Hammer on Anvil '

How many of you have been on a short-term mission trip? What was your attitude and behavior like on the trip? Was it any different than you normally are? These questions occurred to me as the Pastor spoke about a missionary our church supports. I thought what it would be like to go to El Salvador and work with her. How I live my life and how I am perceived by others will change, and not simply because I am an American living in another country. After seeing I am not a tourist or businessmen, people might start to ask why I am there and if they ask me, I could explain. These opportunities would present themselves almost easily. (Though I do realize I am oversimplifying it)

Now, I contrast that with the life I live here in the US. My focus is on work (very busy this time of year) and whatever I put into my free time, whether Xbox, reading, church activities, family, or sleeping (not necessarily in that order). There's that difference, but more importantly, when I walk down the street or when I walk through Walmart getting groceries, there is not a single thing about me to make people want to ask me questions about who I am and what I do.

Often quoted is, "Preach the Gospel to all the world, and if necessary, use words." by Francis of Assisi. What do you think of the quote? Is this all that is necessary?

...er rather Philippians verses.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6

What is my focus in prayer? I'm sure I as well as everyone else have more than enough prayer requests and perplexing situations that I'd like the Lord's help on in my own life that I could spend every moment that I pray just on my own supplications and pleas. If I have made my supplication made known to the Lord does he forget? Should I persist with my; oh please, please please please Lord? Perseverance in prayer and being honest with the Lord about what you're struggling with is a good thing. But when does it cross the line of expressing anguish to dwelling on it? Is it healthy for us to persist, especially on topics of prayer that are particularly painful at that moment? Situations where just even in the speaking of the request it tends to be accompanied by a certain amount of worry and fear. Maybe because you truly don't know what to expect the outcome to be or even possibly because you think it might be opposite of what you're hoping for? How do we make these pleas without allowing them to drag us under because they do hurt so much? Man, of that I'm not entirely sure and I think that any churchy answer only diminishes the legitimacy of the real pain that a person feels about their situation. I know it does go on to say in the same chapter though that, "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." Maybe that's part of the clue to help us cope. Is he saying present your prayer and supplication, but don't be blinded by the details of your current situation and that we need to look beyond your own troubles. To dwell on areas that would be uplifting or might remind us of the nature of who we serve. That even if the answer isn't quickly coming or could even be opposite to what we might hope that we should weigh these perplexing matters out against what we know to be true and good about God? Paul goes on later to say that he's learned to be content in all situations. Is this because he's learned a level of surrender in prayer, that allows him to put his supplication to Christ's and then he's able to release the concern from his thoughts because he chooses instead of dwelling on what he doesn't know to dwell on the pure, true and lovely things. When he says, " The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you." v9. Is it not allowing ourselves to dwell on our worries and perplexing bewilderments that which what allows us to know peace and experience the presence of the God of peace?

CS Lewis put it like this, "By ceasing for a moment to consider my own wants I have begun to learn better what I really wanted."

For me this whole post really raises more questions then it answers because there's also the whole concept of how to practice and live this out in the midst of your trial the whole idea of not focusing on the trial that so broadly sits directly in front of you and which is just about the only thing one can see.

For any of you who don’t know me personally, I am a huge Star Wars fan. It’s almost embarrassing really, because I’ve read over 50 of the books. Yeah, I’m THAT guy.

Over the past week I’ve been reading Force Heretic I: Remnant by Sean Williams and Shane Dix. (Side note: I do NOT recommend this book for anyone who has not read the preceding books in the New Jedi Order series, because you will have no idea what is going on. If you’ve never read a Star Wars book, I highly recommend you start with Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn. It’s the first book in the Thrawn trilogy and it is fantastic.)

Okay, enough nerding out. As I read the book, I encountered some quotes that have interesting spiritual implications when taken out of context.

Quote #1: “There will always be some who would rather hear a convincing lie than an uncomfortable truth.”

This is probably true of all of us at some point in our lives. Let’s face it, being a true Christ-follower isn’t easy; it’s much more of an uncomfortable truth. There are all manner of convincing lies that we can tell ourselves to spare us from that truth. I spoke about a few of these back in September when I talked about the myth of basically good, the myth of many roads to heaven, and the myth of belief. In the end, no lie, however convincing, can replace the truth.

Quote #2: “Choose now, or die indecisive.”

This is so true of our spiritual, eternal lives! It’s hard for our minds to grasp the concept of time as being infinite, but if you even try, it’s easy to see just how short our time on Earth is. We like holding onto the lies mentioned in quote #1, but the fact is, we must make a choice. Option #1: eternal life in Heaven. Option #2: eternal life in hell. And failure to make a choice forces us to choose option #2 by default. Don’t die indecisive!

Quote #3: “Sometimes it’s harder to make a friend than it is to fight an enemy.”

This one has a bit of a deeper spiritual meaning than the previous two (and has strong connections to my post last week). It’s easy for us to look at some things and know, without a doubt, that they are bad (and can therefore be considered the enemy). For example, most of us could agree that a child being homeless and hungry, a widow being frail and alone, or an innocent person being murdered are all bad things. For each of these things, it is easy to take a stand and shout to the world, “That is wrong!” After all, who is going to argue with you, except perhaps the murderers? But while being a Christian will certainly require us to fight the enemy, that is not where it stops. We also have to draw close to Jesus Christ and make him our friend. Don’t fall into the trap of convincing yourself that fighting the enemy makes you a friend of Christ. (See Matthew 7:21-23)

Who knew that so much spiritual truth could be found in Star Wars?!?

Good Morning Everyone!


Who went and waited in line for something they wanted on Thanksgiving night? I did, I was in the store for over three hours waiting and only got a couple of things I wanted. Normally, I don't like to wait for anything, but the thought of a bargin on something that I wanted, made all the difference.


So, then why is it so hard for us to wait on God? He is our Heavenly Father and has nothing but our best interest at heart. He will provide what we need and give us what we want in His time. But we become impaitent and try to make things happen on our own. Only to cause more problems and heartache for ourselves. Instead of waiting to see where God leads us, we go off in our own direction and wind up at a dead end.


We are on a journey that we have never been on before, but God has. He has traveled through your life, He knows the beginning, middle, and the end. Don't run ahead of your Father, you don't know where you are going, He does. Wait on Him.


Have a very blessed Saturday everybody!


Cheryl

The last two weeks, we’ve been talking about the coming of Christ. The Advent season is near, and the weeks leading up to Christmas can go by so fast for us living on Earth. More than anything, I wanted to slow down this time and savor it for what it is in the midst of what it's not. Week one discussed the many miracles God displayed to bring about the birth of Jesus. On week two, we talked about the relationship God wants to have with us through Christ. This week, we’re going to talk about why God would go to such lengths for us.

The simple answer, in one word, is love. God loves us so much He doesn’t want to live without us. No matter what we’ve done, no matter how far we have walked away from our relationship with our Heavenly Father, he wants to see us restored to Him.

That simple concept is not the whole story, though. The disadvantage to this is that we have to dig into God’s Word to find the complete truth. The beautiful advantage is that when we explore it, we can’t deny how uncomprehendingly special God has made us.

In Jeremiah 1:5, God tells the prophet, “Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” David understood the central role that God played in his life: “You made my whole being; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way. What you have done is wonderful. I know this very well.” Psalm 139: 13-14

We are chosen by the Creator of the Universe to be His children. He lavishes His love on us, and will guide our every step. He gives us the Holy Spirit to live within us, to give us power to live a free, abundant life. Psalm 139:8-10“If I go up to the Heavens, you are there. If I lie down in the grave, you are there. If I rise with the sun in the east, and settle with the sun in the west beyond the sea, even there you would guide me. With your right hand, you would hold me.” He will never leave us, and He has made us holy through Christ who died for us.

The birth of Christ was the single most important event in the history of mankind. Everything that happened before and all that came after was divinely ordered. That includes you: whether you were born into riches or poverty, planned by your parents or conceived unknowingly, God planned you. Whether your childhood was happy or troubled, no matter if you chose the wrong road, God has a plan for the rest of your life as well. Accept Christ’s gift of life this Christmas, and begin experiencing the peace that surpasses understanding.

A person who is developing a heart for God is thankful.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to be thankful in all circumstances. In everything, we are to give thanks.

This is easy to read and to consider, until life brings you hurt and pain.

It is not easy to be thankful in all circumstances:
-when we face health issues.
-when we face persecution.
-when we deal with death, hurt, or pain of a loved one.
-when our computer crashes.
-when someone runs into our car.
-when our bank account runs out.

Growing in grace means that we trust in God's process and we believe that he will use our hurt for good.

Do we trust like that?
Do you rejoice in suffering?

So tonight ends the marathon we've been running at the bakery. Couple hundred pies, some cakes, cupcakes, pastries, etc etc all out the door. My brother (the chef and owner) worked yesterday for 30 hours straight. To give you another mental image, for just the pecan pies, we used about 13pounds of eggs. All that to say, we are quite thankful that it was successful and over.

As I think about tomorrow and Thanksgiving and all that, I look forward to resting, eating, and spending time with family. Oh, and of course, being thankful. That's what the day is about right? I prefer, though, to take the view of Paul and "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice."
Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving

Sometimes things can get just absolutely overwhelming. Whether you're dealing with relationships(the emotional), jobs/school(the physical), or just discernment(the spiritual). When you're struggling with an issue all these thoughts can enter your mind as if you'd been drinking from a fire-hose and then they just whirl around up there. 'what to do, what to do?' repeated over and over. So what next? Prayed up? Man you've prayed the paint off your walls. Read up? You've worn the pages through of your Bible. Peace has eluded you, anguish won't seem to leave you be and though you've thought through every facet in every possible direction and meaning towards every outcome possible still you're no closer to understanding let alone making a decision about what to do. And so you're stuck. Even worse you're stuck knowing better than to be stuck, knowing better than to dwell on these perplexing, bewildering situations and allow them to steal your peace.

   And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life’s span? - Luke 12:25

I mean I know, right? We've got to be all Zen like or live and let live or there's another fish in the sea or go with the flow or just surrender. Shoot I've probably listened to Control by MUTEMATH a hundred and fifty times, but that doesn't make some of these things any easier. Sometimes you really just want to smack the person who says, 'just be silent before the Lord and listen' or 'His timing is not our timing'. Again true, but not helpful to hear when you've already listened and already waited for just about as long as you can possibly bear it. I would encourage you that God is there and He is not silent. God loves us and does not desire for us to dwell in confusion or to be deceived. However as believers we can get convinced that every direction and answer from God will come directly from his mouth in a loud booming voice, through visions and dreams, or through some miraculous sign. We've almost persuaded ourselves that these are the communications we must receive or it is not His will or His word and direction for our life. But what about Godly counsel? It is at these times I am most thankful to be a part of a body of believers. There I have access to Godly wisdom and understanding. There I have formed friendships that I rely on not only to hold me accountable, but also to help mentor and advise me. So when I'm in the midst of a problem and it's got me so sideways that I don't know which way is up and which way is down then I have mature and trusted counsel I can speak with. Someone who has been through the fire and come out the other side and I can sit down with.

**Side note: I do not say this to belittle or direct anyone to listen to man before listening to God. In 1st Samuel 28, 'He(Saul) inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him in dreams or by the Urim or by the prophets.' So then later Saul turned to a medium for counsel and she brought forth the spirit of Samuel only for him to say, "hey you dunce, I told you the Lord has done exactly as I already said He would."(paraphrased and modernized of course) As in Saul's case sometimes we know the answer we just hesitate to accept it. I'm not talking about seeking out a second opinion to justify our actions or to hear what our itching ears desire to hear. Just to be clear. And yes God is still our fortress that we run into and who we should turn to in times of trouble. This is not to diminish that.**

As in a couple of cases here recently I've had to and I mean REALLY had to seek out objective, trustworthy and Godly advice. God can use our parents or our mentors as easily as he can scrawl a message on the morning sky. So we shouldn't be hesitant to humbly ask for counsel from those he's put in places of authority round about our lives.

   Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. Proverbs 15:22

In my case the situation hasn't necessarily been resolved because of the advice given, but just having their words of counsel spoken to my spirit man has been comforting, even if difficult. At least a bit more peaceful though still in the midst of the trial. You'll weather the storm yet.

Since I mentioned it here's the song Control by MUTEMATH along with the Amazon link to the live DVD.


Kudos to anyone who picked up on the Bullwinkle reference in the title.

Which Jesus do you follow? Is your Jesus kind and compassionate? If he saw you homeless, would he take you in? If you had a flat tire, would he help you fix it? Would he be the kind of friend who would be with you through thick and thin?

And maybe your Jesus wants you to be successful. He wants you to find the man or woman of your dreams. He wants you to find a job where happiness and good money intersect. Blessings aplenty will rain down from your Jesus.

Does your Jesus accept you just as you are? Does he smile at your triumphs and weep at your misfortunes? Does he stick around even when you’ve made a mistake?

The fact is, there is a little bit of Jesus in all of these things. He was an amazing man, is an even more amazing God, and has many attributes that we should strive to emulate.

But the thing is, how do you know what Jesus is like? I mean, sure, we all have this feeling that Jesus has all of the attributes that we associate with goodness and is against all of the attributes that we associate with badness, but how do you know beyond the feeling? How do you know that your feelings are leading you in the right direction? It’s possible that you think something is bad and Jesus actually thinks it’s good, or vice versa.

None of us is perfect, and we certainly don’t possess absolute knowledge of good and evil. And yet for some reason, we often live our lives as if we do. We all have strong feelings about certain things, and those are rooted in our feelings of good and evil. For those of us who are Christians, we often even imagine that Jesus would heartily agree with us on our strong feelings if he were here.

But do we really know if that would be the case? Unfortunately, all too often, our feelings about good, evil, and Jesus are the result of us hearing or reading about Jesus and choosing the parts we like while ignoring the rest. We might do this consciously because we refuse to believe that Jesus would be opposed to something we so adamantly believe in. Or we might do it unconsciously because we can’t understand why our version of Jesus would stand for this or that, and rather than alter our understanding of the nature of Jesus, we omit the part we don’t understand.

In the end, we need to strive to understand the REAL and COMPLETE Jesus. We need to pray for open hearts and minds so that we will be able to accept a change to what we thought was true when we encounter the real truth. And we need to read the Bible, because Jesus isn’t simply a culmination of our feelings of right and wrong; he is a real person, and we can’t learn about real people by just following our feelings about what we think that person is like.

Learn to follow the real Jesus.

Good Saturday Morning Everybody!

Another beautiful day that God has blessed us to see!

We all rush around doing things. Someone leaves the office early one day because they have to go take care of 'some business'. We work everyday to earn money to pay bills, save it for the future, or spend it on something we really want. We take care of our business, but who is taking care of God's business?

As Christians we are to be about God's business. We are His workers. We are His eyes, ears, legs, arms. We are here to help each other, everybody. Not just certain groups of people or those in our circle, but help each other to be the best we can be. To help each other get to our desitnation, Heaven! I want everybody to make it there, friend or enemy, I want to see everyone to make it in, even though I know they won't. But I am going to help as many people as I can to reach their Heavenly goal!

So, today do what you can do to help someone else be about God's business!

Love,
Cheryl Huston

Relationship. I hear that word used in so many situations. In church, we say we're in relationship with other believers. On Facebook, we can tell all our friends we are 'single' or 'in a relationship'. But do we ever stop and think about the origin of the term? God designed relationship, and only He knows how it should really work.

Last week we talked about the miracles God performed to bring about Jesus' birth. Do you ever wonder why He went to such lengths for us? What is the motivation for Him to bend over backwards for people who turn their backs on Him every day?

The reason Jesus came was to right our relationship with God. We, His children, could not comprehend true relationship, and could not accomplish the work that was needed to fix the broken world. Humans had so badly twisted God's plan that there was only one way back, and our Heavenly Father loved us too much to leave us hanging out to dry. God wants us to depend on Him for all our needs: physical, emotional, spiritual, and relational. Our lives are a testament to our Creator, and we require His guidance to get it right.

The Bible gives us example after example of the disasters that befell our forefathers when they stepped out of relationship with Him and tried to take care of things on their own. And yet, we still insist on independence today. Rebellion, sin, doubt-these are all the result of our pursuit of control of our own lives. When we fail to recognize that God is the only one capable of captaining our ship, we cause ourselves unnecessary pain.

Fortunately, we do not have to live without hope. Whatever we have done, or not done, may seem unforgivable to us. God doesn't see it that way. God pursues us, and He never gives up. Is it easy to relinquish control? Not at all. In Genesis, God placed Adam in charge of the garden, and everything in it. After He created Adam and Eve in His likeness, He said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth."-Genesis 1:28. We were designed to control things; it's in our DNA. That's why it's so difficult to let go of control; but letting go is part of God's plan to help us understand relationship and trust.

What is required of us, then? Do we spend our lives on our knees, or with our heads down? Absolutely NOT! We are children of the Most High God, and relationship with Him makes us holy. What we need to do is to pursue God's definition of relationship-a lifelong transformation of our hearts and minds to see with God's eyes, love with God's heart, and think with God's perspective.

A person who is DEVELOPING A HEART FOR GOD is one who is growing. They are seeking to live a fulfilled life in Christ.

Yet, in many areas we struggle with the same sins that we have struggled with for years... and if we are not careful, we will end up 20, 30, 40, 50 years down the road and still struggling with the same sins we have always struggled with.

The Word says that when a man is in Christ, he is a new creation - the old is gone, the new has come.
Some things change instantly, while some sin is harder to let go of.

God wants you to live a full, abundant life. Part of that is letting go of the things that are holding you back in your walk with God.

My friend Joey challenged me with this quote - I am not sure what book he found it in, or I would give proper credit... but here goes...
"One of thecharacteristics of a Christian is the ability to control certain appetites inlife, and through God to change behavior to look more like Jesus."


The follow up question pierced my heart - What has changed in your life recently to look more like Jesus?

Jesus died for you to live life fulfilled.

Don't be that guy who is still struggling at 45 with what you struggled with when you were 15.

Odd way to begin, but I need some help from Harry Potter fans, more specifically, fans of the book series. I love watching films, but hands down, the book is always better (end rant). Anyway, so the other day I watched the final movie (Deathly Hallows part 2) and was disturbed how Voldemort seemed weakened every time a horcrux was destroyed. When reading, I thought Voldemort was unaware of the status of the horcruxes, he didn't feel it when they were destroyed. Any help on this?

What got me thinking on this was an article I had read awhile back. It was a critique on consumerism (and all the Americans groaned). It contrasted Voldemort's trust in material things to keep himself from death and Harry, who had friends that willingly placed themselves in danger to protect him. This comparison between stuff and friends I find quite interesting and I encourage you to read the article itself.

What I notice is that we can experience the loss of both stuff and friends, but the loss of a friend is not easily replaced. Why that is I don't think I need to explain. So, with how I began a couple weeks ago, questioning the value and worthwhile-ness of developing friendships when it can lead to pain. Unlike stuff, friends and family and others can love you back. It sounds cheesy right now, but think about where you invest yourself:
is it in material things or others?

Brett

So I figured the other day that a good 75-80% of my diet consists entirely of pizza. Mainly store bought or delivery so not even like the good home made kind. I actually like a very wide variety of food, but sometimes due to time or ease of preparation I just fall back to my default. I wonder if this could be compared to how we sometimes feed our Spirit man. Early in our Christianity we find a particular groove or maybe some certain verses and we stay pretty much isolated to those few things. Granted they're quite good and nothing goes down as smooth as another slice of familiarity. I can imagine Christ saying, "hey, yeah that cold slice is good, but really? Come on really that's all you ever want to know about me? Don't you want to get to the ethnic food section of Christianity and find something you've never had before?" Do we do that? Do I do that? Simply find what's easy and what's convenient and reheat, reorder, regurgitate those toppings till we die? Christ came that we may have life and have it abundantly. That we could discover new passages and aspects of God just as we might discover a love for sushi or french pastries. We might even discover more than we'd bargained for as sometimes people do when they first try delicious Indian food. Christ please overwhelm me with the sites, sounds and tastes of you that I've yet to encounter. Broaden my desire for your every word and take me down roads to discover you new and amazing every day.
...and if you could place some sweet and some spice just for me.

p.s. The food analogy is loose at best, don't try to make much more sense out of such a silly idea.

True faith is built over time and refined by the fire of endurance. I think most Christians, when we first accept Christ, feel temporarily invincible, like we can take on anything and anybody because God is at our side. What a great feeling! But then that feeling subsides. The mundane sets in and everyday life resumes. We start to wonder what’s going on. God just moved mountains in our heart, so why isn’t He moving mountains in the world too?

That is one time when questions set in. Can I really trust God? Is He really there? Why does he allow pain? The questions consume us and ultimately draw us away from God. After all, why would God want us if we’re questioning him, right?

Wrong! God ALWAYS wants us, and he especially wants to help us when we have questions. God isn’t a fool. He knows we’re human, that we aren’t perfect, and that we don’t know everything. God is big enough to handle our questions.

There’s a small catch though. You have to want it too. Jesus said in the sermon on the mount, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). James 1:5-6 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” God can open the door, but you have to walk through it.

I love those verses because God truly is faithful in delivering on those promises. I have had quite a few questions and doubts, but God has always delivered answers. The answers have always come in God’s timing, not mine, but they have come nonetheless.

When you’re truly seeking and you’re patient for God’s answers, the results are spectacular and mystifying. They turn your understanding upside-down. When I questioned how an all-loving God can allow pain in the world, I sought for years and ultimately learned about the pain issue, but I also gained tremendous insight into prayer and praise. And when I struggled with the issue of predestination, God gave me a much deeper understanding of the importance of the Holy Spirit. It continually amazes me how God works.

One last thing before I sign off. Please, please, please, don’t fall into the trap of using questions as justification for ignoring God. Too many people use their questions as an excuse.

There is no excuse. God is there and he’s waiting. Run to him!

Hello Everyone!

My name is Cheryl Huston and I'm new to this whole blogging thing, but my good friend Nick Smith asked me to give it a try, so here I am!
One thing that has been on my mind lately is how whenever there is something new, everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon. Anything that goes faster, is prettier or is considered super cool, everybody seems to want it, no matter the cost. Cost doesn't always mean money, sometimes we compromise our morals and values also. We do things and say things that help us to fit in with the crowd. But as Christians, we should stand out in the crowd.
God says in his word that we Christians are a pecuilar people, different from the crowd. It is difficult to do, believe me, but with God all things are possible! We first must put god in His proper place in our lives, #1. No one or nothing can come before Him. Second we must open our hearts to change, changing ourselves not others. We must be bold and willing to stand for what is right in the sight of God. Third, we must pray without ceasing. Pray all the time, in every situation. Lastly, we must read God's word. Read to gain understanding, read to gain knowledge, read to gain purpose fro your life.
If we do these things, we will start to see the world change around us. But it won't happen if we are afraid to Stand Out in the Crowd!
Have a very blessed weekend everyone and God bless!

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 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 that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”-Luke 2:8-14

I imagine that a line formed the day God chose the angels who would go to send this message. This was THE most extraordinary thing that had ever happened! I bet the angels couldn't wait to be chosen to appear to those shepherds. This was a miracle! That Christ should come this way, at this time, was the coolest thing that had occurred in the history of forever!

This wasn't just one miracle, though. This was a string of miracles all packaged up in one event. You've probably heard about the prophecies...the odds that one person could fulfill all of them; yada, yada...quarters in Texas, yada yada. That's pretty awesome, too. But if you dig into this story, I think you'll find that there's more. Yes, I'd say we've actually missed quite a lot.

First is Mary. She found favor with God. This 13 year-old girl, probably raised much like any other girl of her day, stuck out. Her parents were simple people, certainly not educated beyond being able to make a living for their family. In those days, it was the religious leaders who studied the Scripture and learned how God wanted us to behave. They, in turn, gave instructions to the people like Mary's mother and father. And we all know the religious leaders were corrupt. They had the people practicing 'legalism': trying to keep all the rules so they could go to Heaven instead of living a true life of relationship with God.

That's not the half of it, either. Mary was a THIRTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL! I know what scholars say about how people were much more emotionally mature then, but I also read about a study of teens recently. This study proved that the decision-making part of the brain is not fully developed until past age eighteen. So a thirteen year old is LITERALLY short on brains! (I apologize to any thirteen year olds who may be offended by this...I'm just relaying facts :P) How is it that this one girl just "got it"? She trusted God to take care of her in the toughest situation a young woman of those times could find herself in.

Then we've got to look at Joseph. He was a good man, no doubt. But it had been 400 years since there had been a prophet in Israel. Four hundred years since God had spoken to His people. Joseph had a dream--so what? A dream is just a dream...what could possibly have made this man take his mind's nighttime wanderings for more than just that?

Some may disagree, but I believe the circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus are a miracle as well. The Scripture indicates that Mary had probably been in attendance for one labor & delivery: Elizabeth's. Joseph, as per custom, had no knowledge of such things.When Mary went into labor they were stranded in Bethlehem and didn't know a soul. There was no midwife, people! There wasn't even a bed! Joseph himself delivered the child who wasn't his own and who he had agreed to raise. There would be many hard times to come for this little family, but after that, I'd say they probably felt pretty confident God would be there for them in any situation.

So now the question: Why does this matter? Who cares if there was one miracle or 3,468 miracles? (my unofficial count). It matters because it shows us how extravagant God is with us. God doesn't just provide us with what we need; He does it in a way that is so huge, so over the top, that we can't possibly deny it's His doing. He's showing off! I love that He does that for us!

Where have you seen God working in your life? Has He been extravagant with you lately? If not, maybe you're just missing it.

God never stops pursuing us. He is our shepherd; we are His sheep. Did you know that a sheep can get lost more easily than any other animal? They're apt to wander off from the herd, and if they pop over a hill or around a corner and lose sight of the herd, they can't find their way back. They become hopelessly lost. That is why, in Jesus' time, the shepherds had to sleep in the fields with their flocks. There were no fences, and the sheep were simply too directionally challenged to manage on their own. We are like those sheep. We are prone to wander away from God, and without His help, we can't find our way back. Because we're so directionally challenged (spiritually, anyway) God does extraordinary things to get our attention.

So last week I asked the question about whether or not friendships and relationships are worth the pain and trouble they can cause. I have a couple ideas of what I should address, but for this week, a video from Disney's "The Jungle Book." My favorite part is Shere Khan sings.

See you next week
Brett

When I started the series on apologetics a few weeks ago, I recommended two authorities on the subject. One of those was Lee Strobel. If you’ve never heard of Mr. Strobel, let me tell you a little about him. He was a hot-shot investigative journalist for the Chicago Tribune for 14 years and he was also a self-proclaimed atheist. He was content with that until his wife became a Christian. When he saw the changes she was making in her life, he wanted to look into it, so he “launched an all-out investigation into the facts surrounding the case for Christianity.” He did his best to remain objective as he examined the facts, interviewed experts, looked into archeological evidence- the works. What he found astonished him. Everything he found pointed to Jesus Christ.

It would be impossible for me to share everything that Mr. Strobel found, so all I’d like to do for today is to recommend that you take a look at his book for yourself. It’s called The Case for Christ. It may not be your type of book, but it’s still very useful to have around.

A little over a month ago, Red Beard wrote a post called Be a Fool in which he said (among other things) that we need to be willing to say “I don’t know” when faced with a question about Christianity that we legitimately don’t know the answer to. When that situation occurs, though, we also need to be ready to find the answer. Having a book like The Case for Christ on hand is a great way to be prepared for questions that will likely come your way if you are following Christ.

Here’s just a preview of the book with the chapters listed:

Part 1: Examining the Record
1. The Eyewitness Evidence
Can the Biographies of Jesus be trusted?
2. Testing the Eyewitness Evidence
Do the Biographies of Jesus stand up to scrutiny?
3. The Documentary Evidence
Were Jesus’ Biographies Reliably Preserved for us?
4. The Corroborating Evidence
Is There Credible Evidence for Jesus Outside His Biographies?
5. The Scientific Evidence
Does Archaeology Confirm or Contradict Jesus’ Biographies?
6. The Rebuttal Evidence
Is the Jesus of History the Same As the Jesus of Faith?

Part 2: Analyzing Jesus
7. The Identity Evidence
Was Jesus Really Convinced That He Was the Son of God?
8. The Psychological Evidence
Was Jesus Crazy When He Claimed to Be the Son of God?
9. The Profile Evidence
Did Jesus Fulfill the Attributes of God?
10. The Fingerprint Evidence
Did Jesus – and Jesus Alone – Match the Identity of the Messiah?

Part 3: Researching the Resurrection
11. The Medical Evidence
Was Jesus’ Death a Sham and His Resurrection a Hoax?
12. The Evidence of the Missing Body
Was Jesus’ Body Really Absent from His Tomb?
13. The Evidence of Appearances
Was Jesus Seen Alive After His Death on the Cross?
14. The Circumstantial Evidence
Are There Any Supporting Facts That Point to the Resurrection?

I turn 30 today. I have to say, it has been an honor to be able to contribute to the "Hammer on Anvil" blog. This will be my last post. The brevity of this farewell should give a little hint as to why: I have a full day ahead of me, and I am sitting down to write this as I get the chance. When ministry life gets too hectic, there comes a time to begin trimming some things out to make room for other things. This blog is one of the former. Thank you all who have read these blogs, I hope they have been encouraging and edifying to you. So without further or do...

Let's do this thing one more time!...

Recently, I taught a group of teenagers a couple of lessons on "how NOT to study your bible" and "how to do inductive bible study." I want to give a quick rehash of the first of those two lessons.


Something many churches have lacked greatly in is teaching disciples how to study their bible. We tend to take it for granted that if we just get people to read it every day like they read the newspaper, then they will have everything they need.
I applaud Christians who are in the regular habit of reading their bible every day – feeding on it, learning it, familiarizing themselves with it. Our church takes a tally during Sunday school of who was a daily bible reader every week. It is a good discipline for ALL Christians to be in.

But it helps us to understand what exactly we are doing when we’re reading the bible, because let’s be honest, some pretty crazy teaching and theology have come out of people just “reading their bibles”. One of the things we want to always be able to do is to get at the PLAIN SENSE OF THE TEXT. But not every one reads the same text the same way.

Here’s an example: The Health and Wealth teachers teach that the “good news” of the gospel is that God wants you to be financially and materialistically prosperous. After all, John said (3 John 1:2) “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.” They will say “this is just what the bible plainly teaches”. And after all, Jesus says “whatever you ask for in my name, you will receive.” One preacher even said “it’s not what we THINK it says, but what it actually SAYS that counts.” Sounds like a good motto, until someone takes passages like this out of context and changes their meaning from what the author intended to say.

Some churches incorporate the handling of venomous snakes during their worship services, and they do it because Jesus said in Mark 16:18, "They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

So we need to have a way of reading the bible so that we can get to the real, plain meaning of the text, without veering off into some teachings that the bible clearly doesn’t advocate.

Let me talk briefly about some WRONG ways to read the bible.

The Gold Mine Approach – reading the Bible as this vast, cavernous, dark mine, hoping to occasionally stumbles upon a nugget of inspiration. (Ever heard a nugget sermon?) Result: confused reading.

The Hero Approach – reading the Bible as a moral hall of fame that gives us one example after another of heroic spiritual giants to emulate. But many of the heros in the bible end up failing BIG time at some point. And not all of the bible is made up of stories about heroic, faithful men. Result: despairing reading.

The Rules Approach – reading the Bible on the lookout for commands to obey, to make yourself in order to kind of reinforce a sense of personal superiority. Result: Pharisaical reading.

The Artifact Approach – reading the Bible as an ancient document about events in the Middle East a few thousand years ago that are irrelevant to my life today. Result: bored reading.

The Guidebook Approach – reading the Bible as a roadmap to tell me where to work, who to marry, what shampoo to use… like using the bible like a divining rod to find water. Looking frantically for the next “word” from God about what you’re supposed to do next. Have an issue, so you Blindfold-and-pick a passage, hoping the Holy Spirit will lead you to the right verse. (“Which girl do I marry?” Turn to the text that says that Solomon had about 700 wives and 300 concubines. Answer: Marry as many as I can find!) Result of this kind of study: anxious reading. Never knowing what you’re looking for.

The Doctrine Approach – reading the Bible just to stock up on verses to win some theological argument. Result: cold reading.

Here’s what we’re going for in our personal bible study: Biblical Theology. Look for the big picture, how scripture tells the story of God’s redemption of mankind. Ultimately, scripture points to Jesus. (Jesus himself said to the scribes, (John 5:39 ESV) “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me”. So here’s how we should study our bibles: Look for redemption. Look for Jesus. It’s there. Even though things may get bleak and feeling pretty hopeless, Jesus is IN there! Look for him, and see if that doesn’t transform the way you read your bible!


("How NOT to study your bible" adapted and modified from an article from theresurgence.com, titled "Transform Your Bible Reading")

Turning Thirty!!

I began learning a very valuable lesson from my friend & church youth pastor about 5 years ago. The concept is exceedingly simple, but can be revolutionary: Every important event in a Christian's life is worth preparing our hearts for. We put this into effect in our youth group frequently. Summer camp, DiscipleNOW, winter retreat--all of these events are preceded by weeks of "heart prep". This consists of time taken to focus on our relationship with God and clearing out any junk that's preventing us from experiencing Him in a big way during the event.

This week, I heard the words that every adult dreads each year: "Only 54 more shopping days until Christmas!". These words have become the catch-phrase of how culture perceives this season. As the celebration of Christ's birth becomes more and more commercial, and less and less about Him, I'd like to take some time to focus the attention back where it belongs.

These next few weeks, I want to focus on the upcoming advent season. (This makes me laugh a little: I'm going to 'prepare' to prepare for Christmas!) Christmas truly is my favorite time of year, and as I get older, it goes by faster and faster. My hope is that blogging through the next few weeks will slow down the coming days and help us savor the time with Christ.

Every important event in a Christian's life is worth preparing our hearts for. What event in a Christian's life is more important than this one? "Unto us a Child is born. Unto us a Son is given." The greatest act of love from the God of the Universe.

Continuing my posts on DEVELOPING A HEART FOR GOD...

Open.

The key to being where God wants us to be and growing in faith is to understand the term: developing. This is a process and God grows us through our journey. Do something today to develop your heart for God.

A person who is developing a heart for God is open.
Open to what God will do in their life.
Open to new things that God will teach them.
Open to unlearning some things that God is revealing.
Open to the people of God speaking words into his life.
Open to speaking words of life into others.
Open to ownership of their own faith.

Are you open?

I had a friend in high school who was a good athlete, but was not the brightest crayon in the box. We used to use a phrase to describe him: "Lights are on, but nobody's home."

Don'g be that guy by just checking in with life and really not engaging God daily. We cannot be content to feed our flesh at the expense of our spiritual life.