A Short and Sweet Thank You

This past Sunday night I had a chance to go see Skillet in concert along with Decyfer Down and Hawk Nelson. It was a great show and Jesus was proclaimed and lifted high. If you have never had the pleasure of seeing Skillet in concert, go, you'll be glad you did!

I don't know who this guy was, maybe the father of one the the students he was with, but he was with three kids who were in their late teens. I watched him bring them into the venue that the concert was being held at. I watched him as he participated and interacted with them. They were all dancing, jumping around and having a good time. The smiles on their faces were priceless!

I wanted to say thank you to him for teaching me a valuable lesson of serving, and self sacrifice. I'm sure the type of music that was being played was not quite his style. I'm also sure that it would have been much easier to stay home than to go through all the work it took to be there.

Next time I'm called to serve someone or sacrifice a little of myself, I'll think of this guy and the smiles on those students faces.

Oh yeah, all three of the students were blind.

Decyfer Down

What makes Jesus superior to other saviors?

Below is part eight in the "Vintage Jesus" Series that Pastor Mark Driscoll preached at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington.

Why should we worship Jesus?

Below is part seven in the "Vintage Jesus" Series that Pastor Mark Driscoll preached at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington.

Persevere Until The End

Life is hard. That's sort of a rather obvious statement no doubt. It is an obvious statement but also a very subjective one. Hardships are going to look very different from one family to another and also from one individual to another. What might seem like a difficult situation to one person might seem like a walk in the park to another. At times it seems as though it would be easier to just to give up and even give up on our faith. Given the difficult times many find themselves in, I just wanted to take some time to encourage the probably tens of people who read this blog.

I'd like to go to 2 Timothy chapter 4. At this point in Paul's life he has already been mocked, beaten, stoned, left for dead and now once again finds himself sitting in prison on the brink of death. At this point, I think I would have given up trying to encourage others but he starts out by encouraging Timothy and tells him to fulfill his ministry. While that my be encouraging to many, I think Paul's own example a little further in the chapter really hits home for me.

2 Timothy 4:6-8 reads as follows: 6For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Wow, Paul is saying that the time of his death has finally come and given all that he has been through in his ministry he is still able to say those four words, "I have kept the faith". There never was a time in Paul's ministry where he made total shipwreck of his faith. There never was a time where he said, "this is to hard, I'm giving up on God because he allowed these difficult times to follow me throughout my ministry". Paul knew that he was saved by grace through faith and that faith he had was also given to him by God. So that not even he could boast in what he did.

Paul finishes up this section with the promise of a reward in Heaven that is given to those that have kept the faith. Let this be an encouragement to you to keep the faith when times are hard. God is sovereign, he knows all that is going on in your life and he will be walking with you every step of the way.

What Will Jesus Do Upon His Return?

Below is part six in the "Vintage Jesus" Series that Pastor Mark Driscoll preached at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington.

Where Is Jesus Today?

Part 5 in the "Vintage Jesus" series from Pastor Mark Driscoll. Mark is Lead pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle Washington.

I Would Have Never Guessed

I have been fight it for a long time, but a week ago I caved and finally got on facebook. Not sure why I was fighting it, I guess I just didn't want to get to involved in other peoples lives. Let me just say, I have been blown away.
I know what you're thinking,"Scott, it's facebook, it's been around for years welcome to 2009" I'm not talking about facebook as a social networking tool, I'm talking about the people I've been able to reconnect with.
I graduated from Byron Center High School back in 1996, go Bulldogs! During most of my high school experience I was a Christian, although not a very good one. Some of my classmates knew this and the ones that did know this didn't know that being a Christian meant that I was different. My testimony was not something that I was all to concerned about. Sure if some moral topic came up in conversation I took the position that my faith would require of me, and every once in a while I would pray over my lunch, but not to often. Sadly I can't even remember a time when I would share Christ with my friends. It saddens me to even write that.
Since graduation my life concerning Christ as changed dramatically. My relationship with Christ has become more and more real and deep. I've been more bold about my faith and would even come to consider myself a student of scripture. One day if the Lord calls me into full time ministry, I'm ready and willing to jump in.
So how has facebook blown me away? Well, it has not really been facebook, but the sovereignty and grace of God that has been extended to so many of my classmates of the last 13 years! It's so amazing to read their stories and profiles and see the work that God has done in so many of their lives. This last week has been one of encouragement to me and one of sadness. Encouragement because many of my classmates are now living lives fully for God and sadness because I've had time to reflect on my past high school testimony and realized I was a moron.
Thankfully God has shown me much grace over the last 13 years as well and now I have something greater in common with classmates that have turned into eternal friends!

Temptation Is From Within

The other day I tweeted about temptation but the more I thought about it the more I felt the need to write these thoughts down. Even if only I could refer back to them. So if you're reading and this at all helps to get the gears in your head working, awesome!
What brought to mind this topic was a weekly Bible study I do with a few friends. We just started the book of James, and it's been great. This is not the first time I've read the book of James or have even studied it for that matter, but this time was different. Two verses that I have read numerous times hit me right between the eyes like never before. The two verses 'm talking about are James 1:13-14, they read as follows: 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
I've read that many time and always I would come away with the fact that God cannot be temped or tempt. That was always it! The part that stuck out like never before was the part that reads "he is lured and enticed by his own desires".
Often times we here this from people when talking about their sin "the devil made me do it" or "Satan keeps attacking me with this or that" The point is, is that the root problem of our temptation is not Satan, it's our own sinful hearts.
Our temptation is a result of the true desires that dwell within our hearts. As sinful people we don't desire the things of God. We want to please ourselves by giving ourselves whatever it is that makes us happy in that moment. I think God knew what he was doing when he put the rest of this chapter together. Later in the chapter it talks about using the scriptures as a mirror to your life.
Does your life reflect the things that are taught in the Bible? Is it the things of God that flow from your heart. Do you desire what God desires?
When we desire to do what God desires for us, just like light in darkness, Gods desires will overcome or sinful desires. Then our temptations will be to do what God calls us to.

Did Jesus Rise From Death?

Below is part 4 in the Vintage Jesus series from Pastor Mark Driscoll, lead pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle Washington.

What did Jesus accomplish on the cross?

Part 3 from the "Vintage Jesus" by Pastor Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill Church in Seattle Washington.

"Hero"

Latest single from Skillet. It's off their new Awake CD.

Music Code Provided by MusicVideolife.com

Vintage Jesus: "How human was Jesus?"

Below is part 2 of the Vintage Jesus series from Pastor Mark Driscoll, lead pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle Washington.

Vintage Jesus

The following message was given by Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle Washington. This is part one in a 12 part series that he did in the fourth quarter of 2006. You can also buy the book that came out of this sermon series. Enjoy and I'll periodically post more.

MONSTER

Skillet's new CD "Awake" is awesome! Some great songs to rock your face off and some that provoke thought and some self reflection. Below is the video of their song "Monster", it rocks! However there is one part in it that seems a little....amateurish. Can you pick it out?

Music Code Provided by MusicVideolife.com

Jonah Chapter 4

Well, we've finally made to the last chapter of the book of Jonah. For myself and the guys that participated in this study, it has been a true blessing. I pray that anyone who reads this blog will have gotten something out of Jonah that has challenged their faith and has brought them closer to Jesus. Let me encourage you tho take some time and study Gods word. Not just a few verses here and there but whole books. Get the most out of Gods word. When you study just a verse or two here and there you tend not to get the entire thought of the text. OK, with that said, let's get to the observations made in Jonah chapter 4.

Observation from Jonah Chapter 4:
-Jonah was mad that the people of Nineveh repented
-Jonah makes excuses to God as to why he didn't obey in the first place (he knew God would relent)
-Jonah wishes to die because of the repentance of the people of Nineveh (how is this better than repentance?!)
-Jonah has the temper of a 3 year old and stomps out of the city hoping to watch God destroy it (He is selfish, thinking that the people are not deserving if the same grace that God has given to him. He also thought this of the mariners in chapter 1)
-God provides a plant to give Jonah shade.
-Jonah was thankful for the plant (now he was sinning and comfortable)
-God destroys the plant and not Nineveh
-One again Jonah shows his displeasure for the people of Nineveh by caring more about a plant that has died than he does about 120,000 people that are spiritually dead
-Jonah pleads again to God to take his life
-God rebukes Jonah for not caring for the souls of men, but for a plant that he did nothing to deserve
-God describes the people of Nineveh as spiritually and morally unaware or dead

Conclusion:
In Jonahs mind, the grace that God showed to him in the belly of the fish and for sparing his life, was to good for the people of Nineveh. The lesson that God was trying to get across to Jonah by providing the plant and then taking it away was that God is the giver of all things and therefore can take away as he sees fit. We are all undeserving of everything that God has given to us, even the gift of grace, repentance and the faith to believe in him. In this last section, God seems to be very disappointed with Jonah. Jonah, of all people, should know better and he does. However he lets his pride, arrogance and selfishness totally jack up his walk with God. Even with all of Jonahs and our own shortcomings, God can and will use us to bring glory to him.

Jonah Chapter 3

We last left Jonah somewhere on a beach just having been vomited out of the stomach of a great fish. Now we come to chapter three and here are the observations that we made.

Observations from Jonah chapter 3:
-God gives Jonah a second chance
-This time Jonah goes without complaint or question (at least he did not verbalize it)
-Nineveh was a great city
-An eight word sermon was all God wanted Jonah to preach
-The king and all the people believed God (not Jonah)
-The king decrees it and all the people humble themselves, put on sackcloth, sit in ashes and repent of their sin
-The people only hope that God will see their efforts and will relent his punishment
-God does indeed notice their humility and repentance and does not destroy the city

Conclusion:
Jonahs delayed obedience is still disobedience in the sight of God. Thankfully for Jonah, and us, God is a God of second chances. How often does God ask us to share the gospel with others and we run from what he asks. Like Jonahs short simple sermon the gospel of Jesus is simple but we need to be ready and willing to share it with anyone. Just like the people of Nineveh and the mariners from chapter 1, no one is beyond receiving Gods grace.

Be Not Conformed To This Church.....

Romans 12:2 BE conformed to this CHURCH, BE transformed by the renewal of your ACTIONS, that by testing you may discern what is the will of MAN, what is good and acceptable and CHURCHY.
Of course that is not how that verse reads in scripture, but if it was, most churches would be following that text perfectly.

I've been serving in teen ministries now for almost thirteen years and I've seen the above "verse" played out on several different occasions. This is usually the way it goes down. A teen comes into the youth ministry, either on their own or by way of their parents dragging them there. We tell them that they are sinners that they need to get saved or else they are going to burn in an eternal hell separated from God. Then we lead them through some silly prayer that may mean absolutely nothing to them at any sort of level. Then we congratulate and welcome them to the family of God, all without any sort of repentance on their part. Then the weirdness begins.

Once their "saved", we tell them all the things that they need to do to be in right standing with God. As if Jesus' grace, mercy and blood shed on the cross wasn't enough. We tell them, "OK, here is how you need to act", "This is what you need to do", "Here is how you should dress" and "here is a big, thick, heavy, black, 1611 King James Bible, the only Bible you should ever read". We tell them these things and they assume that God must want them to do all this because those who told them have been in church all their lives, and they should know.

Here is the problem with all this, they have been conformed to a pattern of behavior but have not been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. There has been no true repentance or transformation of their hearts. We would rather get them to the point of being "good church folk" then just preach the gospel into their lives and let God renew their hearts, souls and minds.

If this continues out to adulthood, eventually we'll have churches full of really good and moral people on their way to hell.

If you're a Pastor or teacher, please let me beg you not to add to the gospel. This does not mean that we can't or shouldn't have some sort of standards. Or have some sort of idea of what is acceptable or moral behavior. We just need to be sure that we keep the gospel primary and let the power it holds be the power that transforms lives.

Jonah Chapter 2

This past week in our Bible study, we continued on into chapter 2 of the book of Jonah. When we last left our "hero" he had just been tossed into a raging sea. Now we find Jonah praying to God as he in the hell that is the digestive system of a great fish.

Observations from Jonah chapter 2:
-It's not until Jonah is in circumstances beyond his control that he finally calls out to God
-Jonah knew that Gods sovereignty was displayed through the mariners by being tossed into the sea
-Jonah compares his situation to being near death
-He seems to know that he will not die and will on day look upon or pray towards the temple once more
-Jonah knows he has done nothing to deserve being rescued but knows that God has extended much grace to him through this time
-Jonah prays against those that do not recognize God as the one true God
-Jonah finally decides to sacrifice himself to Gods purpose and recommits his life to him
-He declares that salvation does indeed belong to God and has been granted to him by God
-Jonah is vomited out by the fish

Conclusion:
Jonahs pride gets in the way of acknowledging that the saving grace that was extended to him was the same grace that was extended to the mariners. His prayer seems to be sincere for only as long as the situation that he is in lasts. Jonahs prayer my have been sincere but it seems to lack much, if any, repentance. That fact that Jonah committed to keep his vow to God but lacked repentance my be the very reason God chose the method he did to release Jonah from the fish. Confession without true repentance is vomit in the sight of God.

Jonah Chapter 1

This past week I started a Bible study with a friend who has only been a Christian for six months. He loves his Bible and tells me that he can't seem to get enough of Gods word! A few weeks ago we got on the subject of Jonah. He said that he really didn't know anything about the man or the book (except for the whole "whale" thing) so I offered to do a study of the book with him. The next few posts will reflect some of the observations and a few conclusions we've come to.

This is not the first time I've studied the book of Jonah but it seems like every time I do, I get more out of it. I think many of us who have followers of Christ for any length of time can really relate to Jonah. We tend to see ourselves in him.

Observations from Jonah chapter 1 verses 1-10:
-God calls Jonah to a specific place to do a specific task/job for a specific reason
-Being a prophet, Jonah should know that he can't run from God
-Jonahs sin greatly affected other people around him
-The mariners were very spiritual people (their gods did not hear them, hmmm)
-Jonah seems comfortable with his sin (he falls asleep during the storm)
-The mariners knew there was a reason for the storm
-God will use whatever means to call you out (even lots)
-Jonah really fears God? Then why is he running?
-God uses Jonahs sin to convert the mariners to himself
-The mariners receive Jonahs god as the one true God.

Observations form Jonah chapter 1 verses 11-17:
-Jonah would seemingly rather die than obey God and go to Nineveh
-The mariners did not want Jonahs blood on their hands
-The mariners did not want to die because of Jonahs sin
-The mariners prayed to the one true God
=The mariners obedience got quick results (Jonah could learn something from them)
-The mariners fear of God turned into a respectful fear of Him and it took them to a point of worship
-God has power over all creation (even great fish)

Conclusion: God seems to allow Jonah to sin, if only for a short while, so that His ultimate sovereign will may be accomplished in the lives of the mariners and get Jonah into a position where he can be broken.

A God Lead Journey

I'm not exactly sure when it happened, when my family and I turned down this road that were on. I do know that we've been on it longer than we think. It's a road that only we have been down. I know this because we are the ones "blazing the trail" so to speak. Others we know have been down similar roads, but they mostly seem to run parallel with ours. On occasion there is a slight intersection where we both stop and give each other a nod. Sort of letting each other know, "hey, though you're on your own journey, you're not alone out here".

I think it all started about two to three years ago, I wrote about it here. A new love for the Bible was really the catalyst for this whole journey that my family and I are on. It's the reason why we're on this particular road at this particular time in our lives and for a particular reason for which I do not yet have all the answers to quite yet.

I'm thirty one years old and about thirty years ago my parents started attending a small Baptist church in the town I live in. Since then that church has turned into a rather large Baptist church that has seen and still does see many great things happen for the Gospel of Jesus. My parents still attend there and up until two weeks ago so did my family, and this is the journey that we are on.

Like I said, I've been going there for many years, my wife became a member there shortly before we were married back in 1998. It's the only church our two kids have ever known. It truly was our home and we are going to miss it. I'm not going to get into all the reasons as to why we left our church home, but I can share one reason as to why we had to leave.

One of the reasons ended up being ourselves. We started noticing that we were very comfortable with where we were at when it came to church. It was easy to come to church on a Sunday or Wednesday, serve where we were called and then leave. We had a routine, and because of where we served within the ministry, routine and program was the norm.

We had come to a point that, for whatever reasons, our ministry became stagnate. Sure, we did what the Lord wanted us to do and we saw many things get accomplished for him, but for the most part we found ourselves spinning our wheels and getting frustrated.

We fought it for a while and really didn't want to face the fact that leaving our church home may be the only way to remedy the problem we found ourselves in. After all we really loved our church family and the ministry, we still do.

You may think that our reason for leaving may have been easily solved and you're right, if that where the only reason for our leaving. However ,like I stated earlier, I can't give all the reasons.

So what's next for us? Well, we're just going to keep praying and seeking Gods will for our lives. We have been to a couple churches in town that we have liked very much. Now we're praying about where God would have us to serve next.


I say all this for two reasons. First, don't allow yourself to get to comfortable in your Christian walk. Being comfortable makes you a lazy Christian. Look for ways that God is challenging your faith and your service. For us it was to find a new church home. Second, follow Gods leading in your life, the sooner you do the better. The faster you see God leading you into or out of something and the faster you obey, the better off and less frustrated you'll be. I know that's easier said than done, believe me I just went through it, but you'll be better off in the end.

Use Them For His Glory

God has given every one of us individual talents and gifts. Some gifts and abilities can be used to help others in a time of need, to do a particular job in order to feed and take care of your family, or just simply to put a smile on someones face. Whatever your talents, gifts or abilities are be sure to use them to bring glory to God. After all, he gave them to you and he can take them away.

Time To get You Thinking

I took Chloe and Peyton to the park this evening and it got me thinking. With fathers day coming up next Sunday, what is our role when it comes to fathers day?

Well, outside of getting a card for your own dad or sending him a text, email or even an e-card, what are we to do? Many would say "It's my day, I'm spending it golfing, fishing, working out in the yard, sleeping or anything else we could do to rid ourselves of any meaningful duties.

I would encourage all dads not to hold this view of fathers day. Instead I would encourage you to think of what is means to be a father, what are our Biblical roles as fathers and how can we better ourselves as fathers when measured up to those biblical standards.

Are you loving and serving your children well? Are you teaching them about Jesus? Are you setting an example for your sons by serving and loving your wife well? Do they see you as one who loves Jesus and the Bible? Do they see you pray? Do you pray with them and for them?

I've ask myself these questions many time lately. Some days I'd grade myself better than others and some days I'd be embarrassed if everyone knew how poorly I've failed. So what about you? What do you struggle with when it come to being a father? What do you do well?

Thankfully we have a heavenly father to be our ultimate example when it comes to these matters!

Christian Men and The Detroit Lions

What do to many Christian men and the Detroit Lions have in common? Sadly, much of the time we stink at the very thing we're supposed to be excelling at.

Week after week and year after year the Detroit Lions practice and it seems most of the time it's an exercise in futility. Nothing changes no matter how hard they train or how well their practice goes. They simply don't get any better.

I don't think that the guys that play for the Lions are dumb. I truly think that they know their plays and they know how to execute them. However when the time comes to put what they know into action, they always drop the ball.

Sadly many Christian men are the same way. We have our playbook, the Bible and I'm assuming for this post that we're reading / studying it. We go through it day after day and year after year and yet nothing changes. We keep struggling with the same sin, our families are still not as spiritually healthy as they should be and all of our relationships are no deeper than a conversation about the weather.

All this to ask the question: Do we really not know our plays or do we not know our opponent as well as we should? What do you think?

Sin: Remove It, Root & All

So, I have or had these 19 pine trees that ran along side my driveway. To be honest I liked having them there. It created a nice buffer between our house and the neighbors. Even tough they were all turning brown and were making a mess of my driveway and surrounding lawn I still liked them. Yes, I was even telling myself "they look pretty good". You might even say that I grew comfortable with them there.

This past Saturday Myself and 6 of my friends cut them all down, chipped up all the branches and pulled out all the stumps. It was a long day and I can't thank my friends enough for helping me out. Now that they're gone there is a refreshing new look to our front lawn. It seems so much bigger and full of new potential.

Many times the sin in our lives can become a lot like my pine trees. Sin makes a mess of our lives and not just ours. It can also effect those that are closest to you. We think the sin we keep struggling with actually isn't so bad. We even can get to the point where we become comfortable with our sin.

We need to get to the point where we realize that the sin that's there is only hindering the potential in our lives. Other people can see it, even when you don't think they can. It might even look like a daunting task to have to deal with the problem all by yourself.

The good news is, you don't have to deal with it on your own. Jesus is always there for us to come to and to lean on, to pray to and give us ability to overcome our sin problems. We can even enlist the help of our good Christian friends to keep us accountable and walk through this journey with us.

Lego My Jesus

Last week a church in Stockholm Sweden unveiled a statue of Jesus that took a year and a half to construct. The statue stands around 5.8ft tall and is made up of nearly 30,000 Lego's! I can't even imagine the planning, time and patience it must have taken to put together something so involved.

After reading this story two things came to mind. First let me say that I don't know anything about this church. I can only assume that they love Jesus, the Bible and are serving their community and Gods leads them to.

With that said, the first thing that came to mind was the idea of building a statue. What kind of statues am I constructing day in and day out? Were all busy but are we so busy that we make statues or gods out of things in our lives. This happens every time we put something else before Jesus and that something then becomes our god. Our time devotion and energy gets poured into that thing and it's eventually what we live for and not Jesus.

This brings me to my second thought. How much time am I investing in Jesus? Am I putting so much of Jesus into my life that people can actually see him take shape in my life? Additionally, what am I doing to help others to develop a lasting, deep meaningful relationship with Jesus?

So think about it. What or who are you devoted to? What or who are you investing in? And finally what are you doing to help others to come into a relationship with Jesus?

Some Thoughts on Mark

Over the last several weeks in our weekly men's Bible study we have been going through the book of Mark. We just finished Mark chapter six, so we will be in Mark for some time to come.
So far there have been many things that have struck home with me, but there seems to be a few things that constantly come up.
First is that Jesus and his disciples worked and served like crazy sometime without even time to eat. However after the work at hand was done they would try to get away to rest and prepare for the next go around. I say try to get away because even when they did arrive to the destination of rest, there was always a multitude of people waiting to be taught, healed or looking for something to eat.
Secondly, Jesus, no matter how much he ministered to people and no matter how tired he was, he was always moved with compassion on the crowed that gathered around him. It's almost as though he can't not serve people.
The last observation has to do with the disciples. They just didn't get it! No matter how many people Jesus fed, healed, or even raised from the dead his disciple still did not understand who Jesus was. Often Jesus did get on their cases for not getting this. Their lack of faith hindered them from being and doing all Jesus had for them.
Take a few minutes and read the first six chapters of the book of Mark, look for these and other observations and think about how they might apply to you.

In Our Place, For Our Sins

The death of Christ and what he accomplished on the cross should always be on the minds of those of us that call ourselves Christians. The fact the Jesus died in our place for our sins and that in him we have redemption through his blood (Ephesians 1:7), is something we should never get over. Sadly many Christians only think of the atoning work of Jesus on or in the days leading up to Easter. Daily we sin and daily we need to be asking for and repenting of that sin. Thankfully the blood of Jesus was enough to cover all the sins of man and his one time death on the cross did just that.
The video below was put out by Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA last year leading up to their Good Friday services. It's a short but powerful video of the innocent death of Jesus.

It's NOT Just For Kids

Psalm 23
¹The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
²He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
³He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

I know that's not all of Psalm 23 but it's the part I heard this morning. You see, the second Sunday of every month I minister to and serve all the 2 & 3 year old kids in their Sunday school class at my church.

Well, the last few weeks we've been helping them to memorize Psalm 23. Some have it memorized better than others, but they're all trying. It's rather funny to hear a 2 year old try and say "paths of righteousness" without it coming out as a jumbled mess. The point is, their hiding Gods word in their hearts!

How many of us as adults expect this of our children, but then we ourselves don't take the time to read,study, meditate and memorize Gods word. We know that it's important otherwise we wouldn't care if our kids did it or not. It's just another case of "do as I say not as I do". We need to follow Jesus' example in the wilderness. Have Gods word in our hearts so that when trails and temptations come we're able to overcome them by the power of Gods word.

The Soil of Your Heart

In Mark chapter four Jesus tells a multitude of people, along with his disciples, the parable of the sower. In the parable he describes four different types of soil that a seed can fall into and what can happen to that seed given the soil that the seed finds itself in. In case you've not read it or if it's been a while since you have read it, let me take a minute to bring you up to speed.
First let me start with the seed. Jesus uses the seed to represent the gospel and the sower to represent anyone preaching the gospel. This could be a pastor, Sunday school teacher, missionary, or evangelist. Whom ever is rightly proclaiming the gospel.
Then comes the four types of soil. The soil is being related to the type of heart that a person might receive the gospel with. The first type of soil is one that does not even receive the seed. The second is soil that receives it but has no depth, so it is quick to wither. The third type of soil is soil that also consists of many thorns or weeds. The seed in this soil grows, has some life, but does not produce grain. It is eventually choked out by the thorns or weeds. The fourth and last type of soil that Jesus describes is soil that is good and fertile. The seed grows, increases and multiplies itself.
As Christians we need to always monitor the soil of our hearts. All too often thorns and weeds can creep in and begin to choke the life out of our Christian life and we soon become a Christian that produces nothing. Psalm chapter one reminds us that a Christian is like a tree planted by streams of water that produces fruit. For a tree to produce fruit well it needs to be pruned and kept free of dead and diseased branches.
Are there branches in your life that are keeping you from bearing fruit? Do you need to be pruned? Have you let the soil of your heart become infested with weeds that are choking the life out of you? If so, then ask God to show you what you need to prune or dig out of you life to help make you become fruitful once again. Remember, a weed will not come back if it's pulled out root and all. So while the process might be painful, it's always profitable.

Gods Creativity in Prime Time

I don't like the cold, in fact I hate it. So because I live in Michigan I tend to stay indoors a lot from about mid November until mid to late march. Beside hanging with the family, working out and working on which ever home project that is taking longer than expected, I love to watch TV. Not just any type of TV show, but something where I might actually learn something while being entertained.
My go to networks are usually Fox News Channel, Discovery Channel, The History Channel, The Travel Channel, or Food Network. That list is in no particular order, it's just order I know them in because of where they fall in my particular cable package.
Anyway, the show that I've really gotten into has been "Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations" on The Travel Channel. In the show, the host Anthony Bourdain, goes around the world introducing his audience to many different cultures. From food to religion and climate to world view. It really is a great show.
Though Anthony may not realize it, he is also introducing his audience to the creativity of our heavenly father. When I watch the show I'm always amazed to see some of the weird and awesome things God has created. We truly worship an amazing God!
If you have not seen the show, go ahead and check it out, you'll be glad you did.

Leading By Example

Here is a clip from the ABC News show "Nightline" from this past Tuesday evening. They were doing a segment titled "Faith Matters" and chose to feature one of my favorite churches and pastors in America. Mars Hill Church is located in Seattle WA. and is lead by Pastor Mark Driscoll. Say what you want about his style, which I happen to like, Mark has got to be one of the best Bible teachers and church leaders out their. To find out more about Pastor Mark and Mars Hill Church, check out his blog or visit the churches website.

Jesus, Not A Poor Substitute.

We have all seen many videos much like this. Some are like this where a statue or picture of the Virgin Mary is "miraculously" crying. Or it may be a statue of a crucifix and Jesus starts somehow bleeding from his forehead where the crown of thorns have been placed or from his hands, feet, or side where he was stabbed with the Roman soldiers spear.

I came across this news story the other day and at first I just sort of laughed. However the more I thought about it I really felt bad for those people. They put all their trust and faith into an object that is cold dead and lifeless. Instead of putting their faith in God they put their faith in a functional or substitute savior that can get them through this life. They would rather worship created things rather than creator God.

What about you? What is it in life that you put ahead of worshiping Jesus? It could be work, T.V., food, your spouse or kids, maybe even your ministry? Thing is, we tend to put a lot of things ahead of our worship, love and faith in Jesus. Many time it happens and we don't even mean for it to but it does. It's good to take inventory of your priorities and make sure that you're putting Jesus first and not some poor substitute.

Bless Others As You've Been

I saw this news story out of the U.K. the other day and to be honest, I really felt sorry for the guy. In the story it calls the guy a "compulsive hoarder" but I think the problem ran much deeper. I think his demise was a result of where his heart was at.

We all like to have stuff, ipods, cell phones, laptops, etc. Whatever the latest gadget is, it seems like many of us run out to get it without ever thinking,"do I really need this?" Maybe it's not some new gadget, it could be a new pair of shoes or jacket, both of which you didn't need, it's just that you want this years popular brand or style.

A lot of us in this country have a lot of stuff that we don't need, and the are a lot of people that don't have stuff that they do need. When was the last time that you went out and bought something of need for someone you know that is lacking? In these hard economic times there are plenty of people in that boat. This is a question I've been asking myself lately too and I have to say it's been to long, sadly.

Really you don't even have to go out and buy something, try just giving something away that you already have. As I said before, we all have more that what we really need. Instead of just adding more clutter to your life, purge a little. One of the reasons God blesses us is so that we can be a blessing to others. So how about it? When is the last time you blessed someone in need? It's better than getting lost and dieing in your own pile of stuff.

Better Than the Origional

I love music, it's a huge part of who I am. While hard rock is my preferred style, I'll listen to just about any style of music out there. OK, not country music, but anything else. I really like when an older song, such as a hymn, is remade into today's styles of music. Such is the case with the song below, give it a listen. The group is called "Brothers of the Empty Tomb". They're out of Mars hill church in Seattle,WA.
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