Forgiveness

As I talk to students about following Jesus, they often protest that they have done too many bad things to deserve forgiveness. This point came up in New Testament recently when we discussed the life of the apostle Paul.  As they now know, Paul was not always a hard core Christian.  Before his days of following Jesus, he persecuted Christians, men and women, and locked them in jail.  And did Jesus forgive Him?  Yes!  And Paul became the greatest missionary in history.  It’s been said that no other event, except for the Christ event itself, has proven so determinant for the course of Christian history as the conversion and commissioning of the apostle Paul.  Now if Jesus can forgive someone who persecuted His followers, can He not also forgive you?  If Jesus can forgive those that nailed Him to a cross and murdered Him, can He not also forgive you?

As I think back on this Thanksgiving weekend, I have a lot to be thankful for, but I’m most thankful for forgiveness.

 

Thought for the Day

November is here, and so is basketball season…Thank you Jesus!  I’ve been waiting since Feb. 12 to get my middle school team back on the floor (that’s the last game we played & lost in overtime by 5).  Now it’s time to get back to work with a whole new crop of boys.  We had tryouts last week and I chose 12 players for this year’s squad (only 3 returners), and this team, although young, could be our most athletic in recent years.  Our hopes of redeeming ourselves from that overtime loss are high!

Now that we’ve started practicing, I’m continuing my tradition of giving out a “Thought for the Day” at each practice.  The thoughts are usually centered around life and basketball (I got this idea from my high school coach who got the idea from Dean Smith, although I’m sure other great coaches do it too).  I’ve given the same “thought” at the first practice over the last four seasons.  It is a message that it not only applicable to basketball, but to all of life; it’s a thought that not only drives what we do as a team on the basketball floor, but it’s what drives us in the classroom and at home.  It’s a thought that, if all of us took seriously, would make the world a better place.  The thought comes from John Wooden, the longtime UCLA basketball coach, and it is this: “Don’t whine, don’t complain, and don’t make excuses.”  Simple yet profound.  My wife loves this thought, and has even copied it to go on our refrigerator.  Maybe it should go on yours.

 

Fall Retreat

This afternoon I will be leaving for Traveler’s Rest, SC to take our youth to the Fall Extreme Conference.  I have been praying for this event for some time because this is the first time that we have ever gone on this particular trip before.  You never know what you are going to get when you go on any youth retreat, much less one that you have never done before.

I always look forward to these events, however I also approach them with caution.  I try to always keep in mind how I have promoted the trip.  This may seem like a weird thing to be concerned with, but I have found over the years that the things I promote in a trip are the things that the youth will be focused on the most.  Example: last year we went on a high school retreat at a location that had horseback riding and paintball for recreation options.  I found myself focusing on these events so much in my promotion that many of the youth were only going for those things.  They were not interested in the worship or devotion times, and while they did participate in them, the main emphasis for them was the recreation.

I love when camps have amazing recreation, and the one that we are going to today surely does, but it is important to remember the real reason for retreats: the pursuit of God in a new, refreshing, and relaxing environment.  I pray for that this weekend!

 

Comfort in a Strange Place

I’ve been enjoying New Testament class lately because we’ve been working through the Gospel of Mark.  We’ve looked at the parables, exorcisms, miracles, and healings of Jesus, and there’s one miracle that I’ve read over and over that just won’t leave my heart and mind.  It’s the story of blind Bartimaeus in chapter ten.  This story has struck a cord with me, particularly the words that the crowd spoke to Bartimaeus.

If you recall, Jesus was passing through Jericho and as he walked Bartimaeus yelled out to Him, “Son of David, have mercy on me,” but the crowd told him to shut up.  That just made him cry out to Jesus even louder; he wouldn’t be quiet.  At that point, Jesus stopped.  Now remember, He was on his way to Jerusalem where He would be crucified about a week later; He was facing death, but He still had time to stop and show mercy on Bartimaeus (I could make another post about this!).

Now we get to the part that is stuck in my mind.  Jesus called for him and the crowd went to retrieve him and said, “Cheer up!  Get up!  He’s calling you” (vs.49).  Those three little sentences are so powerful to me.  Maybe because they make me think of the moment I realized Jesus was calling me.  It was sixteen years ago, and I was a young teen.  Life was good, but like Bartimaeus, I needed Jesus to have mercy on me.  Like Bartimaeus, I cried out to Him, and He graciously stopped for me.

Now I know this isn’t the typical passage that people turn to when they need “comfort,” but it’s a magnificent verse for that.  It’s comforting to know that in the midst of everything, Jesus is a Savior who is always willing to stop and answer my cries.

 

Studying the Bible 4

In Chapter 6 of his book “The Pursuit of God” A.W. Tozer wrote, “God did not write a book and send it by messenger to be read at a distance by unaided minds. He spoke a Book and lives in His spoken words, constantly speaking His words and causing the power of them to persist across the years.”

Let this statement penetrate your mind and shape the way that you engage in reading the Bible.

 

Studying the Bible 3

A good friend commented on my earlier post and provided the following link.  It’s written by a pastor in Gastonia, NC and is great.  Give it look!

http://www.satisfiedsoul.org/Satisfied_Soul/Blog/Entries/2009/6/24_Question_about_Bible_Reading.html

 

Studying the Bible 2

Josh called this morning and told me about his post, and I wanted to add some to this topic, because like he mentioned above, we hear questions about this all the time.  I have a handout that I typically give teens that want to know “how” to read the Bible or “what” to look for in their Bible reading.

1). Read the Bible as a Two-Way Conversation – Imagine having a daily talk with God. You must be prepared to listen as He speaks through His word.

2). Read the Bible in Different Versions – Most people have a favorite version. Josh is an ESV fanatic and I read straight from the original languages! Those who know me know that is a LIE! haha.  Sometimes getting familiar with the way verses are written will diminish the meaning.  Put a fresh twist on the same verse.

3) Read the Bible to Learn about Specific Topics – Look up tons of verses on angels, prayer, love, friendship, evil, happiness, or whatever interests you.  Concordances and Bible indexes are helpful extra biblical tools.  www.biblegateway.com is also a great resource.

4). Read the Bible for the Big Story – Remember that there is a consistent theme of the redemptive sacrifice of a loving God to a undeserving and sinful humanity.

5). Read the Bible to Learn about Jesus – Jesus is all over the Bible (including the Old Testament) Look for glimpses of Him throughout all parts of the Bible from the sacrifices in Leviticus to the Revelation of John.

6). Read the Bible as a record of Messy History – the people of the Bible are just as messed up and crazy as you and I.  The Scriptures show God’s work through amid an imperfect people, and that gives us hope that He will use us too.

7). Read the Bible Intentionally with a Purpose – breakdown the Bible into its books (or even sub books) and read them from start to finish.  Do this slowly and methodically.  Bible study is a marathon – not a sprint (Read Josh’s post for more on this).

8). Read the Bible to Change Your Life – As you read, let the word’s of God shape and mold your life into the instrument of His will.  Hebrews 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:16, and Ephesians 5:1-21 give greater insight to the power of God’s word.

God bless your studies!

 

Studying the Bible

Considering the line of work we’re in, Jon and I sometimes hear questions about the Bible like, “How do I know what this verse is about?” or “What does this verse mean?”  We try to be up front and honest with our answers, and we usually point out that studying the Bible is not an easy task.  It requires time and energy, should be done prayerfully and carefully, and many scholars have made full time jobs out of it.

My preaching professor at Southeastern helped me greatly on this topic.  He once shared with us this effective means of reading and studying a passage.  He told us to ask these three questions:

1). What is the passage about (what’s the topic)?

2). What does the author of that passage say about that topic?

3). How does this apply to me?

I’ve used these questions numerous times and they’ve helped me tremendously.  Hopefully these questions will be useful to you too.  And remember, studying the Bible can be difficult but the benefits of that hard study are well worth it when you come to a better knowledge of our glorious Savior.

 

I am still alive!

Hello everyone,

Have no fear for I am still here!  My sincere apologies for the delay in posting.  There are several excuses that I could give for my tardiness: in the past 2 weeks 1,200 pumpkins have invaded our community in the form of our annual youth pumpkin patch fundraiser, I have preached in 4 worship services and led 6 small groups, and I have battled a sleep deprived 3-year-old and an ear infected 5-year-old.  Ok, I had better stop before Josh picks on my for being a sissy. haha

I know this is just a brief post to say that I am still around, but I want to leave you with a quote that I ran across the other day on a friend’s Facebook status.  “Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace, and your best days are never so good that you’re beyond the need of God’s grace.”

 

Where’s Jon?

Some of you may be wondering, like me, “What happened to Jon?”  Well fear not!  He tells me he’s going to post later on in the week, so stay tuned.

Also, for those interested, I’ve got 44 votes for my picture on ESPN so far.  The leader has around 297; we’ve got a ways to go!  Pass the word!