A friend of mine pointed out some scripture she was reading, it sounded like it had really grabbed a hold of her heart, so I read it over tonight.
The passage was Ephesians 4, Paul is writing to the church at Ephesus and basically telling them what's up.
He starts right off the bat telling us how to act with each other, always be humble, patient and gentle, bind yourselves together with peace, overlook each others faults with love.
That struck a chord right away. I don't know about you, but if you hang around a church or a ministry long enough, you will see relationships ruined by it. If you hang around really long, it can make you question if there is a way to do ministry with people without eventually destroying your relationship with them.
Paul tells us how to do it right here. He basically says to put yourself to the side. Be gentle, humble, patient. Don't get heated with the people you are doing life with. Work with them and their faults, overlook their faults with love, because that is what Christ did with us.
Paul is the man at bringing everything back to Christ.
He tells us its simple, not easy, but simple, if we constantly focus on Christ and try to emulate Him in everything we do, we won't have relationship problems.
The only reason that doesn't work is that pride, anger, jealousy, and frustration get in the way. It is a lot easier to tear someone down and blame them for bringing down your ministry than to listen to what Paul says in the next paragraph and build up leaders.
Paul keeps referring to unity in the body, telling us that we need to speak truth in love, like Christ, and depend on each other, help each other grow, and the body will benefit.
The Bible tells us how to confront people without causing a quarrel. This half of the chapter is a guideline to me for handling how you talk to people, whether it be at work, church, or school.
Paul tells us to first be humble and gentle. Meaning don't come in arrogant and hostile, thinking your idea is the only idea, you have the best solution and everyone should agree with you. You're just going to come across as a jerk. Be humble and gentle, listen to others, take in their point of view.
He next says to overlook each others faults out of love, because that is what Christ did for us. We don't need to point out every little thing that irritates you about a person. There are times when people need to be confronted, but the Bible says to "Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binging yourselves together with peace." Eph. 4:3
That sounds to me like you shouldn't rock the boat unless you really really have to. Strive to keep the peace, and overlooking some faults with love is how we do that.
Finally, it says that we need to work together. We are dependent on each other. No one can do everything perfectly, we need each other to maximize our potential. We have to depend on the other parts of the body.
That takes a lot as well. Sometimes that means you have to step aside, out of the limelight, and let someone who is better than you perform some duty. I know that can be hard. But how are we supposed to work together so well?
Paul says we have to remember that Christ is the head of the church. He is also the head of our lives. If we can look to Him, and remember what he did for us, remember that we are brothers and sisters of Christ, we're all on the same team, it should make it a little easier for us to work together.
This way, in verse 16 it says, "As each part does its own work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love."
Remember love, guys.
If you approach people with humility and love, those tough conversations will go a lot smoother.
Deception
I was on Facebook earlier today and a guy I know posted a link to a couple videos on Youtube. They were of this crazy preacher talking about God's "drunken glory." The guy was on stage, intoxicated, and rambling nonsense about "sexual worship" and throwing in a lot of mystic terms from various religions.
He had a packed house!
What gives me a heavy heart is that next to that video were dozens of links to other crazy "preachers" and nut job "prophets." The list went on and on.
It made me think of how many people were out there following these men, falsely thinking they were seeing God through ridiculous acts and heresy, like a "healer" beat a crippled woman with a baseball bat because "the Holy Spirit said it would heal her."
The Bible speaks a lot about false prophets in books like 1 John and 2 Peter.
It's scary! They loosely tie in parts of scripture to back what they are saying and babble on about nonsense that the people in the pews accepted as fact. I had to watch one guy for over 5 minutes before I was sure he was a phony. I can see how people can believe them!
These people are good at what they do.
The Bible talks about how those who are teachers will be held to a higher standard. I believe this is because many things teachers say will be accepted as fact by the congregation. Just like a lot of the people in those chairs assumed what this man was saying was rooted in scripture or backed up somewhere, when in all reality, it was coming from his warped mind.
It is a scary thing. Everyone out there who follows Christ, or at least has some common sense must guard themselves from these people. The Bible tells us they are out for money, greed, and sexual desires.
People abusing the Word of God and the natural respect people have for it, for their own twisted desires makes me physically sick to my stomach.
It is our responsibility as the body of Christ, especially those called to teach, to follow God's will and work for His glory.
If we're not the ones out there telling people truthfully about Christ, these whack jobs will be there to lead them down a dark path.
My heart breaks for those people, I'm sorry that it takes something being thrown in my face for me to really get fired up about it. This happens everyday and I don't give it a second thought until now. We must constantly remember that there are billions of people out there that are lost, hurting, and broken.
We have the one thing that everyone needs, Jesus Christ. Yet far too often we are more concerned with what we're having for dinner, where we are going to spend our money, or what we're going to wear tomorrow. We put ourselves in a church bubble and hang out with only church people. That is great, the Bible says we need fellowship and that will lead to spiritual growth. But never forget the main reason you are here is to glorify God by spreading His message to those around you.
Jesus came to save the sinners, that's why He hung out with them.
If we don't love on those around us and try to be an example of Christ to them, then those crazy deceivers will lure them in with false hope and false teachings, which will ultimately lead to Hell.
It is our duty to know the truth, and share the truth.
He had a packed house!
What gives me a heavy heart is that next to that video were dozens of links to other crazy "preachers" and nut job "prophets." The list went on and on.
It made me think of how many people were out there following these men, falsely thinking they were seeing God through ridiculous acts and heresy, like a "healer" beat a crippled woman with a baseball bat because "the Holy Spirit said it would heal her."
The Bible speaks a lot about false prophets in books like 1 John and 2 Peter.
It's scary! They loosely tie in parts of scripture to back what they are saying and babble on about nonsense that the people in the pews accepted as fact. I had to watch one guy for over 5 minutes before I was sure he was a phony. I can see how people can believe them!
These people are good at what they do.
The Bible talks about how those who are teachers will be held to a higher standard. I believe this is because many things teachers say will be accepted as fact by the congregation. Just like a lot of the people in those chairs assumed what this man was saying was rooted in scripture or backed up somewhere, when in all reality, it was coming from his warped mind.
It is a scary thing. Everyone out there who follows Christ, or at least has some common sense must guard themselves from these people. The Bible tells us they are out for money, greed, and sexual desires.
People abusing the Word of God and the natural respect people have for it, for their own twisted desires makes me physically sick to my stomach.
It is our responsibility as the body of Christ, especially those called to teach, to follow God's will and work for His glory.
If we're not the ones out there telling people truthfully about Christ, these whack jobs will be there to lead them down a dark path.
My heart breaks for those people, I'm sorry that it takes something being thrown in my face for me to really get fired up about it. This happens everyday and I don't give it a second thought until now. We must constantly remember that there are billions of people out there that are lost, hurting, and broken.
We have the one thing that everyone needs, Jesus Christ. Yet far too often we are more concerned with what we're having for dinner, where we are going to spend our money, or what we're going to wear tomorrow. We put ourselves in a church bubble and hang out with only church people. That is great, the Bible says we need fellowship and that will lead to spiritual growth. But never forget the main reason you are here is to glorify God by spreading His message to those around you.
Jesus came to save the sinners, that's why He hung out with them.
If we don't love on those around us and try to be an example of Christ to them, then those crazy deceivers will lure them in with false hope and false teachings, which will ultimately lead to Hell.
It is our duty to know the truth, and share the truth.
Separation
Today is one of those days where I feel like my prayers are hitting the ceiling. Like I can't get through to God. My mind won't focus, I have to fight distractions and discouragement. There is no major crisis or disaster I am dealing with, something just isn't right.
I think days like this are caused by disobedience. When I finally realize that something is wrong, something is different, hopefully it gets through to me that something needs to be fixed.
Times like this, I'm forced to think back through the last day or two. I have to check my actions, my pride, and my motives. I'm not sure if this is how it works in your life, but this is how it goes in mine.
My disobedience is sin. The ironic thing is God is just giving me what I thought I wanted. When we sin, we are declaring our independence from God. Most times "independence" is seen as a good thing, in this case it is not. We are saying we don't need to depend on God. I got it, I'm good, thanks for the help, I'll take it from here God. It is a dumb move, but when we sin that is what we do. God loves us and wants us to have our best life, we disagree, we think we know what's best, we declare it with sin, and are basically saying we know better than God.
So I think these nights when I feel distant from God are a result of previous sin. God is saying you wanted to be out on your own, here is a little taste. I know He would never let me go, the Bible says He never loses one of His flock.
Sin gets into our hearts, it hardens our hearts from God. In Philippians, Paul says we should have tender hearts like Christ. Sin does the opposite. It hardens our hearts, pulls us from God, makes us more defensive to His message and His call. That is why it is so hard for people far from God to come to Him.
So what do we do? We have to give it all up to Him. Repent, confess, apologize, whatever you want to call it. We have to go back to Christ. Make things right, ask for His boundless grace, and as Paul says, REJOICE when He forgives us!
I think days like this are caused by disobedience. When I finally realize that something is wrong, something is different, hopefully it gets through to me that something needs to be fixed.
Times like this, I'm forced to think back through the last day or two. I have to check my actions, my pride, and my motives. I'm not sure if this is how it works in your life, but this is how it goes in mine.
My disobedience is sin. The ironic thing is God is just giving me what I thought I wanted. When we sin, we are declaring our independence from God. Most times "independence" is seen as a good thing, in this case it is not. We are saying we don't need to depend on God. I got it, I'm good, thanks for the help, I'll take it from here God. It is a dumb move, but when we sin that is what we do. God loves us and wants us to have our best life, we disagree, we think we know what's best, we declare it with sin, and are basically saying we know better than God.
So I think these nights when I feel distant from God are a result of previous sin. God is saying you wanted to be out on your own, here is a little taste. I know He would never let me go, the Bible says He never loses one of His flock.
Sin gets into our hearts, it hardens our hearts from God. In Philippians, Paul says we should have tender hearts like Christ. Sin does the opposite. It hardens our hearts, pulls us from God, makes us more defensive to His message and His call. That is why it is so hard for people far from God to come to Him.
So what do we do? We have to give it all up to Him. Repent, confess, apologize, whatever you want to call it. We have to go back to Christ. Make things right, ask for His boundless grace, and as Paul says, REJOICE when He forgives us!
Hectic
It has been busy these past few weeks. Working at FRC has kept me going in all directions. I just finished up two weeks of High School and Middle School summer camp. I was a team leader. It was a tough camp, especially the first week. I had the flu and a crazy high fever but was out there playing the games with the students so it made everything worse. I pulled through and our team came in second.
That weekend in between camps, I rushed to the doctor, got some medicine and tried to recover for the next week. Luckily the worst was behind me when the next camp started, and I was able to be there the whole time, fully engaged, not laying down sick. Things went well, the camp was pretty hardcore, kids ran a few miles one night, had to climb over a 12 ft. wall, and kayak through a canal, but we all got through it. I was able to see two of the boys on my team come to know Christ, which was amazing. Our team came in first that week, so we went home with bragging rights.
We turned right around this past weekend and had an event called Beach Baptism. We all went down to Hollywood beach and baptized over 300 people! Hallelujah! It was an awesome experience. I had been working with our team on this event for a few months now and was happy to see all that planning pay off. Things went buttery smooth, no major problems come to mind. Well... except the rain. But the weather lightened up when it was time for the concert afterwards and spirits were high the whole time. All in all, it has been a successful few weeks.
Now that I am back, I will get back to posting the nonsense that runs through my head. I missed you guys, hope you have a great 4th of July planned.
That weekend in between camps, I rushed to the doctor, got some medicine and tried to recover for the next week. Luckily the worst was behind me when the next camp started, and I was able to be there the whole time, fully engaged, not laying down sick. Things went well, the camp was pretty hardcore, kids ran a few miles one night, had to climb over a 12 ft. wall, and kayak through a canal, but we all got through it. I was able to see two of the boys on my team come to know Christ, which was amazing. Our team came in first that week, so we went home with bragging rights.
We turned right around this past weekend and had an event called Beach Baptism. We all went down to Hollywood beach and baptized over 300 people! Hallelujah! It was an awesome experience. I had been working with our team on this event for a few months now and was happy to see all that planning pay off. Things went buttery smooth, no major problems come to mind. Well... except the rain. But the weather lightened up when it was time for the concert afterwards and spirits were high the whole time. All in all, it has been a successful few weeks.
Now that I am back, I will get back to posting the nonsense that runs through my head. I missed you guys, hope you have a great 4th of July planned.
Tips
I believe the church should always be focused on Jesus and the will of God first and foremost. Whatever threatens that, or anyone who doesn't recognize that Jesus is the heart of the church, should not be involved.
Churches can do great things through acts of love. These are some ideas on how to operate through love.
Vision Through Spiritual Growth
- Leaders are placed in ministry by the hand of God. That is something leaders must constantly remember. Through personal spiritual growth, God equips them with the vision to lead their ministry. I think the closer they are to God, the more obedient they are to Him, the more insight He will bless them with. When leaders are enveloped in the Word, and spending consistent time seeking God's will, He will bless them with a direction and ideas for their ministry. This is where the ideas come from that draw people to church. It is not about drawing people to a church. It is about God using the church to draw people to Him.
Leadership Through Humility and Compassion
- I think those are the two most important qualities a leader can have. Humility and compassion are keys to great leadership. Some argue that pure bravado, authority, and dominance show a strong leader. I argue that a broken person can be a great leader. A leader must be humble enough to accept his/her own weaknesses, to recognize when he/she needs help in certain areas. A leader has to fight pride and know when God has blessed them with something great, and an idea is not about making themselves great. When we are humble and move out of the way, we stop trying to focus the spotlight on ourselves, God can shine through. A leader must also have compassion. Through compassion a leader can understand people, their point of view, their pain, their mindset, and a leader can connect to people. Establishing that connection is what causes people to follow a leader. King David didn't force anyone to follow him in the caves, they did it by choice. People just want someone to care about them, try to understand them, and not expect anything out of force. People don't want to follow out of fear, authority, or lack of power. That's not a choice, that's forced. True leadership is through humility, and followers come through compassion.
Team-Building Through Encouragement
- Once the vision is cast, it is likely that the leader can't carry it out by themselves. They need a team, a team is raised up through encouragement. You need to build up future leaders. Recognize their strengths, where they excel, where they succeed and ask them to join your team. You need to let them know your admiration and respect of their gifts. Its crucial for a leader to step aside and let a team member shine when God has blessed them in an area more than the leader. The leader isn't supposed to be the best at everything, they are the person God put there to build a team. To find the people that are the best at one thing, and bring them together. So the team can be full of encouraged people, who are passionate about what they are doing, and confident they can succeed and their leader supports them. That's a good team.
Churches can do great things through acts of love. These are some ideas on how to operate through love.
Vision Through Spiritual Growth
- Leaders are placed in ministry by the hand of God. That is something leaders must constantly remember. Through personal spiritual growth, God equips them with the vision to lead their ministry. I think the closer they are to God, the more obedient they are to Him, the more insight He will bless them with. When leaders are enveloped in the Word, and spending consistent time seeking God's will, He will bless them with a direction and ideas for their ministry. This is where the ideas come from that draw people to church. It is not about drawing people to a church. It is about God using the church to draw people to Him.
Leadership Through Humility and Compassion
- I think those are the two most important qualities a leader can have. Humility and compassion are keys to great leadership. Some argue that pure bravado, authority, and dominance show a strong leader. I argue that a broken person can be a great leader. A leader must be humble enough to accept his/her own weaknesses, to recognize when he/she needs help in certain areas. A leader has to fight pride and know when God has blessed them with something great, and an idea is not about making themselves great. When we are humble and move out of the way, we stop trying to focus the spotlight on ourselves, God can shine through. A leader must also have compassion. Through compassion a leader can understand people, their point of view, their pain, their mindset, and a leader can connect to people. Establishing that connection is what causes people to follow a leader. King David didn't force anyone to follow him in the caves, they did it by choice. People just want someone to care about them, try to understand them, and not expect anything out of force. People don't want to follow out of fear, authority, or lack of power. That's not a choice, that's forced. True leadership is through humility, and followers come through compassion.
Team-Building Through Encouragement
- Once the vision is cast, it is likely that the leader can't carry it out by themselves. They need a team, a team is raised up through encouragement. You need to build up future leaders. Recognize their strengths, where they excel, where they succeed and ask them to join your team. You need to let them know your admiration and respect of their gifts. Its crucial for a leader to step aside and let a team member shine when God has blessed them in an area more than the leader. The leader isn't supposed to be the best at everything, they are the person God put there to build a team. To find the people that are the best at one thing, and bring them together. So the team can be full of encouraged people, who are passionate about what they are doing, and confident they can succeed and their leader supports them. That's a good team.
Poor Blake Griffin
As the Los Angeles Lakers were taking game 1 from the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, and trying for their 15th NBA championship, the Los Angeles Clippers secured the number one pick in this year's NBA draft. Once again, signaling the end to a disappointing season, and the beginning of another.
These two teams may share the same arena, but they couldn't be further apart.
NBA Championships:
Lakers- 14
Clippers- 0
Conference Titles:
Lakers- 29
Clippers- 0
Division Titles:
Lakers- 30
Clippers- 0
The Lakers even have cooler fans, Jack Nicholson comes to every game and sits courtside. All the Clippers have is Billy Crystal.
Poor Blake Griffin, the forward from Oklahoma is the likely No. 1 pick. I bet this is what he looked like after he found out the Clippers got the first pick.
These two teams may share the same arena, but they couldn't be further apart.
NBA Championships:
Lakers- 14
Clippers- 0
Conference Titles:
Lakers- 29
Clippers- 0
Division Titles:
Lakers- 30
Clippers- 0
The Lakers even have cooler fans, Jack Nicholson comes to every game and sits courtside. All the Clippers have is Billy Crystal.
Poor Blake Griffin, the forward from Oklahoma is the likely No. 1 pick. I bet this is what he looked like after he found out the Clippers got the first pick.
College Food
Corn dogs were a staple of my diet at college. I elected not to get the meal plan, and in an effort to save money I bought food every week at Publix, stored it in my mini fridge and microwaved it up. Yum!
Needless to say, my menu options were limited and corn dogs and chicken nuggets get old after a while. Even when I tried to eat healthy, there are only so many turkey sandwiches I can eat.
Don't get the wrong impression, I made it work, and it wasn't horrible. Sometimes I supplemented my diet with some Chili's or Chik-fil-a, but I actually craved vegetables by the end of the semester.
So, its great to be home and enjoying my mom's cooking. I had some barbecue chicken, broccoli, and potatoes for dinner tonight. Sure, it took longer than 30 seconds to cook, and it didn't come on a stick, but it was good.
