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.