I read this in my quiet time yesterday:
Esther 6:6... "When Haman entered, the king asked him, 'What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?' Now Haman thought to himself, 'Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?'"
What a dangerous way to approach serving the King! Isn't that what we often do, though? We all are called to a ministry every day. What is ministry? Serving the King by serving others.
I hope that we can wake up each morning and not start our ministries by thinking of what we might gain. Serving the King is about so much more than that.
I found this quote regarding humility, especially in ministry: "Humility is the source of all true greatness: pride is ever impatient, ready to be offended. He who thinks nothing is due to him, never thinks himself ill-treated." -Fenelon
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Who needs titles?
As you know, I've been reading through the gospels and I'm only about halfway through Mark, but I am learning a TON from the chronicles of Jesus' life. He is the model of the man we should all aspire to be. As Brad would say, He was the model of humility and the model of confidence at the same time.
Ironically, Ashley S recommended that I read 1 Peter... and that was actually next on my list of books to read after I finished the gospels. I wanted to jump right in and start on it, but I feel like I should finish the gospels and gain a perspective on Peter before I read the letters he wrote. The Bible is a fantastic story of cool characters as well as God's truth.
God has absolutely been rocking my world. He has taken brokenness to a new level in my life and is teaching me to appreciate His plans for me. He has put new people and new leadership roles into my life and He makes it obvious that everything is a God thing.
Can't wait for Home Group tonight!
Ironically, Ashley S recommended that I read 1 Peter... and that was actually next on my list of books to read after I finished the gospels. I wanted to jump right in and start on it, but I feel like I should finish the gospels and gain a perspective on Peter before I read the letters he wrote. The Bible is a fantastic story of cool characters as well as God's truth.
God has absolutely been rocking my world. He has taken brokenness to a new level in my life and is teaching me to appreciate His plans for me. He has put new people and new leadership roles into my life and He makes it obvious that everything is a God thing.
Can't wait for Home Group tonight!
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Jesus!
I have been reading through the gospels and the more I read about Jesus, the more I realize that I had Him all wrong. I know that He wasn't the hugging-everyone, lamb-toting, weeping Jesus that Perry says people mistake Him for, but it seems like He often did things that just straight-up surprised me. Sometimes His language seemed condescending... sometimes He seemed to have an extra-short fuse... but the thing that confused me most was when He told people that their faith healed them.
Here's what I mean. People would see that Jesus was healing all kinds of sicknesses and afflictions. They would sneak up on Him or destroy the roof of a house to get to Him... all just to touch the hem of his robe. He would realize the people were doing that and He would turn to them and say, "Don't worry; your faith has healed you."
What??
It doesn't seem to me like faith was the major motivating factor there. I would think that they just wanted to be healed...
Was Jesus just looking into their hearts and knowing their faith? If that was the case, then He never turned away anyone (to my knowledge) throughout the gospels. This would mean that no one came to Him selfishly for healing... I don't understand.
Does anyone else think Jesus had a pretty sharp tongue? I know that He wasn't sinful... and that's what I think made Him so dangerous. People knew Jesus would say the tough things that needed to be said.
I mean, the man made a whip and cleared the entire temple alone. That's a pretty short fuse (with good reason, of course). Jesus was tough! He was quick to rebuke and quick to speak His mind. Sometimes He even seemed sarcastic when He was trying to teach His thick-headed disciples.
I definitely can't figure Him out completely... but I definitely wanna be like Him!
Here's what I mean. People would see that Jesus was healing all kinds of sicknesses and afflictions. They would sneak up on Him or destroy the roof of a house to get to Him... all just to touch the hem of his robe. He would realize the people were doing that and He would turn to them and say, "Don't worry; your faith has healed you."
What??
It doesn't seem to me like faith was the major motivating factor there. I would think that they just wanted to be healed...
Was Jesus just looking into their hearts and knowing their faith? If that was the case, then He never turned away anyone (to my knowledge) throughout the gospels. This would mean that no one came to Him selfishly for healing... I don't understand.
Does anyone else think Jesus had a pretty sharp tongue? I know that He wasn't sinful... and that's what I think made Him so dangerous. People knew Jesus would say the tough things that needed to be said.
I mean, the man made a whip and cleared the entire temple alone. That's a pretty short fuse (with good reason, of course). Jesus was tough! He was quick to rebuke and quick to speak His mind. Sometimes He even seemed sarcastic when He was trying to teach His thick-headed disciples.
I definitely can't figure Him out completely... but I definitely wanna be like Him!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Twitter and selfishness
Man, I love Twitter. No longer do I have to ask my friends, "What did you do all day?"
...Because I already know!
By the way, the cookout last night at B.Coop's place was incredible. It was great seeing everyone and meeting new folks.
I started reading a book last night that I borrowed from Craig, called "Blue Like Jazz." It brought up a good point: it's hard to solve the world's conflicts when you think about yourself 95% of the time. That seems like a whole lot of selfishness... but when you really think about it, that might even be a lowball estimate. It becomes very difficult to make a difference in the world - "spiritually" or not - when motive #1 is to please yourself.
That shook up my perspective a tad.
...Because I already know!
By the way, the cookout last night at B.Coop's place was incredible. It was great seeing everyone and meeting new folks.
I started reading a book last night that I borrowed from Craig, called "Blue Like Jazz." It brought up a good point: it's hard to solve the world's conflicts when you think about yourself 95% of the time. That seems like a whole lot of selfishness... but when you really think about it, that might even be a lowball estimate. It becomes very difficult to make a difference in the world - "spiritually" or not - when motive #1 is to please yourself.
That shook up my perspective a tad.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Choose carefully...
James 5:16 - "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
Dude... accountability is crucial. Not just telling people about your secret sins and things like that - accountability, to me, means doing life on the buddy system. You see, accountability is more than having somebody to turn to once a sin has already caused you trouble. It's having someone[s] who will kick you in the butt before that sin ever becomes a problem.
It's having someone who's already there beside you when you first start feeling attacked.
It's having someone who will share his umbrella with you when the rain starts falling.
It's having someone who will pray for you without knowing all the details.
We can't overlook a key word in that verse, though: "The effectual fervent prayer of a RIGHTEOUS man..." Choose your partners carefully! Though it is not the main point of the passage in James chapter 5, the verse implies that when you involve someone in the restoration of your own soul, that person should be of a like mind. That person should also be fully sold out in the pursuit of a life that models Christ's love.
In other words... you don't want an "accountability partner" who will have to call you back later because he's at a party right now...
You need an accountability partner who will say, "You don't need to hang out with that crowd tonight; let's go grab some dinner." A righteous, Christ-seeking accountability partner does more than save you from falling into sin, or whatever... this guy gets you excited about Jesus. All the time.
There's plenty more to be said on the topic, but I am hungry :) Feel free to share your own advice and insights.
Dude... accountability is crucial. Not just telling people about your secret sins and things like that - accountability, to me, means doing life on the buddy system. You see, accountability is more than having somebody to turn to once a sin has already caused you trouble. It's having someone[s] who will kick you in the butt before that sin ever becomes a problem.
It's having someone who's already there beside you when you first start feeling attacked.
It's having someone who will share his umbrella with you when the rain starts falling.
It's having someone who will pray for you without knowing all the details.
We can't overlook a key word in that verse, though: "The effectual fervent prayer of a RIGHTEOUS man..." Choose your partners carefully! Though it is not the main point of the passage in James chapter 5, the verse implies that when you involve someone in the restoration of your own soul, that person should be of a like mind. That person should also be fully sold out in the pursuit of a life that models Christ's love.
In other words... you don't want an "accountability partner" who will have to call you back later because he's at a party right now...
You need an accountability partner who will say, "You don't need to hang out with that crowd tonight; let's go grab some dinner." A righteous, Christ-seeking accountability partner does more than save you from falling into sin, or whatever... this guy gets you excited about Jesus. All the time.
There's plenty more to be said on the topic, but I am hungry :) Feel free to share your own advice and insights.
Friday, September 19, 2008
THIS... IS... SPARTA!!!!
Man, that movie pumps me up (I'm talking about 300, for all of you [girls] who haven't seen it)! I read that they trained all the actors for weeks before production even began on the movie, just so that they would be totally ripped. Those Spartans were men. Real men. They walked fearlessly towards their destinies - with heads held high - even though they knew that the outcome would probably not be favorable. They fought an impossible battle with all their might, under the fierce leadership of King Leonidas, and ended up being killed in the battle with the Persians.
I wish people saw me like that! It's not the 9-pack of abs (though that'd be nice...) that makes me envy those Spartans - it's the ferocity. It's the willpower that pushed them to follow their fearless leader. It's the fact that they were DANGEROUS.
Am I dangerous? Am I a man?
1 Corinthians 13:11 - "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I PUT AWAY CHILDISH THINGS."
As Craig would say... wow dang. This is Paul talking, so you pretty much know his advice is going to be sound - but this is straight to the point, eh? I like how he doesn't say, "I postponed childish things," or, "I modified childish things to make them seem okay now...."
He put them away. For good. My prayer today is that those childish things that defined my immaturity (pride, lust, laziness, gluttony, etc) would be PUT AWAY. Gone.
You can't define yourself by the same habits if you are a different person.
Now... I'm sick so I'm going to relax for a while. More on this topic next time.
I wish people saw me like that! It's not the 9-pack of abs (though that'd be nice...) that makes me envy those Spartans - it's the ferocity. It's the willpower that pushed them to follow their fearless leader. It's the fact that they were DANGEROUS.
Am I dangerous? Am I a man?
1 Corinthians 13:11 - "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I PUT AWAY CHILDISH THINGS."
As Craig would say... wow dang. This is Paul talking, so you pretty much know his advice is going to be sound - but this is straight to the point, eh? I like how he doesn't say, "I postponed childish things," or, "I modified childish things to make them seem okay now...."
He put them away. For good. My prayer today is that those childish things that defined my immaturity (pride, lust, laziness, gluttony, etc) would be PUT AWAY. Gone.
You can't define yourself by the same habits if you are a different person.
Now... I'm sick so I'm going to relax for a while. More on this topic next time.
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