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Hungering

2010-05-27T10:35:00.006-05:00

Are you a hungerer for God?

I heard a pastor talk Sunday morning - incidentally, a pastor who was once a Chinese law student and present at Tiananmen Square - and he had some great things to say about how we should pray. His text was Matthew 6:11, which is pretty short, but his message was that we should pray as receivers of all good things from God, as hungerers for God and His grace, and as our brothers' keepers.

Now, aside from the fact that "hungerer" is, in fact, in the dictionary, it's a neat word for our relationship to God. The pastor this morning said he knew what hunger was, because he remembered a six-day hunger strike, and he remembered many months in a Chinese jail. I know what hunger is, because I remember missing breakfast Sunday morning and then sitting in the Mexican restaurant after church wondering if my poor tummy was going to implode. It's an eternal human condition, a need for basic sustenance that everyone shares (except maybe this guy - I'm not really sure what's going on there). According to the dictionary, that means that we are all hungerers.

And Jesus is the bread of life (John 6:35). Hunger for Him is an eternal human condition, just like physical hunger. For some reason, though, we have a dismaying tendency to try and sate our hunger for God with self-esteem, with people, with activities... with Stuff™. It halfway reminds me of the diet pills you see advertised on TV ("Lose 50 pounds in a week, without exercising or feeling hungry! Here's how!"). Our hunger for God is harder to place, I think, because we don't practice it the way we practice hunger. Think about it. From the earliest moments of our lives, there's a cycle. We feel hunger, so we cry, leading mom/dad/legal guardian to put food in our mouths, and we're satisfied. We grow up just a little, and we already understand how it works. Eating becomes a part of our lives. Satisfaction of physical hunger is so easy that we often overdo it!

Hunger for God isn't so easy to practice. First of all, we misidentify it as low self-esteem, as a drive to succeed, as a desire to fit in, as loneliness, and probably as fifty thousand other things too. I bet sometimes we even think it's a desire for physical food - probably explains some of our eating disorders. Newsflash: none of those things satisfy. Wealth does not buy happiness. Glory fades.

Even if we do realize we need God, we have a tendency to fall into a routine. We recite the model prayer of Matthew 6:9-13, we read some long Israelite genealogy, we say the shortest prayer possible over meals, so that we can hurry up and eat. It'd be like trying to subsist on a grain of rice or a single bean every day. Eventually, you'd hate the taste of rice and beans, if you somehow managed to live long enough! There is so much more for us in Christ than that. How about three meals a day - maybe "breakfast" could be a personal quiet time in the morning, followed by a good "lunch" of conversation with a fellow believer (over sandwiches and coffee, perhaps), and "supper" might be meditating on God's word in the evening, or sharing it with your spouse. We can even "snack" throughout the day on Christian music radio stations!

Okay, so I admit that last paragraph got a little out of hand. But the idea is sound. I have a pretty good relationship with food... and I am rarely out of reach of a snack. How much deeper might our relationships with God be if we recognized our need for Him and acted on it like we do our need for food!
I love these lines from the song "This World," by Caedmon's Call:

This world has nothing for me, and this world has everything - All that I could want, and nothing that I need.

Are you a hungerer for God?

I'm A Truck Kinda Guy

2010-05-19T23:11:00.008-05:00

I've got a truck just like the one pictured. It's a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado 1500HD Crew Cab with a six liter V8 and a sprayed-in bedliner. It's got 110,000 miles on it, a brand new set of Wildcat tires, and a window decal that reads, "Real Men Love Jesus." It's the only vehicle I've ever owned. That truck may as well be my identity.

But I'm going to have to sell it. My wife and I are moving to a large city where it's just not going to be possible for me to park, and with gas prices on the rise, 13 MPG just isn't cutting it. I never thought it would be difficult, but man, that truck just feels right to drive. It's perfect. In the Truck I Trust, you know?

Psalm 20:7 says, "Some boast in Chevrolet and some in Ford, but we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God." It's so true. If you're a gun guy, it says some will boast in Springfield and some in Glock... or if you're a gadget guy, some will boast in Android and some in Apple. The bottom line is, even Chevrolets will get rusted and worn out - even Glocks will jam and fail - yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength (Isaiah 40:30-31).

I think that's the biggest struggle for all of us who aren't worried about being able to eat tomorrow. We trust in the stuff of This World(™), and it rarely lets us down. We trust it sometimes to the point that we get attached to it. Like if God put me in a place where I couldn't wear jeans all the time anymore, I'd feel awkward. Because man, jeans are awesome. They're me. God is awesomer. There's a song by LeCrae called "Don't Waste Your Life" where he mentions Luke 12:15-21. He sums it up as follows:

Forget the money, cars, and toss that ice;
The cost is Christ
And they could never offer me anything on the planet that'll cost that price.

As one of the comments on the YouTube video says, James 5:1-3 tells us exactly what's going to happen to our money, cars, and ice... it's gone. Christ is worth so much more. My possessions don't make me a man. Christ made me, loves me, and gave Himself for me. I can no longer live a life based on the Truck, but I must live by faith in the Son (Galatians 2:20).

No King But Caesar

2010-05-07T12:32:00.009-05:00

The nineteenth chapter of the book of John starts with "Pilate then took Jesus and scourged Him," and it ends with, "they laid Jesus there." It's a moving story of the crucifixion of an innocent teacher - remember, the people involved didn't know about the resurrection yet.

In the middle of the chapter, Pilate asks the Jews, "Shall I crucify your King?" (John 19:15). I think their response is chilling.

We have no king but Caesar.

We have no king but Caesar. Something tells me they aren't getting off easy for that one. But that's the state of all of our lives. I have no king but my career. I have no king but my pickup truck. I have no king but my perfect abs. I have no king but my laziness. I have no king but my marriage. I have no king but politics.

Do borderline offensive bumper stickers reflect Christ as your King? Do two people who don't hold each other accountable reflect Christ as their King? Does disdain for less physically fit people reflect Christ as your King? Does spending Saturday in front of the TV with a six pack reflect Christ as your King? Does "investing" in a lift kit and cool looking tires reflect Christ as your King? Does skipping Bible study every other week to get a few more hours in at the office reflect Christ as your King?

Who has authority in your life? Is it your King? Am I handing Christ over to be crucified?

Story of Our Lives

2010-04-16T20:36:00.003-05:00

John 13:34-35, probably one of the more often quoted passages of the Bible, centers on the commandment that we love each other as Christ loved us. Pretty straightforward, except Jesus starts it with this bit in John 13:33 about the disciples not being able to follow Him to the cross.

Peter doesn't get it. "Lord, where are you going?" Then, "Lord, why can I not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for You." (John 13:36-37)

He completely missed the commandment because he had his own agenda. Never mind that it was an agenda that he couldn't hold up (you know that whole "deny Me three times" thing), it wasn't what Christ wanted. Jesus wanted Peter to lay down his life to become an integral part of the nascent church, but He also wanted to lay down His life for Peter, something Peter couldn't follow Him in doing. The command for Peter, and for you and me, is to lay down our lives in love for one another, and to let Christ lay down His life for us. None of us can ever be a perfect sacrifice, as Christ was. We cannot follow Him in atoning for sin and reconciling to God, but we can follow Him in love, and that's all He commands us to do.

Yeah, that's the story of my life. Even when I think I am so focused on God, I'm still missing ninety percent of what he's saying. Ever do that?

Authority

2010-04-09T08:28:00.008-05:00

I have a problem with authority. Specifically, I think I ought to have authority over my life. Which doesn't sound ridiculous, but it is. Check out these examples.

Luke 14:18-20 - The Parable of the Feast

"But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, 'I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.'
"Another one said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.'
"Another one said, 'I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.'"

All these guys thought they had a good excuse for not going to the King's feast. Investments to study and check on (land), a brand new SUV to drive around (oxen), or even a family (wife) -- pretty lame excuses. Kind of like the song "Mood Ring," by Relient K: "She liked you Wednesday, but now it's Friday, and she has to wash her hair...." Point is, the root of these excuses is that we generally think we have something better to do with our time than God does, so we think we deserve the authority.

John 12:42-43

Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.

But Jesus, I won't be cool if I go home early Saturday night because I have to get up for church Sunday morning! The guys will think I'm a square if I go to Bible study on Thursday night instead of wings night at the pub!

John 10:32-33

Jesus answered them, "I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?"
The Jews answered Him, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God."

Yeah, that's why we stone Jesus in our hearts. Because we think we ought to have the authority over ourselves. We want to worry about our investments, drive new SUVs, and be "in" with the crowd. We want everything in this life. And then this Jesus character comes along and says, "Nope. If you want to know God and go to Heaven, then I'm in command." John 14:21 says that if we love Him, then we'll give Him the authority in our lives.

I want to live forever with Christ. I want him to be my LORD and savior. So I have to give Him the authority in my life.

The Point

2010-04-03T09:34:00.004-05:00

On Thursday, I wrote that there was something terribly wrong with my ministry: it was about me getting credit with people. But I knew something was missing. This video, from Chuck Wood, asks the fundamental question that I wasn't asking myself.

Chuck says that we need to ask those we're discipling, "How are you becoming more like Jesus?" If someone had asked me that two months ago, I might have said all kinds of things, but today I'd probably tell you that I hadn't become any more like Jesus in a long time. I was doing all the stuff, because that's just what you do. Because I was supposed to to it. I don't even know why I was doing it. But it made other people think I was good, and that made me feel good about myself.

So now, my Sabbath is over, and I want to get back to serving Christ through ministry. But I want to become more like Jesus as I do it, and that makes it more difficult, because I can't just rely on others' perceptions of whether I'm like Christ or not. I have to actually learn and apply His word and His ways to my life. Because He is the Way (John 14:6).

Do As You Are Commanded

2010-02-24T20:12:00.005-06:00

Reading my Bible made me angry this week. It doesn't happen often, but some teachings are hard to accept. So here's what I learned, from Luke 17:7-10.

"Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come immediately and sit down to eat'?
"But will he not say to him, 'Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink'?
"He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he?
"So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'"

Add that to Matthew 5:48 - a commandment to be perfect - and you have some pretty ridiculous stress. Just to get to the baseline, just to live up to God's expectations, I have to be perfect. And for it, I get called an unworthy slave!

Actually, I don't get called an unworthy slave, though God certainly has the right to call me whatever He wants (Job 38). I'm supposed to remember my position in relation to God, and call myself an unworthy slave. God will say to those who do as they are commanded, "Well done, good and faithful slave" (Matthew 25:21). The idea is humility. God doesn't need you or me. He doesn't need anyone. He'll never have cause to thank any of us, either, no matter how much time we spend doing good works and ministry, no matter how perfectly we follow His laws.

And, strangely enough, recognition of our lowly position is somehow liberating. I don't need to skip out on family time with my wife so that I can be involved in every single ministry my church does. I don't need to work myself to death trying to be there for everyone, all the time, no matter what. God can provide for all those ministries, all those people, all those needs, better than I can (incredible, I know). I simply need to find God's will for me - whatever it is that He commands me to do - and do it. Sometimes, it's as simple as sitting at His feet (Luke 10:38-42). Sometimes it's more. But whatever it is, the world doesn't rest on my shoulders. It is in His hands (yes, He's got the whole world in His hands).

I'm not Atlas. I'm just an unworthy slave of the LORD Most High.

Image Issues

2010-02-07T14:33:00.003-06:00

Whose image are you made in?

"God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." -Genesis 1:27

I've seen a lot of people lately making themselves in Peyton Manning and Reggie Bush's images - or at least wearing their jerseys. There are also a bunch of people making themselves in the image of a "Tea Party," aside from those making themselves into the image of President Obama or Rush Limbaugh. One of the guys at work chafes every day that he must make himself into the image of an office professional and wear khakis and a shirt, rather than being the image of Mark Martin, his favorite NASCAR driver. Personally, I just put on my boots and belt buckle and make myself into the image of a cowboy.

1 John 2:6 says that we should do as Jesus did - basically be His image. Luke 6:40 tells us that when we're fully trained, we'll be there. My question is do I really have that as my goal? Whose image am I making myself in?

Bridles and Fences

2010-02-01T11:37:00.002-06:00

James 1:26 says that if anyone doesn't bridle their tongue, their religion is worthless.

So do you bridle your tongue? Or do you fence it? Or does it roam free?

There are two reasons to build a fence. One is to keep things in; the other is to keep things out. When we're talking about horses, fences keep them in the pasture and out of the dangers of the wild. So if James had written to "fence your tongue," we'd be good if we just never said anything bad - if we kept ourselves from gossip, malice, deceit, and all unrighteousness (Romans 1:29). But he didn't. He wrote that we must bridle our tongues.

When you bridle a horse, it's not to keep it out of the bad places. It's so that you can control and direct it to the good ones. So we must control and direct our tongues to the gospel. We must read scripture, exhort, teach (1 Timothy 4:13) - we must preach Christ glorified. If we aren't active in that endeavor, our tongues aren't bridled. They might be fenced, but that's not enough.

Eight New Concepts

2010-01-10T16:16:00.006-06:00

My church is starting a sermon series (well, started last week) on the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, 6, and 7. Today the pastor talked about why it's important to study this passage of scripture: it's basically God's standard for our lives. I want to share a quick list that he put out, almost as a sidenote to the sermon. These are eight "new" concepts (well, they were new to the Jews in Jesus' time) from the Sermon on the Mount. They are definitely not conformed to this world!

Hatred is murder. (Matthew 5:21-22)
Lust is adultery. (Matthew 5:27-28)
Oaths are unacceptable. (Matthew 5:33-37)
There is no "eye for an eye." (Matthew 5:38-41)
We must give stuff away. (Matthew 5:41)
We must love our enemies. (Matthew 5:43-47)
Prayer and fasting are private. (Matthew 6:16-18)
Don't worry, be happy joyful. (Matthew 6:25-32)

If you need something to focus on in quiet time this week, I think this list is a pretty good starting point. I know I don't measure up to those standards - how about you?

Christianity, the MMORPG

2010-01-06T17:48:00.003-06:00

As I was driving back to work today after a stop at a computer parts shop, I was wondering if the shop owner I'd just spoken to was as much of a nerd as he seemed. Did he play Everquest?

And I had a thought. I sometimes treat Christianity like a role-playing game. Like I might not be a Christian at work. Or I might not be a Christian on Saturday. I'm a only Christian when I'm at Church or at praise band rehearsal. It's like I waited all week to play ChristQuest on Sunday morning with my guild. I don't want to be one of those weird guys who dresses up as their character or really gets into it, you know? Heck, I don't even talk about the game except to other people who play. I'd never mention Christ to a non-Christian - he'd think I was a nerd!

Wrong answer.

Romans 12:2 says do not be conformed. That means be different. While I don't recommend dressing up as a Dark Elf for your next job interview, it's definitely cool to talk to nonbelievers about Christ, and even admit that you follow Him. In fact, it's absolutely essential (Luke 19:40).

So, does your Christian avatar exist only at Church?

2010 Resolutions?

2010-01-03T15:06:00.012-06:00

I've struggled with this post (and it's a couple of days late) because I really don't know what to do for resolutions this year... 2009 was the first year I ever made resolutions, and putting them online turned out to be pretty good motivation, so I wanted to do it again. But I have no idea what to resolve for 2010. I could go the comedy way, but I want to actually accomplish something. So I've searched teh Interwebs and taken whatever I can find.

Squidoo comes up first on a Google search for 2010 resolutions, so I checked their article. 2010Resolutions.org has the same ten resolutions in a different order, so I figure they're pretty good ones. However, I'm a non-smoker with no weight to lose and a healthy, organized, and enjoyable lifestyle, so the only one of their resolutions is worthwhile for me.

Resolution: Get out of debt. My wife and I completed Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University last year, and we've been steadily chipping away at our two $30,000 car loans since we started the program in February. By the end of 2010, we'll be debt free.

CNN.com has 10 travel resolutions. Again, most aren't all that useful to me, as I have a passport and I've spent the last couple of weeks doing almost nothing but relaxing. But there are two items that I'll put on my list.

Resolution: Get a new digital camera (and use it often). CNN's actual resolution is "Take better pictures," but to do that I need to at least have a camera. I'm not talking DSLR here; I just want a camera that will survive my lifestyle. An Olympus Stylus Tough 8000 looks fantastic to me.
Resolution: Travel. Take my wife to Italy. She's wanted to go ever since her high school Latin class trip was canceled due to September 11th. Sounds like a great idea to me! Maybe I'll visit Spain again as well. This resolution may be in direct opposition to getting out of debt (since we'll be pouring money into two pits), but I think we can do it.

On TechRepublic, I found one geek's resolutions. One that sounded good to me was to write more. The author made that resolution because he gets paid for the things he writes. While I don't, there's a lot to be gained for me from simply putting fingers to keyboard.

Resolution: Write an actual, thought-required blog post at least twice a week. Make at least one every week related to my Bible study or quiet time.

PasteMagazine had an article titled "Fifteen Musical New Year's Resolutions for 2010," but they were just the average resolutions (see Squidoo above), but based on pop songs. But a good resolution that I thought of when I saw "Musical Resolutions," was to actually spend some time enjoying my own musical ability.

Resolution: Play cello, outside of group rehearsal, practice, and performance, just for my own enjoyment, for at least an hour a week. Maybe even remember what it's like to hear J.S. Bach's Six Suites for Cello Solo come from my own instrument.

Lastly, I found this post on the Gospel Coalition Blog. It's based on the book The Unwavering Resolve of Jonathan Edwards, which is based on the seventy "Resolutions" written by Jonathan Edwards. I may review some of the seventy resolutions in a future post (or series), but for now, I'll sum them up: as John Brookes wrote in Manliness (1875), "Openness to the Light and Love of Jesus, and resoluteness to follow them promptly, constitute Christian Manliness."

Resolution: To spend at least an hour each day (maybe not all at once) either reading the Bible, studying the Bible, or praying. In short, I want to take my quiet time to the next level. I want to start putting into practice all the things I learned last year about prayer. I want to learn and follow His ways.

Final 2009 Resolutions Update

2009-12-31T15:05:00.003-06:00

1) Read through my Bible this year before I get married May 23 this year; the entire thing, cover to cover, reading at least a chapter every single day.
I did it.

2) Use my credit card whenever possible but never carry a balance.
This worked great. I highly recommend it.

3) Contribute the maximum amount to my Roth IRA account.
$5,000 in. Good to go.

4) Build a three-month emergency fund.
Done.

5) Get my two mile run time under 15 minutes.
14:33 on the treadmill last week, since it was too cold to go outside. That doesn't really count, but in the end I took more than two minutes off my two-mile time this year. That's pretty good.

6) Finish the Navigators' "Design for Discipleship" series of Bible studies.
Yeah, this should get done sometime in March, maybe, depending on how fast I finish book six and get into book seven.

7) Blog at least once a week, plus a monthly update on my resolutions.
I posted nineteen times in December. Admittedly, most of the posts were short "found" blurbs that were originally posted on Tumblr and got migrated over when I closed my Tumblog (seriously, what is a Tumblog?), but it was nineteen posts.

Cornerstone Bible Reading Method

2009-12-21T16:00:00.009-06:00

This idea is not original - I've seen it presented at least twice, by two different people. However, I couldn't (easily) find it on Google, so I wanted to put it here anyway. I wrote last week that I'd finished the Bible and that I was thinking that maybe reading the Bible straight through more than once would be less than productive. So here's the method I intend to use.

Ephesians 2:19-20 says,

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone....

At first glance that doesn't seem to mean much as far as reading our Bibles, but it gives us a method of looking at our lives - for building ourselves up, as we in turn are built up in the temple (Ephesians 2:21-22). It boils down to three things.

Jesus - He is to be the center of our lives, and our foundation (Luke 6:47-48). He is the Word of God, living and in the flesh (John 1:14). If we're going to worship Him, serve Him, and be like Him, we need to study him to know how. So it's probably a good idea to devote time to reading the Gospels, since they're the part of the Bible that deals directly with Jesus.
Prophets - The Old Testament: it can be boring and difficult, but I Corinthians 10:1-4 makes it pretty clear that the people of the Old Testament "drank from the same spiritual drink," from the rock that "was Christ," that we do. They followed the same God, who never changes (James 1:17). Crazily enough, a lot of the Old Testament is about Christ (Luke 24:27).
Apostles - Acts 4:33 tells us that the apostles were "giving testimony," and doing it "with great power." The testimony that they were telling is told in the New Testament. We need to remember the words of the prophets and the apostles (II Peter 3:2), reading the Old Testament and the New.

So what does that look like when applied to Bible reading? Here are two ideas.

First, focus your reading on the Gospels, while also putting time into the Old and New Testaments (when I say New Testament, I mean mostly Acts and the epistles, as the Gospels are treated as separate for the purpose of this idea). Acts 17:11 gives us an example that we should be "examining the Scriptures daily." So maybe read one chapter from a Gospel, one from the Old Testament, and one from the New, every day. Or if that's too much, then read a chapter from the Gospel on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, read one from the Old Testament Sunday and Thursday, and read one from the New Testament Tuesday and Saturday. I'm going to try and do one chapter of each, at a minimum, every day during 2010, but the idea is that we focus on Christ, through the Gospels, and not neglect Him in our study of the rest of the Bible.
Which brings me to my second point of application: the verses I listed above are about Christ in the Old Testament (gasp!) and in Acts and the epistles. And He's supposed to be our focus. So when you read dry old Numbers, or Psalm 119, or ...some particularly dry portion of the New Testament (nothing comes readily to mind), focus on Christ and try to learn about Him. Not necessarily about the Israelite way of life, or about David and Bathsheba, or which particular believers Paul was working with when he wrote whatever. Take the passage you read and find Christ in it. I'm sure He's there.

And now, a nifty picture that will explain everything you just read, but with twice the clarity and half the time.

Where do you pray?

2009-12-17T06:40:00.001-06:00

Fantastic post from Stuff Christians Like today - if you haven't visited that site, you should.

Done

2009-12-14T12:09:00.005-06:00

I finished the Bible last night.

Yeah, you read that right. Frontal assault style, Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, straight through, do not pass go, do not collect $200. It took me 347 days, but I did it. Do I recommend it? Yes, but just once. Because it's definitely not the most efficient method of reading in terms of Christian growth*, but you gotta do it, if only so you can say to your friends, "Yes, I've read the Bible, the whole thing, straight through." Because a direct answer is a lot more helpful than saying, "Well, yeah, I've read it all, I think, but never all at once or straight through, mostly just the parts I liked because the story moves or the characters are interesting...."

So yeah, I've read the Bible straight through. The picture above and left is the best I could get for the Bible I carry with me, and it's just the packaging, but the point is that the particular physical book doesn't matter. Reading God's Word is what matters. I've read the Bible straight through and I don't remember most of it and what parts I do remember I don't completely understand, and I won't ever get to the point of knowing and understanding it all, but I want to know my Lord and Savior as much as I can, and reading the Word is the only way to do it.

*If you're wondering, I think I'm going to concentrate on the Gospel of Mark until New Year's, and then I'm going to start the Cornerstone method - I'll post it later this week.

November Resolutions Update

2009-12-01T13:55:00.003-06:00

1) Read through my Bible this year before I get married May 23 this year; the entire thing, cover to cover, reading at least a chapter every single day.
I have exactly ten pages of the Bible left to read in December. I'm in Revelation 5, when a bunch of seals start getting opened. Talk about some crazy stuff.

2) Use my credit card whenever possible but never carry a balance.
Once again the budget saved us. Aside from having four people over for Thanksgiving (plus ourselves!) we upgraded our media center and paid almost $400 dollars to fix the truck again after the front part of the starter fell off and broke into a bunch of tiny pieces inside the flywheel housing. But it all got paid without touching our emergency savings. Hooray budgets!

3) Contribute the maximum amount to my Roth IRA account.
Done for the year, $5,000. A penny saved is a penny earned?

4) Build a three-month emergency fund.
Done.

5) Get my two mile run time under 15 minutes.
So, at the end of last month, I wrote that I was in the 15:30 to 16:00 range on my two mile. Not so, as I found out. Apparently the two mile course I'd measured out with the odometer in my wife's Subaru was not, in fact, two miles. I ran my two-mile on an actual two-mile track on November third, and I ran a 16:49. Way off. But I threw myself into it, and yesterday morning, on the same track, I ran a 15:23. I'll be under 15:00 by New Years, definitely.

6) Finish the Navigators' "Design for Discipleship" series of Bible studies.
I'm a little bit into book six (somewhere in chapter two of five), and I'm sorry to say that this goal isn't going to happen. Book six takes a lot of thought, time, and effort, and I know book seven is going to be even more challenging, so there's no way I can devote enough time to them to finish by January first and get anything out of the best two books in the series. I certainly could have made it to my goal, but I just didn't put enough time into it early on.

7) Blog at least once a week, plus a monthly update on my resolutions.
So I posted four times this month. That's technically once a week, I suppose, but it's pretty lousy. And my resolutions update is late. Shows how much thought has gone into the blog. Life just eats away at your time, you know? Hopefully I'll have more time to put into it this month since we're having a quiet time here for the holidays.

Great Argument

2009-11-29T15:55:00.001-06:00

Why The Prosperity Gospel Just Ain't Right.

You Cannot Serve God And Money

2009-11-23T17:54:00.004-06:00

But I don't even know what it means to serve money.

No, really, what on earth does that mean (Matthew 6:24)? Apparently I'm not the first to ask the question, and I think that this article gets at least this much right: it's a warning,

against the kind of storing up that is a symptom of greed and acquisitiveness, of the love of money, and a love of the independence from God that it seems to allow.

It means that we should "be content with [our] wages," (Luke 3:14), and not oppress others in our pursuit of worldly gain (Proverbs 14:31).

But it doesn't mean that we completely quit our jobs and take up robbing banks (Ephesians 4:28) or live off charity (II Thessalonians 3:7-8). Certainly if we are called to formal ministry then we are to partake of the earthly fruit of our ministry for sustenance (I Corinthians 9:7), but we are not meant to simply live off the grace of others (II Thessalonians 3:10).

So, we walk an easy balance between making money for the sake of making money (and who cares who we step on), and not making enough money to care for ourselves and our household. But that's not all! It also means that we help out our brothers whenever we can (I John 3:17), and support both formal ministries and the less fortunate (Deuteronomy 14:29). We are stewards of God's money here on earth, so we're supposed to do with it as He wills.

None of that really speaks to what it means to be a servant to money. II Peter 2:19 is the heart of it: if you are overcome by money, you are slave to it... you're serving the wrong thing. So what is it to be overcome by money? When we look to money, and not God, for happiness, that's the wrong answer. When we seek material gain or focus on our careers to the exclusion of daily fellowship with God and our brothers, it's the wrong answer. When our families are well cared for but we let worry about the future convince us to hold back every dime (or even one dime) that might be better spent in good work, it's the wrong answer. It's being overcome - mastered and enslaved - by money.

Colossians 3:23-24 gives us the right idea: work for the Lord. We work to do the best job we can, as a testimony to Christ in us, not as a testimony to convince our bosses we should get promoted. We work to support ourselves for the work of Christ (Philippians 1:21), not to gain one more bauble or one more fifty inch flatscreen. I Timothy 6:8 is the attitude we need - if we have food to eat, clothes to wear, and maybe a roof over our heads and running water, what else do we really need?

There are plenty of frugality blogs out there that will ask you to examine everything you have in order to save money for the purpose of saving money. I think God is asking us to examine everything we have in order to save money for the purpose of serving God.

Portugal: Just Do It

2009-11-16T20:14:00.003-06:00

I really wish I had a (better) picture for this post.

So this buddy of mine (whose name was Sunshine) had a great shirt. It was kind of an ugly yellow color, and it had three things on the front, which I've attempted to re-create below.

Now, of course upon seeing the Nike Swoosh, the first three words that pop into any American's mind are "Just Do It." These words are followed by a strong desire to go watch the Chicago Bulls play basketball until one remembers that Michael Jordan is now (for the last time) retired. That's not important, though; what's important is those three words. Just do it.

Sunshine (not really his name by the way, and no one knows why he was called that, but he was...) and I went on a mission trip one time to the Dominican Republic and I'm pretty sure he wore that shirt every other day. After the trip, whenever we'd see each other, one of us would shout, "PORTUGAL!," and the other would reply, "Just Do It."

I've found that it's a pretty profound attitude. It's the same attitude a college roommate once espoused when he said, "Stick, _______ saddle up!" (He didn't use the blank, but I will.) It's the attitude that makes a man like Dan Berschinski face the fear of battle - courage - and the attitude that makes athletes like Jordan and Nolan Ryan practice obsessively - motivation. It's the attitude of Moses, Joshua, Gideon, and other men of the Bible. Much as any of them doubted and complained, the Israelites got out of Egypt because Moses just did it, and they conquered Jericho because Joshua just did it, and they rid themselves of their Midianite oppressors because Gideon just did it.

It's (at least in part) the attitude that led Christ to the cross. Matthew 26:39 tells us that Jesus knew that the next couple of days were going to be hell. But He saddled up and did it anyway. He loved the Father, and He loved us, and He did what was required of Him.

So the next time you get to feeling sorry for yourself, remember Portugal (and Michael Jordan and Jesus), saddle up, and Just Do It.

Without Reference To Sin

2009-11-03T16:11:00.003-06:00

Hebrews 9:28 -

So that Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

What does it mean to have salvation without reference to sin?

Hebrews 4:15 tells us that our High Priest, Jesus Christ, is without sin despite having suffered all the temptations of earthly man. He is the one and only perfect person - 100 percent.

Which just means I'm not a perfect person (and neither are you). I could have told you that, though. Each day brings some imperfection of mine back to light. Some ugly sin rears its head and makes itself known. Some inadequacy is proven - and I know in those times how desperate my situation is. From day one of my life it's been a losing battle... if the FBI had my sin record it'd be several file cabinets full I'm sure, and they'd certainly never let me into eternal life. But nothing in my sin file matters, thankfully, because He is able to make intercession and save us all (Hebrews 7:25).

All that remains is for us to patiently wait and obtain the promise (Hebrews 6:15). Doesn't mean we do whatever and sin like it doesn't matter; it means we strive all the more towards the promise. The promise of salvation despite imperfection. The promise of being perfected, as Natalie Grant sings, by a perfect God.

There's no such thing as perfect people. There's no such thing as a perfect life. So come as you are, broken and scarred; Lift up your heart and be amazed, And be changed by a perfect God.

October Resolutions Update

2009-10-31T11:03:00.002-05:00

1) Read through my Bible this year before I get married May 23 this year; the entire thing, cover to cover, reading at least a chapter every single day.
In all of October, I've read just 14 pages (to page 916) but that's included Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Hebrews 1-4. Partly it's also a symptom of the fact that these books are so packed with knowledge and insight into our lives in Christ, but two verses came together this morning to make it clear: I need to consider Jesus (Hebrews 3:1) and pay much closer attention (Hebrews 2:1). Still very much on track to make my goal, but I want all my reading to be worthwhile - for it to bear fruit that remains (John 15:4-5).

2) Use my credit card whenever possible but never carry a balance.
Thank goodness for budgeting and saving. One window in my truck broke, and my wife's Subaru came up on some serious preventive maintenance, so we ended up spending $1000 out of the maintenance account this month. Pretty significant spending, but because we had a budget, it didn't even touch this month's income!

3) Contribute the maximum amount to my Roth IRA account.
Too easy with automated transfers.

4) Build a three-month emergency fund.
Done.

5) Get my two mile run time under 15 minutes.
Ran a lot more often this month, but had to cut back a bit because of my knee again. Still in the 15:30-16:00 range, but feeling okay about it.

6) Finish the Navigators' "Design for Discipleship" series of Bible studies.
See resolution one. I haven't worked on the books in two months now; book six languishes on my shelf. That needs to change.

7) Blog at least once a week, plus a monthly update on my resolutions.
Fifteen posts this month, up from last month's ten, but not as much good content as I'd like. Still, this blog is a pretty low priority, so I'm pleased that it's worked out as well as it has.

Something To Share

2009-10-25T19:58:00.005-05:00

Today our pastor likened Christian life to flying a helicopter.

It's not much of a stretch, and it's not all that amazing a metaphor - probably a couple hundred people have used it before. However, one thing that did seem really insightful to me was that the pastor correlated all the people in the back of that helicopter to my Christian life.

So here's the basic metaphor: can you fly a helicopter? (For all you pilots out there, hush up.) So if you can't fly a helicopter, would you climb up front, during a flight, and tell the pilot to scram, that you're taking over? For the pilots, would you tolerate some passenger climbing up front (or even just getting on the intercom) and telling you to move aside, they can do a better job?

So my life is that helicopter. And I'm (for the purposes of the scenario) not qualified to fly it. I have 0 hours in the NS-86 helicopter. But there's this guy, Christ, who has a bazillion hours in every helicopter ever made. And He's flying. And then, sometimes, when I'm off track, I try to climb up there and push Him out, make Him a copilot or a passenger or parachutist.Those times invariably end up with me screaming, "Emergency you have the controls!" and pleading with Him to get it flying again.

So I can screw things up pretty poorly for myself and my life by trying to be the pilot-in-command. But here's the thing: I can also screw up the lives of anyone who's riding along, or happens to be in the area where I finally crash and/or explode. If I have a midair collision, that's not just my life that gets messed up. I have everyone around me to think about as well. If you ever go to flight school, chances are you'll get a "white scarf" speech at some point. Basically, it goes like this: When you put on that white scarf, you're taking responsibility for the lives of everyone aboard, and everyone on the ground below your route. No one else will fly that aircraft but you, so you've got to be the cool, calm, competent aviator. That's what it means to wear the white scarf.

It holds true in the helicopter-life metaphor as well. Christ has a perfect white scarf; He's the calm, competent aviator. We're the nutcases in the back who somehow fall into the deception that we know what's right more than He does. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to trust God rather than ourselves. That's not just to save us, in our (helicopter) lives, but for everyone around us as well. Our spouses, children, friends, local churches, parents, extended families, work buddies... they are all affected by our lives. II Corinthians 6:3-4 tells us to commend ourselves as servants to God, so that the ministry will not be harmed. I Corinthians 8:9 - indeed, the entire chapter - speaks to being perfect for the sake of our brothers, echoing Romans 14:13 and Matthew 18:7... right back to Matthew 5:19.

Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

I was inspired by a post from Penny Arcade (not a great Christian site, I know) some years ago to create this... it's a visual reminder that Christ should be in command, not just for our good but for that of everyone around us.

Be Perfect

2009-10-19T19:31:00.004-05:00

I tumblogged (is that a word?) James 4:17 yesterday with the tagline, "Ouch!"

Anyone here never not do the right thing? Yes, that's an intentional double negative. I'm not asking if anyone's never done anything wrong, but whether you've ever not done something that was right. Is it wrong by default for me to not do something that's right? Or is there some point total, where as long as I don't do anything wrong, the "right" things I do just add points and I might not get a gold medal like the overachievers who do all the right things but at least I could get bronze? Yeah, if you want conviction from a kid's movie, the video previewed at the right slammed me with that verse from James last night.

I'm finding the Bible is pretty clear on the idea that failing to take action is sin when you know that action is right. John 9:41 says that if we know Christ, we have no excuse for skipping out on "right" actions, even if we do no "wrong" actions. And II Peter 2:21 is clear that if we know Jesus is Lord, but we don't follow His commandments, that's worse than having been ignorant of His lordship in the first place!

It gets even harder - Matthew 5:48 (this is Jesus speaking) demands of us no less than perfection, "as [our] heavenly Father is perfect." Yeah, we're all done for. (Idiomatic Grammar imperfection! Fail!)

So what's the point? First, do all the right things. And also do no wrong things. Beyond that, we all know that we are failures. We have not lived up to Christ's example and we never will. But we are striving for that goal. We need to remain as Paul did, pressing onward (Philippians 3:13-16).

Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.

What he's saying is that once we know Christ as Lord and Savior we are perfect in Him. But His perfection produces in us a desire - more, a motivation and discipline - to move beyond our sins and live up to perfection. So be perfect. Live in Christ to the fullest extent of your abilities, and then some.

What's Heaven Like?

2009-10-15T21:58:00.009-05:00

Everyone wants to know what heaven will be like. You know, streets of gold and blind people acting like they just got LASIK and no wheelchairs. I saw something at an airport today and now I know what heaven is like. You'll never guess what it was.

What does that sign have to do with heaven? Well, I Corinthians 6:9-10 and Galatians 5:19-21 are pretty clear that those who live in sin will be stopped short at the "Authorized Personnel Only" sign that's hanging on the pearly gates. If you don't think the regulations are all that serious, read Luke 16:19-31, specifically verse 6 - there is a great chasm fixed, so that no one may go back and forth.

Here's the good news: I've got a golden ticket. They're not hard to come by; it doesn't require eating a billion chocolate bars or having a rich dad to buy you one or even having the luck of Charlie Bucket or a chimney sweep. I Corinthians 6:11 follows up the doom and gloom message that none of us can get our own authorization with the news that we've already got a VIP backstage pass. We're washed, sanctified, justified, authorized personnel by the blood of Jesus Christ. We just have to receive it, believe it, and confess it (Romans 10:9-10).

Isn't that something to share, something to pass on to everyone you know, everyone you care about, everyone you love? II Peter 3:9 tells us God wants everyone to make it past that sign that says "Authorized Personnel Only." Shouldn't we want the same thing?