Running after the Eternal

Philippians 1:20-21

2008-09-15T13:43:00.001-04:00

This message was preached on September 7th @ Greenville Grace.

The passage preached was truly working on my heart and I hope that it challenges you as it did me.

Click here to hear it

Make Certain of His Call

2008-07-07T08:37:00.001-04:00

On June 29th I had the opportunity to speak at our church. Here is the link to the message if you're interested in listening. The text for the sermond is 2 Peter 1:1-11.

Click here for the sermon

The Wrath of God

2008-05-05T14:35:00.002-04:00

This week I had the opportunity to preach at our church on the tough subject of "The Wrath of God."

Click here to listen to it

Treasure hunt

2008-02-14T09:58:00.003-05:00

I know it has been quite a while since my last post. If there is any one out there still checking this... I greatly appreciate your patience. Here is the sermon I had the opportunity to preach last week at our church. Hopefully it will challenge you as it has greatly challenged me.

Click here for the sermon: Philipians 3:1-14

Romans 7:14-25

2007-10-08T11:43:00.000-04:00

For those of you that are interested, this is the message that I had the opportunity to preach yesterday during our Sunday morning services. I hope this challenges you as much as it has challenged me the last few weeks as I have been studying through it. Feel free to leave me some feedback on what your thoughts are.

click here for the sermon

Audrey 2.0 (meaning... 2 months)

2007-09-06T20:31:00.000-04:00

The many faces of Audrey!

and just because this one is so amusing... I'll post it twice!

okay okay... I'll post my favorite too

Isn't she beautiful? Okay, maybe mom and dad are a LITTLE bit biased... but maybe she is the most beautiful baby we've ever seen...

"This is eternal Life"

2007-08-16T11:23:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to speak at our church. I spoke on something that has truly been a life-changing topic for me. Why are we created? What's the point of all of this?

If you're interested, check out this message and then let me know what you think

click here for the message

Meet Audrey!

2007-07-10T13:55:00.002-04:00

Audrey Marion Strader

6 lbs. 3 oz. 19 inches

Here's all the pictures I have at this time:

The new family picture

nap time

holding daddy's hand

more napping

tiny little girl

That's all for now... I will try to update with more later. Thanks!

A harsh reality

2007-03-30T15:17:00.000-04:00

Here's a sermon illustration I used a few weeks ago. Hopefully it will get you thinking:

Illustration: Thoughts

- When I was a kid my family used to have this thing called the “Special Plate.” The point of the plate was that any time it was a special day for us like a birthday, or report card day, we celebrated that person’s accomplishment. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with this plate or for praising accomplishments… however it began to stir up a desire for recognition in my heart.

- I used to strive for recognition. In my high school, we had this award called the Christian Character award. It was all about praising a student who exemplified the best Christian character. I won that award 3 out of 4 years and tied the year I didn’t win it outright. I was so focused on being recognized and praised for my good character.

- I was also praised in high school for being a good athlete. I was co-captain of the basketball team as well as runner-up for homecoming king. I had a huge head. It was all about me and what I’ve done.

- In college we had this thing called the student service award in which we would recognize people for acts of service. I used to try and think of things I could do … just so I could be recognized. Isn’t that ridiculous? I’m sad to admit that.

- The point is, our culture always tells us that it’s about us. We praise our accomplishments and practically worship celebrities and athletes. One of the toughest things to come to grips with in our spiritual life is that: in and of ourselves, we aren’t praise worthy. We have nothing to brag about. We don’t bring anything to the table (if you don’t believe me, read Romans 3… that should be humbling enough). Why do you think so many people think that they are a good person? Why do you think that so many people believe they’re going to heaven? Because our culture, and our world, tells us that we are. We live in a culture that is all about what YOU do and what YOU’VE accomplished, yet Christianity is all about what GOD does and what GOD accomplished. It’s time for a reality check!

Food for thought

2007-01-29T16:21:00.000-05:00

Here's another quote from John Piper that really got me thinking:

"If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, COULD YOU BE SATISFIED WITH HEAVEN IF CHRIST WAS NOT THERE?”

Is our salvation based on what God can do for us... well yes, we can't save ourselves or make ourselves right before him. But sometimes, as a result of that, we make the gospel about us when it was never meant to be that way. The beauty of the gospel is God rescuing us from darkness (Col. 1:13) and giving us the right to become children of God (John 1:12).

The point is, it's not about us and it never was. It is a story of God's grace and mercy to his enemies (yes that's us see-Romans 5). And the best part... the absolutely BEST part about it, is being able to have fellowship with God. Yes, we do receive some pretty amazing promises from God because we are his children (i.e. no longer slaves to sin - Rom. 6, eternal life - John 3:16, etc.). But more amazing than that is that we have the unbelievable privelege to be intimate with the almighty God. And I can promise you, there is NOTHING in heaven or on earth that is better than being with HIM!

So what does this mean for our lives? Well, thanks for asking. It means that we no longer live moral lives to avoid guilt. it means we no longer live in a way to make ourselves look good. It takes our discipleship to a whole different level. We live in such a way that gives God the most glory. Hey, maybe it even means we share our faith even when it's uncomfortable. The point is: Our soul reason for living is to give honor and glory to the one who has called us out of darkness and who has saved us from His wrath.

I hope this makes sense... because God has really been working in my heart and challenging me with some of this! Hopefully he'll do the same for you!

The real meaning of the Cross

2007-01-23T14:34:00.000-05:00

I know it's been quite a long time since my last post... and I feel like I've started off the last few posts this way. I'm finding it hard to work up the motivation to write new posts along with a lack of creativity in my writing.

I came across this article this week and think you guys should check it out:

A. W. Tozer in "The Old Cross and the New".

"From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life; and from that new philosophy has come a new evangelical technique -- a new type of meeting and new type of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same language as of the old, but its content is not the same, and the emphasis not as before.

"The new cross encourages a new and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the old life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts but similarities. He seeks to key into the public view the same thing the world does, only a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very thing the gospel offers, only the religious product is better.

"The new cross does not slay the sinner; it re-directs him. It gears him to a cleaner and jollier way of living, and saves his self-respect...The Christian message is slanted in the direction of the current vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public.

"The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere, but its sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the cross. The old cross is a symbol of DEATH. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took the cross and started down the road has already said goodbye to his friends. He was not coming back. He was not going out to have his life re-directed; he was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise; modified nothing; spared nothing. It slew all of the man completely, and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with the victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more.

"The race of Adam is under the death sentence. There is no commutation and no escape. God cannot approve any fruits of sin, however innocent they may appear, or beautiful to the eyes of men. God salvages the individual by liquidating him, and then raising him again to newness of life.

"That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world; it intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life to a higher plane; we leave it at the cross....

"We, who preach the gospel, must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, or the world of sports, or modern entertainment. We are not diplomats, but prophets; and our message is not a compromise, but an ultimatum."

I believe this is probably one of the best explanations of the true meaning of the cross, that I have ever read!!!

Get the word out

2006-11-25T11:59:00.000-05:00

I know it's been quite some time since my last post, and for that, I have some excuses, but no good ones. But, in light of the fact that Isabel and I are going to have a child now, hopefully you can look past my procrastination. Wait! What?!?! That's right, we found out that we are going to have a child sometime around mid-july. We've known for a few weeks, but waited to get the word out until we told our parents. Well, now you know. Thanks to all my faithful readers who check my blog on a daily or weekly basis. You will probably be the first ones to find out the news. Get the word out!

Youth Sunday

2006-10-10T09:54:00.001-04:00

This past Sunday our youth group had the opportunity to run our Sunday Morning service. It was such a blessing to see our teens leading our congregation in worship. We had originally planned on having one of the teens give the sermon but that feel through at the last minute. As a result, the congregation was stuck hearing me give the message. Here is the link for the audio of that message for anyone that is interested in listening. This message is where I got the idea for my previous post, so it might sound pretty similar. click here to listen to the sermon. Thanks again for all your encouraging comments and I hope that this message truly challenges all of us to be doers of the word and not merely hearers. click here if you would like to download the message and save it to your computer. The first link will take you directly to the message, this one will give you the download.

Personal Hygiene

2006-09-28T10:32:00.000-04:00

"But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was." James 1:22-24

This week in youth group we studied the idea of being doers of the word and not merely hearers. As I was thinking of a good introduction to the topic, I came up with the idea of comparing the way we treat God's word and our faith, with how we treat our personal hygiene. What if we treated them the same? Here's what I mean:

What if I just thought about and understood why I use the personal hygiene products that I use, but never actually used them? What if I merely did research on my shampoo, but never actually applied it to my scalp? Do I really need to put on deodorant? Nah, that would be too much effort. Showering just makes me feel uncomfortable, and I don't feel like doing it today.

Even though this example is extreme, it is not far from the way we interpret the word of God. Check out this quote from Mark Dever in his book PROMISES KEPT (this is a commentary on the New Testament). Dever states "It is easy to deceive ourselves. It is easy to sit and listen to a sermon or read a Christian book and think that because you have understood something the preacher says, you have moved closer to God. Certainly, understanding something the Bible says is good. Yet hearing and understanding something the Bible says but not making sure that it translates into how you live is quite dangerous. I fear that many religious people in churches have a toxic buildup of religious knowledge that is not lived out. James becomes a terrifying book when we consider all the hearers who have not become doers, especially if that includes you."

Wow! When I read that quote for the first time, it really challenged me. Am I just a hearer of the word? Do I think that just attending a church service, or spending time reading God's word is all I need? I'm deceiving myself. If I'm just a hearer of the word and not a doer, what is the point? James later talks about how faith without works is dead! Don't hear me say that you need works to save you, that is a lie. We are saved by grace alone, and faith alone. However, the EVIDENCE of faith is WORKS. If we are not living out our faith, is it real? When we were called out of darkness, we were called to repentance. We were called to a new life. We were made new in Christ, therefore according to Eph. 4:22-23 "that in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind."

The Christian life is not supposed to be lived passively. It is not a call to fire insurance or a get out of hell free card. It is a call to action. It is a call to repentance. We are to show our faith in God by our works. Let's be doers of the word!

Like looking in the Mirror

2006-09-20T08:41:00.000-04:00

These last two weeks we have been studying the book of James as a youth group. Last wednesday, we covered James 1:5-11. If you are looking for a place to do devotions, James is an excellent read and is filled with practical and challenging applications. Anyways, one of the topics James addresses was very challenging for me and I want to share that with you as well.

When you get up in the morning, what is the first thing you do? Or maybe it is the last thing you do before you leave? You always take a look at yourself in the mirror to see if everything is "looking good." You use this mirror as a way to interpret how other people will see you in the day. As we were studying through James, this idea came up. In James 1:8-11, he addresses to Christian believers. One is a poor man, and the other is a rich one. To the poor one he says, "Glory in your high position" and to the rich one he says, "Glory in your humiliation." Why would James say this? It seems like he is saying exactly the opposite of what their status is in their world. As I looked deeper into the meaning of the words and studied what some commentators had to say, it became very clear what he was talking about. Here's what I found:

When you take a closer look at the Greek and the context of the passage it becomes very clear. James is telling them to evaluate themselves according to God's standards and not the world's. To the poor believer he says, "Glory in your high position" meaning, even though you have a low position in this world, realize that you are a child of God and that you have an inheritance in heaven that is far higher than anything here on earth. To the rich believer he states, "Glory in your humiliation." In the Greek, the world humiliation actually meant, in reference to your sinful body. He was telling the rich beliver that, even though you have a high position on earth, realize that you are a sinner saved by grace. It is only by God's grace, and nothing of your own merit, that you will inherit the kingdom.

I thought that this concept was amazing and just wanted to share it with you. May we look at God's word, and God's standard like a mirror to evaluate who we are. We cannot allow ourselves to give in to what the world says about us whether it is good or bad. We must realize that we need to interpret our value by spiritual standards and not material ones!

Where your treasure is

2006-08-21T17:35:00.000-04:00

I was thinking last night, as I began tackling another Sudoku puzzle (the best puzzle game ever, It's highly addictive), how well do I manage my time? I know we've all thought about this at one time or another. I've heard many sermons about how if we look at our checkbooks, we can find out what is important to us. Well, if that is the case, then I must really love fast food. Either way, most times I let those challenges (to manage my time better) just slip my mind as I find something more important to think about.

The truth is, those sermons weren't just some proverb that man came up with. That truth comes right out of the gospels. Jesus states, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. If I claim to love Christ, and desire to bring him glory, yet my time and energy reflect something totally different, who am I lying to? Myself? Jesus himself? Both? I wonder how often we tell many people how we love Christ, and we even tell him that we love him more than anything else, yet our time and energy reflect something grossly different from what we say. I can talk a good talk, but how often to I walk the way I talk.

I know this post was full of cliches; and in some part, that was intentional because I think sometimes this truth becomes a cliche when it shouldn't be. I want to show people how much I love the Lord by the way I live. I challenge you to do the same.

The usual

2006-08-03T09:37:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I wonder how often we really think about the God that we are worshiping? Are we so "used" to reading our Bible, or attending worship services that we lose the sense of awe that we once had? Does reading Scripture just become another thing in the day? Do we really evaluate our hearts like the priests in the Old Testament had to do before they entered the temple? If you've answered yes to any of these, then you are like me, and probably the majority of Christians today.

Where is the sense of awe? How can we forget that we get the opportunity to hear the words of God? How can we forget that we get a chance to sing praises to the CREATOR OF THE WORLD!?!?!?!? Doesn't that seem odd to you? If you were a non-Christian and had the opportunity to watch how believers worship God, would you be interested in it yourself? I'm not saying that we can't feel comfortable approaching God because elsewhere in Scripture we are called the friends of God. However, if there is no sense of awe (or fear of the Lord), how can we acknowledge his glory and his power and his fame? God deserves to be honored with our reverent hearts.

Do me and yourself a favor. Next time you read God's word, or this next Sunday when you attend church, examine your heart and make yourself ready to approach the God of the Universe. I've began doing this and it really helps me to get more out of my Bible reading time, as well as to have a deeper worship time. Let's not let our time with God just become "the usual" thing to do. It should be the most exciting time of our day, and we should prepare our hearts for it! I hope this makes sense.

California Dreams

2006-07-29T14:34:00.000-04:00

Well, as some of you know, this week some of our youth group had the opportunity to go to BNYC (Brethren National Youth Conference) in Los Angeles California. It was truly a great week however, the temperature in LA was extremely abnormal. It was nearly 100 degrees almost every day. Even with the temperature being unbearable at times, it was truly a blessing to see God work in our teens lives.

We were challenged in many areas of our faith:
Knowing and doing God's will, Sharing our faith, Finding our value in God, Defending our faith, taking joy in our Creator, and simply just being "all-in" with Jesus.

The speakers did a great job. God was truly moving and I believe that He is doing something great in our teens. To God be the Glory!

Does Salvation without Repentance exist?

2006-07-13T13:10:00.002-04:00

This is a question that I've been wrestling though on a personal level for years. I grew up in the church and have known many people (friends and acquaintances) that have claimed to be Christians, but yet their lives don't back it up. For years I have pondered the question, "Is it possible to truly know Christ, and not change?" The decision I came to quite a few years ago, is the same one that I claim today. WITHOUT REPENTANCE, you CANNOT be saved. I know that sounds really harsh but let me explain what I mean.

A common misconception that most people have about Christianity is that, if you attend church you're a Christian; if you read your Bible, you're a Christian; if you speak the Christian lingo, you're a Christian....you get the point. This is a completely incomplete (if that makes sense) way to look at it. Are we defined by what we do? Do our works make us Christian. Absolutely not (Eph. 2:8-9)! Don't hear me say in this post that works make us Christian because that is absolutely wrong. It is only by God's Grace that we are saved.

But let's examine something, In 2 Corinthians, 5:14-21 (great verses....definitely a must read) Paul talks about how, when we come to know Christ as our savior, we are to be controlled by his love (v.14). When we become a Christian, we are a new creation. That is what it means to be born again, we change in mind, heart, and disposition. We are DIFFERENT. Friend, if you have not seen a change in your actions, or desires at all, there honestly may be a problem. I don't want to sound preachy at all. If you knew my heart, you would understand that I struggle as well with sin. We all do. The difference when we are saved is that we are no longer SLAVES (Romans 6). We are no longer slaves to sin. We can have victory over it because Christ is in us! So repentance has to happen because we become new. We have the mind of Christ. Our desires change, we are a new creation!!! Isn't that good news? True salvation must be accompanied with true repentance. The problem with many in the church today is that they are going through the motions. They don't own their faith, they just put on a front. But we are commanded to flee the things of our old self, and set our mind on things above (Col. 3:1-5). We are called to a higher standard. It is a life that depends on God.

The truth is, the Christian life is IMPOSSIBLE to lead without God's help. Apart from him we are sinners, and without his strength we can do nothing. Do yourself a favor and thank God for saving you (if you have come to faith), and choose today to live on his strength alone. Be encouraged, walk in the light (1 John)!

Treading Water

2006-07-06T15:49:00.000-04:00

Before I begin my post, I just wanted to give an update to any who are curious. No my eyes have not gotten any better yet and for the second week in a row, I have had to have the youth read the verses while I just humbly listen and then attempt to explain them. It is just another confirmation in my mind that God is in control and I trust him to do what he does!

If you've read some of my posts recently, the area that God is continually shaping me is the area of humility (or lack there of). I shared this example last night at youth group and it really puts our position in this world in a better perspective. Have you ever heard a preacher or evangelist use the analogy of God being like a captain on a ship and we have fallen overboard. Many times the will say, we can't save ourselves, no more than a drowning man can save himself. I know people say this, because I think I've used this example in a few sermons a couple of years ago.

I have been realizing recently how theologically, and Biblically inaccurate that example is. When we first here about how we are drowning in our sin and God throws out a divine life raft is sounds pretty Biblical. Let's take a closer look at some Scripture that describes our real condition. In Ephesians 2:1 Paul talks about how we are DEAD in our transgressions, not drowning, not trying to keep our head above water, or getting tired of struggling, we are DEAD. A more accurate (but more grotesque) example would be our dead and decaying corpses laying on the bottom of the Ocean with no life left in us. We were never alive. When we were born, we had a sin-nature and we were sentenced to death (Romans 6:23), but God in his Gracious love, picked us up off the Ocean floor and brought us to life. He took our dead bodies and made us new in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17).

The drowning example implies that we were surviving on our own but we just got tired so we needed God's help. In reality, we never had a chance! Without God, we had no hope. What a hope we have in Christ! I hope this thought encourages you as much as it has encouraged me!

humbled yet again

2006-06-27T11:51:00.000-04:00

For those of you that haven't heard, or are wondering how I am doing, here's an update. Recently I have been having a lot of trouble seeing. There have been blurry spots in my vision that I was beginning to get concerned about. After spending all day yesterday in Dayton getting my eyes examined, the thought occured to me, if God wanted to take my sight away, he could. Thankfully, he didn't and hopefully, I will make a speedy recovery. Basically, my eyes are supposed to heal on their own in the next couple of weeks but it was humbling to think I could be vision impaired for the rest of my life. That is a harsh reality to face. Either way, it was comforting to think that I can rest in God despite my circumstances. I know that he does truly work everything together for good for those called according to his purposes (Romans 8:28) and even with bad vision, I can still glorify God. Even as I type this post, I'm having trouble seeing so I'll keep it short. I just wanted to encourage anyone reading this that even in suffering, pain, tribulation, discomfort, etc. God still has a plan. I'm just thankful to be a part of it.

The privilege of Christ

2006-06-15T10:08:00.000-04:00

Last night I addressed this topic and felt like I should post this on my blog. Recently, I've been reading the book of Romans. The funny thing is, the verses that I've found to be the most challenging and meaningful, were the verses that I knew the best. I was reading out of Romans chapter three about the justification that is found in Christ. In v. 23 Paul writes that all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God, but he continues on that we have been justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption found in Christ Jesus.

Lately I've come to grips with the fact that, apart from Christ, I am nothing more than a worthless sinner whose righteousness is like filthy rags to God. Without Christ, without salvation, without being called by God and saved by grace, I am nothing! No wonder Paul claims that he finds his boast in the Lord. What do we have to boast about? NOTHING! Without Christ and his sacrifice for us, we have no hope. Thankfully, I have been called out of my life of sin into a relationship with Christ. I have been saved by grace. WHAT A PRIVILEGE! What a privilege it is to be a child of God. I don't want to be the person that takes his faith for granted. I don't want to be the guy that says, "well, I'll just goof around now and do what I want, but in a couple years, I'll get serious with my faith." If Paul were answering this he would say "May it Never Be!" I don't want to be defined by my own desires and fallen abilities. I want my life to be devoted to Christ is every aspect. I hope that you can see what a privilege it is to be a child of God and not take it for granted. Thank God today for calling you out of darkness and making you a part of his family!

wedding Pictures (some good, some just weird)

2006-06-12T09:57:00.000-04:00

These are just some candid pics that I have from the rehersal and wedding day. Enjoy, especially the last one.

saying the vows:

Cool pic while taking pictures:

My bride walking down the aisle:

Just a downright weird pic with me and my father-in-law:

I'm back....and happily married

2006-06-09T18:27:00.000-04:00

Sorry to all of you faithful bloggers out there. I haven't updated my blog for a week for one simple reason....I GOT MARRIED!!! Then I was in DISNEY WORLD for 5 days. So again, I apologize but I think I had a pretty good excuse for missing a week of updating. Thanks so much to all my friends and family that were able to make it to the wedding, and Isabel and I are truly excited to begin our new life together! WOO HOO!

This is a funny video

2006-05-30T09:11:00.000-04:00

My buddy and I made this while we were still at school. This is for your own enjoyment. Hopefully you'll find it as amusing as we did.

House of prayer

2006-05-27T08:51:00.000-04:00

After attending the men's breakfast this morning, which is an accomplishment for me being that it is at 7:00 AM, I felt like I should post something that was on my heart. God has really been teaching me lately that without him, I am totally inadequate. I hope that my life, and my church can be so dependent on God, that I truly come before him in prayer on a daily, hourly, and even minute..ly (if that's a word) basis. What does the apostle Paul mean when he calls us to pray without ceasing? Is that even possible? Well, according to my own human ability, no! However, when I am completely relying on God and dependent on him, I will be drawn to prayer.

I think of a passage found in all the gospels but specifically in Matthew 21:12-13 (in the context of Jesus cleansing the temple) "12 Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 "It is written," he said to them, "'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'"

If Jesus was so motivated to emphasize the aspect of prayer in His Father's house, why have I missed the importance of prayer in my own life. I hope and pray that I can reflect this principle, and that our church can reflect this principle as well. We are fallen, imperfect sinners who, only by the grace of God, have the ability to be called sons of God. Without him, we are nothing. What makes me so prideful, that I don't even consider his will on a daily basis?

Wedding day countdown

2006-05-23T16:09:00.000-04:00

Only 11 days until I get married. I thank God everyday that he has blessed me with such an amazing future bride.

Dust Pan

2006-05-23T10:23:00.000-04:00

Recently, I had the opportunity to watch a video entitled "Dust" which is from the Nooma video series created by Rob Bell. In the video, Rob explains the idea of being a disciple. It was a great change in perspective for me when I realized the history of the Rabbinic system in 1st century Israel. With this backdrop in mind, it really makes the idea of a disciple come to life.

Nearly every child in Israel was expected to take part in learning the Hebrew Scriptures in some capacity. Every child was expected to memorize the Torah. That's right. MEMORIZE. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy all by heart. What if we were required to do that today? Anyways, if a child was considered very versed in the Torah and was more advanced than others his age, he would continue on in his schooling. The rest of the children who weren't good enough or smart enough, would go and learn their family trade.

The next level of study would require the child to learn the entire Hebrew Scripture by heart. 37 BOOKS! MEMORIZED! At this point, they were around 15 and they were now ready to approach the Rabbis about becoming a disciple. Only the best were accepted even at this point and many are turned away to go learn their family trade. Those that would move on had to prove to the Rabbi that they could do what he does, that they could be his disciple.

Why tell you all of this? Why is this important for us to know? The idea of being a disciple in today's world doesn't do justice to the original term. In modern day America, we think a disciple should know what their teacher knows. However, in Jesus' day, a disciple was much more than that. He was supposed to DO what his teached DID. The thing that is interesting about Jesus is that he didn't call the best of the best. He called fishermen, tax collectors, etc. This clearly implies that these men weren't good enough for any other Rabbi. Jesus believed in his disciples. He believes in us.

The best part about this is that Jesus already knows that we aren't good enough. He was perfect and to be his disciple would require us to be perfect. That's impossible! Yes, that's true. Humanly, it is impossible. But Scripture tells us that Christ becomes our righteousness (Romans 3, 1 Cor. 1:30). He intercedes on our behalf (Romans 8:26-27). He paid the price for our sin (1 John 2:2). And my favorite, he started, and will continue his good work (Phil. 1:6). THAT'S AMAZING. We now have the ability to be his disciple because we are no longer slaves to sin (Romans 6), and we can live by his strength and not our own.

Picking up the story again in first century Jerusalem, the disciples of a Rabbi would follow him everywhere he went. They would follow behind him on the dirty, dust filled roads and by the end of the day, whatever the Rabbi stepped in was embedded in their clothes and covering their faces. When expressing a challenge to the disciples of Rabbis, people would say "May you be covered in the dust of your Rabbi," implying that they would follow close after him and become like him. I hope that can be said of us. I want to be covered in the dust of Jesus. I want to follow close in his steps so that people would recognize that I was following him.

There is a verse in Acts that clearly describes this principle and with this I close:

Acts 4:13 "Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus."

Cosmic Plagiarism?

2006-05-12T19:29:00.000-04:00

Continuing with the theme of life challenging lessons, C.J. Mahaney continues to point out inadequacies in my life in his book (Humility). Chapter six has an intriguing idea: Cosmic Plagiarism. What's that? Well, he prefaces it by giving a story about some famous writers who were accused of plagiarism for their works and he begs the question: "Do we plagiarize God?" God, the creator of the universe, created us and everything in our lives should be attributed to him. He deserves all the "citing." I wonder how many times I plagiarize God and take credit for something that he does without mentioning him.

This illustration really made me evaluate my pride problem. We, as Christians have A LOT to be thankful for. I am probably the most ungrateful person in the world so this challenge is extremely difficult for me to hear. The truth is, we don't have anything to brag about. The Bible even tells us that our righteousness is like filthy rags to God. What makes me think that I'm so great? What gives me the right to believe that my gifts and talents are because of my own hard work and ability?

I offer this same challenge to you: Let's stop plagiarizing God and give him the glory that he is due! If we are constantly focusing on his glory rather than our own, we're beginning to understand what it means to live a humble life that seeks to worship God rather than ourselves.
I leave you with this verse, be encouraged:
Psalm 34:2 "My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear it and rejoice."

My first real post

2006-05-10T16:52:00.000-04:00

I figure, since my "first" post was only an introduction, that I should really post something that has meaning to someone outside of the church office. Well, where do I start? I've been reading a really challenging book by C.J. Mahany called Humilty. It's a gut check for me to read something that challenges me on how prideful I am. One of the most insightful statements C.J. makes is in regards to the Cross. One of the ways he practices humility is to focus on the cross at all times.

If you think about it, when we are constantly thinking about Christ's death and resurrection, we can't help but feel thankful and unworthy of it. When we put ourselves in that mindset on a daily basis, we're constantly looking up instead of looking down to others. I know that this is a tall task, but hopefully, with some practice, it can be a daily habit of my life to bask in the presence of a Savior who loves me enough to die for me. I'll be chewing on this for a while. Maybe you should too?

Finally, I've come around

2006-05-10T10:34:00.000-04:00

I've heard that blogs were the next "new thing" but, I had quickly rejected that notion. I'm one of those that prefers the old fashioned "email" and "instant messaging." This new technology is driving me crazy. Really, the main reason for my change of heart is because Jason and Danny are twisting my arm as we speak, it's hard to type with one hand...but I'll manage. Okay, that's not really true, but bear with me as my ineptness in "blogging" becomes more and more clear.