True Fasting

3'Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?' Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. 4Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high. Isiah 58:3-4

In the first part of this chapter the people are asking why God is not recognizing their fasting. The answer is revealed in the second half of verse 3 and verse 4. The people were fasting in order to please only themselves and while they were fasting they were oppressing and fighting other people. This was why God was not paying attention to them. However, Isiah goes on to point out the kind of fasting that will get God's attention in the following verses.

6"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? 7Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? 8Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. 9Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am. 'If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. 11And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Isiah 58:6-11

Here Isiah shows what true fasting is all about. He says that helping people in need is the form of fasting that the Lord desires. This is what is going to get the Lord's attention.

I recently read the book, "Unchristian" by David Kinnaman. He did extensive research to figure out exactly what people outside the Christian faith thought of Christians. One of the six most common responses was that Christians are judgmental. He explains one of the possible reasons for this in the following statement.

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"What if Christians are perceived as judgmental because we are trying to be popular with the wrong audience? Scripture makes it clear that we exist only to please God. But what if our judgmental attitudes are just posturing to look good to other believers? Are we trying to please God or polishing our holy credentials in front of fellow insiders? Is it possible that part of the reason that Christians have lost their appeal to outsiders is they have lost passion for people outside the church?"

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I can see this in my own life all the time and I agree with Kinnaman that this can be a big problem in the church today. I know that there are times when I can become obssessed with my own righteousness and try my best to appear perfect to others, which always causes me to forget about the people around me. But this is not the goal of the Christian life. The goal is to get out of yourself and to start thinking about others. Obviously, we should still continue to strengthen our personal relationship with Christ but a lot of the time the best way to do that is to reach out and fill the needs of others. This is what Isiah is talking about in the verses above and this was also one of the things that Christ stressed the most. Jesus had quite a few harsh words for many of the Pharisees because they were pursuing their own righteousness and forgetting about the people in need around them. One of the best ways to grow in Christ is to start thinking more about other people and less about yourself.

Eating God's Word

As Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, he countered Satan's first temptation with one of the most important teachings a Christian will ever encounter- "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'" (Mat 4:4 and Luke 4:4, quoting Deut 8:3)

This teaching de-emphasizes the importance of eating to emphasize the importance of devotion to God. But I think we can also learn a practical lesson about devotion to God from eating.

When you eat, I think it is pretty reasonable to say that you should always do the following things:

1. Pick up the fork/spoon and put the food in your mouth (because leaving it in your plate won't help).
2. Chew and swallow (don't spit it out).
3. Repeat.
4. Make sure that your plate is full of food that is not just good to you, but good for you.
5. Enjoy!

Similarly, I think it is safe to say that we should do the following with God's word:

1. Read it (leaving it on a table all day will not be useful).
2. Understand and obey (don't just quickly gloss over everything or even worse, reject it by disobeying).
3. Repeat (after all, once isn't enough for eating, right?).
4. Don't pick and choose ("every word" means "every word," not just the words we like).
5. Appreciate God's word!

I think one of the most difficult things for a child to learn is to enjoy food- not the sweet stuff like desserts, but the stuff that you really need. There's something about certain foods that just disagrees with you (I always hated peas as a kid). But at some point, you've got to grow up and learn to enjoy what is good for you. That applies to God's word just as strongly. We will sometimes have to develop an appreciation for certain portions of God's word that we might not appreciate at first. It might be that some things just don't seem worth taking in very often, if at all. The price is giving up on your basic, child-like (we all start as spiritual babies) instincts. The prize is life. We live on God's every word.

What Does the Lord Require?

6 “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? -Micah 6:6-8

I came across these verses today and it was a good reminder of some of the great aspects of Christianity. Micah begins by asking what he should give the Lord in order to please him. He begins to list things that get increasingly ridiculous like "ten thousands of rivers of oil" and even his own body. However, he makes it clear that this is not what the Lord wants. God does not require us to make any tremendous physical sacrifices in order to please him because he already did that himself. Christ has already died in order to make us right in the eyes of God and he is the only one who could have done that.

So what do we have to do? Micah answers this in verse 8. He says to "do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God." These are the things that God wants from us and I want to focus on the third one. Ii is interesting that he says that we need to "walk humbly with our God." I have found from experience that the best way to remain humble in my walk with God is to focus on God and compare myself to him instead of other people. Christ has given us the perfect standard by which to live. The first line of verse 8 says, "He has told you, O man, what is good. " God has told us what goodness is and Christ then came and lived it out. If we are always looking to Christ to measure how good we are doing we will always remain humble.

However, it is when we start comparing oursleves to other people that we start losing that humility. There are millions even billions of people in this world who can look at what Hitler did and then feel pretty proud about where they are at in their life. It is natural for us to compare ourselves to others to feel better about where we are at. But God knew this and that is why he was the one who lived the perfect life and made the sacrifice that none of us could. He wants us to look to him to see how good we are doing because when we start that we will begin practicing humility. Without that example none of us would realize where we are at and just how much we need God.

How to Describe a Relationship with God

I have been very busy this week.  My days consisted of me leaving for work in the morning, and after work leaving for play rehearsal, and then going home.  On top of that, I had a cold all week.  Why am I saying this? My wife has not had a chance to spend time with me.  I got to thinking how my wife probably feels, and how that feeling is probably how God feels about me a lot of the time.

I would come home in the evenings to a loving woman who had cooked and cleaned and taken care of the dog even after having a stressful day at work.  She would urge me to relax because I wasn't feeling well; no work was expected of me.  I didn't even have to pack my lunch. 

Naturally, a feeling of guilty appreciation is what I felt when I realized what she was going through, and how much she loved me.  So, I told her, "when I feel better, and this play is over" (in a couple of days), "I'll give you plenty of attention and spend a lot of time with you."

How many times have I told God I was busy?  For me, if I do not have a scheduled time of prayer and reading the Word, I don't do it.  Sometimes a week or two will pass where I do not spend any sincere time with God.  I know that God is probably thinking, just like my wife, "I love him, and I will always take care of him... but I long to be with him."

So here's my point: spend time with God.  A relationship with God doesn't always involve asking Him for something.  Even though God will always love you, if you serve God with all your heart you will find so much more value in the relationship- what it is meant to be.

Where Shall I Go From Your Spirit?

This poetic psalm of David needs little commentary. It is a wonderful example of a man of God embracing the power of God- not for himself, but for God. It seems like today, so many of us just want to be left alone so we can figure out what we desire and how we can get it. Embracing the power of God will be of no use if that is the plan- not unless we first understand that "what I want" is useless in God's eyes. He's already seen your life from start to finish- and He has declared- "your ways lead to death, destruction, and shame, but my ways lead to life, salvation, and everlasting glory." Choose wisely.

Psalm 139

O Jehovah, You have searched me and have known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You search my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Jehovah, You know it altogether. You have closed me in behind and in front, and laid Your hand on me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot go up to it. Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from Your presence?

If I go up into Heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the furthest parts of the sea; even there shall Your hand lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light around me. Yea, the darkness does not hide from You; but the night shines as the day; as is the darkness, so is the light to You.

For You have possessed my inward parts; You have covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are marvelous and my soul knows it very well. My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret and skillfully formed in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my embryo; and in Your book all my members were written, the days they were formed, and not one was among them.

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more than the sand; when I awake, I am still with You. Surely You will slay the wicked, O God; and bloody men, depart from me. Who will speak against You maliciously? Your enemies are lifted up with vanity. O Jehovah, do I not hate those who hate You? And am I not grieved with those who rise up against You? I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts, and see if any wicked way is in me; and lead me in the way everlasting.

Becoming a Man

In the middle of a passage on the excellency of love in his letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul says:

When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.

If you consider the context of this statement, you'll find that a big point Paul makes is that we must consider our motives, and not just our actions when it comes to spiritual maturity. One practical way to gauge your own maturity is to ask yourself why you do the good things you do. Do you act out of love for God and man or for other reasons?

One thing that I've sometimes struggled with during my Christian life is how to follow my conscience without being prideful and without condemning others- how to be in the world without being of the world. There are multiple aspects of being of the world. Obviously, there's being of the world by living in sin outwardly; but then there's also the sin of pride, a sin that is more inward.

Paul says love does not brag and love is not arrogant. In other words, a spiritually mature, loving man does not go into the world and think, "look at how much better I am than all of you!" Children think this way. After all, what man thinks highly of himself for being able to walk when he sees a baby crawling? What kind of teacher takes pride in thinking about how scholarly she is when she sees students struggling to learn new material?

In my heart, I used to look down on people who touched alcohol because I didn't want to touch it. Granted, no one should drink unlawfully. But when people drink legally and without getting drunk, the matter becomes gray, rather than black and white. In fact, Jesus was called a gluttonous man, a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and sinners. He was more concerned about saving men than saving his reputation.

How do we make since out of all of this? Well, let's get one thing straight- Jesus did not sin. You will not find a bible passage that involves Jesus getting drunk, pigging out, or cheating people out of their money. Nor will you find a passage in which Jesus did anything just for the heck of it, like have a glass of wine by himself at the end of a long day just because he felt like having one- not that there's anything sinful about having one drink "just because," but that's just the way Jesus lived. That's because Jesus had so much love for mankind. Everything he did was out of love for us.

When Jesus drank, he drank to win the hearts of men. When he went for a walk, he did it to teach men. When he rested and prayed for strength, he rested and prayed for strength so he could serve others. He came to earth in the form of a man and he lived a righteous life to redeem mankind. He never bragged about being without sin to sinners; he did ask sinners to "go and sin no more," but he did it out of love, not out of arrogance or selfish ambition. The life that Jesus lived was that of a spiritually mature man.

Surviving the Torrent

"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."                                                                                                -Luke 6:46-49 (NIV)

As a house's stability is tested when a storm strikes, so is our foundation (what keeps us together) tested when life gets rough.  There have been certain periods of my life where it was clear that my foundation was not built in the right place.  During these times, I saw that my foundation was built from my happiness; I built every brick on what made me satisfied.  So when trouble came, I was left at nothing- because my own happiness was unable to come through and hold myself together.

I had made every decision towards what was best for me- what I thought would keep me happy.  I placed my hope in satisfaction, and dreamed of when everything would be wonderful.  Suddenly, there's a hole in my plan- my dreams were crushed.  Things did not happen as they were suppose to.  My foundation relied on those dreams- and did nothing but crumble. 

I did learn a lesson from this: the only thing that will keep me stable in this world is laying a foundation of Jesus Christ.  With Christ as my foundation, I can face any torrent; I can emerge unshaken from the worst that life has to offer.

I want to lay my foundation built upon Christ.  I want to hear his words and put them into practice.

"The Christian Atheist"

I recently read a very good book by Craig Groeschel titled, The Christian Atheist. In the book Groeschel presents several different areas of life in which a Christian could start living like a "Christian Atheist." He describes "Christian Atheists" as people who call themselves Christians while they live like atheists and even if you do not think that this is a problem that you struggle with I encourage you to read this book because you may be surprised how easy it is to slip into this kind of lifestyle. I was certainly surprised by how much in this book I could see in my own life. Although Groeschel shows numerous different ways a Christian can fall into this lifestyle I thought one of the best parts of the book was in the conclusion.

At the end of the book Groeschel compares the Christian life to three lines that you must cross. The first line is, "I believe in God and the gospel of Christ enough to benefit from it," and the second line is, "I believe in God and Christ’s gospel enough to contribute comfortably." He then points out that the majority of Christians are living behind one of these lines. I completely agree with this and I see this in my own life all the time. The are many times in my life where I seek out the benefits from believing in Christ while ignoring everything else associated with it. And there are other times where I might sacrifice my time or money for the Lord as long as I am able to do it without coming out of my comfort zone. However, Groeschel makes it clear that this is not how the Bible tells Christians to live.

The way that Christians were meant to live involves Groeschel's "Third Line," which is "I believe in God and Christ’s gospel enough to give my life to it." While this could look different for every person the point is that as Christians we should be living our lives for the Lord and not for the things of this earth. This is where we must look at our priorities in life and make sure that God is at the top of the list. If God is not at the top then we must find a way to get Him there. It might not be an easy process and it could take a long time. There are many things of this world that can seem more important than God in a given moment. What we have to remember is that all these things are temporary while the Lord will last forever. I am currently on a mission to rid myself of the things of this earth that are keeping me from crossing the "third line." A lot of the time it is extremely difficult to give some of these things up but the rewards of doing so are so much greater. I encourage you to read this book and reflect on your own life while reading it. Here are some Bible verses that Groeschel gives that support living over the "third line."

“For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” (Matt. 16:25 – 26).

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).

“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me — the task of testifying to the gospel” (Acts 20:24).

“What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (Phil. 3:8).

Living By Faith, Part I- What is Faith?

Faith, n.
1.) Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.

How many times, as Christians, have we been concerned about something, a personal problem, a minor concern, a major decision, and been told to have faith? Faith that God would provide and take care of us. Faith that God would be there beside us. And how many times have we wished that we could just have that bit of faith, and yet felt completely helpless and alone? More importantly, how many times have we taken the promises of God (salvation, forgiveness of sins, eternal life) and felt unsure of how those promises apply to us? The problem that many Christians face, and a problem that often plagued me, is in regards to faith.

The problem seems to be we've mistaken what faith is. We've come to the idea that faith is equivalent to a casual belief in God and his promises. We admit that God is the Almighty, that His Son is the Savior, and that His blood was shed for our transgressions. Many of us, hopefully all of us, have accepted that sacrifice and believe that our sins are forgiven. We even believe that if God wanted to, He could help us find that house we're looking for, get us that job we wished for, or deal with that trifling problem in our lives. We believe He can, but it stops there. It stops there because we question whether He will. Undoubtedly, He can, but will He?

"Faith is not simply believing that God can, it is knowing that He will."
-Anonymous

A friend of mine once said something along those lines to me. The premise is simple, yet profound. The idea is that true faith requires something much stronger than belief that God has the ability to do something. Faith means knowledge. It means knowing that God will deliver on his promises. Essentially, it's not enough to simply believe that God can, one must know that it will happen.

It's simple to believe. It's easy to imagine a world in which you simply ask God for something, and He happily gives it to you. It's not too difficult to believe that the God of the universe could send his Son to die and forgive us of our sins. But it's a bit more difficult to have a steadfast knowledge that God will deliver on those promises. Knowledge implies not only believing that it is possible, but knowing that it is true. Faith then, should be more than simply believing that God's promises could happen, it should be knowing that they are true and guaranteed. And it's not simply believing that God cares for us, and could provide for us. It's realizing that God will!

However, even knowledge of God's promises falls short of the true strength of faith. Knowledge, unless implemented into our lives and habits, is nothing more than useless trivia. It's great to know that God will provide for us and that his promises are guaranteed but what use is that information if we don't do something with it?

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
Hebrews 11:1

Faith is assurance and conviction. Assurance and conviction leave very little doubt as to the power of faith. It's much more than a simple feeling of goodwill, a favorable opinion regarding God, or an optimistic belief regarding his promises. It is the steadfast knowledge and guarantee that those promises are real, that they are guaranteed, and that they are irrevocable. Faith guarantees that our salvation is secure and that our hope in God's eternal life is waiting for us. Assurance and conviction are the hallmarks of irrefutable knowledge.

And yet, the two words imply much more than mere knowledge. Assurance and conviction are active, as is our faith. Faith is what allows us to live without worry and toil. Faith is what guarantees our position with God so that we can live for him here. Since we are assured and convicted regarding God's promises, our lives should reflect that. Faith then, means that we believe God can do something, that we know he will do something, and most importantly, that we live our lives expecting it to be done. A life lived by faith is a life lived in the assurance of God's promises. It's a life lived in action. And that life looks much, much more different than a life lived in simple belief.

See What God Can Do

God gives us many promises in His Word. Sometimes we read them and simply feel good inside without testing them. But isn't it pointless for God to make a promise if we don't go to Him with the expectation that He'll follow through?

We may even disregard the promises of God altogether because we don't think God can follow through for us. But is there any situation that is too big for God? I don't think so. Sometimes the situation is just too big for the person who is asking. As humble as that may seem, it may actually be a sign of pride and it may be insulting to God- for someone to go to the Lord thinking, "Lord, I couldn't handle this... I don't think this can happen, so what can you do?" Or a more fearful request may involve something like, "Lord, if it is your will go ahead and do it... but if it isn't your will, I understand because I know its asking a lot... after all, it is for me..."

But let him ask in faith, doubting nothing. For he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For do not let that man think that he shall receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, not dependable in all his ways.

I do not mean to say we should never try to do anything for the Lord. When God commands, we should obey. However, if God says He'll do something then we have to trust that He'll do it. But its okay if you've struggled with that. You're not the only one. Even Abraham, the "father of faith" tried to do things on his own many times, doubting God. Just remember- through faith in God, we have access to many amazing things. Through Him, we are more than conquerors.

One of the fundamental promises of God is not only forgiveness, but deliverance from sins.

The only weapon to fight sin with is the spear which pierced the side of Jesus.
-Charles Spurgeon

Lights! Camera! Uh...

We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.                                                       - 1 Thessalonians 1: 2-3

In this letter to the Thessalonians, they were not commended for their thoughts or internal values.  In other words, it did not read like this: "We continually remember before our God and Father your faith, your love, and your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."  Rather, the Thessalonians have gone one step further, and allowed their faith to produce works, their love to prompt labor, and their hope to inspire endurance.  These Thessalonians took action.

Lets say I'm in culinary school.  In this school, I study books all day long about the techniques, recipes, and devices needed to be a successful chef.  Would this get me a spot on Iron Chef?  Probably not.  To be a real chef, I would need to get my hands dirty.  I would need to exercise those techniques I studied, and use all those recipes I memorized.  Unless I put  all my knowledge of the culinary arts to good use, it would be useless. 

So here are the real questions I need to ask myself concerning my faith as a Christian: Am I putting my faith into action?  Are all my bible readings, bible studies, church attendences and fellowships producing good works, labor and endurance? or am I just sitting around with a faith I am not using?

Christians are Called to Do Something

All Christians should have a healthy habit of prayer and reading the bible, so I do not intend to knock those practices in anyway. They are not only important, but they are also essential to growing in Christ. Nevertheless, as Christians, we are called to do more than just pray and read the bible.

Life is full of confusion, suffering, injustice, and evil begetting more and more evil. That's why just about everyone desires to see God reveal Himself. I think that no matter what a person believes about God, whether Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, or even atheist or agnostic, everyone will at some point recognize that the world desperately needs God. Nevertheless, a variety of different responses result from this recognition.

Some people see all of the confusion, sadness and evil and conclude that life is incompatible with the existence of a perfect God. I disagree, but I'm not trying to prove them wrong in this article. They might do everything they can to help the world in order to make up for the lack of God. I sometimes feel embarrassed for Christians because of these people, and I hope that they will continue in their good works (but that they may also believe in God). Sadly, some who do not believe in God may just fend for themselves and forget about everyone else; or they may just give up on life completely.

Then there are people who believe in God. We might also accept that life is full of problems while choosing to do nothing about it. It's easier to just let someone else handle it- perhaps we are thinking, "preferably God Himself in some mysterious way that does not involve me." Realistically, we'll admit, God will most likely just use someone else. Or we might even try to come up with excuses- "Maybe everyone is just getting what they deserve... it's not my problem... I've got my own problems... I've got a different calling in life... it'll all work out for the best in the end according to the bible anyway, so I'm just letting God carry out His will."

Other believers long for God even more. They pray for God to reveal Himself and they open up the bible to find answers. Hopefully after praying and reading, we will all find out that praying and reading is not the only thing that Christians are called to do.

God reveals Himself to mankind through the actions of believers.
A number of scriptures support this conclusion:

Called to Preach the Gospel
"How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without preaching? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things!" - Romans 10

"Of this gospel I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effectual working of His power." - Ephesians 3"

Called to Administer God's Grace, Mercy, and Compassion in Many Ways
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ." - 1 Peter Ch. 4

By Giving to Those Who are in Need
"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." - 1 John Ch. 3

"Then the King shall say to those on His right hand, Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you took Me in; I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. Then the righteous shall answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry, and fed You? Or thirsty, and gave You drink? When did we see You a stranger, and took You in? Or naked, and clothed You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and came to You? And the King shall answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you have done it to Me." - Matthew Ch. 25

"The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is on Me; because Jehovah has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to preach the acceptable year of Jehovah and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to appoint to those who mourn in Zion, to give to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the mantle of praise for the spirit of heaviness; so that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that He might be glorified." - Isaiah Ch. 61

Some ways that aren't so popular among many Christians... but are still a reflection of God:

God Manifests Himself Through Government
"Let every soul be subject to the higher authorities. For there is no authority but of God; the authorities that exist are ordained by God. So that the one resisting the authority resists the ordinance of God; and the ones who resist will receive judgment to themselves. For the rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the bad. And do you desire to be not afraid of the authority? Do the good, and you shall have praise from it. For it is a servant of God to you for good. For if you practice evil, be afraid, for it does not bear the sword in vain; for it is a servant of God, a revenger for wrath on him who does evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience' sake. For because of this you also pay taxes. For they are God's servants, always giving attention to this very thing." - Romans 13

Perseverance

Perseverance: steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to listen to a message on perseverance and I have been reflecting on it the past couple days. On of the major points of the message was that perseverance is something that is lacking in our society today. We now live in a world were so many things can be obtained with so little effort that we can begin to believe that everything should be that way. However, this mindset can be misleading and also damaging to a relationship with Christ. I often find myself wishing that I could instantly jump into a stronger relationship with Christ and skip all of the work that is required to get there but this is not how the Christian life works. It is a life that requires a steady persistence in growing closer to Christ.

An example that I can relate this concept to in my life has to do with working out. If you ever go into a gym in January it will most likely be packed with all the people who have decided that this is the year they will lose weight. However, after a couple days or maybe a couple weeks you will never see these people again (well at least for another year). Why? The answer is most likely that they did not have perseverance. When results did not show up instantly they got discouraged and gave up, which is the opposite of what it says in the definition of perseverance. There are things in life like working out where the results are NOT going to show up instantly. I am almost done with a workout program called P90X and there were multiple times that I got discouraged and wanted to give up when the results were not showing up instantly. However, over time it got easier and easier and the results kept getting better and better. It is that persistence to stay on course through all the trials that will lead to the most growth.

So what does this mean for our Christian life. The Bible makes it clear that it is not going to be easy. Paul writes to Timothy, "But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God." Paul tells him to join him in the SUFFERING. He says right there that you will have hardships and trials in your walk with God. The important thing is how we react to these obstacles. Do we give up the minute something becomes difficult or uncomfortable or do we push through with a steady persistence in spite it. The greatest results will come to those who choose to persist.

An example in the Bible that relates to this topic is found in the book of Nehemiah. In the book, Nehemiah travels back to Jerusalem to lead the people in the rebuilding of the wall around the city. It starts out well but opposition quickly arises. There are people in the area who will do anything to prevent the wall from being rebuilt. They attempt to discourage the people at first and eventually attack them to stop them from building. But this does not stop the people from building. They continue building with a sword in one hand to protect themselves while working with the other and their persistence pays off. They finish the wall despite all the obstacles that were in their way. This story gives me a lot of encouragement in my life today. The people in this story could have been killed any day but they did not let that affect them. They kept building and got the results they wanted. When I look at what these people had to overcome to achieve success it makes the obstacles that I have in my life look a lot less threatening and gives me encouragement to follow their example of perseverance.

Incorruptible, Undefiled, and Unfading

I am so glad to have something waiting on me in Heaven that I can't mess up. Right now I'm in my second semester of law school, and I was pretty surprised by how well I did during the first semester. Nevertheless, as crazy as this sounds, I almost wish I hadn't done so well because now I know there will be a lot of pressure on me to maintain my good grades. Law school can take a very heavy toll on the morale of law students, and the burden only gets heavier as they move on to the second year, the third year, and the bar exam. And don't even get me started about the legal career.

This summer I'll be doing a six week internship at Baker Hostetler, one of Columbus' larger law firms. While doing some background research on the firm, I learned that one of the partners at the Houston branch recently committed suicide. Let me make this clear- making Partner at a large law firm basically means you've made it in your legal career. I don't know why John Mings decided to take his life. I don't know if he struggled with depression or alcoholism, or if the pressure of success was too much for him to handle. But what I can tell from reading about him online is that he was only 45, he had a family, he went to church, and he was a very successful attorney. John Mings affected many people in a positive way, and I pray that God would comfort all of those who grew close to him during his time on this earth.

Let's be honest- no matter how much you earn and achieve in life, it won't last forever. Even if you don't mess it up anytime soon, it'll eventually disappear. That's why I'm glad to have an inheritance in Heaven through Christ.

1 Peter Chapter One speaks of an inheritance reserved in Heaven for those who have received Christ:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has regenerated us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and unfading, reserved in Heaven for you by the power of God, having been kept through faith to a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time..."

Just as a child may inherit something from his or her parents or grandparents without ever having done a thing to deserve it, we also receive an inheritance from God without having earned it. Moreover, we have been adopted into this Heavenly family, so we don't even inherit because of who we are. It is because of who Christ is and what He does for us. We can't ruin it! We inherit because of the mercy of God, and the inheritance is reserved by God's mighty power.

The power of God is the only reason why we will ever have anything that has real value. Everything else that we spend our lives chasing after will only have value for a nanosecond compared to what God has in store for His children. The things of this world are all like grass and flowers, as they will wither away and die. Our material possessions- clothes, cars, and homes; and anything else that brings us glory- our skills, talent and educations, and our good grades, good jobs and good reputations- these things are all temporary. Even the relationships we have with our loved ones will only last for so long.

Our inheritance in the Kingdom of God is the one thing that will never disappear. I do not mean to say that we shouldn't enjoy what God has given us today. Just don't grow so attached to anything that you forget how much it pales in comparison to the inheritance you will receive as one of God's children.

Motivation

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." -Matthew 22: 36-40

After going through a group study by Bill Hybels called 'Just Walk Across the Room,'  it became clearer to me what the point of sharing God with others was.

It's easy to get wrapped up in having the wrong motive while your speaking to someone who does not believe in God.  If you love church and the wonderful environment that comes with it, you could very easily think that, when telling someone about God, you just want them to join your little 'club' by believing in Christ.  Isn't it more than that, though?  Isn't God more than just "Club Founder and President of the Christian Club?" Of course!  Behind every motive in sharing God's word is.... Love!  The verse above even says that "All the law and prophets hang on these two commandments" (emphasis mine).  In other words, behind everything that God has ever been a part of is love.

My interactions with others should have a foundation of love.  I am sure that God's work will flourish through me if I always have love as my motive.  I am also sure that if club recruitment is my motive, my work for God's kingdom will be crippled by my selfishness.  But I'm not looking for brownie points at the next club meeting.  I'm looking to introduce others to a loving God.

Hungry?

"Jesus answered, 'It is written: "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. " ' "Matthew 4:4

After listening to a recent message given by Seth Evans titled, "Faithful Men," I spent some time reflecting on my life. I have been a lot busier this quarter than I have been in the past and the last couple of weeks I have been feeling a little burned out. At first, I thought the reason for this was simply my busy lifestyle and lack of sleep but looking back I realized it was something much more than that. The real reason I was feeling burned out was because of a significant decrease in the time I had spent reading the Bible during that time. I didn't think it would matter if I missed a couple days of reading because I told myself I had the rest of my life to read the Bible. However, I realized that having this type of mindset was damaging my relationship with Christ. Without a daily intake of the word of God my relationship with Him was withering.

Jesus says in the above verse that we live on "every word that comes from the mouth of God." As a Christian you need these words to survive and all you have to do to find these words is open your Bible. That is where God will speak to you. Think about how much time you spend eating each day and how uncomfortable you get when you miss a meal. The same thing happens when you miss your intake of the word of God. You have probably seen pictures of people who are starving in countries less fortunate than the US. If you are not reading God's word then that is what you could look like spiritually. I encourage you to set a goal for yourself in reading the Bible. Set a time that you will read and than plan the rest of your life around that. Make it one of the things in your life that you do everyday, just like eating. If you do this, you will see your relationship with the Lord grow stronger and stronger everyday and you will live a more fulfilled life than you ever have before.

“What Does God Want Me to Do with My Life?” – Part II

According to the first chapter of 1 John, three things are inseparably connected- God, eternal life, and light. As much as I hate hearing about bundling from cable companies, even I have to admit that God loves packages.

Too often, Christians fall into the trap of acting as if life has no purpose except for what we make it. Incidentally, we may have just stumbled onto the Christian idea of God because we like the ideas of morality and eternal life, but we can’t quite understand the significance of “this Jesus guy.” So we wouldn’t dare try to convince anyone else that they need him. In fact, we might even be ashamed of the gospel.

Or perhaps we like to be good people and we’re even cool with Jesus, but we love our lives so much that we never take time to appreciate eternal life. Like the rich man who spoke with Jesus in the gospels, we’d be very sorrowful if God told us we needed to give up everything we have to follow Him and have eternal life.

Then there’s a third category- similar to people in the second category, we think Jesus is our “homeboy,” but there’s something else we don’t want to give up. Maybe we look forward to an eternity spent with God, but we do not want anyone interfering with our morals. We might try to convince ourselves that God can just go along with us and pretend like everything we do is moral; and we’ll just ignore anyone or anything that tries to convince us otherwise.

Eternal life comes to us from God. God is light, and in Him, there is no darkness.
These two aspects are central to our purpose in God. The first aspect deals with God’s desire for you to receive His eternal life. That doesn’t mean he will simply extend your current life. When you receive God’s eternal life, you receive a new life that you never had before. Your old life, full of darkness, and misguided by your arbitrary search for a purpose, is no good because it wasn’t in God. That’s why “born-again” is more than just a phrase to describe judgmental, bible-thumping Christians with big hats and big hair. No one receives God’s eternal life without being born again- by putting off the old, sinful man, and putting on the new man. The new man walks in the light of God, so Jesus Christ is THE ONE and ONLY model for this new man.

No one walking in darkness, in sin and according to his or her own purpose, can truly have fellowship with God. God is not in this darkness. He is only in the light. We should not be deceived into thinking God is somehow fine with our walking in sin and immorality. If we walk in darkness, according to our own sinful purposes, we allow darkness to blind our eyes. So how could we possibly expect God to answer life’s big questions if we are so blinded by the darkness of sin that we can’t see any of His answers? We must first allow God to deal with our sins. A man who never accepts this truth cannot understand God’s purpose for his life.

One who never receives the truth- specifically, one who never accepts Christ into his life, must inevitably come to one of two conclusions, depending on how pessimistic or optimistic he is- 1) that his life is meaningless, and therefore wasted since he has no real purpose in life; or 2) that his life means whatever he wants it to mean. Either conclusion places him outside of God’s purpose for mankind.

Fortunately, if you have received Christ, better things are in store for you because the power of God is working in you. You can keep your salvation, but still choose to live a lie and walk in darkness by cutting off fellowship with God, causing you to miss out on much of His joy. But a better choice would be to walk in the light of God, which will allow you to experience the completeness of Christ’s joy through fellowship with God and other believers. To walk in the light of God, one must have fellowship with Christians, and one must not neglect to ask God for forgiveness of sins. If you walk in the light, you are walking according to truth, rather than according to blindness, confusion and deception. Thus, you are walking according to God’s purpose.

I believe that if you have chosen to follow God- to receive his eternal life, and to walk in the light, you won’t need to worry too much about everything else. God will make sure that things work out in the way that they need to be worked out. Romans 8:28 says, “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” This verse doesn’t say that the rest of your life on this earth will be easy, nor does it say that you’ll get everything you want- it means everything will work together for good in the big picture. God’s mind is on eternity.

To make things a bit more practical now- If you face a big question in life, and one of the potential answers looks like it clearly falls outside of God’s purpose, it’s the wrong answer. So don’t choose that path! Don’t try to stretch God to make Him fit into the answer, because He won’t be going along with it. Too much stretching might make you wonder if you’ve even met God in the first place. But if it seems like an answer to one of life’s big questions is really within God’s purpose, just trust Him to work it out. Go ahead and live the life that God has given you. Just make sure that the life you are living is the life that God has given you according to God’s purpose, spelled out in His Word, and fueled by His mighty power; and not a life of darkness, located outside of God.

It is worth repeating- God, eternal life, and walking in the light are INSEPARABLE. Each one of us will, at times, neglect at least one of these aspects of the faith. But my hope is that you will experience the completeness of the joy of Christ by choosing to get back on track by reading the bible, fellowshipping with Christians, asking God for the forgiveness of sins, and enjoying eternal life in God. While it is true that life raises new questions about your purpose everyday, you won’t even be able to begin to get the answers you need from God unless you study his Holy word and take advantage His fellowship.

“What Does God Want Me to Do with My Life?” – Part I

Do you constantly find yourself asking God if you’ve chosen the right career path, or if a career is even part of God’s plan for your life? Have you ever wondered who God wants you to marry, in the hope that marriage will suddenly give your life the right “purpose?” Well, as Christ-followers, I think we have to be very careful in developing a clear understanding of the “purpose” God has given us.

First, ask yourself a question- “Am I finding my purpose in God, or am I trying to find God in my purpose?”

I hope every Christian is finding his or her purpose in God. I say “finding” because this is obviously a lifelong journey. At the same time, I hope to make it crystal clear that this journey should not simply be a sham. We shouldn’t just run around frantically and ignorantly, constantly trying to reassure ourselves that everything that happens, and everything we really, really want to happen, is somehow proof that we have a purpose in God.

To understand the purpose God has given you as a Christian, you must look to the bible. That sounds pretty simple, right? But how often do we actually do this? Think about how much time you’ve spent asking God for a sign that you are on the right track. Maybe you’ve wondered if he could just put the right person in your path so you know who to marry; or if he could give you a crazy dream that somehow answers a question that just won’t go away. Perhaps he could make the stars align, magically causing you to become extremely fluent in some difficult foreign language, which would clearly help you realize that he wants you to move overseas to do mission work. I’ve been silly enough to ask God to give me an answer, and then open up the bible to a random page, hoping he’ll reveal something meaningful.

Well, the bible will reveal something meaningful if you read it with the right state of mind. The problem is that you won’t receive what you need from God unless you are asking the right questions. Whether we realize it or not, we often ask God, “How will you fit into my purpose?” Instead, try asking, “What is my purpose in you, God?” Don’t get me wrong- there’s nothing wrong with asking God to confirm things or answer questions. But the first place you should look to understand God's purpose for you is the bible. Don’t try to come up with a purpose first, and then try to explain it using the bible. You might end up having to explain away the bible.

God has a plan to deal with the unknown, but you can’t understand his plan for your Christian journey until you start reading His Word with an open heart and an open mind. Otherwise, you risk being blown around like a feather in the wind because of every person and event in your life, whether significant or insignificant to God’s purpose for you.

A good place to start is 1 John chapter one. It talks about Jesus as the Word of life, and it brings up walking in the light, a key aspect of God’s purpose.

THE Plan

I am sorry about the post being a little long but I felt it was necessary. I also need to say beforehand that this post was influenced by a recent discussion I had with some friends(including the other authors of this blog) as well as a message given by Seth Evans and Tim Lin, which you can find on the Oasis Christian Community web site.

With the Winter Olympics now over it is inevitable that nearly everyone will stop paying any attention to the sports or people involved for another four years. However, when they come around in four years again almost everyone will be excited about them once again. I found myself asking the question, "Why." Why does everyone care so much about the sports and people involved for 20 days when they completely disregard them for the four years leading up to them. It is obviously not a matter of the athletes competing because most people do not follow the careers of any of them. It also cannot be about the sports because no one pays attention to them either in the four years in between the Games. This left me with the conclusion that people must really enjoy what these athletes are representing; their country, which is something a lot greater than themselves as an individual. This has to be at least part of the reason that people enjoy the watching the Olympics so much. It allows the individual watching to elevate himself/herself to a much higher level because they are now part of something that is much larger or greater than anything they could ever attain on their own. They can find a greater sense of happiness and worth for their lives just by being part of something greater than themselves.

What if I told you that there was something out there so much greater than the Olympics that it would not even be worth the comparison. Something out there greater than anything you have seen or heard about and that YOU can be a part of it. How can you be a part of it? 2 Timothy 1:9-10 has the answer:

“He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began, but now made manifest through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus, who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel…”

As you can see God had his own design, his own plan, BEFORE time began. This design of his was in place before any human being ever existed. Do you want to be a part of something bigger than yourself? Then look no further. It does not get any bigger than this. It says in the verse that this plan had nothing to do with us and “our works” but everything to do with God and His grace. This isn’t about you and what you have done, it is about God and what He has done. The only thing that you have to do is become a part of this great plan and this verse tells you how. It says that Jesus Christ has revealed this plan to all of us. So look to Jesus Christ, believe in him, and become a part of something greater than anything else you will ever experience. Right now I encourage you to look to Christ for the fulfillment in life that you cannot receive anywhere else. If you are a Christian and reading this I encourage you to keep this in your mind. Think about how excited you get about the Olympics, or if not that whatever else in your life that provides you with the satisfaction of being a part of something greater than yourself. Now think back to being a part of God’s plan that has been in place before you existed. Are you more excited about that? You should be.

The Lord is with You

"But Lord," Gideon asked, "how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family." The LORD answered, "I will be with you..." Judges 6:15- 16

Shortly after this encounter Gideon took 300 men with him to attack a camp of thousands of Midianites, and he was victorious. The Bible is full of more examples of people who did not think they were capable to do what the Lord was calling on them to do. However, when they put their trust in the Lord they were able to accomplish everything the Lord had asked them to do. I find it amazing as well as troubling that so often in my life I use a similar excuse to that of Gideon's. I often think of myself as not capable of carrying out the Lord's work on this earth. What I fail to remember is that no matter where I go or what I do the Lord is right there with me, and he is capable of anything. Any limitations that I have or that I think I have become meaningless when combined with the power and strength of the Lord.

Although the Lord will most likely not ask you to do anything as extreme as to fight in a battle where you are severely outnumbered there are still many things that the Lord does call each of us to do every day. It can be anything from helping someone in need to sharing your faith with someone. I have the hope that none of us would shy away from these opportunities based on our perceived limitations. It is important that we take advantage of these situations to spread God's love and expand his kingdom keeping in mind Philippians 4:13, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

Thirsty?

"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God."
- Psalm 42:1

Life, at any given time seems to have its fair share of desires.  At any one time, you might feel like you are 'panting' for something.  For me I felt like I could only be content until my next goal was completed-  I would think, "as soon as I finish my thesis" or "as soon as I get married" I will be happy.  I learned soon that this was not ever the case.  Every moment of joy that I would enjoy from an accomplishment would be shrouded by the burden of the my next goal.  Although I 'panted' for that next step in life, it was not fulfiling.

The reason that I was not fulfilled is that I was panting for the wrong thing.  A deer does not pant for pork rinds, as it is only water that would fulfil the deer's need.  As the psalm says, my soul pants for God.  God fulfills part of me that cannot be filled by any accomplishment or desire of this earth, but God alone.  After that realization for me, it was easy to just put God in His place in my life- because there was a void in me that already desired Him.  My soul pants for God, and regardless of what I try and fulfill it with, God alone can quench my thirst.

A Brief Hello

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." -Proverbs 27:17

A simple, yet profound proverb. Iron, be it weapons, tools, or other implements, is formed, molded, sharpened and perfected through contact and friction with other iron implements. An iron hammer pounds a molten bar, the rasp sharpens a blade's edge, the cast provides the form for a pitcher or cup.

So too, the company and conversation of one man sharpens that of his companions. Our thoughts, feelings, ideas and beliefs are shaped, changed, transformed, and solidified through our interactions with one another. God did not intend for men to live alone, worshiping him in solitude and isolation. Instead, the New Testament is ripe with exhortations for fellowship and the strengthening of faith through continued conversation and revelation. As a file or hammer gives form to iron, so to does our relationship with the believers and brothers around us gives form to our own faith.

Thus engenders the need for fellowship. Our growth and faith are not only dependent upon our continued relationship with God, but also our relationship with our fellow believers. And at the heart of this blog is that very idea; that through discourse, sharing and fellowship, we can exhort, inspire, comfort, and strengthen our own faith and each others. We can reach a deeper understanding of Christ and God through discussion of our faith. Together, we hope to learn to better live as God's men in a world that discourages such action and conviction. And we hope that you, the reader, are inspired and encouraged by our words. Whether you're a non-Christian, a new Christian, or a mature and faithful Christian, we hope that you find inspiration in the following posts, and that you might challenge and exhort us to continue developing our relationship with Christ as well.

Grace and peace to you,

- Kyle