Sunday, November 13, 2005
God is Good.......
In my church we are very familiar wit the phrase God is good. When someone says "God is good" - we respond "All the time". When someone says "All the Time" we respond with " God is good". It seems so mechanical, so ordinary. My pastor this Sunday talked about a minister that went to another country to speak to a church. He said " God is good" and the people went crazy, just so excited that they whooped and hollered for several minutes. He never really got to minister because the people were so excited to hear " God is good". We are so spoiled to know the fact that God is good. We hear it like a commercial jingle that gets stuck in you head- 800-588-2300 empireeeeee- just the one that came to mind :O). Sometimes we get so focused on the latest revelation or teaching that we forget the basics - God is good. God created the family unit to show how He loves us- the loving father is how He presents Himself to us. What kind of father would go to his child's baseball game and boo him if he fell. A good father would encourage his children to keep going. That's how God is. When we fall He is right there encouraging us to get up and try again. The Bible says " There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus". God is a good God. He loves us - in fact He died for us while we were yet sinners the Bible says. The Bible says - "Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father" - our loving Father. I just wanted to remind you today that God truly is a good God.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
My Soap box.....
Well its been a few days since I have blogged so I have had some time to think about my subject matter. I'd like to begin by thanking you all for reading my blog - Special shout out to Mariah and Ilissa :) and Ang- you know I love ya girl. So I had an interesting conversation this week that has caused me to pull out my old soap box and dust if off. So be prepared for me to harp on my subject a little today :).
I guess to start off I'd like to say that I have been raised in church my entire life. The concept of church and God is one that I'm very familiar with. I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and I thank God every day that He saved me from hell. I am a Christian and I am a minister. I believe in the local church as a means for people to associate with other people who believe like them and to encourage each other in their faith. That being said I think there is a huge misconception among Christians about church and being a Christian in general.
The issue as I see it is a word we call "Religion". Now what is religion exactly? Religion is the rules we have created to please the faith we choose. Religion is the reason people don't want to be a Christian because they find themselves failing the rules and assume they can never be good enough for God. Religion places God in a box. This is why we have so many types of Christian churches, because each denomination has decided what their interpretation of God's rules are and have decided that their rules are the best rules. I heard it preached recently that if you try to decide what God is like instead of accepting God as multifaceted then you are basically idolizing God and are serving a false god anyway. Scary thought huh.
There are many churches/Christians out there that would rather hide from the world with their rules. Who does this help? Being a Christian isn't about hiding from people but rather reaching out to people. God is not looking for religious people - He is simply looking for relationship people! The Bible says even while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. He died for us in our imperfections. It was never the expectation that we come to God perfect, just that we come to Him. God works in and through us. The Bible says - He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it! It doesn’t say be perfect then come to church. We as Gods people are presenting a Gospel that shutting people out. People are searching for reality and we are failing them as a whole. When we as Gods people start realizing that "sin" is not the issue with God! People are the issue- PEOPLE. God loves people - He hates sin, He hates satan, but people He loves! Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. What in the world do you think we are supposed to be doing? Do you really think we are supposed to be creating rules to make people perfect and then hide in our perfection? I don't know anyone who has it all together! Just because a person has an outward issue we can all see doesn’t make them unworthy or less of a person. We are all dealing with our issues- some of us hide them better than others.
In conclusion: We cannot hide out from the world- Jesus commanded us to be ambassadors to reach out the those who are hurting. All the rules in the world will not make people want to serve God. Only a relationship with the creator will make people want to serve Him. Its the love of God the brings people to repentance. We need to remember that we are not called to hide from the world but rather reach out to it!
I guess to start off I'd like to say that I have been raised in church my entire life. The concept of church and God is one that I'm very familiar with. I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and I thank God every day that He saved me from hell. I am a Christian and I am a minister. I believe in the local church as a means for people to associate with other people who believe like them and to encourage each other in their faith. That being said I think there is a huge misconception among Christians about church and being a Christian in general.
The issue as I see it is a word we call "Religion". Now what is religion exactly? Religion is the rules we have created to please the faith we choose. Religion is the reason people don't want to be a Christian because they find themselves failing the rules and assume they can never be good enough for God. Religion places God in a box. This is why we have so many types of Christian churches, because each denomination has decided what their interpretation of God's rules are and have decided that their rules are the best rules. I heard it preached recently that if you try to decide what God is like instead of accepting God as multifaceted then you are basically idolizing God and are serving a false god anyway. Scary thought huh.
There are many churches/Christians out there that would rather hide from the world with their rules. Who does this help? Being a Christian isn't about hiding from people but rather reaching out to people. God is not looking for religious people - He is simply looking for relationship people! The Bible says even while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. He died for us in our imperfections. It was never the expectation that we come to God perfect, just that we come to Him. God works in and through us. The Bible says - He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it! It doesn’t say be perfect then come to church. We as Gods people are presenting a Gospel that shutting people out. People are searching for reality and we are failing them as a whole. When we as Gods people start realizing that "sin" is not the issue with God! People are the issue- PEOPLE. God loves people - He hates sin, He hates satan, but people He loves! Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. What in the world do you think we are supposed to be doing? Do you really think we are supposed to be creating rules to make people perfect and then hide in our perfection? I don't know anyone who has it all together! Just because a person has an outward issue we can all see doesn’t make them unworthy or less of a person. We are all dealing with our issues- some of us hide them better than others.
In conclusion: We cannot hide out from the world- Jesus commanded us to be ambassadors to reach out the those who are hurting. All the rules in the world will not make people want to serve God. Only a relationship with the creator will make people want to serve Him. Its the love of God the brings people to repentance. We need to remember that we are not called to hide from the world but rather reach out to it!
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Remember when .....
So today I was thinking about stuff I thought was great when I was younger. Now I know I am only 28, so I'd like to think I'm not that old, but I know that things have changed a lot. Like for instance, when I was a kid high rise pleated jeans in a stone wash were cool, and no one even considered the type of undies that you were wearing. Now the lower the rise of the pants the cooler you seem to be, its preferred that the jeans look used, and that your undies - be it a thong for the ladies or boxers for the gentlemen - are showing for all to critique. Things have definitely changed.
Now as I write this I find myself thinking that this is precisely the thing we as a child never imagine ourselves thinking. However it seems I have come to a place in my life that being an adult has taken over …..a little.
Okay so back on track when I was a kid it was really cool to do the tight roll on your pants. Okay now let me explain for those of you who don't know. You start with a regular pair of jeans with a straight leg style, you then pinch the jeans tightly around your ankle and fold the remainder of the material over, now that it is tightly folded over, you roll the bottom of the pant leg up. This is the tight roll. Now this is usually followed with a brightly colored scrunch sock, and if your really into style a brightly colored bow or scrunchy in your hair. Welcome to the late 80's and early 90's. Now some people would argue this was never a style, I would argue to those people – maybe they were not in style then.
So how about television.....the ones I remember that I watched : The greatest american hero, smurfs, different strokes, growing pains, punky brewster - she knew the tight roll!, webster, night rider, and quantum leap to name a few.
Its always fun to think about when you were a kid and things seemed so much simpler. I always like to keep the kid inside me alive. So tonight I just wanted to take you on short tour of the past and I'll leave you with a famous song- " I don't wanna grow up I'm a Toys R US kid, theirs a million things at TOYS R US that I can play with - from bikes to train's to video games...I don't wanna grow up cause if I did, I couldn't be a TOYS R US kid". I guess that’s how I feel
Now as I write this I find myself thinking that this is precisely the thing we as a child never imagine ourselves thinking. However it seems I have come to a place in my life that being an adult has taken over …..a little.
Okay so back on track when I was a kid it was really cool to do the tight roll on your pants. Okay now let me explain for those of you who don't know. You start with a regular pair of jeans with a straight leg style, you then pinch the jeans tightly around your ankle and fold the remainder of the material over, now that it is tightly folded over, you roll the bottom of the pant leg up. This is the tight roll. Now this is usually followed with a brightly colored scrunch sock, and if your really into style a brightly colored bow or scrunchy in your hair. Welcome to the late 80's and early 90's. Now some people would argue this was never a style, I would argue to those people – maybe they were not in style then.
So how about television.....the ones I remember that I watched : The greatest american hero, smurfs, different strokes, growing pains, punky brewster - she knew the tight roll!, webster, night rider, and quantum leap to name a few.
Its always fun to think about when you were a kid and things seemed so much simpler. I always like to keep the kid inside me alive. So tonight I just wanted to take you on short tour of the past and I'll leave you with a famous song- " I don't wanna grow up I'm a Toys R US kid, theirs a million things at TOYS R US that I can play with - from bikes to train's to video games...I don't wanna grow up cause if I did, I couldn't be a TOYS R US kid". I guess that’s how I feel
Friday, October 28, 2005
For What?
I have a recurring thought that is in the back of my mind every day. Who's responsible? I guess its the driving force for my life really. Everyone deals with the question- what is life really about? Why are we here? I will never forget the day the question was presented to me that changed my life......A simple question really, just two small words....FOR WHAT?
I was in Bible school and the teacher asked this question. It really made me think. He said - why do you love God? I remember thinking a really spiritual answer- Because He first loved me like the Bible says, and He responded- For What?. I thought for a moment - Well because He saved me - He responded - For What? I was really thrown off now, and responded Bbbecause He didn't want me to go to hell - He calmly responded- For What? I began to realize all my conclusions seemed to be missing something. I thought for a long time and the all the while the conclusion should have been so simple. Why are we here, what’s our purpose, what’s the meaning of life, why did Jesus die for us? One simple reason- People. God is interested in people. For what? Why did Jesus die for me, and why am I here - for people. Jesus died on the cross for each individual life- you, me, and them. My reason my "For What" if you will - My personal responsibility is the reach the ones around me that God has entrusted me with. Your personal responsibility is to reach the people around you that God has entrusted you with. If we all do our part no one would life this life not knowing the goodness of the love of God.
I want to leave you today with a scripture that is one of my favorites: Luke 4:18-19 - " The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor (people), He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted (people), To proclaim liberty to the captive (people), and recovery of sight to the blind (people), and to set at liberty to those who are oppressed (people), To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (to People)!
I was in Bible school and the teacher asked this question. It really made me think. He said - why do you love God? I remember thinking a really spiritual answer- Because He first loved me like the Bible says, and He responded- For What?. I thought for a moment - Well because He saved me - He responded - For What? I was really thrown off now, and responded Bbbecause He didn't want me to go to hell - He calmly responded- For What? I began to realize all my conclusions seemed to be missing something. I thought for a long time and the all the while the conclusion should have been so simple. Why are we here, what’s our purpose, what’s the meaning of life, why did Jesus die for us? One simple reason- People. God is interested in people. For what? Why did Jesus die for me, and why am I here - for people. Jesus died on the cross for each individual life- you, me, and them. My reason my "For What" if you will - My personal responsibility is the reach the ones around me that God has entrusted me with. Your personal responsibility is to reach the people around you that God has entrusted you with. If we all do our part no one would life this life not knowing the goodness of the love of God.
I want to leave you today with a scripture that is one of my favorites: Luke 4:18-19 - " The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He has anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor (people), He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted (people), To proclaim liberty to the captive (people), and recovery of sight to the blind (people), and to set at liberty to those who are oppressed (people), To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (to People)!
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
A Brand New Day....
I have heard it said, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life". Its true you know, today brings with it new ideas, new people, new situations. I guess sometimes we hear things like that and let it go on by with out even a second thought. We don't even take a second to process what's going on around us. So I guess I'm going to reflect now on my day..... Today I was met with cyber-litter. You may not know what this is so I can explain. Have you ever gone out to your car to find a flyer promising you the latest and greatest get rich at home scheme, or blowout sale. You know the one pressed up against the glass that you didn't know was there until you have comfortably situated yourself into your seat, put on your seatbelt, and are putting the car in gear. You only then notice that it is right in your line of sight and must get out and remove it before you can move on. This is car litter. Cyber-litter is the same concept only in your email inbox awaiting your review. Its an email with an official title that seems like it must be important to be opened until you open it to see that its junk mail and there is no opt out available. Much like the car flyer you cannot request them to stop it is just forced at you and you must just accept that it will never end. Now you may think the reason for me bringing this up is simply to complain about unwanted emails however this not the case at all. My ulterior motive is to see if I can get the phrase " Cyber-litter" out there :O). So today I leave you with a new thought - Cyber-litter its the wave of the future!!
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
The Journey Begins......
Well, today my blog journey begins. It was probably about 2 months ago now that I even knew what a blog was and now look at me - got my own blog. I suppose it all comes down to this : we all have something to say. Not everyone cares what each of us has to say so hence the blog was created as a means to jot down the things we all think but no one will take the time listen to.
Just today I have been thinking about how busy the world has become. We seldom have time to even enjoy what's all around us. Time seems to be the one thing we all take for granted. I find myself so busy that I forget the important things in life. Important things like a smile. Some times the simplest things in life can mean the most. I have heard it said that looking someone in the eyes and sincerely smiling at them is a lost art. I believe that to be a very true statement. Just the simple kindness of smiling sincerely at someone can really make someone's day. A few weeks back I did a simple test - I guess it could be considered scientific as I started with the hypothesis that if I would look someone in the eye and smile at them that they would as a natural response smile back. I tested this on each of my co-workers individually. I am pleased to inform you that my hypothesis was correct, everyone that I smiled at was compelled to smile back. So as a simple conclusion a simple smile is contagious.
So I guess to conclude my blog for today I leave you with a simple quote: "May each of us today bring a smile to our face and compel a smile on another's"
Just today I have been thinking about how busy the world has become. We seldom have time to even enjoy what's all around us. Time seems to be the one thing we all take for granted. I find myself so busy that I forget the important things in life. Important things like a smile. Some times the simplest things in life can mean the most. I have heard it said that looking someone in the eyes and sincerely smiling at them is a lost art. I believe that to be a very true statement. Just the simple kindness of smiling sincerely at someone can really make someone's day. A few weeks back I did a simple test - I guess it could be considered scientific as I started with the hypothesis that if I would look someone in the eye and smile at them that they would as a natural response smile back. I tested this on each of my co-workers individually. I am pleased to inform you that my hypothesis was correct, everyone that I smiled at was compelled to smile back. So as a simple conclusion a simple smile is contagious.
So I guess to conclude my blog for today I leave you with a simple quote: "May each of us today bring a smile to our face and compel a smile on another's"
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