Do you have rules in life? I have several...
1. Always drink coffee. Every morning. No exceptions.
2. Never root for the Cincinnait Bengals. This is very important.
3. Never more than 5 mph over the speed limit.
4. Spend good times with friends. Community makes the world go round.
Now, of course, these are not the only hard and fast rules that I have by. These are just a sampling of the things that I hold onto.
There IS an important rule to live by, though.
15-17Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way. (Colossians 3:17, The Message)
So, in order to do this, we have to make a plan...we have to determine the rules that we'll live by. What does it mean to do EVERYTHING in the name of Jesus Christ, so that the character of Christ can be seen in all that you do?
If you haven't filled out your Rule of Life page from last night yet, please do so. If you weren't there last night, let me know...I'll send you one.
What are your rules?
Monday, February 22, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
Lawn on FIRE!!!
8-13Fix this picture firmly in your mind: Jesus, descended from the line of David, raised from the dead. It's what you've heard from me all along. It's what I'm sitting in jail for right now—but God's Word isn't in jail! That's why I stick it out here—so that everyone God calls will get in on the salvation of Christ in all its glory. This is a sure thing:
If we die with him, we'll live with him;
If we stick it out with him, we'll rule with him;
If we turn our backs on him, he'll turn his back on us;
If we give up on him, he does not give up—
for there's no way he can be false to himself.
If we die with him, we'll live with him;
If we stick it out with him, we'll rule with him;
If we turn our backs on him, he'll turn his back on us;
If we give up on him, he does not give up—
for there's no way he can be false to himself.
14-18Repeat these basic essentials over and over to God's people. Warn them before God against pious nitpicking, which chips away at the faith. It just wears everyone out. Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won't be ashamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple. Stay clear of pious talk that is only talk. Words are not mere words, you know. If they're not backed by a godly life, they accumulate as poison in the soul.(2 Timothy 2:8-16, The Message)
The first year that we lived in Kentucky I worked on the grounds crew for Asbury Theological Seminary. It's one of only two times that I've worked a job that wasn't in the church and it was one of the worst years of my working life. I was TERRIBLE at the job. I couldn't seem to get it right for the life of me. Over the course of the year I almost blew up a lawnmower, killed a pond full of fish, knocked over a gas lamppost, and in my crowning moment, I set the lawn on fire. I almost started a large fire and eventually was able to put the whole thing out based on my running buckets of water back and forth from my house to the burning lawn. I burned a giant ring of fire in the front yard of the President's Home at Asbury Seminary. Not great. Not great at all.
One of the hard things about that job was that I couldn't do much to improve on my skills. I couldn't really read about it or learn about or go to classes about it...being an amateur groundskeeper was just something that was expected. Thankfully, being a Christian isn't the same. We can learn and study and grow in our Christian life. We can watch the examples of mature believers and pattern our lives after them. We can read about Jesus and enter into a personal relationship with Jesus that allow us to integrate them into our lives. When I learned today's Scripture passage I learned "Study to show your approved unto God, a workman *or workwoman* who rightly divides the Word of Truth." In our study of God's Word, we are learning more and more what it means to study our work. We realize that we don't simply have to be an amateur Christian, but that we can learn and grow through our study of God's Word.
Are you willing to do the work? Are you willing to study God's Word? One of the cool things about the book of Timothy is that it was written to a young man, probably not much older than most of you. Paul challenges Timothy to do the work to go beyond being an amateur Christian in order to set an example for the church as a whole. Are you willing to do the same?
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Dirty Weeds
4-8As they went from town to town, a lot of people joined in and traveled along. He addressed them, using this story: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. Some of it fell on the road; it was tramped down and the birds ate it. Other seed fell in the gravel; it sprouted, but withered because it didn't have good roots. Other seed fell in the weeds; the weeds grew with it and strangled it. Other seed fell in rich earth and produced a bumper crop. "Are you listening to this? Really listening?" (Luke 8:4-8, The Message)
11-12"This story is about some of those people. The seed is the Word of God. The seeds on the road are those who hear the Word, but no sooner do they hear it than the Devil snatches it from them so they won't believe and be saved. 13"The seeds in the gravel are those who hear with enthusiasm, but the enthusiasm doesn't go very deep. It's only another fad, and the moment there's trouble it's gone. 14"And the seed that fell in the weeds—well, these are the ones who hear, but then the seed is crowded out and nothing comes of it as they go about their lives worrying about tomorrow, making money, and having fun. 15"But the seed in the good earth—these are the good-hearts who seize the Word and hold on no matter what, sticking with it until there's a harvest. (Luke 8:11-15, The Message)
This past summer, Beth decided to do some landscaping. We had a small jungle growing in our backyard, so Beth decided to rip these weeds out of the ground. What she didn't realize is that these were not just ordinary weeds. These were weeds that had taken a deep hold in the ground and weren't going down without a fight. I would come home from work for lunch and Beth would have a shovel and gloves and be digging and pulling and digging and pulling and every once in a while she would yell "I got one!!" Seriously, these particular weeds were no joke. What made it so difficult to pull out these weeds? For years, they had been allowed to drive their roots deep into the ground and they didn't plan on going anywhere.
Perhaps that's the kind of root system that Jesus is talking about in the parable of the sower. The seed of the good news has been sown, but depending on where the seed lands depended on how it would grow. The openness of the hearts of those who were going to hear the Good News became really, REALLY important. As you read Jesus' explanation of the parables, which type of soil are you? Have you accepted the Word of God, but rather than allowing God to take hold deep in your life, you've become distracted? Maybe you've put aside a pursuit of God's Word because life got busy or things got tough...or maybe, just maybe, you've allowed God's Word to take a deep hold in your life. You read the Word, you focus on God's Word, and you've allowed God's Word to change you. I hope that we allow and invite God's Word to to deeply infiltrate our lives that God's Word changes us. But, this can only happen if we spend time with God in God's Word. Are you ready to go for it? Are you ready to put down roots??
As you close your time, listen to this song and offer yourself to God to be wholly committed to God.
11-12"This story is about some of those people. The seed is the Word of God. The seeds on the road are those who hear the Word, but no sooner do they hear it than the Devil snatches it from them so they won't believe and be saved. 13"The seeds in the gravel are those who hear with enthusiasm, but the enthusiasm doesn't go very deep. It's only another fad, and the moment there's trouble it's gone. 14"And the seed that fell in the weeds—well, these are the ones who hear, but then the seed is crowded out and nothing comes of it as they go about their lives worrying about tomorrow, making money, and having fun. 15"But the seed in the good earth—these are the good-hearts who seize the Word and hold on no matter what, sticking with it until there's a harvest. (Luke 8:11-15, The Message)
This past summer, Beth decided to do some landscaping. We had a small jungle growing in our backyard, so Beth decided to rip these weeds out of the ground. What she didn't realize is that these were not just ordinary weeds. These were weeds that had taken a deep hold in the ground and weren't going down without a fight. I would come home from work for lunch and Beth would have a shovel and gloves and be digging and pulling and digging and pulling and every once in a while she would yell "I got one!!" Seriously, these particular weeds were no joke. What made it so difficult to pull out these weeds? For years, they had been allowed to drive their roots deep into the ground and they didn't plan on going anywhere.
Perhaps that's the kind of root system that Jesus is talking about in the parable of the sower. The seed of the good news has been sown, but depending on where the seed lands depended on how it would grow. The openness of the hearts of those who were going to hear the Good News became really, REALLY important. As you read Jesus' explanation of the parables, which type of soil are you? Have you accepted the Word of God, but rather than allowing God to take hold deep in your life, you've become distracted? Maybe you've put aside a pursuit of God's Word because life got busy or things got tough...or maybe, just maybe, you've allowed God's Word to take a deep hold in your life. You read the Word, you focus on God's Word, and you've allowed God's Word to change you. I hope that we allow and invite God's Word to to deeply infiltrate our lives that God's Word changes us. But, this can only happen if we spend time with God in God's Word. Are you ready to go for it? Are you ready to put down roots??
As you close your time, listen to this song and offer yourself to God to be wholly committed to God.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Prayer: May the Words of my Mouth and the thoughts of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord God, my rock and my redeemer.
1-3 Next Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it. Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and forty nights. That left him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger, which the Devil took advantage of in the first test: "Since you are God's Son, speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread." 4Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: "It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God's mouth." 5-6For the second test the Devil took him to the Holy City. He sat him on top of the Temple and said, "Since you are God's Son, jump." The Devil goaded him by quoting Psalm 91: "He has placed you in the care of angels. They will catch you so that you won't so much as stub your toe on a stone." 7Jesus countered with another citation from Deuteronomy: "Don't you dare test the Lord your God." 8-9For the third test, the Devil took him to the peak of a huge mountain. He gestured expansively, pointing out all the earth's kingdoms, how glorious they all were. Then he said, "They're yours—lock, stock, and barrel. Just go down on your knees and worship me, and they're yours." 10Jesus' refusal was curt: "Beat it, Satan!" He backed his rebuke with a third quotation from Deuteronomy: "Worship the Lord your God, and only him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness." 11The Test was over. The Devil left. And in his place, angels! Angels came and took care of Jesus' needs. (Matthew 4:1-11, The Message)
What are the things that tempt you? Every time I walk by the bakery section at Kroger, I'm tempted. See, I have a terrible sweet tooth. And I love baked goods. Those "Colossal Cupcakes" that are in the bakery window at Kroger would be my downfall. Every time that I run into the grocery store, I desperately want to buy those cupcakes.
Now, sweets aren't the only thing that tempts me. In fact, on the temptation scale, that's pretty mundane. I'm often tempted to think about myself as more important than I am or better than those around me. I'm often tempted to turn away from the poor and needy, figuring that if I don't see them that they must not really be there. I'm often tempted to decide that I can control my own life, and on the altar of my life, I place myself and I worship me.
That was the temptation facing Jesus in this passage...he was tempted to be powerful, to be relevant, but more importantly, Jesus was tempted to worship the Evil One, NOT God. For me, that becomes the kicker...we are tempted to worship things that can't even hold a candle to the goodness of God. We are tempted to fall at the altar of grades or popularity or importance or work or sports. We are tempted to make those things the most important part of our life, to worship those things rather than the God who has created and redeemed and made us whole.
So, how does Jesus beat that temptation? He know the Scriptures. Jesus has grown up and learned the Word of God, so when he is tempted, he can quote Scriptures that remind him of the power of God. Jesus has allowed his mind to by fully washed by the Word of God so that when the temptation to worship something other than God shows us, Jesus knows the TRUTH.
Have you immersed yourself in the Scriptures? What tempts you? Remember, the question about temptation is not IF it will come, but WHEN it will come. Are you ready, armed with the Word of God in your MEMORY so that you can stand firm?
Remind yourself of the God we worship through this song. Ask yourself what you are worshipping today.
1-3 Next Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it. Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and forty nights. That left him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger, which the Devil took advantage of in the first test: "Since you are God's Son, speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread." 4Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: "It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God's mouth." 5-6For the second test the Devil took him to the Holy City. He sat him on top of the Temple and said, "Since you are God's Son, jump." The Devil goaded him by quoting Psalm 91: "He has placed you in the care of angels. They will catch you so that you won't so much as stub your toe on a stone." 7Jesus countered with another citation from Deuteronomy: "Don't you dare test the Lord your God." 8-9For the third test, the Devil took him to the peak of a huge mountain. He gestured expansively, pointing out all the earth's kingdoms, how glorious they all were. Then he said, "They're yours—lock, stock, and barrel. Just go down on your knees and worship me, and they're yours." 10Jesus' refusal was curt: "Beat it, Satan!" He backed his rebuke with a third quotation from Deuteronomy: "Worship the Lord your God, and only him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness." 11The Test was over. The Devil left. And in his place, angels! Angels came and took care of Jesus' needs. (Matthew 4:1-11, The Message)
What are the things that tempt you? Every time I walk by the bakery section at Kroger, I'm tempted. See, I have a terrible sweet tooth. And I love baked goods. Those "Colossal Cupcakes" that are in the bakery window at Kroger would be my downfall. Every time that I run into the grocery store, I desperately want to buy those cupcakes.
Now, sweets aren't the only thing that tempts me. In fact, on the temptation scale, that's pretty mundane. I'm often tempted to think about myself as more important than I am or better than those around me. I'm often tempted to turn away from the poor and needy, figuring that if I don't see them that they must not really be there. I'm often tempted to decide that I can control my own life, and on the altar of my life, I place myself and I worship me.
That was the temptation facing Jesus in this passage...he was tempted to be powerful, to be relevant, but more importantly, Jesus was tempted to worship the Evil One, NOT God. For me, that becomes the kicker...we are tempted to worship things that can't even hold a candle to the goodness of God. We are tempted to fall at the altar of grades or popularity or importance or work or sports. We are tempted to make those things the most important part of our life, to worship those things rather than the God who has created and redeemed and made us whole.
So, how does Jesus beat that temptation? He know the Scriptures. Jesus has grown up and learned the Word of God, so when he is tempted, he can quote Scriptures that remind him of the power of God. Jesus has allowed his mind to by fully washed by the Word of God so that when the temptation to worship something other than God shows us, Jesus knows the TRUTH.
Have you immersed yourself in the Scriptures? What tempts you? Remember, the question about temptation is not IF it will come, but WHEN it will come. Are you ready, armed with the Word of God in your MEMORY so that you can stand firm?
Remind yourself of the God we worship through this song. Ask yourself what you are worshipping today.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Opening Prayer: God, teach me to love your Word. Teach me to grow in You. Teach me to learn more about who you are through a reading of Your Word. Help me to focus on Your Word that I can hear from You in these few moments. Amen.
10-13You've been a good apprentice to me, a part of my teaching, my manner of life, direction, faith, steadiness, love, patience, troubles, sufferings—suffering along with me in all the grief I had to put up with in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. And you also well know that God rescued me! Anyone who wants to live all out for Christ is in for a lot of trouble; there's no getting around it. Unscrupulous con men will continue to exploit the faith. They're as deceived as the people they lead astray. As long as they are out there, things can only get worse. 14-17But don't let it faze you. Stick with what you learned and believed, sure of the integrity of your teachers—why, you took in the sacred Scriptures with your mother's milk! There's nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us. (2 Timothy 3:10-17, The Message)
There are some times that I deeply desire to hear from God. I want to know God's touch, to hear the voice of God speak. Honestly, there are times in my life when I simply want to know that God is real and that God has something to say to me. During those times, I remember the passage out of 2 Timothy that I learned as a kid...that the Bible was breathed by God. In the same way that God breathed life into Adam and Eve, and eventually, into me, God also breathed life into Scripture. The Bible is not simply a book that was written for information or to be read like a school book...It's a book that God breathed into existence that was written in order to help us know, REALLY KNOW, who God is.
One of the hard things about the Bible, though is that it searches the deepest parts of us. Notice that Paul writes that the Bible is useful for correction, for exposing our rebellion, for demonstrating truth, and for training us to live God's way. When we read the Bible, it is supposed to change us. As I've watched the Olympics, I've realized that the athletes who compete have to train in order to do the things that they do. When we read the Bible, we are being trained to live life God's way, much like an Olympic athlete.
What does the Bible have to say to you today? What does God want to work on in your life? Will you let God work in you?
Think about this while you worship to this song. Ask God to speak to you today.
10-13You've been a good apprentice to me, a part of my teaching, my manner of life, direction, faith, steadiness, love, patience, troubles, sufferings—suffering along with me in all the grief I had to put up with in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. And you also well know that God rescued me! Anyone who wants to live all out for Christ is in for a lot of trouble; there's no getting around it. Unscrupulous con men will continue to exploit the faith. They're as deceived as the people they lead astray. As long as they are out there, things can only get worse. 14-17But don't let it faze you. Stick with what you learned and believed, sure of the integrity of your teachers—why, you took in the sacred Scriptures with your mother's milk! There's nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us. (2 Timothy 3:10-17, The Message)
There are some times that I deeply desire to hear from God. I want to know God's touch, to hear the voice of God speak. Honestly, there are times in my life when I simply want to know that God is real and that God has something to say to me. During those times, I remember the passage out of 2 Timothy that I learned as a kid...that the Bible was breathed by God. In the same way that God breathed life into Adam and Eve, and eventually, into me, God also breathed life into Scripture. The Bible is not simply a book that was written for information or to be read like a school book...It's a book that God breathed into existence that was written in order to help us know, REALLY KNOW, who God is.
One of the hard things about the Bible, though is that it searches the deepest parts of us. Notice that Paul writes that the Bible is useful for correction, for exposing our rebellion, for demonstrating truth, and for training us to live God's way. When we read the Bible, it is supposed to change us. As I've watched the Olympics, I've realized that the athletes who compete have to train in order to do the things that they do. When we read the Bible, we are being trained to live life God's way, much like an Olympic athlete.
What does the Bible have to say to you today? What does God want to work on in your life? Will you let God work in you?
Think about this while you worship to this song. Ask God to speak to you today.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Talking like I'm from Kentucky
Prayer: God, teach me to hear from your word. Allow me to know you in a new and rich way, not in a way that simply keeps me caught up in today. Allow me to hear from your Word in way that goes beyond information, and instead, transforms me. Allow me to morphed into your image through your Word.
1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Romans 12:1-2, The Message)
If you haven't realized it yet, Beth has an accent. Beth grew up in Western NY, and has quite the little NY accent. It's not a New York City accent, but it's unique and she says words like "calendar" and "mitten" in a weird way. Well, weird to me at least.
Here's the funny thing...I can always tell when Beth has been talking to her mom on the phone. I can tell because her accent comes out. But I can also tell when Beth has been around some of our friends from the Southern part of the US, because she'll talk like them as well. Beth's accent copies whomever she's just been talking to.
When Paul writes to the church in Rome, he realizes that it's really easy to be like the rest of the world. Rome was the center of culture, and the church he was writing to was quickly beginnng to look and act and be like everybody else. Paul realizes that as Christians we are to look and act differently then the rest of the world...we are to be changed from the inside out.
As you go today, think about the ways that you've looked like everybody else around you. Does the accent of your life reflect that you've been spending time with Christ, or does the accent of your life reflect the rest of the world? Have you been allowing God to bring out the best in you?
As you close, reflect on this song...Allow it to speak to you as you worship God along with it.
1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Romans 12:1-2, The Message)
If you haven't realized it yet, Beth has an accent. Beth grew up in Western NY, and has quite the little NY accent. It's not a New York City accent, but it's unique and she says words like "calendar" and "mitten" in a weird way. Well, weird to me at least.
Here's the funny thing...I can always tell when Beth has been talking to her mom on the phone. I can tell because her accent comes out. But I can also tell when Beth has been around some of our friends from the Southern part of the US, because she'll talk like them as well. Beth's accent copies whomever she's just been talking to.
When Paul writes to the church in Rome, he realizes that it's really easy to be like the rest of the world. Rome was the center of culture, and the church he was writing to was quickly beginnng to look and act and be like everybody else. Paul realizes that as Christians we are to look and act differently then the rest of the world...we are to be changed from the inside out.
As you go today, think about the ways that you've looked like everybody else around you. Does the accent of your life reflect that you've been spending time with Christ, or does the accent of your life reflect the rest of the world? Have you been allowing God to bring out the best in you?
As you close, reflect on this song...Allow it to speak to you as you worship God along with it.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
What is this anyway???
What is this anyway? Excellent question...
Over the last couple weeks, we've been talking about being like Jesus...How we've got to know Jesus to be like Jesus, and how we've got to be in the Bible to know Jesus. I've been thinking, though, that when I was in High School I would want to read my Bible, but I wouldn't know what to read. I want to be in God's Word, but I never knew where to start...I mean, the Bible is 66 books! What am I supposed to do??
So, with this in mind, we've started this blog. We've started this blog as a type of online devotional that encourages you to read your Bible. Each day will have a Bible passage for you to read (with a link even to an online version of the Bible! We're making this SOO easy!) a quick devotional thought and some questions to think about and maybe respond to! See, you can add comments and we can have discussions about what we're reading all week! This is a fun way to be connected to The Word!! Hope that you enjoy it and have fun!
Over the last couple weeks, we've been talking about being like Jesus...How we've got to know Jesus to be like Jesus, and how we've got to be in the Bible to know Jesus. I've been thinking, though, that when I was in High School I would want to read my Bible, but I wouldn't know what to read. I want to be in God's Word, but I never knew where to start...I mean, the Bible is 66 books! What am I supposed to do??
So, with this in mind, we've started this blog. We've started this blog as a type of online devotional that encourages you to read your Bible. Each day will have a Bible passage for you to read (with a link even to an online version of the Bible! We're making this SOO easy!) a quick devotional thought and some questions to think about and maybe respond to! See, you can add comments and we can have discussions about what we're reading all week! This is a fun way to be connected to The Word!! Hope that you enjoy it and have fun!
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