Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask

So I know it has been over a month since my last post. I apologize. I have been really busy with work and trying to finish school and all that good stuff. Unfortunately, this has meant that I have not been listening too closely for a new whisper.

But today is your lucky day! I have another book to suggest to you guys. It is called The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask by Mark Mittleberg. I have not actually read the whole book. I managed to get a free preview on my wife's new Kindle, and so I have only read the forward, introduction and first chapter, however I am very very VERY interested in reading the rest and I had a very deep urge to push this book. I can only explain that as God wanting to get the word out just a little more about this book.

Let's Start Talking Donations

Two years ago I went to Kiev, Ukraine for three weeks and absolutely fell in love with the Let’s Start Talking ministry and what God is doing through them. I have once again committed to a LST summer project. Sharing my faith and the story of Jesus with others has now become a passion for me. I am contacting you to ask that you help me meet my fundraising goal of $3200 to benefit this ministry. LST has several deadlines set up to help me reach my goal, the first of which being $300 by December 15.

I will be spending another three weeks this summer in a country abroad, sharing myself, my faith, and the story of Jesus with people who are eager to come and listen. I have total faith in God to help me reach this goal. A donation of $150 will cover one day of my project. If 32 people donate just $100 we will easily reach this goal. If you work for a donation matching company, a $50 donation then becomes $100! And don’t forget that every donation is tax deductible. Every dollar helps and every donation is a blessing not only to me, but also to those who I will be sharing Jesus with this summer. Below is a link that I would like you to follow if you have a few minutes.

This link takes you directly to my personal LST donation page where you can securely contribute to LST on my behalf. http://www.lst.org/2011projects/zaachary

More information about LST can be found @ their website, www.lst.org, or check out some awesome videos of past projects @ www.katsforchrist.com

Serving a Proud God

Lately I have had this strange urge to look into the topic of pride. It all started after I saw a quote from C.S. Lewis that reads, “According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. It was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.” But after reading that, I was reminded of a Bible class lesson I had @ LCU about 5 years ago, in which the teacher made the argument that God is a very proud God, however, the pride of man is a far cry from the pride of God. This morning I want to first off look at some of the ways we express pride that the Lord Himself frequently does, but then I want to show how His pride differs from that which we ourselves experience.

I call the first expression of pride the “I Am Expression.” This one phrase “I Am” can be a very potent expression. “I am the President of this or that company.” “I am the captain of this or that team.” “I am the preacher this morning.” All these phrases express a pride in the speaker’s position, and with that comes an unexpressed demand of respect. We should be careful about the way we use these “I Am” expressions. But God Himself uses these exact words simply for His name. EXODUS 3:14 On several other occasions God claims “I Am the Lord your God, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” This is a phrase that we hear regularly throughout the Old Testament. In my study, it seems to me that every other verse in the book of Leviticus ends with the phrase “I AM THE LORD.” Jesus even plays on this claim in the book of John. John 8:58 says “"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" And in John 10:30 Jesus makes the claim that He is God. However, back in John 8:50 Jesus says I am not seeking glory for myself.” In that same verse, Jesus does however prove to us that God is a prideful God when He says “but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge.”

The second expression of pride I believe is the “That’s My Name Expression.” If we look closely at our lives, we are always trying to make a name for ourselves. We want people to hear or think of our names, and have a certain picture of who we are. Most of us strive to build a good name for ourselves. Actors, Athletes, and Businessmen are very concerned with their names, and very often their names can become very popular/valuable. Consider a plain t-shirt or a simple pair of shoes. Print the name of a famous athlete, Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan for instance, along with their endorsement and you have a product that every one wants, and is worth about 10-20x more than it was before. Autographs boost the value of common, mundane items. Names carry a great deal of pride.

Unfortunately God doesn’t care about your name, He only cares about His. Consider Abram and Jacob. God changed both of these men’s names. GENESIS 17:5, GEN. 32:28 Think about the stories and the histories these men had, but God didn’t care about the names they had built up for themselves. He changed them without any reservations. But consider God’s consideration of His own name. EXODUS 3:15, 20:7, 33:19, LEV. 19:12. God takes His name so seriously that in Lev. 24:16 it reads “anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.” That’s some serious pride in a name if you ask me.

But now I want us to look at what exactly the “Pride of the Lord” looks like. Much like joy, love, and everything else, man’s version of pride is a far cry from that of the Lord. In the case of pride, it tends to get us into trouble more than it gives us the result of greatness which we are looking for. Like C.S. Lewis said, it leads to every other sin and it was through pride that the devil became the devil. Look where pride got Moses, Samson, even Adam and Eve fell to a small seed of pride. Through the “Pride of Man” many people become alienated and oppressed. But the “Pride of the Lord” lifts people up and helps those in need. The difference between the “Pride of Man” and the “Pride of the Lord” is that Man prides himself for himself while the Lord prides Himself for His children.

Consider the Israelites story in the book of Exodus. In Exodus 5:2, Pharaoh claims that he does not know the Lord. But in Exodus 7:5, 14:4, and 14:18 God says that He is doing these things so that the Egyptians would know that He is the Lord. Joshua 4:24 says “He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God." And Joshua 1:9 says Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." How much more peace this claim brings knowing that God has so much pride in Himself that all the peoples of earth would know and fear Him.

The reason God cares so little for our names and so much for His is because He places His name on His children, making their names greater than they would be without Him. Remember our example of athletes, products and endorsements. God endorses us. God’s name is so great because of the great pride He has taken in building it up that He can take a worthless product, a sinner like me, and make it worthy of righteousness through His name. God does not want us to misuse or profane His name because He does not want to disgrace us when He places His name on us.

Pride is dangerous. As human beings we are incapable of practicing it like God does, and therefore we twist and tarnish its true beauty. Back in John 8:54 Jesus says “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.” 2 Cor. 10:17-18 says “But, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.” I argue that it is good to have a little pride, but that pride need only be in God. Consider the Israelite army as they take the land of Canaan. After every won battle the victory cry was “FOR THE LORD!” Consider the men who marched around the walls of Jericho. It was not by their marching that the walls fell and they may have had a sense of pride in their victory, is was not in their marching, but in the fact that God was with them and would do mighty works for them. We should only express pride with a phrase like “I am a child of God,” and also in actions that will help build up His name. Only through our pride in God, through our desire to glorify Him, can we ourselves be glorified by Him.

May The Force Be With You - Episode VI - Christian Jedi Training: Life-style and Service

The final episode of our study. Again, this excerpt is from Star Wars Jesus: A Spiritual Commentary on the Reality of the Force by Caleb Grimes.

"Lifestyle is a discipline. Most of you reading this book, myself very much included, have way more than you need to live, and [we] indulge ourselves with pleasures great and small. Consider every bit of extra in your life, which is most of our life-style,something we are held accountable for using resources rightly or wrongly when we face judgement. This applies even to our entertainment. Slow down in the enjoyment of what you imbibe, avoid excess, live simply, and remember that there is no try, give until it hurts, do not accumulate treasures on earth. What does this mean for each of us? Each person must determine this individually, but it could be very exciting, mysterious even, how the extra can be used for the welfare of others. One of the biggest extras many of us have is information. Giving of this information to help our neighbor is a good way to live, even this sharing takes building friendships and relationships. The Jedi lived very, very simply in an age of plenty."

"Along with this is a commitment to service. This is one external that distinguishes a Jedi from a Sith. Do your religious or political leaders serve themselves? One of the great problems of this world is that authority figures serve themselves. Some governments serve themselves by showing preference for a friend's company in giving out contracts. Others take outright bribes and kill for power. Many religious leaders exalt themselves. Part of a Jedi's life-style is service because this is evidence of selflessness. There is something about self that tends to lead us astray. For this reason, the way we live, the way a Jedi lives, is to be seen as a discipline."

May The Force Be With You - Episode V - Christian Jedi Training: Worship and Meditation

The following is a continuation of Caleb Grimes' Star Wars Jesus "[99] The Spiritual Disciplines of the Force."

"Worship: Suffice it to say that Yoda is right, we are luminous beings. We need worship to recharge our luminosity and to express that light in voice, the position of our bodies, and in the position of our spirits. Think of worship as having the same benefits as exercise has for skin; sweating unclogs the pores and helps the skin to breathe just as worship unclogs the pores of our spirit and helps it to breathe."

"Meditation: We get the idea Luke is meditating as part of his training on Dagobah, and we see Yoda on a kind of meditation cushion in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. This is the practice of getting a clear signal, so to speak; it is hearing what God is trying to say to you so that you can do it. Yoda says 'You must clear your mind,' and this means you must empty your mind of all the garbage, which to to my experience is best done by confession and maybe even counseling, then filling it with God's known words to us from the Bible. What happens when Luke has the right frame of mind? Success, as in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. What happens when Anakin does not have the right frame of mind? Insanity and failure, as happens to Anakin in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith."

May The Force Be With You - Episode IV - Christian Jedi Training: Prayer and Bible Reading

For the next three "episodes" I will be reproducing entry number 99 of Caleb Grimes' book, Star Wars Jesus, entitled "The Spiritual Disciplines of the Force."

"Prayer is like reaching out with your feelings. Prayer is like listening to the midiclorians. Prayer is what happens when you are calm; at peace. Prayer is like connecting to the living Force, feeling it flow through you. It comes to this: do you want to talk to the Creator or not? This discipline is odd in that it is perfect in the first moments you ever do it yet it takes a lifetime to perfect the art and attitude of prayer."

"Bible reading, analyzing and memorizing are analogous to Jedi training. Here is where you learn the character of God through the words of God. 'I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you' (Psalm 119:11). When shiny things - words, ideas, people, etc. - tempt you away from the light side of the Force, God's words to you in the Bible help you stay centered and focused. How do you know what is true versus what is not? How do you recognize a cult? You start here, with God's revelation of himself to us. This must be similar to how a Jedi learns of the Force in the first place."

--Grimes, Caleb, Star Wars Jesus, "[99] The Spiritual Disciplines of the Force", pg. 248

May The Force Be With You - Episode III - What about the Dark Side: Anakin, Palpatine, Satan, and You

I feel that in the last couple of entries, I have established a strong comparison of the Star Wars idea of the Force to Christianity's idea of the Holy Spirit and how viewing the Holy Spirit much in the same way as we do the Force can actually shed some light on the mystery of the Holy Spirit. As we understand that the Force is a supernatural life-force that works freely in the lives of the characters in the Star Wars mythology, we also understand that our Holy Spirit is much the same, freely working in our lives, guiding and instructing us. At the same time however, we know that there are a select few characters who are actually able to use and bend the Force to do their bidding. These characters are Jedi and Sith. This realization brings us an appearant flaw in my comparison, which some may have already discovered.

This flaw stems mostly from a surface level understanding of the Star Wars mythology and story. On the surface, our realization of the difference between Jedi and Sith is that there are two sides of the Force; the Light Side and the Dark Side. This discovery suggests that the Force itself is actually good but at the same time evil. You can see where this assumption is a really bad deal when comparing the Force to the Holy Spirit. This, however, is really only a surface level assumption about the Force. In the Star Wars story, the Force is never revealed to us except through those who use it, Jedi or Sith, so therefore, as we dig a little deeper we realize that the Force itself is not inherently good or evil, but those who use it do so in a good or evil way. The same rings true for the Holy Spirit.

Allow me to explain it like this: You are Anakin, Satan is Emperor Palpatine, and the Holy Spirit is the Force. In Episode I: The Phantom Menace we are introduced to Anakin, a young boy, full of innocence and hope, void of any understanding of how the Force is working in his life. By the end of the film we find that he is destined to be the most important Jedi in history and he begins his Jedi Training. Episode II: Attack of the Clones is where our story starts to take a turn. It is established that Anakin is doing quite well in his training, but we start to see a dangerous trait growing inside him. Pride starts to creep up in him as he becomes more aware of his importance in the future of the Jedi and his exceptional skill with the Force. Anger also starts to take control as we see in Anakin's slaughter of the Tuskin Raiders after the death of his mother, and a thirst to know more rises as he begins to feel that he should be able to do more. In steps Emperor Palpatine, a Sith Lord hiding in plain sight of the Jedi Council. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith sees the decline of Anakin as Emperor Palpatine slowly begins to twist the young Jedi's views of the Force and promises him the chance to learn so much more about it than a Jedi could teach. Anakin falls for these promises and chooses to use the Force for evil and becomes known as Darth Vader. In Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Darth Vader makes another decision to save his son and once again use the Force for good.

This is totally our story. We start out innocent and unaware of the sin in the world. Then as we become Christians, we find that we are very important in the future of our world, and we gain the use of the Holy Spirit. However, becoming a Christian does not guarantee our eternal goodness. Enter Free Will and Satan. The choice to use the Holy Spirit for good or evil is ours. In his book Star Wars Jesus, Caleb Grimes uses the example of Mother Teresa and Hitler to show this choice. While Mother Teresa used her power to help and serve others, Hitler used his power to kill and destroy without remorse. They both had a great power and influence, the difference lies in the way they used them. Much in the same way that there is a choice to be Jedi or Sith and to use the Force to those respective beliefs, we have the choice of how we will use the Holy Spirit. William Shakespeare put it this way; "Even the Devil can site scripture for his purpose." (Merchant of Venice, Act 1, Scene 3) Good and evil do not lie within the Force itself, but the choices we make in how we use it.

May The Force Be With You - Episode II - Obi-Wan, Philip, A Eunuch, and Luke: Lessons In Following Directions

In my last post, I made the connection of the Force from Star Wars to the Holy Spirit of the Christian faith, in an attempt to better understand the Holy Spirit, by discussing the way they both guide their respective believers down the paths on which they need to be going. In this post I want to build on this idea of their similarity by discussing their ability to instruct those who will listen.

Obi-Wan, Philip, A Eunuch, and Luke: Lessons In Following Directions

I want to start this discussion by directing you to the account of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch which can be found in Acts 8:26-40. Here we follow the travels of Philip as he goes about preaching the good news of Jesus in Samaria. Philip is given his first direction in verse 26. He is told to go to the desert road which leads from Jerusalem to Gaza. Upon following this order from the Lord, Philip meets the Ethiopian Eunuch, who happens to be unsuccessfully trying to study the book of Isaiah. A second order is given by the Spirit here. "Go to that chariot and stay near it." As we read on we see how Philip is able to help the Eunuch to understand the things that he is reading and studying. A third command is followed in this story, though the command itself is not expressed in the account. As we come upon verses 36-38 we see the Eunuch obeying the Spirit's command to be baptized.

We see this same story in the climactic battle of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. We find ourselves gripping the edge of our seats as the forces of the Rebellion take on the seemingly impossible task of destroying the Empire's ultimate weapon: the Death Star. Swarms of Y-Wings, X-Wings, Tie Fighters, and Tie Bombers fly through the narrow corridors of the surface of the Death Star. The target of the Rebellion, and their only chance of defeating the Empire, happens to be a thermal exhaust port that is only two meters wide. Our hero, Luke, finds himself within shooting distance, and his computer guided targeting system is locked on the target. Just as Luke is about to pull the trigger, a familiar voice speaks to Luke. "Use the Force, Luke. Let go, Luke. Luke trust me." The voice is Obi-Wan's, but we all know that he has become part of the Force. Luke turns his computer guided targeting system off and does as the Force has instructed. The proton torpedo goes straight down the exhaust port and the Death Star is destroyed.

The idea here is that only by following their directions were the three men able to accomplish their missions. We get the sense that the Death Star would not have blown up had Luke used the computer guided targeting system instead of the force. We also get the sense that Philip would never have helped the Eunuch had he not gone down the road he was told, or gone to the chariot as he was instructed. And the Eunuch could not have been saved from his sins without following the command to be baptized.

The Spirit instructs us every day. Some would call this our conscience. We all have that voice inside our heads that tells us when we should do this thing, or when we should not do that thing. It is imperative that each one of us should follow those instructions so that we can accomplish our ultimate mission in life; to know and be known by God. Caleb Grimes describes it this way in his book Star Wars Jesus, "Like Luke in the trench, however, our abilities will always be limited. We must use the Force to 'practice being sure of what we hope, and certain of what we do not see' (Hebrews 11:1)" (pg. 72). Grimes also uses the words of God in Proverbs 3:5-6 to equate to Obi-Wan's instruction to Luke: "Lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge me, and I will make your paths straight." Not only is it important for us to listen for the guidance of the Spirit in our lives, but we must also follow the instructions which the Spirit gives us if we are to accomplish that which is impossible by our own doing.

May The Force Be With You - Episode I - Old Ben (Obi-Wan), R2D2, C3PO, and Jesus: Adventures in the Desert

So I didn't expect to take so long between these blogs. Anyways, here's the first installment of my comparison of Star Wars and the Bible. As the title implies, I want to focus on the Force. This will actually be my main focus, and through it I will make a few comparisons of elements from the movies and the Bible.

Through the reading of Star Wars Jesus by Caleb Grimes, and an study of the Holy Spirit at church, I happened upon an epiphany: The Holy Spirit is like the Force! The Holy Spirit is always a tough topic in church. More often than not, we tend to shy away from talking about it because we have so much trouble understanding it. When we do talk about it, the discussion tends to go in all sorts of directions and so we really never pin down a better understanding of what the Holy Spirit is. The Force however, is easy to understand. If you've seen the movies at all you have at least a basic understanding of the Force. Well if you think about it, The Force and the Holy Spirit are really along the same lines. And, at least for me, the Holy Spirit becomes a little easier to understand. Consider this as we compare the two.

Old Ben (Obi-Wan), R2D2, C3PO, and Jesus: Adventures in the Desert

After being jettisoned in an escape pod from a Rebel ship, R2D2 and C3PO are found wandering through the desert in an attempt to locate a man by the name of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Their mission seems hopeless (as C3PO is more than happy to point out) and once the Jawas appear, our droid friends seem done for. However, the Jawas, somehow, bring the droids to exactly the right person to help them find Obi-Wan. It seems like coincidence, but when you consider that the Force is involved, coincidence looks more like design. Following the droids purchase by Luke Skywalker's uncle, R2D2 shows his loyal determination to his mission, and runs off into the desert of Tatooine. The following morning, Luke sets out to find the lost droid, and gets himself into some trouble with some Tuskin Raiders. Just as it looks like the end for our future Jedi, a man named Old Ben miraculously appears and scares the Tuskins away. This again may seem very coincidental, but let us not forget the role that the Force plays in the Star Wars universe (let alone the major role it plays in the life of a Jedi). It would seem more as if the Force had led Old Ben into the desert, and directly to Luke and R2D2. These events seems oddly familiar to the story of Jesus and his journey through the desert.

Found in Matthew 4, Jesus is led into the desert by the Spirit following his baptism, much like Obi-Wan. On his journey through the desert, Jesus encounters Satan, an encounter that would mean doom for any other human (mirroring the arrival of the Jawas on the droids' desert journey and the Tuskins attack on Luke). Through the guidance of the Spirit, Jesus overcame the temptations of Satan and sent him away defeated (and I would argue that Satan left a little fearful, much like the Tuskins ran away after the arrival of Obi-Wan).

Much like the Force guides characters in the Star Wars universe, the Holy Spirit is a guide to our world. It guided Jesus through the desert, Paul on his missions to preach to the Gentiles, and leads us today in our walk with the Lord. In his book, Caleb Grimes states "Coincidences, as we perceive them, are often the way God brings about the possible"(26). In the next entry, Grimes says "Being mindful of a succesion of events, or things perceived as coincidence, is a good way to listen to God and become wiser; to learn to take those paths that He is directing you to take"(28). It's all about letting the Spirit work through you, and guide you along your path to an eternity in heaven.

My next entry will go a little deeper into this idea of the Holy Spirit being like the Force by looking at the way they instruct and perform. Until then, May the Force be with you.

Star Wars, The Bible, and Me

A comparison for those of us into "hokey religions and ancient weapons."

If you are like me, (and I know that most of my followers are), then you have seen every Star Wars movie about 500 times and we could probably all get together and reenact every scene if we wanted to. We make Star Wars references in just about every situation we get ourselves into every day, whether its waking up in the morning and feeling like Han Solo after being frozen in carbonite, or taking on a task as impossible as shooting a thermal exhaust port that's only two meters wide. A lot of you may also have a deep rooted faith, much like myself. Well this is the blog for you, actually I think I'll be doing a short series of blogs, in which I will be comparing several elements and scenes from Star Wars to elements and scenes from the Bible.

I haven't come up with these comparisons all on my own. Currently I am reading a book called Star Wars Jesus by Caleb Grimes in which he has done much the same thing. These readings have inspired me to think about the connections found between some of the Star Wars elements and elements of my own faith. I'd even make the statement that by looking at some of these things through the lens of the Star Wars mythology, I actually get a little bit clearer picture of different elements of my own faith which I never had much of a grasp on before.

Anyways, I am using here one of the sneakiest tricks Hollywood uses; The Teaser. Thats right, you get no real material, just a promise that more is to come. Maybe it will keep you coming by to see what's happening. So here is a little taste of what is to come. I started this blog with a quote from Han Solo. Some of you got the obvious reference to religion, but you may be wondering about the ancient weapons. Han Solo was talking to Luke Skywalker as he received some Jedi training for the first time. The ancient weapon as we all know was the lightsaber. In Ephesians 6, Paul describes the Armor of God, and in this armor is the "sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." And is Psalm 119, we find that God's word is "a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path." So we have a sword which is also a light, essentially giving us a lightsaber.

I promise that future posts will be a little deeper than the Bible being a lightsaber, but I told you this was only a teaser.

Re-Fuel

So this is completely random, but I thought it was a cool image to have about church and worship.

As I was listening to a prayer this past Sunday morning at church, something the guy said stuck out to me. He thanked God for the church building (which is not odd, nor the part that stuck out to me) for the convenience it gave us to come together and worship. It was the convenience thing that got me thinking that church is like a convenience store or gas station. Think about it. In today's automotive world, gas stations are a must. We use cars for just about everything and our cars need gas to run. Therefore we must make regular stops at the gas station so that we can go on about our lives. Church is the same way, I think. While we will all probably admit that we don't use our bibles everyday like we do our cars, most of us realize that we need God in our everyday lives. And a lot of us think that by going to church, we refill ourselves with God. So we go regularly on Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening so that we can keep our faith running.

Unfortunately, we tend to think thats all we need to do. We don't take our "fuel" and use it in the world. It's like we went to the gas station, filled up our car, and now we are driving laps around the place until we need to fill up again. That's not how it works. When we go fill up our cars, we drive away and use that fuel to go to the post office, go to work, go to the grocery store, etc. We even use that fuel to go on vacation. This is the way it should work in church. When we go to church and fill up with God, we need to take Him out into our lives, share Him with our friends, put Him in our families, and show Him in our attitude and actions.

Another cool image I got was about inside the gas station. If you go inside, there are all sorts of things we can get, like snacks and drinks. Church is like this too. Once you get inside you will find that there are classes and small groups to join, friends to make, ministers to talk to and get advice from, and a family who will stand with you in times of trouble.

So next time you go re-fuel, take note of what you do with it. Will you use it or just do laps until you need some more?

Take A Hike!

Hey everybody! I know it's been a while since I last posted something here. I've been quite busy getting married and going on a honeymoon, but I'm back and I have a pretty neat image to share with you (at least I think it's pretty cool).

For some reason I was thinking about the whole "straight and narrow path" thing and the image of hiking trails came to my mind. Some hiking trails can be pretty narrow and there is only one way to make it up the trail, unfortunately it's not the smoothest path, in fact it can be pretty difficult to make it up that trail. Then you have trails that pretty wide, and while these trails have their tough spots, it's so wide you can just go around them, no problem, easy peasy.

These are exactly like the paths of life. Tight spots and rough terrain are common in life. Everybody faces a broken relationship, financial hardship, uncontrollable urge, etc. We have to carve our paths through these obstacles. Now just like with those wide trails through the woods, it's better to take the easy way out and go around the obstacle, right? Nope. Jesus calls us to a straight path, one that plows straight through that obstacle. One that requires that we rely on Him to help us make it through. The easy way past a financial hardship leads to theft, scams, and even sketchier places and times. It's a lot harder to give up a few things (not our giving to others in need or to the church) and to remember that God will provide for all those who love Him.

Most hikers will even claim that they get a greater sense of joy and accomplishment at the end of that straight, rough path. Their reward is better than if the took the easy way. This is the same for us in life. If we take those easy ways out, we get a false sense of accomplishment and a lot of times we just get into more trouble. But when we keep on through our tough times and put all our faith in God, he rewards us more than we could or would even imagine. And in the end, if we've carved our path as straight as we can, we win the ultimate reward and the ultimate joy, a mansion in Heaven. So next time your out hiking, or the next time you hit "a rough spot in the road," just remember to keep going straight and put your faith fully in God cause He will see you through and give you more.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9

Peter, John, and Jesus

It's been a while since I've posted anything I know. I apologize. I have been very busy making wedding preparations for this coming Saturday. Anyway, I thought I could share an idea that popped into my head this morning (I guess technically it was yesterday morning) at church. There was mention of Peter's denial of Jesus and it got me to thinking. Peter gets a pretty bad rap for this. We are always pointing out how that is not the kind of Christian life we should lead. We should not fear the thoughts and feelings of others for having faith in our Lord. I think most Christians like the idea of being John-like instead. You know, the guy who drew his sword and chopped off the ear of a Roman guard attempting to arrest Jesus. Ya, we like that story, we should be more like him... or should we? While he made a stand in his faith, John seems to have gone a little too far. He seems a little too eager to fight. In fact, Jesus stops him before he can take out the whole group of guards, and replaces the man's ear.

Now I know this is the "church" answer, but Jesus is the one we should strive to imitate. He stood for God, knowing full well that people would hate Him, not caring how they felt about Him, but at the same time He didn't fight everyone to the death, swinging His "sword" wildly about, cutting those He was trying to reach. That's what being Christ-like is really. Letting the world know your faith, caring not if some hate you for it, accepting the persecution some may bring upon you, but doing it in a way that shows love and compassion for even those who are doing the persecuting. I realize this is no easy task, but I bet carrying the cross wasn't either.

God is NOT an American

So I was trying to figure out what to post up here this time. I had a couple of ideas, but then I read one of the other blogs I follow and the answer was revealed to me. It happens to be about a subject I have looked into before. Follow the link to read the blog by The unChurch, then make your way back here to finish mine (follow The unChurch if you like).

I agree with this 100%. God is not an American. We, as Americans, tend to think that He is. We like to think that He only cares about us and that's why our country is so much better than everyone else. Here's the thing, God is for all people of every nation. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Americans included) and Jesus died to pay all our debts (every other nationality included). As long as we put our focus on Him, He will take care of our needs, regardless of our nationality.

This is one of the things I like about Let's Start Talking. On a project, readers (native people) tend to be interested in American things at first, but the more they build a friendship with the worker (American), the more the conversations become about Jesus, and two people from different countries, often half way around the world from each other, can share one God, one Savior, and one Lord. He is everywhere, at all times, in all things. He has a kingdom all His own, and idea is to live in that kingdom, no matter where in this world we may live.

Let's Start Talking

The Let's Start Talking ministry is a ministry that I have been involved in and absolutely love and plan on being involved for years to come. On May 17, two of the four LST teams from Kats For Christ will be leaving the United States headed for Belgium and Italy, then on May 31 the remaining two teams will be headed to Germany. These teams, 11 students, have commited their summer plans to going overseas and giving their time to people they don't even know to help them with their conversational English so that these people will have a better chance of gaining better jobs and lifestyles in their countries. The LST ministry sends students all over the world to help people by offering free English practice sessions using a workbook derived from a few books of the Bible. By doing this, students not only get to share their natural ability to speak and learn a new culture, but they get to share their faith and the story of Jesus with people they would normally not come in contact with. It is an amazing ministry and I am so excited that we had such a turnout from the KFC. I ask that you pray for our teams, and all the teams from all over the United States, who will be leaving in these next few weeks. Pray also for the ministry and all those involved that God will do great things through each and every one of them. To learn more information about Let's Start Talking, visit their website at www.lst.org.

I AM SECOND

http://iamsecond.com/

These are their stories. What is yours? What makes you second?

Let it out, son. It's the beginning of wisdom.

I LOVE THIS MOVIE! It is one of my all-time favorites.

Now rarely does a sequel to a movie actually surpass the original, but in this case I totally think Evan was better than Bruce. Don't get me wrong Bruce Almighty is a good movie, it has its little nuggets of wisdom, but Evan Almighty has so many little nuggets of wisdom that if you took them all in at once your head might explode. Ok your head won't really explode, but some of the wisdom found in the lines of the movie might actually blow your mind. I know some of you may have written Evan off because of the experience you had with Bruce (I mean who wants to even think about a monkey coming out of some guys hindquarters, not me), but I don't think there is a scene I would leave out of Evan Almighty. I mean, really, just go look up some of the quotes and you will see. I mean even the title of this post (which is a quote from the film) is a little nugget in itself, see Proverbs 1:7. Watch the movie, for real. I would watch it on a daily basis if I could. Here are some of my favorite quotes.

God - "How do we change the world?"

Evan - "One single act of random kindness at a time"

God - (spelling ARK) "One Act of Random Kindness"

God - "Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?"

Reporter - "What makes you think God chose you?"

Evan - "He chose all of us."

Evan - "Then you have to understand that this building an ark thing isn't part of my plans."

God - Laughs

God Helps Those Who...

"God helps those who help themselves."

I hate this quote! I know, I know, "hate" isn't a very nice thing to say so let me rephrase. I LOATHE this quote! Sorry, let me step back a bit. This past week I have been selling T-shirts with the Kats For Christ organization to benefit the American Cancer Society and this Friday night/Saturday morning we will be participating in Relay For Life. While sitting out at our table on campus asking people to donate $10 to ACS and receive a T-shirt in return, someone actually had the audacity to say this to me, and even more they started it out by saying "I think it says in the Bible ..."

FYI - That quote is NEVER in the Bible.

On the contrary, the Bible points out several times that God helps those who help others. Jesus lived His life here on Earth helping others, only to be helped through life by God. There is no mention of Jesus holding a job, but yet he always had food to eat, clothes to wear, and a place to sleep. The apostles were even asked to walk away from their jobs in order to help others, and when they did so, they too were taken care of.

I believe a scripture that sums it up best is John 15:13. "Greater love knows no one than this: that he lay down his life for his friends." I don't think this scripture merely calls us to die for someone else (though it does call for this and Jesus goes on to explain that it is what He is doing), but that we give of ourselves to help others. This could look like stopping when you see someone stranded on the side of the road. It could be helping your neighbor move when you would rather take a nap. It might even look like giving up a meal so that someone less fortunate can eat. Whatever it is that you do to help someone else, God sees it, is pleased, and will bless us a hundred times more.

C.S. Lewis is often attributed to a description of heaven and hell which I find very awesome. He describes both as a room where a great banquet feast is laid out on the most extravagant table ever seen. What's more is that the food never stops. The catch is that the only way to eat the food is with forks that are four feet long (way too big for anyone to be able to use). The difference of Heaven and Hell falls into the attitudes of those located in each place. In Hell there is constant fighting, because no one can eat the food and they are all suffering from hunger. Because they can't eat the food, it just keeps piling up higher and higher, rotting and stinking the whole time. They care only for themselves and can only think about trying to feed themselves. In Heaven however, the angels are rejoicing. They are concerned only with each other and in so doing they have discovered that they can eat all they want if they use the forks to feed each other. They are helping one another and being taken care of themselves all at once.

Jesus said "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well." (Matt. 6:33) God's kingdom is a place where everyone serves each other, and therefore everyone's need is taken care of. So to reiterate, "God helps those who help themselves" NEVER, EVER, EVER, shows up in the Bible, rather "God helps those who help others."

Becoming What We Worship

“A person will worship something, have no doubt about that. We may think our tribute is paid in secret in the dark recesses of our hearts, but it will out. That which dominates our imaginations and our thoughts will determine our lives, and our character. Therefore, it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we are worshipping we are becoming.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Our preacher here at the Huntsville church of Christ used this quote last Sunday for his sermon, and it has been flying around in my head since. I like this quote, especially the end. It reminded me most of two scriptures, Matthew 6:24 and I Timothy 6:10.

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." - Matthew 6:24

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." - I Timothy 6:10

Money is one of the most worshipped objects in the world today. But as we see in I Timothy, its not just money that is the problem, its the love of money. We hear this from Jesus too there is Matthew as He reminds us that we can only love one or the other, God or money. Let's take this back to Emerson's words. We all worship something, whether we actively think about it or not, we worship something. That something is whatever it is that controls our lives. If we constantly think of money, everything we do is to earn money, and all we can talk about is money, then we worship money. Insert whatever person, place, or thing that fits for you into that sentence and that is what you worship. According to Matthew, recounting the words of Jesus, God should be what we are inserting into that sentence. Unfortunately we are human and we all miss the mark (don't worry, God made a way around that for us). But it's that last statement in Emerson's quote that really gets me thinking. "Be careful what we worship, for what we are worshipping is what we are becoming."

To illustrate this, consider the man named Donald Trump. When you hear that name, read that name, or even just think of that name, one of the first things that comes to your mind is ... MONEY. His life seems to revolve around money, therefore I would argue that he worships money. I would also argue that he has become the face of the love of money. He is used by companies to promote their products in order to attain more money. He has been a role model of sorts for those who wish to have the wealth that he has. He has become for all intents and purposes "the love of money."

To further illustrate my point, consider another man by the name of Jesus Christ. His life here on Earth (completely as a man) was completely enveloped by God. His daily actions, his thoughts, and the conversations he had (even with Satan) were all to the glory of God. He worshipped God and in the end He was made Lord over all the Earth.

Worship is a way of life. It's what we do everyday, what we think all the time, and the words we choose to pass on to others. It is NOT just the songs we sing, or the fact that we are sitting in a room listening to someone talk about God every Sunday morning. If our lives are dominated by God and His love, then our lives will begin to look more and more like that of Jesus. Daily giving to, helping, and serving others without even a second thought. Everyone around us will know (with certainty) who it is that we worship. It is even promised to us in the scripture that if we live for Him we will become like Him.

Whispers of Wisdom

So I thought I should elaborate on my "Whispers of Wisdom" idea. Like I said before, I believe that everyday God has something He wants to say to us. Now, it won't be the great booming voice as we tend to imagine as we read about God speaking to those in the Bible. It won't be through a burning bush or the presence of an Angel so bright we can hardly stand to look at him (though should these events occur I would probably take them quite seriously). This is why I call them whispers, you have to really be listening to hear them. And when you do hear them you will know that you have just heard the voice of God. Now then, these whispers come in all sorts of ways. The first time I heard one was actually through a Bible lesson and I heard God tell me to leave LCU and go somewhere He needed me to be, somewhere He could better use me. Since then I have heard Him in so many other ways. Sometimes they are ideas that just pop into my head without any sort of trigger. Other times they are picked up from conversations and discussions (some of them I am not even included in). Just yesterday I had one about the Lord's Supper, because I served on the communion table. But one way that has surprised me the most has happened a lot more often lately. Books! My faith and understanding has changed so much the past few years due to my reading of books from authors like C.S. Lewis and Frank Peretti. Even within the realm of books the whispers are different. One of my whispers is to read anything written by C.S. Lewis simply because it is written by C.S. Lewis. Another whisper may even be books that are given to me as gifts (such as The Shack, thank you Aunt Shelli). But the one that surprises me the most is the whisper to simply pick up a book off the shelf and buy it, not knowing who the author is or what might be inside. This has happened three times that I can remember.

The first time was in a Barnes and Noble bookstore in College Station, TX. The book: Not the Religious Type: Confessions of a Turncoat Atheist by Dave Schmelzer. I had never heard of this author or this book, but as soon as I picked it up, I heard that old familiar voice telling me to buy it (I think I may have even heard Him tell me to pick it up, but I'm not sure I was really listening for Him). This book was one of the biggest whispers in my coming to terms with my faith and beginning to build a better relationship with God rather than just with the church. The second time was here in Huntsville, in the Christian section of Hastings books, and sparked the desire to read a whole series. The Sons of Encouragement series by Francine Rivers. These books let me see stories from the Bible that most of us feel like we know so well with such a deeper meaning and understanding. The third happened in Wal-Mart of all places. The Book: Crazy Love: Overwhelmed By a Relentless God by Francis Chan. I didn't even make it through the first chapter before I was recommending it to every person I know . I loved this book and plan on reading it many times, and hopefully you will pick up a copy and love it too.

God is calling each and every one of us to something each and every day. It may be something as large as traveling halfway around the world to help someone with their English, or something as small as reading a book. Unfortunately, He only whispers, and in today's world there are so many other things calling so loudly that we tend to miss His call more often than not. So let me ask you this: What are you listening to?

Finding My Story, Finding My Faith

Finding My Story, Finding My Faith

Faith is a difficult concept to explain, especially when you try to explain yours to someone else. How exactly do you define your faith. Explaining your story, however, is a lot easier. What shapes us as people and what shapes our character are the experiences we live through every day, our story. So it is with our faith, we shape it based on the experiences we have with God, religion, and church. So you can see that people who have bad experiences with any of those three aspects will have a weak or non-existent faith, but they still have a story. Now, no matter what your story is, or however original you think it is, someone in history had a very similar story. More importantly, someone in the Bible had a very similar story. Now then, finding their story, and realizing that it is very much your story is a huge step to finding your faith. For example, I was always good about going to church as a kid in Jr. High/ High School, and I was very much into making sure that everyone knew that I believed in God (maybe a little too into it). But when I went to college I did what every "off on their own for the first time" college kid does; I used Sunday morning as make-up sleep time, Sunday night was last minute homework time, and Wednesday night was hang with friends time. But I always knew something wasn't right, life wasn't going the way I thought it would have. Sound familiar? This is when I found the first part of my story which happens to be the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). So I started to try harder on Sunday morning to get up (usually to no avail), but Wednesday night was always spent at church, and it was soon after that decision that I found the second part of my story. It was the story of Abram in Genesis 12, where God called Abram to just up and go to a place He would show him. I found myself hearing this call as well, which brought me to the decision to leave LCU and go somewhere else, which ultimately ended up being SHSU. There are more parts to my story, but I don't want to bore you too much, so I will end with this: While it may not be part of your story yet, it is always a good idea to have a goal in which you want your story to end. In that respect I have chosen the story of Enoch (Gen. 5:21-24).

Knowing your "Bible" story helps you have a better relationship with God. It helps you see where God is in your life, the ways He helps, and the ways He calls you. By knowing your story, you will begin to have better experiences with God, religion, and church, therefore your faith can grow stronger as your relationship with God becomes deeper. So, what's your story?