Artist of the Week

Artist – House of Heroes
Album – The End is Not the End
Song – In the Valley of the Dying Sun

House of Heroes has been around for about a decade, but they haven’t had the exposure as they do now. They signed with Gotee Records this year and Toby Mac has helped them get out there. These guys have talent, in fact their recording is them playing, no digital processing, no mess with this or raise this level a bit, it is their sound.

Another thing about House of Heroes is that their sound is good. They have a message in their lyrics, but they also have a sound that attracts people who may not enjoy their message.

I give House of Heroes 5 out of 5 dundies for Musical Talent. I also give them 4 out of 5 dundies for Lyrical Content.

If you will click on Artist of the Week you will find the video of this song. It is a very interesting song that has a great message of maturing in our walk with God.

Enjoy!

In the valley of the dying sun
I walk a crooked path alone
I came across the shadow of a man
With an angel's breath
'O boy' he said to me
'I see your future'
'Though you long for peace
The sword is your father

I'm thinking of you
I'm thinking of you when I kill a good man
To keep myself from being killed by him
I'm thinking of you
I'm thinking of you when I hold my girl
And wonder if she'll ever love again
I'm thinking of you
Wash the blood off my hands

Bathed in the powder of a thousand guns
I am the king of sorrows
Watered by the tears of the innocent ones
The river grows
It moves
It swells

'Son' It calls to me
'Your days are numbered
Sow the seeds you will
But I am the reaper'

'I'm thinking of you
I'm thinking of you when you kill a good man
To keep yourself from being killed by him
I'm thinking of you
I'm thinking of you when you hold your girl
And wonder if she'll ever love again
I'm thinking of you
Wash the blood off your hands'

I howled at the moon like a wolf in the night
You want to finish it
We're gonna finish it right

And then I felt it with a chill up my spine
There are no words to use that truly describe
The glory of the angel or the terror in me
Tonight will be my ending or tonight my new beginning

All through the night
I wrestled the angel
To undo the curse
That's burdened me all of my life

And for the first time I could see
That God was not my enemy

"I'm thinking of you"

Like pieces of the sun
Our light burns on and on and on
Like stars in the night sky we shine
I'm living to shine on

The Flag Pole

Flag poles basically have one primary purpose, to fly a flag. Tomorrow thousands of students and adults in Kansas will be meeting around flag poles at 7:00 AM at their schools. This isn’t to show reverence to those who have fallen for our country. It isn’t to say the Pledge of Allegiance. It is to come together under the flag and pray for our schools, towns, cities, and nation. Every year, See You At The Pole happens on a Wednesday in September. This all began in 1990 with 10 students who came together to pray for their friends, families, school, and country. It has since spread to millions of students across the globe.
Some kids show up to pray silently, others pray in groups, and others read Scriptures or sing worship songs. But they are united in one purpose, to lift up their friends, families, schools, and nations to God. This year the theme for See You At The Pole is Engage: Engage your school, Engage your community, Engage your world – for His glory! The theme verse is found in 2 Kings 22:13a. Go and pray to God for me and for the people. This verse is about King Josiah and one of the greatest revivals in the Old Testament, all begun by a teenager. Tomorrow students are going to stand together and pray. The question I have for you is, will you join them wherever you may be? Lift up their schools, lift up the faculty and the students, and pray for the leaders in government in local, state, and national levels. Do you know what could happen if we all banded together to pray?

Solitude

This weekend I went down to my home town to see some family and to take my wife to the annual Hillsboro Arts & Crafts Fair. I wasn’t planning on going down, but some last minute plans got changed and I went. My idea of fun isn’t really walking around and looking at crafts with another 60,000 people. I happen to like Hillsboro when the normal 2500 residents are the only ones there. So I decided to capitalize on an opportunity I had. I went out with somebody to shoot a little bit. I needed to fire some rounds through my 500 Smith and Wesson to make sure everything was working properly. I was also given a chance to fire 14 rounds through a Barrett M82A1 .50 caliber semi-automatic rifle. So I decided to decline the offer. Just kidding, do you think I am that stupid? I accepted the offer and shot the 14 rounds through and was fairly impressed with my 4” group of 8 shots at 100 yards. Another fun thing to do with that gun is to shoot two rounds as fast as you can, that gets the adrenaline going as the shock wave comes back and blows through your nostrils and almost blows your ear plugs out. I must admit that I enjoyed spending time away from the crowds and being outside and enjoying nature, shooting the Barrett, and blowing up mud clods with my 500.

In the Bible, one thing we see over and over is Jesus getting up early in the morning to get away from the crowds and spending time in prayer. If Jesus, being God, needed to spend time with God, then we know that we should strive to do the same. You and I need to make it a habit to get away from the “crowds” and spend time with the Lord in prayer and reading His Word. Now getting away from the crowds may mean closing the door to your office or going down the street to get a coffee. It doesn’t matter what method you use, the important part is that you are spending time with God. I try to spend a 15-30 minute window each morning in my office reading my Bible and praying. It doesn’t always happen due to certain things going on. But I try to make that my morning routine, and if I can’t, I will try it some other time in the day. Hunting season is coming up, so I can spend my early mornings out in the field with my Bible on my phone and read as I listen for the turkey clucks.

If you are ever faced with a tough decision as I was this weekend, either to walk and look at crafts or shoot a Barrett, I hope that you make the right decision.

Love, Compassion, and Discipline

I may give away everything I have, and I may even give my body as an offering to be burned. But I gain nothing if I do not have love. 1 Corinthians 13:3.

My wife and I have been having really deep discussions late at night these past few weeks. Last night, we were discussing our children and the things we pray for and want most for them. One of the major themes of our discussion was the character we want to see develop in them. My desire as I watch my 13-month-old son grow up is that he becomes a person that his friends will trust. Someone that they can count on to be there for them. If one of Asher’s friends has a problem at school or at home or anywhere else, they would know that Asher is trustworthy and compassionate. So many kids grow up without someone they can trust. It is sad to see kids who go through life not being able to talk to their parents about things or able to talk to a teacher about issues they may be facing. My wife and I pray that Asher would be the kind of person that other kids will come to when they are having those issues. We also pray that he will be able to come to us when he has issues arise in his life. Being in youth ministry, I have seen kids who are having problems and struggling with issues, but they are afraid to go to their parents because they think they may be yelled at. We are fully aware that this journey of parenting is not easy and we are just past the starting line, but we do hope and pray that Asher will feel free to come to us because we love him. We can work out the problems through looking at the Scriptures and do it together. It pains me to see kids who hide things from their parents because they are afraid of getting the tenth degree. Love and compassion are two vital parts of discipline. Without them, you drive a wedge between the disciplinarian and the one who needs the discipline. Every mistake we make and every struggle we face is an opportunity for us to come closer to God through His love and forgiveness. We should strive to do the same for our kids, and let’s pray that our kids will be able to do the same as they have their families.

Artist of the Week

Artist: Leeland
Album: Love Is On The Move
Song: Follow You

What about love and justice? What do we do about the social justice issue? It seems as though this issue has become a liberal/conservative issue rather than an issue of helping those who need help. A more liberal slant on the issue states that we should share with others in their suffering and treat them as Jesus would. This is great, but that slant also tends to include the fact that since we are helping them and loving them as Jesus, we don’t need to share the Gospel with them. A more conservative slant says that the Gospel is all we need to tell them. Words speak louder than actions, so we don’t do much for their physical needs. Well, I don’t go along either side. I think a middle-of-the-road approach is what we need to take. First and foremost, we need to have the attitude that these people need to be saved. They need Jesus. So don’t only use words and don’t only do things. You need a combination of both. Sometimes words are all it takes, and sometimes actions alone will show them to the Gospel. But we need to be prepared to do both. A good song filling the airwaves now is Follow You by Leeland. I want this song to be how I live and love Christ by helping those who need Him. Here are the lyrics to the song.

You lived among the least of these
The weary and the weak
And it would be a tragedy for me to turn away.

All my needs you have supplied.
When I was dead you gave me life.
How could I not give it away so freely?

And I'll follow you into the homes that are broken.
Follow you into the world.
Meet the needs for the poor and the needy God.
Follow you into the World.

Use my hands, use my feet
To make your kingdom come
Through the corners of the earth
Until your work is done
'Cause Faith without works is dead
And on the cross your blood was she'd
So how could I not give it away so freely?

Click on Artist of the Week to see a video of the song.

We should have a desire to give away what Christ did for us to those around us, for our neighbors who may have a broken home. We need to help meet the needs of the poor and the needy. We are called to do this. Let us love those around us with the love of Christ, first with the desire to see them become saved and then to help them with their physical needs. Sometimes we have to help before they will listen. As one lady said to my old youth pastor, “How is your Jesus going to feed my baby today?”

Love and Morality

I may give away everything I have, and I may even give my body as an offering to be burned. But I gain nothing if I do not have love. 1 Corinthians 13:3.

A couple days ago I wrote about loving those who may not think like us in the political arena. That is a challenge I struggle with a lot. Another area that is hard to love others is the issue of morality. We get our morals from the Bible, plain and simple. So we can say that the Bible is a list of rules, and that’s it, or we can say that the Bible tells us a story about love. When we look at the Bible as merely a list of rules, we not only make sure we follow the rules, but we tend to make sure our neighbors and others are following them as well. When we see the Bible as simply a love story, we get emotional about God’s love for us and try to sprinkle that love dust around with our little fairy wands. What would be a more God-pleasing approach to understanding the Bible? Well, as I mentioned Monday, what would God be like if He didn’t love us? It would be bad; we wouldn’t be here, because our ancestors would have been zapped into flubber in the Garden of Eden. What would God be like if He was all love and unconcerned with our actions? Definitely a long haired, smoking the reefer, tie dye shirt Jesus comes to mind. “Dude, I am love, I love you, dude. We don’t need morals, we have love, anarchy is okay, if it works for you man. Sure sleep with your neighbors wife, it is all about love.” The list could go on. Thankfully, we do exist, have no worry of being flubberized and I haven’t seen any flannel graphs with a tie dye Jesus. The God of the Universe is a God of love. God is love, but He did give us commandments. So we have to have a balance of love and morals. Which one is first? Which one is more important? Neither. When you elevate love above morals, you overlook what Christ did for us on the cross. If you elevate morals over love, you start to be judgmental towards others. But when you become a Christian, because of who we are in Christ as a new creation, our morality comes from love. We obey the commandments of God because of our love for Him. If we obey God’s commandments simply because it is a rule, we are not doing it out of love, but out of duty. Just like if I were to buy my wife some flowers on Valentine’s Day simply because of my duty as a husband. The reason to buy flowers for my wife is to express the love I have for her. When we elevate morality above love, we worry about our actions so much that we overlook God’s grace. Another negative effect of putting morality higher is that we expect others to believe and do the same thing we do and believe. If they don’t, we are quick to judge them. When we elevate love over morality, we let things in our lives slide, and we can potentially lead others into believing that the way they live doesn’t matter or that living a good life will get you to Heaven. We have to be careful to not elevate one about the other. We need to strive to live like Christ not because we ought to, but because of what He did for us.

Love Those Who . . .

I may give away everything I have, and I may even give my body as an offering to be burned. But I gain nothing if I do not have love. 1 Corinthians 13:3.

What is love? Is it a feeling, an emotion, a desire, or a commandment? Now, there are different kinds of love, and you can put a different kind of love to each of the words above. But what kind of love is the Apostle Paul writing about? I don’t think it is the romantic type of love that I have for my wife, and I don’t think it is the fatherly type of love I have for my son. I don’t think and I hope it isn’t the type of love I have for barbecue. So what kind of love is it? The Greek word Paul uses is agape. Agape love is not just unconditional love, but is primarily a love of will, not the emotions. Love with emotions can fade over time, but love out of will doesn’t fade. God’s will to love us will never fade; it is His nature to love us that way. We are called to love in the same way. I see two major areas where we as Christians fail to give agape love. The first is in the political arena. To clarify something, I said we as Christians, and we includes me. I am not excluding myself from this at all, as I am guilty of doing these things as well. How many times have you seen a Christian bad-mouth a politician about his policies? I know I have seen it quite often, and I have done a fair share myself. I have heard many liberal Christians slam Bush and McCain the last 8 years, and I have heard many conservative Christians slam Obama over the past couple years. So why do we do that? What gives us the right to slander others? Now, God definitely wants us to be involved in politics and stand up for truth and morality. We should use our voice of freedom to support legislation and policies that please God. If God’s people sit back and say nothing, then those who are using their voice will get done what they want to see happen. However, the way in which we use that voice should also reflect the love that God has for ALL people, including those who disagree with us in the political arena. That’s where the line between standing up for truth and slandering others gets crossed. What message am I sending to unbelievers through the way I talk about the politician I don’t support? Christians love everyone as long as they think like them and act like them? Here’s an example: Most of you know that I am somewhat of a gun fanatic, which may be putting it mildly. The current administration doesn’t exactly agree with me on gun legislation. One thing I have to remind myself of is that even though I don’t support much or any of the gun legislation that is supported by the administration, God loves each and every one of those politicians. How am I conveying that message by the way I speak about them? I don’t want to get all philosophical on you and say, “What Would Jesus Do?” But, what would He want us to do? Do you know that slander is the same as the ninth commandment, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor?” How often do we bear false witness against a politician? How often do we do it to our actual neighbor? I am guilty of that quite often. What would the world be like if God didn’t have agape love for us? How would it be if His love was based on his emotions? How long would have people existed? I am pretty sure that once the forbidden fruit was eaten in the garden, the earth would have opened up and swallowed Adam and Eve. So how about we think about what we are going to say about someone before the evil malicious words come out of our mouths. Let’s think using agape love, love that is not based off of our emotions, but based of off who we are as a new creation in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Crisis of Belief

I was reading an article written by Josh McDowell in a Christian Counseling Today magazine recently. In the article it talked about how what teens that are active in the church and grow up in Christian homes believe. Many teens that are involved in youth groups, Sunday School, and other areas in church have very distorted beliefs about Christianity. Not just different denominational beliefs, but distorted beliefs about the Bible and God, the core issues. McDowell used research from the Barna Group, “Third Millennium Teens,” and shows some of the findings of the research in three different areas: God, Truth, and Reality.

The first area is God. This comes from an actual youth group from a Bible Church in Illinois. What do kids think about God? “God is like my grandfather, He is there, but I never see Him”. “God is an evil being who wants to punish me all the time.” Someone else said, “I think you are all right, because that is what you really believe.” All the youth agreed that God is whatever works for you.
Some more information about the Third Millennium Teens study:
80% of teens surveyed believe that God created the universe. 84% said that God is personally involved in people’s lives. Yet, 63% believe that Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Jews, and all other people pray to the same god. 87% believe that Jesus was a real person who came to earth. 78% believe He was born to a virgin. However, 46% believed that He committed sins. 51% said He died and did NOT rise from the dead. 48% said that it doesn’t matter what religious faith you associate with, they all have the same principles and truth. 58% said that all religious faiths teach equally valid truths.
This study clearly shows that nearly 2/3 of Christian teens say there is no way to tell which religion is true. Their view of God is so distorted that they are not convinced that the Jesus of the Bible is the way, the truth, and the life.

The second area is Truth. I have heard kids say this in our youth group all the time, in fact I think every single youth has said this. When I ask someone what a verse means, almost all the time, they will respond with “What this verse means to me is . . .” What does that mean? Well, it means that they are looking not into the text, but into themselves for answers. Now, I realize that probably most of the time, they mean something like “I think it means…” and are simply wrestling with what the text is truly saying. But, how far do you go with that statement? If I ask a kid about drinking under the age, they may say, “Well, I think it is wrong for me to drink under age.” Ask about something even more Biblically based, like premarital sex. “Well, it is wrong for me to have sex before marriage, because I think it is against the Bible.” Okay, umm, what about Joe down the street? Is it wrong for him? What does this mean as a whole? Why are kids saying these “. . . wrong for me” and “it means to me . . .” phrases? Teens have been conditioned to believe that truth is not true until they choose to believe it. This explains why 81% of teens claim that all truth is relative to the individual and his/her circumstances. Andy Crouch says, “The historical truths of a biblical book is not the burning issue, but rather how the Scripture speaks to their situation.” So in other words, the fact of whether or not the Bible is legit isn’t the argument for teens, it is how it lines up with their situations and circumstances. They will use parts of this passage and parts of another to make a big pile of various Scriptures that they think fit them at that point in their lives.

The third area is Reality. 72% of teens believe that you can tell if something is morally or ethically right for you by whether or not it works in your life. Is it okay to cheat on a test if it makes you get into the college you want to get into? Is it okay to steal something if it makes your life easier? Is it okay to lie to a friend to avoid an argument? Many kids think that if it works right now, then yes, it would be right. That attitude doesn’t work in life, there are consequences to every thing that we do. God’s absolute ways are what works. His ways protect us and give us blessings. If you don’t follow God’s ways for this or that, there will be consequences and it will lead you down the wrong path, a path towards destruction.

So how do we as Bible believing Christians with a Biblical worldview help teens who have these beliefs? How do we share with them that truth is not relative, but rather absolute? How can we as a church help them?




The Crisis of Belief: What Teens Believe, by Josh D. McDowell, Christian Counseling Today Vol. 16, No. 3.

Barna Research Group, “Third Millenium Teens”

What Do I Think?

Thanks to all of you who participated in this Culture Question. I enjoyed reading your responses and I see that a lot of you see the need to engage culture in some way, while others of you feel that it isn’t necessary or even permissible. One thing I need to clarify is that culture is so much more than the evils of the world. I would venture to say that all the sinful and evil things a particular group of people do would maybe amount to one quarter of their actual culture. Food, drink, roads, cars, transit systems, architecture, language, clothes, music, movies, television, colors, texture, and even toilet paper are part of culture. I don’t believe we can say that culture is only the bad clothes, the bad music, the bad movies, the bad television shows, etc. If we limit culture to the bad and evil, then we enforce in a lot of non-Christian’s heads that Christians can be rude and seem holier than thou. This is a stereotype that we need to shatter with love and compassion for those in the culture who our lost.

To be honest, we all engage culture at some level. There isn’t a person in the world that has never engaged culture. We speak a certain language - that is culture. You eat certain foods - that is culture. You wear a certain type of shoes - that is culture. So we all engage culture in some aspect, but do we engage the culture when it counts for the Lord? You wouldn’t send your (hypothetical) Jr. High boy to the Philippines for a year long mission trip. At least I hope you wouldn’t. You also wouldn’t or at least shouldn’t keep that same boy, who is now out of college and studied on missions and the Philippine culture, from going there. He is now prepared and ready to go. Just as Rocky put it in his comment,

“While I might venture into a crack house to evangelize someone there (and of course not participate in the evil), I certainly wouldn't send my innocent pre-teen daughter to the same place. That same daughter though, after growing up and (maybe) becoming a, oh doctor say, I might encourage to do the same if so led by the Holy Spirit.”

So we have to discern if engaging a certain part of culture is something the Spirit is leading us to do, and if it is, then we do it. Because each person is different on spiritual maturity, each of us is going to have different degrees of engagement to the culture. But if we don’t engage past the talk, food and shoes, we will be missing out on opportunities that God has put before us. Remember what the Apostle Paul told us in 1 Corinthians 9:

19 “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”

Paul’s goal was to save those who were lost, which should be our goal as well. If we don’t associate ourselves with the lost at some level, we will never be able to save them (of course, it is God who does the saving, not us, but I am using Paul’s words). Even though Paul is more mature than us in his faith, that doesn’t give us an excuse to not become something to someone so we can at least share the Gospel with them.

Let me know what you think about this. I would still like to see your insight, which I appreciate so much as I seek to minister to the youth in this generation as God would lead me.

Artist Of The Week

Artist: Matthew West
Album: Something To Say
Song: Safe & Sound


I know I have had Matthew West on here as Artist of the Week and I try really hard to not have someone on here more than once. But, here is the exception. He wrote a song to his little girl, a lullaby, Safe & Sound. This song really touched me when I heard it the first time, it is something I want to memorize and sing to Asher as I put him to bed. The lyrics of the song really define how I want to raise up Asher, to come to realize what Christ did for him on the cross.

He definitely gets 5 out of 5 dundies on all aspects.

So sit back, click on Artist of the Week and watch the video on youtube.

Can’t believe you’re here now
Tiny dream come true
The answer to a prayer now
I’m so in love with you
Couldn’t wait to meet you
Hope you like your name
I get the funny feeling
Life will never be the same

Safe and sound
You’re here with me now
Like I hoped you’d be
Safe and sound
You’re here with me now
And that’s all I’ll ever need

The world’s a scary place here
But baby it’s alright
I’ll make sure the coast is clear
So you can just sleep tight
But if you’re afraid of monsters
Like everybody is
I’ll be right beside you
Closer than a kiss

Safe and sound
I’m here with you now
And you will always be
Safe and sound
I’m here with you now
And that’s all you’ll ever need

Someday I’m gonna teach you
The reason why we pray
So that heaven’s love may reach you
Every single day
So, baby close your eyes now
And say a prayer with me
Lord, I lay me down to sleep now
But I know I will be

Safe and sound
You’re here with us now
And we will always be
Safe and sound You’re here with us now
And that’s all we’ll ever, all we’ll ever need
You’re all we’ll ever need

The Culture Question

It has been a long while since I last wrote anything on here. I have been busy with youth group activities such as a mission trip to Utah and to church camp in Missouri. So now, my relaxing summer can officially start! In about a month, all church activities start back up, so I better make the most of it. I have a bunch of church work to do, but I have something I have wanted to ask all of you, so please respond by commenting on this article or commenting on facebook.

At camp we had a speaker, a great speaker. I heard him a couple of years ago and it was very encouraging. This year, he did a great job as well. But I have one question, an issue I would like your input on. Before I go into the question, I want to tell you about the missionary speaker they had there as well. He is with New Tribes Mission and is going to go to the Philippines as a missionary. The NTM policy and practices make it where you study the culture of the people who are you going to for a number of years, up to 3 or 4 years, before you bring up the issue of Christ and His saving grace. You go to their culture, study it, talk like them, dress like them at times, and participate in activities with them so you can better understand how to witness to them. This builds a strong relationship with them. They will more likely listen to someone who has spent the time to build that relationship with them.
Now I totally agree with the philosophy of NTM. They have learned from mistakes of people in the past who have tried without success to witness to the tribal peoples of the world. I think that what they do is important and imperative. If you don’t study them, you won’t make it, and you won’t be able to effectively fulfill the great commission.
This brings me back to the speaker at camp. He urged us to not listen to the music of the world, not wear the clothes of the world, and not get drawn into the culture of the world. This is where my issue has come up. If the missionary going to the Philippines spends time in the culture to better evangelize to them, why can’t we here in the U.S.? Should we use the music and the clothes of this culture to study them so we can better reach them with the saving grace of Christ? Do we use things of this culture, go into the culture, and get drenched in culture to reach those who are lost in the culture? What do you think the Bible has to say about that? What do you think God thinks about this?

unChristian

Do you ever find yourself thinking that things are just different than they were 10 years ago? The world is constantly changing, not just the physical earth, but the culture we live in. I can remember it was only 7 years ago I got my first cell phone. I was fresh out of college and I actually needed one. Now, if you don’t get a cell phone by your freshman year in High School, you are behind the times. When I was in college, the cool thing to do was IM on ICQ. We thought that life was great, especially when you are ICQing the person in the room next to yours. We always thought that was fun, although we usually felt stupid and stopped because we were only 15 feet away. Nowadays, kids sit on the same couch and text each other. You can whisper to them and they would hear you. This is normal for the teens and tweens of today. Facebook and MySpace are the normal ways of letting others knowing what you are doing. And if that wasn’t enough, we now have Twitter so we can instantly know what the people we are following are doing. We can constantly be in “the in” on what others are doing. Gone are the days of just wondering what your friends are doing and waiting till Friday to talk to them again. Culture has changed so much in the past 10 years, and it has changed immensely in the last 20 years. What is it going to be like in 10 more years? What am I as a Christian supposed to do in this ever changing culture? I know that we can’t change the Gospel. It HAS to stay the same; it is unchanging and has surpassed many cultural changes. It will stay strong regardless, so what do we do? Just stand back and leave it? That would go against Jesus’ last words to His disciples. We are to go and make disciples. So how do you make disciples in an ever-changing land? In a land where “God” has become “god” and we elevate people to that position fairly often? The norm many years ago was that Christians would go to church and if they felt a calling to do something for God, they would begin a Vocational ministry. Vocation referred to doing God’s work. Go into the ministry. That is how you would make a difference. Now, in a culture where people don’t want to go to church because Christians are so unChristian, what do we do? I think that Vocation can be a slap in the face of many Christians. The notion that people who are in the ministry are somehow above the school teacher who shows their students to love of God or the Wal-Mart cashier who puts a little bit of Christ’s love in each of the sacks for the customers, is absurd. There are people in the “non-vocational” area of work that lead more people to Christ and disciple more people than many pastors out there. There are kids in the public school system that evangelize and lead more students to Christ than many youth pastors. You can’t tell me that they are not doing the work of God, not going into Christian service. That IS Christian service. The thought of Vocation needs some improvement, that form doesn’t work like it used to. Even John Newton knew that. He told William Wilberforce to not go into the ministry, but do the work of God in British parliament. The ever changing culture needs Christians willing to put on their name plate at their bank, to put on their apron at the restaurant, to put on their uniform and pick up the mop bucket at the public school. In a society where people who are aged 16-29 think that Christians are unChristian, we need to go into the unChristian areas to proclaim the Gospel. Don’t expect them to come to the church. God didn’t expect us to come to Him. He sent His Son to us.

Shiners

I have only had two black eyes in my life that I can remember. The first one happened when I was in Jr. High. My brother and I were wrestling around (my parents liked this form of entertainment). Who wouldn’t like to watch two bumbling idiots wrestle around? The rule was, when punches started flying, it would end. Well, a punch flew, my brother popped me in the face, and I got a black eye. But I got the last laugh. My brother fractured his hand on my head. So I guess I won! Then the second black eye came last week. We were at a boys retreat playing watermelon rugby. Need I say more? Well, I guess I should. My teammate thought it would be fun to fling someone around to tackle them. Fine and dandy, it is fun to see teenage boys be flung around like rag dolls. Well, the flinging stopped suddenly. I guess I should say I stopped it. His shoulder was flung into my face. This kid is like 7 feet tall and weighs like 120 pounds. (I am exaggerating a bit), His bony shoulder did a number on my face.
It is kind of weird walking around church and around town where people know you are a youth pastor and seeing that you have a black eye. They last a lot longer than I remembered and get uglier as time goes on. But you know what? A black eye is a small price to pay to have a fun game of watermelon rugby. We had a lot of good memories at this boys retreat. We learned that computer monitors, although they are made of really thick glass, are no match for a bullet. We also learned that you can start a fire with a .22 and an exploding target. We doused the wood with lighter fluid, stuck on the target, and shot it. Another thing we learned is that paintball guns don’t always work. The one time you want them to work is when you are ambushing unsuspecting teenagers. We learned that CO2 powered airsoft guns hurt a lot worse than the regular spring ones. We also found a good way to use up old panty hose: Put a cup of flour in them and start hitting people with it. Ultimately we learned how to be Warriors for Christ, to know our enemy and to defend ourselves from him. It made for a lot of good memories, and well, the black eye I can always blame on my wife.

Time Travel

Travel back in time with me a bit, back to the Garden of Eden. The fall of man, after the fall, God curses the serpent, and the woman and the man. He says in Genesis 3:17 God curses the ground, the earth. Not only are we cursed, but the earth is cursed as well. Then lets fast forward to an unknown time, Revelation 22 talks about the new Jerusalem. So we have two choices, look back to the garden and try to restore the order, to undo the curse, or we can look forward to the city and hope for what is to come. I think a lot of times as Christians we tend to look back to the garden, to try to fix the curse, but we can’t fix it. We are cursed, we are bad, we are evil people, we can’t do anything about it. The only thing that can help us is Jesus Christ. He helps us overcome the curse. He turns our heads to look toward the new city. So on this journey, press on towards the hope that we have to come, a new heaven and a new earth.

Artist of the Week

One of my most favorite bands of all time is Third Day. I have seen them in concert 5 times, and they are simply amazing. Mac Powell has a magnificent voice that is very distinct. You know that a band that is that big and has been around for as long as they have is real. They are in it for the right reasons. God has given all of them amazing talents. One of the coolest things that Third Day and especially Mac Powell does is help start up bands into the Christian music realm with his production company. One of the bands he helped get into the Christian music industry is this week's artist of the week. Revive comes out of Australia and they rock. Their newest album titled Chorus of the Saints is a hit in the US. Mac Powell produced this album for Revive. I could write the story of Revive and make you read it on your computer, but instead I will let you watch the story, so click here to watch the story of Revive.

I give Revive 4 out of 5 dundies on lyrical content. I give them 4 out of 5 dundies on musical style and talent. They have a great style of worship music. They are very talented musicians as well, and I am looking forward to more albums from them as they continue to use the talents that the Lord has given them. Here are the lyrics of this weeks song, You Know. This song also features Mac Powell. The Australian accent of lead singer Dave Hanbury and Mac’s voice really blend well for a great song. Click on Artist of the Week to hear the song on YouTube.
Enjoy!

I have so many dreams for my life
I'm going this way and that
I'm spending so much time worrying
About how it's all turning out

But You know where I've been
And You know where I'm going
'Cause You see all my plans for what they are
I lay them all down

You keep the sparrow flying in the sky
Why do I question You
The flowers of the field are beautiful
I'm a child in the arms of my Father

And You know where I've been
And You know where I'm going
'Cause You see all my plans for what they are

So many times You've held me near
And brought me through the storm
And You never made me do it on my own
Through broken hearts and broken dreams
My hope in You is strong
There is nothing in my life You haven't known

And You know where I've been
And You know where I'm going
'Cause You see all my plans for what they are

And You know
And You know
'Cause You see all my plans for what they are
I lay them all down

Loud and Clear

What should I do? What is there to do when you are surrounded by people who don’t want anything to do with the true Gospel? When the Gospel as the Bible clearly shows us is called old fashioned or is out of context because our culture is so “different”, what do you do? Well, you do what the Bible tells you. Paul solemnly charges Timothy to preach the Word in 2 Timothy chapter 4. So when people around you are saying that the message of the Gospel isn’t about Christ dying on the cross but about Jesus loving those around Him, you preach the Word. Here at Moody Pastors’ Conference, Michael Easley preached on this last night. He said that the Greek word is where we get the word herald. We need to herald the message, and that means say it LOUD and CLEAR! That is the key, the most important thing. Loudly proclaim the message of the Gospel to a destructive generation. Paul also tells Timothy to reprove, rebuke, and exhort those who are destructive. So let them have it! But wait, Paul says do it with patience. That means preach the message loud and clear, but not by condemning and damning people. We are on the verge of having a destructive generation that will throw away the Word of God for a feel good message. So our charge is to preach the Word loud and clear. It is simple, so do it.

reFOCUS

Have you ever been hunting and look down your rifle into the scope or maybe glass the countryside with your nocs and you find that they aren’t focused right? I know I have. What is even worse is when you are looking through your nocs and they start to fog up. That has happened quite often with me, especially on cool mornings after I have walked a good distance. Another thing that bugs me is that my dad has this scope, a long range target scope with a tiny dot in the middle and really fine cross hairs. The scope must be faulty, because I can’t see the reticle at all. However, everyone else can see it fine, just not me, so, *sigh*, perhaps the fault lies not within the scope.
This morning I flew into Chicago with 3 other pastors in our area. We are attending Moody Bible Institute's Pastors Conference. The theme for this year is refocus. There are a lot of times in my life that I need to refocus my eyes to see where I am heading. When God is directing me I see clearly, but when I turn away a bit it gets a little fuzzy. At that moment I don’t know which way to go and it is so hard to tell. Usually I go the wrong way and the farther I go, the more I realize that I need to refocus my life. All it takes is a turn of a knob to focus a scope or binoculars. In our spiritual lives, it takes a flip of a page. Open up God’s Word to see what He has to say to us. It also takes some bending of our knees. Bow down before the Almighty Creator of the Universe and ask Him to guide you back on track. With the flip of a page and bending of our knees, we can refocus and will be able to see clearly again. My hope is that this week I will be able to truly refocus and see what God has in store for me, my family, and my ministry.

Rubbish - Part 5

Garbage, trash, refuse, waste, or rubbish, we all have them in our lives. Some of the things are absolutely despicable, while others are normal and may seem appropriate. I am going to go through the list that Paul provides for us in Philippians 3:4-7 [T]hough I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Blameless – Paul considered himself righteous when it came to the law. There was no room for blame because he was righteous. But to whose standard? It is obvious that it was to his standards or the standard of the Pharisees. Paul was not righteous as Abraham was. Abraham was counted as righteous because of his faith. Paul counted himself righteous because of his works. Now, there are two areas we can find ourselves doing the same thing. One is thinking that good works can help you get to heaven. The other is thinking that doing good works keeps you in God’s favor. Let’s start with the first one. Works do not get you into heaven. If they did, then there would have been no need for Christ to die on the cross. Putting your trust in Christ as your Savior is what gets you to heaven. A person can do good works as Paul did before his conversion and not make it to heaven. Paul put his trust in Christ and he is now in heaven. Now this brings us to the second one. Since we are talking about Paul, let’s use him as a hypothetical. Let’s suppose that Paul trusted in Christ as his Savior and left it at that. Would he be in Heaven? Yes. Even if he never did a good work in his life? Yes. How? Well, we could ask the same question about the thief on the cross. He put his faith in Christ right before his death. What good things could he do? He was stuck on a cross. However, Jesus told him he would be in paradise that day. If you don’t believe that putting your trust in Christ alone is what gets you to heaven, then that makes Jesus a liar. The thief would have never gone to paradise. So what is the purpose of works and what does James mean by “faith without works is dead”? Well, works are valuable, and God wants us to do good works. If we don’t we are disobeying commandments. Paul told the jailor that all he needed to do is believe on the name of Jesus Christ and he and his family would be saved. Now to put this in movie terms, that is the ticket to get you in the theatre. What seat do you want? Do you want popcorn, pop, jujubes? The works you do determine that. Works put jewels in your crown and Paul makes it clear that all our works will be tested and if you don’t have any, you will escape as though through fire (1 Cor. 3:10-15). So Paul considered the works he did before his conversion as rubbish, because they were for the wrong reasons. They were for selfish, prideful reasons. When we serve, we need to do it with God’s intentions, with the other person’s needs and desires at heart. Don’t hold the door open so you can hear the thank you. Don’t get mad at someone because they didn’t thank you. If you do, then you are doing it for the wrong reason. Let us do works for the right reason, not for legalistic or selfish reasons. Obey the commandments of God because of your love and reverence for Him.

Rubbish - Part 4

Garbage, trash, refuse, waste, or rubbish, we all have them in our lives. Some of the things are absolutely despicable, while others are normal and may seem appropriate. I am going to go through the list that Paul provides for us in Philippians 3:4-7 [T]hough I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
To the law and to zeal – Paul was a Pharisee who studied under Gamiliel, one of the most well known and respected Pharisees of the day. Paul was good at what he did, he was there when Stephen was stoned. His name was Saul at that time (remember, Jesus changed his name to Paul on the road to Damascus). To understand a little better of who Saul was, we should look at what a Pharisee is and when they came into existence. Scholars believe that the Pharisees came into existence somewhere around 400-300 BC. The purpose of the Pharisees was to help the people of Israel, the remnant that was left, to draw closer to the heart of God. They wanted people to know the law and to live righteously as God commanded them to. They started out with good intentions, stuck to the Torah, and things looked good for them. As time went on, the Pharisees thought that there were some areas of life that needed a little extra conviction. Areas where the law wasn’t too clear on. So they started to add to the law. Now, during the day of Jesus, the Pharisees were quite corrupt and had added hundreds of things to do and not to do on the list. A lot of these things they added they did so to make themselves look better. Not to God, but to others.
And that is where I want to come in and talk about how we can apply this to our lives. The Pharisees started with not just good intentions, but godly intentions. They wanted to help the people of Israel to live by the shema (Deut. 6:4-9). But as time went on, the Pharisees got in the way of themselves. Do we ever do that? Do we start with good intentions and find out later that we tripped over ourselves many times along the way? I know I do, and most likely if you don’t think you do, you are in denial. It is hard to help others in their relationship with God without making reference to some of your disciplines or convictions. And it isn’t wrong to do that necessarily, but it becomes wrong when you show them or tell them about what you do to make yourself feel good and puff yourself up a bit. The key is to do it with humility. Every time I hear the word “humble”, I think back to Numbers 12:3. The book of Numbers was written by Moses, and that passage refers to Moses as the most humble man on earth. Is it a contradiction? No, it is the inspired word of God. Moses was so humble that when God told him he was the most humble, he still was humble, he never got puffed up. My goal is to be like that, to not have an ego, to let my pride go and truly come before Christ in a humble manner. That is what Paul wanted as well. Paul was well known in the Pharisaic realm. But when Christ met him on the road to Damascus, Paul was humbled. Do you ever feel like you get knocked off you donkey when your pride level is a little to high? It hurts, doesn’t it? But it causes you to look around and see where you have gone wrong and which way you need to go. Paul considered his Jewish stature as loss for the sake of Christ. Let us do the same to our stature that hinders us from coming before God.

Artist of the Week

Artist - NewWorldSon
Album - Salvation Station
Song - Salvation Station

Music is something that can make you move in mainly two different ways. You can move to the beat and do a little headbob and tap your feet, or you can move, and I mean really MOVE. You find yourself dancing all over the place and using every extremity to move with the beat. Every now and then there comes a band that will take over every muscle in your body and make you move and truly get jiggy with it. This week’s spotlight is on a band that makes you move, NewWorldSon. Their style of music is soul music, and if soul music can’t get you moving, then something is wrong with you. These four guys are talented musicians, and you know that they are going to be good just by looking at them. Anytime a bassist uses an upright, you know that there is going to be some good rhythm to the music. Their song Workin’ Man is a fun upbeat song that makes you want to get up and dance. The song that I am focusing on is called Salvation Station. Here is what lead singer Joel Parisien has to say about the song, "This is my response to Curtis Mayfield’s lyric: ‘People get ready, there’s a train comin’. You don’t need no baggage, you just get on board.’ I thought, well, if I don’t need any baggage, then you don’t even need to slow down, I’ll just hop on!"
If you click on artist of the week, you will find a video of this song. Now, I will tell you in advance that the video is about 10 minutes long, and they spend half the time jamming away and are accompanied by Chops Horns (famous horn section accompaniment for Alicia Keyes, The Police, Funkadelics, and the Rolling Stones). Somewhere in the video between 6 and 7 minutes Joel starts jamming on a kazoo, and it sounds good. So you know he is talented. I give these guys 5 out of 5 dundies on lyrical content. They don’t have much variation, but when you take the style of music into consideration, they do a wonderful job lyrically. I give them 6 out of 5 dundies on musical style and talent. Like I said before, these guys are extremely talented and they just make me want to dance like a fool.
Here are the lyrics, and please check out the video.
Enjoy!!

There’s a train leaving from Calvary and it’s goin’ to salvation station
There’s a train leaving from Calvary and it’s goin’ to salvation station

I’m gonna jump that train I’m gonna jump that train
I’m gonna jump that train oh Lordy I
I’m gonna jump that train I’m gonna jump that train
And we gonna reach salvation station in the sky
Gonna leave sin city leave it all behind
‘Cuz where we goin’ they don’t take that kind
Gonna leave sin city leave it all behind
‘Cuz where we goin’ they don’t take that kind

Can you hear that whistle blowin’
And can you see that black coal smoke?
Can you hear that ole whistle blowin’
Salvation station, that’s where we goin’

Rubbish - Part 3

Garbage, trash, refuse, waste, or rubbish, we all have them in our lives. Some of the things are absolutely despicable, while others are normal and may seem appropriate. I am going to go through the list that Paul provides for us in Philippians 3:4-7 [T]hough I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Tribe of Benjamin – Benjamin was one of the sons of Jacob, aka Israel. The importance of being from the tribe of Benjamin is that Benjamin and Joseph were Jacob’s favorite sons (they were born to Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife). Israel’s first king came from the tribe of Benjamin. Also, the tribe of Benjamin remained faithful to King David during the rebellion of Absalom. The reason Paul includes this in his list is that the Jewish audience would understand that Paul came from a Hebrew family, and as we found out yesterday, was circumcised as the Hebrew ritual would call for. Paul had reason to boast in who he was and where he came from.
So the question I have for you today is: Do you boast in your father’s name or in your Heavenly Father’s name? I am very proud of my name. Back in the town I grew up in, I was known by Rex’s son or Jack’s grandson. The reputation of my dad and grandpa gave me an in. People respected them, so they were going to respect me. My parents raised me, and the influences of grandparents on both sides have had a great effect on who I am today. But the one greatest thing that makes me who I am today is Christ. I strive to find my identity in Christ and Christ alone. As I stated yesterday, I am very proud of my heritage, my parents and grandparents. I hope that my son Asher will be that proud of me some day. But more importantly, I hope and I pray on a daily basis that he will find his identity in Christ.
About 3 years ago we moved away and I took a ministry position at Rock Creek Bible Church. Nobody here knew my dad or grandpa, my reputation was not built on them, they knew me and only me. In a way, it was a good way to show others who I am aside from where or who I came from. It was a blank slate. I could use my identity in Christ to show others how He has formed me into who I am. My heritage does play a big part in that because I know I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for my heritage.
Do you identify yourself with your last name or do you take on the name of the Lord? Your earthly name will be with you all the days of your life, but who you are in Christ will be with you for eternity. Someone will write your name on your tombstone which will erode and someday be gone. But if you identify yourself in Christ, God will write your name in the Lamb’s book of life, which never erodes.

Rubbish - Part 2

Garbage, trash, refuse, waste, or rubbish, we all have them in our lives. Some of the things are absolutely despicable, while others are normal and may seem appropriate. I am going to go through the list that Paul provides for us in Philippians 3:4-7 [T]hough I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Circumcised – I will not go into the details of what circumcision is, but the main thrust of it was that it was a sign of a covenant between Abraham and God. A covenant that Paul explains in Romans when Abraham was set apart as righteous because of his faith, not because of his circumcision. The circumcision was an outward symbol of his faith. From then on, God commanded His people to be circumcised so that they would be set apart for Him. Over a period of many, many years, the reasons people got circumcised became more about themselves instead of because of who God is and what He did for them. It became a meaningless ritual for some, while others still kept doing it as an outward symbol of their faith.
Here are some passages where Paul tells us that the importance of cirumcision is not the outward physical action, but what is on the inside that counts.
Romans 2:28-29 - that circumcision should not be phyiscal, but rather a condition of your heart.
1 Corithians 7:18-19 - that it doesn’t matter if you are circumcised or not, but keeping the commandments of God is what counts.
Galatians 5:6 and 6:15 - circumcision or uncircumcision counts for nothing, but faith working through love counts, and that we are a new creation.
Colossians 3:11 - There is no Greek, Jew, circumcised, uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free; but Christ is all, and is in all.
It is obvious that Paul doesn’t value the mere act of circumcision, but who we are in Christ.
So we can ask ourselves this question: What actions do I do on the outside to “represent” my faith or the condition of my soul? Do we do things on the outside in order to impress others or even ourselves? Maybe for some it is baptism, an outward symbol of your faith. But are you doing it because every 8th grader has always done it or because your parents made you? Maybe it is praying at a table in a restaurant, trying to get others attention rather than conversing with the Almighty. What are the reasons you do these outward acts? To build confidence in your self or to help you know Christ Jesus in a continous way? If it is the former, then I suggest you throw the towel in, because you will never make it. The only way we can make it through this life is with a desire to know Christ Jesus as our Lord in a ongoing way. We may fall, no, we will fall and it will hurt. But in a strange way, that is how we know God is helping us.

Rubbish - Part 1

We put our trash bags in our garage until it is time to have it hauled away. This last week, we had something that smelled a little funky in one of the trash bags. When the smell was no longer funky, but rather very pungent, I decide to air out the garage. It helped, the fresh air came in and the pungent funk went out. Trash seems to have many different yet distinct odors and it reeks of rubbish. There is more rubbish in our lives than we think, but this trash isn’t just in trash bags and waste baskets. Garbage can be all over our lives and we never smell it or see it. It usually can be seen by others before us because we are too used to it being around us. This garbage can consist of things like bad habits and sinful things we are tied up in. But according the Apostle Paul, rubbish is not ONLY the bad things in our lives, but also good things that keep us from growing closer to Christ. In Philippians chapter 3, Paul goes through a list of things that he has done to make himself the most righteous person, the most confident person. Then after the list he says that he counts all that stuff as rubbish. The things that Paul did to make himself confident in his flesh include being brought up in the right culture, being part of the right family, following the right rules, and executing orders in the right manner. So, being brought up in a Christian home, in a small town where people respect me because of my name and following the proper protocol is rubbish? It can be. Paul tells us that he counted all those things as loss for the sake of his salvation through Christ. He goes on and says that it is worth counting them as loss because of what he has in knowing Christ. The word “knowing” is a present participle, meaning that this knowledge is incomplete and constant and Paul does not want to stop learning Christ. He doesn’t want his confidence in himself to hinder his confidence in Christ. He wants to know less of the sinful Paul and know more of the Christ. Our Pastor asked us this Sunday if we are willing to give up our name for Christ. I am proud of who I am, my heritage. I am proud to say that my Anabaptist relatives came over from what is now Germany to escape religious persecution. I am thankful that I come from a line of faithful and godly people. But I will not dwell or boast on my religious heritage, but I will rather boast in what Christ has done for me and what He has in store for me.* My next 4 posts will deal with the garbage list that Paul gives in Philippians 3:4-6. I will try to give some practical applications we can use in our lives to get rid of the rubbish.

*Disclaimer* Now, I want to make one thing clear, my relatives are not garbage, they are wonderful people. But I could easily dwell on what they did and put their actions in front of what Christ did for me. My relatives did not die for my sins; they did not defeat death on the cross. But they did live their lives as examples of godly men and women who have put their faith in Christ and who also desired to know Christ in a continuous way.

Jephthah

For my devotions yesterday and today I read about the story of Jephthah in the book of Judges. This story is very tragic in what happens to his only child, his daughter. I never really paid too much attention to this story, just figuring it was one of the gruesome stories of the book of Judges. Then two years ago almost to the day I was up in Chicago at Moody’s Pastor Conference. I heard one of the most amazing preachers in the world, Haddon Robinson. The passage he preached on was the story of Jephthah in Judges. At that particular time we were going through the book of Judges in our teen Bible study at church, so I was pumped. Where else to get better material than from one of the best expository preachers of our time? For the duration of the 38 minutes and 10 seconds he preached it was obvious that everyone in the packed auditorium was waiting for his next word. For those of you who don’t know the story of Jephthah, here is a quick run down: He was born of a prostitute and kicked out of his house by his brothers because he was illegitimate. He went to the land of Tob and led a group of scoundrels and thugs. He was a mighty warrior and knew how to handle a sword. Israel was in the thick of apostasy and had been worshiping idols and had been sold into the hands of Philistines and the Ammonites. The elders of Gilead (Jephthah’s father) went to Jephthah and asked him to lead the armies of Israel to defeat the Ammonites. He ended up leading them victoriously, but before he started, he made a vow to God,
“If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” Jephthah led the Israelites to victory and on his way home, his only child, his daughter, ran out of the house to meet him. Jephthah, who was shunned at a young age and basically raised himself in a foreign land, did not fully understand the grace of God. He didn’t know that God did not honor human sacrifice. He went ahead and sacrificed his daughter.

The message of Robinson’s sermon was that faith without theology is dangerous. Jephthah had faith in God, but he lacked the theology, the understanding of who God is. Did God honor Jephthah for his faith? Did he accept the sacrifice of his daughter? I am pretty sure he didn’t accept it as a pleasant aroma. But if you look in Hebrews 11:32 where the writer is going through a list of the Old Testament Saints who made it to the Hall of Faith, Jephthah is mentioned. Why? Because he had faith. God did not honor the sacrifice of his daughter, but He did honor Jephthah’s faith.

So what can we learn from this story? When we have faith in God, we need to have the theology to back that faith up. God will still honor our faith if it is true, but it can be dangerous without theology and may have consequences on this earth. Jephthah was basically kicked out of Israel and spent the majority of his life in Tob. He didn’t know much about God What he knew was that God was real and He had led Israel out of Egypt. But he didn’t know all there was to know about God. We have the Word of God at our hands, so we probably can’t get away with sacrificing our children. We can’t pull the “I didn’t know” card when he have the answers in front of us. It is like school. When the teacher has given us the material, we are responsible for reading and memorizing it so we can take the test. We can’t say the dog ate my homework and get away with it. True faith in Christ will get us to Heaven, our theology and what we do with our faith decides our rewards when we get there.

Please Stand for the Honorary Judge Regier

Please stand for the honorary Judge Regier. Sometimes I feel that is what I hear when I begin to judge others. Do I really think that I have the right to judge others on their appearance and their ideals without even knowing anything about them? I don’t. Why do I always think that I can judge someone by just looking at them or by talking with them for the first time? Well, because I am human. But does that excuse me from doing it? No. The whole world judged a particular person a few weeks ago, Susan Boyle. By the appearance she had and the comments she made, the world probably thought, “This lady will by x’d off stage in no time and maybe even laughed off.” But then she sang. The world stood still, and even the unthinkable happened, Simon Cowell smiled. The world still awaits the final outcome of Susan Boyle, but even if she doesn’t win, she has won in the hearts of many across this planet.

We so often judge on appearance, what people wear, what their hair looks like, what style of music they listen to, what they watch, and the list can go on and on and on. But do we know them? Do we truly know the reasons why they dress the way they do? If you don’t then you best stop judgin’. If you do, then you best have the best intentions for helping them if you are judgin’. We think we can do a better job at being the Mayor or Pastor or Governor or Senator or even President, but you know what, says who? You. What makes you more qualified? I love the way that Eugene Peterson writes Matthew 7:1-5 in The Message: “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.”

We should check ourselves before we check someone else. What makes us more qualified than the next person? What makes our lives better than the person down the street? What makes our reasons for dressing the way we do better than the other person? If it lies in your opinion or even your own standards or ethics, then it still isn’t right. We aren’t supposed to judge others to make ourselves feel or look better, we are supposed to judge others to help them with their walk with God. We have their best interests above ours. If all of us would do that, then racism, prejudices, hatred, and fear would no longer be issues.

There are a lot of Susan Boyles out there, people who look and act a little or maybe a lot differently than we do. But you may not know the story behind it, and don’t judge until you do. Don’t judge until you have put their interests above your own.

Artist of the Week

Artist: Bluetree
Album: God of This City
Song: When I Survey

I really like to listen to artists who have accents. I have always liked the Newsboys and Rebecca St. James with their Australian accents. Then there is Matt Redman and Delirious from the UK. But perhaps the coolest accent of all is the Irish accent. The mainstream band U2 is a lot of fun to listen to, and this week’s Artist of the Week is from Ireland as well. Bluetree has just recently been hitting the Christian radio stations in the US with their new worship song, God of This City. Bluetree is a band that has been around since 2004 and has been active in the UK since then. The band was actually born out of frustration of the idea that worship is only from the heart. Here is what the lead singer Aaron Boyd has to say: “We are Jesus’ hands and feet in the world. Let’s not just ask God to change everything, but let’s be a blessing and speak words of life into people’s difficult circumstances.” I totally agree with the frustration that brought this band into existence. Worship is not just from our heart and our attitude towards God, it is our life. If we want to truly worship God, we need to worship Him with all of our lives. This album is filled with genuine worship songs that inspire us to live for God. One of the songs on the album is an old hymn, which is this week’s song. When I Survey is Bluetree’s version of When I Survey The Wondrous Cross.

I give Bluetree 5 out of 5 dundies for lyrical content, as their songs are wonderfully written worship songs that truly inspire you to bow and worship God. I also give them 5 out of 5 on musical style and talent. They are gifted in voice and instrument and they are using that for the glory of God. One really awesome thing about Bluetree is that when you buy their album on DiGSTATION for $7.99, they will donate $2 of each album sold to help end child trafficking.

Here are the lyrics to the song. Click on Artist of the Week to see a video on YouTube of the song put to a slideshow of pictures. Enjoy!

When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of Glory died;
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
save in the death of Christ, my God;
all the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.

See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were an offering far too small;
love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all

Plant A Seed, Grow A . . . Pumpkin Crown?

We just got done planting our garden, and we didn’t use any seeds. It is hard and tedious to plant seeds. Especially things like carrots and radishes, where the seeds are so tiny. So we, like many other people, used the little plants. It takes a lot of work out of it for you. No watering little tomatoes for weeks, you just plant the plant in the garden and let the sprinkler do the rest. We even planted some pumpkins this year. I remember years back when we planted a pumpkin plant and it grew and grew and grew and vined out all over the garden. It even went out of the garden (and we had a big garden, big enough to use a tractor and disc to till it up each year). I think I am going to train our pumpkin to stay a little smaller this year.
I found out something very interesting this last week about a seed. I came to know Christ as my Savior at the age of 5. I always remembered that since my brother was a Christian, I wanted what he had, so I had always thought that my mom led me to Christ and prayed with me. That is what I remembered, but not what really happened. This is the true story that I found out about this week: My brother and I were up in my room by ourselves and he is the one who led me to Christ. After that, he went and told my mom about it and she came up and prayed with both of us and thanked God for my brother leading me to Christ. In my mind, all I remember is my mom praying with me, so I always figured it was her that led me to Christ, but in fact it was my brother. Now how does all this correspond with a seed? Well my brother planted a seed in my life many, many years ago. I wanted what he had. I wanted Jesus in my life. The interesting thing about that seed that he planted all those years ago is that it has grown and grown and branched off and grown some more. Since my brother led me to Christ, I have had numerous opportunities to share the Gospel with others and lead some to Christ. The cool thing about that is, all the people I have touched and seeds I have planted, they all go back to what my brother did for me in my bedroom almost 24 years ago. It doesn’t stop there, it keeps going; the people I have shared the Gospel with have shared it with others, and those people heard the Gospel at that point in time because of what my brother did for me. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:8 that we will have rewards in Heaven, according to our labor for God here on earth. When we plant seeds or water them, we get rewards for that. When someone we planted a seed in plants a seed in someone else, we get rewards for that. It grows and grows and grows, like a pumpkin. Paul then goes on in verses 9-15 about how our works and deeds on earth will be tested by God. I encourage you to read that passage so you can be sure of what you are building your life with: gold or wood, silver or hay, or precious stones or straw? Something that lasts or something that won’t stand the test? Now, it is clear in that passage, that no matter what you build with, it is what you build it on that matters the most. If you build it on Christ, then you will spend eternity with Him in Heaven. However, the materials you use to build decide how many rewards you get. What do you want to build your house out of? Wood, hay, straw or gold, silver, or precious stones? It is how you live your life and why you do it that way that decides what you will use.

Artist of the Week

Artist: Brandon Heath
Album: What If We
Song: Wait and See

This year at the Dove Awards, Brandon Heath won the Male Vocalist of the Year award. Heath went up against powerhouse vocalists Jeremy Camp and Chris Tomlin. I think that one of the reasons Heath got the Dove is because of his passion in his song writing. His latest album What if We is filled with songs that have raw passion for following Christ. His song Give Me Your Eyes is him crying out to God to give him the eyes of Christ so he can show others what Christ has to offer. Another song that he has on his album is No Not One. This song is a worship song proclaiming that there is no one else who loves us more than Christ. The song I want to focus on in this album is Wait and See. This song has a very catchy tune and is filled with wonderful lyrics. The whole premise of the song is that God has a plan for us, and we should never feel that we aren’t doing anything because God is not finished with us yet. Here is what Brandon tells us about the song: “Wait and See” is probably the most autobiographical song I’ve ever written. But I think that anybody can relate to this song, and be encouraged to know that God has a plan for us, even if we still feel like a failure at times. If we come to know Jesus as our Savior, He is going to change our hearts and lead us into a greater existence other than for ourselves. For me, the last verse of “Wait and See” is really what my journey is all about, “now’s my time to be a man, follow my heart as far as I can, no telling where I’m ending up tonight.” Most nights, I am in a hotel room and I barely know where I am, but I know that I’m doing what I am supposed to be doing. I just have to wait and see what God is going to do with the rest of the story. I’m encouraged by what He has done already, but I know that the story will continue to unfold and I’ll keep learning more about the purpose of my life.

When we feel like we have failed, let’s remember that God has a plan for us. God through the prophet Jeremiah tells the people of Israel that he is not finished with them yet. They are in exile and He gives them this promise found in Jeremiah 29:11-14: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

I give Heath a 5 out of 5 dundies on lyrical content, because as I said before, he is very talented in his song writing ability. I also give him 5 out of 5 dundies on musical style and talent, as he has a range of speeds on his songs that give him an advantage in different genres of music.

Here are the lyrics to the song, please click on Artist of the Week to see a video of this song. Enjoy!!

I was born in Tennessee, late July humidity, doctors said I was lucky to be alive
I’ve been troubled since the day that I got here, trouble to the day that I disappear
That’ll be the day that I finally get it right.

There is hope for me yet, because God won’t forget, all the plans He’s made for me
I have to wait and see, He’s not finished with me yet. He’s not finished with me yet

I never really was that good in school. I talked too much, broke the rules
My teachers thought I was a hopeless fool all right.
I don’t know how but I made it through, it’s one of those things that you gotta do
I always had a knack for telling the truth.

There is hope, for me yet, because God won’t forget, all the plans He’s made for me
I have to wait and see, He’s not finished with me yet, He’s not finished with me yet

Still wonderin’ why I’m here. Still wrestling with my fear
But oh….He’s up to something,
And the farther out I go, I’ve seen enough to know that I’m not here for nothin’
He’s up to somethin’

So now's my time to be a man, follow my heart as far as I can
No tellin’ where I’m ending up tonight
I never slow down or so it seems, but singing my heart is one of my dreams
All I gotta do is hold on tight

There is hope, for me yet because God won’t forget all the plans He’s made for me
I have to wait and see, He’s not finished with me yet, He’s not finished with me yet
He’s not finished with me yet, He’s not finished with me yet