"Hlinlkjalkj knlkn nl l, mlsaojem. Ljoimkm, ko kolkell ulkmoijoel."
You ever have one of those days where nothing makes sense? Well take heart (cheer up in Christianeese) because God knows what's going on even when we don't. He knows where we've been, where we are and where we are headed. And I am so glad He does. I am content in knowing that I don't know everything but He does.
So . . . jlmva poim oollkmk kn, l;lkmm, r4,900. kjojj! Life is a gift even when we don't understand what we're doing with it so enjoy the gift while it lasts.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Just Yesterday
It was just yesterday you heard my first words as I'd talk,
and just yesterday you taught me how to walk.
Yesterday you placed me on my first trike,
and just yesterday you brought home that used bike.
It was just yesterday you picked me up whenever I'd fall,
and just yesterday you coached me in baseball.
Yesterday you stood oh so tall,
and yesterday you were there every time I would call.
It was just yesterday you helped me in everyway,
and yesterday we'd always have a lot to say.
Just yesterday I was your biggest fan,
because you were my greatest example of how to be a man.
And then just yesterday we would sit and talk,
and yesterday I would help you when you needed to walk.
Just yesterday I’d help you stand tall,
and yesterday I’d be there when you’d call
and lift you up when you would fall.
And it was just yesterday I was holding your hand,
when you crossed from this world into the promise land.
And just yesterday you taught me how to love,
because it was just yesterday
you were the perfect example of our Heavenly Father above.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Hoarders
Last week in our "HOARDERS" series we mentioned two shows on TV that deal with Hoarding which take us into the lives of a couple of people every week who have the debilitating disorder known as Disposophobia which is a fear of throwing anything away so they save or hoard everything.
We also talked about how every show ends by showing us which hoarder took it to HEART and learned how to control their hoarding by getting rid of the stuff in their lives that was affecting them in a devastating and negative way, and which ones refused to change the way they’re living and fell back into the deep end of this painful disease full well knowing how the consequences of their actions will affect them and the people around them.
And then we asked the question of what it is as followers of Christ we might possibly be hanging on to, or Hoarding.
And by looking at Matthew 6. 19-21 we UNCOVERED the fact that even as Christians, what we may be hoarding is our HEARTS. Because this set of scriptures or teaching "uncovers" [pardon the pun] a much deeper problem than just "storing up" or "hoarding" as Peterson puts it in the Message, our treasures. It also helps us to dig deep inside of ourselves and see that the heart or the "wellspring of life" is what needs laid bare and purged. Jesus tells us it's wrong to hoard that which is tangible here on earth but yet it's OK to hoard the intangible in heaven. You see He's not just referring to our treasures as being our money but our motives. Because if you dig deeper you can actually see the real problem is buried and hidden in what we've stored up in our hearts and who our hearts truthfully belong to.
So in this weeks message we’re going to DIG even DEEPER to reveal what else we may be hoarding and not even know it. So join us Sunday, February 13th at 10:30 for our second message of "HOARDERS".
We also talked about how every show ends by showing us which hoarder took it to HEART and learned how to control their hoarding by getting rid of the stuff in their lives that was affecting them in a devastating and negative way, and which ones refused to change the way they’re living and fell back into the deep end of this painful disease full well knowing how the consequences of their actions will affect them and the people around them.
And then we asked the question of what it is as followers of Christ we might possibly be hanging on to, or Hoarding.
And by looking at Matthew 6. 19-21 we UNCOVERED the fact that even as Christians, what we may be hoarding is our HEARTS. Because this set of scriptures or teaching "uncovers" [pardon the pun] a much deeper problem than just "storing up" or "hoarding" as Peterson puts it in the Message, our treasures. It also helps us to dig deep inside of ourselves and see that the heart or the "wellspring of life" is what needs laid bare and purged. Jesus tells us it's wrong to hoard that which is tangible here on earth but yet it's OK to hoard the intangible in heaven. You see He's not just referring to our treasures as being our money but our motives. Because if you dig deeper you can actually see the real problem is buried and hidden in what we've stored up in our hearts and who our hearts truthfully belong to.
So in this weeks message we’re going to DIG even DEEPER to reveal what else we may be hoarding and not even know it. So join us Sunday, February 13th at 10:30 for our second message of "HOARDERS".
Thursday, February 3, 2011
A Real Jesus?
I've been thinking about how Jesus was, or rather is fully God and yet at one point in HIStory was also fully man. God incarnate. Born of a virgin, a human and conceived by the Spirit of God making Him God in the flesh. And no whether you are oneness or believe in the Triune God, 3 persons in One God you still believe that Jesus while on this earth in human form was the One and only God-Man.
As followers of Christ we all serve a Real God who came to this earth as real baby to die for our sins and raise again on the 3rd day conquering death, hell and the grave ... a Real Jesus. So how real is Jesus to us? Seriously, how real? Now I know this is going to sound a little different to some but please continue to read the rest of my thoughts after this statement and it will hopefully make some sense to you.
I believe we have "deit-tized" Jesus to the point of where He has become less, or I should say "more" than a real Jesus to us.
Please understand I'm not being heretical here I'm just trying to bring Jesus "down to earth" (pardon the pun) for our sake. You see if we are to truly have a relationship with God the Father, Jesus His only Son and the Holy Spirit who resides inside of every believer then we must change the way we view the human aspect of Jesus. First yes He came to take our place on the cross and take the sins of the world so every man woman and child can have the opportunity to be forgiven and spend eternity with our Creator. And yes He came to display to us Gods agape unconditional love for us. But Jesus also came to experience every joy, pain, sorrow, temptation, loss and victory that we would or we will ever experience as humans on this earth, making Him human ... or making Him "real".
Again please understand I'm not denying the deity of Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God, for heavens sake and for my sake I would never ever do that. But what I am doing is trying to express the fact that Jesus let go of His own deity for the sake of creating a stronger relationship or bond between ourselves and God. This is the way Eugene Peterson puts it in Philippians 2.5-8 in the Message,
Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
So what I'm saying is sometimes when we place Jesus on such a high pedestal (and rightly so) we forget that He came to not only relate to the human condition but He also came so "we" as the creation can relate to the Creator. And all I'm saying is maybe when we "deit-tize" Jesus' humanity in the wrong way we present and perceive Him as untouchable and intangible clouding our perspective of having a personal relationship with Him.
I know Jesus is the Son of God but when my feet ache from being on them too long I like to remember Jesus was human and He walked pretty much everywhere He went so He experienced this human frailty. When those times come when I'm facing and dreading an agenda or an event that I know is going to take place in my future I like to remember Jesus' humanity expressing itself in His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. And when I'm frustrated as a follower and as a Pastor seeing Christians just not get the following part of Jesus' message I think back to a human Jesus' frustration when dealing with the disciples.
Yes Jesus is fully God and yet we can't forget that He at one time was fully man making it possible for us to not only relate, deal with, and control our own humanity but to help us to have a relationship with God and His Spirit who is at work in and through us.
So the question that's only answerable from within our individual selves is do we serve an untouchable Jesus or a real Jesus?
As followers of Christ we all serve a Real God who came to this earth as real baby to die for our sins and raise again on the 3rd day conquering death, hell and the grave ... a Real Jesus. So how real is Jesus to us? Seriously, how real? Now I know this is going to sound a little different to some but please continue to read the rest of my thoughts after this statement and it will hopefully make some sense to you.
I believe we have "deit-tized" Jesus to the point of where He has become less, or I should say "more" than a real Jesus to us.
Please understand I'm not being heretical here I'm just trying to bring Jesus "down to earth" (pardon the pun) for our sake. You see if we are to truly have a relationship with God the Father, Jesus His only Son and the Holy Spirit who resides inside of every believer then we must change the way we view the human aspect of Jesus. First yes He came to take our place on the cross and take the sins of the world so every man woman and child can have the opportunity to be forgiven and spend eternity with our Creator. And yes He came to display to us Gods agape unconditional love for us. But Jesus also came to experience every joy, pain, sorrow, temptation, loss and victory that we would or we will ever experience as humans on this earth, making Him human ... or making Him "real".
Again please understand I'm not denying the deity of Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God, for heavens sake and for my sake I would never ever do that. But what I am doing is trying to express the fact that Jesus let go of His own deity for the sake of creating a stronger relationship or bond between ourselves and God. This is the way Eugene Peterson puts it in Philippians 2.5-8 in the Message,
Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
So what I'm saying is sometimes when we place Jesus on such a high pedestal (and rightly so) we forget that He came to not only relate to the human condition but He also came so "we" as the creation can relate to the Creator. And all I'm saying is maybe when we "deit-tize" Jesus' humanity in the wrong way we present and perceive Him as untouchable and intangible clouding our perspective of having a personal relationship with Him.
I know Jesus is the Son of God but when my feet ache from being on them too long I like to remember Jesus was human and He walked pretty much everywhere He went so He experienced this human frailty. When those times come when I'm facing and dreading an agenda or an event that I know is going to take place in my future I like to remember Jesus' humanity expressing itself in His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. And when I'm frustrated as a follower and as a Pastor seeing Christians just not get the following part of Jesus' message I think back to a human Jesus' frustration when dealing with the disciples.
Yes Jesus is fully God and yet we can't forget that He at one time was fully man making it possible for us to not only relate, deal with, and control our own humanity but to help us to have a relationship with God and His Spirit who is at work in and through us.
So the question that's only answerable from within our individual selves is do we serve an untouchable Jesus or a real Jesus?
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