Ahhh! I forgot my dad's birthday yesterday. I'm so absent-minded! I even wrote myself a sticky note a couple days before to help remind me, AND I STILL FORGOT. I’m one of those people that tie something to their finger to remind them of something and the next day they can’t remember why they tied the string to their finger. What’s even worse is I talked to him about three times yesterday and didn't wish a happy birthday until about midnight. I'm such a terrible person! So to try to make it up to him, this blog post is in honor of him.
Aren't dads awesome! My dad is the most Godly, humble, and sincere man of integrity I know. If you were to ask me one person that I could emulate, if I had the choice, it would be my dad. I thought of 3 main reasons why I want to be like my dad and here they are:
1. HE’S HUMBLE
My dad is the most honest and humble man I have ever met. His integrity astounds me more and more everyday. To have grown up and seen the example that he set for our family and to see the life that he has lived is a blessing! He's talented, athletic, a fluent communicator, and gifted writer. Every trait that he bears I want to be able to emulate, feed off of, and absorb! But when I say that he's talented, you really wouldn't know it because he would never tell you that. He's confident but never arrogant. He never puts himself before anyone else. His focus is always on how he can serve other people, especially his family. His goal in life, his aim, is that GOD would show off in his life. From what I've seen from my dad he's never lived to try to impress other people, although he's had plenty of opportunities. He's lived a life that is consistent with humility and Godliness, glorifying Jesus in everything that he does.
2. HE’S LOVING
Wow, I know my brother and I have been pains in the you-know-what to put up with before. I look back at a few years in high school that I put my parents through utter Hades. But my dad has always loved me unconditionally; despite the grief I may have caused him at one time or the other. Did that mean I was never disciplined? SHOOT! Of course not! My dad laid into me a few times more than I would like to remember. But it was never out of rage, contempt, or anger. He has always had our best interest at heart. The numerous Sunday afternoons he would take us to the batting cages, or the soccer field, the countless nights spent watching my brother and I play the sports we love, the selfless sacrifices he made so that my brother and I could have all the opportunities we did, all these things amaze me when I look back and reflect on my dad.
He raised two very competent boys, who love Jesus with their heart and he has the most amazing relationship with my mom that I have ever seen from any married couple. When I have a wife and kids, I won't be looking to Oprah, or Dobson, or Dr. Phil for advice. My dad will be first person I turn to when I need some advice on how to handle a situation. My dad is my best friend - someone I know will always pick up the phone and listen to me if I need to vent and pray with me when I need it (and boy do I need a lot of prayer!)
3. HE’S WILLING
My dad has always strove to be in the center of God's will. I remember when we moved to Tuscaloosa right before my Senior of high school. You better believe that he was concerned about uprooting his family and moving somewhere else, but he constantly reminded us that the center of God's will is the only place we will find true fulfillment. I recall one night in particular where our whole family sat in the living room, holding each other, crying, hugging, and praying, not knowing where God was going to lead us, only having each other as stability in this chaotic world.
I trust my life with my dad. I know that he will never purposefully put me in harms way, and I know that he will never compromise his relationship with HIS heavenly Father. My dad has always been willing to serve Jesus with his whole heart, even if that means he will never be recognized for it; even if that means he will live in utter obscurity; even if that means he will never make a lot of money, or have a lot of worldly success; even if that means he will never impress a lot of people, or pastor his own megachurch. My dad is only concerned with one thing: glorifying God with his life!
Reflecting on my dad has reminded me of our Heavenly Father. It's amazing how often we question Him. God sees things from a perspective that we will never be able to see. He always has our best interest at heart, and yet we pull away when he takes us into uncomfortable territory. Remember the 12 spies checking out the Promise Land (Numbers 13). After all God had brought them through, all but Caleb and Joshua refused to go into Canaan because it would have meant placing their ENTIRE trust in God and stepping out of their comfort zones.
When I was little and my dad would punish me or he would place "ridiculous" restrictions me, I didn't understand why. I thought he just wanted to steal my fun. But the reality is that he saw the world from an entirely different and broader perspective than I did. He had plenty more experience than me and he was merely trying to protect me from hurting myself. Our heavenly Father sees everything from a much broader perspective than we ever could. Why are we afraid to TRUST Him with our whole lives?
lives?
Monday, April 10, 2006
The "Gospel" of Judas
Skeptics are everywhere. Just as rampant as skeptics, though, are liars and frauds. If I were to tell you that the Senator Giuliani has contacted me and told me that he wants me to run beside him as his Vice President candidate for the next presidential election, you probably would be a little skeptical about that, right? Because let’s face it. That is extremely far-fetched. Who would ever believe that I was to be the next Vice Presidential candidate? I would be lying. But what if I told you that Dr. Spittal has contacted me and wants me to be the next Student in charge of Campus Activities. That a little less far-fetched, but it’s no more truthful than me running for Vice President of the United States. The truth is, though, you would probably believe the campus life story because it’s something that is prevalent and conceivable in my life. Right?
Skeptics of the Bible have been using this technique for years. Let’s take a look at Dan Brown and his best seller, The DaVinci Code. Now, he can’t PROVE that Jesus never existed. He knows that there is more evidence that the person of Jesus walked the earth than Alexander the Great. But what he can try to make his reader believe is that Jesus had and Mary Magdalene and had a child together. That is not so far-fetched to the mind of an average person. Is it true, though? There’s a similar theory that has been around for a while but has just recently surfaced among the media and that is The Gospel of Judas has been uncovered. That’s right, Judas, the one that betrayed Jesus, his “Gospel” has been uncovered and has highly controversial claims in it—claims that challenge the very foundation of Christianity.
This document was apparently discovered about 30 years ago by a farmer who was searching through some caves in Egypt. He then gave the manuscript to someone who then turned around and sold it to an Egyptian black-market antiquities dealer. It was then stolen from this dealer and somehow recovered again by that dealer. The dealer, not knowing what to do with the manuscript and not being able to decipher it, stored it for over 20 years in a safety deposit box in a bank, where it sat, dried, and deteriorated. It was then recovered and handed over to National Geographic for restoration and authentication purposes. These conservators have restored about 85% of the manuscript. Liberal scholars claim that this is an authentic manuscript from the 3rd Century A.D.
The manuscript apparently claims 3 things that fly in the face of traditional Christian beliefs. First (1) is that Jesus put Judas up to betraying him, that he was chosen to carry out a most important mission that would make him a hero and lead the way for the salvation of the world. Second, (2) the disciples were envious of Judas and decided to portray him as a traitor. And third, (3) that God did not create the world.
This manuscript is speculated to have been written by a religious sect called the “Cainite” Gnostics. Now if you are not familiar with the beliefs of this group called the Gnostics, I want to share with you 4 major things they believed. First (1) is that Jesus was never raised from the dead. They believed that it was essential for Jesus to die and his spirit lived on but there was no physical resurrection. The second (2) is that they believe that the Almighty God did not create the world, that in fact, the “creator God” is not worthy of worship. Which leads us to their next belief. Who is worthy of worship? Their third (3) major belief is that each and every one of us can become divine (worthy of worship) if we truly “find” ourselves. In other words, the Kingdom of God is within us.
The fourth (4) thing they believe is that the serpent in the Garden of Eden was not actually a bad character. In fact they believe that the serpent was a good character that was merely trying to offer Adam and Eve knowledge. And to these Gnostics, knowledge was something that was desired. They wanted knowledge. So the serpent was really an enlightening character. These Gnostics also praise Cain for killing his brother Abel. They praise the Sodomites, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah for their immoral behavior. And they also praise Judas for turning Jesus over. They make Judas the HERO of the crucifixion story.
Now in order to thwart these ridiculous claims, we need to understand a few things. The first (1) is that the New Testament is VALID. Skeptics will argue that the New Testament cannot be trusted because it was put together by on man. They claim that it was canonized by a man named Iranaes who lived around 175 A.D. What we know as the New Testament (and 4 gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), today, was ACTUALLY canonized, or made official, in 382 A.D by a group of church fathers in the Synod, or Council, of Rome. These church fathers based their decision of what would stay in what we know as the Bible because these books all lined up with History and with each other. They hold to the belief that God inspired them to RECOGNIZE these books as canon, not to CHOOSE them. We believe these books to be the ACTUAL inspired word of God.
We also need to understand what the Bible says about Judas. Judas was obviously a friend of Jesus. He was one of the Twelve appointed disciples, Jesus closest friends and followers. In fact, Judas was arguably the most trusted of the disciples because he was given the responsibility of treasurer. He was entrusted with all the money of Jesus’ ministry. But Judas was not from Galilee like Jesus and all the other disciples. He was from a region known as Judea where a group known as the Zealots lived. Now a Zealot was pretty much a terrorist. They believed strongly that the Messiah would come, overthrow the Roman government, and set up an earthly kingdom. These Zealots resorted to violent terrorist acts to "jump start" the overthrow of the Roman government. He was convinced that Jesus was the man to do that.
Now, the more time Judas spent time with Jesus and realized that overthrowing the Roman government was not Jesus’ intent, the more enraged Judas became. In fact we see in the book of Matthew that Judas is the only disciple that does not acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God. He calls Him Rabbi, teacher (Matthew 26:22-25). So out of Judas’ greed, and lack of belief in Jesus, it is very easy to see what actually drove him to betray the Son of God. There is no way that Jesus would have put Judas up to the betrayal. In fact, the actual canonized Gospels say that Jesus told the disciples it would have been better if Judas had NEVER been born (Matthew 26:24).
So, you see, these theorists and skeptics have been using the same techniques for years. They have attempted to skew our beliefs by mixing FACT with THEORY (or FICTION). Look at the conspiracy theories that have surrounded events like the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Oklahoma City Bombing, the bombing of the World Trade Towers. These theorists can’t possibly make you believe that 911 never happened. We all saw it. We were around to experience it! But what they can do is try to make you question some some of the details under the surface of the event. Maybe the Bush administration was behind the bombing of the World Trade Towers; maybe they actually planted detonation devices within the building to implode the buildings at the same time the planes were crashing into them. Maybe this Judas character wasn’t such a bad guy. Maybe Jesus actually put him up to the betrayal. But the TRUTH is that we can only trust one source; that is THE source of Truth. And this TRUTH will set us free!
Skeptics of the Bible have been using this technique for years. Let’s take a look at Dan Brown and his best seller, The DaVinci Code. Now, he can’t PROVE that Jesus never existed. He knows that there is more evidence that the person of Jesus walked the earth than Alexander the Great. But what he can try to make his reader believe is that Jesus had and Mary Magdalene and had a child together. That is not so far-fetched to the mind of an average person. Is it true, though? There’s a similar theory that has been around for a while but has just recently surfaced among the media and that is The Gospel of Judas has been uncovered. That’s right, Judas, the one that betrayed Jesus, his “Gospel” has been uncovered and has highly controversial claims in it—claims that challenge the very foundation of Christianity.
This document was apparently discovered about 30 years ago by a farmer who was searching through some caves in Egypt. He then gave the manuscript to someone who then turned around and sold it to an Egyptian black-market antiquities dealer. It was then stolen from this dealer and somehow recovered again by that dealer. The dealer, not knowing what to do with the manuscript and not being able to decipher it, stored it for over 20 years in a safety deposit box in a bank, where it sat, dried, and deteriorated. It was then recovered and handed over to National Geographic for restoration and authentication purposes. These conservators have restored about 85% of the manuscript. Liberal scholars claim that this is an authentic manuscript from the 3rd Century A.D.
The manuscript apparently claims 3 things that fly in the face of traditional Christian beliefs. First (1) is that Jesus put Judas up to betraying him, that he was chosen to carry out a most important mission that would make him a hero and lead the way for the salvation of the world. Second, (2) the disciples were envious of Judas and decided to portray him as a traitor. And third, (3) that God did not create the world.
This manuscript is speculated to have been written by a religious sect called the “Cainite” Gnostics. Now if you are not familiar with the beliefs of this group called the Gnostics, I want to share with you 4 major things they believed. First (1) is that Jesus was never raised from the dead. They believed that it was essential for Jesus to die and his spirit lived on but there was no physical resurrection. The second (2) is that they believe that the Almighty God did not create the world, that in fact, the “creator God” is not worthy of worship. Which leads us to their next belief. Who is worthy of worship? Their third (3) major belief is that each and every one of us can become divine (worthy of worship) if we truly “find” ourselves. In other words, the Kingdom of God is within us.
The fourth (4) thing they believe is that the serpent in the Garden of Eden was not actually a bad character. In fact they believe that the serpent was a good character that was merely trying to offer Adam and Eve knowledge. And to these Gnostics, knowledge was something that was desired. They wanted knowledge. So the serpent was really an enlightening character. These Gnostics also praise Cain for killing his brother Abel. They praise the Sodomites, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah for their immoral behavior. And they also praise Judas for turning Jesus over. They make Judas the HERO of the crucifixion story.
Now in order to thwart these ridiculous claims, we need to understand a few things. The first (1) is that the New Testament is VALID. Skeptics will argue that the New Testament cannot be trusted because it was put together by on man. They claim that it was canonized by a man named Iranaes who lived around 175 A.D. What we know as the New Testament (and 4 gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), today, was ACTUALLY canonized, or made official, in 382 A.D by a group of church fathers in the Synod, or Council, of Rome. These church fathers based their decision of what would stay in what we know as the Bible because these books all lined up with History and with each other. They hold to the belief that God inspired them to RECOGNIZE these books as canon, not to CHOOSE them. We believe these books to be the ACTUAL inspired word of God.
We also need to understand what the Bible says about Judas. Judas was obviously a friend of Jesus. He was one of the Twelve appointed disciples, Jesus closest friends and followers. In fact, Judas was arguably the most trusted of the disciples because he was given the responsibility of treasurer. He was entrusted with all the money of Jesus’ ministry. But Judas was not from Galilee like Jesus and all the other disciples. He was from a region known as Judea where a group known as the Zealots lived. Now a Zealot was pretty much a terrorist. They believed strongly that the Messiah would come, overthrow the Roman government, and set up an earthly kingdom. These Zealots resorted to violent terrorist acts to "jump start" the overthrow of the Roman government. He was convinced that Jesus was the man to do that.
Now, the more time Judas spent time with Jesus and realized that overthrowing the Roman government was not Jesus’ intent, the more enraged Judas became. In fact we see in the book of Matthew that Judas is the only disciple that does not acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God. He calls Him Rabbi, teacher (Matthew 26:22-25). So out of Judas’ greed, and lack of belief in Jesus, it is very easy to see what actually drove him to betray the Son of God. There is no way that Jesus would have put Judas up to the betrayal. In fact, the actual canonized Gospels say that Jesus told the disciples it would have been better if Judas had NEVER been born (Matthew 26:24).
So, you see, these theorists and skeptics have been using the same techniques for years. They have attempted to skew our beliefs by mixing FACT with THEORY (or FICTION). Look at the conspiracy theories that have surrounded events like the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Oklahoma City Bombing, the bombing of the World Trade Towers. These theorists can’t possibly make you believe that 911 never happened. We all saw it. We were around to experience it! But what they can do is try to make you question some some of the details under the surface of the event. Maybe the Bush administration was behind the bombing of the World Trade Towers; maybe they actually planted detonation devices within the building to implode the buildings at the same time the planes were crashing into them. Maybe this Judas character wasn’t such a bad guy. Maybe Jesus actually put him up to the betrayal. But the TRUTH is that we can only trust one source; that is THE source of Truth. And this TRUTH will set us free!
Saturday, April 08, 2006
It's Not About Me
So what do Godly relationships look like? We talked a little about relationships in discipleship group the other night and I've mentioned again on this blog two nights ago. But everything has been kind of theory, or concepts. We haven't really gotten into the nitty-gritty. What does the Bible say about romantic relationships? There a several things that God spells out in black and white ink, guidelines for Christians in romantic relationships, and they can all be summed up as this: IT'S NOT ABOUT ME! A romantic relationship, whether it be boyfriend and girlfriend, fiancées, or husband wife, will not succeed if you make it about YOU and what you can GET out of it! Let's take a closer look:
(I need to preface this discussion with the fact that the Bible doesn't say a whole lot about DATING relationships. Dating wasn't a real common practice in those days. The Bible does specify several guidelines for married people, though. But if you really take the time to think about it, the whole point of dating is finding out whom we can or can't marry. So we can definitely apply these guidelines to dating relationships too.)
1. DUCKS CANNOT MATE WITH SEAHORSES:
Davey, what are you smoking now? What is that supposed to mean? Simple, Christians are not supposed to date non-Christians, period. This is not a gray area in the Bible. The Bible says that we are not to be "unequally yoked" with non-believers. Wait, Davey, that verse means we're not supposed to hang out with non-Christians who could make us stumble. Oh really? So Jesus was disobeying His own laws when He ate with the tax collectors and sinners. Hmmm. So we can only glean from this that God does not want us DATING, or marrying, non-Christians if we have committed our lives over to Jesus.
So many people try to missionary date (that is dating with the intention of winning your boyfriend or girlfriend over to the Lord). "Oh, I can change them." The problem is, God wants to change them, but He can't because you're in the way! Ducks and seahorses are both water animals. But Ducks are above and beyond the water. They are not confined to the water. In fact they can fly! Seahorses, on the other hand, spend all their time on the ocean floor. They sit in the dark, murky, dangerous territories of the sea. If a duck tried to live down there it would DROWN! Ducks are not meant to live under water. If we try to missionary date, or just date anyone who is not a Christian, we just end up getting sucked into that lifestyle and we will drown, spiritually.
2. EPHESIANS 5:25
Ephesians 5:25 says, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her . . . Wives, submit to your husbands." Check this out. "It's not about me!" Christ loved the church (us - His children) so much that He gave His life for us. He gave all that He had while He was alive too! He also instructs the wives to be totally submissive to that loving husband. Too many people make relationships all about what "I can get out of it." Can I get this girl to "put-out" for ME; can I get this guy to buy ME all this stuff or do everything for ME? This is a simple fact of life. We are self-centered. It hit me the other day how many times I use first person personal pronouns in my conversations ("I" or "Me").
We want everyone to know about us and to be concerned for our needs. Jesus gives us a standard to live up to - be totally consumed with what you can do for others, particularly in a romantic relationship.
3. EVE TASTED THE APPLE; ADAM DIDN'T TELL HER IT WAS A PEAR:
I think it's so funny how Eve is always blamed for the Great Fall of Man because she tasted the fruit (by the way we don't know what kind of fruit it was) and then gave it to her husband. Get this, though, Adam was given the responsibility to watch over Eve, to disciple her, to make sure that she didn't get into trouble. It was Adam who was instructed not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and THEN God created Eve. So, it was Adam's responsibility to instruct Eve in God's ways, but HE FAILED! But we blame women for sin entering the world. That's just the problem with this world. "SHE doesn't satisfy me any more. I'm going to find my satisfaction in someone else." "SHE didn't raise our kids right." "SHE isn't cleaning the house the way I would like." "SHE, SHE, SHE. It's all HER fault that our marriage is falling apart." Guys, how about we step up, be MEN, take responsibility for our own shortcomings, and be the spiritual leaders in the relationship! Get involved with your families. Romance your wife. Disciple her. In middle school, people used to say that phrase, "When you point at me there are three fingers pointing back at you!" It's so true. Pointing the blame may take the spotlight off of you for a minute, but unless you realize that it is really YOUR fault, nothing will every change. How many guys pray with their girlfriends or with their wives? Some of the most meaningful times I have with my girlfriend are praying with her. We should do it more often. There's something incredible about coming before God and surrendering your relationship to Him.
Remember, it is NOT ABOUT ME. That is the basic guideline for all relationships with all people, but especially romantic relationships. Jesus came into this world not to BE served but to SERVE others. We are called to do the same!
(I need to preface this discussion with the fact that the Bible doesn't say a whole lot about DATING relationships. Dating wasn't a real common practice in those days. The Bible does specify several guidelines for married people, though. But if you really take the time to think about it, the whole point of dating is finding out whom we can or can't marry. So we can definitely apply these guidelines to dating relationships too.)
1. DUCKS CANNOT MATE WITH SEAHORSES:
Davey, what are you smoking now? What is that supposed to mean? Simple, Christians are not supposed to date non-Christians, period. This is not a gray area in the Bible. The Bible says that we are not to be "unequally yoked" with non-believers. Wait, Davey, that verse means we're not supposed to hang out with non-Christians who could make us stumble. Oh really? So Jesus was disobeying His own laws when He ate with the tax collectors and sinners. Hmmm. So we can only glean from this that God does not want us DATING, or marrying, non-Christians if we have committed our lives over to Jesus.
So many people try to missionary date (that is dating with the intention of winning your boyfriend or girlfriend over to the Lord). "Oh, I can change them." The problem is, God wants to change them, but He can't because you're in the way! Ducks and seahorses are both water animals. But Ducks are above and beyond the water. They are not confined to the water. In fact they can fly! Seahorses, on the other hand, spend all their time on the ocean floor. They sit in the dark, murky, dangerous territories of the sea. If a duck tried to live down there it would DROWN! Ducks are not meant to live under water. If we try to missionary date, or just date anyone who is not a Christian, we just end up getting sucked into that lifestyle and we will drown, spiritually.
2. EPHESIANS 5:25
Ephesians 5:25 says, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her . . . Wives, submit to your husbands." Check this out. "It's not about me!" Christ loved the church (us - His children) so much that He gave His life for us. He gave all that He had while He was alive too! He also instructs the wives to be totally submissive to that loving husband. Too many people make relationships all about what "I can get out of it." Can I get this girl to "put-out" for ME; can I get this guy to buy ME all this stuff or do everything for ME? This is a simple fact of life. We are self-centered. It hit me the other day how many times I use first person personal pronouns in my conversations ("I" or "Me").
We want everyone to know about us and to be concerned for our needs. Jesus gives us a standard to live up to - be totally consumed with what you can do for others, particularly in a romantic relationship.
3. EVE TASTED THE APPLE; ADAM DIDN'T TELL HER IT WAS A PEAR:
I think it's so funny how Eve is always blamed for the Great Fall of Man because she tasted the fruit (by the way we don't know what kind of fruit it was) and then gave it to her husband. Get this, though, Adam was given the responsibility to watch over Eve, to disciple her, to make sure that she didn't get into trouble. It was Adam who was instructed not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and THEN God created Eve. So, it was Adam's responsibility to instruct Eve in God's ways, but HE FAILED! But we blame women for sin entering the world. That's just the problem with this world. "SHE doesn't satisfy me any more. I'm going to find my satisfaction in someone else." "SHE didn't raise our kids right." "SHE isn't cleaning the house the way I would like." "SHE, SHE, SHE. It's all HER fault that our marriage is falling apart." Guys, how about we step up, be MEN, take responsibility for our own shortcomings, and be the spiritual leaders in the relationship! Get involved with your families. Romance your wife. Disciple her. In middle school, people used to say that phrase, "When you point at me there are three fingers pointing back at you!" It's so true. Pointing the blame may take the spotlight off of you for a minute, but unless you realize that it is really YOUR fault, nothing will every change. How many guys pray with their girlfriends or with their wives? Some of the most meaningful times I have with my girlfriend are praying with her. We should do it more often. There's something incredible about coming before God and surrendering your relationship to Him.
Remember, it is NOT ABOUT ME. That is the basic guideline for all relationships with all people, but especially romantic relationships. Jesus came into this world not to BE served but to SERVE others. We are called to do the same!
Thursday, April 06, 2006
"The Newlyweds"
Nick and Jessica! Wow what a match made in heaven. Did any of you guys ever watch that show? Man, they made marriage look so easy. Nick, sitting at home watching T.V., eating everything in sight (that guy always had something in his mouth) and never gaining an ounce, no responsibility. Poor guy didn't even know how to mow his own yard! Jessica, between touring for her latest release and her role in the Dukes of Hazard, getting her nails done, and shopping, I don't see how she kept it all together! She had it rough! Somebody waiting on her hand and foot all the time! Man isn't this such an accurate picture of marriage and relationships—two good-looking people, hardly fussing (and when they did it took a mere kiss to make-up). REALITY TV IN ITS MOST AUTHENTIC STATE!
But something must have been boiling beneath the surface. Something obviously went awry, because, like most Hollywood relationships, it came to a pitiful end. But this one was supposed to be different! They were SOOO in love! They were a match made in heaven—looks matching looks, talent matching talent. Your modern day Sleeping Beauty and Prince Charming! So why didn't they live happily ever after?
If I were to guess, most of us have had a relationship go off track at one time or another in our lives. Why? Love is so ideal isn't it? Hollywood sure has made it ideal, but if we were to base our relationships on the "scripted" relationships of Hollywood we would be in world of hurt! But we'd never do that, right? Oh . . . wait . . . uh . . .checking the pulse . . . we're in a world of hurt!
Sex In The City. Now that's a great portrayal of relationships. Non-committal sex! An all you can eat buffet. And when you get full you just ditch it all together until the next craving comes on. Sounds like such a great thing! Why is prostitution so frowned on in our society, yet these stars have been praised and elevated for their lifestyles? That is messed up! There's no difference!
We talked about relationships the other night in discipleship. I started by asking everyone what love is and the answer of the night was "the feeling that you've never felt about anyone else." Hmmm . . . I had a dog a few years ago. I never felt that way for anyone else. BECAUSE IT WAS A DOG NOT A HUMAN! The way I felt about that dog was unlike any feelings I had for anybody. Are you telling me that was love? Wow, I must be smoking the crack pipe if I LOVE my dog.
But some would say they LOVE their little puppy doggy. What love is this? Love is such a confused word and can be used I so many contexts in the English language, we don’t even know what love is. "I love lamp, I love chair, I love curtains, I love carpet." "Brick are you just looking at things around the room and saying you love them or do you really LOVE the lamp?" Haha, that part just cracks me up. Most of us fell out of our chairs with hysteria when we witnessed Ron Burgandy's encounter with "love" and his futile attempt at explaining it to the rest of the Channel Four news team (Anchorman). And the reason we laugh about it is because we know that we do the same thing too! We throw around the word "love" like it's a football in Peyton Manning's hands. I love chocolate, I love movies, I love coffee, I love shopping, I love reading, I love American Idol, I LOVE LAMP!" It's really not that funny when you think about it. We use the same term of endearment (or affection) for a $3.28 coffee as we do for a human being that we think we want to spend the rest of our lives with.
I don’t mean to give you a disillusioned and jaded view of love, because true love (as God intended it to be) can be an amazing thing! We can only understand love, though, if we begin to understand God. The Bible doesn't say that God HAS love, or God ACTS as love, or God FEELS love, it says that God IS love! Love is the very essence of God: unbiased, unconditional, unadulterated, unabridged, unfiltered (need I use any more -un's) love. I talked to someone the other day that told me he had a problem with Christianity, and one of his qualms was that you're supposed to love God MORE than you love your girlfriend or spouse. The point is, we CANNOT understand love without God! God's gift of His only son was the truest display of love that has EVER been! "Greater love has no man than to give his life for a friend." Without God, the deepest we can "feel" for our mate is the corruption of love (lust, infatuation—infatuation is not necessarily the CORRUPTION of love but it IS watered-down love. It doesn't last).
How does the Bible say we should love? Hehe. What a great discussion! It's gonna have to wait till tomorrow, though. I'm exhausted and I would just LOVE to go to sleep (case in point)!
But something must have been boiling beneath the surface. Something obviously went awry, because, like most Hollywood relationships, it came to a pitiful end. But this one was supposed to be different! They were SOOO in love! They were a match made in heaven—looks matching looks, talent matching talent. Your modern day Sleeping Beauty and Prince Charming! So why didn't they live happily ever after?
If I were to guess, most of us have had a relationship go off track at one time or another in our lives. Why? Love is so ideal isn't it? Hollywood sure has made it ideal, but if we were to base our relationships on the "scripted" relationships of Hollywood we would be in world of hurt! But we'd never do that, right? Oh . . . wait . . . uh . . .checking the pulse . . . we're in a world of hurt!
Sex In The City. Now that's a great portrayal of relationships. Non-committal sex! An all you can eat buffet. And when you get full you just ditch it all together until the next craving comes on. Sounds like such a great thing! Why is prostitution so frowned on in our society, yet these stars have been praised and elevated for their lifestyles? That is messed up! There's no difference!
We talked about relationships the other night in discipleship. I started by asking everyone what love is and the answer of the night was "the feeling that you've never felt about anyone else." Hmmm . . . I had a dog a few years ago. I never felt that way for anyone else. BECAUSE IT WAS A DOG NOT A HUMAN! The way I felt about that dog was unlike any feelings I had for anybody. Are you telling me that was love? Wow, I must be smoking the crack pipe if I LOVE my dog.
But some would say they LOVE their little puppy doggy. What love is this? Love is such a confused word and can be used I so many contexts in the English language, we don’t even know what love is. "I love lamp, I love chair, I love curtains, I love carpet." "Brick are you just looking at things around the room and saying you love them or do you really LOVE the lamp?" Haha, that part just cracks me up. Most of us fell out of our chairs with hysteria when we witnessed Ron Burgandy's encounter with "love" and his futile attempt at explaining it to the rest of the Channel Four news team (Anchorman). And the reason we laugh about it is because we know that we do the same thing too! We throw around the word "love" like it's a football in Peyton Manning's hands. I love chocolate, I love movies, I love coffee, I love shopping, I love reading, I love American Idol, I LOVE LAMP!" It's really not that funny when you think about it. We use the same term of endearment (or affection) for a $3.28 coffee as we do for a human being that we think we want to spend the rest of our lives with.
I don’t mean to give you a disillusioned and jaded view of love, because true love (as God intended it to be) can be an amazing thing! We can only understand love, though, if we begin to understand God. The Bible doesn't say that God HAS love, or God ACTS as love, or God FEELS love, it says that God IS love! Love is the very essence of God: unbiased, unconditional, unadulterated, unabridged, unfiltered (need I use any more -un's) love. I talked to someone the other day that told me he had a problem with Christianity, and one of his qualms was that you're supposed to love God MORE than you love your girlfriend or spouse. The point is, we CANNOT understand love without God! God's gift of His only son was the truest display of love that has EVER been! "Greater love has no man than to give his life for a friend." Without God, the deepest we can "feel" for our mate is the corruption of love (lust, infatuation—infatuation is not necessarily the CORRUPTION of love but it IS watered-down love. It doesn't last).
How does the Bible say we should love? Hehe. What a great discussion! It's gonna have to wait till tomorrow, though. I'm exhausted and I would just LOVE to go to sleep (case in point)!
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Discipleship Tonight
Wow! We had a great discipleship meeting with the guys tonight. We discussed relationships and what a Godly dating relationship looks like. The guys really opened up and shared with us what they struggle with in their relationships. It is so awesome to see a bunch of guys get together and open up like that! The best part is, after the night was over, we all held hands in a circle and prayed. To see what God has done on this team is incredible!
Phil and I had a great discussion afterwards. Phil told me tonight that he wanted faith like a mustard seed because the Bible tells us that if we had faith like a mustard seed we could move MOUNTAINS! How incredible would that be! I mean I could think of plenty of other things I would do with that faith rather than move mountains, but to be able to tell a mountain to pick itself up and move, that takes some serious power!
The other day, I heard someone say that we have the most boring name for the country we live in . . . The United States of America. It's just not a cool name like Iraq, Ajribijan, China, Japan, or Russia (I wonder what those names mean). But the name of The United States of America is not only practical, it strikes fear in the hearts of the rest of the world. Why? Because we are UNITED. It's amazing what can be accomplished when people come together on common ground and work as one unit.
If you don't have a discipleship or accountability group that you're a part of, I would suggest starting one or jumping into an already existing one. Feeling that encouragement, that UNITY, that instruction, that concern, and that support is essential in our lives. Christianity was not made to be done on our own. I could go out on the baseball field and try to play every position by myself, but no matter how much I TRIED I would never win! I could get up on stage and try to play every instrument by myself, but even if I was good at every instrument I wouldn't be able to make the music a full band can make. Our friends make us stronger! As warriors, lining up for battle side by side, under Jesus' banner, we can defeat any opposition that comes our way! Let's go to war on our knees . . . TOGETHER!
Phil and I had a great discussion afterwards. Phil told me tonight that he wanted faith like a mustard seed because the Bible tells us that if we had faith like a mustard seed we could move MOUNTAINS! How incredible would that be! I mean I could think of plenty of other things I would do with that faith rather than move mountains, but to be able to tell a mountain to pick itself up and move, that takes some serious power!
The other day, I heard someone say that we have the most boring name for the country we live in . . . The United States of America. It's just not a cool name like Iraq, Ajribijan, China, Japan, or Russia (I wonder what those names mean). But the name of The United States of America is not only practical, it strikes fear in the hearts of the rest of the world. Why? Because we are UNITED. It's amazing what can be accomplished when people come together on common ground and work as one unit.
If you don't have a discipleship or accountability group that you're a part of, I would suggest starting one or jumping into an already existing one. Feeling that encouragement, that UNITY, that instruction, that concern, and that support is essential in our lives. Christianity was not made to be done on our own. I could go out on the baseball field and try to play every position by myself, but no matter how much I TRIED I would never win! I could get up on stage and try to play every instrument by myself, but even if I was good at every instrument I wouldn't be able to make the music a full band can make. Our friends make us stronger! As warriors, lining up for battle side by side, under Jesus' banner, we can defeat any opposition that comes our way! Let's go to war on our knees . . . TOGETHER!
Monday, April 03, 2006
"Music Make You Lose Control!"
I thought I would compile a list of all my favorite POSITIVE and CHRISTIAN music for you guys who are looking for some good music to get your hands (and your iPod) on. Check these out if you can! It's a pretty extensive list. Here it is:
PUNK:
-MxPx
-Hawk Nelson
-FM Static
-Relient K
-Stellar Kart
-Slick Shoes
-Pugface
-Sanctus Real
-Shorthanded
EMO:
-Dashboard Confessionals
-Anberlin
-As Cities Die
-Thrice
-Underoath
-Emery
-Further Seems Forever
-Saosin
HARD ROCK/ HEAVY METAL:
-12 Stones
-Falling Up
-Pillar
-Kutless
-Skillet
-Justifide
-P.O.D.
-Thousand Foot Krutch
-Stavesacre
-Zao
-Living Sacrifice
-Day of Fire
CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN:
-Building 429
-Casting Crowns
-Across the Sky
-Justin Barnard
-Shane & Shane
-Matt Wertz
-Mercy Me
-Overflow
-Switchfoot
-Todd Agnew
-Jeremy Camp
-Shaun Groves
-Shawn McDonald
COUNTRY:
-Rascal Flatts
-Keith Urban
-Lonestar
RAP:
-Gospel Gangstaz
-T-Bone
-GRITS
-John Reuben
-KJ-52
SKA:
-Buck
-Insyderz
-Five Iron Frenzy
-The W's
-The O.C. Supertones
WORSHIP:
-Chris Tomlin
-David Crowder Band
-Charlie Hall
-Hillsong
-Matt Redman
-Delirious?
-Sonic Flood
PUNK:
-MxPx
-Hawk Nelson
-FM Static
-Relient K
-Stellar Kart
-Slick Shoes
-Pugface
-Sanctus Real
-Shorthanded
EMO:
-Dashboard Confessionals
-Anberlin
-As Cities Die
-Thrice
-Underoath
-Emery
-Further Seems Forever
-Saosin
HARD ROCK/ HEAVY METAL:
-12 Stones
-Falling Up
-Pillar
-Kutless
-Skillet
-Justifide
-P.O.D.
-Thousand Foot Krutch
-Stavesacre
-Zao
-Living Sacrifice
-Day of Fire
CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN:
-Building 429
-Casting Crowns
-Across the Sky
-Justin Barnard
-Shane & Shane
-Matt Wertz
-Mercy Me
-Overflow
-Switchfoot
-Todd Agnew
-Jeremy Camp
-Shaun Groves
-Shawn McDonald
COUNTRY:
-Rascal Flatts
-Keith Urban
-Lonestar
RAP:
-Gospel Gangstaz
-T-Bone
-GRITS
-John Reuben
-KJ-52
SKA:
-Buck
-Insyderz
-Five Iron Frenzy
-The W's
-The O.C. Supertones
WORSHIP:
-Chris Tomlin
-David Crowder Band
-Charlie Hall
-Hillsong
-Matt Redman
-Delirious?
-Sonic Flood
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Left in the Dark
Wow. . . . That was like the longest break from blogging I've done in a while. It was a great vacation from blogging, but I'M BACK! Sorry to leave you guys in the dark about a lot of stuff that happened this week. It was an physically and emotionally draining week and I really didn't have the strength in me to blog this week. I would regale you on all the events but I'm afraid that would take days of writing, so I'm just going to pick right back up like I never took the hiatus. Sorry once again.
Don't you hate being left in the dark about things? I do. Now you may not give one rat's patooey that I've left you in the dark (albeit didn't tell you anything that happened this week), because, frankly, my life really isn't THAT interesting. But we HATE being left in the dark, don't we? Think about your favorite television show. You HATE to miss an episode, right? I used to watch Seventh Heaven RELIGIOUSLY! I didn't want to miss an episode. I wouldn't schedule anything because I just had to watch Seventh Heaven. I know, the episodes would get kind of lame every once in a while, but I LOVED Seventh Heaven.
There's really no spiritual application to all this except that people hate to be left in the dark, especially when it comes to relationships. You've heard it millions of times. Be open, be honest, be genuine and your relationships will be fruitful. There are a handful of friends that I entrust everything to - a couple buddies of mine and my girlfriend. I trust them with information and with my feelings because there is a mutual level of intimacy among us where we can thoroughly confide in and trust each other. BUT, if I decided not to trust them with those things, if I decide to withhold things from them that were important to me, they would never truly KNOW me. I wouldn't really be sharing my life with them and that level of intimacy wouldn't be there.
There are two words in the original Greek text of the Bible that mean "to know." The first is "ginosko" which means "to know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of." This "ginosko" is the knowledge that we have about thinks such as historical facts, math formulas, or subject/verb agreement. It is a displaced knowledge of things, knowing ABOUT something or someone without having EXPERIENCED those things or people.
The second word is "epiginosko," which means "to become thoroughly acquainted with, to know thoroughly." This "to know" is an INTIMATE relationship, to fully experience something or someone, to know someone inside and out. This is the level of intimacy that requires work. This is a level of intimacy that allows you to confide in someone. This is a level of intimacy in which you can finish each other's sentences and you have all kinds of inside jokes. But this level of intimacy requires total honesty even if you don't feel like talking about something. This is the only way human relationships can really experience true fulfillment.
This "epiginosko" is the type of relationship Jesus Christ wants us to enter into with Him. He's beckoning, He's calling, and He's romancing us. It's up to us to respond. How intimate do you want to be with your maker?
Don't you hate being left in the dark about things? I do. Now you may not give one rat's patooey that I've left you in the dark (albeit didn't tell you anything that happened this week), because, frankly, my life really isn't THAT interesting. But we HATE being left in the dark, don't we? Think about your favorite television show. You HATE to miss an episode, right? I used to watch Seventh Heaven RELIGIOUSLY! I didn't want to miss an episode. I wouldn't schedule anything because I just had to watch Seventh Heaven. I know, the episodes would get kind of lame every once in a while, but I LOVED Seventh Heaven.
There's really no spiritual application to all this except that people hate to be left in the dark, especially when it comes to relationships. You've heard it millions of times. Be open, be honest, be genuine and your relationships will be fruitful. There are a handful of friends that I entrust everything to - a couple buddies of mine and my girlfriend. I trust them with information and with my feelings because there is a mutual level of intimacy among us where we can thoroughly confide in and trust each other. BUT, if I decided not to trust them with those things, if I decide to withhold things from them that were important to me, they would never truly KNOW me. I wouldn't really be sharing my life with them and that level of intimacy wouldn't be there.
There are two words in the original Greek text of the Bible that mean "to know." The first is "ginosko" which means "to know, understand, perceive, have knowledge of." This "ginosko" is the knowledge that we have about thinks such as historical facts, math formulas, or subject/verb agreement. It is a displaced knowledge of things, knowing ABOUT something or someone without having EXPERIENCED those things or people.
The second word is "epiginosko," which means "to become thoroughly acquainted with, to know thoroughly." This "to know" is an INTIMATE relationship, to fully experience something or someone, to know someone inside and out. This is the level of intimacy that requires work. This is a level of intimacy that allows you to confide in someone. This is a level of intimacy in which you can finish each other's sentences and you have all kinds of inside jokes. But this level of intimacy requires total honesty even if you don't feel like talking about something. This is the only way human relationships can really experience true fulfillment.
This "epiginosko" is the type of relationship Jesus Christ wants us to enter into with Him. He's beckoning, He's calling, and He's romancing us. It's up to us to respond. How intimate do you want to be with your maker?
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