Here are some cool pictures from my mission trip

A Place Called Church

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the church. What it means to me, what it means to other people, and how it is defined in the Bible. I first really experienced the church about four years ago when I first went to a youth group at the church I now attend. God touched my heart that day, and I was exposed to His love and mercy. Some people (at least kids my age, or in my school) see church as boring and dull! Some people see the church as judgmental, a place where people will spit on you if you go there (sounds gross). Some people believe that they have to “clean house”, and put on a fake smile and pretend everything’s fine. Well here’s what the Bible says about church. In the book 1 Corinthians, Paul talks a lot about the church. In chapter three he tells us there are not to be divisions in the church (the Corinthians had a problem with following different people they were baptized by). In chapter 12 we “are the body of Christ) 1 Corinthians 12: 27. Now who is we? One church, group of churches, the world, one country? The “we” is the church as a whole. This may be surprising (I kind of like to surprise people), the church is not the building down the street, or even the people down the street, it is every believer in the world. We are the church. The building is not the church; it is the people, the body of believers. We are the body of Christ, His hands and feet on earth. It does not matter whether you are Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic, or Baptist. All that matters is we all believe in God, and our savior Jesus. We are not to divide the church, but unify it. So taking that in, we can get a picture of what the church is, not a building, not guy that gives a sermon, but us as a body of believers. Isn’t it cool that we can say to ourselves that we are unified with people all the way across the world, that we know we are all one family of God’s children? That’s what church is.

GO SOX!

Well they did it, the Sox got into the post season as the Wild Card. Though it wasn’t the grand entrance they had last year, they still made it. The first game is tomorrow against the Angels in Anaheim stadium, with Jon Lester on the mound. I think as long as Lester can keep the Angel offense quiet, and if the Sox put some runs on the board they can win. The most important factor in the post season for the Sox will be the bullpen. Through the year the bullpen has been less than amazing, Delcarmen, Aardsma, Lopez, and Okajima have proven to be good, but have also blown it. Papelbon also hasn’t been the “lights out” pitcher he was last year. The Red sox have been a good team this year, and some offensive players have come through- Casey, Pedroia, Bay, Drew, and Ortiz to name a few. The biggest thing for the Sox this series is to keep the lead, whether it’s 10-1, or 2-1 they need to keep the other teams from scoring, and need to score runs early. One of the biggest problems this season for the Sox is they have been scoring a couple runs in the 1st and then being quiet through the rest of the game. Tonight the AL Central division is being decided as the White Sox play the Twins to see who can enter the post season.

Under Our Radar

I finally got around to writing this post. I’ve been putting off writing this post for a week now, and that is because I do not like the subject I am going to write about. I am going to write about pride, which took me a week to understand and now I think I understand it enough to write about it. To understand pride I had to understand what it exactly is, which in the easiest definition, pride is a sin. Pride I have found is the one sin that everyone commits, and everyone sees in other people but never in themselves. The proud man will say to his friend how proud someone else is, but never how proud they are. It is the humble man who admits his pride. That is one reason why pride is so dangerous; it has a way of going “under our radar”, and a way of finding its way into everyone’s lives. Even I have never taken a look at myself until I read “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis, (it’s a very good book, I strongly recommend it). To explain what pride is it makes it easier to give a visual example, so the best possible example is the Pharisees. Jesus went on a rant against the Pharisees in His “7 woes” Matthew chapter 23. Verse 5 says “They do good things so that other people would see them”, the Pharisees didn’t live a righteous life to glorify God, they only wanted people to say respectable things about them. Verse 7 says “They love people to greet them with respect in the market places and love to have people call them ‘Teacher’” Jesus doesn’t like that, He says we have only one Teacher, and that is God and God alone. Verse 27 says “You are like tombs that are painted white. Outside they look fine, but inside they are full of bones of dead people and all kinds of unclean things.” The Pharisees were so consumed by their outward appearance that they neglected to take care of the inside. They were painted “white” with good deed, but their pride consumed them and they were rotten on the inside. The Pharisees thought they were good, they played by the rules, but they failed to understand what the rules were for, that they were guidelines for a relationship with God, and they enforced them on other people and were proud. But you know what Jesus has to say to pride people? Verse 33 “You are snakes! A family of poisonous snakes” Why does God hate pride so much? I mean what’s the deal here? It’s because pride is idol worship-it’s the worship of self. Pride takes God out of center stage and casts Him to the side, it’s a huge self promotion. When we are proud we worship ourselves, not God, in the proud man’s eyes he’s his own savior. Sadly we as a church do very little about it. There are no “proud men’s” or “proud women’s groups” sins of the spirit are just as real as the physical sins, and sometimes worse. What then is the cure? Humility, bowing down and submitting to God’s will, accepting the fact that we are not perfect, that we need God, and putting Him first is the cure. Pride was the devil’s sin, let’s not let it be ours.

100 pounds 100 miles

Have you ever had to carry something heavy for a long time? Something like a duffel bag, or back pack? Or ever worked for a long time? I remember once when I was in middle school and walked home I had to carry my backpack about three miles in the hot sun. It doesn’t sound that bad, but it was, and there was nothing I wanted to do more than sit down and take a rest, or get a cool glass of water. Our insecurity is like that. Insecurity, the “devils poison” as I call it, it sounds more like a plant name, but I think it is a good description. Insecurity comes from pride (I’ll try to write a post on pride later), and because of that connection it has the ability to cripple spirituality. It can get into your soul and spread like cancer until it changes you inside and out. Where does this heavy burden come from? Well many places, wrong treatment is the basic cause. Maybe you don’t have many friends and you feel bad. Or maybe someone was cruel to you and didn’t care. Or maybe everyone but you has that new thing, or went on that cool vacation. Well that gave you a burden, and insecurity comes into play when we leave that burden there, a “chip on the shoulder” as it is called. I’ve been there, and bless the person who hasn’t. It’s easy to feel bad for yourself, to say “poor me…..” but that is where we should never go. Forgiveness is the cure, to forgive. Forgiveness isn’t letting people walk on you, it’s acknowledging that they sinned, that you sinned, that God forgives all of us, and moving on. To say I forgive you, and months later getting mad over it is to live in the past. Jesus said to take His burden for it is light. Why is it light? Because His burden is one that forgives, one that loves. If we looked at every single person as a creation of God, and looked at them as God does we’d be way better off and a lot happier. This burden can’t be removed or changed by me, or any other person on the earth, it takes you, and God to take your burden off. Jesus died on that cross, and when He did He took your burden upon His shoulders, we aren’t meant to carry this heavy pack, so I say we take the backpack off our shoulders, sit down and take a cool drink of water.

The Hard Road

Living out our faith can be hard. I’ll admit it, the Christian life is not a walk in the park, it can be rough at times. I was reading John 12, and John 12:42 says “But many believed in Jesus, even many leaders. But because of the Pharisees, they did not say they believed in Him for fear they would be kept out of the synagogue.” Not much has changed in the modern times. The leaders wanted to be on the Pharisee’s good side, just like how we want to “fit in”. Whether it is with a certain group of friends, coworkers, or classmates, or just everyday situations we just keep quiet- I’m not passing any judgment, I have kept quiet when I should have spoken up before, it’s just why do we keep quiet? Verse 43 goes on to say “they loved praise from men more than praise from God.” That’s it; the leaders cared more about what the world thought of them, than what God did. They thought more about what people said more than what God said. And that’s tempting! We like to hear good things and think to ourselves, “Oh they might not be friends with me if I say something “religious”.” I’ve been thinking a lot about pride lately, and I believe it ties into this. The leaders were concerned for their reputation, what people thought, what people said- they were proud, which we have found out God doesn’t like. Paul deals with this sin when he says in Romans 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the Gospel”, Paul wasn’t proud, all he could think of was his savior and Lord Jesus. He had no reputation to show before men, but only a life to show God. It’s a tough issue, and once again I am not judging anyone. We all like to be liked, or thought of a good people, we like a positive image, but it’s where that fits into our life that matters. It’s when we value a “good job” from Joe over Jesus that it becomes a problem, it’s a tough issue, but it’s one of those issues that never gets solved unless faced head on, and that issue is pride.

Where am I going?

Well I know I’ve said this before, but I’m hung up on the thought of God doing impossible things that no one expects with His people. Mainly I’m hung up because it’s been happening to me for the past few months, and why shouldn’t I be hung up on it? It’s cool! Recently at a church lunch I spoke in front of a large group of people about the mission trip I went on. I did not see that coming. I also helped teach a small Sunday school class, and was asked to help again, I didn’t see that coming. Four years ago when I was so far from God, not even knowing if my life mattered, I did not see where God would take me, and how He would use me. I thought I was a screw up, a “sinner”, too far away, to “bad” for God to love and use, but I’m glad I was wrong. No one is too far from God; no one is a “screw up”. Yes we sin and are fallen, I would never deny the fact that I do sin, and that sin is wrong. But God still loves us and desires to use us. If we turn to God, if we stop going down the path of sin, and turn back to righteousness, God will use us, and use us to do really cool things for Him. Two months ago I thought I had life figured out, I thought I knew what I wanted to do with my life, what to major in, in college, but now I don’t have a clue, and that is because God is going to take me there. Pride is what keeps us out of God’s hands. It’s kind of like in the previous post, pride kept the Pharisees from Jesus; they thought they were “good”, and therefore too good for God. Don’t think that. Humble yourselves before God, and hold on, because He’ll take you on a wild ride, but He’ll be there with you every step of the way. God can use us, but we’ve got to let Him to.

Are You Sure You're Perfect?

What if I was sick and never admitted it, and instead made fun of the people who were sick? That sounds crazy right? Well that’s how the Pharisees were. They liked to walk around town and act like they were “all that”, and Jesus shows them that they aren’t. I was reading Matthew 9 the other day and I stumbled along this verse “it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick” Mathew 12. And first looking at that we can say, “Well yeah I knew that” but a closer look tells us more. In the scene Jesus is eating with all the “sinners”, and is being mocked for it by the Pharisees. And Jesus tells them that verse. Now in this verse Jesus is calling them out. Jesus (God) is saying He has no time for perfect people, and why? Because they don’t exist, there is not a person on earth without sin, and to say you are perfect is to lie and be proud. God doesn’t want proud people, He wants humble ones. He wants a broken spirit, a person who is willing to admit their failure and ask for forgiveness. Jesus would have been friends with the Pharisees if they stopped judging others and took a look at themselves, and asked for forgiveness. The church is a hospital for sinners not a health club for saints. People shouldn’t go to church thinking “Oh, I gotta be perfect to come here”, they should think “Well I’m a sinner; I understand that I sin and need help from God, and I’m going to ask for His forgiveness.” God doesn’t want us to be proud and not admit our sin; He wants us to come to Him and seek His mercy. Jesus wasn’t calling the Pharisees perfect, He was calling them proud, and He showed them what they really are: sinners like everyone else. We are all sinners, and God can only use us if we acknowledge that.

I Never Saw This Coming

What did I learn? I’ve written a lot about my mission trip, saying phrases like “I learned that in Mississippi”. But I was recently asked by my church to share my experience during this Sunday’s "reunion lunch", and that made me think about what I learned. Well I know I learned a lot, but I only get five minutes so what can I say. I learned many things, but the most important thing I learned is how God operates. God does not operate on our time, and here’s how I learned that. Three years ago in 2005 hurricane Katrina hit the southeast, and that I believe is where this whole story started. Three years ago I was sitting in my history class room listening to someone from the class talk about how their church went down south to help out in New Orleans (or as they say, it sounds like ‘nawlens’). Well I thought “Gee I’d like to go down and help people, but it would never happen”, but little did I know a different kind of storm was brewing, the “storm surge” of the Holy Spirit in my heart. Three years ago I did not see myself roofing a house, writing a blog, or even speaking in front of my church, that I think is what I learned, and it continues to amaze me, it’s how God can work in our lives. God does an amazing thing- He makes the unlikely likely. He takes a situation and turns it to His plan for us, and when we look back we say “Wow I never saw myself here”. When we take God’s hand and walk with Him He takes us to amazing places. He takes an ordinary man and has him do extraordinary things.

Take Two

I’m going to try to re-explain my thoughts on predestination. My views have changed, and have changed so much that I deleted the earlier post “predewhatanation?” I now believe in predestination. The word is used several times in the Bible, mostly in the New Testament. I do not believe it to the extent that the street preacher did, and I’ll explain why. The street preacher I got in a fight with believed God goes through all the people and decides who can be saved and who can’t. God makes people who go to Heaven and He makes people who go to Hell. I didn’t buy it at all. God would not do such a thing as to make people who will only die. If that was the case why did He send down His son so that “all the nations” may one day believe? Here’s what I believe. I believe before time began even God knew He was going to make us and therefore desired that we may spend eternal life with Him. There it is. God wants us in Heaven, He predestined us to go. Each and every day in some small way God gives us a chance to believe in Him, it’s up to us though to choose our path. People go to Heaven because they snatched at the chance they got; people go to hell not because God wants them to, but because they chose to. Imagine a friend of yours has a party and invites you. They are in control of who is going, it is their desire for you to come, but you can either say yes or no, that I believe is where free will comes in. God wants us in Heaven and He maps out our lives and gives us chances to believe in Him. If I hadn’t become a Christian my whole life (or even family) would have been different, but it was God’s plan for me to become a Christian, and it was God’s plan to get my family where it is. I guess that’s what predestination looks like. I want people to remember that this is a person’s understanding, in no way is this to be taken as the absolute truth. The best understanding of God or His doctrines is like looking out of foggy glasses, we get the idea, but never will we understand all the details.

GO SOX

As you can see I've changed my blog a little. Well I was bored so I decided to get ready for mission SOXTOBER and change it to Sox colors. The Sox have a shot at the playoffs, but they will have to play against tough teams to get into the AL Championship, I'm still sticking with my vote, I think the Angels will make it to the World Series. The Sox did it last year, but this just isn't their year. Hopefully Beckett will pitch tonight as planned and have a good start against the Texas Rangers. No offense to any Rangers fans, but they aren't that good and this should be an easy series.

Squares don't fill up circle holes

You know those squares with shaped holes that kids have? The ones where kids try to put the right shapes in the right holes? You know how a kid will keep trying to fit the square in the circle? He’ll keep trying to fit it in, but the corners don’t fit right, there is still empty space. He may be able to budge it, but it still doesn’t seem right. After a number of tries of several shapes kid eventually puts the circle in the circle. We can be like that, and this may be the only time I’ll say we either are or were like that (even I was like that). Our hearts (not the ones beating in our chest) have a God shaped hole in them. God made each and every one of us with a God shaped hole in our hearts that He waits to fill. As we grow older and as we learn about God it is my hope that we choose to fill our hearts with Him. But sometimes we go through life without God, and as we grow older that hole becomes more evident. The hole become evident because it is what keeps us whole (sorry for the bad pun, but I couldn’t resist and I get a kick out of it). So any way (after I get a laugh) we tend to fill that hole with things. You spend two hundred dollars at the store, it fills you up. You spend two hours washing your car and admiring it, it fills you up. You watch three hours of T.V., it fills you up. But while you’re filling up all that amounts to is a square in a circle, there are empty spaces, at the end of the day you examine yourself and your life and you feel empty. It’s like filling a cup full of ice at the end of the day it melts into half a cup of water. Only God can fill that hole in your heart, nothing else can. You may think everything’s alright but when a storm comes where is your shelter? I’m not saying things are bad, I like my new camera, I like to watch the Red Sox, but I always try to make sure they don’t go into the hole, I always try to make sure they aren’t center stage. An idol isn’t always a statue of a guy with nose rings there are hidden idols all around us. Just remember there is a hole that God fills to make you whole (sorry again for the bad pun). Remember squares don’t fill up circle holes, they only block them.

He's Got a Plan for You

In the earlier post “The Power of Prayer” I said God works not for our own pleasure but for our own good. I’ll elaborate a little. God does care about us; there is no doubt and never a doubt about that. But in caring for us He lays out a plan for us. I am reading the book Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper. It is a very interesting book, and I encourage you to read it, but only if you can handle it and your no afraid of getting your boat rocked. It makes me wonder if I am wasting my life. I know I have my whole life ahead of me (at least I think I do), but what am I to do with it? How can we live a life that God wants? I think the most basic fundamental and hardest thing to do is to live a life that fully glorifies God at all times. It’s simple, yet hard to do. Why is it hard? Because we often forget to carry it out. I will admit it when I woke up I don’t think I was thinking how I can glorify God over the course of the day. But it gets somewhat simpler. If we wake up and view each day as a gift, each choice as affecting our life then I think we can manage it. The Bible says “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to glorify God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31. You may be thinking ‘How the heck can I do that? How can I glorify God by eating and drinking?’ And I thought the same thing. To understand that verse you’ve got to know what it means to glorify God. To glorify God is to make Him as much a part of our life as breathing is. How can we manage that? Think about it when you wake up tomorrow, when you eat breakfast, when you go to school or work. If we look at each day as a gift, as a new creation, as a new adventure that only God knows the end of I think we can manage it. If we look at our work as a job given to us, at our coworkers as people we can love as Jesus did, people to share the love of Christ I think we can do it. If we look at each day and ask ourselves “What can I do for the kingdom of God today?” One thing I learned in Mississippi was to ask “What can I do?” “What do you need me for?” “How can I help?” If we can let ourselves be used for His glory, if we can let ourselves be loved and love others. If we can glorify Him I think we can do it. Will it always be easy? No. Will it give us the satisfying sense of joy one finds when he is truly living a life purposeful life for God? Yes. That is what God works for.

Let Us Pray

This is more of a request to you as a reader. As the whole country probably knows there are now a series of three hurricanes coming through the south. I was down there last month to help out with Katrina victims so my request is this. I ask that we may pray that the people in danger of the storm are okay, that the hurricanes aren't too bad, and that the people may recover quickly after the storm.

The Power Of Prayer

The power of prayer is amazing. I pray many times a day, when I wake up, before I eat, before I go to bed and I will admit very few times when I pray I think about what I’m really doing. Sometimes we all can be like that. Very few times do I really dwell on what I am actually doing, and what I am doing is talking to God. Sometimes prayer can seem like a chore, a mandatory action; we do it when we wake up, before we eat. Sometimes we may skip it altogether. But what if when we pray we think about the actions behind the simple action. We are actually talking to God! In Biblical times the Jews needed a priest to act as a go between for them, they couldn’t talk to God, only a holy man could. But at the time of Jesus’s death the curtain separating God from man ripped in half symbolizing the new covenant. We don’t need a mediator; we can go up to our creator any time we want. Just as ordinary communication can be used in many ways so can prayer, and one part of prayer that is usually abused is to ask God for something. Jesus said “ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” Matthew 7:7. I am a firm believer that God answers prayers, but I also believe that He only answers them on His own time. Prayer is not a magic spell to get what you want when you want it. It is a communication with God, and through that communication we may ask for something, but just like a parent telling a child that they can’t have too many sweets, God will only work for our best interest. God is like a parent, He works for our best interest, not our pleasure. There are many other parts of prayer and if I wanted to write about them all then it could fill a book, one more thing I will say is to read the book of Psalms, it is a collection of open thoughts and prayers and a good place to look at a picture of a true relationship with God. Just as relationships with people build up when we spend time with them the same goes for God. Next time you pray remember this: you’re talking to Him, and He’s listening.