.:Blog4God:.

Taking One for the Team

2009-04-12T20:06:00.000-05:00

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.” John 3:16 (The Message)

“Up from the grave He arose! With a mighty triumph o’er His foes. He arose a Victor from the dark domain and He lives forever, with His saints to reign. He arose! He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!” Refrain from “Low in the Grave He Lay” by Robert Lowry (1874)

Today was a big day in the Christian world. Easter is the day in which we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Christ’s death and ultimate defeat of death provided us with a huge victory: Everlasting life! All that believe that Christ died for their sins, rose again and will someday return to take us home can be a part of this great victory. If that’s you then you’re a part of the best team that could ever be assembled and Christ is the head coach and the hero!

In sports we’ve heard of someone “taking one for the team.” The biggest examples would be a batter taking a bean ball so that he can advance a runner into scoring position or a sacrifice bunt. The player is put in a position where he doesn’t care if he’s tagged out so long as his team is in a better position to secure a point or even a victory. Jesus took one for His team, the entire world, when He willingly sacrificed Himself to die for our sins. He secured our victory by His selfless act, a victory that can only fully realize when we are standing in Heaven at His feet! Isn’t that amazing? Jesus paid the price so that we can win!

Rely on Christ to give you the victory that is better than any Super, er “big game” win or championship ring. Let Christ be the boss of your life, your Savior! The victory is yours for the taking! Rely on your Head Coach to see you to it. After all, He’s already secured it for you.

Jonathan

God's Bailout

2009-01-27T22:37:00.001-06:00

I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.
“When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.
“When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. “Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else,
I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree. Jeremiah 29:11-14a The Message

I’m stating the obvious when I say that we’re living in time tough times right now. As I type this, the world (note that) economy is in terrible shape. Many thousands of people have lost their jobs and many thousands more will lose their jobs in the weeks to come. In fact, over 50,000 jobs were lost on Monday! Also there are wars, rumors of wars, famine, disasters, all sorts of stuff are happening. Many have suggested that we’re getting close to “the end.” Well, we’re always getting closer to the end of the world as we know it and only God knows when Christ will return. Regardless the times are rough and people are scared. Some don’t know where their next meal is coming from and many others aren’t sure if they will have a roof over their head in the next month.

It’s scary.

One thing that can be assured is that God is still in control and He has not let go of us. God spoke to the elders among the exiles Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem to Babylon. In the earlier verses of Jeremiah 29, God acknowledged that He had put the exiles into a situation and a place that they did not want to be in. Like us, they had a way of complaining about where they are. God let them know that they were there because He wanted them there so they might as well make the best of it. He commanded them to build houses, plant gardens and to generally make the best out of the situation. God promised them in verse 10 that in time he would deliver them; all they had to do was believe and trust Him. On into verse 11, God let them know that He knows what He’s doing and that His plans are perfect. God’s plans work to a greater end than we could ever imagine and His plans are so much better than anything we could ever come up with.

Isn’t that awesome?!

God will bring us through any trial that we face. He doesn’t want to hurt us He only wants us to trust Him to work out His plan. While we may not like the situation we’re in we should always make the best of it. When we have lemons, we make lemonade. Sometimes you have no job and wonder where your food will come from. God provides ramen (and yes there are lots of tasty things you can do with ramen - but that’s another blog!). We may not like the ramen but at least it’s food.

I’ve found myself unemployed a couple of times. God used that time to let me grow closer to Him and dive more into His world while I had some time on my hands. I tried everything I could do to make the best of the situation. While not having a job wasn’t too much fun the extra time I spent with God helped out a huge amount. It helped me be able to really listen for God’s guidance and He would let me know that He was up to something; all I had to do was be patient. The patience paid off more than once and it helped me be more in tune with what God’s will was (and is!) for my life.

Part of the trust aspect is trusting Christ as your savior. After all, trusting Him is the single most important decision you could ever make. He allowed Himself to be place in a situation that was painful, stressful and, at least for three days, deadly. However, I’m sure He made the best of the situation by knowing that His sacrifice would save all who trust Him. You can’t buy salvation, earn it or just strive to be a good person and hope for the best. To believe any of this is a path straight to that eternal fire pit in Hell.

God never promised us a perfect garden. Ask any farmer and the will tell you that you have to endure some thorns, weeds and thistles in order to reap a great harvest. Jesus even said in Matthew 5: 10-12 that we should let persecution bring out the best in us. I believe this will apply in other trials too. Don’t lash out at God when you’re in the midst of a tough time. Some would say (not naming names but these “’pastors” seem to be on TV and in books a lot) that God only blesses and that if you’re having a hard time then something’s not right. Well, God can and does bring judgment but He also allows trials with people who are fully trusting in Him. Sometimes we need a strengthening of our faith and trials are usually just the thing God uses to do it.

Trials can be scary but God promises to deliver us through them. His plans are so much more wonderful than anything our inferior human brains could ever come up with. Embrace trials and know that God knows what He’s doing. Believe that you will be so much better off at the end and it will be more wonderful that you’ll ever know. Even enjoy it. Use the time to draw closer to God and to trust Him more. Above all, believe and don’t give up on God.

Jonathan

Fireproof

2008-10-15T23:10:00.001-05:00

God put the Man into a deep sleep. As he slept he removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. God then used the rib that he had taken from the Man to make Woman and presented her to the Man.

The Man said, "Finally! Bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh! Name her Woman for she was made from Man." Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and embraces his wife. They become one flesh. Genesis 2: 21-24 (The Message)

Over the weekend my fiancé and I saw Fireproof at the local theatre. If you have a chance to see it, I really think you should go. The movie will truly make you look deeply at what marriage and love are all about and may even make you realize that you have a thing or two to learn about them yourself. Not that I’m any kind of expert, I’m just about to get married myself. Whether you’re experienced at marriage or not, you will leave the theatre with some prospective that you didn’t have before.

Ok, enough shameless plugs.

There are many flames that can flicker and lap at your marriage. I’m sure I can’t name any that you haven’t heard of but let’s look at a couple for just a minute:

Adultery: When Jesus gave his famous Sermon on the Mount, He stated that adultery isn’t just an action (Matthew 5:27-30). According to Christ, adultery can be as simple as a fantasy in your mind. If you have any sort of lustful thought – again, not just an action – then you’ve committed adultery. We must have close watch on everything, including our thoughts, in order to keep us from cheating on our spouses (future and present).

Addictions: Addictions can take on many forms. We can be addicted to the pursuit of things (boats, cars, electronics, whatever), pornography. Porn is a big one. Here are some numbers from the National Research Council Report and Family Safe Media: Two in five Internet users visited an online adult site in August 2005. 63.4 million unique visitors visited adult websites in December of 2005 reaching 37.2 percent of the internet audience. The cybersex industry generates approximately $1 billion annually and is expected to grow between $5 to $7 billion over the next five years. The pornography industry generates $12 billion in annual revenue—larger than the combined annual revenues of ABC, NBC and CBS. Of that, the internet pornography industry generates $2.5 billion in annual revenue

Wow.

I think it’s safe to assume that a big percentage of these visitors are married men. Ladies, you’re not off the hook. There are many women who struggle with porn addiction. Porn can cause much harm to a marriage. The spouse who isn’t the one looking at the porn is often made to feel that they aren’t good enough and that they must compete against these images and fantasies for the attention of their mate.

When you get married, you take vows to be loyal and true to your spouse and not some image or fantasy. It’s not just a vow that we make just to another person but to God. God doesn’t like when we break our promise to Him. But, like with any other sin, not all is lost. Is your marriage fireproof? Are you keeping your promise to God and to your spouse to remain true and cling only to your spouse? So often we hear of couples getting a divorce for the most idiotic reasons. Take a love dare: Commit to your marriage and start working right now to resolve any issues that may be present. Keep the flames of adultery and addictions away from you and your mate. Keep your marriage bed sacred and keep the covenant that you made before God and all the witnesses at your wedding ceremony.

Jonathan

Stormy Weather

2008-08-28T22:56:00.001-05:00

“I will praise You in this storm.” – Casting Crowns

I’ve had a blog that I’ve been working on but, given current events, I felt that now was not the time to bring it (plus I feel like it still needs more work!). Instead, I want to talk about storms and how God will see us through them.

For those of us who live in the gulf coast region we’re all a bit on edge this week. Gustav is churning toward Jamaica and Cuba right now and the National Hurricane Center says that Gus will likely head to the Gulf of Mexico, gain strength quickly and hit anywhere from Florida to Texas. Right now, however, the most likely target is New Orleans which, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, is the same as Katrina. I went to Wal-Mart a little while ago and it was a madhouse. Bottled water was all but gone from the shelves, bread was non-existent and the canned goods were pretty well picked through. I think it’s safe to say that people are worried about no power when even the Vienna sausages, sardines and potted meat are gone! People are scared; they remember what Katrina was like (a lot of people in my town were in New Orleans during Katrina) and they aren’t taking any chances. My parents are prepared with plenty of bottled water, canned goods, gas for the grill and camp stove, generator, ect. I’m thankful that God gave us the common sense to know when He is providing us enough time to prepare to ride out a storm and to learn from the past.

One other thing we should do is remain calm. In Matthew 8 God’s Word gives us a great illustration of how He will see us through any storm, no matter what category or type of storm it is. Jesus and the disciples got onto a boat in the middle of the night. Next thing they know a huge storm comes up. I’m talking about wind, hard rain, waves crashing against the boat. The disciples were scared that the boat was about to sink but Jesus was sound asleep. They woke up because they were so afraid and He calmed the storm. They called on Him and thus He came to their rescue and calmed the wind and waves.

He will do the same for us!

During this time with Gustav, and indeed with any storm in life that we face, we should cling to the One who can calm the storms and help us through the rough times. Now is the time to grab hold of Jesus and trust Him to deliver us through the rain. God is always holding us, we just have to stop fighting the His mighty hand. Part of our storm preparation should be faith in Christ.

Are you ready for the storm?

Jonathan

"Jesus is On the Main Line!"

2008-08-07T22:16:00.000-05:00

“`What a huge harvest!’ he said to his disciples. `How few workers! On your knees and pray for harvest hands!’” (Matthew 9:37-38 The Message)

The above is one of my favorite verses in the entire Bible. Jesus was going from town to town ministering, telling people the good news and healing the sick. As He looked out, He was saddened because here were all these people wandering around as lost as sheep without a shepherd. He knew that they needed leaders; people who should show them the way to eternal life and how to serve God here on Earth.

How true this is of us today!

“Lost” can be a loaded word and its meaning here can depend on how you take how the word is used in this context. Could it mean spiritually lost? Yes. Can it mean lost as in not knowing what to do? Yes. What does it mean here? It means both. Christ looked out and saw just how many people physically among Him needed to know how salvation takes place and how they are to serve. Giving their lives to Christ, hearing of what spiritual gifts they may have, etc. How are they to learn of this, though, if there’s no one to tell them? Christ knew that His time in the flesh was growing short and that He would need help. He looked out, saw this great number of people and knew that the numbers would only increase as years passed. Pastors, teachers, evangelists, prophets, singers, musicians, all sorts of people were needed to help people learn and grow.

Where do these people come from? They’re people whom God chooses to be the Earthly leaders of His children. The call that Christ gives in Matthew 9 is two-fold: He wants us to pray for others, that they might know that they’re being called by God to do His work. Also, he wants us to pray for ourselves (note the emphasis)! He wants us to pray so that we might know what kind of work God is calling us to carry out. Are we meant to sing with the worship team or even to preach? Are we called to be ushers and greeters in order to help people become comfortable in God’s house? No role is too small and every single one can, and does, have a big impact on God’s Kingdom!

Knowing my calling is something I’ve often struggled with. There have been times when I’d be so sure I knew and then it would all fall apart. A lot of those times I would have the feeling that God was saying “Hang on a minute; this isn’t quite what I had in mind.” The only way I’ve ever gotten any answers is to pray and seek wise counsel as I discern what God’s telling me. I’ve gotten some indications and I’m getting a peace about some things but I am still praying and waiting on God to do His will in His time. It’s all we can do as Christians: Let God work and show us how He wants us to work.

What’s God calling you to do? Pray for others but also pray for yourself and see what God wants you doing in His harvest. Regardless of what the role is, commit to being a “harvest hand” and help show others the way to Heaven. Jesus used His disciples to reach out to the lost; He wants to use you too!

Jonathan

Jesus: Spiritual Janitor

2008-08-03T23:09:00.001-05:00

What’s the dirtiest you’ve ever seen a room? I’ve seen a lot of nasty places and one in particular I’ll never forget. There was dirty, trash and all kinds of filth all over the house. I’m talking about rotting food, bad smelling garbage; the works. Now, think of your life as a house and all the different rooms (seasons) that make up your life. Think of all that garbage, dirty and nastiness as the sin that pollutes our houses. Now let’s think of trying to clean those rooms. Since we’re human and we never stop sinning the garbage never stops piling up. Nothing we try to do or say can keep the mess from piling up and, if we let it, eventually we will be swallowed up in it because we can’t clean it.

That’s where Jesus comes in.

I had a vision of this illustration a few days ago at work. I was out cleaning a car and started using a vacuum to clean the floorboard. It was that moment when I got a picture: Jesus is like the ultimate vacuum. Think of what he did for us: He took all of our dirt away and left us (our house) with clean floors and dusted furniture.

The dirt is gone, never to be seen again.

Paul writes in Romans about Christ cleaning us up. In chapter 7 Paul talks about how he constantly does what he doesn’t want to do (sin) and doesn’t do what he wants to do (following God’s rules). Moving on to chapter 8 he writes: With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death. God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn’t deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all (v. 1-3 The Message). In other words, the mess has been cleaned up and we are shiny and new. Jesus paid the price. He took away all of the dirt!

How about another vision of what Christ’s cleaning power is like? Think of His power in this way: Spiritual Windex. Recently I went to the eye doctor and found out that I need glasses. Yesterday I kept thinking that my glasses sure made things a bit hard to see at times and it just didn’t look too clear. Then I realized, “you dummy they’re dirty.” So I cleaned them up a bit and everything was clear again. Jesus is like Windex to a dirty window. All the stuff (sin) that distorts our views of Him is wiped away by Christ. He makes it all clean and clear.

Are you still trying to clean the mess yourself? It will all be in vain: No matter how many brooms, brushes and buckets we use our mess will just keep piling up and will eventually choke us to death. If we allow Christ to be our “Spiritual Janitor” all of the mess will be taken care of and we can rest assured in His peace! Trust Christ with your house. He will take great care of it and will leave it spotless!

Jonathan

Losing Our Religion

2008-06-22T21:20:00.000-05:00

I heard “Losing My Religion” by REM while surfing radio stations. The song is pretty interesting, especially in the chorus where lead singer Michael Stipe croons, “there’s me in the corner. That’s me in the spotlight losing my religion.” Listening to the rest of the song, I take it to mean he’s not being a nice guy in the situation. If you aren’t familiar with the phrase, “losing my religion” means doing something that makes you look like a raging loon. It’s mainly used in the south and somewhat alludes to doing something that some think would make one lose their standing with God, usually used when someone gets really angry and/or loses their temper. As the guitar began to fade I began to think that maybe losing my religion might not be such a bad thing. Now before you think I’m out of my head, I don’t mean that I’m going to deny God. What I mean by “losing my religion” is that I should lose all of the stuff that man tries to put between me and God.

I read an article about religion and faith on families.com. The writer said that religion is man’s attempt to reach out to God while faith (from the Christian point of view) is God’s attempt to reach out to man. The faith that I speak of is faith in Jesus Christ. That faith is what saves our souls, not any amount of words or works. In Ephesians 2, Paul wrote “Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.”

We can’t do it on our own; not with all the religion that we could possibly come up with. It’s faith that will save us.

There was one person in the Bible who really threw religion on its ear, who let the scholars and leaders of His day know exactly what He thought of their rules and nonsense. A lot of people ignore the fact that this man became upset with these leaders and told them to take a flying leap. This man was Jesus Christ.

In Matthew 23 Christ made it clear that the Pharisees did have some good teaching but that they took it a step further: Instead of encouraging people to follow the teachings that they were giving, they encouraged people to follow them, the Pharisees themselves. These guys were no joke. They really thought that they did no wrong and that their stuff had no odor whatsoever. They thought they had a ton of power but really had none.

But that didn’t stop the Pharisees from acting like it.

Their entire lives were dedicated to impressing man with their flowing and well ordained prayer robes and other shows of their religious standing. When praying in public they also carried little boxes (which they would make a big deal of showing off) containing Bible verses and would have long, loud and well rehearsed prayers. Now, how many of us are now imaging what this must have been like? How many of us know people who do things like this today? The words contained in Matthew 23 were not only meant for people back in the time that Jesus walked the land, they were meant for us too.

How much stuff do people try to put between us and God? We always hear people telling us that we have to do this-and-that in order to be right with God. “Yeah, you should believe in Jesus but you also have to…” As Paul said in the verses in Ephesians from earlier, it’s not any work or words but rather our faith in Jesus Christ that will save us. So man people think they have to earn their way into Heaven. Simply put there is only one path to Heaven: Jesus. Our place has already been secured, as long as we have faith that Christ died for our sins and rose again to end death’s power over us. I heard a song today that talked about entering Heaven with a borrowed halo and how everyone in Heaven entered by using someone else’s halo (Christ’s). He paved the way and all we have to do is believe in Him enough to follow Him there!

This may be off topic but I’m going there anyway: Politics. Lots of groups, while I at least like to think that they mean well, put their political message above spreading the gospel. Some of these groups are very public about the fact that they feel that, for instance, there should be prayer in school and that they won’t support Ford because of some reason or another. All they seem concerned about is making their group and the people within it well known. With many of these groups rarely will you hear any mention of the saving grace of God through Jesus. Their attitude seems to be that if you aren’t as vocal as they are then you’re not Christian “enough” and therefore you’re not right with God.

Oh please.

Call me crazy but I pray for the day that all this madness stops. All this religion, all this junk that man imposes to put barriers between us and God, isn’t right. The Bible tells us that we can be reconciled go God through Jesus and that our faith is what will save us. Not all of the rules, all of the political double-speak or anything else that’s created by man will get us into Heaven and/or make us right with God. Oh sure, we’re called to do works but the Bible states clearly that doing good works is the fruit of a relationship with God rather than what enables it.

The next time someone tries to tell you that you’re not Christian “enough” because you won’t do this or take that stand, tell them about the time Jesus called out the Pharisees and put them in their place. And you can be confident and tell them that your relationship with Christ is what makes you right with God. Do something bold: Lose your religion.

“By faith, not by works…”

Jonathan

God Bless Dad!

2008-06-15T12:14:00.000-05:00

“Honor your father…” – Exodus 20:12

“Anyone can be a father but it takes a real man to be a dad.” – Read on a church sign near Carthage, MS

Today is a special day, a day in which we take time to remember the roles that our dads have had in our lives. Note that I didn’t use the word “father,” rather I used dad. As seen by the sign quote above, a dad is someone who leads us, who’s there and who wasn’t just a sperm donor. Far too many guys are sperm donors. Today we remember the dads.

God takes men and molds them into the dads that He wants them to be. He gives them the reasoning and the wisdom by His teaching to know just what it takes to raise a child in a Godly way. These dads do exactly as God commands. They’re there for their kids, provide for them, discipline them when they need it, give them God-like unconditional love and give them a good example to follow for when they become adults. They give their kids examples of respect by treating his wife with love. They take them fishing, they let them know that they’re loved and appreciated. God makes these men out of special stock and gives them a special anointing to carry out the dad mission.

As I say about such holidays, we shouldn’t remember the dads just one day a year. Rather, we should take time out regularly to let dad know that he’s love and that we appreciate everything they do for us. On the flip side, we should remember those who are the sperm donors. What I mean by “sperm donor” is someone who’s merely fathered a child and isn’t really there for them. We should pray for them, that they would take the mission that God has been trying to give them. Their children need them so it’s important to prayer for them.

Take a minute to give dad a special hug or remember how great your dad was if he’s gone Home. I’m blessed to have two men in my life who have been dads to me so my day will be filled with celebration. To them I say: Thanks for all you’ve done for me through out my life. Without you I wouldn’t be who I am today and I’m glad that I’ve had good examples to live up to. Thank you and I love you both very much.

God bless our dads!

Jonathan

The End of The World As We Know It (and I'll Feel Fine!)

2008-05-22T21:22:00.001-05:00

When I look at recent events in the world, all I can do is say "wow." We're having earthquakes in the heart of the United States, even one in Mississippi recently (places where earthquakes don't normally take place). Of course, the mother of the recent earthquakes took place in China and killed and injured thousands of people. A massive cyclone hit the country of Myramar and also killed and injured thousands of people. In both of the latter disasters, thousands (if not millions) are now homeless. Regardless many are suffering and seemingly are losing hope. In other parts of the world we see riots over food and other supplies, high energy prices and crime is on the rise in many cities throughout the world. The world seems to be in chaos and many people are wondering if this is the ushering in of the end of the world as we know it (cue the REM song).

Like in the REM song, if this is the end of the world as we know it I feel fine!

Many titles surround what many people call the end of the world as we know it. Many see it as events that are either part of or leading up to the second appearing of Christ or of Armageddon. Regardless of how you may choose to address it, I don't think we can argue that something is going to happen. I firmly believe that Jesus is going to come back and that there will eventually be the greatest battle of good versus evil that the world, no the universe, will ever see. Some say that that time is upon us and that the natural and other disasters that have occurred lately are signs of their imminent arrival. I've wondered the same myself. Let's see what God's word says about signs of the end and of the end itself.

Visions and warnings of signs of the end of ages are scattered throughout God's word. Just as a couple of examples: In the Old Testament, the prophet Daniel talks of a vision he sees of the end courtesy of Michael. In the Message translation of chapter 12, we read of the end: "It will be a time of trouble, the worst trouble the world has ever seen. But your people will be saved from the trouble, every last one found written in the Book. Many who have been long dead and buried will wake up, some to eternal life, others to eternal shame." Wow, that sounds depressing at the beginning. Trouble the likes of which we've never seen… sounds pretty scary to say the least. However, the passage also points to hope and that hope lies with Christ. By having faith and trusting Him for the forgiveness of our sins we will have eternal life at the conclusion of all these events.

Now let's fast forward to Matthew 24 in the New Testament. Jesus went into depth about what to expect when the end approaches. He also made sure to talk about false prophets who would come along. Here's what He said starting at verse 4 and continuing to verse 14 (again from the Message translation):

Jesus said, "Watch out for doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities, claiming, 'I am Christ, the Messiah.' They will deceive a lot of people. When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don't panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end. Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Famines and earthquakes will occur in various places. This is nothing compared to what is coming.

"They are going to throw you to the wolves and kill you, everyone hating you because you carry my name. And then, going from bad to worse, it will be dog-eat-dog, everyone at each other's throat, everyone hating each other.

"In the confusion, lying preachers will come forward and deceive a lot of people. For many others, the overwhelming spread of evil will do them in—nothing left of their love but a mound of ashes.

"Staying with it—that's what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won't be sorry, and you'll be saved. All during this time, the good news—the Message of the kingdom—will be preached all over the world, a witness staked out in every country. And then the end will come.

Jesus gives us a lot of things to look out for. Among them are to look out for false prophets and people claiming that they are the Christ. That reeks of the cult leaders that have been found over the last few weeks. Wars, famine, earthquakes, even persecution of His children. All of these things are happening right now. The natural disasters that have hit lately sure have gotten people talking about the end of the world and the second coming of Christ.

So the question is: Are we in the end times?

I can't argue that everyday we get one day closer to the time when Christ makes His big return to Earth. I can't say, however, that we are at the end of the countdown; only God Himself knows when Jesus is going to come back. All I can say for sure is that we always need to be ready. Be ready in case in the next hour Jesus comes back for His children. If we're ready we will go home to Heaven with Him and have a life that never ends, a life where we worship God forever and a life where no one will ever experience pain or any other affliction again.

"Staying with it," as Jesus said in the passage mentioned earlier, means keeping the faith until that great day that we get to meet Him. That also includes keeping the faith now, believing in Him for your salvation. By having faith, believing that Christ's blood atoned for our sins and reconciled us to God the Father, we will be able to receive the great reward that Jesus brings with Him. Without that faith the end result will be the Lake of Fire, the place where there is eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth. Yes, Hell is what I'm speaking of. Doesn't sound like much of a party, eh?

The party will be what Christ brings with him: The reward of an eternal life spent in Heaven with Him! Just think of the buffet! The feast will be all you can eat and never ending. The music will be the sweetest and greatest you've ever heard and will be played on the best sound system ever created. And the Host! The Host of the party is the Creator of all things, of Heaven and Earth! He made you and he made me and He wants us at His party! You can be invited to this party by having faith in Christ. I know that I will be in attendance. How about you?

Come quickly, Lord, come quickly!

I wonder if Jesus will let me DJ the welcome Home party!

Jonathan

"WAKE UP TIME!

2008-05-16T22:42:00.001-05:00

Editor’s note: I originally wrote this on May 4, 2008, but decided I needed to sit on it for various reasons. Now here it is and I hope it speaks to you in some way. Blessings – Jonathan.

I know it’s very not politically correct but I have to admit that I enjoy the movie Blazing Saddles. Yes, a lot of the lines in the movie are sexist, racist and all kinds of other words that end in “ist.” However, there are some hi-larious parts in the movie. One of my favorites is when Sheriff Bart is in the jail and it’s time to roust Mongo from his slumber. The sheriff throws a bucket of water on Mongo and yells “wake up time!” Imagine how rude of an awakening this is! Imagine if someone throws water on you and starts yelling at you to wake up. Right quick you’ll probably get up and start moving as if you don’t have a choice.

I think this is what needs to happen to Christians. We’re in our own little dream state.

Today a lot has been on my mind about the Great Commission found in Matthew 28. Jesus said (here I’m using the Message translation) “go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you.” A lot of events have brought this on but sometimes I feel like we, as a body of believers, have forgotten what Christ has called us to do. The Rev. Don Caviness (pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Mississippi – my home church) said in his sermon today that there have been times where the church has forgotten what it’s supposed to do and that God would then raise up leaders to help steer her back on the right track. While Pastor Don didn’t outright say that he feels the church is in such a slump, he didn’t say it wasn’t either.

If saying that the church is in a slump, I agree with him.

Regardless of Pastor Don’s intent the church has lost its way. Many churches today seem more like country clubs than houses of worship. People at these churches forget what they’re supposed to be and do and instead treat church as nothing more than a social gathering. It almost seems like they go into the sanctuary, talk to their friends, sit down for a bit, half-way listen to the pastor while he gives a sermon about some scripture they’ll forget about within an hour, sing some songs and then talk to their friends some more before going home. Then just lather, rinse, repeat. This is not what a church is supposed to be like. A church is a body of believers who gather together to truly worship, enjoy true fellowship and who will reach out to the lost around them. But instead we go to church to visit our friends and feel good about ourselves. Forget anything else, we just need to make ourselves feel better and make up for all the bad stuff we did this week. Oh, we need to make sure we talk to Bill and Sherry above all else.

Oh please.

Let me be clear: I’m not saying we shouldn’t look forward to seeing each other at church, quite the opposite. I’m saying that visiting our friends shouldn’t be the primary focus of why we go to church. God should be out main focus. God didn’t intend for a place of worship to be a gathering spot for a tea party. God intended a place of worship to be just that, a place where we go to worship Him.

I’ll be honest: The way some churches are run right now worries me. All around me I’m seeing churches that are starting to die and are in a panic mode to “fix it.” Yet, they have no idea how to fix it and just seemingly throw darts at a dartboard until a bull’s eye is made. Unfortunately, the bull’s eye is never hit and you have one sloppy looking dartboard. So much we’re seeing staff members and other helpers being thrown under the bus who did nothing wrong and who didn’t have the help they needed from the leadership to grow their ministries. We have churches whose leadership is hardly seen in a worship service and yet is quick to dictate what they say is best for God’s house. We have leadership in churches that will find reasons to get rid of a staff member or helper, and yet will not even approach this person with the complaints that are supposedly against them (if any). Not approaching someone with their complaints is what vexes me the most. Jesus gave us all instructions in Matthew 18 on how to approach a fellow believer that we have a problem with. Check it:

If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him—work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you've made a friend. If he won't listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won't listen, tell the church. If he won't listen to the church, you'll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God's forgiving love. (Matthew 18: 15-17 The Message)

And yet, so often this “leadership” won’t follow these simple instructions and will instead act like a corrupt C.E.O. and scheme and plot someone’s termination totally without their knowledge.

Can I just say that I’m tired of it all? I’m so tired and weary from the corporate behavior, tired of all the politics, tired of all the crap. I’m tired of “church as usual.” I know that there’s no such thing as a prefect church but a good compromise will do. Unfortunately a good compromise is hard to come by. We are human, we are sinful and have hearts that will often lead us astray. However, this is not a McDonald’s or an investment firm we’re talking about. This is God’s house. I would think that we would want to try harder to make the church as good as we can without letting the politics and other stupidity to get in the way.

So what are we going to do? Who reading this is one of the leaders like Paul, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley and Billy Graham, a leader that God is raising up to help lead His church back on the road He wants her to be on? What can do we do to make sure that the churches we attend aren’t glorified country clubs and to make sure our churches conduct their affairs in a loving, Biblical way? Who will make sure those in the leadership of the church are truly committed and not just there for the chicken on Wednesday night? Sometimes we can be put in difficult situations where we are the ones who need to call the bluff and hold our church leaders accountable. But often we back down because we’re afraid of what might happen to us. One thing we tend to forget is that if we don’t do it no one will.

In the same vein: Parents, wake up. A big problem I often hear about is the lack of youth/young adults. In the next breath, a church member will be telling about how they don’t/can’t/won’t make their kids come to church. I’d say the problem there lies with the person in the mirror. If you’re not making your kids go to church or youth group now, what makes you think they will go when they’re older? If you don’t make them cut a trip to the lake short so they can go to church, why do you think they’ll decide on their own to cut the trip short? Set a good and Godly example by going to church yourself. I can promise you that your child will not appreciate being told to go to church when you’re not willing to get off the couch to go yourself. Part of being a parent is setting a good example. If you’re not then all of the telling in the world will have absolutely no effect.

I’ve often wondered what God has in store for me and what He wants me to do. While I would never place myself on the same level as a John Wesley or a Martin Luther, I do hope God will use me and these writings to stir His church up and to help lead her back on the right road. That’s where you come in too. Reading this blog is one thing but what about following God’s Word (let’s be clear: I’m talking about the Bible)? I’m not perfect, I never will be. However, I will do everything I can do to help stir things up and help more people find and follow Jesus.

What’s God telling you to do? Is God calling you to step up and hold your church leaders accountable when they’re acting contrary to the Word of God? Is he calling you to set a good example for someone around you?

If you’d like prayer, please feel free to contact me. I’d appreciate some myself. I want to know more and more everyday what God’s will for me is. Only through Him revealing it to me will I fully understand. I thank you in advance and covet your prayers and encouragement.

Jonathan

10 Commandments Exposed!

2008-04-16T22:38:00.003-05:00

I heard a commercial on the radio not long ago for a group advocating doing more than merely displaying the 10 Commandments because it looks nice on the wall. When I think of the God-given instructions found in Exodus I often think of how often I fail to follow them. Sometimes I wonder if we even realize what it's all about.

It's not just about knowing the Commandments, it's about living them out.

For the most part, the stones are pretty straight forward with the inscriptions they contain. Some of them can mean more than face value. Let's break it down and go a bit in depth about each one. For this blog I used The Message translation of Exodus 20:1-17.

God spoke all these words: I am God, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of a life of slavery. No other gods, only me.

No carved gods of any size, shape, or form of anything whatever, whether of things that fly or walk or swim. Don't bow down to them and don't serve them because I am God, your God, and I'm a most jealous God, punishing the children for any sins their parents pass on to them to the third, and yes, even to the fourth generation of those who hate me.
But I'm unswervingly loyal to the thousands who love me and keep my commandments.

This one seems fairly straight forward. God doesn't want anyone, or anything, put before Him on our priority list. The first thing on our to-do list should be to wake up and give God His glory! God doesn't want us to place anything before him. Not our careers and money, not our cars, not deer hunting, not even our families. God wants to my number one… period!

No using the name of God, your God, in curses or silly banter; God won't put up with the irreverent use of his name.

One of my pet peeves is when someone says the "G-D" phrase. As you can see above, God doesn't like it at all either. God doesn't like His name to be misused and deems it a big deal, seeing as He placed it second on the list (only second to the fact that God wants to be number one). But let's think about this: Taunting God. "Oh, God's not going to (insert whatever here), He won't do (insert another whatever here) to me." Oh really? Dare you tempt God? I tell ya, there isn't enough money in the universe to make me go there! Always take God seriously. That doesn't mean long, drawn out prayers and proper English. All it means is taking God seriously and acknowledging that He is all powerful, all knowing and all loving. That doesn't seem like too much for the Alpha and Omega to ask.

Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to God, your God. Don't do any work—not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maid, nor your animals, not even the foreign guest visiting in your town. For in six days God made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore God blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day.

*cheesy monster truck announcer voice on* SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY! *cheesy monster truck announcer voice off* Sorry, just had to! Anyway, while some do debate as to whether the Sabbath is what we consider Saturday or if it's Sunday, the point is that God set aside a Sabbath that we are called in the 10 Commandments to honor and observe. God doesn't want us working on the Sabbath because He rested on the seventh day, therefore God wants us to follow his lead. This also is a day specifically set aside for worship, prayer and fellowship. God doesn't like us putting things before worship. Oh sure, sometimes we have things that are unavoidable but God doesn't want us setting out to make plans that could be changed when we're supposed to be worshipping. So on the Sabbath, God wants us to worship, enjoy fellowship with those we care about and fellow believers and also to rest and enjoy a day resting in God's arms. I look forward to Sunday more than any other day because it's the free day that's from God Himself!

Honor your father and mother so that you'll live a long time in the land that God, your God, is giving you.

I struggle with this. Let's face it: Our parents sometimes get on our nerves, just as others do. "Take out the trash!" "Make your bed!" "Come rub my bunyans!" Ok, maybe the last one's just flat out gross. Anyway, while our parents can be as hard to get along with as anyone, we're called to respect and honor our parents. After all, they're the ones that God used to bring us into the world and they also taught us how to be responsible and mature adults. They gave us the foundation that we use each day in our lives, be it with responsibility or our belief in an awesome God. Following their example of God's love and leadership and their example on how a couple and family should treat, we're truly indicative of our parents. We should honor them and thank them for loving and leading us, even for spanking us as children.

No murder.

"But Jonathan, I wouldn't kill anyone! This one doesn't apply to me." Oh, but it does my bro/sis! You can murder someone with words and even thoughts. When was the last time cut someone down by insulting and belittling them? You killed a part of their spirit, their self esteem and maybe even caused them to say or think bad things about you in return (remember the circle I talked about last time?). Murder can take on many forms and God doesn't want us participating in any form, shape, way or fashion.

No adultery.

Marriage is meant to be forever. When God created Eve for Adam, He intended Eve to be together forever. When sin entered the world, so did adultery. However, adultery can take on many other forms than intimate physical contact. You can cheat on your spouse by having an emotional affair, where you're intimate with someone through words (and I'm not talking about phone sex or anything like that here). Phone and/or cyber sex is adultery. Did you know that even looking and lusting over someone is adultery? It's true, Jesus said so. In Matthew 5, Jesus said, "your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices—they also corrupt." Wow. Who knew looking at a fine body could be considered adultery. And yes, that's even if you and/or the other person is unmarried. Think of it this way: You're cheating on your future spouse.

No stealing.

Quite simple, really: Don't take things that aren't yours. If you see a car that you just gotta have, don't start scheming on how you can steal it. Pray about it and try to find ways you can earn it, be it by saving your money or whatever. God will allow you to have it if it's truly meant to be. However, I'm not just talking about cars here. If you're stealing something like your neighbor's wireless Internet connection, that's still stealing. Either get your own connection, offer to pay your neighbor or just go to the library for your 'net time. Downloading music… well, you see what I mean. I hope your toes don't hurt, by the way.

No lies about your neighbor.

Oh boy, another one I've struggled with! I tell ya, I've told some whoppers in my day. I had someone convinced once that I hung out back stage at the Anger Management Tour one year when it came to ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Indianapolis. Of course, that's just one example; I could fill many books telling you all of the untruths I've told over the years. Telling the truth is more than just something nice to do, it's what God calls us to do. Don't say you saw Timmy leaving school early when he didn't. But even the reverse can be true: Don't cover up for a friend whom you've known to be doing something wrong. Not only will a crime or other wrong go unpunished but you could land yourself in trouble with the law, your school, your work but you could also find yourself in trouble with God. He doesn't like lying. God always tells it like it is and wants us to do the same.

No lusting after your neighbor's house—or wife or servant or maid or ox or donkey. Don't set your heart on anything that is your neighbor's.

Another term for "lusting after" what your neighbor has would be "coveting." Don't set your mind on taking what belongs to your neighbor. So often we hear of people stealing their best friend's spouse and getting all his stuff as the result of the divorce between said friend and said wife. Why? Why do we want what someone else already has? Oh sure, this could go along with not stealing but coveting is wanting and scheming to get what your neighbor has simply for spite. Simply because Ken bought a new Harley, you've got to have it. You deserve it more, right? WRONG! He earned it. Go out and earn your own.

The 10 Commandments might seem like a big laundry list of rules that God expects us to follow to the letter but really a lot of them are common sense. A good bit of it can be summed up by saying "treat people the way you'd want to be treated." Would you want someone stealing from you, killing you or telling lies about you? Of course not, so why do those things yourself? With that said, let me ask you a question: How many of these have you broken? I've pretty much broken all of them. Putting things before God: Check. Using His name in vain: Check. Breaking the Sabbath: Check. Not honoring my parents: Check. Murdering someone (with words, let's be clear about this): Check. Committing adultery: Hate to say it but check. Stealing: Check. Lying: Check. Wanting what my neighbor has: Check. Whoa. Looks like I'm doomed. Thankfully, God say that sacrificing calves and sheep weren't going to be enough to make up for the sins we commit daily so He came to Earth in the form of a baby born to a virgin. Jesus Christ was the sacrifice for our sins, the atonement that reconciled us to God! Through Christ we're able to have our sins cast away, the shackles taking off our ankles and we're able to have a relationship with God the Father through the saving work of Jesus Christ. All we have to do is have the faith, believing that Christ died for us and rose again on the third day. We don't have to be perfect, we merely have to believe.

Do you believe? Do you have the saving power of Jesus' blood? If not you can have it right now, right as you are, right where you are. How do you get started? Praying a simple prayer. Just pray with your heart, believe with all your might… "Dear Jesus, I am a sinner and I know that without You I am lost. Lord, I have sinned against you daily for my whole life. There isn't a commandment that I haven't broken. Please forgive me. Jesus, come into my life and be my leader. Cleanse me of my sins with your blood. You are my salvation and I love you Lord. Thank you for making me whole again. In your precious name I pray, amen."

If you just prayed that prayer, I'd love to hear about it. Your next step will also be to go public with your decision for Christ by baptism. If you're not in church right now, I encourage you to get involved with one, a church where God wants you to be so you can grow and worship Him. Then you're well on your way to living a life for God. If you're a new believer, I pray that you continue to grow in our awesome God! May He bless you.

Jonathan

Eye For an Eye... Soon We're All Blind

2008-04-09T22:42:00.001-05:00

"Here's another old saying that deserves a second look: 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.' Is that going to get us anywhere? Here's what I propose: 'Don't hit back at all.' If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

"You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.

"In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you." Matthew 5:38-48 (MSG)

I do a lot of driving with my new job at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. On any given car delivery, I pass by several churches. I gotta give these churches a lot of credit: They are great at coming up with great messages for their signs. I saw one a few days ago that said, “Eye for an eye… soon we’re all blind.” That made me start thinking about all of the hate that we see in the world everyday. Think of how often you and I want to see revenge on those who hurt us. It’s a cycle: Person A does something to hurt Person B. Person B decides to repay the hurt and does something against Person A. And so on. Imagine the circle going round and round and round and round. This cycle can continue for months, years, even lifetimes. It’s sad when two or more people feel such animosity toward each other.

Not to mention that it’s against God’s will.

Revenge is increasing. Look no further than a newspaper that talks about someone getting shot
because they did whatever to someone else. All revenge does is result in even more hurt being done and, as indicated above, can become a big circle that keeps going. Revenge generates hurt hearts, souls, bodies, high blood pressure and unneeded grief. To use an example from my own life, I spent a great deal of time dwelling on hurt that others had caused me and I wanted to hurt them back. Guess what: It contributed to being diagnosed with anxiety disorder and having to fight a very scary battle with panic attacks and depression.

Jesus gave a great example of turning the other cheek when he was hanging on the cross. Now think about this for a sec: Imagine the pain that Christ was going through when He was hanging on the cross. His limbs stretched to the point of coming out of their sockets. Imagine all the blood coming out of the nail holes. The dehydration. The pain. Now, think about this: Christ held nothing against his captives, the guards and others who had done Him physical harm. In fact he looked up and basically said (paraphrasing), “God, forgive them because they don’t realize what they’re doing.” He loved us while on the cross as He was dieing for our sins. He even loved the people on the ground below the cross who had placed Him there! I don’t know about you but I’d find this hard to do. And yet, we are called to follow Christ’s example.

Here’s a bold challenge: Think of someone down the street, in your school, at your workplace, even your church who has done or said something to hurt you. Did you think badly of them in return? Maybe talk badly about them behind their back and plotted some sort of revenge. Follow Christ’s example and pray for them. Then, walk up to them and tell them that you forgive them and confess that you’ve said some things about them. Ask them for their forgiveness. Break the circle. Meet in the middle and come to an understanding. You never know: A great friendship could come out of it (or maybe one will be saved).

God truly is in this tonight. I just turned on one of those music channels on digital cable and Sanctus Real’s “We Need Each Other” is playing on the Christian channel. How true. I think I’ll close with the lyrics so you can see their expression of how much we need each other, how much we need understanding and how much we need to love one another at all costs.

Jonathan

“We Need Each Other” – Sanctus Real (lyrics courtesy of http://www.onlylyrics.com)

I think I caught a glimpse of
Life without friends
Bitter, empty, hollow, dark and lonely
We never meant to hurt each other
So Can’t we trust again
And take it as a chance
To keep on growing

I don’t know why it doesn’t come easy
But I know that we could be happy
If we’d only learn to love

Oh oh we need each other
So what’s the fighting for
Oh oh we need each other
Please don’t close the door
Oh oh we need each other
Through all the highs and lows
Oh oh we need each other
Cuz no one’s meant to live alone

Life revolves around the need
Of having someone
Causing every complicated feeling
Oh and I don’t want to loose you
And there is nothing wrong with
Telling me what you need
To keep our love strong

It’s just a part of being a family
Taking the good with the bad and the ugly
If we could only learn to love

Oh oh we need each other
So what’s the fighting for
Oh oh we need each other
Please don’t close the door
Oh oh we need each other
Through all the highs and lows
Oh oh we need each other
Cuz I don’t want to be alone

Oh Oh we need each other
Fathers and Mothers
Oh oh we need each other
All your sisters and brothers
Oh oh we need each other
We need friends and lovers
Oh Oh we need each other

Well I need you
You need me
Cuz that’s the way
It’s meant to be
I need you
We need each other
(I don’t want to be alone)

Breaking Up is Easy to Do

2008-03-02T22:12:00.002-06:00

And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:15-17

Being in radio for so long, I've heard many different types of songs. I've heard the love songs, the hate songs, the songs that just don't fit in any category. One of my favorite types of songs were the break up songs. Why? Because I'd get some wicked crazy stories from the people requesting them! I would often have listeners calling and asking me to play a song that would be a good break up song. I never was able to find the perfect song it seemed, however, now I can say that I have found a great break up song. I even say that this song is the ultimate break up song!

The song: "So Long Self" by MercyMe.

Simply put, this song is all about breaking up with your old self and living life for Christ rather than self. As Paul said in the above verse from 2 Corinthians, we become new creations when we accept Christ as our savior. Therefore, we should put off our old self, the self where we lived solely for no one but ourself, and put on a new self who desires to serve God. MercyMe puts those thoughts so well in the lyrics that are below. I love how it really does sound like someone breaking up with their significant other; Bart Millard even uses the "it's not you, it's me" mentality! I have to admit, that made me giggle the first time I heard this song a couple of years ago.

This track can be found on MercyMe's CD "Coming Up to Breathe." Here are the lyrics!

Jonathan

"So Long Self" - MercyMe

Well if I come across a little bit distant
It's just because I am
Things just seem to feel a little bit different
You understand
Believe it or not but life is not apparently
About me anyways
But I have met the One who really is worthy
So let me say

So long, self
Well, it's been fun, but I have found somebody else
So long, self
There's just no room for two
So you are gonna have to move
So long, self
Don't take this wrong but you are wrong for me, farewell
Oh well, goodbye, don't cry
So long, self

Stop right there because I know what you're thinking
But no we can't be friends
And even though I know your heart is breaking
This has to end
And come to think of it the blame for all of this
Simply falls on me
For wanting something more in life than all of this
Can't you see

So long, self
Well, it's been fun, but I have found somebody else
So long, self
There's just no room for two
So you are gonna have to move
So long, self
Don't take this wrong but you are wrong for me, farewell
Oh well, goodbye, don't cry
So long

Don't feel so bad (don't feel so bad)
There'll be better days (there'll be better days)
Don't go away mad (but by all means)
Just go away, go away

So long, self
Well, it's been fun, but I have found somebody else
So long, self
There's just no room for two
So you are gonna have to move
So long, self
Don't take this wrong but you are wrong for me, farewell
Oh well, goodbye, don't cry
So long

"...and the drinking bone's connected to the drama bone."

2008-01-29T23:36:00.000-06:00

Don't drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him. Ephesians 5:18 (MSG)

There was a time in my life where I would drink. A lot. There are many stories I could tell you about my drunken exploits but I'm sure you can use your imagination. No matter what actions I did while under the influence of booze one theme prevailed: Drama. It seemed like there was always one thing or another bothering me, problems I was having with other people, etc. The cause of all of this was choices I made while intoxicated. As an example: A guy with whom I was good friends with rarely speaks to me now because of some stupid things I said one night while I was drunk. The scars that these acts can leave on someone can, and do, last a lifetime. These will be among the things that I will have to give God an account of someday. I am definitely not proud of that but, none the less, these events happened and helped to shape me into who I am today. I learned many lessons through these experiences, mainly about how I don't want to be.

Sometimes I don't understand how people can complain about how their life is so full of drama, they just want it to stop, etc. However, I can't help but notice that a lot of people I know who make these complaints are very much into the partying and drinking lifestyle. If you've never been a part of this, you're not missing a thing I promise. When you drink in excess there are so many problems that can come up. Oh sure there are the obvious ones such as hangovers and worse health concerns but how about the emotional toll? Often things are said that aren't meant, arguments and physical altercations can come up and all of this can linger for days and weeks after the alcohol has left your body. Drama can have a huge affect on someone emotionally. And yet, people complain about this drama and how they want it to end. They could decide to stop it by simply not going out to get drunk anymore. Of course, it could be that this is a difficult task, as drinking could be to the point of being an addiction by now.

I'm guilty of this: Drinking to deal with stress and emotional pain. I know of someone who recently was nailed with a divorce and the first thing they did was to go out and get drunk. They didn't want to admit it but they were simply using the booze to numb the pain. Looking back on my own experiences with this I don't understand why I thought this was a good idea. Drinking in excess can cause so much trouble. I've taken risks while drunk that I could have paid for dearly later on, possibly with my life. Excessive drinking can also cause problems with relationships. How many people do you know who have cheated on their significant other while drunk (I've had this happen to me – it hurts like you wouldn't believe and I would not wish that pain on anyone)? How many friendships do you know of that have been ended due to things said and done while someone was intoxicated? These are just some of the problems that can arise; I could continue but I think you get the picture.

Scattered throughout the Bible are warnings not to drink too much. Those, such as the verse above that was penned by the apostle Paul, are meant as a warning for us not to give our lives over to the bottle. I could open a can of worms with what I'm about to say but here I go: I don't think the Bible outright forbids all enjoyment of drink. Jesus drank wine at the Last Supper (although there's some debate among theologians that "wine" was translated incorrectly and is actually some sort of grape juice – but that's another blog) and He even turned water into wine when the supplies were depleted at a celebration. The way I take it is, the Bible tells us not to drink in excess, rather to use good judgment and to keep our heads while partaking. Even a founding father of the U.S., Benjamin Franklin, is credited with quipping, "beer is proof that God wants us to be happy."

As indicated in the previous paragraph, I'm not opposed to having a drink or two every now and then. I don't believe having a drink in of itself is wrong, rather it's when we drink too much and make stupid decisions that can cause sin. Also throughout the Bible are verses telling us to take responsibility for our actions. The actions that can come up when we drink are no exception. It's kind of like having sex: If you're going to have sex you should be prepared to have a baby (and one would hope you would be married). Likewise, if you're going to drink you have to be prepared to deal with the consequences that could come from it.

Deciding to get out of that lifestyle was the best decision I've ever made. I haven't been drunk in over a year and, quite frankly, I don't miss it. I don't miss the headaches, I don't miss the drama, I don't miss all the junk that comes with the party animal lifestyle. Not only for my own sake am I glad that I got out of that prison, I'm glad I decided to leave all of that behind because that is what God wanted me to do. Leaving the non-stop partying behind is what He wants you to do too. He doesn't want you to use a bottle to temporarily take away the pain; God wants you to give that pain to Him so He can heal it forever. God doesn't want us to be constantly drunk; God wants us to be filled with Him. Some might say that sounds like evangelistic drivel but all of this is clearly outlined throughout the Bible. However, it's one thing to know it and something completely different to do it.

I know that if you've been drinking for a long time simply resolving to quit may not be enough. Alcoholism is a true addiction. I'm fortunate that I stopped before I was fully to that point but I was well on my way. There is a lot of help available for you if you truly want to turn away from the bar scene. First, give it all to God. Ask Him to help you through the recovery process and to forgive you for turning to the bottle instead of to Him. Second, get support. It may sound like something weak to do but attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. The people involved with A.A. can show you how to turn from the bottle and turn to more constructive and less destructive means of dealing with stress. Get professional help. If you think you can't afford help there are many community resources you can use to get the help you need for little or no money (in East Central Mississippi, we have Weems Mental Health – check the yellow pages for like organizations in your area). See what help your church can offer; if you aren't involved with a church this would be a great opportunity to look for one. Make sure your have friends and family who will be there for you and keep you accountable. You'll find that your real friends and your family will be great sources of support when you are tempted to drink.

Turning away from the party lifestyle is hard. Pop culture tells us we're not normal if we don't like to go out and get trashed. Our friends can put great pressure on us too. Honestly you will probably lose friends over a decision to turn away from excessive drinking. But, the true friends you will gain, along with a closer walk with Christ and better health, will greatly outnumber anyone you lose due to the decisions you make to better yourself.
Please contact me if I can help in any way. If you need to talk to someone, want someone to pray with or for you or whatever you may need please send me a message. I will gladly be here to help in any way I can. Of course, I want you to rely on God the most. He will be your greatest asset in your battle; He sure wants you to run into his arms.

Jonathan

Number 1

2008-01-24T00:44:00.000-06:00

Most everyday, I'll take some time during my lunch break to spend some time studying God's word. Normally I don't have a set study routine, I'll open my Bible and see what I end up turning to. I'm a believer in God directing our fingers to the verses he wants us to read. A few days ago I turned to the Old Testament book of Haggai. I'll admit, I rarely turn to a book in the Old Testament (short of Proverbs or Psalms) but Haggai is packed with some great lessons. If you'd like to check it out, you can click here to read it (by default, the NIV and Message translations, the main two that I use, are chosen but you can also read it in other translations).

In this book, the shortest in the O.T., Haggai points out some lessons. The biggest and mainest-most (shouts out to Mr. Kinton, my high school English teacher, for that word!) lesson is what happens when we choose to put other things before God. I love the illustration that Haggai paints by using language about houses. Through Haggai God ask why we take care of our houses but neglect His house. Now, I highly doubt He was just talking about a Dutch Colonial or a log cabin here. What Haggai meant was life in general. If you want to think of our life as a house, we go out of our way to make sure things are dusted, furniture arranged and paintings and pictures hung. We make sure that it's as perfect as we can get it. But then we remember: We forgot to polish the alter at God's house. “Oh, that can wait, I need to clean my kitchen.” Then we forget that we forgot to paint the front door to God's house. “Eh, I'll take care of that later. I have my own door to paint!” God doesn't like when we put other things before Him. God wants to be at the top of our list of priorities at all times.

God makes known all over the Bible that he requires us to place Him above everything else. Think of the first Commandment. God said, “I am the LORD you God (editor: notice the big “G”)... You shall have no other gods (editor: notice the little “g”) before me.” Jesus even said that we have to be prepared to give up everything, including our families, to follow Him should He call us to do so. A good example of that is found in Genesis 22 when Abraham is tested. God commands Abraham to offer his only son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. Abraham totally had God as his number one priority because, even though he didn't want to kill his son, he was willing to do so because it was what God had commanded him to do. If you read the passage in Genesis 22, you can just imagine the fear that Isaac much have experienced when he found out that there was no lamb to be sacrificed, that he was to be the sacrifice. Imagine the tears that much have been shed when Abraham put his son on the alter and was prepared to kill him as a sacrifice to God. However, God intervened. Once He saw that Abraham indeed was willing to do anything to please God, He told Abe not to lay a hand on Isaac. Because of Abraham's willingness to offer up his son as a sacrifice God blessed Abraham and made him the father of many nations.

Have you sat down to plan out your day? What kinds of things do you prioritize for your day? Have you ever placed God at the top of that list, even anywhere on that list? God wants us to make a priority list and always keep Him as number one on the page. That means putting everything, including your friends, family, even your spouse, under His place on your list. Got a job (which I'm sure you do unless you're in school or something like that)? God wants to even be above that. Keep God number one in all things. Pray, spend time with Him through reading His Word daily (it's best to set aside a certain time of day for this). You can also record the game so you can attend worship on Sunday.

Of course, I haven't always kept God number one. There have been many times in my life where I've placed so much before Him. There was a period of over two years where I didn't go to church, didn't pray or read the Bible much at all. I had God low on my priority list; God was just something I kept on a shelf until I needed some sort of blessing or answer to prayer. I thank Him daily that I finally wised up and heeded what He has been telling me for so long. I finally decided to make God number one on my list. I know that I haven't always been perfect in this but I do strive daily to walk closer to Him each day and to make God the priority in my life.

Haggai may be an Old Testament book that few people pay much attention to but it's packed with some great lessons, specifically about setting priorities. No matter what may seem important to us, God commands that we keep Him number one on our list. After all, He is the Creator, the Architect, the Beginning and the End, our Father. As such, God should be number one and we should never forget that we have to be prepared to drop our nets to follow Him if that's what He wants us to do.

Remain faithful to Him and He will remain faithful to you!

Jonathan

Weakness=Strength

2008-01-18T01:50:00.000-06:00

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:12-13 (NIV)

Strength is a word that many people define as something purely physical. We imagine someone like Ahhhnuld with big biceps and pecs. Strength isn't just physical and it's also possibly to be strong when you are weak. I saw your mouth drop. Yes, it is possible to find strength in our weakness. Paul wrote about that in the verses above. Through Christ Paul was able to find strength through much mental and physical weakness (other examples are spread throughout all of his letters to the various churches). No matter how weak Paul was, though, his spirit was made strong in Christ; he was able to press on through this strength. Faith, no matter how small the amount, can enable you to move mountains.

That's more than the entire Power Team can do with all of their muscles combined.

The Power Team are a group of Christian bodybuilders who tour the world showing off great strength of many types. In their shows they break boards, bricks and even tear up New York City phone books (these things are huge – imagine the J.C. Penney catalog on steroids). Not only do they flex their muscles for the audience, they also flex their faith. Throughout their shows, the Power Team spread the good news of Christ, the one who gives them even more important strength to face the things in life that all of the muscles in the world can't help. Even thought they have music physical strength, they are careful to acknowledge the One who gives them spiritual strength and who gives them eternal life! They know that without Christ, despite their muscles, they are weak.

It doesn't matter if you're built, skinny as a noodle or fat, real strength comes from Christ. Even in our weakness we are made strong through Christ. He will enable us to do huge things, move Mt. Everest and He will go along with us all the way up the mountain once it's moved. Think of David, the guy who killed Goliath. Imagine how David felt when he knew he had to face the giant. After all, we're talking about what it would be like if a mouse were to fight a tiger. All David had was some rocks and a sling. And yet, he was given the strength to kill the giant and save his fellow citizens. He had the faith to believe that God would enable him to complete this mission that he had been given. God provided that strength and the rest is history.

Even if you can't break bricks with your bare hands or rip a New York City phone book to shreds, Christ gives you the strength to face anything. If we but trust Him he provides any boost we need to face whatever battles come our way, be they spiritual or whatever. He's always with us even when we feel all alone and He's never going to just leave us there win our weakness. He always provides what we need to overcome all hurdles. However, again, don't forget that strength isn't purely physical. By faith Christ gives us the strength that matters most.

He strengthens our souls.

Jonathan

Love the Unlovable

2008-01-12T01:38:00.000-06:00

Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, doesn't have a swelled head, doesn't force itself on others, isn't always "me first," doesn't fly off the handle, doesn't keep score of the sins of others, doesn't revel when others grovel, takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, puts up with anything, trusts God always, always looks for the best, never looks back, but keeps going to the end. Love never dies. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 (MSG)

I don't care care what ya heard, the word luv, luv is a verb! Lyrics from "Luv Is a Verb" by dc Talk (found on the Free At Last album)

The words above are from Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth... no, not Corinth, Mississippi. Paul was writing a letter to the people in Corinth, Greece. Ok, sorry, just had to throw that little tid-bit in. :-) The above verses are among the most read Bible verses at weddings. How many weddings have you been to where these verses are read by someone? I couldn't tell you an exact number of the ones I've attend where these words have been spoken but the number is a pretty big one. These words describe God's idea of perfect love. That is how love is supposed to be.

I don't believe that these words are only talking about marriage. I believe this perfect love is how all types of love should be. I don't mean simply romantic love but also agape love, a love that imitates God's love for us. Paul simply isn't calling us to be true to our spouse, he's calling us to love all people as Christ loves us. That said, I'll be the first to admit that loving all people in this way is difficult. In fact this was tested well today at work.

As I mentioned in a previous post I was moved to the customer service department. Working with DirecTV techs is a chore in of itself but dealing with angry customers is a totally different ballgame. Today I had a couple of calls in particular that tested my ability to show a Christ-like love. I had a gentleman going off about how he had a $600,000 house and because the tech left his old dish up (the gentleman received a high def upgrade) his house now looked like an "Alabama mobile home." He kept on and on about how he wasn't getting all of his high def channels and how he wasn't going to be happy if he had to watch this weekend's football games in "that crappy standard crap" instead of in high def. It was all I could do to not tell the gentleman that I was playing the world's tiniest violin for him and his misfortune. I will admit that his rantings were enough to almost cause me to break a pencil. But the "highlight" of the day was being cussed out by an old lady (I'm talking 60 or 70 here!) because her technician was not going to arrive at her house until 8:00. After I pointed out to her that her appointment window was between 4:00 and 8:00 she was still yelling, screaming and cussing about how she was sick... and then how she had to meet some friends... and then how she had to be at work and that 8:00 was simply too late. I was never so happy to hear a customer ask to speak with a supervisor until that moment. When she made that request I literally said out loud, "thank God!" (with the phone on mute, of course)

Only by the grace of God was I able to keep my cool (mostly). In fact I even remember saying after I had some time to really let God work on me about the situation that the angry woman probably needed a hug. Seriously, I started to imagine a very lonely woman who doesn't get to see her family much and her TV is her comfort. She was upset because her friend was not there for her. Her anger may have more been a reaction to her sadness. It's from experience that I can attest that a simple act of love, like a hug, can be a miracle. It can erase much pain and loneliness. Love is truly a miracle.

Can you think of someone around you who may be this lady? Is there someone in your work place, school or even your church that seems like they're unlovable? Maybe the reason they give such an impression is because they think themselves to be unlovable. No one loves them for (insert reason here) so they show hate to others because it's all they know. I have a challenge for you (and even myself): Go out of your way to send a kind word to someone who seems to hate the world. Your kind words of love may be the prescription they need to soften their hardened heart. Maybe you can even give them a hug (if you feel comfortable doing so and you're at least fairly certain that they won't try to kill you or have you arrested). We've all seen the video of the guy who went around New York City giving away hugs one day. I love that idea! In fact, I'd love to see a month where we give away at least five hugs a day.
Does that seem unrealistic? In the world's view, it is. Some would even say that I'm totally wrong for saying this but I think if we all hugged each other more instead of giving dirty looks and unkind words that we would be much better off. This planet may be a much better place to live. More peace could be experienced!

Wow, I feel like a hippie now.

While I know that we're not all going to join hands as a planet and sing "He's Got the Whole World In His Hands", there are things that we all can do to spread more love to those around us, especially to those who seem unlovable. If we truly want to answer 1 Corinthians 13, this is what we should strive for everyday.

And remember: Love is much more than spoken or written words; love is a verb!

Jonathan

For God So Love the World...

2008-01-05T00:48:00.000-06:00

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.” John 3:16 (MSG; emphasis mine)

"We're colored people, and they call us the human race... We're colored people, every man, woman, boy, and girl." dc Talk - "Colored People"

At work I was recently moved to the customer service department. Pretty much most of my calls deal with a customer wondering when their technician will arrive but sometimes I do have that irate customer. You know, the customer who will use words that they don't mean. I'll put it this way: I haven't been cussed at this much in a long time. But sometimes I get the customer who seems to whole heartedly mean what he's saying. Last week I had a customer call in who was mad because a technician had not arrived at his house yet. One comment this gentleman made really irked me: “That black girl at the office who does the scheduling lied to me.” It was all I could do to keep from asking him what race had to do with it and I almost wish I had (although, I think there's more than a slim possibility that I would no longer be employed had I done that). After I called the local office to get the matter resolved, I contacted the customer to let him know what we were going to do for him. He quipped: “Did the lying black girl talk to you?” I shook my head in disgust and disbelief.

Sometimes I wonder how far we really have come in terms of race relations.

I heard a story once about a church that was made up entirely of Caucasians. The story goes that the service had just begun and a family arrived just a couple of minutes late, which seems to happen on a regular basis... no big deal. However, this family happened to be African American. The pastor stopped his speaking. There was no sound made in the sanctuary and all eyes were on the family who had just walked in. The pastor's gaze was also upon this family from his place at the pulpit. After some time of silence and nasty looks the family decided to leave. It was at that point that the pastor resumed the service.

Had I been there, I would have walked out with the family.

I'm not sure of the true origin of that story but I've heard many like it through out my life. It's really sad to think that things like this have actually happened and even happen today. After all, God created all of us, not just some of us. Sometimes it seems like we forget that; God made every human being who ever has walked the Earth, is walking the Earth and who will walk the Earth. Be they white, black, brown, yellow, purple with pink polka dots... God created us all.

Why do we act like one race is superior to another?

The truth is, no race is superior to another. Oh sure, we do have differences in culture and things like that but if you really break it down we're all the same. We all have lungs, eyes, a brain and skin. Sometimes this skin is a different shade than another person's but none the less we are all humans and, therefore, creations of God made in His image. And yet, sometimes we don't treat other races like that. We somehow think that we're superior and treat African Americans, Asian Americans and even Native Americans (who, if you really want to break it down, could claim the U.S. because they were here first) like they're dirt. We call them names, beat them up, even kill them simply because they look different. Hate groups like the Klan say that they do what they do to protect the white race and even claim they're doing it for God.

Somehow, I think He might have somewhat of a disagreement with statements like that.

Don't think I'm saying that racism is only committed by white people. I know that racism can be committed by any race. You see examples of it everyday... look at organizations like the Black Panthers. I totally disagree with racism in any form, be it white-on-black, black-on-white, whatever. In God's eyes, we're all the same: Sinners in need of salvation.

In John 3:16, Jesus isn't saying “For God so love white people” or “For God so loved the Germans.” Jesus says “For God so love the world.” This means that all who call Christ their savior are welcome in Heaven regardless of race. As followers of Christ we are commanded to have the same view. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” That doesn't apply just to white people living next door. This applies to people you see everyday, even strangers. This rule excludes no race or gender; we're to love everyone in this way.

Casting Crowns has a great song called “If We Are the Body” in which the writer gives many examples of people being judgmental, hateful and otherwise anything but Christ-like toward those who are seeking Him and who happen to be different from the way they are. In one part of the song, they sing “Jesus paid must too high a price for us to pick and choose who should come.” Everywhere you go you see/hear people referring to this church as a “white church” or that one as a “black church.” Why? What's wrong with diversity? What's wrong with loving all and helping everyone find new life through Christ? It's what we're commanded to do.

I never thought I would quote Rodney King but I'm about to: “Can't we all just get along?”

Don't think that I don't realize that race relations has come a long way since the 1960's. Many churches include members from many different race and cultural backgrounds and there are also many outreach ministries that cross racial lines. All of this is great but we can, and should, do more. Next time you're tempted to laugh at a racist joke (which I have done) or to even make a racially-charged comment (again, guilty) think about the fact that God created all men and all women regardless of their race.

God loves all equally; we should do the same.

Jonathan

Getting Real about Christmas

2007-12-25T02:49:00.000-06:00

Monday night I was wrapping gifts for my nephew and the family of our foster child. During this time I made a discovery: I stink at gift wrapping. The wrapping job isn't the prettiest in the world but at least the boxes are covered and the kids will have a great time opening their gifts. I wasn't able to be with our foster child's family yesterday due to work but I will get to see Jakobe be all smiles when he opens his toys. By the way, I'm sure my sister will just love that these toys make lots of noise!

My nephew is just over a year old so he is too young to fully understand what Christmas is really about but I plan to do my part to teach him as he gets older. But for those of us who are old enough to understand: Do we (society) really understand what Christmas is really about? Recently I saw some stats that crushed, scared, shocked and just plain irked me. Here are the highlights of a study done by the Barna Research Group (thanks to Keith AKA "PapaPreach" for posting this study).

37% of adults in the national survey (88% of whom identified themselves as Christian) said the birth of Jesus is the most important aspect of Christmas.

More than 75% of evangelical Christians placed Jesus' birth as of first importance on Christmas.

Only 32% of those who identified themselves as fundamentalists gave that answer.

Only 29% of Catholics placed Jesus' birth first.

Only 24% of theological liberals said the birth of Christ made Christmas important for them.

44% of the respondents said family time is the most important part of one of the three most sacred days (along with Good Friday and Easter) on the calendar.

"I guess it demonstrates what preachers have been wringing their hands over for some time: Christ has been evacuated from Christmas," said Bishop William Willimon, a theologian, former Duke University chaplain, and now United Methodist Bishop. "It's good to know where we are. Christmas has been a co-opted holiday."

"Americans are more likely to correctly recall the significance of April 15 than they are to connect Christmas with the birth of Jesus. As America becomes increasingly anesthetized to Christian principles and practices, it seems only fitting that we have contracted acute amnesia regarding the spiritual significance of December 25," said pollster George Barna.

The quote above of how we are most likely to know the meaning of April 15th than that of December 25th is what has been ringing in my head. The sad thing is that this study indicates forgetting what Christmas is about is a big problem among Christians! It would appear that the commercialization of Christmas is even affecting us. Jesus and Paul both warned of a time close to Christ's return where even some believers would be deceived. Could this be an indication of these prophecies?

My gut says "yes."

I hate to sound so negative and "repent for the Kingdom is near" on Christmas but I think you will agree that these numbers are outright scary. We've gotten so involved in the sales, the presents and other things that it almost seems like the birth of our Savior is just an afterthought. I get the impression from this study that a lot of Christians will barely acknowledge Jesus today if they acknowledge Him at all. Are churches failing to reinforce what Christmas is really celebrating? In 99.9% of cases the answer is "no."

We are the ones failing Christ.

As I said in my last post, I am not saying that the presents and family gatherings are a bad thing, far from it! However we should not put Jesus in the corner and forget about Him. Make a bold statement about why Christmas is celebrated. Do a short devotion about the birth of Christ before the presents are opened. Bake a birthday cake for Jesus to have another reminder of what we are really celebrating. In short, don't forget that Christ is why Christmas exists in the first place.

I wish this didn't sound like such a rebuke today but this is what has been on my heart and my mind since I read the results of the survey. My prayer is that we all enjoy a great day with our families and friends; above all, my prayer is that we truly have a blessed CHRISTmas!

For anyone reading this who does not know Christ as their savior: What better gift to receive this year than the gift of eternal life! Jesus is ready and willing to embrace you and wash away your sings with his blood. And here's the best part: You can receive this gift right now. It doesn't matter what you have done or how bad you think you are. Jesus loves you dearly and wants you to run to Him! Every person walking the Earth has fallen short and sin daily. Yes, we all do this! If God can forgive my sins (and believe me they are many), He can forgive you as well. All, and I do mean all, of your sins can be covered by the blood of Christ right now. Do you want to receive the greatest Christmas gift you could ever get? Right where you are and just as you are, all you have to do is sincerely pray this prayer:

Dear Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and that I have fallen short daily. I need you, Jesus, to come into my heart and be the boss of my life. Jesus, I need you to be my savior. Please forgive me of my sins and cover all of them with Your blood. Thank you, Lord, for saving me. In your name I pray, amen!

If you just prayed that prayer there is a big celebration happening in Heaven right now! Your name is also now written in the Book of Life which means that you will get to spend eternity with God in Heaven. Praise Him!

Now, here is your next step: Go public! Start looking for a church and let them know that you have just given your life to Christ. Pray for God's guidance in where He wants you to worship and serve Him. Once you find a church home, get plugged in not only with worship but also with Bible studies and other small groups. Then take another next step: Baptism! Baptism is an outward and public expression of your new relationship with Christ. "Relationship" is the keyword there; this is not about religion.

Regardless of whether you've been a Christian for many years or if you're a brand new believer, don't forget to keep Christ in Christmas.

Jonathan

Simply Having a Wonderful CHRISTmas Time

2007-12-16T20:19:00.000-06:00

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Luke 2:8-12 (NIV)

“Jesus is our savior, not Santa.” As shown on the sign of Bethsaida Baptist Church near Philadelphia, MS

Unless you've been under a rock or off of the planet for the last three months, you know that Christmas time is upon us. The typical holiday hubbub is all around us. Stores, commercials and the media give us the same message: “BUY! BUY! BUY!” We see endless reminders of how many shopping days are left until December 25th. I'm not opposed to exchanging gifts. The gifts and other festivities of Christmas are just fine and can even facilitate fellowship and growth as Christians. However, with all of the commercialization of this holiday, sometimes the true meaning of why we celebrate Christmas can be lost. While some Christmas traditions (such as the date of the celebration and the tree) have Pagan roots, today they're all part of the celebration of the birth of Christ.
That's the key: This holiday is about Christ.

Often I've read the words of the story of how Christ came to Earth and tried to imagine what the people who were directly involved with the birth or those who witnessed it must have been thinking when they received the news outlined throughout the gospels. The version of the story that seems to be told the most is found in Luke 1 and 2. In those chapters we read how an angel appeared to Mary, who was a virgin and engaged to a respected religious man Joseph, and told her that she would give birth to a son who was to be called Jesus and who would save the world from its sins. Could you imagine how she must felt? If this were to happen today and an angel appeared to a virgin and told her that the Holy Spirit was going to conceive a child with her I'm sure her reaction would be something like this: “You sure you're at the right house? Right before you came to me I was checking my email and talking to Elizabeth on AIM and now you're tellin' me that I'm going to carry God's child? Wait... did you just tell me that Elizabeth is going to have a kid too and that he was going to prepare the way for my child? Six months along?! She's barren... You so crazy!”

Now imagine how Joseph, her soon to be husband, must have felt. We don't know a whole lot about Joseph from the gospels but theologians say that he was a respected man in the temples, very knowledgeable about the laws of God and theology as they knew it then. He knew the prophecies of the coming messiah. I bet he never in his wildest dreams imagined that he would see the prophecies unfolding right before his eyes! But wait... let's not forget that Joseph and Mary weren't married yet. Imagine his reputation: His reputation would be flushed down the loo when word spread that Mary was pregnant. Along with it goes his respect and standing in the temple. People were going to shun him since it would be perceived that he broke the law by having sex with Mary before they were married. I wasn't there so I don't know for certain but I can imagine all of this crossed his mind... for all of one second. Thankfully Joseph knew that his rep was a small sacrifice for the salvation of the world. Joseph saw the bigger picture! Joseph realized his reputation didn't matter in the long run. His attitude was, “so what? This is part of a plan bigger than me or my reputation.” He realized that he would he the earthly father of the savior of the world. To him that was worth more than anything his reputation or any amount of gold could ever give him.

On the night that Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph were on their way to their hometown to register for the census (back then, they didn't have census takers like Uncle Sam sends out now) and there was no room at the inn. So Mary and Joseph did what they had to do: They sought shelter wherever they could find it. In this case it was a manger, which is pretty much a stable. The savior of the world was born in a cattle stall; no one could have imagined that! However, God knows what He's doing and I feel that the way Jesus' birth happened was intentional. The King of the world rising from such humble beginnings is nothing short of definite proof of God's power and might.

Let's not forget the shepherds and wise men who were led to the savior by a star. The verse at the beginning of the post was the reply the angel who appeared to the shepherds gave when they fell on their faces in fear. Their faith in the angel's instructions led them to the stable via the bright star showing them the way. I can only imagine what it must have been like to see this sight. There, right before them, was the savior, the Christ! The very son of God was before them. Imagine the presence of the Holy Spirit they must have felt. It was truly a blessed occasion and I dare say the greatest in the history of the world (other than the creation).

Those events described above are what we are celebrating during this time of year. Yes I enjoy the parades, food, presents and the other activities associated with how we celebrate Christmas. Quite honestly, my favorite part of the entire holiday is the Christmas Eve worship service at my church. There's just something about observing the Lord's Supper and beginning Christmas with fellow parts of the Body of Christ that brings a lot more meaning to the holiday. As we light candles and sing Silent Night at midnight, we are reminded even more of what we really are celebrating on Christmas day. The celebration is all about the birth of a baby boy who came to the world to die. The Son of God willingly born as a human in very humble beginnings and willingly sacrificing Himself for us: That is what we celebrate.

I hope you enjoy the food, time with family and even the presents that you will enjoy this Christmas. I know I will enjoy all of that myself. However, don't lose sight of what this blessed day is truly about.

This saying is so cliché but also very true: Jesus is the reason for the season.

Jonathan

We Are Now on Myspace

2007-12-10T19:09:00.000-06:00

Hello! Just wanted to let you know that Blog4God now has an official page on Myspace. If you'd like to add it, click on the link on the right side bar or just click here. :-)

Jonathan

Guilty as Charged

2007-12-10T09:16:00.000-06:00

“...anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.” - Yoda

Yesterday I sat in church at First Presbyterian in P-town and I came to realize something. Honestly, it wasn't the pastor's message that got me the most. What really stuck out to me was contained in the church bulletin. As part of our worship service we do a confession of faith using the Heidelberg Catechism. Yesterday the questions dealt with the 6th commandment: “You shall not murder.” The questions and responses are as follows:

Q. 105: What is God's will for you in the sixth commandment?
Response: I am not to belittle, insult, hate or kill my neighbor - not by my thoughts, my words, my look or gesture, and certainly not by actual deeds – and I am not to be party to this in others; rather, I am to put away all desire for revenge. I am not to harm or recklessly endanger myself either. Prevention of murder is also why government is armed with the sword.

Q. 106: Does this commandment refer only to killing?
Response: By forbidding murder God teaches us that He hates the root of murder: envy, hatred, anger, vindictiveness. In God's sight all such are murder.

Q. 107: Is it enough then that we do not kill our neighbor in any such way?
Response: No. By condemning envy, hatred and anger, God tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves, to be patient, peace-loving, gentle, merciful, and friendly to them, to protect them from harm as much as we can, and to do good even to our enemies.

As I sat there and thought about those words, it hit me: While I have never (nor would I ever) kill anyone, I am a murderer. We all are murderers, even if we've never pulled a trigger or cut someone with a knife. Words, emotions and feelings are enough to murder someone in God's eyes. Jesus said in the Beatitudes that anger can bring about the same judgment as murder (Matthew 5:21-26)! It's kind of different when you think of it like that... anger can lead to hate and, as you can see in the above reference in the Heidelberg Catechism, hate is the root of murder.

Think for a moment about situations you're in daily where all of this can apply. Let's say you're at school and someone calls your mom a slut. We all know what often comes next: You turn around, spout some words back and allow your anger to get the best of you. Next thing you know, you and this other guy are going back and forth with insults and playing the “you hurt me so I'm going to hurt you back” game. This leads to hate. You spouting back insults and hurtful words are acts of revenge and revenge can overtake your life.

Guess what: You've committed murder.

Want more?

Have you ever made any kind of racist comment or even had a racist thought? If we're honest with ourselves, we've all done this. Let's say you see an African-American in the mall wearing baggy pants, an over sized baseball jersey and a hat cocked to the side. He's just walkin' the mall, minding his own business and maybe looking for some new gear at Hibbit's. You look at him and think to yourself “look at that...” well I'm sure you know where I'm going with that. But you see him and think or say these things and just assume he's a thug... but what if he's not? One thing is for sure about him: He's a fellow human being, just as much God's creation as you or I. Quite possibly, he's a brother in Christ, maybe he even is involved in youth ministry at his church.

And you murdered him.

Road rage; I've dealt with this through out my driving years. I used to be really bad about it. I would actually yell at the other cars and drivers! I would curse and say all kinds of things that I shouldn't have said. I also was known to lay down on the horn and give the finger on the regular. Feeling this anger, this hatred toward another person that I don't even know and for what? All of that just because someone was driving slowly, cut me off or forgot to use their turn signal. I didn't care about the fact that the person behind that wheel was just that, a person. I would spout off profanity, names and maybe flip them the bird.

I murdered them in my truck.

Murder isn't just ending someone's life. Anger, hate malice, revenge... according to God's word those are murderous acts too. Yesterday, sitting in that pew at First Pres, I was tried and convicted of murder. I had never thought of murder in that context, nor do I know many people who say that they have. It gave me a lot to think about. I've said and done many things that, using the above, are acts of murder. Bad words and even negative thoughts about someone... murder. I am guilty of murder! It feels way different when you think of it like that.

Who have you murdered recently? Can you think of anyone that you need to go to and ask for forgiveness for your bad words and even bad thoughts? Through the blood of Jesus, this too can be forgiven. I thank Him for His grace, for me being forgiven and being given the grace to forgive those who have said and done things to hurt me. People hurt me in some way or another almost daily. I forgive them all.

It is only through God's grace that I am redeemed of hate; now that I know more about what murder can be I will work harder to watch my tongue, thoughts and actions.

To anyone who's reading this that I've said and done things to cause hurt to: I can't apologize enough. I pray that you will be able to forgive me for my murderous acts, that God will grant you the grace to freely give this forgiveness not only to me but to anyone else who has done or said anything to bring heartache and hurt into your life. Whether it was a long time ago or this week, I humbly and publicly ask for your forgiveness.

Jonathan

The Golden Compass

2007-12-06T00:57:00.000-06:00

(I realize that part of what God has called me to do is write about Him and His Word in ways that will make Him and the Word come alive in real and relevant ways. While I plan to continue that mission, I also just have to get some things off my chest sometimes. Occasionally you'll see some commentary about my views on current events that affect Christians and the world at large. I appreciate you indulging me both now and sometimes in the future.--Jonathan)

I believe that the Bible is the true and indisputable word of God. I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and rose from the dead three days later to overcome death so that all who believe in Him may have their sins forgiven and enjoy everlasting life in Heaven. But there are other things that I believe in too: I believe that the United States is a great country and we are truly blessed that we live in a country of freedom. We should give praise to God that the U.S. is a country where everyone can worship open and freely however they wish. This country is also blessed that we are free to express ourselves creatively and without fear of being burned at the stake by those who disagree with us, be it the government, a person or a group of people.

I believe in the U.S. Constitution and especially the First Amendment (which also gives me the right to type these words). I do not believe in censorship, regardless of whether or not I agree with what is being said.

Some people go to great lengths to silence those they disagree with. While I understand that they may not support a viewpoint expressed by a person, I believe that they should have the right to say it, write it or even shout it from the top of the Empire State Building. Even if I don't agree with the message that someone wants to broadcast to the world I will gladly support their right to say it, just as much as I would hope they would support mine. Admittedly I find this task difficult sometimes but like it or not an atheist has just as much right to express his/her view as I do to express my faith.

The upcoming movie based on the book entitled The Golden Compass has caused quite a stink. All over Myspace and Facebook we see these bulletins and group invites to join groups to boycott the movie. In the media we (somewhat) hear people on a tirade about the movie and the book series. Just in case you're not up on what's going on, The Golden Compass is the first in a three part book series. In the third book, the kids introduced in the first book kill God so that they can do anything they want without fear of punishment.

Obviously I don't like that message. I don't particularly like books, words or actions that mock God. However, given that I believe in freedom of speech: Who am I to tell the author, reputed atheist Paul Pullman, that he can't write his books and express his views just because I don't agree with them? Any attempt to silence him just because we may not agree with his views would make us no better than the radicals who say “accept my faith or I will kill you.” We can't force our beliefs on someone. Yes, we should spread the message of Christ and hope that it will at the very least plant a seed that will grow into a full-fledged faith. We shouldn't tell someone “believe what I believe or you're scum.”

Many Christian parents and groups have been very critical of the movie and the books, saying that the movie shouldn't be shown in theaters and that the books should be pulled from shelves. This is nothing short of censorship, which goes against everything that the United States was founded on. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin the rest of our founding fathers would be ashamed of such behavior if they were still still with us on Earth.

To the parents (and anyone else who doesn't like the books or the movie), I have a simple message: If you don't want your kids reading the books, don't buy them for them. If you really don't want your kids to see the movie then don't allow them to go. While this may seem to contradict my view on censorship, being a parent and trying to steer your kids in the right direction is totally different. It is your responsibility to raise your children, it is not up to the rest of the world.

Man/woman up and be a real parent.

I will not be seeing the movie, nor will I read any of the books. I don't support such messages and I never will. However, for me to tell someone that they can't express their views simply because I don't agree with them is arrogant and just plain wrong. As Christians, we know the truth: We know that no one, be they kids or otherwise, can ever kill God. We already know how the story unfolded and how it will unfold at the time of Christ's return. We've already won!

Why are we acting threatened by this when we have no reason to be?

Think about it.

Jonathan

Modern Day Lepers

2007-12-01T00:01:00.001-06:00

We've all seen them. People that we think are worthless, bums, people who don't care about anything. Maybe you refer to him as a slacker, a shiftless and goalless man who's just waiting to die. The person who seems content to destroy himself with drugs and alcohol. The person whom nobody wants to talk to because they never have anything positive to say. We always tend to run away from these people. We write them off as lost causes, a waste of our time. As Christians, we're called to love others as Christ loves us, and yet we turn our backs on the “dregs of society.” I know that we've all done this.

I'm just as guilty.

The more I think about it, the more I keep thinking of all of the examples we have throughout the Gospels in which Jesus loved those who were “unclean” or who were otherwise thought of as being beneath him. Matthew 8 is full of Jesus' healing miracles, including a man He healed who had leprosy. I don't know if you're aware but lepers were pretty much shunned back then. Leprosy is a disease that was looked at as a curse or a punishment for sins. The disease affects the skin mainly. If left untreated it can cause permanent loss of sensation, blindness and loss of muscle function in the hands and feet. The reason that people considered lepers unclean was because of a type of leprosy that causes pretty bad looking skin lesions. To put put it bluntly: This disease scared people to death. They felt that those with this horrible disease were unclean and could contaminate anyone or anything they touched. They were often kicked out of their cities or made to remain in their homes. And yet, Jesus healed the man and even told him to present himself to the priest. I can just imagine the amazement on that priest's face when he saw that this “unclean” man, a person looked down upon and shunned, had been healed.

I often wonder what this world would be like if we showed the same love to today's “lepers.” What I mean by that is people whom others just don't believe in. One of the biggest examples of this is how we treat teenagers who seem to just not care. I know of one young man in particular (I'm withholding his name) who has caught a bad break. From what I know of him, his parents didn't want him, never even planned to have him. They don't care about him and hardly even acknowledge his existence. In school, he doesn't do well at all. He's been arrested twice for DUI... at the age of 16. This young man has never had any positive role models in his life and thus has turned to drugs and alcohol to try and escape. He feels like there are no people in this world who care about him so he doesn't care about himself. I can sense his thoughts: “Why should I care about myself if no one else does?” And so there he sits: Sleeping in class because he doesn't care about his success. He does crazy things to draw attention to himself and, again, has turned to drugs and alcohol to numb the pain.

He's slowly killing himself and it breaks my heart.

Almost everyone at his school have written him off, including a good many of the students, several teachers and even the principal. They simply see him as a lost cause, rather than a scared child who's crying out for help. What he needs is someone to let him know that people do care about him, they do want him to succeed and they do want to help him. Thankfully a seed has been planted about Christ and he's starting to ask questions and get a bit more interested in hearing the Good News. When I heard his story my heart ached for him and I felt compelled to pray for him right then and there (I hope you will remember him in your prayers as well).

To play off of a Beatles song: All he needs is love.

I have a challenge for you: Think of people around you who are like this boy. People at your school, work, even in your church. Who have you given up on because they seem like a lost cause? Is there anything you can do to reach out to these people? Remember, a book should never be judged by its cover. Sometimes all we need is to hear that someone cares enough to take the time to give an encouraging word, a hug or even to pray for them. I know that one of my favorite things in the world is a hug and I think this world would be better off if we hugged more and showed each other that we care. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:13, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Also, Jesus commands of us in Matthew 19: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

These “lost causes” and modern day lepers are our neighbors.

We wouldn't want to be looked down upon, given up on, thought of as a lost cause or ignored. Why do we do it to other people? God never thinks that someone is a lost cause and will gladly accept those into His arms who call upon the name of Jesus to save them from their sins. Why are we so quick to write someone off when God never does? He didn't write us off before we came to know Him. That right there tells me that we shouldn't do that and that we should be quick to love and slow to shun if we truly want to imitate Christ.

Find a leper and heal them today.

Jonathan

Serve How You're Wired!

2007-11-26T16:32:00.000-06:00

You are Christ's body—that's who you are! 1 Corinthians 11:27 (MSG)

God has gifted us with many abilities, gifts (spiritual and otherwise) and He gave us a job (or even jobs) to carry out using those gifts. Maybe you were wired to have an extraordinary amount of compassion for certain types of people (the sick, disabled, elderly, children, etc) or maybe you get joy out of entertaining those around you. Maybe you were wired for to be a full time minister while maybe you're just wired to sing in the choir. Regardless, you can, and should, serve God using these gifts and abilities that He has wired you with.

What do you really, really, really enjoy?
What are some things that you truly enjoy? Do you really enjoy ministering to youth, greeting people or maybe even cleaning the church? Do you have a passion for the needy, single mothers or shut-ins? Don't think that this can only apply to “traditional” methods of ministry, however. Maybe you're gifted with artistic abilities and therefore could assist with a mural for the kids area. Are you good with a computer programs like Photoshop or Quark? Here's a way you can tell how to use the gifts that God has given you: http://www.elca.org/evangelism/assessments/spiritgifts.html That, my friend, is a spiritual gifts assessment that can help guide you to your area of ministry and help you to realize how God has wired you. A note: Keep in mind that the results can be totally different if you take the test, say, six months from now. Sometimes, gifts are more opened at times than others and vice-versa. For example: You may score highest in encouragement today but higher in prophecy a year from now. Generally a test such as this is a good starting point in helping you discern what God is calling you to do. I encourage you to print out the results and talk with your pastor or small group leader about it. Your church just might have a need for someone with the gifts you possess.

Achieve much with very little.
Who says you have to have a lot to accomplish a lot? Think of all the people in the Bible who had very little, and yet, accomplished huge things. David had a rock and a sling-shot. Paul had his pen and was even imprisoned and chained. Don't let an opinion that you don't have much to offer stop you from serving God! It doesn't matter how much or how little you have (that could apply to spiritual gifts, time, anything really), you can and should serve God in the ways that He's equipped you! If you have an hour per week that you can give to helping with a ministry for the homeless, give it. If you can make a meal for someone who can't leave their house much, do it. Just imagine the impact you could have on someone's life with that hour or meal or whatever that you give. No service to God is insignificant and can have great impact. And speaking of that:

No service is insignificant.
Do you ever stop to think of all the behind the scenes people who serve God? Usually when we think of ministries we think of pastors, Sunday school teachers, youth ministers, singers, instrumentalists, etc. How about some of the “unsung heroes” of ministry: The people who do administrative duties (typing, copying, etc.), those that make coffee and cookies for a Deacon's meeting. The people who run sound equipment and record services for a podcast or a tape of the message for those unable to attend services. Even those who clean the building and maintain the grounds are vital to the mission of the church. They help to facilitate worship, encourage fellowship and ensure that the behind the scenes needs of the church are met. No role, however small it may seem, is insignificant and can have a huge impact.

Sum.
It doesn't matter how little you have or how small your role seems. No service done for the Lord is meaningless. He granted us with abilities and gifts in order to carry out the work He wants us to do and we are called to use those gifts and abilities to glorify Him. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, “(t)here are different kinds of gifts , but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.” Later in the chapter in verses 12 and 13 he quips “(t)he body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.” Think of the body of Christ in terms of the human body for a second: If the liver or kidneys shut down, the whole body suffers. Each part has a role in keeping the rest of the body functioning and moving. The same can be said when it comes to serving: We're all a part of a bigger body of believers (think globally as well as locally!) and we all must be performing our function in order for the body to thrive. God wires us all with at least one function within the body.

What's yours?

Jonathan

Intro

2007-11-25T20:55:00.001-06:00

Hi! As you may have noticed from my profile, my name is Jonathan and this is where I strive to present Jesus and the Bible as a whole to you in real and relatable ways.

This is a ministry that I've been led to start but I'm also going to pursue other things. I plan to finish my undergrad starting next fall and then it'll be off to seminary! Three years ago I would have thought I was crazy for saying something like that but when God wants you to do something He's going to make it happen. :-)

I spent seven years in radio, mostly as a night show host on a top 40 station. I left that job a couple of months due to some mental health issues I had developed and I firmly believe it was God's way of telling me to "wake up" because he had something else he wanted me to do.

I'm far from being perfect, nor will I claim to be. If you can imagine a sin, I've probably done it. Well, maybe not murder, otherwise I'd be coming to you live from the state pen. ;-) But as for anything else, yep I've pretty much done all of that. Thank God that Jesus saved me!

My mission, and I have chosen to accept it, is to bring you the gospel using this new media form. Blogging presents a huge opportunity for ministry and I'm going to embrace it. I also aspire to serve as a youth and/or media minister for a church someday and I believe I can incorporate this into that mission as well.

The blogs after this are some that I've posted on my Myspace page, where all of this began. I decided to set up a seperate website in hopes of reaching even more people. If you do read this and find it enjoyable, I hope that you will subscribe and leave comments. I'd love to know that at least one or two people read this thing! :-p

Thanks for your time and I pray that God blesses you through these writings.

In Him,
Jonathan

Worship How You're Wired! (Revised)

2007-11-25T20:53:00.000-06:00

(this is the first in a two-possibly three-part "series" about how God wired us)

God wired us all differently. Each connection has a purpose, no matter how insignificant it may seem. This can apply to worship. Now, worship can take on many forms but for the purpose of this writing, we'll be talking specifically about worship in the church setting. Some of us were wired to worship in a traditional, "quiet" type of church. Some were wired to worship in a church that plays contemporary music, uses contemporary methods of teaching/preaching and where the people raise their hands high. Others were wired to worship in country churches with the whole "fire and brimstone" thing going on. There's nothing wrong with any of these methods/styles of worship; we were all wired in specific ways and that also includes worship! Here are some points to ponder:

You were uniquely created.
While I have no doubt that it's true that God made us all in His image, He also gave us traits, personalities and "quirks" that are different from everyone else. Sometimes it's almost funny that we're the same, and yet so different from each other! God knew how we would turn out, He knew all of the decisions we would make and what kind of lives we would lead before we were even a gleam in the eyes of our parents. Psalm 139 tells us this very plainly that God made us all and that every day of our lives, every action and even every breath was ordained. God also knew what kind of personalities we would have because He programmed us with these personalities for certain reasons. As I said above, we all have a mission to carry out and how we're wired internally helps to define what that mission is. Worship is no different. Our personalities very often, have great impact on how we worship. Oh sure, maybe you grew up Baptist but maybe you're more comfortable at Methodist church. You have to go where God wants you and where you fit. Which brings me to my next point...

One size doesn't fit all!
You know those toys that young children have where they have to put the differently shaped blocks into the hole with the same shape? Ever try putting the triangle into the square hole? How about the round one into the triangle shaped one? The star into the round hole? If the shape isn't made for the hole it simply isn't going to fit. From my personal experience, I've been in churches where I just didn't fit when I boiled it all down. I would try to make it work but it just wasn't going to no matter what. I felt as if I was a square peg trying to fit into a round hole (BTW, this has happened several times in my life, as I'm sure others can say). I honestly felt as if my worship was in vain. Remember, worship is more than just sitting in the pew, singing some songs and hearing the message from the pastor. You have to worship with your heart. Even if you've been going to the same church all of your life, do you ever feel that you don't belong there, that you don't fit? That very well could be God telling you that He has somewhere else He wants you to go and has another mission for you to complete at that different place. Keep in mind that not all of God's messages are obvious shoves; sometimes God's messages to us are nudges. If you feel that you're being nudged out of the pew, pray. Ask God to lead you to where He wants you and search you so that you can see more for yourself how you're wired. Do this so you can make like Matthew West in "Next Thing You Know" and "find your place in the history of grace!"

It's a matter of the heart.
Let's boil it down: Christians believe that there is a God who created the universe and everything in it (including us). We believe that He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to be the perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins and that all who acknowledge that they need salvation through Christ will not perish but have eternal life in Heaven. Those are the most core beliefs of the Christian faith (note that I did not use the word "religion"). However, there have always been those within the body of Christ who don't believe something about a verse that another group believes. That's how we got all the denominations that we have today (Baptists, Presbyterians and the like). Ultimately, does it matter if we call ourselves Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, etc. as long as we are Christians? As I said, God wired us all differently and thus it affects in what type of church we worship in. Ultimately all that matters is that we are Christians and that we worship and serve God with our hearts. As long as your heart is in the right place, it doesn't matter if you're a member of an Assemblies of God congregation or a Southern Baptist church. As long as you have Christ's saving grace then the rest is just the "side dish" next to the "meat."

Sum.
I've heard it many times from many people: "Get in where you fit in!" It may take several times, several visits and attempts to find the church you belong in but you will find it. God will lead you and I can promise that the place you're meant to be will be the place where you fit perfectly into your place in the body of Christ. I've been to many churches of various denominations and knew that I just didn't fit there because I just wasn't wired in that way. But thankfully, I've found some churches where I have fit and I knew that, at least for that time, it was where God wanted me. Currently I go to my "home church," which is First Presbyterian in Philadelphia, MS. It's where I grew up but I can't help but think that I'm not going to be there forever but I do know that it's where I'm supposed to be for right now. If that changes, God will let me know. He'll also make sure to send me to a place where I truly fit. He will do that for you too.

"Get in where you fit in!"

Jonathan

Christians Cause Atheism?

2007-11-25T20:39:00.000-06:00

"The Greatest single cause of Atheism today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny him by their lifestyles. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable" - Brennan Manning

The first time I ever heard this quote was when I was in high school. I had bought dc Talk's "Jesus Freak" album (still one of my favorite all time CDs) and even then it made me think. Now, I'm not out to question anyone's heart or salvation... that's not my place nor do I want it to be. But, what are we showing the world in our everyday lives? Are we being a real witness to the world, showing off the true joy we have in Christ? Are we "talking the talk" and "walking the walk?"

I'm not perfect. I've had my moments where I'd go get drunk off my keister and Lord knows what else and the next day I'd be talking about Jesus to someone. I can even remember having a discussion of the Bible when I was somewhat drunk! I can only imagine what the person on the other end of the conversation might have thought if they knew I had been drinking a good bit that night.

Mr. Manning's quote should make us all think. I've encountered lots of people in life who would go out on a Saturday night and do all kinds of things (drinking, drugs, you name it) and on Sunday morning be in church in their best and singing hymns. This simply is not the way it should be! We should be reflecting the true change that comes with having a relationship with Christ and not thinking that we have a license to sin. That's not what salvation is all about. It's about knowing that, yes, our sins are forgiven but also that we strive to walk closer with Him everyday and that should affect every single part of our lives.

It's no wonder why so people think the church is a joke... they see us as a bunch of hypocrits. It's because we are to some degree or another.

But don't fret, not all is lost. As I've said, I'm not perfect and I don't know anyone besides Christ who is or was. Daily I find areas in my life that I need to work on. I once heard a sermon about dangerous prayers and one of them was when you ask God to search you, you're asking for it because He'll show you things about yourself that maybe you didn't even realize were there. Will you be bold and ask God to search you? Ask Him to show you what (and even who) He wants you to keep in your life and to show you what (and again who) He wants you to be rid of. It's not easy. Some of the things He reveals will not be fun to deal with but as long as we realize that He's doing it for our own good then that's all that should matter.

While Mr. Manning does make a point in how the world sometimes views Christians, it can be changed. We have to be the ones to do it. We have to change minds and reveal Christ's love in everything we think, say and do. Everyday I pray that I'll be a greater witness in all of those than I was the day before.

Be bold. Ask God to search you. I can promise you that your life will never be the same again and it may even help you get some answers to questions you may have about yourself.

It's happening to me now.

Jonathan

Pick Your Jesus

2007-11-25T20:37:00.000-06:00

"'Cause my Jesus bled and died for my sins; He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars." - Todd Agnew (title: My Jesus)

(begin cheesey game show host voice) Gooooood evening and welcome to "Pick Your Jesus!" Tonight we have two, yes two, choices for you! Herrrrre they are! All you have to tell me which Jesus you'd rather have as your Lord.

1: Jesus number one is dressed in all in white, has perfect brown hair, blue eyes and a great complexion. You would think this guy just came from the spa! He's everything the American dream says we should look like. Oh yeah, He's also looking like this while nailed to a cross dying for our sins. But He's got such perfect hair and skin as He's suffering!

2: The second Jesus is one that the Bible tells us was betrayed by Judas and handed over to authorities as a blasphamer. It tells us that this Jesus had a fake trial and was flogged, beaten, spat upon, made to carry the cross He would be nailed to through the streets, all the while bleeding and suffering from the pain inflicted from the rods and other implements of physical harm that were used to tear his skin and expose His bones. And all of this before a single nail had even pierced His skin. Finally nails are driven into His hands and feet, causing even more pain. Nerves, tendons and ligaments being ripped. And then the agony of hanging on the cross for hourse. Yes, hours. Finally, having endured all of this for as long as His human form could handle it, He died. Of course, three days later He overcame death and became the perfect sacrifice for our sins. But as He was being beaten and as He hung on the cross, I can promise you His hair was hardly perfect, His skin had been torn and he was dirty. Oh yeah... historically speaking, Jesus was most likely not a white man.

The question: Would you rather serve, worship and call your Lord the Jesus that we are all too often spoon fed or would you rather choose the Jesus that the Word tells us died for our sins because He loved us so much?

In other words: Do you want to choose the real Jesus?

We've all heard about it and seen it in books and even some works of art: The Jesus who's white and looks so perfectly put together as He dies for us. This simply isn't the way it is. We're led to beleive sometimes that Jesus was just some man who went around performing miracles for show. NO!

The Jesus that I choose to serve, yes, did perform many miracles. He healed many peoples' sicknesses and even brought a man back from the dead as a testiment of His power. But this man also loved everyone. He loved a prostitute who literally washed His feet with her hair. He had people in His inner circle who most would consider beneath Him, the dregs of society. But, He chose to love them and use them anyway!

I've talked about it before but I absolutely love Todd Agnew's song "My Jesus." The thing I really like about Todd, and specifically this song, is that he tells it like it is. He paints the picture of Jesus as He really was while sacrificing Himself for us. He tells us that this is the Jesus we should serve, not the romanticized and Americanized Jesus! Hopefully you've heard a good chunk of Todd's song by now and I hope it's given you the following to ponder: "Which Jesus do I want to serve?"

I can't post the song here so here are the lyrics from christianlyricsonline.com.

Which Jesus do you follow?
Which Jesus do you serve?
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ
Then why do you look so much like the world?

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be?

Blessed are the poor in spirit
Or do we pray to be blessed with the wealth of this land
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand

Cause my Jesus bled and died for my sins
He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the rich
So which one do you want to be?

Who is this that you follow
This picture of the American dream
If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side or fall down and worship at His holy feet

Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion
Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins
But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part
Sometimes I doubt we'd recognize Him

Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and the least of these
He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable
So which one do you want to be?

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet would stain the carpet
But He reaches for the hurting and despised the proud
I think He'd prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd
And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud

I want to be like my Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!

Not a posterchild for American prosperity, but like my Jesus
You see I'm tired of living for success and popularity
I want to be like my Jesus but I'm not sure what that means to be like You Jesus
Cause You said to live like You, love like You but then You died for me
Can I be like You Jesus?
I want to be like my Jesus

Striving To Be the Proverbs 31 Woman (What Men Should Be Looking For)

2007-11-25T20:35:00.000-06:00

"Oh I wonder what God was thinking,when he created you. I wonder if He knew everything I would need, because he made all my dreams come true. When God made you, He must have been thinking about me." Newsong feat. Natalie Grant (title: "When God Made You")

Fellas, I know we all say that we're looking for the perfect woman to spend our lives with (for those of us who want to settle down anyway). What qualities do you look for? A pretty face? The ability to cook? Big boobs? I've heard it all as far as what we say define the perfect woman. As with all things in life, though, God's Word answers the questions for us. Proverbs 31 starting at verse 10 says:

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. 11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. 12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. 13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. 14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. 15 She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. 16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. 17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. 18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. 19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. 20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. 21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. 22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. 23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. 24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. 25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. 26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. 27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 29 "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. 31 Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. (Source: NIV.org)

Oh, if I had only read this and seriously considered it a long time ago!

Let's be realisitic about the world today: Most women today aren't going to go around buying fields, planing vineyards, giving portions of food to their servantgirls (actually, I doubt they'd have any servantgirls to begin with) and most likely not picking out fine wool and flax. Hopefully you see the illustrations that can be applied to today's life: Stewardship. Taking care of her family. Submitting to her husband (note: by that I do not mean being his slave). Compassion. Reflecting the glory of Christ and doing her part to streer her family in the way that God has taught.

These are the qualities that a Godly woman should have. A woman who has an active and growing relationship with Christ and striving daily to be the woman that God has called her to be is exactly what we, guys, should be looking for. While there no such thing as a "perfect" woman (or a perfect anyone for that matter), there are certain qualities, such as the above, that we should be looking for. After reading that and really pondering it, I realized that this is what I should be looking for! We all have a list, be it mental or actually written out, of things we look for in a mate. As Christian men, Proverbs 31 should be our list.

As I said above, submitting to your husband does not mean being his slave... by no means would I ever say that! However, it does mean that you recognize him as the head of your household. Are you capable? Can you live up to the qualties listed in Proverbs 31 (or even some of them, any of them)?

Men: Are you willing to put aside desires of the flesh and look for these qualities in a future wife? Do you know anyone in your life now, maybe someone who's just entered it or one that you've known for a long time, who sounds like the woman above?

Think about it.

God made Eve for Adam because he recognized that man should not be alone. I believe that He's made someone for everyone. These qualities and "just knowing" will let you know that you're on to something good. Believe me when I say that God will let you know.

Trust me.

Jonathan

Lessons Learned About Sexual Purity from Porn

2007-11-25T20:27:00.000-06:00

Yes, you've read that title correctly. I've learned lessons about sexual purity through pornographic movies. Well, one in particular anyway. This might sound like a strange thing to say but just follow me here.

I was about 21 and I was with the woman I was convinced that I would spend the rest of my life with. I'll withhold her name but I can say that we were very much into sex by this junction in our relationship. Seriously, it was the absolute center of our lives to the point where we had to have sex (or a sexually-related activity as you'll see in a moment) each and every time we'd be together. We even had sex before and after church on more than one Sunday. On one particular night we were lying on her couch after her parents went to bed and we were watching "Skinamax." By the way, let me just say right now: I don't know a single person who hasn't done this at least once so don't be so shocked that I'm talking about this (about 95% of the population over 16 knows what I'm talking about anyway!).

Back to the steamy action: I remember a particular scene where the woman was trying to get the man to delay the "completion of his task" by telling him to wait. "Wait. It's better if you wait" was what she said. Obviously I wasn't thinking of that as a commentary on sexual purity at that particular moment but it did cross my mind in a conversation I had a while back. My friend and I were discussing our past experiences and opinions about matters of sex and we got on the topic of pornography. All of a sudden the above quote entered my mind. "Wait. It's better if you wait." I realized right then that that is actually a great lesson in sexual purity.

Granted, it wasn't intended as such but it inspired me nonetheless.

"Wait, it's better if you wait". God said this in Exodus 22, verses 16 and 17 that "if a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife. If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins." In other words if a man were to seduce a virgin he would then have to marry the woman but only if the father allowed the marriage. It would be better to wait here, if for no other reason, than for a man to marry someone that he may not really want to marry and same for the woman! Note also that it says that this is only if she isn't engaged; imagine what would happen to the man if she were engaged! If you check out Deuteronomy 22:13-21 you'll see that premarital sex was viewed as truly disgraceful and evil. Whoa!

What happened to us?!

Many Bible scholars define sexual immorality basically as sex before marriage. Paul talks about sexual immorality through out many of his letters to the churches. Here are just a couple: In 1 Corinthians 6:16-18 Paul writes, "Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body." Basically what this is saying is that when two people have sexual intercourse they become one and Paul refers to Genesis where God said "the two will become one flesh." What this means is that sex is meant to be an act of love between a man and his wife, a way for them to become one. He also is saying that anyone who commits a sexual sin not only sins against God but also sins against his own body. To me it sure feels different when it's put into that context!

Here's another: 1 Corinthians 7:8-9 says, "Now I say to those who aren't married and to widows it's better to stay unmarried, just as I am. But if they can't control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It's better to marry than to burn with lust." The simple interpretation is this: If you want to have sex, get married! To have sex outside of a marriage is to be in sin and that is a way down a path of destruction in a lot of ways.

What type of path of destruction are we talking about here? Not only will it play havoc on you spiritually, it can also play havoc on you physically. Think about all of the sexual transmitted diseases that are out there, not to mention the huge risk of pregnancy that you encounter. You might say "hey man, she can go on birth control and I'll always use a condom." Condoms often break and birth control can fail. Let's pretend for a moment that you sleep with a girl who tells you that she's on birth control so you don't use a condom. What if it fails and she ends up pregnant? Like Coolio said, "One night of pleasure and nine months of pain."

Pastor Ray Harris of The Pointe Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana gave a great illustration of sexual purity in a series called "Lost: Sexual Values." He went out into the audience and started passing out bottle of Fiji Water (supposedly the purist bottled water ever… but I digress) to random people. When he got to the last one he stopped, opened the bottle, spit in it and then handed it to the shocked member of the congregation. Ray went on to say that marriage is like that bottle of water: When you buy the water at the store you expect it to be pure and free of contamination, however if you were to discover that the bottle had been opened and spit in you might not want it anymore. He then wondered why we couldn't see marriage in the same way. I do too.

Someone once told me that when you have sexual intercourse with someone a part of each transfers to the other and stays with them forever. In other words, anytime you have sex with someone you're not only sleeping with that person but you're also sleeping with a piece of everyone that he/she has ever sex with. Now think about this: What if one of those pieces had a S.T.D.?

As for me, I know I've struggled with this through my adult life. I lost my virginity when I was 18 on a one night stand. That right there was a huge mistake but I've also slept with other women. I've been fortunate that I still have my health and that I haven't conceived any children but it really feels bad to know that I won't be able to completely give myself to my wife. By saying that, I mean that God intended for us to go out, unite with our wife and give ourselves completely to her, including our virginity (and she to her husband). I won't be able to do that and I really hate that. While I can't change the fact that I'm not a virgin no matter how badly I may want to, I have made a pact with God and my future bride (maybe more mentally than in person at this point) that I will not have sex again until I'm married.

Seems far fetched, doesn't it? The media constantly bombards us with messages that if we're not having sex that we're somehow abnormal. So-called therapists have done studies where they say that men and women should have sex outside of marriage to see if they're "compatible" and have what it takes to please the partner.

As Christians we should believe that God will provide that. After all, God gave us sex. Sex itself isn't bad, it isn't dirty and it can be an act of love! However, God also gave us rules and the world tells us to forget the rules. "Oh, that's old fashioned! Get with the times, free love man!" Ok, maybe not in that vernacular but that's definitely the message we receive daily. The Bible says otherwise and as Christians we should yield to that…period.

Sex outside of marriage is a sin. God set up rules for us to follow when it comes to sex and as sinners we fall short of even that. Part of being a Christian is repenting of our sins. Even if you're not a virgin and you have the God's grace through Jesus Christ, resolve now to God and yourself that you won't have sex again until you're married to the one that God has created just for you. It's the least you can do for God, yourself and your future spouse and children.

Who would have thought that God could turn watching porn into something to hopefully bring about something that will expand His kingdom?

"Wait. It's better if you wait."

Jonathan

Marriage: Is It Just a Piece of Paper?

2007-11-25T20:21:00.000-06:00

18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." 19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." 24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." Genesis 2:18-24 (NIV)

"You're a God send, a blessing from above. You've been God sent to me. You're the God send that I've been dreaming of; you're a God send." (dc Talk, "Godsend")

For the past two days, the topic of marriage has been heavy on my mind. Quite honestly, I figured I would be married and have started a family by this point in my life but obviously that wasn't in God's plan for this chapter in my life. One of the things I want most in this world is to be married and start a family someday but I'm waiting for that time to come. I have faith that it will when He deems that it's time for marriage to happen in my life.

But I haven't only been thinking of my marriage desires, I've also been pondering marriage in general. Mainly, attitudes of many people today regarding marriage. As you can see in the above verses in Genesus, God ordained that a man should unite with a woman as his life mate and helper from the very creation of man. God recognized that it wasn't good for a man to be alone. Since a suitable helper couldn't be found in the other creatures God had created, God decided to do a little devine surgery (and praise Him for doing so!) to create woman. The fact that he took a rib, a part of Adam's very body and being, to create Eve is very symbolic. Here's what "The Quest Study Bible" says about the creation of Eve for Adam (thanks for sending me this, Jessica C.!):

...helper may more accurately mean a strength or power, and thus women correspond to men. she was taken from one of the man's ribs, probably to show an interdependence. She was depenedent on the man; men are dependent upon a woman to give birth to them. Some observe that the earliest lanugage of Mesopotamia, Sumerian, has a word for rib that also means life.

From the very beginning, God meant for a man and woman to depend on each other, to encourage each other, to bear children and raise them in a Godly way. However, some people forget one very important thing, possibly one of the really biggies. Can you guess what it is? Drum roll please...It was meant to be permanent.

Of course, there are certain circumstances where divorce is warrented (adultery, abuse and the like), however many people will get a divorce at the drop of a hat for the dumbest reasons. We've all seen it on shows like "Divorce Court" and read about it in magazines and newspapers (or maybe you even know someone who went through this). A couple got a divorce because they disagreed on something trivial, because they had an argument, because they couldn't agree on what car to get, he/she said something that was mean... do you see where I'm going with this? People today invent the most idiotic reasons for a divorce and, quite honestly, it breaks my heart.

Couples are going to argue and have disagreements. You're not always going to want to watch the same TV shows, go to the same movies, eat the same food or hang out with the same group of friends. Sometimes differences have to be recognized and worked out. "'til death do us part" is meant to be just that: The only thing that should end a marriage (outside of the circumstances that I mentioned earlier) should be the death of either the husband or wife.

The word "covenant" is often used to describe a marrage. Webster's Dictionary defines a covenant as, "usually a formal, solemn and binding agreement... a written agreement or promise usually under seal between two... parties..." Covenants are meant to be permanent, never to be broken. And yet, many people don't look at marriage in this light anymore. I've actually heard people describe their view of marriage thusly: "It's just a piece of paper; if it doesn't work out, so what? It's just a break up, only we'll have to go to court." I know people who are in their early 20s and have been divorced two, some even three, times. Sometimes there are valid reasons for getting a divorce but usually a divorce, especially amongst young people, is over something really stupid.

The view that many people have of marriage, the view that it's "just a piece of paper" honestly breaks my heart. I'm feeling very emotional right now in fact... I view marriage as something sacred, something to never be ended except by death and that no man or woman can break apart. I look at marriage as two people realizing that they care for each other so much that they make a covenant before God and their witnesses that they will love, take care of, encourage and support each other and their children for the rest of their lives. I look at marriage as a bond, a bond stronger than any welded steel. Marraige vows aren't to be taken lightly. They're all part of that covanent that the two people are making before God and their friends and family. No, these vows are to be taken seriously.I believe that God wants us to be happy and He knows that it's not good for a man or woman to go through this journey, their Christian walk, alone. I believe that for every man and woman, there is someone special made just for them to spend their life with and to take this journey with. God made Eve for Adam, He even made her out of a part of Adam! Maybe today it's more so a special connection but every wife is a part of her husband and him to her.

Why is it we don't view marriage in the way that it's intended to be viewed in?

Before you get married, really consider if you're ready for it. Are you mentally and spirtually mature enough to handle such a commitment? Will you be able to remain faithful to your spouse and to keep the commitment not only to her but your children? Can you truly say that nothing, short of death or God Himself, could keep you from your mate?We need to get back to our roots. Marriage is engrained in all of us as a lasting commitment to another that's meant to be forever. If you're in a marriage today that you think is falling apart, please do all you can to work it out. Don't get a divorce as a quick solution to a trivial problem. To do so would be a great tragedy.

As for me... I'm only getting married once.

To my future wife (wouldn't it be funny if she actually reads this?): I pray for you almost everyday. If I haven't met you already, I can't wait to do so and you have my promise that my commitment to you will be forever and truly "'til death do us part." I may not know where or who you are right now but I know that you're there. I have that faith, just as I do with everything connected to God and His promises. I pray that you have the same faith.Jonathan