Why Christians Shouldn't "Take Back America"

I firmly believe in the separation of church and state for the protection of the church! I think there is a Biblical and historical basis for it that we should adopt.

Jesus did not get involved in the state in His day. He was involved in religious politics, constantly dealing with religious leaders of the time, but that was the heart of His mission. He was sent to change our ideas of faith. It was a religious revolution of God incarnate, but not a state upheaval. Mark 12:17 is good evidence that Jesus believed there was a separation between the law of God and the law of the state. But Jesus' overall disregard to the importance of the state is a better example of how we should live. Jesus did not focus on elections or even speak about the governor or the empire. As religious leaders of our time we must concern ourselves with the hearts and faith of the people, not get distracted by state politics. The reason many Jews did not think Jesus was the Messiah in the first place was because they thought their Messiah would be a king and lead Israel to political independence. If Jesus wasn't worried about overthrowing the Romans, should we really be worried about taking back the American government?

1 Corinthians 5:9-13 lays the foundation for how Christians are supposed to act towards people who do not hold our same beliefs. Paul calls for the church in Corinth to stop associating with the sexually immoral. So they stopped associating with everybody! Paul corrects their error and clarifies that he was specifically speaking about the sexually immoral in the church. And that we are only to judge fellow Christians in the church. I know that sounds bad but he is saying that we shouldn't let our fellow Christians stay in their sin, we should confront them. However, those outside the church we are not to judge. We are to hold them to a different standard. A standard of love and acceptance because they did not sign up for the same moral code that we did. Judging is not the way that Jesus approached us and changed our hearts, so we should not judge them. Extrapolating this idea, I do not think it is right for Christians to try to change the state law and conform it to Christian morals. That would be holding non Christians accountable to the morals of Christians, just indirectly, through the use of the state.

Finally, if you look at history, when the church and state unify it turns out poorly for both. People are abused under church and state law. The state's lust for power nearly always corrupts theology, causes violence, and brings along false converts. It devalues the faith of the true believers. Religious leaders become state appointed officials and are chosen for political reasons instead of religious ones. And it leads people to think that the whole faith is fraudulent, that everyone in church is there because the state says they have to be.

I think taking back the country for Jesus is a bad plan. We should instead celebrate the separation of the church and state because religious freedom means that we are free to worship God as we please, and that is a beautiful thing.

Calvin's Institutes

So I read through John Calvin's "Institutes"

Here's what I thought.

Institutes Review

An Undivided Heart

'm currently reading through a book entitled "He Restores My Soul" by Jennifer Kennedy Dean. These are some of my reflections.

An Undivided Heart dives into the subject of Christianity being more than penance. It is the idea that Christ died so that we may be full of Him, it is about more than removing our sin, it is about living our lives out in a way that is Christ.

The book argues that the first step to take in this direction is to focus on the Lord. An undivided heart is a focused heart. It is a heart with one goal and purpose in mind: Christ. This one goal, Dean says, removes all the other goals in your heart. This goal is a single mindedness of the pursuit of Christ. In effect, to pursue Christ with all you are, you must empty yourself of everything other desire, mainly the desire to pursue your wishes. It is once again a metaphor of dying to self and living for Christ.

The next step to an undivided heart is steadfastness. When I first looked at the principle of a steadfast heart, I thought you needed to be steadfast in the face of philosophy and emotion. But now I think it speaks to a specific emotion, and that emotion is joy. A steadfast heart is ever joyful of the Lord, and it is always willing to worship God. A steadfast heart knows that the Lord is good even when our circumstances are bad. A person with a steadfast heart can confidently praise the Lord because their heart is a heart entrenched in joy. It is faithful to the belief that a life spent following God is a life well spent.

A steadfast heart reflects on the gift of grace it has received from Christ and in turn is fixed on thoughts above. A mind fixed on heavenly thoughts more easily pursues God. This fixation on heavenly things, leads to a peaceful existence on Earth. If a heart is undivided and focused on God, it knows that God is in control. This unwavering faith in the Lord and His goodness makes worry irrational. Why would one worry when the God of the universe who intimately knows them and loves them is acting in their life? An undivided heart knows this and from it flows peace.

A New Heart

I'm currently reading through a book entitled "He Restores My Soul" by Jennifer Kennedy Dean. These are some of my reflections.

This week's journey did a good job of leading me into growth. It started off and convinced me that I am in need of a new heart. More importantly, I think that God wants to give me a new heart, a heart for Him and His word, a heart for a new covenant. A covenant of grace and worship, not actions and law. This new heart means a new life, a life lived for Christ. The book spoke of Christ's life surging through me in an image I've never thought of before. It led me to picture a heart of golden light in my chest, regenerating the sinful body it was in. Bringing light into the darkness of my soul and soon having that light emanate out from me.

The description of callousness ruined me. It broke me. All I could think about was my own heart. I can feel how calloused and hardened it has been over the years. It was so much easier to obey and connect with God when I was younger. At times when I was sitting comfortably in the center of His will. I feel that over time I have continually chosen my self and my desires over Him, and slowly my heart has hardened. I can still hear His call to me, but it is easier to ignore now than ever.

Why do I do these things? I know that God knows me better than I know myself, but I refuse to submit to Him. I'm no better than Adam. I am rebellious in my heart, always going my own way, foolish to abandon the wisdom of the Lord. Even though I know these things, I struggle to obey.

The imagery later in the week encouraged me to great lengths. I felt even more refreshed as I pictured the blood of Jesus pumping through my veins and washing me clean like a dirty glass under a faucet of ever flowing clean water. The writer was prompt to remind me that God can root out any sin, and in my broken state I can still be made whole and clean again. What a wonderful truth! That God is the author of spiritual restoration and I can once again be close to Him.  

Replacement Theology in Romans 9-11

Paul struggles with the role of Israel in God’s salvific plan in Romans 9-11 much in the same way that Christian theologians have struggled with the idea in the past 2000 years. No take on supersessionism or anti-supersessionism is complete without an exegetical analysis of Romans 9-11. While this passage is most often used in support of the anti-supersessionism view, this paper will explore other varying degrees of supersessionist ideas that can be gleaned from these rich chapters. This will be proved by determining Paul’s use of “all Israel” throughout this passage. Compounding these views with Paul’s thoughts on the Abrahamic covenant, the reach of Christ’s salvific act, and if evangelism should include the Jews, one will see that Paul’s writings can be fairly interpreted as supersessionist in nature.

Much of the debate concerned with this area of research can be addressed by two key verses written by Paul in Romans. The first is the question itself, found in Romans 11:1, “I ask, then, has God rejected His people?” The second is the crux of the debate, Romans 11:26, “And in this way all Israel will be saved.” (Vlach 137) Obviously, depending on one’s own hermeneutics and interpretation of Israel throughout the Bible, these verses can be answered and perceived in many different ways.

Supersessionists are not uniform in their interpretation of “all Israel” and throughout the ages have offered several answers to who Paul is referring. The traditional view has been that Israel refers to those elected by God. These people are both Jew and Gentile, those who have been saved by grace through Jesus Christ. (Vlach 137) While this view has become less popular in the modern times, it was supported by several church fathers, including John Calvin. (Vlach 138) One could argue that Paul did not specifically speak of justification when talking about Israel being saved, but merely election. Thus, Paul is saying that these people will be saved based upon their call, rather than their faith. (Van Spanje 102)

The next view refers to “all Israel” as elected Jews throughout Biblical history. (Vlach 138) This interpretation normally depends on one’s own views on justification of pre-Christ Biblical figures. In this view, “all Israel” are those Jews throughout the history of time who have displayed faith in Christ, or more likely, Abrahamic faith in God. This is supported by Paul’s thoughts in Romans 9:6 that distinguish between true and untrue Israelites. The most straightforward interpretation of this distinction is those Israelites who claim promises based on birth and ethnic heritage as opposed to those whom God has “saved” through their Abrahamic faith. (Fackre 164) It is important to distinguish that this view is purely ethnic, and “all Israel” does not refer to believing Gentiles. (Vlach 138) This nuance in discussion of Israel in light of the Abrahamic faith is an important supporting piece of evidence. This is in direct opposition to the dispensationalist view that Romans 11 refers to Israel in direct form of national entity. (Dewitt 295)

Many in this camp have controversial views that have affected the credibility of a supersessionist interpretation of Romans 9-11. One debated issue is that of an eternal view of the Abrahamic covenant. There is not consensus. Some have gone so far to stake their belief in the whole Bible on the lasting nature of the Abrahamic covenant. Metzger states that, “if God does not fulfill it for all the faithful believing Jewish people... then God is not God at all and the Bible is worthless.” (Metzger 669) Another regards the salvific act of Christ unto the past. This backward reaching salvation is stretched to the limits by Karl Barth who believed that Romans 11 testified that all Jews will be granted an afterlife encounter with Jesus, where they will be saved. (Fackre 164) However, this should be rejected based on Hebrews 11:1.

Both of these larger views are focused on God’s saving work in reference to the past and not the future. An important way to reason this thinking as logical, is to read Paul’s answer to his own question in Rom. 11:1. When Paul asks if God has rejected His people, he does not respond by talking about the Olive tree, or a future saved remnant. Paul talks about himself, and how he is an Israelite, who God has not forgotten, through the death of his son Jesus Christ. (Vlach 139) Paul did not see himself as a partaker in faith, and thus not saved by obedience to the law. This interpretation points to the fact that Paul may have meant “all Israel” to mean those Jews who have been saved by Christ. (Fakre 165) This is a much narrower, but not unfounded, interpretation.

An interesting possible appendage to this is the interpretation that Paul used nuance in his wording when referring to Israel. Some argue that the different uses of “Abraham’s children,” “God’s children,” and “Abraham’s offspring” are references to spiritual Israel, or those who have been saved by faith. (Diprose 56) While Paul’s references to “Abraham’s descendants” and “natural children” are references to the unsaved Israel. (Diprose 56) While this would support supersessionist thought in Romans, it is built on weak foundation. The support of reading into this nuance goes back to reading nuance into Moses’ speaking of “children of God” and “children of Abraham.” (Diprose 56)

The third interpretation of this passage views all Israel being saved as an act of salvation but not of restoration. Thus, this view is supersessionist in the fact that it does not hold to a future role of promise for physical Israel, but it does admit that in the future there will be a great swell of Israelites who will come to Christian faith. (Vlach 140) This view is held by many of today’s prominent systematic theologians.  Erickson believes that the church is the new Israel, the nation of Israel still has a special future, and should be considered “the special people of God.” (Erickson, 1053) Wayne Grudem also thinks that Rom. 9-11 foretells of a widespread conversion of Jewish people, while still maintaining that the church is the new Israel. (Grudem 861)

All of these follow the supersessionist thought that Christ has fulfilled the promise of Israel, albeit to varying degrees. None of these would necessarily be considered extreme in their treatment of replacement theology. While some of these might fit into punitive supersessionism, this view is not clear from their interpretation of Romans 9-11. They are supersessionist to the extent that they believe that Israel was the exclusive channel God chose to reveal Himself, through His son, to the world. (Boettner 310) But the supporters of these various views are not in agreement on if there is further need for the kingdom of Israel. (Boettner 310)

Another important piece of evidence for a supersessionist reading of Romans 9-11 is how Paul addresses evangelism when talking about Israel. It is logical to think that if “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26) referred to every Jew, then Judaism would have to be accepted as a form of salvation. At the least, it would have to be accepted as a form of preservation of these people. Thus, it would not make sense for Paul to support evangelism or witness to Jews, since he would assume that they will be saved through their current faith. Without having to exegete any of Paul’s attacks on Judaizers and transpose them into this situation, one can find Paul’s thoughts on evangelism sandwiched in his thoughts on Israel in Romans 10. Paul first lays out salvation, “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10:10) Then he addresses the need for evangelism by asking, “And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?” (Romans 10:14) This is particularity of Christ is a central tenet of the Christian faith and would logically apply to Jews in terms of evangelism. (Fackre 163) It has been argued by some that one could be a good Jew and be mistaken on the identity of the Messiah. (Soulen 9) This is not true in the case of Jesus Christ, Soulen explains that Jews reluctance to accept Jesus as God incarnate is a much bigger problem, because to be wrong in that regard is akin to a “grave violation of the prohibition against idolatry.” (Soulen 9) However, this particularity of Christ and His covenant superseding that of the Abrahamic is put into question when viewing Biblical theology. But in the terms of Romans 9-11 this issue is not fully addressed, and it is unfair to call Paul’s stance a “flat contradiction.” (Fackre 163)

To read through Romans 9-11 and say that there is no evidence for supersessionism to be considered a Biblical doctrine is inaccurate. (Vlach 3) It is clear that supersessionism is a view that is not entirely based on tradition and theory, but on exegeting scripture based on a valid interpretation of the Bible. While supersessionism may have grown out of the overwhelming theme of the New Testament, rather than on specific scripture, there are still specific passages that support the view in both the New and Old Testament. (Vlach 5) While there is an undeniable connection in history between supersessionism and anti-semitism, it is unfair to say that all supersessionists are inherently anti-Semitic, especially in light of the beliefs of current supersessionists. (Vlach 6)

To conclude, The view that Romans 9-11 is anti-supersessionist is not entirely true. If one is to look at the way that Paul defines the salvation of “all Israel” including his views on Christ’s salvific act of the past, present, and future, and his response to his own question of if Israel has been rejected, it is valid to interpret this passage as supersessionist. If one concludes that Paul viewed faith as the true marker of the Abrahamic covenant, it does not even matter if he believed the covenant was eternal in regards to Israel. Finally, it is hard to reconcile the belief of anti-supersessionism and the thought that all Israel will be saved in the future, with Paul’s thoughts on evangelism detailed in Romans 10.





Vlach, Michael J. Has the Church Replaced Israel?
Erickson, M.J. Christian Theology, 2nd Ed.
Grudem, W. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine
Fackre, G. Ecumenical Faith in Evangelical Perspective
Soulen, R.K. The God of Israel and Christian Theology
Van Spanje, T.E. Inconsistency in Paul?
Metzger, John B. Discovering the Mystery of the Unity of God
Dewitt, Dale Dispensational Theology in America During the Twentieth Century
Diprose, Ronald E. Israel and the Church: The Origin and Effects of Replacement Theology
Boettner The Millenium

My Take on the Prodigal Son

I had an assignment for one of my classes. I had to write a paper, but the paper had to be in a sermon format.

This is what I came up with.

The sermon format is the reason for the different style. Check it out, I hope you can take something away from it and I'd like to know what you think about it.

As a note, two writers, Keller and Bock really influenced my thinking on this topic.

Student Ministry Sermon on the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)

11 And he said, "There was a man who had two sons.12 And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.' And he divided his property between them.13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need.15 So he went and hired himself out tot one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

17 "But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants."'20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.21 And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'t 22 But the father said to his servants,t 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate.

25 "Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.27 And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.'28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him,29 but he answered his father, 'Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!'31 And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'" -Luke 15:11-32 (ESV)

Today, we are going to explore the story known as the “Parable of the Prodigal Son.” It is a parable told by Jesus in the book of Luke. It is a famous passage, many of you have probably heard the name “Prodigal Son” before but it is more accurate to go along with some versions of the Bible that call this the “Parable of the Two Sons” because this story has many facets. Let’s look at the first part of the story, read through verses 11 to 16.

Now like most young people we see today that come into a lot of money very quickly, the youngest son blew his wealth. This translation says he squandered his wealth on “reckless living.” If you look into some other translations you can infer that the young man spent his money on women, partying, and every form of excess you can imagine. He set out to enjoy every worldly indulgence he could think of and lived it up for a time.

Eventually he uses up all of his money, and the story says that there was a famine so people were in dire straights. It was hard to find work and food. In a way it is similar to today. The economy is doing poorly, so a lot of people are having a hard time finding work. It just makes for a lot of people scraping by.

I like to picture this young man growing up wealthy in his father’s home, not having to work for much and generally living a life of luxury. Now he is working as a farmhand tending and feeding the pigs!

Things are bad for the youngest son. He is living in the dirty pig sty, knee deep in the pigs’ waste. He is in need. He is hungry. In fact, he is so hungry, Jesus says he starts looking longingly at the slop that he is giving to the pigs.

Hold on. Do you know what pigs eat? Have you ever been on a farm and seen what farmers feed their pigs? Pigs are known to eat anything. I mean anything. Farmers regularly feed their pigs all the scraps that the people and other animals on the farm wouldn’t eat. They throw it in a big tub and mix it all up and make this foul smelling slop of leftover scraps. That was appetizing to this guy.

Let’s keep going, look with me at the next few verses. Read verses 17 to 24.

The young man knows he is in squalor, and remembers his fathers house. He looks at his life and knows that his father’s servants live better than he is living now. He has no hope to be treated as his father’s son again. He doesn’t think there is anyway that his father would accept him into the home and make him heir of the estate again, he just wants a job. He hopes that he can crawl on his hands and knees, beg his father for forgiveness, and work for him. He knows he hurt his father, dishonored him, and insulted him. The son is just hoping that his father is compassionate enough to let him go work in the field.

So the man swallows his pride and heads back to his father’s house, with his speech prepared on how he will ask for forgiveness. But something astounding happens. The father sees him coming while he was still far away. The father was looking and waiting for his son. Quickly, the father runs out to his son. He embraces his son and the son tells his father that he’s not worthy of this warm welcome. The father responds by calling his servants to immediately adorn the son with a robe, ring, and shoes. This signifies that the father is reinstating the son as his heir, bringing him back into the home. The father is giving the son back his full status as son. The father doesn’t make the son pay. He doesn’t make the son beg. The father immediately accepts him and rejoices. He throws a party to celebrate the son’s return.

At this point it is important to clarify who the people in this story are. Jesus is telling this story and makes it clear that the father is God and the youngest son represents all of us sinners in the world. This story explains some huge points about God’s relationship toward those that turn away from Him.

I’ve done this in my life. I have told God that I didn’t want Him around, just give me what’s mine and let me live my life. I’ve said, “I don’t need you, God.” There are many stories of us running away in our own way. Squandering all the blessings that God has given us on our selfish desires. How many of your friends don’t want anything to do with God and try to find joy in partying, drugs, sex?

It is so natural for us to do this. We want God to give us what we think we deserve, and we chase after everything we think will make us happy. We fulfill every desire in us, just consuming what feels good. Its called hedonism, we just keep chasing after pleasure not withholding from anything.

You and I, we end up just like the prodigal son. We use up all we have in the pursuit of pleasure and end up broke, sad, empty, lonely, and miserable. When I see this, I just think of rock stars. Do you ever watch those shows on VH1 about big time rock stars? The ones about how after they’ve become rich and famous, their lives spiral out of control. Why is that so common? Why does that seem to happen to so many people that look like they have everything that should make them happy?

Its because this selfish pleasure is not enough. Addiction can pounce on you and get a hold of you quick. You can end up like the prodigal son, scarred from doing nothing but serving yourself, and worse off than before.

The youngest son reaches rock bottom and remembers his father. It takes courage what he did. It takes courage for us to do the same. But when you are in that place, when you are sitting in the pig pen like the son, you realize you don’t have any other choice.

The youngest son returns to his father to beg for forgiveness. When we turn to God and ask for forgiveness, He treats us the same way that the father in this parable does. He runs to us! He embraces us! He accepts us before we can even say a word.

I love that phrase in verse 20, “while he was a long way off.” God will accept you even if you are a long way off. You don’t have to have your life in order. You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to be clean. You don’t have to be living right before you come to Him. Come to Him as you are and He will accept you.

God rejoices when we return to Him. He celebrates in heaven, and He immediately restores us as His children. Romans 8 says that when we turn to the Lord, He makes us coheirs with Christ. We are His children like Christ is His son. It is an amazing and hopeful promise. When we repent, God says we are alive again in Christ, no longer dead in sin. No longer lost in the world, we are found in Him.

What’s interesting is there is still another part to this parable. It deals with the older son. Let’s finish up this parable. Read with me verses 25 to 32.

The older brother hears the commotion while he is out working in the field. When he finds out there is a celebration for his brother’s return he gets mad. He refuses to join the party. The father comes out to him and asks his son what’s wrong. The son responds by saying that he is angry at the father. The son says that he has worked hard for his father and has been perfect but the father doesn’t ever celebrate him and give him the party he desires. The father is surprised and says “all that is mine is yours.” The father then invites the son to celebrate with the family.

Why is this part in here? Why didn’t Jesus leave this part out? He could have had this great story about forgiveness and now he soured it with this jealous older brother. Well the reason is interesting. If you look back in Luke, you see that Jesus was not telling this story to sinners or common people that were thought of as unholy. Jesus was talking to the church people of the time. He was talking to the Pharisees. These guys were super holy, they lived the law to perfection, their job was to be holy.

They are the older brother in this story, the religious people. And guess what, if you are here in church today, you might be the older brother in this story. I know this hits me hard. I’ve always been a pretty good kid, grown up in the church and did the right things. Jesus knows people like me and warns us of what can happen.

It is easy for us religious people to follow the commandments like the older brother and expect things in return. We go to church, we do what we’re supposed to do, we sing the right songs, we say the right things, and we get self righteous. We think we’re so good that we deserve our father’s inheritance. We think we deserve the grace that God has given us. And when we pray to Him, asking for our “young goat,” and He doesn’t give them to us, we get angry. Sometimes we look across the row and see the Lord giving that thing we want to a “sinner!” We get even more mad. The Lord should give that to us! We deserve it!

Jesus is reminding us we don’t deserve anything. No one deserves anything from the Father. We are all sinners. We all fall short of the glory of God. Nobody is good enough, follows the law well enough, lives a good enough life to earn anything from God. When we think we do, we let that self righteous seep into our lives. Soon, we think we don’t need a savior either.

That in itself is sin. This parable is reminding us that we are all sinners. For some of us our sin is expressed in our selfish lifestyles, our empty pleasure seeking. For others, our sin is expressed in our self righteousness and our legalism. But the beauty of this story is that God wants us both to come to the party. God will accept all of us if we turn to Him. He will throw a robe around our shoulders and welcome us back into His presence. He is a God of forgiveness, mercy, grace, and compassion

It's Not My Fault

I was hanging out with some guys today and we were talking about the importance of accepting responsibility for your actions. That's what a REAL man does. One of the points was that we need to own up to our mistakes and simply say "I'm sorry" and "I was wrong."

One of the guys talked about how he was learning to say "I'm sorry" more. He even said that he was apologizing at times when he didn't think he was wrong.

This got me thinking. I think this is a huge life lesson that he mentioned when we were hanging out. How many times in our life do we refuse to accept responsiblity for mistakes? How many times in our life do we refuse to apologize to people because we think that they are wrong? We say, "I don't need to apologize, he needs to apologize."

There's a couple of important things to remember here. I know that many times in my life I look back on a past argument or spat where I thought I was in the right, and then I realize I still helped create the mess. Sure, maybe you didn't make the mistake that made you two come to blows, but I bet you didn't react perfectly, or say the perfect things. Normally there is something you contributed to the problem that you could own up to.

While that is true, the point that really got me thinking is about those times where you absolutely did not cause the problem. You are in a fight with someone and 100 out of 100 strangers would not blame you for the fight. If any outsider looked into the situation they would say you are right and he or she is wrong. The only problem with this is none of that matters. Not if the person you are arguing with thinks you are wrong.

When you are in this situation you are faced with a difficult choice. You can either grit your teeth and apologize to the person for hurting them, even though it was there fault. Or you can sit on your pride and refuse to reconcile.

Really, it is a choice between your own pride or this relationship.

Oh man, so often I choose my pride.

It doesn't make sense to me. So many times I wish I had swallowed my pride, apologized to a person, even though I didn't think I did anything wrong, and salvage that relationship.

It's just hard to do.

So my question to you, is who do you need to apologize to? Even if you think they are to blame, are you willing to swallow your pride, accept that blame, and salvage that relationship?

The Right Way

I have to admit, I am a little concerned with this new trend going around in the Christian book community. Some of the hot new books being sold are calling us to remember God as a righteous judge. They claim that the church has focused too much on God's love, but ignored his justice. And there is some superiority around these "real" Christians, that have read the books, and know God's full character.

While I agree that Health and Wealth sermons are not biblical. I agree that Jesus does not call us to a life of comfort. I agree that Jesus calls us to surrender everything to Him. I do not agree with diminishing the importance of love in God's character just to prove a point.

Believe me. I get it. It is easy to attack the mega churches out there. They are a mile wide and an inch deep. They are doing it all wrong. Where's the growth? These are all valid points.

But at least they are doing something. No church is perfect. I've been in both scenarios, the mega church, seeker friendly, looking for people who don't know about God. And I've been to small churches, with spiritual people, moved by the Holy Spirit, and focused on growing deeper in the Word. If you are waiting for me to jump on one, I'm not going to.

Both are great. But neither are perfect.

They both serve a unique purpose. Both types of church provide something to people in different stages of their walk with God.

It is also popular for well intentioned ministers and deep thinkers to attack those in the church who provide a "salvation prayer." A "magical prayer" that gets people in to heaven.

Yes! We all agree that trusting Christ is more than a prayer. It is surrendering your life. But isn't praying to God, and telling him that you are putting your faith in him, part of the whole believe in your heart, confess with your mouth passage in the Bible? At least a prayer is a start. It may not be the perfect tiny package of Christianity all in one small prayer, but it is leading people down a road to Christ.

I don't want to come across as favoring one side or the other. Nothing makes me angrier than watching a pastor of a huge church on TV preach and seemingly shrink away from mentioning the existence of sin or sacrifice. And I get mad when I see small churches that haven't grown for years, sitting in their pews, tithing, but not getting their hands dirty, doing the work of God in the world.

I'm sorry if this angered you. But in some ways, I hope it got you thinking. There is no one right way to do church. Quit thinking your way is superior. You do church your way because that is how you feel comfortable, or that is how God called you to do it. That is great! But that doesn't mean it is the way everyone is supposed to do church. Christ is for everyone. But there are different churches for different people.

Let's try and find the middle road between the Health and Wealth Gospel, and Hell Fire and Brimstone Preaching.

God is love. God is righteous. But let's not diminish one to exalt the other.

The Way I See It

This may not be theologically perfect, there may be holes in my logic. But this is just the simple way I understand the story of redemption, the way I understand our relationship with God and his son Jesus Christ.

God made Adam and Eve in His own image, and they lived with God in the Garden of Eden.

Then, in an act of rebellion against God, they ate the forbidden fruit and Sin entered the world.

This sin has become known as “human nature.” It is original sin. Meaning we are all born into sin, simply because we are human. Furthermore, we sin on a daily basis due to our flawed human ways.

But God still loves us. He wants to be with us. He created us.

However, God is also completely holy, which means he is without sin. And God is just, meaning that all of our sins must be paid for. And the price of sin is death.

In the Old Testament, the way that people asked God for forgiveness was through sacrifices of livestock or grain.

We as a people needed an acceptable sacrifice, to reconcile with God.

God knew that no person was perfect and holy enough to be an acceptable sacrifice for the sins of the world, so He sent His own Son to Earth.

Jesus Christ walked the Earth, fully human and fully God, and lived a perfect and blameless life.

When He died on the cross, He had done nothing that demanded judgement. God took all the punishment for the sins that we as humans have committed and poured out His righteous wrath on His blameless Son.

In that way, our sins were paid for.

Christ rose again, and ascended to heaven.

He paid the price for our sins as humans.

Because our sins were paid for, God in His infinite Holiness and Righteousness is able to live with us once again.

If we put our faith in what Christ did on the cross. If we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Christ died for our sins, paid our price so that we could be with God, after our lives have ended, and we are being judged for our sin, God won’t see our faults and imperfections.

Instead, when He looks at us, He will see Jesus, and His perfect sacrifice.

So, because of Christ’s death on the cross, we can spend eternity with God.

Seasons of Life

My mom always hated that saying: "Seasons of Life." She always thought that life didn't have seasons, it was just life. The older I get the more I understand that saying.

Being home for the summer, I'm beginning to realize that I'm moving on to a new "season." People that I used to be very close to have moved away, or we've simply grown apart. I used to be naive in thinking that I would always keep in touch with my close friends from high school, or all of my close friends at church, or the mentors or teachers that I knew.

I still try. But its a losing battle. People go on with their lives with or without you. There are no malicious reasons for the ending of those relationships, just life. We've drifted away.

Its pretty sad. I've learned that some of the people I thought I would always be close to, I haven't kept in touch with. Sure, we might meet up for lunch over summer once or twice, go back to school and that will be it. The cool thing is, I'm beginning to accept it.

My perspective has changed. Instead of mourning over the past, I'm embracing the present. I'm enjoying the good times I'm having now, with the people in my life, and knowing that it won't last forever. I remember hearing someone say once that the temporal nature of things, is what makes them beautiful. I'm finally understanding that.

These moments now will become memories. Sure, that sounds like a Kenny Chesney song, but there's some truth to it. I appreciate the people close to me right now. I remember my past friendships and good times I had very fondly. And I am accepting that we'll never get those times back again.

But you know what? There's no gap in my memories. At one time I was doing the things I am remembering now, and while those were happening, I had fond memories of a previous time.

I guess the point is to enjoy what is happening right now in your life. Don't get so caught up in what happened, or what is yet to happen. Enjoy your loved ones now. The people in your life who are here with you right now. People will always move, get involved in other things, drift away. Don't fight it. You can't stop it. It is bigger than you. Enjoy the people you are with now, and accept that they won't be here forever. Don't be sad. If they never left, these times would never be remembered.

In Weakness, There is Strength

Whenever I bump into someone on the street, or try to get a waiter’s attention at a restaurant, I normally start with “sorry.”

It’s a small word, but it causes a lot of controversy. Numerous times in my life I have had complete strangers tell me I shouldn’t say sorry, because people will think I did something wrong, people will blame me for things, and it is a sign of weakness.

What?

All because I said, “Sorry to interrupt, could I get a glass of water?”
To me, it’s the same thing as “excuse me” or “pardon.” But I choose to say "sorry."

There are people who live their life never saying sorry. They are consumed with being right, being without blame, and oozing strength.

While there is nothing inherently wrong with those things, they are dangerous ways to act. They can lead to inflated sense of self, and conceal low self-esteems and bruised egos.

Usually, the people who can’t say sorry are the weakest.

We all have weaknesses, and we have all heard the saying nobody’s perfect. However, for some reason, a lot of us are afraid to show other people that we’re not perfect. We cover up our shortcomings and hide our insecurities, hoping everyone will think we are strong, we are perfect.

Everyone knows you are not perfect. Weakness is not something to be ashamed of. In fact, the Bible talks a lot about the weak.

“I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.” -Ezekiel 34:16 (NLT)

“We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute.” -1 Corinthians 4:10

The Bible doesn’t talk about weakness as a bad thing; instead, the Bible states that there is something to gain in weakness. It is something everyone experiences.

When we are weak, Christ is strong. It is in our weakness that we can recognize Christ’s strength. Moreover, because of our weakness will Christ strengthen us.

We shouldn’t hide our weakness and insecurities with clothes, or cars, or muscle milk. We should unveil our weakness, so that Christ will strengthen us. Then we can actually do something. Instead of being weak, and talking about how strong we are, we should show our weakness, garner the true strength of Christ, and use that strength to help people.

“We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.” –Romans 15:1-2 (NLT)

“To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak.” -1 Corinthians 9:22

As I said, we are all weak. So what do we do when Christ strengthens us? We don’t flaunt our strength to make us feel good and feed our egos; we use that strength to build up our neighbors. We use our newfound strength to help the people around us.

When we puff out our chests and talk about how strong we are, we can’t connect with the weak. Paul said he became weak to win the weak. We should share our weakness; let people know that we have been there. That’s how you help people, you get on their level. You don’t rub it in their face that they’re weak and that you are strong. You share your similar story, you connect with them. You get down and help them up.

Our weakness helps us understand our problems, God’s strength, and other people. When we’ve hit rock bottom, we have to rely on the strength of God to bring us up. After that experience, we can turn and help others who are at rock bottom.

It’s like what Rocky said when describing why he loves Adrian, “I got gaps. She’s got gaps. We fill each other’s gaps.”

So just like Rocky and Adrian, God will fill our gaps.

Don’t be afraid to show your weaknesses. Let people know, that’s the only way they can help you. They have probably been there too. And when Christ strengthens you, you can turn around and help others who are right where you were.

So don’t be afraid of someone thinking you’re weak for saying “sorry.” That person is probably just afraid you will find out how weak they are.

Its really none of my business.

Do you ever watch an old scary movie? One you have seen before. You watch the character push open the old creaky door, walk down the dark hallway. Tip toe across the floor... and BAM! The killer jumps out.

The whole time you're watching this happen you are screaming at the TV "Don't go down there! What are you doing? The killer is around the corner!"

But the person in the TV can't hear your warning. Sometimes people in our lives are doing the same thing, walking down a dangerous path, but we decide to stay quiet.

A few weeks ago, I was at church and Andy Stanley preached about judging people. The first week of the series he talked to Christians and talked about how it was wrong to judge people outside the church because they didn't agree to the same code of laws that we did. We are supposed to love on those people. I talked about something similar a few weeks ago in "Sinners Like Us."

Anyways, the next lesson was on judging people close to us. Are we supposed to judge anyone? How do we approach people? He then brought up the point that when we see someone doing something wrong and it elicits a response from us, check our motives, figure out what's in us that is causing us to react to someone else's behavior that way.

Finally, he talked about judging people we are close to. If someone we love is going down the wrong path and making a stupid choice, and we know it is a dumb choice, and we are confident that we are upset for the right reasons, it is our job to step in.

Basically, many of us stand behind the statement, "I don't want to judge." Or "I'll just stay out of that, they didn't ask me for my opinion." I'll just "love" on that person and let them go their own way. THAT'S NOT LOVE!

Sometimes love isn't easy, it is not always the warm and fuzzy support, just encouraging people and let them go along as they please. Sometimes love calls us to get involved with people, help them, and step in when they are doing something stupid.

It is a lot easier for us to just stand back when we see a friend making a poor life choice, ruining a relationship, pushing away a family member, than to step in and get messy in their life.

"If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back." -Matthew 18:15 NLT

Did you catch that first part? Some translations don't include "against you." If another believer sins, we are supposed to confront them.

Believe me, no one likes confrontation, I regularly avoid it at all cost. I don't like drama, I don't like to rock the boat, I like to be liked. The truth is, that is not always the Godly thing to do.

There are times when a fellow believer, someone we know and love, someone we are close to, is making a mistake, and we have two choices, step in, or watch it happen and say "I don't want to judge, I'm not here to make their decisions."

We have to step in. I know its not a warm and fuzzy lesson, "Just love people." Yes, just love people, but sometimes loving people means we confront those we love when they are making a stupid mistake.

This is weighing on my heart because I know this happens in my life all the time. I see someone doing something stupid, going down a path I've been down. I remember how much it hurt me and how I wished someone would have stopped me, but I don't do anything and say to myself, "It's none of my business."

It is my business. If it is someone I love and they are making a huge mistake, if I don't step in, who will?

As followers of Christ, we need to help each other, help other believers, help our family, don't judge those outside your circle of relationship, outside your influence. Don't run up to people on the street doing drugs and yell at them, that is not what Jesus is saying.

But those people in your circle of friends. Those people close to you, that you truly love, that you respect, that you don't want to make the same mistake you did, that is who you step in and deal with.

If one of your closest friends is destroying his family, talk to him!

If someone in your family is making a terrible decision, get messy, get in their lives, try to stop them!

Stop letting people ruin their lives around you while you just "stick to your own business."

You have a responsibility to help the ones you love, its not always easy, but if you don't help them, who will?

Quit Thinking Ahead

The future is looming. Are you planning for it? Do you have every step plotted out on your route to success?

People are consumed by their goals. They are driven beyond belief. Always pushing for the next level, the next promotion, the next goal. People know where they want to go, they know how they want to get there, and they know how long it should take them.

Everyone I talk to here at school tells me their master plan. They talk about things like finishing their degree in engineering, or biology, or English, then going to graduate school, medical school, or business school.

They have their life mapped out, every step of the way, how they think it should go. But they're missing where they are now. Look around you, look at the life you are living. Look at how blessed you are to be at school, your biggest worries are what books you have to read, or what you are going to do with your degree.

The point is, don't get too caught up in the future that you miss the present. Sure, it is great to have goals. We all have things we strive for, we want to reach the top of the mountain, but what happens if we get there and we're not fulfilled? We have nothing to cherish because we ran through the journey as fast as we could.

You are where you are right now for a reason. You are part of a bigger plan, and doing your part just by living your life to the best of your abilities right where you are. God has a purpose for you, and has led you to where you are. Make an impact, right here, right now, quit putting it off.

There are a lot of things to enjoy about your life right now. Search for them, recognize them, and cherish them. Things will change, for the better, maybe for the worse, but they won't be the same. Some things you love won't be here a year from now, you'll be somewhere else, people will move on to different things, there will be new things to cherish, just enjoy what you can about where you are. Slow down a little bit. By all means, work towards your goals, but don't get too bogged down with busyness that you miss all the great things going on around you.

Also, be flexible. The Bible talks over and over again about how we can make plans but the Lord will determine our steps. Things will change, your perfect plan might not work out the way you set it up, but that doesn't mean you failed, or its wrong. Be careful not to look at your plans as the only path for your life. Do not put your goals for the future above following God's will. Because when God places you somewhere you are supposed to be, somewhere where you are meant to do something amazing, you might miss it sulking over your lost plans.

Enjoy where you are and be open about all the possibilities God has for you in the future.

"'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."- Jeremiah 29:11 (NASB)

We're Both Weak

You know your strengths and your weaknesses better than anybody. You know what you can handle and what you can't. There are some things that come easy to you, that are no big deal, and there are some things that are harder for others.

It is very easy to lose sight of the fact that some things are not a problem for you, but are HUGE obstacles for others.

Everyone remembers having a bad math teacher in middle school or high school. One that would put a problem up on the board, look at it for a minute, come up with the answer in their head, and write it down. Obviously, you couldn't do the same, and couldn't figure out how the teacher solved the problem. Then, they would give you an F when you couldn't figure out the same problem on the test. You would get mad at the teacher for not explaining the process, they would get mad at you for not grasping it.

Your teacher didn't understand that they were strong in an area, that you were weak in. They didn't realize learning that theory came much easier to them than you.

When we fail to realize that some things are harder or easier for others, we can end up labeling that person, or worse, hurting that person because of our lack of understanding.

Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians:

"But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble." - 1 Corinthians 8:9

Paul is saying that those things that you think are no big deal, might be a big deal to someone else.

If you think that having a drink now and then is alright, but someone else believes that it is wrong, or maybe they are recovering from a problem brought on by alcohol, don't drink in front of them.

I see this a lot in college, some people can handle going certain places and parties, where others go to those same places and parties and get messed up, they fall to that temptation.

Many times we get so caught up in our strengths, that we think others can handle the same things we can. All it takes is one time for the sides to be reversed, and we quickly realize how that is not the case.

Don't lead others into temptation, even if it may not be a problem for you.

If you struggle with some form of sin, and have ever been brought into a situation by a friend where that sin is just pulling you in while your friend seems not to be affected, you know how horrible that can be.

You feel weak and confused. You think, "What's wrong with him, how come he doesn't struggle with this?" Or you think, "What's wrong with me, how come I am not strong enough to handle this?"

It is better to run from temptation than to try and be "brave" and stand up to it. Don't make it easier for you to fall. And don't make it easier for your friends to fall.

I know a lot of Christians who go to parties, get wasted, and regret it. When I ask them about it, they say, "Someone's got to be a Christian at those parties." And I want to say, "Not you!" If you struggle with something, don't put yourself in that position under the guise of being a light in a dark situation. Run from that temptation! Let someone else be a Christian at that party, someone that doesn't struggle with parties as much as you.

Same goes for bringing a Christian friend to those parties. Maybe you can handle it, but they can't, so don't bring them.

Paul continues to say, "And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ." - 1 Corinthians 8:12

Be sensitive to what others are struggling with and don't lead them like a sheep to the slaughter. Stay away from those temptations for them. Be strong for them, but understand their weakness, because you have your weaknesses too.

If they feel weird about doing something, eating something, drinking something, watching something, or listening to something that you don't have a problem with, don't pressure them to do it.

If you are forcing someone to go against their conscience, you are going against Christ.

"When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some." -1 Corinthians 9:22

Understanding someone's weaknesses, and struggles, and seeing what they see, and helping them through those problems, will grow you closer together. It will make your relationship with them stronger. And through relationship, people come to Christ.

Sinners Like Us

"1 You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. 2 And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things. 3 Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things? 4 Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?" -Romans 2:1-4 (NLT)

If you read Romans 1 you see Paul discuss some sins that people had been doing. He lists their shameful acts. He says they were doing every sort of "wickedness." Going on about how it is wrong. When you're reading it, it is easy to start thinking that you are better than them, and condemn these wicked people in your mind for their transgressions. It is like Paul knows what you are thinking and at the beginning of Romans 2 says this. He basically flips it on you.

I focus so much time and effort into improving myself, trying to live up to God's standards, follow the Bible's example, etc. That when I see other people who genuinely don't care about what the Bible says I have a natural response to look down on them. I can easily think of myself as better than them, since at least I'm not committing those sins.

But I'm not better than them. And neither are you. We all sin. The wages of sin is death, we are all guilty of sin. The standard Jesus set was perfection and we all fall short of that. Whether we fall short of it by an inch or a mile doesn't matter, we are all in the same boat: sinners in need of a savior. Through accepting Christ's sacrifice, we are forgiven by God. We must ingrain it in our heads that we earned nothing. God owed us nothing. It is through God's grace that we are saved.

On paper, I know it is easy to agree with that, yet how quickly we forget that we have done nothing to earn God's love, when we see someone doing something we know is wrong. We immediately think of how we wouldn't do that, how we're better than that. We're NOT.

Think of yourself. How you used to be, when you were in their shoes. When you knew no better. What did you need at that moment, condemnation or love? We are all sinners, we have all been there. Be careful not to get too full of yourself just because you found Jesus. He has been there the whole time, He was waiting for you, just like He is waiting for them now.

Remember, God loves them just as much as He loves us. There is nothing we can do to make God love us more or less. He already loves us unconditionally and more than we can imagine. This scripture talks of God's kindness with us, He is patient with us when we sin.

We must remember that if God is patient with us, we must be patient with others. Do not judge them, do not look down on someone, do not condemn someone if you think they are doing wrong. See them as Christ would see them, with compassion.

We love Him because He first loved us.

So we have to love on others, no matter how close or far away they are from God. You're not better than anyone just because you're a Christian. God loves them just as much as He loves us. So love them, too.

The Impact of the Example of Forgiveness

Tonight, I was reading through 1 John mostly by chance. The one theme that really caught my heart today, and normally does catch my heart when reading this book, is that true Christians love their brothers and sisters in the faith.

"If anyone claims, 'I am living in the light,' but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness." 1 John 2:9 NLT

That just always talks about grudges to me. A few years ago, I really struggled with grudges. I had a lot of friends, didn't have any enemies (which is no small feat in high school.) But I had a hard time forgiving the few people that hurt me.

I held it in, and when I thought about what they did or how they treated me, it made me angry. I tried to keep it in, so rarely would I confront those people about their supposed wrongs. But it did seep out. Those people could tell something was different between us, which made it worse, we excluded each other from things and generally disintegrated our friendships.

In one particular occasion, it got to the point that I didn't even know what one person had done to me. Why we were fighting, and why I was so mad at them and waiting for an apology. Eventually, God convicted me that I was holding these grudges. One of the best messages I have heard, from various sources is that forgiveness is not for the other person, it is for you.

Forgiveness is not for that person that hurt you. You can hold a grudge, it will tear you apart, but that person will keep on living life. Waiting for them to say "I'm sorry" could be a long long time. If that anger festers in your heart, it will just burn you, not the other person.

So let go of it. Forgive that person. Let go of the anger. Let go of the thought of revenge. Let go of the thought that that person owes you something. Let go, move on. Lift that weight off of yourself. Go to God, ask for strength.

Eventually, I was able to do just that. Forgive those people of what they did to me. It took some time, and those relationships aren't the same as they were before, but I have been able to re forge those friendships and make matters a lot better between myself and these people. One instance, I even apologized to the other person for holding a grudge against them. They were shocked, but it went a long way to restoring our friendship. I tell you what, it is a lot better on the other side, and in the years since, my heart feels lighter.

I think I have blogged about that in the past, so what I really wanted to share was in verse 10.

"Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble." 1 John 2:10 NLT

God is saying that loving others is what shows that you are close to Him. More than that, your grudges aren't between just you and the person who hurt you, you are an example for other believers.

If you refuse to forgive someone, that can cause others to stumble. They may hold grudges too. Think of the impact it would cause, if a chain of people rejected forgiveness. There would be anger and bitterness in everyone's heart. There would be certain people you couldn't bring up around other people, there would be lives changed for the worse.

However, if you set an example and forgive those who have hurt you, who have wronged you, it may convince others to do the same. Those people will then experience the joy that comes from forgiveness and salvaged relationships.

We owe each other forgiveness. We have committed far greater trespasses against God than anyone has against us, yet God forgave us. Who are we to say that we can't forgive?

It is because of forgiveness that we are saved. It is because of forgiveness that we can live in love, joy, and relationship with God.

Forgiveness is central to who we are as people. It is a big idea, with big implications.

If we forgive each other, lives will be changed in the same way that God's forgiveness towards us has already changed our lives.

Preparation

Hey everybody, I have a couple things on my mind, so I will break this up into two posts so it will be easier to read.

The first thing is that yesterday, while I was on campus reading at a picnic table, this kid walked up to me and asked me if I knew Joseph Smith had a vision, I said I did, but didn't know much about it.

This young man, no older than 17 or 18, then went on to profess his faith to me. He was a Mormon and said that proselytizing is what he did all day.

I told him he had a lot of courage to go around and openly talk to people about his faith, but I didn't agree with him that the Church of Latter Day Saints was the way to God.

He was well prepared and argued every point I brought up. I told him I didn't think Jesus walked in America after the resurrection, I didn't believe there was a complement to the Bible, and I didn't believe in Joseph Smith's "vision" that the Mormon Church was the only church with true authority from God.

I tried to express to Him what I believed and why I believed it. What it really came down to was that I believe the Bible is the true word of God by faith, and he believed that the Book of Mormon was the word of God also, by faith.

The hard thing was, he said he believed in the Bible. Everything I believed in, he believed in too. I then asked what is the point of Mormonism and he said that you had to be baptized in the Mormon Church to be saved. First off, I don't think you have to be baptized to be saved, and I don't think it has to be in any specific church.

I guess what I am getting at, is that it is hard to witness to someone who is part of the Church of Latter Day Saints. We both believe Jesus is the Savior and both believe in His resurrection. The biggest differences I could see (excluding that whole polygamy thing) was they follow the Book of Mormon, and believe in that whole baptism under authority deal.

I wish I would have been more prepared as to why I see holes in their faith, by Scripture. So now I'm going to look and search for the major differences between Christianity and Mormonism. I was just wondering what you readers out there know about Mormonism, or any tips on how you talk to them.

Yo

Hey there everybody. Just filling you in on what's been going on. I am back up in Gainesville, on week 2 of my second year. Things are going great. I am now living off campus in an apartment with two of my friends from Campus Crusade. Shannon has transferred up here, and she is living in the same apartment complex. I have never eaten better at college than I have with Shannon here. I have gone from frozen corn dogs to Chicken Alfredo. It is great to have her up here, and my classes are going well so far. We are just getting started, but I am getting a handle on my classes, I'm sure in a couple more weeks I will be past the learning curve. I only have to go to campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays because I am taking a few classes online. It is definitely keeping me busy, but its great being up here, the change of scenery, and the change of atmosphere. The other thing coming up is football season. Only a few days away, I am stoked! I'm hoping for a Gators repeat and the Dolphins to make the playoffs.

So in summation, I'm going to be pretty busy the next few weeks, I will try to keep you updated, and whenever I am inspired, I promise to blog about it.

See you soon.

What's the point?

I just finished up at a leadership conference and I was reading through Acts tonight and this scripture caught my eye:

"We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus." -Acts 15:11

This got me thinking along the lines of what Tim Keller was talking about at the conference.

He talked about the story of the prodigal son (funny how that keeps popping up) from the perspective of the older brother.

Basically, the way this all came together in my head was that it is very easy to lose sight of this verse, and this verse's meaning when we get deeply involved in ministry.

We are saved by the UNDESERVED grace of Jesus.

Many times Christ followers will start to "work for God" and volunteer at their local church.

I want to go on record and say that I personally think that is the best way to connect with people in a church.

But as always, we have to be careful.

Anyways, a person starts volunteering at a church, or is on staff, and soon gains responsibilities and jobs.

They have a list of tasks that they want to get done every weekend, and get done with excellence. This is anyone from a person who hands out bulletins to the lead pastor.

We all start to get into this cycle of trying to constantly improve work. We spend more and more time on how to do a better job, instead of spending that time with God.

We start to pour all of our effort and time into our ministry under the banner of "God's Calling", and in a twisted way, we start to worship the ministry and not our God who is behind it.

We become so focused on our work that we put it up on a pedestal. We begin to prioritize our work for God above our relationship with God. We worship our work, worship those who excel in the area of our ministry, worship the strategy behind an effective ministry like ours, we begin to worship ourselves for our accomplishments in our ministry.

In a short matter of time, we have convinced ourselves that our work for God is more important than God. In a sense, our ministry is more vital to us than God's grace.

If we're not careful we may begin to think that our work is critical to how God views us, forgetting how He loves complete failures and successful people.

If that happens, we will be under constant pressure to please God through our work.

If we are trying to work hard enough for God to love us, then we in essence are trying to WORK for our SALVATION.

We put ourselves in this pressure cooker to live up to God's perfect standards and actually get lost in our work, instead of getting lost in our God and his salvation through grace.

We are saved by the undeserved grace of Jesus Christ.

Plain and simple.

We don't deserve. Never can, never will. No matter how hard we work, we will never be good enough for God's standards.

Yet through His love, and His son's death on a cross, God gives us His saving grace as a free gift that is unearned and undeserved.

It is not we do. It is what Jesus has done.

We can't forget that.

You're ministry is important to God. You are changing lives!

Just be careful that your ministry doesn't become a matter of eternal life or death to you.

Yes, you should focus on your work. But focus more on emulating the spirit of God through your work, and your work will take care of itself.

Going on in my Head

Have you ever experienced a time where God seems to be telling you or a group the same thing? Everyone keeps coming across similar scriptures, all the preachers are teaching about the same idea?

Its pretty cool how things align like that sometimes.

This week, the story of the prodigal son seems to be everywhere I turn. You can find it in Luke 15.

To be honest, I am kind of at a loss of why this scripture keeps popping up in my life.

It is a great metaphor. A boy asks for his inheritance while his father is still alive, runs off and blows it. He does everything he thinks he wants to do but ends up broke and alone. He's living in a pig pen and realizes even his father's servants lived better back home. He swallows his pride and decides to go home and ask his father to at least accept him as a servant. Except, when he arrives home, he finds his father filled with joy at his return, and they enjoy a great feast.

Simply put, we are the prodigal son, God is our father.

We may run from Him, do everything He warned us not to do, we may end up living in the pig pen, we may be ashamed to turn back to Him. But He is anxiously awaiting our return.

God loves us.

No doubt, it is a great passage, but I had to think through how this applies to me right now.

Then I remembered that I had been praying for some encouragement. Nothing was really wrong, but I was just getting worn out, seemingly beaten down and tired. I could see some evidence of weariness in my relationship with God and prayed for Him to give me a little boost. Kind of a Red Bull for my soul.

I'm now realizing that this is one of the most joyful scriptures there is in the Bible. The more I meditate on it, the happier I become.

This passage is telling me that I can never screw up too much for God. The mistakes I've made are in the past. He loves me and just wants me to be with Him.

Yes, there are many other attributes of God, but what sticks out through this story is His love.

To me, the unending love of God is something that we can never think about enough.

If we don't focus on God's love, we end up like the prodigal son's older brother. Focused only on his father's wealth, and his financial loss. If we become the older brother, we miss the celebration, and the joy of God's love, just like he missed the point of the feast.

So I've decided that this lesson is a rather simple one: go back sooner to God, don't wallow in self pity, bask in His love and mercy, be more thankful for His grace, and rejoice!