Our friends do play a big role in our lives. We all want friends...we all need friends, even if we don’t want to admit it. We all want someone to hang out with, someone to talk to and someone who knows us. It is why I love Epic Jv. I think this is a place where friends can be found and made. It is place where we can grow closer, in fact there are some exciting new things that are going to be happening in Epic Jv in the future that will allow us to develop deep meaningful friendships.
Because there is a smart way, a right way to do friendship, a way that will draw us closer to God, if we surround ourselves with the right people. See, friendship requires something from you. It is not just what we can get or who makes us feel comfortable. We need friends that will help us move in the right direction.
When I look at my friends on facebook, for the most part they are all people who at one time or another helped me to move in the right direction. They have all impacted my life in one way or another. They have been a part of that cord of rope. We all need friends and for the next 5 weeks we are going to look at Friendship and how God views friendship so that at the end of your life you might be able to look back on your “friend hall of fame” and think “I sure am glad that person was in my life. They helped move closer to God.”
Of course, in my life, there is one friend who stands above all the rest and that is Jesus and if you don’t call Jesus friend everything I say will be pretty meaningless. He is the one friend who will never fail us...
We all need friends
We all Need a Friend
The Bible is a really cool book. It is just the best thing ever written I think. The creator of the universe has shared Himself with us in this book. His thoughts, His wishes, His will, His love...everything we could possibly want to know about God and how He sees the world is contained in these pages and for the next 5 weeks we are going to dive headlong into this book and discover what God has to say about friends.
Who likes friends?? I like friends. Friends are fun, in fact one of the cool things I hear quite often in this room (In Epic Jv) is people saying “hello friend.” It was Heather who started this. (DESCRIBE) I know Kelsey Hougen says it all the time. But there is no doubt that we all like friends. Friends are important to us. It’s why Facebook is so popular I think. You can have so many friends :-) I remember when I first got on Facebook, everyday I would get a little message that said “you have a new friend request.” and I would be like “Yeah...more friends.” It made me feel good. It made me feel important. It made me feel loved and like my existence meant something. That people were glad I was alive. It is because We all need friends.
I have 390 friends on Facebook....but what does that really mean?? Am I really that popular? Don’t answer that question because I know I’m not. How many of my “friends” on facebook am I really that close to? Now, I don’t mean to say I don’t like them, that certainly is not true. I love them all. In fact, when I look at my friends on facebook it is like looking at a timeline...I am 41 years old and when I look at my friends list it’s a little history of my friends. Kind of like a friend museum or a friend hall of fame. Friends from my neighborhood growing up, friends from high school, college...every one of my friends on facebook is someone who at one time or another played a big role in my life.
Friends do play a huge role in our lives...Proverbs 13:20 says “Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.”
That is quite a contrast. There is no middle ground is there. Walk with wise, Good...walk with fools...bad
We all need friends but more than that we all need friendships built upon love and acceptance. We all need friends that encourage our walk with God not ones that hinder it. Our relationship with God should never be compromised because of a relationship we have with another person. We do all need friends, that much should be clear and your friends, the people you “choose” to hang out with and spend time with, the people you invite into your world will play a big role in your life the same way all of my friends on “facebook” have played a big role in my life.
Big Idea, and don’t ever forget this one...Your friends will determine the direction and quality of your life.
Friends are important. We all need them and there is a great verse in the book of Ecclesiastes that talks about the importance of friends. It is Ecclesiastes 4:12. Actually I will read you verses 9-12....
"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
We all need friends is the short summary of these verses. We are happier when we have friends than when we are alone in the world. We are more successful in life when we have friends. God designed us this way. In Genesis 2:18 after God made Adam, the first man he said “It is not good for the man to be alone.” When we selfishly live for ourselves than we are doomed to fail but if we serve one another in friendship we find meaning. If we face trouble alone (and don’t forget, God has promised we will all face trouble) we will be defeated but if we have good friends, friends that have our back we can get through the trouble. If you think you can do life alone...you are wrong.
But our lives will also be determined not only by whether we have friends or not but by the quality of our friends.
Two applications I see here. First is this. You need friends. Good friends, and please make every effort you can to come to church these next 5 weeks because we are going to learn how to choose our friends, what to look for in a friend and how to be a friend. We all need a friend or 2...or 390 :-)
...and there are kids at your schools, in your neighborhoods, in this room that need a friend like you. A friend that will draw them closer to God. A friend they can stand with when the bad times come, when Life gets rocky. A friend that loves them. There are kids who haven chosen friends for themselves that will abandon them or lead them in the wrong direction. They need a friend like this rope.
Our friends do play a big role in our lives. We all want friends...we all need friends, even if we don’t want to admit it. We all want someone to hang out with, someone to talk to and someone who knows us. It is why I love Epic Jv. I think this is a place where friends can be found and made. It is place where we can grow closer, in fact there are some exciting new things that are going to be happening in Epic Jv in the future that will allow us to develop deep meaningful friendships.
Because there is a smart way, a right way to do friendship, a way that will draw us closer to God, if we surround ourselves with the right people. See, friendship requires something from you. It is not just what we can get or who makes us feel comfortable. We need friends that will help us move in the right direction.
When I look at my friends on facebook, for the most part they are all people who at one time or another helped me to move in the right direction. They have all impacted my life in one way or another. They have been a part of that cord of rope. We all need friends and for the next 5 weeks we are going to look at Friendship and how God views friendship so that at the end of your life you might be able to look back on your “friend hall of fame” and think “I sure am glad that person was in my life. They helped move closer to God.”
Of course, in my life, there is one friend who stands above all the rest and that is Jesus and if you don’t call Jesus friend everything I say will be pretty meaningless. He is the one friend who will never fail us...
We all need friends
Monday, February 7, 2011
God is Holy, and He expects His people to be like Him
Today's Reading:
Matthew 24:1-28
Leviticus 1-3
"...see that no one leads you astray."
- Matthew 24:4
"You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, and holy."
- Leviticus 19:2
At winter camp a few weeks ago the theme was "Reflection." That as God's people our life should reflect God's love and holiness. I think as Christians we can sometime just stop at love and go on about our lives...and I think that is a mistake. Not that loving is easy or not important. It is. Jesus himself said you are to ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
But sometimes I think we forget what was said first by Jesus when He was asked what was most important. “ ‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment."
and how do we love the Lord you ask?!?! “If you love me, obey my commandments." (John 14:15) and when we follow His commandments we live as Jesus did...a holy life.
God knows we aren't perfect but we are still called to reflect His holiness and live as Jesus lived.
Today, as I read Leviticus 1-3 I learned something new. First of all, Leviticus is a crazy book. So many rules, so much procedure, such detail. But there is a reason...because God is Holy. He is perfect and a holy life is a life of detail...taking nothing for granted. I also learned about the different kind of offerings. I learned about a burnt offering which was meant to atone for one's sins and restore someone to fellowship with God.
This is what Jesus did
A grain offering I learned about as well. It was meant to honor God with a worshipful gift. I feel as though that when we accept Jesus sacrifice as the thing that brings us back to God we are called to honor Him with our lives by following Him. And then the peace offering, meant to express thanks and gratitude to God....
That's life. When we look to a holy and perfect God to bring us back to Him and then we honor and thank Him with or life...by following Him and reflecting His holiness
and then I read in Matthew 24:4 where Jesus says "See that no leads you astray." God sacrificed everything for us, to bring us back to Him so that we might live the life we were created to live...and we should see that no one comes between us and God.
God is Holy, and He wants us to be Holy and live and love as He did.
I can't wait to keep reading...so that I might get closer to Him :-)
Tomorrow's Reading:
Matthew 24:29-51
Leviticus 4-6
Matthew 24:1-28
Leviticus 1-3
"...see that no one leads you astray."
- Matthew 24:4
"You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, and holy."
- Leviticus 19:2
At winter camp a few weeks ago the theme was "Reflection." That as God's people our life should reflect God's love and holiness. I think as Christians we can sometime just stop at love and go on about our lives...and I think that is a mistake. Not that loving is easy or not important. It is. Jesus himself said you are to ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
But sometimes I think we forget what was said first by Jesus when He was asked what was most important. “ ‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment."
and how do we love the Lord you ask?!?! “If you love me, obey my commandments." (John 14:15) and when we follow His commandments we live as Jesus did...a holy life.
God knows we aren't perfect but we are still called to reflect His holiness and live as Jesus lived.
Today, as I read Leviticus 1-3 I learned something new. First of all, Leviticus is a crazy book. So many rules, so much procedure, such detail. But there is a reason...because God is Holy. He is perfect and a holy life is a life of detail...taking nothing for granted. I also learned about the different kind of offerings. I learned about a burnt offering which was meant to atone for one's sins and restore someone to fellowship with God.
This is what Jesus did
A grain offering I learned about as well. It was meant to honor God with a worshipful gift. I feel as though that when we accept Jesus sacrifice as the thing that brings us back to God we are called to honor Him with our lives by following Him. And then the peace offering, meant to express thanks and gratitude to God....
That's life. When we look to a holy and perfect God to bring us back to Him and then we honor and thank Him with or life...by following Him and reflecting His holiness
and then I read in Matthew 24:4 where Jesus says "See that no leads you astray." God sacrificed everything for us, to bring us back to Him so that we might live the life we were created to live...and we should see that no one comes between us and God.
God is Holy, and He wants us to be Holy and live and love as He did.
I can't wait to keep reading...so that I might get closer to Him :-)
Tomorrow's Reading:
Matthew 24:29-51
Leviticus 4-6
Friday, February 4, 2011
Come Back Tomorrow...when I double blog
Today's Readings:
Exodus 39-40
Matthew 22:23-39
“ ‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39)
Tomorrow's Readings:
Matthew 24:1-8
Leviticus 1-3
Exodus 39-40
Matthew 22:23-39
“ ‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39)
Tomorrow's Readings:
Matthew 24:1-8
Leviticus 1-3
Thursday, February 3, 2011
He offers so much, and we often just don't care
Today's Readings:
Exodus 31-33
Matthew 22:1-22
“The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come!" (Matthew 22:2-3)
One of the dangers I knew would come up when I began this blog thing is that as I read through the Bible there was going to be some difficult passages. Not difficult to understand, but difficult to write about, because they are so darn convicting and at times...
...well if you are reading, you get it :-)
Today I read Matthew 22:1-22 and Exodus 31-33 (Please read these). There is a pattern that presents itself, not just in these verses, but throughout the Bible where God offers people so much and they often just don't care. They turn and go their own way. They get impatient (so very quickly) and decide to do their own thing. God offers us a banquet, a feast of fine food, and we settle for rice cakes and cafeteria burger.
Lord, I ask that we all would see what you offer and that we might trust, follow, and at times wait on you...you are too great to be ignored.
And the love you showed on the cross....
well may it be the one thing I never turn away from.
Tomorrow's Reading:
Exodus 34-35
Matthew 22:23-46
Exodus 31-33
Matthew 22:1-22
“The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come!" (Matthew 22:2-3)
One of the dangers I knew would come up when I began this blog thing is that as I read through the Bible there was going to be some difficult passages. Not difficult to understand, but difficult to write about, because they are so darn convicting and at times...
...well if you are reading, you get it :-)
Today I read Matthew 22:1-22 and Exodus 31-33 (Please read these). There is a pattern that presents itself, not just in these verses, but throughout the Bible where God offers people so much and they often just don't care. They turn and go their own way. They get impatient (so very quickly) and decide to do their own thing. God offers us a banquet, a feast of fine food, and we settle for rice cakes and cafeteria burger.
Lord, I ask that we all would see what you offer and that we might trust, follow, and at times wait on you...you are too great to be ignored.
And the love you showed on the cross....
well may it be the one thing I never turn away from.
Tomorrow's Reading:
Exodus 34-35
Matthew 22:23-46
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
The power to lift an X-Wing
Today's Readings:
Exodus 29-30
Matthew 21
“I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.” (Matthew 21:21-22)
Oh great...there you have it...I can't move a mountain...I have no faith!!!
Let's see...in Matthew 21 Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey and everyone cheers (they would yell loudly later on in the week as we will soon see, but they won't be cheering.) He clears the temple (which is one of my favorite parts of the Bible I must say) and He gets into it with the Pharisees (What else is new...Cause they just never really got it.)
But stuck in the middle of all this Jesus sees a fig tree, with no fruit :-( and Jesus says “May you never bear fruit again!” and immediately the fig tree withers up. Needless to say the disciples were amazed when they saw this (and just now I am wondering once again why this amazed them. Had they met Jesus?!?! These guys had been with Him for how long now and they keep getting amazed at things He does. But before we get to harsh on these guys I think we should realize that we ought to be amazed everyday at what God can and does do...He's AMAZING!!! So yeah, be amazed :-)
But they ask anyway, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”
and Jesus says “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
(Matthew 21:21-22 ESV)
So much for my faith. I can't even say to a rock "hey, wiggle just a bit for me will ya" let alone tell a mountain to go jump into the ocean. Now I learned tonight that moving a mountain was a common metaphor in Jewish literature for doing what was seemingly impossible. Well, that makes me feel a little better about my faith.
but I think the real lesson here is this...
If I have faith in God and trust in HIm and His ways fully their is nothing I cannot accomplish for Him. (Heck, I am guessing that if God really wanted me to throw a mountain into the ocean and I had full faith that He wanted me to do it...well, that mountain is taken a swim my friends :-)
The point of this verse is simple I think. Put God first and seek Him. Trust in His ways fully and His purposes for your life. Follow Him whatever the cost and don't be looking out for what you want but for what God wills. Our prayers and actions should reflect a humble and willing submission to the leading of God's Spirit.
Will I ever move a mountain in my life? I am guessing not, but can I do what seems impossible if I trust in God and follow after Jesus??
Yeah, now that I can do :-)
Tomorrow's Readings:
Exodus 31-32
Matthew 22
Exodus 29-30
Matthew 21
“I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.” (Matthew 21:21-22)
Oh great...there you have it...I can't move a mountain...I have no faith!!!
Let's see...in Matthew 21 Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey and everyone cheers (they would yell loudly later on in the week as we will soon see, but they won't be cheering.) He clears the temple (which is one of my favorite parts of the Bible I must say) and He gets into it with the Pharisees (What else is new...Cause they just never really got it.)
But stuck in the middle of all this Jesus sees a fig tree, with no fruit :-( and Jesus says “May you never bear fruit again!” and immediately the fig tree withers up. Needless to say the disciples were amazed when they saw this (and just now I am wondering once again why this amazed them. Had they met Jesus?!?! These guys had been with Him for how long now and they keep getting amazed at things He does. But before we get to harsh on these guys I think we should realize that we ought to be amazed everyday at what God can and does do...He's AMAZING!!! So yeah, be amazed :-)
But they ask anyway, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”
and Jesus says “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
(Matthew 21:21-22 ESV)
So much for my faith. I can't even say to a rock "hey, wiggle just a bit for me will ya" let alone tell a mountain to go jump into the ocean. Now I learned tonight that moving a mountain was a common metaphor in Jewish literature for doing what was seemingly impossible. Well, that makes me feel a little better about my faith.
but I think the real lesson here is this...
If I have faith in God and trust in HIm and His ways fully their is nothing I cannot accomplish for Him. (Heck, I am guessing that if God really wanted me to throw a mountain into the ocean and I had full faith that He wanted me to do it...well, that mountain is taken a swim my friends :-)
The point of this verse is simple I think. Put God first and seek Him. Trust in His ways fully and His purposes for your life. Follow Him whatever the cost and don't be looking out for what you want but for what God wills. Our prayers and actions should reflect a humble and willing submission to the leading of God's Spirit.
Will I ever move a mountain in my life? I am guessing not, but can I do what seems impossible if I trust in God and follow after Jesus??
Yeah, now that I can do :-)
Tomorrow's Readings:
Exodus 31-32
Matthew 22
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