Not Natural

Sproul, Driscoll, Chandler, Tchividjian Discussion Panel

2011-08-01T17:41:00.000-07:00

Thought this was to good not to share. Good stuff!!

Gaining The Big Picture

2011-06-21T04:14:00.000-07:00

It's been a month now since my wife and I left the states and traveled to the La Limonada slum in Guatemala City. I still reflect on our week there, it's hard not to. There are some experiences in life, that no matter how far you are removed from them, those experiences will forever be etched into your mind and not only into your mind but into your nose and ears as well. I didn't think that going into a slum would be that big of a deal. I've seen some rather poor parts of the world and I assumed this place would be no different, I was wrong.

The first thing I noticed when traveling into La Limonada was that it seemed to be cut off from the rest of the city. It was like we were entering a different country. I was told that this was almost the case. Most in Guatemala totally disregard the people of La Limonada as citizens of Guatemala City. The "roads" in the slum are really large sidewalks and sometimes very small sidewalks. There is trash everywhere. I'm not talking some litter here and there but a lot of trash. Dogs and cats roam the slum, all are underfed and full of only God knows what kind of parasites. So far it pretty much looked like other poor locations of the world that I've seen, then I got to higher ground.

During the week, we visited and prayed with several families. We had a chance to hear their stories, see first had what they were struggling with and see the joy God had placed into their hearts. It was on one of these visits that I was blown away. Myself along with a friend and some staff from Lemonade International went to a home of an elderly gentlemen. We talked with he and his caretaker. We were able to provide him with some medicines that he desperately needed and prayed over him. It was truly an honor.

His house was located near the top of the ravine (where the slum is located in). We walked up and when we got out his front door I turned to look out over the slum. My heart sank as I took in how big this place really was, and I really couldn't see the full scope of it even then. This place was huge which means the problems that it's facing are huge as well.

Though the problems in La Limonada are great, the hope that many that live there have is even greater! God, through the sweat and tears of many very special people, is doing some great things in the hearts and lives of many.

Thankfully, ours and Gods perspectives are not the same. Where we see chaos, God sees clam and does the calming. Where we see despair, Gods sees hope and is the hope. When we see true joy and a peace that passes all understanding, we see God.

A Week In Paradise

2011-05-31T17:35:00.001-07:00

Last week I had the privilege of working with some of the greatest people in the world! OK, one of those people was my wife, but we were able to minister along side of those who work with Lemonade International.
My wife and I, along with three others form our Aftershock group, we're in Guatemala City. More specifically in the La Limonada slum. We spent the week in two schools that are operated by Lemonade International. We had time to meet and talk with the staff, through a translator, teach and minister to the children of the slum and go on home visits within La Limonada.
There were many highlights to the week, and I'll post my thoughts on those in the weeks to come, but there was one highlight that stood out.

For the last 7 months our family has been sponsoring a boy in La Limonada. It has been a great joy to write letters back and forth, send him gifts and really just spoil him. I say our family has been sponsoring because, yes, our kids get involved too. They write him little notes and color him pictures, they consider him their older Guatemalan brother. Anyway, we were able to take him, his mom and little sister out to pizza, and spoil he and his family a little more. It was truly a blessing for us.

I'm writing this post first because it is the most important one. There is a huge need in the La Limonada slum of Guatemala City, HUGE. You don't know if you're not made aware, so I'm making you aware. If you go to the Lemonade International website, you'll find many ways that you can help support the ministry. Please choose one and get involved. I titled this post "A Week In Paradise" because, really, that's what it was. God is doing a great work in that slum and the people there have beautiful hearts and beautiful stories.

God bless!!

Nothing To Say...

2011-05-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

I'm not quite sure why I haven't written on my blog in a while. It's certainly not because I haven't wanted to. Maybe because I really don't think anyone is really reading it. There have been plenty of things that I'd like to weigh in on. Sometimes my opinions are far more than they should be. Go ahead, ask me anything, I'll let you know how I feel about it.

Grace. Maybe that's it. Over the last several months, God has really been pressing. He's been pressing me to extend grace to people, that in the past, I never would have given it a second thought.

Lots of people blog nowadays. Many use their small pedestal in this cyber world to verbally beat up on people. Or to throw their opinions around trying to shock their small group of readers hoping their opinions get echoed throughout the internet world.

I've thought about just not blogging anymore and shutting this thing down, but I won't. Why? Because one day I think I'd like to go back and read what I've written. Who knows, maybe I'll be the first one to read some of the things I've written.:o)

Gospel Gold From John Calvin

2011-05-01T10:16:00.000-07:00

This comes from a stunning preface to Pierre Robert Olivétan’s French translation of the New Testament (1534). Justin Taylor, added line breaks to make it easier to read.

Calvin wrote:

Without the gospel

everything is useless and vain;

without the gospel

we are not Christians;

without the gospel

all riches is poverty,
all wisdom folly before God;
strength is weakness,
and all the justice of man is under the condemnation of God.

But by the knowledge of the gospel we are made

children of God,
brothers of Jesus Christ,
fellow townsmen with the saints,
citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven,
heirs of God with Jesus Christ, by whom

the poor are made rich,
the weak strong,
the fools wise,
the sinner justified,
the desolate comforted,
the doubting sure,
and slaves free.

It is the power of God for the salvation of all those who believe.

It follows that every good thing we could think or desire is to be found in this same Jesus Christ alone.

For, he was

sold, to buy us back;
captive, to deliver us;
condemned, to absolve us;

he was

made a curse for our blessing,
[a] sin offering for our righteousness;
marred that we may be made fair;

he died for our life; so that by him

fury is made gentle,
wrath appeased,
darkness turned into light,
fear reassured,
despisal despised,
debt canceled,
labor lightened,
sadness made merry,
misfortune made fortunate,
difficulty easy,
disorder ordered,
division united,
ignominy ennobled,
rebellion subjected,
intimidation intimidated,
ambush uncovered,
assaults assailed,
force forced back,
combat combated,
war warred against,
vengeance avenged,
torment tormented,
damnation damned,
the abyss sunk into the abyss,
hell transfixed,
death dead,
mortality made immortal.

In short,

mercy has swallowed up all misery,
and goodness all misfortune.

For all these things which were to be the weapons of the devil in his battle against us, and the sting of death to pierce us, are turned for us into exercises which we can turn to our profit.

If we are able to boast with the apostle, saying, O hell, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? it is because by the Spirit of Christ promised to the elect, we live no longer, but Christ lives in us; and we are by the same Spirit seated among those who are in heaven, so that for us the world is no more, even while our conversation is in it; but we are content in all things, whether country, place, condition, clothing, meat, and all such things.

And we are

comforted in tribulation,
joyful in sorrow,
glorying under vituperation,
abounding in poverty,
warmed in our nakedness,
patient amongst evils,
living in death.

This is what we should in short seek in the whole of Scripture: truly to know Jesus Christ, and the infinite riches that are comprised in him and are offered to us by him from God the Father.

Do yourself a favor and read this over and over and over. It’s nutritious!

A big thank you to Tullian Tchividjian for posting the original post of this. It was to good not to share!

My Story, What's yours?

2011-03-01T03:31:00.000-08:00

So, the other day I decided to write out the process of how I came to faith in Christ. I did this for one reason in particular but found it to be a very helpful process. I was able to see where I had come from and how over the years I had grown in my faith. It was very encouraging as well as humbling to see areas where I really need to work on in my life. I just want to encourage anyone who reads this to try it out. Take some time to put on paper the journey of your life of faith. If anything, in the end, you'll be better prepared to answer when someone asks about your story! If you would like, please share it here in the comments section.

Below in a shortened version of my story.

My Story

I grew up in a Christian home. Both my parents are saved and made sure that church and God were high priorities for our family. Like so many kids who grow up in church, I heard a teacher talking about hell. I didn't really know or understand much about it, but it sounded bad and I got really scared. So one evening I asked my parents how I could go to Heaven because I was rather certain I didn't want to go to hell. Like a lot of well meaning parents they told me to repeat this prayer after them and I would be saved. So I did.

I spent the next 10-12 years doing what any kid does that grows up in church: I went to church every time the doors were open, and sat through countless sermons and special conferences. I had as much information downloaded into my head as I could. I knew all the right answers, how to act and what exactly I should believe, but not always or hardly ever why. It wasn't until sometime in my late teens that I realized something didn't seem right.

I felt God really pressing in on me. I looked at my "Christian walk" and realized I really didn't have one. I had spent years conforming to a pattern of behavior and not into a image barer of Christ. The pull of God on my life became too great and I could no longer resist the grace that he was offering. Like before, I had prayed a prayer. It wasn't some memorized predetermined prayer. It was a prayer of repentance and thankfulness. That's when God saved me.

Over the course of the next 10 years I grew in my faith. Looking back, the growth that I saw was small. God had saved me, I knew that but it still seemed like I was really living my parents faith and not my own. It wasn't until my mid 20's when all that started to change. I started asking questions of why I believed some of the things I did. I asked these questions not just of myself but of pastors too. With none of the answers I was getting making sense, I started really reading my Bible.

I always had read my Bible, but this was different. God gave me a passion to really study his word. To find out what it is God actually said concerning the things I had been asking questions about. Since Gad has given me this passion for his word I come to hold it in a much higher regard than ever before. It's also given me a passion for right doctrine and it put a weight on me to make sure I handle Gods word with care. I love God and my Bible. I'm so thankful for what Christ had done for me on the cross.

The Cost of Discipleship

2011-02-24T17:30:00.000-08:00

I thought this was a great sermon from Pastor Mark Driscoll. For me was was very challenging. Go ahead, push play, it's good stuff!

More Than Just A Rant

2011-01-28T02:45:00.000-08:00

Do you love your Bible? If I asked that to a group of Christians I know many would say, "of course I do", as they blow the layer of dust off the cover. Sadly, to much of my own life has been spent not in and not meditating on the words of God. I can be honest here, right? Most would probably agree to that statement to one degree or another, but I've been noticing something else.

Actions certainly speak louder than words. Saying you love your Bible is great but that greatness seems to diminish quite a bit if you have to clear a layer of dust off it. Or if you have to search around for it because you love it so much you've forgotten where you left it. May I suggest looking for it in your churches lost & found? Assuming of course that you brought it to church in the first place.

Every time I walk into church and this is happening at my church as well, I notice more and more people that don't have a Bible with them. Is there a Bible shortage? Did Crossway Publishers run out of ink? It just seems crazy to me that people will say they love Gods word and then leave it at home when they're going to the one place that it's being taught. I'm sure when you were in college you brought your textbook to class, you needed it to learn. Just like your professors have power point and throw many things up onto a screen, churches do this all the time as well.

I think it's great that this is done. Anytime technology can be use to convey the gospel I consider it a win. However I do think it has made many Christians lazy in their efforts to really know Gods word. We would rather have a pastor tell us what to know and what to believe. Rather than take the time and put forth the effort on our own. Not every pastor is going to get it right all the time, he's human. Gods words are true and timeless. On Sundays you should have your Bible with you so you can see truth for yourself or be able to spot error if it's spoken from the pulpit.

The christian life is a relationship with God. Like any relationship it takes work. It can be hard and at times very messy. God speaks to us through prayer and the reading of his word. Your Bible contains the very words of our creator, let that sink in! When someone of importance gives a speech, says something profound or writes a book, we listen. How much more greater things does the creator of the universe have to say?

Your thoughts?

It's Been Too Long

2011-01-07T03:38:00.000-08:00

Wow, has it really been since August! When I started this blog I never wanted to become some forgotten about corner on the web. I felt like this was my little corner of the cyber world. A place to share my thoughts, ideas, reflect on things I've learned and maybe even rant at times. I also felt that if I wasn't contributing to it at least a few times a month then nothing really must be going on in my life. Actually, just the opposite has been true!

I've really had so much going on, I really didn't take time to stop, slow down and share what God has been doing. So what has been going on and what exactly has God been teaching me? Glad you asked! I'll try to sum it up in one word and then explain it briefly.

In a word: Running or Run. Yes, it's something I've been doing a lot of the last 6-7 months. It may not be a lot to some people, but I've put in almost 400 miles during that time. The time running has given me a lot of opportunities to talk to God and for him to talk to me as well. One thing I've learned, never disqualify an occasion as one that God might speak to you. Sometimes he waits to speak until mile 12 and then I reminded to stay strong, focus, finish the race. Knowing that he's not talking only about my current physical condition but also my spiritual one.

The apostle Paul had it right so many times when he equated the Christian life to a race! I've come to understand this analogy more and more. Especially when I find myself saying "he waits to speak until mile 12". Another thing I've learned, and yes it's been through running, is that I am my worst opponent.

When running, it's easy to fall into the trap of talking yourself into stopping. After all I deserve it, I've ran strong up to this point, I could use a break. It's all down hill from there. You actually remain stronger in the end if you don't stop!

I was recently reminded of this verse: Galatians 5:7 (ESV) You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? Sadly much of the time we hinder ourselves.

I'll end this with one final thought. This statement or words of wisdom came from the most unexpected person and has stuck with me for more than 18 years. It came from my high school cross country coach, Clarence Vandenbosch, we called him "Bosch".
He said: "Listen to me Charles, that first decision to stop running is easy and it only gets easier after that."

Obedience Through Suffering

2010-08-09T17:26:00.000-07:00

Obedience through suffering. Most of us at some point in out lives have experienced this. While the majority of of us don't remember a lot of it, for some it's a very vivid memory. What I'm talking about, at least in our case is that swat on the rear end when we didn't do what we were supposed to be dong the first time. It was inevitable, every time we disobeyed or did something very stupid, out came dads belt. Of course it wasn't always dads belt, it might have been a paddle of sorts or even a switch off a tree (thank you Grandma for that one). Now days it's a time out peering into a corner, having a favorite toy or privilege taken away or being held captive in ones room for days on end. Personally I preferred the spanking, yeah it hurt, but it was quick, to the point and I was typically back to playing in 5 minutes depending on who administered it. My point is is that we all suffered on some level in order to learn obedience.

This past week a friend and I were studying through Hebrews chapter 5. Most of our time of discussion after our reading was on verses 7-10:

7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. (ESV)

Jesus did go humbly to the cross in total obedience to his heavenly father but he learned that obedience, through his suffering, before he went to the cross. Verse 7 says: "Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears". His suffering started long before he was nailed to the cross. His full obedience through suffering was designed in the cross and because of this obedience he was made perfect and became the source of our salvation.

Thankfully Jesus' full obedience to his heavenly father and his atoning work on the cross makes it possible for us to one day stand before God as obedient children.

Focusing On The Negative

2010-06-05T04:34:00.000-07:00

"The single biggest mistake that most beginners make is putting 100% of their effort into the positive (concentric) part of the rep, while paying no attention to the negative (eccentric) segment."-Dorian Yates 6-Time Mr. Olympia

What a great quote and after lifting for a number of years I can say it's 100% true! I also think that this principal applies to our spiritual lives as well as it pertains to our joy. Notice I said joy and not happiness.God is more concerned with our joy in Christ than he is with our happiness. Nehemiah 8:9-11 talks about how the joy of the Lord is our strength. Christ is the source of our joy. It is this joy that gives us the strength to get through troubled times in our lives. So lets get back to the quote.

When it comes to our spiritual lives I'm not saying that we need to have such a focus on a negative time of life that all we are doing is wallowing in our self pity, continually grumbling about our current circumstance that we find ourselves in. What I am saying is, is that we have been brought into our current circumstance for a reason. Our focus should be to learn what God would have for us in that circumstance therefore growing us into the men & women of faith that he would have us to be. It's in that learning and growth where we find our joy.

I tell people, "don't be to quick to try and remove yourself from a situation that might be making you uncomfortable. God is molding, stretching, and shaping you for something. You don't want to go into what he has next for you unprepared."

So then, what is God bringing you through? Or better yet, what is God teaching and preparing you for?

Jesus Had to be Made Perfect.

2010-04-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

Now that I've got your attention, I'll explain. Every other Thursday evening I meet with one or two friends of mine and we study through books of the Bible. It's really great to read Gods word with others and then get their feedback as to how they read the text and what God has reveled to them through it.

We're all at different places in our lives, no doubt, but we are also in very different spiritual places in our walk with Christ as well. Many times God will use a portion of text that effects one of us in one way and while the rest of us appreciate the text it has no big impact on us at the time. A couple weeks ago, this was not the case.

I've read through Hebrews on several different occasions and for whatever reason a portion of text really stood out like it never had before. Not just to me but also to my study partner as well.

Hebrews 2:9-11 reads as follows (our focus is on verse 10):
9But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 10For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers
Wow, did you catch that! Here it is again, this time in slow motion: 10... make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

Wait, I thought Jesus was already perfect, but he also needed to be made perfect? The answer to both of those questions is YES! Yes, Jesus is God! Yes, Jesus lived a perfect and sinless life. Yes, Jesus was always obedient to his father even to his death on a cross. This verse is not implying that Jesus was sinful by any means. In fact it has more to do with our justification and or sanctification than anything else.

In order to have a perfect sacrifice for our sin, Christ himself had to be prefect. He had to perfectly obey his father all the way up to and including his death on the cross. In his divinity he is perfect in every way and in his humanity he was made perfect by going through the same temptations, trills, life experiences and even death that we go trough. In his sinless perfection he is fully God, in his death he was fully human. In his resurrection he is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who can humbly identify with those he calls his.

Never to Busy

2010-03-26T17:31:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been way to long since I've written anything of my own on this blog. I guess it's because I've finally had time! Work has been crazy for the last month and a half and at 62 hours a week that doesn't leave me much time to write. Even though I've been busy I still find time to get into Gods word.

I make sure I read the Bible not because I have to or because I want to look impressive to other Christians, but because I want to. I love God and I want to know him as much as I can. He has blessed me and my family more than we deserve and I can't thank him or even love him enough compared to what he has done for me.

I just want to take this opportunity to encourage you to never think you're to busy to read Gods word. We should never be to busy that we feel we can't take time out to pray to and learn more about the creator of the universe! Please, get into your Bible! Love it rest on it's promises and thank God every day for all he has done!

What difference has Jesus made in history?

2010-03-05T03:53:00.000-08:00

Below is part twelve in the "Vintage Jesus" Series that Pastor Mark Driscoll preached at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. This is the last talk of the series. Form more sermons from Pastor Mark, please go here.

Why did Jesus' mom need to be a virgin?

2010-02-22T05:20:00.000-08:00

Below is part eleven in the "Vintage Jesus" Series that Pastor Mark Driscoll preached at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington.

Why did Jesus come to earth?

2010-02-10T03:10:00.000-08:00

Below is part ten in the "Vintage Jesus" Series that Pastor Mark Driscoll preached at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington.

Worth Fighting For

2010-01-31T17:32:00.000-08:00

In his book, Jude appeals to us to contend for the faith and it was because of all the false teachers that had crept into the church and were not preaching truth. He said that these teachers "pervert the grace of God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ."
Things don't seem so much different than the way things were in Jude's day. We still have many false teachers, however there would be much contention as to what would actually make someone a false teacher. Although there is one big difference that I see.
That big difference is the fight, it's just not there anymore. People today are way to politically correct to fight for the the gospel of Jesus. Maybe we think that we're not showing the love of Christ by respectfully and biblicaly disagreeing with those that teach a false gospel. Instead we settle for acceptance of their belief and we'll pray for them if we remember to.
I'm not advocating for going out and looking for a fight but I do think that if we have biblical texts and Gods power on our side, then we should not cower when false teaching comes our way. Instead we need to boldly proclaim the truth.
Let me end this post with a question. How do you contend for your faith, or do you?

Hope & Glory

2010-01-11T18:21:00.000-08:00

If you have never followed bodybuilding then you have no idea who the guy above is. His name is Dorian Yates and during the 1990's he won the Mr. Olympia bodybuilding championship 6 times. In the world of bodybuilding the Mr. Olympia is the big one. It's the title that all professional bodybuilders strive for and to win it more than once is amazing!

I found the caption on each of the pictures rather interesting. The picture from 1985 is entitled "Hope". Hope seems like an odd title to put on a picture of a guy who is already bigger than most people on the planet. Hope infers that there is more to come, maybe something better than what is current. Like I said, it seems weird to label the first picture hope. Most would feel like they have arrived if they achieved the physic displayed in the first picture.

When you look at the second picture it is entitled "Glory". Most would say that he certainly has achieved full glory in what he was pursuing. In this case and in the context of bodybuilding, yes he has obtained the full glory the sport of bodybuilding has. Of course this didn't all happen overnight, at some weekend bodybuilding retreat or even because his parents were physically fit.

Well, I'm sure there's some sort of spiritual application in here somewhere.

How did people know Jesus was coming?

2010-01-01T16:40:00.000-08:00

Below is part nine in the "Vintage Jesus" Series that Pastor Mark Driscoll preached at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington.

A Short and Sweet Thank You

2009-12-08T16:03:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday night I had a chance to go see Skillet in concert along with Decyfer Down and Hawk Nelson. It was a great show and Jesus was proclaimed and lifted high. If you have never had the pleasure of seeing Skillet in concert, go, you'll be glad you did!

I don't know who this guy was, maybe the father of one the the students he was with, but he was with three kids who were in their late teens. I watched him bring them into the venue that the concert was being held at. I watched him as he participated and interacted with them. They were all dancing, jumping around and having a good time. The smiles on their faces were priceless!

I wanted to say thank you to him for teaching me a valuable lesson of serving, and self sacrifice. I'm sure the type of music that was being played was not quite his style. I'm also sure that it would have been much easier to stay home than to go through all the work it took to be there.

Next time I'm called to serve someone or sacrifice a little of myself, I'll think of this guy and the smiles on those students faces.

Oh yeah, all three of the students were blind.

Decyfer Down

What makes Jesus superior to other saviors?

2009-11-28T17:17:00.000-08:00

Below is part eight in the "Vintage Jesus" Series that Pastor Mark Driscoll preached at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington.

Why should we worship Jesus?

2009-11-11T11:59:00.000-08:00

Below is part seven in the "Vintage Jesus" Series that Pastor Mark Driscoll preached at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington.

Persevere Until The End

2009-11-04T17:34:00.000-08:00

Life is hard. That's sort of a rather obvious statement no doubt. It is an obvious statement but also a very subjective one. Hardships are going to look very different from one family to another and also from one individual to another. What might seem like a difficult situation to one person might seem like a walk in the park to another. At times it seems as though it would be easier to just to give up and even give up on our faith. Given the difficult times many find themselves in, I just wanted to take some time to encourage the probably tens of people who read this blog.

I'd like to go to 2 Timothy chapter 4. At this point in Paul's life he has already been mocked, beaten, stoned, left for dead and now once again finds himself sitting in prison on the brink of death. At this point, I think I would have given up trying to encourage others but he starts out by encouraging Timothy and tells him to fulfill his ministry. While that my be encouraging to many, I think Paul's own example a little further in the chapter really hits home for me.

2 Timothy 4:6-8 reads as follows: 6For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Wow, Paul is saying that the time of his death has finally come and given all that he has been through in his ministry he is still able to say those four words, "I have kept the faith". There never was a time in Paul's ministry where he made total shipwreck of his faith. There never was a time where he said, "this is to hard, I'm giving up on God because he allowed these difficult times to follow me throughout my ministry". Paul knew that he was saved by grace through faith and that faith he had was also given to him by God. So that not even he could boast in what he did.

Paul finishes up this section with the promise of a reward in Heaven that is given to those that have kept the faith. Let this be an encouragement to you to keep the faith when times are hard. God is sovereign, he knows all that is going on in your life and he will be walking with you every step of the way.

What Will Jesus Do Upon His Return?

2009-10-28T03:15:00.000-07:00

Below is part six in the "Vintage Jesus" Series that Pastor Mark Driscoll preached at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington.

Where Is Jesus Today?

2009-10-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

Part 5 in the "Vintage Jesus" series from Pastor Mark Driscoll. Mark is Lead pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle Washington.

I Would Have Never Guessed

2009-10-18T12:03:00.000-07:00

I have been fight it for a long time, but a week ago I caved and finally got on facebook. Not sure why I was fighting it, I guess I just didn't want to get to involved in other peoples lives. Let me just say, I have been blown away.
I know what you're thinking,"Scott, it's facebook, it's been around for years welcome to 2009" I'm not talking about facebook as a social networking tool, I'm talking about the people I've been able to reconnect with.
I graduated from Byron Center High School back in 1996, go Bulldogs! During most of my high school experience I was a Christian, although not a very good one. Some of my classmates knew this and the ones that did know this didn't know that being a Christian meant that I was different. My testimony was not something that I was all to concerned about. Sure if some moral topic came up in conversation I took the position that my faith would require of me, and every once in a while I would pray over my lunch, but not to often. Sadly I can't even remember a time when I would share Christ with my friends. It saddens me to even write that.
Since graduation my life concerning Christ as changed dramatically. My relationship with Christ has become more and more real and deep. I've been more bold about my faith and would even come to consider myself a student of scripture. One day if the Lord calls me into full time ministry, I'm ready and willing to jump in.
So how has facebook blown me away? Well, it has not really been facebook, but the sovereignty and grace of God that has been extended to so many of my classmates of the last 13 years! It's so amazing to read their stories and profiles and see the work that God has done in so many of their lives. This last week has been one of encouragement to me and one of sadness. Encouragement because many of my classmates are now living lives fully for God and sadness because I've had time to reflect on my past high school testimony and realized I was a moron.
Thankfully God has shown me much grace over the last 13 years as well and now I have something greater in common with classmates that have turned into eternal friends!

Temptation Is From Within

2009-10-11T15:36:00.000-07:00

The other day I tweeted about temptation but the more I thought about it the more I felt the need to write these thoughts down. Even if only I could refer back to them. So if you're reading and this at all helps to get the gears in your head working, awesome!
What brought to mind this topic was a weekly Bible study I do with a few friends. We just started the book of James, and it's been great. This is not the first time I've read the book of James or have even studied it for that matter, but this time was different. Two verses that I have read numerous times hit me right between the eyes like never before. The two verses 'm talking about are James 1:13-14, they read as follows: 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
I've read that many time and always I would come away with the fact that God cannot be temped or tempt. That was always it! The part that stuck out like never before was the part that reads "he is lured and enticed by his own desires".
Often times we here this from people when talking about their sin "the devil made me do it" or "Satan keeps attacking me with this or that" The point is, is that the root problem of our temptation is not Satan, it's our own sinful hearts.
Our temptation is a result of the true desires that dwell within our hearts. As sinful people we don't desire the things of God. We want to please ourselves by giving ourselves whatever it is that makes us happy in that moment. I think God knew what he was doing when he put the rest of this chapter together. Later in the chapter it talks about using the scriptures as a mirror to your life.
Does your life reflect the things that are taught in the Bible? Is it the things of God that flow from your heart. Do you desire what God desires?
When we desire to do what God desires for us, just like light in darkness, Gods desires will overcome or sinful desires. Then our temptations will be to do what God calls us to.

Did Jesus Rise From Death?

2009-10-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

Below is part 4 in the Vintage Jesus series from Pastor Mark Driscoll, lead pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle Washington.

What did Jesus accomplish on the cross?

2009-10-01T03:39:00.000-07:00

Part 3 from the "Vintage Jesus" by Pastor Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill Church in Seattle Washington.

"Hero"

2009-09-28T17:22:00.000-07:00

Latest single from Skillet. It's off their new Awake CD.

Music Code Provided by MusicVideolife.com

Vintage Jesus: "How human was Jesus?"

2009-09-26T16:56:00.000-07:00

Below is part 2 of the Vintage Jesus series from Pastor Mark Driscoll, lead pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle Washington.

Vintage Jesus

2009-09-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

The following message was given by Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle Washington. This is part one in a 12 part series that he did in the fourth quarter of 2006. You can also buy the book that came out of this sermon series. Enjoy and I'll periodically post more.

MONSTER

2009-09-12T05:18:00.000-07:00

Skillet's new CD "Awake" is awesome! Some great songs to rock your face off and some that provoke thought and some self reflection. Below is the video of their song "Monster", it rocks! However there is one part in it that seems a little....amateurish. Can you pick it out?

Music Code Provided by MusicVideolife.com

Jonah Chapter 4

2009-08-29T05:57:00.000-07:00

Well, we've finally made to the last chapter of the book of Jonah. For myself and the guys that participated in this study, it has been a true blessing. I pray that anyone who reads this blog will have gotten something out of Jonah that has challenged their faith and has brought them closer to Jesus. Let me encourage you tho take some time and study Gods word. Not just a few verses here and there but whole books. Get the most out of Gods word. When you study just a verse or two here and there you tend not to get the entire thought of the text. OK, with that said, let's get to the observations made in Jonah chapter 4.

Observation from Jonah Chapter 4:
-Jonah was mad that the people of Nineveh repented
-Jonah makes excuses to God as to why he didn't obey in the first place (he knew God would relent)
-Jonah wishes to die because of the repentance of the people of Nineveh (how is this better than repentance?!)
-Jonah has the temper of a 3 year old and stomps out of the city hoping to watch God destroy it (He is selfish, thinking that the people are not deserving if the same grace that God has given to him. He also thought this of the mariners in chapter 1)
-God provides a plant to give Jonah shade.
-Jonah was thankful for the plant (now he was sinning and comfortable)
-God destroys the plant and not Nineveh
-One again Jonah shows his displeasure for the people of Nineveh by caring more about a plant that has died than he does about 120,000 people that are spiritually dead
-Jonah pleads again to God to take his life
-God rebukes Jonah for not caring for the souls of men, but for a plant that he did nothing to deserve
-God describes the people of Nineveh as spiritually and morally unaware or dead

Conclusion:
In Jonahs mind, the grace that God showed to him in the belly of the fish and for sparing his life, was to good for the people of Nineveh. The lesson that God was trying to get across to Jonah by providing the plant and then taking it away was that God is the giver of all things and therefore can take away as he sees fit. We are all undeserving of everything that God has given to us, even the gift of grace, repentance and the faith to believe in him. In this last section, God seems to be very disappointed with Jonah. Jonah, of all people, should know better and he does. However he lets his pride, arrogance and selfishness totally jack up his walk with God. Even with all of Jonahs and our own shortcomings, God can and will use us to bring glory to him.

Jonah Chapter 3

2009-08-16T15:33:00.000-07:00

We last left Jonah somewhere on a beach just having been vomited out of the stomach of a great fish. Now we come to chapter three and here are the observations that we made.

Observations from Jonah chapter 3:
-God gives Jonah a second chance
-This time Jonah goes without complaint or question (at least he did not verbalize it)
-Nineveh was a great city
-An eight word sermon was all God wanted Jonah to preach
-The king and all the people believed God (not Jonah)
-The king decrees it and all the people humble themselves, put on sackcloth, sit in ashes and repent of their sin
-The people only hope that God will see their efforts and will relent his punishment
-God does indeed notice their humility and repentance and does not destroy the city

Conclusion:
Jonahs delayed obedience is still disobedience in the sight of God. Thankfully for Jonah, and us, God is a God of second chances. How often does God ask us to share the gospel with others and we run from what he asks. Like Jonahs short simple sermon the gospel of Jesus is simple but we need to be ready and willing to share it with anyone. Just like the people of Nineveh and the mariners from chapter 1, no one is beyond receiving Gods grace.

Be Not Conformed To This Church.....

2009-08-08T06:01:00.000-07:00

Romans 12:2 BE conformed to this CHURCH, BE transformed by the renewal of your ACTIONS, that by testing you may discern what is the will of MAN, what is good and acceptable and CHURCHY.
Of course that is not how that verse reads in scripture, but if it was, most churches would be following that text perfectly.

I've been serving in teen ministries now for almost thirteen years and I've seen the above "verse" played out on several different occasions. This is usually the way it goes down. A teen comes into the youth ministry, either on their own or by way of their parents dragging them there. We tell them that they are sinners that they need to get saved or else they are going to burn in an eternal hell separated from God. Then we lead them through some silly prayer that may mean absolutely nothing to them at any sort of level. Then we congratulate and welcome them to the family of God, all without any sort of repentance on their part. Then the weirdness begins.

Once their "saved", we tell them all the things that they need to do to be in right standing with God. As if Jesus' grace, mercy and blood shed on the cross wasn't enough. We tell them, "OK, here is how you need to act", "This is what you need to do", "Here is how you should dress" and "here is a big, thick, heavy, black, 1611 King James Bible, the only Bible you should ever read". We tell them these things and they assume that God must want them to do all this because those who told them have been in church all their lives, and they should know.

Here is the problem with all this, they have been conformed to a pattern of behavior but have not been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. There has been no true repentance or transformation of their hearts. We would rather get them to the point of being "good church folk" then just preach the gospel into their lives and let God renew their hearts, souls and minds.

If this continues out to adulthood, eventually we'll have churches full of really good and moral people on their way to hell.

If you're a Pastor or teacher, please let me beg you not to add to the gospel. This does not mean that we can't or shouldn't have some sort of standards. Or have some sort of idea of what is acceptable or moral behavior. We just need to be sure that we keep the gospel primary and let the power it holds be the power that transforms lives.

Jonah Chapter 2

2009-08-05T17:42:00.000-07:00

This past week in our Bible study, we continued on into chapter 2 of the book of Jonah. When we last left our "hero" he had just been tossed into a raging sea. Now we find Jonah praying to God as he in the hell that is the digestive system of a great fish.

Observations from Jonah chapter 2:
-It's not until Jonah is in circumstances beyond his control that he finally calls out to God
-Jonah knew that Gods sovereignty was displayed through the mariners by being tossed into the sea
-Jonah compares his situation to being near death
-He seems to know that he will not die and will on day look upon or pray towards the temple once more
-Jonah knows he has done nothing to deserve being rescued but knows that God has extended much grace to him through this time
-Jonah prays against those that do not recognize God as the one true God
-Jonah finally decides to sacrifice himself to Gods purpose and recommits his life to him
-He declares that salvation does indeed belong to God and has been granted to him by God
-Jonah is vomited out by the fish

Conclusion:
Jonahs pride gets in the way of acknowledging that the saving grace that was extended to him was the same grace that was extended to the mariners. His prayer seems to be sincere for only as long as the situation that he is in lasts. Jonahs prayer my have been sincere but it seems to lack much, if any, repentance. That fact that Jonah committed to keep his vow to God but lacked repentance my be the very reason God chose the method he did to release Jonah from the fish. Confession without true repentance is vomit in the sight of God.

Jonah Chapter 1

2009-07-28T17:38:00.000-07:00

This past week I started a Bible study with a friend who has only been a Christian for six months. He loves his Bible and tells me that he can't seem to get enough of Gods word! A few weeks ago we got on the subject of Jonah. He said that he really didn't know anything about the man or the book (except for the whole "whale" thing) so I offered to do a study of the book with him. The next few posts will reflect some of the observations and a few conclusions we've come to.

This is not the first time I've studied the book of Jonah but it seems like every time I do, I get more out of it. I think many of us who have followers of Christ for any length of time can really relate to Jonah. We tend to see ourselves in him.

Observations from Jonah chapter 1 verses 1-10:
-God calls Jonah to a specific place to do a specific task/job for a specific reason
-Being a prophet, Jonah should know that he can't run from God
-Jonahs sin greatly affected other people around him
-The mariners were very spiritual people (their gods did not hear them, hmmm)
-Jonah seems comfortable with his sin (he falls asleep during the storm)
-The mariners knew there was a reason for the storm
-God will use whatever means to call you out (even lots)
-Jonah really fears God? Then why is he running?
-God uses Jonahs sin to convert the mariners to himself
-The mariners receive Jonahs god as the one true God.

Observations form Jonah chapter 1 verses 11-17:
-Jonah would seemingly rather die than obey God and go to Nineveh
-The mariners did not want Jonahs blood on their hands
-The mariners did not want to die because of Jonahs sin
-The mariners prayed to the one true God
=The mariners obedience got quick results (Jonah could learn something from them)
-The mariners fear of God turned into a respectful fear of Him and it took them to a point of worship
-God has power over all creation (even great fish)

Conclusion: God seems to allow Jonah to sin, if only for a short while, so that His ultimate sovereign will may be accomplished in the lives of the mariners and get Jonah into a position where he can be broken.

A God Lead Journey

2009-07-12T13:10:00.000-07:00

I'm not exactly sure when it happened, when my family and I turned down this road that were on. I do know that we've been on it longer than we think. It's a road that only we have been down. I know this because we are the ones "blazing the trail" so to speak. Others we know have been down similar roads, but they mostly seem to run parallel with ours. On occasion there is a slight intersection where we both stop and give each other a nod. Sort of letting each other know, "hey, though you're on your own journey, you're not alone out here".

I think it all started about two to three years ago, I wrote about it here. A new love for the Bible was really the catalyst for this whole journey that my family and I are on. It's the reason why we're on this particular road at this particular time in our lives and for a particular reason for which I do not yet have all the answers to quite yet.

I'm thirty one years old and about thirty years ago my parents started attending a small Baptist church in the town I live in. Since then that church has turned into a rather large Baptist church that has seen and still does see many great things happen for the Gospel of Jesus. My parents still attend there and up until two weeks ago so did my family, and this is the journey that we are on.

Like I said, I've been going there for many years, my wife became a member there shortly before we were married back in 1998. It's the only church our two kids have ever known. It truly was our home and we are going to miss it. I'm not going to get into all the reasons as to why we left our church home, but I can share one reason as to why we had to leave.

One of the reasons ended up being ourselves. We started noticing that we were very comfortable with where we were at when it came to church. It was easy to come to church on a Sunday or Wednesday, serve where we were called and then leave. We had a routine, and because of where we served within the ministry, routine and program was the norm.

We had come to a point that, for whatever reasons, our ministry became stagnate. Sure, we did what the Lord wanted us to do and we saw many things get accomplished for him, but for the most part we found ourselves spinning our wheels and getting frustrated.

We fought it for a while and really didn't want to face the fact that leaving our church home may be the only way to remedy the problem we found ourselves in. After all we really loved our church family and the ministry, we still do.

You may think that our reason for leaving may have been easily solved and you're right, if that where the only reason for our leaving. However ,like I stated earlier, I can't give all the reasons.

So what's next for us? Well, we're just going to keep praying and seeking Gods will for our lives. We have been to a couple churches in town that we have liked very much. Now we're praying about where God would have us to serve next.

I say all this for two reasons. First, don't allow yourself to get to comfortable in your Christian walk. Being comfortable makes you a lazy Christian. Look for ways that God is challenging your faith and your service. For us it was to find a new church home. Second, follow Gods leading in your life, the sooner you do the better. The faster you see God leading you into or out of something and the faster you obey, the better off and less frustrated you'll be. I know that's easier said than done, believe me I just went through it, but you'll be better off in the end.

Use Them For His Glory

2009-07-02T18:25:00.000-07:00

God has given every one of us individual talents and gifts. Some gifts and abilities can be used to help others in a time of need, to do a particular job in order to feed and take care of your family, or just simply to put a smile on someones face. Whatever your talents, gifts or abilities are be sure to use them to bring glory to God. After all, he gave them to you and he can take them away.

Time To get You Thinking

2009-06-15T17:47:00.000-07:00

I took Chloe and Peyton to the park this evening and it got me thinking. With fathers day coming up next Sunday, what is our role when it comes to fathers day?

Well, outside of getting a card for your own dad or sending him a text, email or even an e-card, what are we to do? Many would say "It's my day, I'm spending it golfing, fishing, working out in the yard, sleeping or anything else we could do to rid ourselves of any meaningful duties.

I would encourage all dads not to hold this view of fathers day. Instead I would encourage you to think of what is means to be a father, what are our Biblical roles as fathers and how can we better ourselves as fathers when measured up to those biblical standards.

Are you loving and serving your children well? Are you teaching them about Jesus? Are you setting an example for your sons by serving and loving your wife well? Do they see you as one who loves Jesus and the Bible? Do they see you pray? Do you pray with them and for them?

I've ask myself these questions many time lately. Some days I'd grade myself better than others and some days I'd be embarrassed if everyone knew how poorly I've failed. So what about you? What do you struggle with when it come to being a father? What do you do well?

Thankfully we have a heavenly father to be our ultimate example when it comes to these matters!

Christian Men and The Detroit Lions

2009-05-26T17:51:00.000-07:00

What do to many Christian men and the Detroit Lions have in common? Sadly, much of the time we stink at the very thing we're supposed to be excelling at.

Week after week and year after year the Detroit Lions practice and it seems most of the time it's an exercise in futility. Nothing changes no matter how hard they train or how well their practice goes. They simply don't get any better.

I don't think that the guys that play for the Lions are dumb. I truly think that they know their plays and they know how to execute them. However when the time comes to put what they know into action, they always drop the ball.

Sadly many Christian men are the same way. We have our playbook, the Bible and I'm assuming for this post that we're reading / studying it. We go through it day after day and year after year and yet nothing changes. We keep struggling with the same sin, our families are still not as spiritually healthy as they should be and all of our relationships are no deeper than a conversation about the weather.

All this to ask the question: Do we really not know our plays or do we not know our opponent as well as we should? What do you think?

Sin: Remove It, Root & All

2009-05-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

So, I have or had these 19 pine trees that ran along side my driveway. To be honest I liked having them there. It created a nice buffer between our house and the neighbors. Even tough they were all turning brown and were making a mess of my driveway and surrounding lawn I still liked them. Yes, I was even telling myself "they look pretty good". You might even say that I grew comfortable with them there.

This past Saturday Myself and 6 of my friends cut them all down, chipped up all the branches and pulled out all the stumps. It was a long day and I can't thank my friends enough for helping me out. Now that they're gone there is a refreshing new look to our front lawn. It seems so much bigger and full of new potential.

Many times the sin in our lives can become a lot like my pine trees. Sin makes a mess of our lives and not just ours. It can also effect those that are closest to you. We think the sin we keep struggling with actually isn't so bad. We even can get to the point where we become comfortable with our sin.

We need to get to the point where we realize that the sin that's there is only hindering the potential in our lives. Other people can see it, even when you don't think they can. It might even look like a daunting task to have to deal with the problem all by yourself.

The good news is, you don't have to deal with it on your own. Jesus is always there for us to come to and to lean on, to pray to and give us ability to overcome our sin problems. We can even enlist the help of our good Christian friends to keep us accountable and walk through this journey with us.

Lego My Jesus

2009-04-15T03:17:00.000-07:00

Last week a church in Stockholm Sweden unveiled a statue of Jesus that took a year and a half to construct. The statue stands around 5.8ft tall and is made up of nearly 30,000 Lego's! I can't even imagine the planning, time and patience it must have taken to put together something so involved.

After reading this story two things came to mind. First let me say that I don't know anything about this church. I can only assume that they love Jesus, the Bible and are serving their community and Gods leads them to.

With that said, the first thing that came to mind was the idea of building a statue. What kind of statues am I constructing day in and day out? Were all busy but are we so busy that we make statues or gods out of things in our lives. This happens every time we put something else before Jesus and that something then becomes our god. Our time devotion and energy gets poured into that thing and it's eventually what we live for and not Jesus.

This brings me to my second thought. How much time am I investing in Jesus? Am I putting so much of Jesus into my life that people can actually see him take shape in my life? Additionally, what am I doing to help others to develop a lasting, deep meaningful relationship with Jesus?

So think about it. What or who are you devoted to? What or who are you investing in? And finally what are you doing to help others to come into a relationship with Jesus?

Some Thoughts on Mark

2009-03-29T06:04:00.000-07:00

Over the last several weeks in our weekly men's Bible study we have been going through the book of Mark. We just finished Mark chapter six, so we will be in Mark for some time to come.
So far there have been many things that have struck home with me, but there seems to be a few things that constantly come up.
First is that Jesus and his disciples worked and served like crazy sometime without even time to eat. However after the work at hand was done they would try to get away to rest and prepare for the next go around. I say try to get away because even when they did arrive to the destination of rest, there was always a multitude of people waiting to be taught, healed or looking for something to eat.
Secondly, Jesus, no matter how much he ministered to people and no matter how tired he was, he was always moved with compassion on the crowed that gathered around him. It's almost as though he can't not serve people.
The last observation has to do with the disciples. They just didn't get it! No matter how many people Jesus fed, healed, or even raised from the dead his disciple still did not understand who Jesus was. Often Jesus did get on their cases for not getting this. Their lack of faith hindered them from being and doing all Jesus had for them.
Take a few minutes and read the first six chapters of the book of Mark, look for these and other observations and think about how they might apply to you.

In Our Place, For Our Sins

2009-03-17T18:01:00.000-07:00

The death of Christ and what he accomplished on the cross should always be on the minds of those of us that call ourselves Christians. The fact the Jesus died in our place for our sins and that in him we have redemption through his blood (Ephesians 1:7), is something we should never get over. Sadly many Christians only think of the atoning work of Jesus on or in the days leading up to Easter. Daily we sin and daily we need to be asking for and repenting of that sin. Thankfully the blood of Jesus was enough to cover all the sins of man and his one time death on the cross did just that.
The video below was put out by Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA last year leading up to their Good Friday services. It's a short but powerful video of the innocent death of Jesus.

It's NOT Just For Kids

2009-03-08T13:46:00.000-07:00

Psalm 23
¹The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
²He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
³He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

I know that's not all of Psalm 23 but it's the part I heard this morning. You see, the second Sunday of every month I minister to and serve all the 2 & 3 year old kids in their Sunday school class at my church.

Well, the last few weeks we've been helping them to memorize Psalm 23. Some have it memorized better than others, but they're all trying. It's rather funny to hear a 2 year old try and say "paths of righteousness" without it coming out as a jumbled mess. The point is, their hiding Gods word in their hearts!

How many of us as adults expect this of our children, but then we ourselves don't take the time to read,study, meditate and memorize Gods word. We know that it's important otherwise we wouldn't care if our kids did it or not. It's just another case of "do as I say not as I do". We need to follow Jesus' example in the wilderness. Have Gods word in our hearts so that when trails and temptations come we're able to overcome them by the power of Gods word.

The Soil of Your Heart

2009-02-21T15:52:00.000-08:00

In Mark chapter four Jesus tells a multitude of people, along with his disciples, the parable of the sower. In the parable he describes four different types of soil that a seed can fall into and what can happen to that seed given the soil that the seed finds itself in. In case you've not read it or if it's been a while since you have read it, let me take a minute to bring you up to speed.
First let me start with the seed. Jesus uses the seed to represent the gospel and the sower to represent anyone preaching the gospel. This could be a pastor, Sunday school teacher, missionary, or evangelist. Whom ever is rightly proclaiming the gospel.
Then comes the four types of soil. The soil is being related to the type of heart that a person might receive the gospel with. The first type of soil is one that does not even receive the seed. The second is soil that receives it but has no depth, so it is quick to wither. The third type of soil is soil that also consists of many thorns or weeds. The seed in this soil grows, has some life, but does not produce grain. It is eventually choked out by the thorns or weeds. The fourth and last type of soil that Jesus describes is soil that is good and fertile. The seed grows, increases and multiplies itself.
As Christians we need to always monitor the soil of our hearts. All too often thorns and weeds can creep in and begin to choke the life out of our Christian life and we soon become a Christian that produces nothing. Psalm chapter one reminds us that a Christian is like a tree planted by streams of water that produces fruit. For a tree to produce fruit well it needs to be pruned and kept free of dead and diseased branches.
Are there branches in your life that are keeping you from bearing fruit? Do you need to be pruned? Have you let the soil of your heart become infested with weeds that are choking the life out of you? If so, then ask God to show you what you need to prune or dig out of you life to help make you become fruitful once again. Remember, a weed will not come back if it's pulled out root and all. So while the process might be painful, it's always profitable.

Gods Creativity in Prime Time

2009-02-09T17:58:00.000-08:00

I don't like the cold, in fact I hate it. So because I live in Michigan I tend to stay indoors a lot from about mid November until mid to late march. Beside hanging with the family, working out and working on which ever home project that is taking longer than expected, I love to watch TV. Not just any type of TV show, but something where I might actually learn something while being entertained.
My go to networks are usually Fox News Channel, Discovery Channel, The History Channel, The Travel Channel, or Food Network. That list is in no particular order, it's just order I know them in because of where they fall in my particular cable package.
Anyway, the show that I've really gotten into has been "Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations" on The Travel Channel. In the show, the host Anthony Bourdain, goes around the world introducing his audience to many different cultures. From food to religion and climate to world view. It really is a great show.
Though Anthony may not realize it, he is also introducing his audience to the creativity of our heavenly father. When I watch the show I'm always amazed to see some of the weird and awesome things God has created. We truly worship an amazing God!
If you have not seen the show, go ahead and check it out, you'll be glad you did.

Leading By Example

2009-01-29T03:33:00.000-08:00

Here is a clip from the ABC News show "Nightline" from this past Tuesday evening. They were doing a segment titled "Faith Matters" and chose to feature one of my favorite churches and pastors in America. Mars Hill Church is located in Seattle WA. and is lead by Pastor Mark Driscoll. Say what you want about his style, which I happen to like, Mark has got to be one of the best Bible teachers and church leaders out their. To find out more about Pastor Mark and Mars Hill Church, check out his blog or visit the churches website.

Jesus, Not A Poor Substitute.

2009-01-23T14:35:00.000-08:00

We have all seen many videos much like this. Some are like this where a statue or picture of the Virgin Mary is "miraculously" crying. Or it may be a statue of a crucifix and Jesus starts somehow bleeding from his forehead where the crown of thorns have been placed or from his hands, feet, or side where he was stabbed with the Roman soldiers spear.

I came across this news story the other day and at first I just sort of laughed. However the more I thought about it I really felt bad for those people. They put all their trust and faith into an object that is cold dead and lifeless. Instead of putting their faith in God they put their faith in a functional or substitute savior that can get them through this life. They would rather worship created things rather than creator God.

What about you? What is it in life that you put ahead of worshiping Jesus? It could be work, T.V., food, your spouse or kids, maybe even your ministry? Thing is, we tend to put a lot of things ahead of our worship, love and faith in Jesus. Many time it happens and we don't even mean for it to but it does. It's good to take inventory of your priorities and make sure that you're putting Jesus first and not some poor substitute.

Bless Others As You've Been

2009-01-10T12:05:00.000-08:00

I saw this news story out of the U.K. the other day and to be honest, I really felt sorry for the guy. In the story it calls the guy a "compulsive hoarder" but I think the problem ran much deeper. I think his demise was a result of where his heart was at.

We all like to have stuff, ipods, cell phones, laptops, etc. Whatever the latest gadget is, it seems like many of us run out to get it without ever thinking,"do I really need this?" Maybe it's not some new gadget, it could be a new pair of shoes or jacket, both of which you didn't need, it's just that you want this years popular brand or style.

A lot of us in this country have a lot of stuff that we don't need, and the are a lot of people that don't have stuff that they do need. When was the last time that you went out and bought something of need for someone you know that is lacking? In these hard economic times there are plenty of people in that boat. This is a question I've been asking myself lately too and I have to say it's been to long, sadly.

Really you don't even have to go out and buy something, try just giving something away that you already have. As I said before, we all have more that what we really need. Instead of just adding more clutter to your life, purge a little. One of the reasons God blesses us is so that we can be a blessing to others. So how about it? When is the last time you blessed someone in need? It's better than getting lost and dieing in your own pile of stuff.

Better Than the Origional

2009-01-02T19:13:00.000-08:00

I love music, it's a huge part of who I am. While hard rock is my preferred style, I'll listen to just about any style of music out there. OK, not country music, but anything else. I really like when an older song, such as a hymn, is remade into today's styles of music. Such is the case with the song below, give it a listen. The group is called "Brothers of the Empty Tomb". They're out of Mars hill church in Seattle,WA.
"

Be sure to be used

2008-12-28T13:52:00.000-08:00

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think so. I've been noticing a trend that seems to be happening more and more in today's churches. It's something I've been observing for many years and only have talked to a few people about. Today's churches are really hurting from what I'd like to call spiritual driftwood syndrome. Let me take some time to explain.

When it comes to many things in life that we as Americans take part in, we tend to over do it. When we sit down to a meal, do we eat until we're full? No way! We eat until we think we're going to puke, then we unbutton our pants in order to fit those last few remaining bits into our ever expanding stomachs. It's the same when it comes to satisfying our need for the newest and best gadgets. It's nothing to walk into someones house and find a huge TV mounted on their wall and in some cases it's more than one. We tend to participate in life a grand scale.

Even when it comes to driving, going 70 MPH is not enough. We always push it to the limit trying to go as fast as we can without getting caught. I've got to admit I'm guilty of the same thing. On a side note I once heard a cop use the phrase "9 you're fine, 10 you're mine" in regards to how fast someone is going over the speed limit before he'll stop them. Since I heard that I figure those are words to live by. OK, I'll get back to my point.

Unfortunately Many Christians don't have this same desire to participate in the function of their church as they do in seemingly every other aspect of their life. These are the people that I like to call spiritual driftwood.

You know them, you see them week in and week out coming into the doors of the church walking to the same seat every week, listening to the sermon then they get up and head right to their car, leaving and never contributing a thing. Much like how driftwood starts out a Christian seems to get tossed in the the river of church soaking all they can as they float in a and out with the tide of the church. Never do they find what their God given intended purpose was. Finally after a while they are almost all but forgotten about. They sink to the bottom and never contribute or are used to their fullest like so many before.

If you're suffering form this syndrome or know somebody that is, it's time to pull yourself to the surface and star to dry yourself out. Wood always burns better when it's dry. It's time to get back to being on fire for the things of God.

Automakers and Youth Ministry

2008-12-12T17:26:00.000-08:00

All the distress nowadays over the American big three auto makers, has really been a problem a very long time in the making. I could go into the politics of it all and how the UAW and the Federal government really hold much of the blame for the crisis that the automakers find themselves in, but I won't. Instead I'd like to focus a little on the automakers themselves and a lot of the problem as really boiled down to creativity.

Being in the Tool & Die industry, injection molding to be more specific, I've seen a lot of different car components from their concept and to be honest they are rather dull. It seems like each new part is just a poor knock-off of the previous years model. You can ask just about anyone in the automotive manufacturing industry and most will tell you that it has been a long time since any of the big three automakers have come out with anything really exciting. Sure the cars of today still do their job, they get you from point "A" to point "B", but that's about it. Think about it, when was the last time that the big three put out that "must have" car or truck.
All this has caused the consumers to look elsewhere for that sweet ride. They want a car that functions just like they always have, but they want them to have a fresh new look.
To get right down to it, the American automakers need to retool! If they don't they will just continue to loose more and more market share and eventually have to close up shop. So what does this have to do with youth ministry?

Well, teens today are a lot like today's automobile consumers, especially when it comes to the youth ministry that they are a part of. They want to have a youth ministry that provides the same things it always has. They want to know it's a place that they can go to learn more about Christ, a place where they can be served and learn to serve others. They want to know that it's a place where they know they can go and feel like they belong and are accepted. They want all of this but they want it in a new refreshing way. The type of youth ministry that their parents had, while effective, will not work for today's youth, it just won't! While the message of the Gospel will always be timeless, the way in which it is presented must be timely!

In the times we live in, trends come and go at lightning quick speeds. The attention of today's youth is being pulled in several different directions and I'm afraid that to many churches have not retooled their youth ministries. They're just doing the same old thing year in and year out, because it's always "worked". While the old methods may still get you from point "A to point"B" so to speak, it doesn't make it exciting or very personal for the teen. It makes it more of a necessary evil. Just like I know I need a car, many teens that truly love Jesus know they need to be a part of a ministry. I don't like my car, it's old but it still runs and is paid for. However I know that there is something better out there. The world has a lot to offer teens today and if we as youth leaders don't retool our ministries, we might have to close up shop because all of our "customers" have gone elsewhere.

Take some time to laugh!

2008-12-05T13:59:00.000-08:00

We as followers of Jesus need to and should be able to laugh out loud. Forget about all the pressures that fill our lives knowing that God is in control and is with us no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in. If we can't do something as simple as that, what message does that send to unbelievers? What does that tell them about or faith or the power that God has? So take 5 minutes and watch this clip from one of my favorite comedians, Jim Gaffigan, and laugh a little.

Female Rockers

2008-11-30T17:52:00.000-08:00

Over the the last ten years or so the "Christian Music" industry has changed a lot, and it can't be more true when it comes to that of hard rock. It used to be that only the "best" bands were a bunch of "church acceptable" looking guys that just happened to play music. That's not the case any more. Today the look and sound of most bands has changed, and I must say it's for the better.

The music today is a lot edgier, harder and in your face. The cool thing is, it's more blatant about spreading the the truth of the gospel as well as the person and message of Jesus. It seems like in the past that bands would try and hide their message in order to get that bigger contract or to get the cross-over radio play. I don't think people had much respect for that. People want to know what a band is all about, what ever it may be.

Not only has the music and the message gotten better, but the face of a lot of bands has changed. Once dominated by men, women have taken over as the lead vocals of many new metal bands. I have to say, I was once skeptical of having a woman being the lead of a hard rack band. Not because I didn't think a woman could do it, it's just that up until recently there were very few and the ones that were around weren't any good. That is not the case any more!

If you like hard rock, check out some of the bands I've listed below ( in no particular order). They all have a great sound and a greater message. Let me know in the comments section of any other new bands out there, I'm always looking for new music.

Flyleaf, Breaking The Silence, Ilia, Fireflight,

Jesus Rules!

2008-11-22T18:56:00.000-08:00

Man, I can't say it enough, Jesus is awesome! The last few months have been really hard for my family and for most families living here in Michigan. But you know, the Lord never fails. This post is sort of an extension of the last one, but I have to give praise and credit to the one who sustains.
The Lord has blessed even more than I can imagine. We sort of get in this rut thinking that blessings come in the form of money and while that is true, it's not the only form of blessing.
Blessings can come in the form of money, time, health, family, struggle, peace, hurt and the list could go on.
Yes even things that might seem hard to go through can indeed be a blessing, although we may not see it as such until after we have gone through it.
I'm reminded of the song "Count your blessings" it says "name them one by one, count your many blessing, see what God has done!" Go ahead take time to think about all the blessings that God has given you, and not just the monetary ones. Maybe even write them down. I bet you'll be surprised at the length of the list.

Gods Advice Through These Hard Times

2008-11-13T15:20:00.000-08:00

"All of You is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough

You are my supply
My breath of life
And still more awesome than I know
You are my reward
worth living for
And still more awesome than I know...." you probably recognize those lyrics from the song "More Than Enough" written by Chris Tomlin. They are great lyrics and in these tough economic times, those lyrics really make me think. Is God my supply and is He truly more than enough for me? I'd like to challenge you to think about and question where does your faith rest? I know these are just lyrics to a song and are not divinely inspired, but I have a verse, three in fact.

Matthew 6:25-27 25 says this: "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?(ESV)
Lets take a minute and pick these verses apart.
First in verse 25 and 26, we are not to be anxious or worried about our lives. Our lives are compared to the lives of birds. Birds don't sow reap, save or store for the future and yet he takes perfect care of them. Then in verse 26 it asks the question "Are you not of more value then they?" Let me answer that for you, YES!!! I really like what it goes on to say in verse 27, "And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?" There is no point in worrying, it's not going to add anything to your life. In fact in will only rob you of life. So then what are we as followers of Christ supposed to do, walk around with our heads in the clouds and wait for God to drop a big sack of money on our heads?
No way! We need to have a good testimony by working hard, being faithful with what God has given us and keep on working to further the kingdom of Christ like we were called to do.
We need to stay faithful to God, He will always be faithful to his children!

2008-11-09T15:54:00.000-08:00

Check out this sermon by Mark Driscoll on putting preachers (preaching) in their place. It's a great message on the importance of preaching the Bible in todays churches. Pass it along to any preacher or senior church leader you know. Good stuff!

Happy Birthday PAC Man

2008-10-31T03:03:00.000-07:00

The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. Proverbs 23:24(ESV)
Wow, that verse weighs very if your a dad! We as fathers are to be raising righteous and wise sons (children), but what does that mean? Well, there's no way that we can raise righteous and wise children if we first are not righteous and wise.
Romans 1:16-18 says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."(ESV)
For us as fathers to be righteous and wise I think we first need to examine our relationship with Jesus. Do you have a relationship with him? If not, check this out. If so, is it a relationship that is healthy and growing?
The most important tool that we as Christians have in becoming righteous and wise is the Bible. We, like the Apostle Paul, should never be ashamed of Gods word, and these verses give us two reasons why not to be. First is in verse 16. "For it is the power of God for salvation" and in verse 17, "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed".
I think verse 17 really sums it up. The righteousness of God is revealed in the Bible. What better example of living a Godly life than God himself. We need to really know God and the best way we can do that is to be consistently in the Scriptures meditating on them and then living them out daily. Application of the Scriptures is key. You can know all you want to know about God and it will never matter if your not acting on it.
Allow me challenge those of you reading this, maybe by accident, to be in Gods word every day, grow in your relationship with Christ and apply the scriptures to your life. Then, by Gods grace, you'll find yourself growing in righteousness and wisdom.

One year ago Today Peyton Anderson Charles was born into this world. Happy birthday PAC man, daddy loves you!!!!

I love my wife!

2008-10-22T06:39:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 12:4 says "An excellent wife is the crown of her husband..."(ESV) Crown does not even describe how awesome my wife is! God has honored me greatly by giving me the best wife and mother to my kids I could ask for. Today is Harmony's 30th birthday, we got married when she was 20, and I love her even more today. I didn't think that was possible but it's true! Happy birthday babe, I love you so much!

With Pain Comes Growth

2008-10-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

James chapter 1 verses 2&3 talks about trials, patients, and being made perfect and complete, what an awesome evolution of the human condition.
About 4 times a week I choose to go down into my dungeon (home gym) and put my body through various trials. I've been working out for the last twelve years and I'm still not sure why. I guess there could be a few reasons for it. One, I'm a glutton for punishment. Two, genetics suck! Or three, I know that in the long run it is the best thing for my health and even though there is some pain that goes along with it, I'll be stronger and better off for putting myself through it. It really hurts the most when I'm lifting for those big gains, but I know that with pain comes growth.
Often times we find ourselves going through one trial or another and we're not really sure why. For some it may be because of some bad choices that have been made and now the consequences have come calling. Or it may be that God has allowed something to take place and some hardships ensue.
With either of these two scenarios there is no doubt some level of pain or discomfort to take place. The pain can take place in many different forms. It could be in the form of something physical, like cancer. It could be in the form of finances, such as a loss of a job. Regardless the reason or the form of the pain there is always something that can be learned from it.
Whenever we make a dumb choice and suffer the consequences for it, the lesson learned is obvious, don't make that or similar choices again. We can always learn from our mistakes. But what about those times when pain or hardship comes and we're not sure how we got there or why it's taking place?
I like to consider these times the time to make those big gains spiritually. God allows things to happen in our lives for a few reasons. One, to grow us or stretch us in our faith and dependence on him. Two, God wants to teach us something so that we might know him more. Or three, God wants to do something through us so that in the end he will be glorified and be made much of.
What ever the reason for the hard times or pain, we can be sure that it is for our good and for Gods glory. Just like with our physical bodies, we can't grow without some level of pain, spiritual growth may also come with a level of pain as well. We should embrace those hard time, know that God is in control, learn what God has for us, and draw closer to him.
I had mentioned earlier the this the verses in James 1 verses 2&3 was an evolution of the human condition. We are evolving, going through hard times, growing in our faith and hopefully becoming more Christ like. This process will continue until the the end when Christ will make us as he is. Until then, trust in God, grow in your faith and know that he is foe=rever in control.

Head Control

2008-10-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

Last week I was in a ministry meeting at church. It was one of those meetings that lasts all day and until it's over you don't really know how it's going to turn out. For this post the content of this meeting is not important, but a phrase that was mentioned has had me thinking all week. The guy who was heading up our meeting had mentioned that he had been wrestling with some things that had to to with the ministry and that's what got me thinking.
All through middle and high school, from November to March, I wrestled. OK, here is where you can make fun of the uniforms but if you do I guess you were just not man enough to wear them.
There are many fundamentals when it comes to wrestling but there was one that was taught and then always pounded into our heads, sometimes literally. It was that whenever you were on your feet you always wanted to gain control of your opponents head. You did this by "locking up" and grabbing the back of your opponents head. From this position you had a few options open to you. You can either snap their head down to the mat, slap the back of their head with the palm of your hand, or grab at the base of their head and pull them where you wanted them to go. The first two options are mostly for intimidation and to throw them off their game. The third option is used to set yourself up for another move so that you can take them down.If you control your opponents head, then you control their direction.
A good leader will always have control over his ministry. He'll have a vision of where he wants to take it and a plan to take him and his team to the place where God wants them to end up.
Are you wrestling with something or someone in ministry? Have you allowed it or them to take control? If so, stop it! As the leader you need to lead, that's why God put you in the position your in. On the other hand, maybe your wrestling with God.
When wrestling with God everything changes. We need to allow him to have control so that he can lead where he wants us to go. We can't control God but we can control how much we allow God to have control of over our life. When you give God the control you'll find out he has some pretty sweet moves!

Hanging with Jesus in the Dungeon

2008-09-27T05:47:00.000-07:00

Matthew chapter 6 contains some of the most well known words of Jesus. Well known to both Christians and non Christians alike. This prayer is widely known as the Lords prayer, but better described as the disciples prayer. It is through this pray where Jesus teaches his disciple how and where to pray. He warns them that they should not be like the hypocrites who pray in places where they are sure to be seen and wowed at for their high level of "spirituality". Noting that, because of the praise they receive from men, they have already received their reward.
Instead Jesus tells his disciples that when they pray they should "go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret"
I think the point that Jesus is making is that when you pray get away from all distractions. Make your alone time with God a time of quality not quantity. While God does want to spend a lot of time with you he would rather have an intimate conversation with you, receiving your praise and knowing whats on your heart than just getting a quick "hey God, how are ya? This is what I need, gimme gimme gimme."
So what does this room where you talk to God look like? For me it's two places. The first is my lawn. I love working out in the lawn, planting flowers and playing in the dirt. For living in a neighborhood my lawn is huge. It takes me a minimum of two hours to mow it (I need a bigger mower). It is in these two hours of no distractions where I can talk to God and share with him whats on my heart and praise him for all he has done for me and my family.
The second place where I get alone with God is my dungeon. Tucked away in the dark corner of my basement is where I have my gym set up. My kids are to little to use it, and my wife does not like to push metal around. So it's just me, a lot of cold steel and God. Just like when I'm in the lawn my head gets clear of distractions and I'm able to talk to God and allow him to also speak to me.Sure sometimes I'm asking God why he has given me a passion for physical exercise, I guess I'm a glutton for punishment.
So how about it what does your alone "room" with God look like? Click the comment button below and let me know. Maybe we can pass some ideas around.

Be aware of the what in the road!?

2008-09-23T19:08:00.000-07:00

If your saying, "Is that an elephant lying dead in the road" then you you be correct. I found this story on the Fox News web site, and thought it was just amazing. You can read the whole story here. Then it got me thinking, this elephant in the road is sometimes like how we find the sin in our lives. We're going along in life, things seems to be going just fine, then WHAM! We run head on into a sin that we know shouldn't be there, and actually we wouldn't even expect it to be there but it's there and it has to be dealt with! I'll be honest, I've had this problem and for me it was pride. I never really thought of myself as being prideful, but then WHAM! It hit like a ton of bricks, and I didn't realize I was dealing with this sin until it showed up rather unexpectedly.
As a youth leader at my church, and this would apply to any leader, pride is something that has to always be kept in check. We can never have an attitude that we have arrived or know it all because of the size church we lead, number of people we've lead to Christ, conferences we're asked to speak at etc.
What we should have and need is confidence. In the book of Acts when the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit they began preaching and teaching the gospel with boldness. Of course this is the same Holy Spirit we're filled with today when we give our life to Christ, or Christ saves us (if your a Calvinist). Either way where filled with the Holy Spirit and given the boldness to preach the gospel.
The only leader that's ever come along and can think he has arrived is Jesus. Yet pride nor any other sin never entered his life. He preached and taught with boldness and confidence but it was always wrapped with with humility.
What about you, is there a sin in your life that you need to take care of? It's good examine yourself from time to time.If we are at least aware of the fact we have certain sin problem, we can take the necessary steps to avoid hitting it. A sin problem can quickly turn into a huge sin problem, then WHAM! On a positive note however, with Jesus' help all sin can eventually become roadkill.

Scripture, keepin it real!

2008-09-21T16:18:00.001-07:00

The last six weeks have been great for me as far as my Bible study is concerned. As you may or may not know from a previous post, I use the Inductive Bible Study Method when studying scripture. Over the last six weeks I've been studying through the book of Galatians, and if your familiar with Galatians you'll know that there is six chapters in it. Every week I started a new chapter and spent the whole week studying that chapter, man it was awesome.
What was also very interesting as well as humbling, was how much my own life as well as many other Christians lives resembled the churches of Galatia. We have heard the gospel, yet we allow stupid things to creep in and after a while we see these stupid things as part of the gospel. This was the case with the churches of Galatia. Paul took these churches to task for this and he also spends much of the book reminding them of what Christ has done for them and how that only through faith in Jesus can our sin and our lives be justified before God.
Like the church it's not until someone lovingly corrects us that we repent of our sin and begin seeing the gospel for what it really is and for what it really says.
What about you? Have you ever ever found yourselves adding something to the gospel that was never there? I know I have, although stupid, I'll give you an example. I thought for a long time that because the Bible calls our bodies the temple of God in 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 , I figured that smoking was a huge sin. While smoking is stupid, unattractive and very unhealthy, it's not a sin. It wasn't until I actually read it in context and saw it for what it was truly saying that I realize my error. Those verses in 1 Corinthians in context are talking about sexual immorality.
Many of the reasons, as was mine, that people have a wrong perspective of the Bible is because they were incorrectly taught what the Bible says and were never taught how to correctly study the Bible for themselves. I'm sure my parents were well intentioned in telling me that smoking was a sin, but they should have just said it was stupid and left it at that.
Let me encourage you to take time and study the Bible, don't rush through it but absorb all that it has to say in it's right context.

Go Figure!

2008-09-11T18:40:00.000-07:00

I don't care what Forrest Gump says, life is not like a box of chocolates, it more like a Rubik's Cube! With a box of chocolates you at least know your going to get something good regardless what you pick! However when it comes to a Rubik's cube it takes many twists and turns to get it figured out, then when you think you see how it's going to work out, you find you were way off. Such is life!
In my last post I told how I was just super busy with work and I was, until this week. I went from working fifty or better hours to this week where I barley have worked twenty! That is sort of the way it has gone at my shop for the last six years I've worked there. It used to totally freak me out and fill me with worry every time I would get way down in hours and have no work on the horizon.Over the last six years though, God really has taught me to rely on him and to not put so much weight in my paychecks. 2 Timothy 1:7 says that God has not given us a spirit of fear. While I'm a little scared of the unknown, I'm totally at peace knowing that God is in control and that He will work everything out for my good and His glory.
So how about you, do you often find yourself worrying about things? Things that you have no control over anyways? I challenge you to give it over to God let him work it out. I can tell you from experience, it works out better that way!

Slow down or get out paced

2008-09-06T14:57:00.000-07:00

Man, it's been way to long sine I've posted. Life just gets so busy at times, it really sucks when you don't have time to do the things you really want to do. All summer long I've been working 55-65 hours a week, working out 3-4 times a week, running 4 times a week to stay in shape for the three 5k races I ran. Not to mention my involvement in church being a father and husband and all the everyday stuff that requires my attention. Thankfully work has slowed down some, but it has been replaced with school work. Yep as if my my life was not busy enough, two yeas ago I decided to go back to school to get a degree in tooling and manufacturing technologies. Seven years ago I received my journeyman's card in injection molding, but in the manufacturing world these days, that's not enough.
So all that to say, in all of my busyness I unfortunately have dropped the ball in other areas of life. While I still pray daily and read the my Bible, the quality of that time has gone south. So I challenge you and myself to not let the things that matter in life to take a back seat to all the busyness that we involve ourselves in. This would include our service in church as well. To many of us serve in our churches so much that we tend to neglect time with our families or our own personal time with Jesus.
If all this sounds like you, slow down reconnect with Jesus, and family. I know I need too.

Whatever it Takes!

2008-08-25T17:11:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe but it's been 30 years since Lego Man showed up on the scene. For 30 years kids have been playing with Lego's and building castles for Lego Man to protect and spaceships for him to ride in. A lot of creativity and imagination went into building those things and today we as Christians should be using way more creativity than that when it comes to getting people into the church and ministering to them. Yep, we should be using every idea and creative way we can think of to draw people into church so that we may be able to introduce them to Jesus.
I know what many may think, "All the church needs to do is preach Jesus and people will come, we don't need to have flashy lights, loud music, and and lots of technology to get people into church, just Jesus! We don't need to offer anything but Jesus!" To that I say "Are you nuts!!" John 15:18 says "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you." Non-Christians don't want Jesus, that's why they are non-Christians. They have to be told of and see their need for Jesus and know that he is their only hope. It's our job to share the gospel with those around us and use any appropriate method to draw them into church so they can hear the gospel and be ministered to. Even Jesus used different methods to draw a crowd.
Really, Jesus too compelled people to come listen to the gospel. Of course his methods were a bit different. They were timely for the culture he was in. Think about it, there were crowds that followed Jesus, multitudes the Bible tells us, and you can't tell me that everyone that followed Christ was an actual follower of Christ. No way, many followed because they knew he could meet a need of theirs. For some it might have been the need a healing touch, a meal, or a need to reconnect with a loved one that passed away. Whatever it was Jesus was there to meet the needs of people, but why he was meeting their needs, he also taught them about sin, repentance, and their need for a savior.
The mission and the message has not changed, but the means have. For some just preaching Jesus is all it will take, for others it might take years of ministering and showing them the love of Christ before they see their need for him and for others it might just take sweet technology, flashy lights and loud music. Point is, we need to use whatever appropriate means to get the Gospel out to people.

Lesson from the potty seat

2008-08-20T18:30:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems like it has taken forever but I think that the time has come to finally say she's got it! My wife and I have been working on potty training with our daughter who turned three a few weeks ago. I thought she would have gotten it months ago, she is a really smart kid, so you can imagine our frustration. Many months ago she did almost have it, but the her brother came along and she decided she was not ready to not be the baby anymore. It took many months of discipline, correcting, and teaching, but in the end she had to decide that she no longer wanted to be the baby and that it was something that she really wanted to do.
Just simply being a dad has helped me to learn a lot more about our heavenly father. For a long time He will continue to correct, teach and discipline his children, really wanting us to learn the lesson he is teaching. Like my daughter, we need to determine the we no longer want to be the baby christian we once were, grow up, and learn the lesson God has for us.
What is it that God is trying to teach you? Are you listening or responding to his teaching or maybe his correction? God's proud of his children when we learn and grow, for many of us, it's time to give in and make our heavenly father proud.

Live it out!

2008-08-18T15:40:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a week since my last post, and man, has it been a busy week! Work has been crazy all summer, between 55 and 60 hours a week all summer long, and this past weekend we had our annual youth retreat. We did call it "Wilderness Weekend" but over the years it has been becoming much less of a wilderness experience and more of a general "church camp" type event. So this year we finally changed the name to "Re:Fuel".....I like it!
We named it Re:Fuel because that is what we're attempting to do do our students before the new school year begins. Just like last year it took place at Son-Life camp down in Wayland,MI. It's a small camp, but serves our purposes very well. Not to mention it's not to far out of town.
Anyways, the weekend was filled with a ton of fun as well as some awesome challenges from Gods word.
Our theme for the weekend was "Inside Out" and we challenged our students to live out their faith for all to see.We had four different speakers over the weekend, and God spoke through each one of them. First up was one of our youth leaders, Matt Lane. Matt spoke out of Psalms 19 and really challenged the students to really meditate on the scriptures and that our heart saturates our soul with what we are meditating on. It was an awesome talk.
Second was another of our youth staff, Scott Charles. Oh wait, hey that's me. I spoke out of James 1. I challenged the students to look into Gods mirror, the scriptures, and see if they are reflecting Jesus. To allow the scriptures to show them what they look like and to show them what they need to become. The scriptures as well as our faith will call us to action, either to change something about ourselves, or to serves others.
Our third speaker for the weekend was our churches new singles pastor, Jared Moore. Jared spoke out of Mathew 15. He challenged the students to not practice religion like the scribes and pharisees of Jesus day, but to have a deep well rooted relationship with Christ.
Last to speak was Jimmy Mahaney, our churches youth pastor. Jimmy also spoke out of Mathew 15 and challenged the students to take responsibility for their own hearts and to guard their hearts against sin.
God really moved in the hearts of our students this past weekend and in this youth leaders heart as well. I think a lot of times when we as leaders teach, God lays it on our hearts because it's a message he wants to get into our hearts as well. I know that was the case for me. To those of you reading this that are leaders, be very open to what Gods wants to say through you. He maybe just wanting to say it too you.
Obviously I could go on more about the talks this past weekend as well as all the fun we had, but there is a three year old standing next to me wanting to play the Memory Game......gotta go!

It's no easy task!

2008-08-11T18:05:00.000-07:00

Ephesians 6:4 (ESV)
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Proverbs 22:6 (ESV)
Train up a child in the way he should go;even when he is old he will not depart from it.

These are just a couple of instructions that the scriptures give to fathers and parents in regards to raising children. As I read just these two examples I think about the magnitude of them. Think of the impact on the life of a child if you even get just these two verses wrong! My prayer for all parents is that we would constantly lean on God for wisdom and strength, and never take for granted the little life that God has entrusted to us. Thank you God for the awesome example you have given us! My I continually grow in your grace so that each day I can be the father you want me to be!

August 11 2005 @ 4:45 p.m. Chloe Joy Charles was born into this world! It's hard to believe that it's been three years! Happy Birthday Chloe, daddy loves you!

It's really about self control!

2008-08-09T13:20:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday Perry Noble, pastor of Newspring Church preached a sermon titled "Is it OK for a Christian to drink alcohol?" It was a great talk about the use of alcohol as a Christian. You can listen to it here. I'll go ahead and spoil it for you a bit, NO it's not wrong for a Christian or anybody else for that matter, to drink alcohol.
Perry talks about it a bit in the sermon, but I need to echo it because it's something that I have felt strongly about for years. What he mentions is the fact that so many preachers hammer on alcohol as if it were a sin, when they themselves are so out of shape, they are out of breath just from walking up to the pulpit!
While drinking alcohol and eating are not sins, getting drunk and being a glutton is sin. This really is a heart problem. One of the fruits of the spirit is self control but when someone allows alcohol or food to take control of there lives they have given up that self control and have given in to sin.
As Christians our bodies are temples of God, we need to keep them in the best shape as we can. Perry also had a few health related blogs last week too, check them out here. We can't make a lasting impact for Christ if we are dead from alcohol poisoning or clogged veins. By the way the bodybuilder pictured above is Lee Priest, one of the best in the world.

What are you into?

2008-08-06T17:21:00.000-07:00

I ask the question "What are you into?" for my first post because it's something I've been thinking a lot about lately. For most, if not all, my Christian life I've been into a lot of different things. From bodybuilding to music, to making out with my girlfriend (now my wife), to keeping up on all the latest styles and trends. My point is is that most of my interests were purely things that would benefit me physically.
However, over the last two years my interests have changed from being self centered and self serving, to being Christ centered and Christ and people serving and there is one key factor that I can put my finger on to account for this change. I fell in love with the Bible!
Sure, I was raised in a Christian home, my dad has been a deacon for as long as I can remember, and the Bible was always present in my life. But in the last two years my faith has really become my own. It wasn't until I was introduced to the Inductive Bible Study Method, that I started to really read the Bible for what it actually says and not just taking someones word for it as to what it says and what it means. It wasn't the method, but seeing the scriptures in a different way than I ever had before that caused me to fall in love with the Bible.
The more I studied the scriptures the more I noticed my interests, thought life, and relationships started changing. The scriptures were changing me simply by reading it and allowing it to speak to me.
I still enjoy doing the things I was once interested in, especially making out with my girlfriend(still my wife), but they are in the priority they should be. I challenge you to daily read the scriptures, let them speak to you, and then act on what it calls you to do as a follower of Jesus.
For more information on the inductive Bible study method go to Thirsty Tree