Thursday, September 27, 2012
I'D LOVE TO JESUS, BUT A BIGGER NAME ASKED ME YESTERDAY - My 18th Blog
What if we were to look at an encounter with Jesus like it was a date with someone that we thought was incredible? Because I think if we did just that, not only would our world change, but the world around us would as well.
Think about the last time you really really liked someone and they asked if you would like to go out with them, or perhaps you were the one doing the asking and this amazing person agreed to go on a date with you. What exactly did that look like and how did it play out in your mind and in reality?
1- YOU WERE EXCITED: You didn’t just think about this person when the time came for your date, you thought about them from the time you both agreed to go out together.
2- YOU COULDN’T WAIT TO SPEND TIME WITH THEM: It was in fact just about all you could think about! You couldn’t wait to be in their presence again and have them right there beside you!
3- YOU COULDN’T WAIT TO TALK TO THEM: You wanted them to know things about your life and about you in general. You wanted to share with them your hopes and dreams and let them get to know you.
4- YOU COULDN’T WAIT FOR THEM TO TALK TO YOU: You like this person so they could pretty much talk about anything and you wouldn’t care! All you wanted to do was absorb and learn as much as possible about them.
5- YOU REMEMBERED WHAT THEY SAID BECAUSE IT WAS IMPORTANT: Of course you remember the grand stories and big details, but you remember the little things as well because everything that person said mattered to you and gave you a little more insight and wisdom into who they really are.
6- CROWDS WERE NICE, BUT ALONE TIME WAS MUCH BETTER: Doing things with your friends and hanging out with them was fun and all, but nothing beat just you and that other person getting to be alone with each other without all the distractions.
7- YOU WERE AT YOUR BEST: You cleaned up nice, debated over what made you look your best, and you made sure you were rested before your date.
8- YOU MADE SACRIFICES FOR THAT PERSON: You gave up time with others or gave up doing other things that you would normally be doing in order to spend time with that one person.
9- WHEN THE DATE WAS OVER YOU ANALYZED EVERYTHING: What did I say to them? What did they say to me? What thing new did I learn? Was old memory did I get refreshed on? Will I ever stop thinking about them? Are they thinking about me?
10- YOU TELL PEOPLE YOU LOVE ABOUT IT: We can’t wait to tell our friends and parents and anyone that will listen about this great person we just spent time with. We want them to know how amazing this person is and all the details.
11- YOU CAN’T WAIT UNTIL YOUR NEXT ENCOUNTER: We just have to see and hear from this person again, the sooner the better, and that call from them can’t come soon enough.
12- WE LONG TO FIND OUT WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT US: Whether it be from a mutual friend or social media or wherever, we want to know what this person is thinking and if they like us as much as we like them.
NOW WHAT IF WE VIEWED OUR ENCOUNTERS AND TIME WITH JESUS LIKE THAT?
1- YOU ARE EXCITED: You don’t just think about Jesus on Sunday morning or when you need something, you think about Him all the time and get excited about your relationship.
2- YOU CAN’T WAIT TO SPEND TIME WITH HIM: You can’t wait to be back in the presence of Christ and spending that alone time with just you and Him.
3- YOU CAN’T WAIT TO TALK TO HIM: You pray and talk constantly with Him and you make your conversation with Him the most intimate one of your day.
4- YOU CAN’T WAIT FOR HIM TO TALK TO YOU: You can’t get enough of God’s word to see what He has to say just to you! All you want to do is absorb and learn as much as possible about Him and from Him.
5- YOU REMEMBER WHAT HE SAYS BECAUSE IT IS IMPORTANT: Of course you remember the grand stories and big details, but you remember the little things as well because everything Jesus says matters to you and gives you a little more insight and wisdom into who He really is.
6- CROWDS ARE NICE, BUT ALONE TIME IS MUCH BETTER: Doing things with your friends and hanging out with them is fun and all, but nothing beats just you and Jesus getting to be alone with each other without all the distractions.
7- YOU ARE AT YOUR BEST: Jesus doesn’t get just the 15 minutes before you go to sleep after working for 12 hours or studying for 5 hours for that test or tailgating all day at the ballgame or at the end of game night with your friends when you’re exhausted. He gets the best of you when you are freshest, not at your very worst and most exhausted.
8- YOU MAKE SACRIFICES FOR HIM: You give up time with others, you give up going places and hobbies so you can be at church, you give your money, you give your ALL to be with Him.
9- WHEN THE DATE IS OVER YOU ANALYZE EVERYTHING: You look back at your quiet time and reflect on what Jesus said to you and you talk to Him about it and make it applicable to your life because one on one time with Jesus isn’t about anything else in His eyes except you! Is that not the coolest thought ever?
10- YOU TELL PEOPLE YOU LOVE ABOUT HIM: You can’t wait to tell your friends and parents and anyone that will listen about this great person you just spent time with. You want them to know how amazing Jesus is and all the details.
11- YOU CAN’T WAIT UNTIL YOUR NEXT ENCOUNTER: You just have to talk to and hear from Him again, the sooner the better, and that next encounter from Him can’t come soon enough.
12- WE LONG TO FIND OUT WHAT HE SAYS ABOUT US: Jesus has a unique plan for everyone, and you strive to seek and live that will for your life and to find out what He says to you and about you.
There are many people that love Christ, but today it just seems like you don’t find too many that are actually IN LOVE with Him. What if we were to put that romance and courtship that we are so easily and willingly wanting to give to a significant other, and put that back into our relationship with Jesus?
You know it is easy to get excited when someone compliments our new haircut or just the way our hair looks today, but Jesus actually loves us so much that he knows little details about us like the exact number of hairs on our head. Someone may say they love you so much that they would die for you, well Jesus actually did die for you. Someone may say they will never ever hurt you, but Jesus is the only one that will ever be able to keep that promise. Someone may say they will call you, when in reality Jesus never ever stops calling you. Jesus is the only perfect companion, so why don’t we make Him the most important companion that we have or that we ever will have?
I’ll end with this thought: Imagine the most handsome guy or beautiful girl and you so badly and desperately want to spend time with them and go out and spend time together. What if we viewed Jesus like that? And here is the greatest thing about that: He will NEVER turn us down when we ask Him to go on that date with us. It is a yes 100% of the time! And the best part, we don’t even have to pay for it, He already did that at Calvary.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
My First Playboy - My 17th Blog
My First Playboy
I can remember it like it was yesterday. I don’t know how old I was but I know I was a young teenager so it had to be at least 20 years ago. It was after school and I went home and decided I wanted to ride my bike that day. My mom didn’t like me riding on the road but mom was busy that day so I decided to ride on this nice little straightaway in front of our house. The paved road was so much better than our gravel driveway. So off I went, I was probably no more than a half a mile from my house, when I saw it.
What it was doing in the ditch on the side of the road I will never ever know. I had never seen one that close before but I knew exactly what it was and what was on the inside. And that is exactly why I picked it up, quickly looked around to see if any of the neighbors had seen me, and took off back to my house. It was like suddenly my bike was the biggest and baddest Harley in town because I was racing to get home!
I remember going under the carport because nobody would see me there. It was just me and my very first Playboy magazine. Now mind you I had been in church my whole entire life, was saved at a young age, and was still very active in church at this time. But this was a free Playboy magazine that nobody knew I had. I knew it was wrong to have it and look at, but did I mention this was a Playboy magazine!!! And mind you I was a young teenager very capable of reading, but I can honestly say I did not read one single article that day. I was much more interested in other things.
So I looked it over once or twice or fifteen times and then had a decision to make. What do I do with this little treasure? If my mom or dad found it in my room or in the house I would no longer live there because plain and simple I would no longer live period. I thought about hiding it in the car or around the house somewhere, but my fear of dying actually made me have at least a little good judgment that day. So off on my bike I went to put the Playboy right back in the ditch where I got it from.
Fast forward to the very next day… Guess what our young friend Keith did? Now if you know me at all I’m not much one for exercise, but on this particular day I decided I needed another bike ride. That’s right I went looking for that Playboy because I wanted to “read” it again. So I got to the place in the ditch where I had left it but it was gone. To this day I don’t know how it disappeared because I’m pretty sure I hid it in the weeds pretty good so nobody else could find it. You know this isn’t one of my finer moments in life. I shared this story with my youth not too long ago because it is a perfect object lesson on sin. I did not get on my bike that first day and go for a ride to search the ditches for a Playboy! That thought never even crossed my mind. But it found me. And that’s what sin will do, you may not be looking for it, but satan is looking for you and he will take any and every opportunity to see you stumble and fall. Especially when you least expect it.
Another thing is that sin is desirable. Satan makes it look good! I couldn’t wait to get home and ride my bike the next day so I could go get my Playboy and take it back to the house again. Yes I knew it was wrong but I didn’t care! You see Playboy is full of naked women in case you didn’t know and I wanted to see them. I was a teenage boy I mean come on! Sin can entrap us. Sin will entrap us. Oh if we are not constantly mindful of that!!!
You know my first Playboy was also my last Playboy. I haven’t looked at one since. Can I say that will always be true? I hope so, but honestly I don’t know. I know what I’m capable of. I’m not a teenage boy but I’m still a man and I know the things that satan will use to tempt me. It would only take a snap decision for me to look at one again. If we are not constantly mindful of satan and mindful of the things that we are capable of doing…well that is when we will find ourselves in a ditch.
And that is exactly where he wants us.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
The Truth in the Numbers - My 16th Blog
These are the blogs of my last month in youth ministry and some lessons and things God has taught me:
The Truth in the Numbers
The Director of Missions for Beaverdam Baptist Association recently sent out an email to many of the staff members of our local Baptist Churches. My mind was blown when looking at the numbers.
They are as follows:
-Over the last 10 years there has been a 23.4% decrease in church attendance in Oconee County.
-55% of the residents of Oconee County have little to no involvement in the faith community.
-78% of SC Baptist Convention churches are either declining or have plateaued in membership.
-The SC Baptist Convention estimates that 500 of 2,100 SC Baptist Convention churches will close their doors for good over the next 10 years
In addition:
-In Oconee County 20,881 people were on the membership rolls of SCBC churches
-Of those 20,881 people, 6,801 regularly attended worship
-There were 284 total Baptisms in Oconee County in SCBC churches
First of all praise God that 284 believed and participated in believer’s baptism in 2011!
But how can you not be sad when taking this data and doing some figuring on your own? For example it took 73.5 church members to help lead one person to the point of baptism. If we just look at the active church members, it took 24 active church members to help lead one person to the point of baptism. Wow!! IT TOOK 24 ACTIVE CHURCH MEMBERS PER PERSON BEING SAVED AND BAPTIZED.
Again you call me negative if you want to I really don’t care. If these numbers don’t show that we need to change what we are doing then what is it going to take to wake the church up???? I’m afraid that 500 of them over the next 10 years aren’t going to.
The message should never change. The gospel will always preach. And there is only one way to salvation and that is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
But here is the example I’ve used through the years with my kids. Satan is super smart. He knows the Bible better than any human alive. He is wise, he is patient, and he is cunning. And he doesn’t give up. If one tactic doesn’t work he will use something else and if that doesn’t work he will use something else and if that doesn’t work he will use something else etc… He will change his method at the drop of a bucket. It seems however that our churches just wanna play the same game and do the same thing that we have over the years. We never change our offense or our defense. We’re playing checkers while satan is playing chess. People are not the same as they were 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago. God is the same, people are not. Families are not the same. Teenagers are not the same. Life is not the same!!
The Great Commission says GO! That is the first word…GO…and teach all nations. We don’t have mission minded churches anymore. Our idea of missions is giving a love offering at Christmas and Easter. And that is fantastic because our foreign missionaries are getting more bang for their buck than the local church is that is for sure. But the Great Commission doesn’t say give so that somebody else can go or pray so that somebody else can go it says YOU GO! We’ve lost our mission focus, which should be our primary focus. Deacons have meetings about how to make people in the church happy. Deacons should have meetings about how to make satan unhappy and how to make their church a Great Commission minded church.
We’ve also made missions seem to have to be somewhat extravagant for them to be relevant. We have to go as a youth group on a grand mission trip or the college kid has to go to Africa or China or India or wherever or the church group has to go hundreds of miles away. And praise God for that but what about the mission field in front of our face? If we’re winning the battle elsewhere and overseas but losing the war at home what do we have to come back too? What about our lost parents and siblings and neighbors and classmates and coworkers right here and right now!! There are 74,273 people in Oconee County and if 55% of them are lost we have almost 41,000 people right here within shouting distance that need to be ministered to. And I think there are plenty of empty pews available for them to sit in.
Over the last 2 weeks I have had two people come up to me and point blank say they are not a Christian. I’m praying for God’s guidance in how to speak to them more than I already have.
And I hope it doesn’t take 47 other church members to help me share Christ with them.
The Truth in the Numbers
The Director of Missions for Beaverdam Baptist Association recently sent out an email to many of the staff members of our local Baptist Churches. My mind was blown when looking at the numbers.
They are as follows:
-Over the last 10 years there has been a 23.4% decrease in church attendance in Oconee County.
-55% of the residents of Oconee County have little to no involvement in the faith community.
-78% of SC Baptist Convention churches are either declining or have plateaued in membership.
-The SC Baptist Convention estimates that 500 of 2,100 SC Baptist Convention churches will close their doors for good over the next 10 years
In addition:
-In Oconee County 20,881 people were on the membership rolls of SCBC churches
-Of those 20,881 people, 6,801 regularly attended worship
-There were 284 total Baptisms in Oconee County in SCBC churches
First of all praise God that 284 believed and participated in believer’s baptism in 2011!
But how can you not be sad when taking this data and doing some figuring on your own? For example it took 73.5 church members to help lead one person to the point of baptism. If we just look at the active church members, it took 24 active church members to help lead one person to the point of baptism. Wow!! IT TOOK 24 ACTIVE CHURCH MEMBERS PER PERSON BEING SAVED AND BAPTIZED.
Again you call me negative if you want to I really don’t care. If these numbers don’t show that we need to change what we are doing then what is it going to take to wake the church up???? I’m afraid that 500 of them over the next 10 years aren’t going to.
The message should never change. The gospel will always preach. And there is only one way to salvation and that is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
But here is the example I’ve used through the years with my kids. Satan is super smart. He knows the Bible better than any human alive. He is wise, he is patient, and he is cunning. And he doesn’t give up. If one tactic doesn’t work he will use something else and if that doesn’t work he will use something else and if that doesn’t work he will use something else etc… He will change his method at the drop of a bucket. It seems however that our churches just wanna play the same game and do the same thing that we have over the years. We never change our offense or our defense. We’re playing checkers while satan is playing chess. People are not the same as they were 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago. God is the same, people are not. Families are not the same. Teenagers are not the same. Life is not the same!!
The Great Commission says GO! That is the first word…GO…and teach all nations. We don’t have mission minded churches anymore. Our idea of missions is giving a love offering at Christmas and Easter. And that is fantastic because our foreign missionaries are getting more bang for their buck than the local church is that is for sure. But the Great Commission doesn’t say give so that somebody else can go or pray so that somebody else can go it says YOU GO! We’ve lost our mission focus, which should be our primary focus. Deacons have meetings about how to make people in the church happy. Deacons should have meetings about how to make satan unhappy and how to make their church a Great Commission minded church.
We’ve also made missions seem to have to be somewhat extravagant for them to be relevant. We have to go as a youth group on a grand mission trip or the college kid has to go to Africa or China or India or wherever or the church group has to go hundreds of miles away. And praise God for that but what about the mission field in front of our face? If we’re winning the battle elsewhere and overseas but losing the war at home what do we have to come back too? What about our lost parents and siblings and neighbors and classmates and coworkers right here and right now!! There are 74,273 people in Oconee County and if 55% of them are lost we have almost 41,000 people right here within shouting distance that need to be ministered to. And I think there are plenty of empty pews available for them to sit in.
Over the last 2 weeks I have had two people come up to me and point blank say they are not a Christian. I’m praying for God’s guidance in how to speak to them more than I already have.
And I hope it doesn’t take 47 other church members to help me share Christ with them.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
A Few Thoughts on Worship - My 15th Blog
These are the blogs of my last month in youth ministry and some lessons and things God has taught me:
A FEW THOUGHTS ON WORSHIP
I hate hearing the Bible read by old men with deep voices. It is too loud and I mean you might as well drag your nails down a chalkboard. I hate hearing it read by young kids and hearing them stumble over the words. In fact I won’t tolerate it and I won’t even let them read the Bible when I’m teaching class. There’s an older man I know and I can’t understand much of what he says but him reading the Bible, forget about it. I mean he tries but it just comes out as mumbled jumbled jibberish and I’d just assume be deaf than hearing him read something about Jesus to me that I can’t understand. I have a friend who talks like an auctioneer. If I ever had to hear her read the Bible with her fast speech we would no longer be friends. If she were to get up and read the Bible in church I would find a new church. I won’t tolerate a fast reader reading to me about God. If you don’t want to anger me or upset me you best read the Bible when you’re around me the way I want it read at the volume I want it read and the pace I want it read. If not there will be problems.
I sound pretty ridiculous right? I think so too.
The point of my first paragraph is this: I just don’t understand why there are people in churches all over the place that will only tolerate one style of worship. The music has to stay the same and we have to sing the same songs from the same hymnal in the same traditional style we have always done it. Do you know how many people I know that have changed churches because their church went from a “traditional” service to a “contemporary” or “blended” service?? I’ll be honest with you I don’t even know what a blended service is because don’t we serve just one God and shouldn’t all our worship be directed to just Him? I’ve heard all my life people say “we’ll we don’t want to upset anyone or make anybody mad by changing the music any.” Well how about we change our focus from pleasing people to pleasing God?? The pleasing people method NEVER works!
I think people are afraid of worship. I really do, unless it is worship of tradition. That is why the church during Jesus’ day hated Him so much, because He came to change the entire tradition and process that they had in place. And the people worshipped the tradition that they had instead of God so they hated Jesus for these new age ideas that He was teaching.
I think people are going to be shocked at what worship really looks like when we get to Heaven. I love old hymns and I’m a rare young person who likes Southern Gospel, but I promise we won’t be singing “Jesus is coming soon” when we are in Heaven because he’ll have already come. And I think young people today want to worship. I know young people want to worship. And music is so so powerful and influential to them. Older folks have no idea how much music influences what they do and there moods and the choices they make. And I’m sorry but there aren’t many teenagers today listening to the Gaithers and Jake Hess on their iphones. They are listening to Eminem and Kanye and Fitty (I’m talking about 50 cent but I call him Fitty cause I’m from the streets of Westminster and that’s how I do). But man when I can get them to listen to Toby Mac or Lecrae or Third Day who might have similar styles but actually uplifting and God inspired lyrics then I have accomplished something! After all what you put in your ears is what comes out of your mouth!
I get so tired of hearing negative things about contemporary Christian music and praise and worship music. Me and a friend of mine were talking the other day and he said his pastor stood up in the pulpit and said that as far as contemporary Christian music was concerned, well he said the very word contemporary came from the word contempt so you can imagine how he felt. Wow! People dying and going to hell and we use God’s stage to badmouth God’s music.
I said the other day that when someone hurts you in church are you going for the people or for God? If you are going for God then don’t worry about the people and if you are going for the people then by all means move on. I’ll say the same thing about music, when you sing it are you singing it because you like the beat or the speed or the style or the noise level, or are you actually singing it because you like and mean the WORDS.
I could fill up 5 more pages with my thoughts on this subject but I’m going to be quiet now. But if you don’t think JESUS WAS A REBEL and a tradition changer, especially where worship was concerned, go back and re-read the gospels.
I’ve been called negative for some of the things I say and the beliefs I express and some people have had problems with it. You know what I have a problem with? The people that can see what is going on in our churches and with our young people and yet remain silent and complacent and unchanging.
And quiet…
Now I really will shut up :)
A FEW THOUGHTS ON WORSHIP
I hate hearing the Bible read by old men with deep voices. It is too loud and I mean you might as well drag your nails down a chalkboard. I hate hearing it read by young kids and hearing them stumble over the words. In fact I won’t tolerate it and I won’t even let them read the Bible when I’m teaching class. There’s an older man I know and I can’t understand much of what he says but him reading the Bible, forget about it. I mean he tries but it just comes out as mumbled jumbled jibberish and I’d just assume be deaf than hearing him read something about Jesus to me that I can’t understand. I have a friend who talks like an auctioneer. If I ever had to hear her read the Bible with her fast speech we would no longer be friends. If she were to get up and read the Bible in church I would find a new church. I won’t tolerate a fast reader reading to me about God. If you don’t want to anger me or upset me you best read the Bible when you’re around me the way I want it read at the volume I want it read and the pace I want it read. If not there will be problems.
I sound pretty ridiculous right? I think so too.
The point of my first paragraph is this: I just don’t understand why there are people in churches all over the place that will only tolerate one style of worship. The music has to stay the same and we have to sing the same songs from the same hymnal in the same traditional style we have always done it. Do you know how many people I know that have changed churches because their church went from a “traditional” service to a “contemporary” or “blended” service?? I’ll be honest with you I don’t even know what a blended service is because don’t we serve just one God and shouldn’t all our worship be directed to just Him? I’ve heard all my life people say “we’ll we don’t want to upset anyone or make anybody mad by changing the music any.” Well how about we change our focus from pleasing people to pleasing God?? The pleasing people method NEVER works!
I think people are afraid of worship. I really do, unless it is worship of tradition. That is why the church during Jesus’ day hated Him so much, because He came to change the entire tradition and process that they had in place. And the people worshipped the tradition that they had instead of God so they hated Jesus for these new age ideas that He was teaching.
I think people are going to be shocked at what worship really looks like when we get to Heaven. I love old hymns and I’m a rare young person who likes Southern Gospel, but I promise we won’t be singing “Jesus is coming soon” when we are in Heaven because he’ll have already come. And I think young people today want to worship. I know young people want to worship. And music is so so powerful and influential to them. Older folks have no idea how much music influences what they do and there moods and the choices they make. And I’m sorry but there aren’t many teenagers today listening to the Gaithers and Jake Hess on their iphones. They are listening to Eminem and Kanye and Fitty (I’m talking about 50 cent but I call him Fitty cause I’m from the streets of Westminster and that’s how I do). But man when I can get them to listen to Toby Mac or Lecrae or Third Day who might have similar styles but actually uplifting and God inspired lyrics then I have accomplished something! After all what you put in your ears is what comes out of your mouth!
I get so tired of hearing negative things about contemporary Christian music and praise and worship music. Me and a friend of mine were talking the other day and he said his pastor stood up in the pulpit and said that as far as contemporary Christian music was concerned, well he said the very word contemporary came from the word contempt so you can imagine how he felt. Wow! People dying and going to hell and we use God’s stage to badmouth God’s music.
I said the other day that when someone hurts you in church are you going for the people or for God? If you are going for God then don’t worry about the people and if you are going for the people then by all means move on. I’ll say the same thing about music, when you sing it are you singing it because you like the beat or the speed or the style or the noise level, or are you actually singing it because you like and mean the WORDS.
I could fill up 5 more pages with my thoughts on this subject but I’m going to be quiet now. But if you don’t think JESUS WAS A REBEL and a tradition changer, especially where worship was concerned, go back and re-read the gospels.
I’ve been called negative for some of the things I say and the beliefs I express and some people have had problems with it. You know what I have a problem with? The people that can see what is going on in our churches and with our young people and yet remain silent and complacent and unchanging.
And quiet…
Now I really will shut up :)
Monday, January 9, 2012
The Hardest Thing - My 14th Blog
These are the blogs of my last month in youth ministry and some lessons and things God has taught me:
THE HARDEST THING ABOUT YOUTH MINISTRY
If I had a time travel machine first of all I would be the coolest and most popular nerd in the world!! And second of all I would take it and travel back in time over the last 13 years I’ve been working with kids and use it in my youth ministry to travel into the future with each and every one of them. Go back in time just to travel into the future?? I am just that crazy.
This is what I would do. I’d take two separate trips with each kid. The first would be with them making the very best decisions that they could make in every aspect of life. I’d take them to say age 40 which is really really old. I’d have them staying in church, growing close to God, reading their Bibles, praying, staying 100% away from any form of alcohol, no premarital sex, no addictions to pornography, dated with a purpose, smart with their money, clean mouths, etc… And I’d let them see what their life looked like, every aspect of it.
The second trip I would make would be the total opposite. I’d still take them to when they were ancient and 40 but this time they have made the total opposite decisions. Out of church, never read their Bibles or pray, alcohol socially and alcohol recreationally, sex is just a casual thing not a spiritual thing, addicted to pornography, dated just for pleasure, horrible money managers, etc… And I’d again let them see what their life looked like, every aspect of it.
Now I know the Christian life ain’t easy street and nowhere does God promise a life of luxury for making all the right decisions. In fact I believe it is harder to be a Christian than it is to not be one. But I would make these two trips every single time and know that the outcome of the first trip would ALWAYS be better than the second one because I know 100% of the time that being in the will of God is better than not being in it.
So this brings me to the subject of my blog today. The hardest part of being in youth ministry is most definitely seeing your kids make bad decisions and the consequences they have to live with. If I had a time machine I know I could convince them to make good decisions but all I have is my words and I’m not very good with those. I know I don’t make the decisions for anyone but myself but you still can’t be in this job and not take things personal that you see people you love doing.
I like Facebook and Twitter for keeping up with people but I also hate it for being able to see what goes on outside of Sunday morning and Wednesday night. I love hearing from former students and running into them when I’m at Wal-Mart :) but I also hate it because of some of the updates I hear from them not only about themselves but also others I have taught in the past. Divorce, DUIs, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, sex how God did not intend it, drop-outs, financial issues, arrests…I can put a young name and a young face to all of those things.
I have a theory that one of the reasons that the ministry of Jesus on Earth was so short was because He constantly kept seeing all the bad things people doing despite Him teaching them firsthand the ways of God. I might be wrong about that and it won’t be the first time, but I think it was hard for Jesus to see those things. It had to be because He hates sin. Just a thought.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go work on my Flux Capacitor.
THE HARDEST THING ABOUT YOUTH MINISTRY
If I had a time travel machine first of all I would be the coolest and most popular nerd in the world!! And second of all I would take it and travel back in time over the last 13 years I’ve been working with kids and use it in my youth ministry to travel into the future with each and every one of them. Go back in time just to travel into the future?? I am just that crazy.
This is what I would do. I’d take two separate trips with each kid. The first would be with them making the very best decisions that they could make in every aspect of life. I’d take them to say age 40 which is really really old. I’d have them staying in church, growing close to God, reading their Bibles, praying, staying 100% away from any form of alcohol, no premarital sex, no addictions to pornography, dated with a purpose, smart with their money, clean mouths, etc… And I’d let them see what their life looked like, every aspect of it.
The second trip I would make would be the total opposite. I’d still take them to when they were ancient and 40 but this time they have made the total opposite decisions. Out of church, never read their Bibles or pray, alcohol socially and alcohol recreationally, sex is just a casual thing not a spiritual thing, addicted to pornography, dated just for pleasure, horrible money managers, etc… And I’d again let them see what their life looked like, every aspect of it.
Now I know the Christian life ain’t easy street and nowhere does God promise a life of luxury for making all the right decisions. In fact I believe it is harder to be a Christian than it is to not be one. But I would make these two trips every single time and know that the outcome of the first trip would ALWAYS be better than the second one because I know 100% of the time that being in the will of God is better than not being in it.
So this brings me to the subject of my blog today. The hardest part of being in youth ministry is most definitely seeing your kids make bad decisions and the consequences they have to live with. If I had a time machine I know I could convince them to make good decisions but all I have is my words and I’m not very good with those. I know I don’t make the decisions for anyone but myself but you still can’t be in this job and not take things personal that you see people you love doing.
I like Facebook and Twitter for keeping up with people but I also hate it for being able to see what goes on outside of Sunday morning and Wednesday night. I love hearing from former students and running into them when I’m at Wal-Mart :) but I also hate it because of some of the updates I hear from them not only about themselves but also others I have taught in the past. Divorce, DUIs, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, sex how God did not intend it, drop-outs, financial issues, arrests…I can put a young name and a young face to all of those things.
I have a theory that one of the reasons that the ministry of Jesus on Earth was so short was because He constantly kept seeing all the bad things people doing despite Him teaching them firsthand the ways of God. I might be wrong about that and it won’t be the first time, but I think it was hard for Jesus to see those things. It had to be because He hates sin. Just a thought.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go work on my Flux Capacitor.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
The Alone Time of Jesus - My 13th Blog
These are the blogs of my last month in youth ministry and some lessons and things God has taught me:
THE ALONE TIME OF JESUS
This is from a lesson God gave me many years ago that I still think about a lot to this day. This lesson was as much for me as it was for anyone I was teaching that night. As I was reading my Bible I was constantly struck at how Jesus often cast everything and everyone aside so He could be by Himself and own His own. He did this so He could spend time with His Father. Jesus made spending time with God a CONSTANT event in His life. If Jesus felt this was important and that He needed to do this…well how much more do I need to do this in my life?? I hope you get as much out of this as I did.
When crowds pressed to be near Jesus, He still found time to be alone and Pray
Scripture - While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him. Then Jesus ordered him, "Don't tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:12-16
What I got out of this: Jesus was a very popular person. As His fame spread, more and more people wanted to be around Him so that they could see and hear him teach and so they could be healed by Him. Everyone reading this has friends that like to be around you and spend time with you. Sometimes we like the attention and sometimes it probably aggravates us a little. People were constantly seeking the attention of Jesus, and if Jesus had allowed Himself He could have constantly been in the presence of those who wanted to be near Him. But Jesus did not allow that. He knew that if He were going to be effective in His ministry that He needed alone time for Himself and to spend with God. If you allow yourself, you too can be constantly inundated with things that seek your attention. But like Jesus, you need to learn to withdraw yourself from your daily distractions and spend time with just you and God. If not I guarantee you will not only become physically exhausted, but spiritually exhausted as well.
When Jesus had important decisions to make, He still found time to be alone and pray
Scripture - One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names: Simon (whom he named Peter), Andrew (Peter’s brother), James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (who was called the zealot), Judas (son of James), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him). Luke 6:12-16
What I got out of this: Jesus was about to make one of the most important decisions He would ever make regarding who He would be closest to in His life on Earth. He knew that the 12 men that he was going to choose would be around Him more than anyone else and He would have to rely on them to be His helpers. What did Jesus do before making this decision? He got off by Himself and prayed about it. Whenever you have ANY major life decisions to make you need to make sure that you spend ample alone time in prayer about them. Jesus took time to pray before making major decisions in His life, what does that tell us about how much more we need to find the time to seek God’s council in decisions that we make?
When Jesus had a lot to do, He still found time to be alone and pray
Scripture - Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Later Simon and the others went out to find him. When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.” But Jesus replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.” So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons. Mark 1:35-38
What I got out of this: We’ve already established that Jesus was a very popular man and this made Him very busy. And although Jesus had much to do, He still found time to be alone with God. In this instance Jesus apparently had a busy day of traveling and preaching ahead and He woke up early in the morning to find His time to be alone with God. Don’t let the business of your life cause you to lose focus on God. Even when you feel overwhelmed you still need to find a place and a time for just you and God. If you feel overwhelmed and don’t make time for God, do you ever think maybe that might be part of the reason why you feel the way you do? We all need a break from our busy schedules, and we need to spend part of that time with God.
When Jesus had a busy day, He still found time to be alone and pray
Scripture - Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and head across the lake to Bethsaida, while he sent the people home. After telling everyone good-bye, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Mark 6:45-46
What I got out of this: This happened immediately after Jesus had fed the 5000 with the five loaves and two fish. It was late in the day and we already know that Jesus was tired even before feeding all these people because verse 31 of this chapter tells us that Jesus wanted to get away with His apostles so He could rest. So after everyone had their fill of food what did Jesus do? First He INSISTED that the disciples leave, second He SENT all the people there home, and then He went off to be by Himself so he could spend time in prayer. I like this set of verses in particular because I like how Jesus actually sent everyone away so he could be alone with God. Now Jesus did not do it in an ugly manner but He knew that the most important time He could spend with someone was with God, and He needed it in particular after a busy day. Don’t ever let yourself get worn down to the point where you don’t make time for God. You may have to say no to your friends sometimes and you may even have to kick them out (nicely) on occasion. Always remember: Who do you want to please more with your life, God or others? I submit to you that you’ll never please others in your life if you don’t please God first.
When Jesus was saddened, He still found time to be alone and pray
Scripture - So John was beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a tray and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. Later, John’s disciples came for his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what had happened. As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. Matthew 14:10-13
What I got out of this: John the Baptist was not only a relative of Jesus and the one who baptized Him, he was also a friend. Upon hearing the news of John’s death, He sought comfort from the only one who could provide it. It seems like everyday we are inundated with bad news. We all need to realize that no matter how bad things get or how sad things can be, we can find solace in God. He is always there for us, especially when we are grieving and need Him the most. Find the time to be comforted by God when you are hurting, just like Jesus did.
When Jesus’ immediate future looked grim, He still found time to be alone and pray
Scripture -They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.” He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Then he returned and found the disciples asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Then Jesus left them again and prayed the same prayer as before. When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open. And they didn’t know what to say. When he returned to them the third time, he said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But no—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!” Mark 14:32-42
What I got out of this: We all fear the future from time to time and Jesus knows exactly what that is like. Jesus did not look forward to the suffering that He was about to go through. In fact Jesus was “crushed with grief” in thinking about what He was about to endure. What did He do? He sought to be alone and spend time in prayer with His Heavenly Father. When the tomorrow we face doesn’t look very bright to us and the days ahead are filled with dread and grief, take those feelings to God. Let yourself be alone with Him just like Jesus did. After all, if you fear the future isn’t He the one that holds it in the palm of His hands and can help you do something about it!!
When Jesus was by himself, even in a crowd, He still found time to be alone and pray
Scripture - As they led Jesus away, a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, happened to be coming in from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large crowd trailed behind, including many grief-stricken women. But Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For the days are coming when they will say, ‘Fortunate indeed are the women who are childless, the wombs that have not borne a child and the breasts that have never nursed.’ People will beg the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and plead with the hills, ‘Bury us.’ For if these things are done when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him. When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice. The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. They called out to him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” A sign was fastened to the cross above him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews.” Luke 23:26-38
What I got out of this: In no way was Jesus alone in the physical sense that the word implies because verse 27 tells us that there was a large crowd gathered at His crucifixion. Yet I suggest to you that perhaps Jesus never felt so alone in His entire life. Here He is a beaten and naked man hanging on a cross. Here He is bearing the weight of all the sins of the world and God Himself has turned His back on and forsaken Jesus. And the majority of the crowd is loving ever minute of seeing Jesus suffer. Jesus was in an emotional sense, all alone. And what did Jesus do? Even though He was all alone He actually prayed for the people. He prayed for those that put Him up on the cross and asked for their forgiveness. What love and compassion Jesus had.
There will be times in your life when you find yourself in a crowd yet you feel like you are all alone. You may be the only one who wants to do the right thing. Just know that God is always with you and will never leave your side. Be proud to be alone when no one else wants to do right. And just like Jesus you may have to suffer some emotional abuse, even physical abuse, but don’t lose sight of the big picture and remember to pray in your solitude. Remember if God is for you, who could ever be against you?
If you are still reading this God bless you! I sounded a little like Joel Osteen in my head while I was typing that :) But that was a lot to take in!! But I hope you will see that if Jesus Christ Himself found it so important to be alone with God…well how much more important to us should it be?? And I hope you see that no matter what the circumstances were that He made the time in His life to be alone and pray. I ask of you not to overcommit yourself and neglect God in your life! I’m as guilty as anyone and it is something I have to work on daily!
If you aren’t finding time for yourself to be alone with God without distractions, you aren’t really giving Him or yourself what you need to make it from each day to the next.
Think about it.
THE ALONE TIME OF JESUS
This is from a lesson God gave me many years ago that I still think about a lot to this day. This lesson was as much for me as it was for anyone I was teaching that night. As I was reading my Bible I was constantly struck at how Jesus often cast everything and everyone aside so He could be by Himself and own His own. He did this so He could spend time with His Father. Jesus made spending time with God a CONSTANT event in His life. If Jesus felt this was important and that He needed to do this…well how much more do I need to do this in my life?? I hope you get as much out of this as I did.
When crowds pressed to be near Jesus, He still found time to be alone and Pray
Scripture - While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him. Then Jesus ordered him, "Don't tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:12-16
What I got out of this: Jesus was a very popular person. As His fame spread, more and more people wanted to be around Him so that they could see and hear him teach and so they could be healed by Him. Everyone reading this has friends that like to be around you and spend time with you. Sometimes we like the attention and sometimes it probably aggravates us a little. People were constantly seeking the attention of Jesus, and if Jesus had allowed Himself He could have constantly been in the presence of those who wanted to be near Him. But Jesus did not allow that. He knew that if He were going to be effective in His ministry that He needed alone time for Himself and to spend with God. If you allow yourself, you too can be constantly inundated with things that seek your attention. But like Jesus, you need to learn to withdraw yourself from your daily distractions and spend time with just you and God. If not I guarantee you will not only become physically exhausted, but spiritually exhausted as well.
When Jesus had important decisions to make, He still found time to be alone and pray
Scripture - One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names: Simon (whom he named Peter), Andrew (Peter’s brother), James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (who was called the zealot), Judas (son of James), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him). Luke 6:12-16
What I got out of this: Jesus was about to make one of the most important decisions He would ever make regarding who He would be closest to in His life on Earth. He knew that the 12 men that he was going to choose would be around Him more than anyone else and He would have to rely on them to be His helpers. What did Jesus do before making this decision? He got off by Himself and prayed about it. Whenever you have ANY major life decisions to make you need to make sure that you spend ample alone time in prayer about them. Jesus took time to pray before making major decisions in His life, what does that tell us about how much more we need to find the time to seek God’s council in decisions that we make?
When Jesus had a lot to do, He still found time to be alone and pray
Scripture - Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Later Simon and the others went out to find him. When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.” But Jesus replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.” So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons. Mark 1:35-38
What I got out of this: We’ve already established that Jesus was a very popular man and this made Him very busy. And although Jesus had much to do, He still found time to be alone with God. In this instance Jesus apparently had a busy day of traveling and preaching ahead and He woke up early in the morning to find His time to be alone with God. Don’t let the business of your life cause you to lose focus on God. Even when you feel overwhelmed you still need to find a place and a time for just you and God. If you feel overwhelmed and don’t make time for God, do you ever think maybe that might be part of the reason why you feel the way you do? We all need a break from our busy schedules, and we need to spend part of that time with God.
When Jesus had a busy day, He still found time to be alone and pray
Scripture - Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and head across the lake to Bethsaida, while he sent the people home. After telling everyone good-bye, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Mark 6:45-46
What I got out of this: This happened immediately after Jesus had fed the 5000 with the five loaves and two fish. It was late in the day and we already know that Jesus was tired even before feeding all these people because verse 31 of this chapter tells us that Jesus wanted to get away with His apostles so He could rest. So after everyone had their fill of food what did Jesus do? First He INSISTED that the disciples leave, second He SENT all the people there home, and then He went off to be by Himself so he could spend time in prayer. I like this set of verses in particular because I like how Jesus actually sent everyone away so he could be alone with God. Now Jesus did not do it in an ugly manner but He knew that the most important time He could spend with someone was with God, and He needed it in particular after a busy day. Don’t ever let yourself get worn down to the point where you don’t make time for God. You may have to say no to your friends sometimes and you may even have to kick them out (nicely) on occasion. Always remember: Who do you want to please more with your life, God or others? I submit to you that you’ll never please others in your life if you don’t please God first.
When Jesus was saddened, He still found time to be alone and pray
Scripture - So John was beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a tray and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. Later, John’s disciples came for his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what had happened. As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. Matthew 14:10-13
What I got out of this: John the Baptist was not only a relative of Jesus and the one who baptized Him, he was also a friend. Upon hearing the news of John’s death, He sought comfort from the only one who could provide it. It seems like everyday we are inundated with bad news. We all need to realize that no matter how bad things get or how sad things can be, we can find solace in God. He is always there for us, especially when we are grieving and need Him the most. Find the time to be comforted by God when you are hurting, just like Jesus did.
When Jesus’ immediate future looked grim, He still found time to be alone and pray
Scripture -They went to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, “Sit here while I go and pray.” He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he became deeply troubled and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Then he returned and found the disciples asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Then Jesus left them again and prayed the same prayer as before. When he returned to them again, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open. And they didn’t know what to say. When he returned to them the third time, he said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But no—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!” Mark 14:32-42
What I got out of this: We all fear the future from time to time and Jesus knows exactly what that is like. Jesus did not look forward to the suffering that He was about to go through. In fact Jesus was “crushed with grief” in thinking about what He was about to endure. What did He do? He sought to be alone and spend time in prayer with His Heavenly Father. When the tomorrow we face doesn’t look very bright to us and the days ahead are filled with dread and grief, take those feelings to God. Let yourself be alone with Him just like Jesus did. After all, if you fear the future isn’t He the one that holds it in the palm of His hands and can help you do something about it!!
When Jesus was by himself, even in a crowd, He still found time to be alone and pray
Scripture - As they led Jesus away, a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, happened to be coming in from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large crowd trailed behind, including many grief-stricken women. But Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For the days are coming when they will say, ‘Fortunate indeed are the women who are childless, the wombs that have not borne a child and the breasts that have never nursed.’ People will beg the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and plead with the hills, ‘Bury us.’ For if these things are done when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him. When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice. The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. They called out to him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” A sign was fastened to the cross above him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews.” Luke 23:26-38
What I got out of this: In no way was Jesus alone in the physical sense that the word implies because verse 27 tells us that there was a large crowd gathered at His crucifixion. Yet I suggest to you that perhaps Jesus never felt so alone in His entire life. Here He is a beaten and naked man hanging on a cross. Here He is bearing the weight of all the sins of the world and God Himself has turned His back on and forsaken Jesus. And the majority of the crowd is loving ever minute of seeing Jesus suffer. Jesus was in an emotional sense, all alone. And what did Jesus do? Even though He was all alone He actually prayed for the people. He prayed for those that put Him up on the cross and asked for their forgiveness. What love and compassion Jesus had.
There will be times in your life when you find yourself in a crowd yet you feel like you are all alone. You may be the only one who wants to do the right thing. Just know that God is always with you and will never leave your side. Be proud to be alone when no one else wants to do right. And just like Jesus you may have to suffer some emotional abuse, even physical abuse, but don’t lose sight of the big picture and remember to pray in your solitude. Remember if God is for you, who could ever be against you?
If you are still reading this God bless you! I sounded a little like Joel Osteen in my head while I was typing that :) But that was a lot to take in!! But I hope you will see that if Jesus Christ Himself found it so important to be alone with God…well how much more important to us should it be?? And I hope you see that no matter what the circumstances were that He made the time in His life to be alone and pray. I ask of you not to overcommit yourself and neglect God in your life! I’m as guilty as anyone and it is something I have to work on daily!
If you aren’t finding time for yourself to be alone with God without distractions, you aren’t really giving Him or yourself what you need to make it from each day to the next.
Think about it.
Wal-Mart vs. the Real Saving Place - My 12th Blog
These are the blogs of my last month in youth ministry and some lessons and things God has taught me:
WAL-MART VS. THE REAL SAVING PLACE
If you’re one of my kids you probably don’t need to read this because you’ve heard me use this example over and over through the years and can probably tell it better than me.
You ever been to Wal-Mart? Who hasn’t right? I used to go all the time because I would pass 3 of them going to and from work. I’m what you would call a professional Wal-Mart shopper. So let me tell you about some of my experiences at Wal-Mart:
I have received horrible customer service from employees there, I have been charged a higher price at check out than I was supposed to be charged on items, I have waited in line for what seemed like hours waiting to be checked out, I have had to go through 3 or 4 shopping carts before I got one that actually drove straight, my wife recently bought a food item there that had been expired for over a year, I have had to look at large women in pants that were too small, I have had to look at teenage boys in pants that were too big, I have been nearly run over by my fellow shoppers, I have had to put up with screaming babies, I have been nearly killed by electric shopping carts driven by people who can’t drive a car because if they did they would kill someone but by all means let them drive those little scooter buggies in tight spaces, I have gotten out of my car only to jump back in because there was a robbery taking place and the perp was running down the aisle I had parked on, I have seen people in there that I had rather not see or talk to, and all that was just the last time I went there! Of course I’m just kidding about that but I’m not kidding about all of that actually happening on the numerous visits I have made to Wal-Mart.
So what is the point in all this? Well we’ve all heard this excuse before, “I don’t go to church anymore because so and so hurt my feelings or I got treated badly there so I’m not going to go back.” That’s when I pose the question…“Ever go to Wal-Mart?” You see we have bad experiences all the time at Wal-Mart and restaurants and work and with family and school and pretty much anywhere you go and anyone you spend any amount of time with but church seems to be the only place that if we get our feelings hurt there or get treated badly there we have a forever excuse never to go back. It’s a copout is all it is. And you can Tweet that.
I can make one promise about church. If you go there and have any kind of involvement you will be hurt by someone and it ain’t gonna happen just one time. Put your big boy or big girl britches on and grow up. Besides, you going to church for the people or are you going to church for God?
Imagine the following hypothetical conversation if you would please:
(The scene: You run into Jesus while shopping at Wal-Mart, He is asking an associate where the fish is to which the associate promptly sends Him to the electronics department)
Jesus: “Hey there I missed seeing you at church on Sunday!”
Me/You: “Yeah Jesus you know I just got hurt by someone there real bad and I just don’t see myself going back to that place. Sorry but you know how I feel and understand right?
Jesus: “Hey I totally understand. Those religious church people back in my day used to give me grief all the time. They tried to trick me and make me look bad in front of everyone. This one time they even tried to stone me. And oh yeah one time they tried to push me over this cliff. But I kept going back and spending time with them and trying to be nice and teach them but they kept doing the same things to me. It got so bad that those church people even started to devise their ultimate plan to murder me. I still went and talked to them and hung out with them as much as I could though. That is until they hung me up on the cross to die. But you know what that was ok because that was my Father’s plan and actually funny thing is I still love the church and it’s people and that is who I died for and I still show up there every single time they meet despite all they did to me.”
Me/You: “Uhhh….”
Guys and gals you cannot use the excuses that you use to not go to church unless you plan on using them on everything else in your life. And if you do that have fun living in solitary confinement.
End of story.
WAL-MART VS. THE REAL SAVING PLACE
If you’re one of my kids you probably don’t need to read this because you’ve heard me use this example over and over through the years and can probably tell it better than me.
You ever been to Wal-Mart? Who hasn’t right? I used to go all the time because I would pass 3 of them going to and from work. I’m what you would call a professional Wal-Mart shopper. So let me tell you about some of my experiences at Wal-Mart:
I have received horrible customer service from employees there, I have been charged a higher price at check out than I was supposed to be charged on items, I have waited in line for what seemed like hours waiting to be checked out, I have had to go through 3 or 4 shopping carts before I got one that actually drove straight, my wife recently bought a food item there that had been expired for over a year, I have had to look at large women in pants that were too small, I have had to look at teenage boys in pants that were too big, I have been nearly run over by my fellow shoppers, I have had to put up with screaming babies, I have been nearly killed by electric shopping carts driven by people who can’t drive a car because if they did they would kill someone but by all means let them drive those little scooter buggies in tight spaces, I have gotten out of my car only to jump back in because there was a robbery taking place and the perp was running down the aisle I had parked on, I have seen people in there that I had rather not see or talk to, and all that was just the last time I went there! Of course I’m just kidding about that but I’m not kidding about all of that actually happening on the numerous visits I have made to Wal-Mart.
So what is the point in all this? Well we’ve all heard this excuse before, “I don’t go to church anymore because so and so hurt my feelings or I got treated badly there so I’m not going to go back.” That’s when I pose the question…“Ever go to Wal-Mart?” You see we have bad experiences all the time at Wal-Mart and restaurants and work and with family and school and pretty much anywhere you go and anyone you spend any amount of time with but church seems to be the only place that if we get our feelings hurt there or get treated badly there we have a forever excuse never to go back. It’s a copout is all it is. And you can Tweet that.
I can make one promise about church. If you go there and have any kind of involvement you will be hurt by someone and it ain’t gonna happen just one time. Put your big boy or big girl britches on and grow up. Besides, you going to church for the people or are you going to church for God?
Imagine the following hypothetical conversation if you would please:
(The scene: You run into Jesus while shopping at Wal-Mart, He is asking an associate where the fish is to which the associate promptly sends Him to the electronics department)
Jesus: “Hey there I missed seeing you at church on Sunday!”
Me/You: “Yeah Jesus you know I just got hurt by someone there real bad and I just don’t see myself going back to that place. Sorry but you know how I feel and understand right?
Jesus: “Hey I totally understand. Those religious church people back in my day used to give me grief all the time. They tried to trick me and make me look bad in front of everyone. This one time they even tried to stone me. And oh yeah one time they tried to push me over this cliff. But I kept going back and spending time with them and trying to be nice and teach them but they kept doing the same things to me. It got so bad that those church people even started to devise their ultimate plan to murder me. I still went and talked to them and hung out with them as much as I could though. That is until they hung me up on the cross to die. But you know what that was ok because that was my Father’s plan and actually funny thing is I still love the church and it’s people and that is who I died for and I still show up there every single time they meet despite all they did to me.”
Me/You: “Uhhh….”
Guys and gals you cannot use the excuses that you use to not go to church unless you plan on using them on everything else in your life. And if you do that have fun living in solitary confinement.
End of story.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
CU Later - My 11th Blog
These are the blogs of my last month in youth ministry and some lessons and things God has taught me:
CU LATER
I am one of the biggest Clemson football fans there is. I mean I knew who Sammy Watkins was before his mama knew who he was. And I don’t just follow the games during the season. After it’s all over I’m keeping up with what is going on for bowl prep and then I’m following the recruiting and when national signing day comes I get hardly any work done that day because I want to see who is going to be a Tiger and then it’s Spring practice and the Spring game and then summer workouts which leads us to the greatest day of each year and that is opening day for College football so we can start it all over! See for most people it’s 13 or 14 Saturdays a year that we get to watch the Tigers play. For me I’m in love with the games but also anything and everything else associated with Clemson football.
But God really kicked my butt this season after a game one weekend and really convicted me hard about my addiction to Clemson football. See it had become what consumed me. I would read more articles and message boards about Clemson football than I would my Bible. On game days I would tune into ESPN in the morning just to see if Clemson was mentioned, listen to the pregame on the radio, watch the game or go to the game, afterwards listen to the postgame show, then go online and watch all the player interviews and then read every article on Tiger Illustrated, Tigernet, Orange and White, CU Tigers, and The Clemson Insider that I could find!! No kidding. It was like an Orange and Purple disease that just infected every part of me. If there was a night game I would stay up until 2 or 3 o’clock knowing that I had to be at church in the morning and to teach a class but I had to fuel my addiction and absorb everything I could about the game that day.
One Saturday night after Lana and Jennifer went to bed was when God really brought this problem to my attention. I was sitting in the living room all alone and it hit me. I’ve spent all day with Clemson football. I hadn’t read my Bible or prayed or spent any time with God. And I hadn’t spent any quality time with Jennifer or with Lana. It was all Clemson and it was all about the football. I felt like crap. And I’m telling you if God has ever convicted you of something then 9 times out of 10 if it is true conviction that is how you are going to feel.
What on Earth has Clemson football ever done for me? I mean in reality as a lifelong fan it has caused me more pain than joy!! It took some adjusting because when you’re addicted to something it is hard to just stop. But I can honestly say that I no longer frequent those websites like I had and on game day I usually just watch or go to the game and that is about it. I mean I’m excited that Clemson is going to a BCS game and Jennifer actually asked me if I wanted to go to the Orange Bowl and she said we would if I did…but I said no thanks. Dude that is huge for me because earlier in the year I would have jumped all over that opportunity!! I’ll watch the game with family and friends tonight but win or lose I will still love Clemson in the morning, but more importantly than that God will still love me.
Lesson learned: Jesus needs to be the object of my affection because on the cross He proved that I was His.
On a side note there are about 8-10 friends that I’ll text back and forth during the games. During the Georgia Tech game when Clemson lost people were actually concerned that something was wrong with me because I wasn’t ready to hurt somebody or upset because we lost our perfect season.
Some people just take things too seriously :)
CU LATER
I am one of the biggest Clemson football fans there is. I mean I knew who Sammy Watkins was before his mama knew who he was. And I don’t just follow the games during the season. After it’s all over I’m keeping up with what is going on for bowl prep and then I’m following the recruiting and when national signing day comes I get hardly any work done that day because I want to see who is going to be a Tiger and then it’s Spring practice and the Spring game and then summer workouts which leads us to the greatest day of each year and that is opening day for College football so we can start it all over! See for most people it’s 13 or 14 Saturdays a year that we get to watch the Tigers play. For me I’m in love with the games but also anything and everything else associated with Clemson football.
But God really kicked my butt this season after a game one weekend and really convicted me hard about my addiction to Clemson football. See it had become what consumed me. I would read more articles and message boards about Clemson football than I would my Bible. On game days I would tune into ESPN in the morning just to see if Clemson was mentioned, listen to the pregame on the radio, watch the game or go to the game, afterwards listen to the postgame show, then go online and watch all the player interviews and then read every article on Tiger Illustrated, Tigernet, Orange and White, CU Tigers, and The Clemson Insider that I could find!! No kidding. It was like an Orange and Purple disease that just infected every part of me. If there was a night game I would stay up until 2 or 3 o’clock knowing that I had to be at church in the morning and to teach a class but I had to fuel my addiction and absorb everything I could about the game that day.
One Saturday night after Lana and Jennifer went to bed was when God really brought this problem to my attention. I was sitting in the living room all alone and it hit me. I’ve spent all day with Clemson football. I hadn’t read my Bible or prayed or spent any time with God. And I hadn’t spent any quality time with Jennifer or with Lana. It was all Clemson and it was all about the football. I felt like crap. And I’m telling you if God has ever convicted you of something then 9 times out of 10 if it is true conviction that is how you are going to feel.
What on Earth has Clemson football ever done for me? I mean in reality as a lifelong fan it has caused me more pain than joy!! It took some adjusting because when you’re addicted to something it is hard to just stop. But I can honestly say that I no longer frequent those websites like I had and on game day I usually just watch or go to the game and that is about it. I mean I’m excited that Clemson is going to a BCS game and Jennifer actually asked me if I wanted to go to the Orange Bowl and she said we would if I did…but I said no thanks. Dude that is huge for me because earlier in the year I would have jumped all over that opportunity!! I’ll watch the game with family and friends tonight but win or lose I will still love Clemson in the morning, but more importantly than that God will still love me.
Lesson learned: Jesus needs to be the object of my affection because on the cross He proved that I was His.
On a side note there are about 8-10 friends that I’ll text back and forth during the games. During the Georgia Tech game when Clemson lost people were actually concerned that something was wrong with me because I wasn’t ready to hurt somebody or upset because we lost our perfect season.
Some people just take things too seriously :)
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
All People who go to church need to die - My Tenth Blog
These are the blogs of my last month in youth ministry and some lessons and things God has taught me:
ALL PEOPLE WHO GO TO CHURCH NEED TO DIE
Have you ever been to a funeral home where multiple visitations were taking place? I’m sure we all have. Have you ever noticed how the multiple dead people there behave? Have you ever noticed anything about them in particular and how they interact with each other per say?
I have never seen two dead people argue! Not once. I have never seen dead people fighting because they aren’t getting their way. I have never seen a committee of dead people trying to run the show. I have never seen a dead person complain because the music is too upbeat. I have never seen a dead person argue that “we don’t do it that way here.” I have never seen a dead person addicted to tradition. I have never seen a dead person pout. I have never seen a dead person gossip behind the back of others. I have never seen a dead person stir up trouble. I have never seen a dead person say one thing to my face and another thing behind my back.
So where am I going with this? Luke 9:23-24 says “Then Jesus said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.’”
There are numerous verses that teach the Christian to deny himself, decrease, sacrifice, die to self, etc… And that is the problem in so many churches today. Individuals have never died. We have the Burger King mentality and want it our way. We have the mind of “self” and not the mind of Christ. Dead people do not have the same characteristics that live people do. That sounds like the dumbest thing I’ve ever said, but it is true! If a church full of members who have truly died to themselves and are purely seeking the will of God…well could you just imagine what that would look like and what they could do in fulfilling the Great Commission!! How unbelievable would that be? I submit to you that a dead church is full of live people, but a live church is full of dead ones.
I wrote this in a newsletter article a while back and I’ll repeat it here. A Christian who constantly seeks their way is a detriment to the body of church. One who seeks God’s way is a blessing.
ALL PEOPLE WHO GO TO CHURCH NEED TO DIE
Have you ever been to a funeral home where multiple visitations were taking place? I’m sure we all have. Have you ever noticed how the multiple dead people there behave? Have you ever noticed anything about them in particular and how they interact with each other per say?
I have never seen two dead people argue! Not once. I have never seen dead people fighting because they aren’t getting their way. I have never seen a committee of dead people trying to run the show. I have never seen a dead person complain because the music is too upbeat. I have never seen a dead person argue that “we don’t do it that way here.” I have never seen a dead person addicted to tradition. I have never seen a dead person pout. I have never seen a dead person gossip behind the back of others. I have never seen a dead person stir up trouble. I have never seen a dead person say one thing to my face and another thing behind my back.
So where am I going with this? Luke 9:23-24 says “Then Jesus said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.’”
There are numerous verses that teach the Christian to deny himself, decrease, sacrifice, die to self, etc… And that is the problem in so many churches today. Individuals have never died. We have the Burger King mentality and want it our way. We have the mind of “self” and not the mind of Christ. Dead people do not have the same characteristics that live people do. That sounds like the dumbest thing I’ve ever said, but it is true! If a church full of members who have truly died to themselves and are purely seeking the will of God…well could you just imagine what that would look like and what they could do in fulfilling the Great Commission!! How unbelievable would that be? I submit to you that a dead church is full of live people, but a live church is full of dead ones.
I wrote this in a newsletter article a while back and I’ll repeat it here. A Christian who constantly seeks their way is a detriment to the body of church. One who seeks God’s way is a blessing.
Monday, January 2, 2012
My Ninth Blog - Zero Times a Billion Equals Zero
These are the blogs of my last month in youth ministry and some lessons and things God has taught me:
ZERO TIMES A BILLION EQUALS ZERO
As a stock broker or financial advisor or retirement counselor or whatever you want to call me it would be pretty silly if someone came into my office and said the following: “Keith I want to retire in 25 years. I need at least 2 million dollars to make that happen. Now I don’t have any money to give you right now and I honestly can’t see myself ever giving you any money down the road but make it happen! I hear you’re the best so I look forward to traveling when I retire on those couple million bucks you’re gonna make me!!!”
First of all let me say this…I am the best :). Now that that is out of the way I can continue!! See the problem with my friend above is that he had great intentions and great plans and great dreams and great goals! What average person wouldn’t want to retire with two million in the bank? The problem is that my friend doesn’t want to give me any money now, and he doesn’t want to give me any money later. How would it ever be possible to turn zero dollars into two millions dollars? Well it isn’t possible.
Isn’t the above scenario just like us Christians today? We want God to pour out His blessings upon us and provide for us and prosper us in unbelievable ways. We want Him to give us a great mate that we can spend the rest of our lives with and to just live the American dream. But…what do we give God that He can actually invest for us? We want to be comfortable and have money but we won’t even give Him His proper tithes. We want Him to give us fun times and bless all the time in our life yet we won’t even give Him His time and get up out of bed to go to church on Sunday morning. We want Him to give us this great boy or girl that will one day be our husband or wife but right now when we’re single and not in a committed relationship and have more time to give to God and work on our relationship with Him, well we don’t do it because time with our friends is more important.
How can God bless us like we want if we never give Him anything to bless like He wants? How can we expect a financial blessing when we never give Him an offering that He can take and multiply? How can He bless our time when we never show up at church and honor the Sabbath and keep it Holy or give Him time by reading our Bibles or praying? How can we expect God to give us a mate when He already isn’t the object of our affection even when we’re single?
If you wanna get you gotta give. It’s as backwards a concept as there is out there but it is 100% true. And it is an absolute joke to think that God needs 10% of my paycheck to keep His ministry going and that He needs my life to keep His Word out there. I’m nothing. (So is my 10%!!) But for some reason He wants me. And He asks for and wants my time and my money. And He doesn’t ask for it because He needs it Himself. He asks me to do it and give it…that’s right…for me. You see we can never ever ever ever out give God. He will take what little we give, bless it and multiply it, and give it back to us. But He won’t take the nothing that we give Him and turn it into what we desire. When Jesus fed the 5000, He didn’t start with nothing. He most certainly could have but He didn’t. He actually had something in the five loaves and two fish to start off with. And with that little bit, he turned it into a lot.
Could you imagine if we ever decided to give Him everything?
ZERO TIMES A BILLION EQUALS ZERO
As a stock broker or financial advisor or retirement counselor or whatever you want to call me it would be pretty silly if someone came into my office and said the following: “Keith I want to retire in 25 years. I need at least 2 million dollars to make that happen. Now I don’t have any money to give you right now and I honestly can’t see myself ever giving you any money down the road but make it happen! I hear you’re the best so I look forward to traveling when I retire on those couple million bucks you’re gonna make me!!!”
First of all let me say this…I am the best :). Now that that is out of the way I can continue!! See the problem with my friend above is that he had great intentions and great plans and great dreams and great goals! What average person wouldn’t want to retire with two million in the bank? The problem is that my friend doesn’t want to give me any money now, and he doesn’t want to give me any money later. How would it ever be possible to turn zero dollars into two millions dollars? Well it isn’t possible.
Isn’t the above scenario just like us Christians today? We want God to pour out His blessings upon us and provide for us and prosper us in unbelievable ways. We want Him to give us a great mate that we can spend the rest of our lives with and to just live the American dream. But…what do we give God that He can actually invest for us? We want to be comfortable and have money but we won’t even give Him His proper tithes. We want Him to give us fun times and bless all the time in our life yet we won’t even give Him His time and get up out of bed to go to church on Sunday morning. We want Him to give us this great boy or girl that will one day be our husband or wife but right now when we’re single and not in a committed relationship and have more time to give to God and work on our relationship with Him, well we don’t do it because time with our friends is more important.
How can God bless us like we want if we never give Him anything to bless like He wants? How can we expect a financial blessing when we never give Him an offering that He can take and multiply? How can He bless our time when we never show up at church and honor the Sabbath and keep it Holy or give Him time by reading our Bibles or praying? How can we expect God to give us a mate when He already isn’t the object of our affection even when we’re single?
If you wanna get you gotta give. It’s as backwards a concept as there is out there but it is 100% true. And it is an absolute joke to think that God needs 10% of my paycheck to keep His ministry going and that He needs my life to keep His Word out there. I’m nothing. (So is my 10%!!) But for some reason He wants me. And He asks for and wants my time and my money. And He doesn’t ask for it because He needs it Himself. He asks me to do it and give it…that’s right…for me. You see we can never ever ever ever out give God. He will take what little we give, bless it and multiply it, and give it back to us. But He won’t take the nothing that we give Him and turn it into what we desire. When Jesus fed the 5000, He didn’t start with nothing. He most certainly could have but He didn’t. He actually had something in the five loaves and two fish to start off with. And with that little bit, he turned it into a lot.
Could you imagine if we ever decided to give Him everything?
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