Hi Everybody,
This is my first post in like 7 months so that's pretty exciting!
This spring as I thought about all of the things I wanted to do this summer all I could think of was reading. There are a million books that I've been wanting to read, but so far I haven't finished one of them. Instead, I've been gardening. Something I didn't think I would ever take part in, but now I'm hooked. As it turns out I know nothing about plants or gardening, but thanks to youtube we have already had 2 garden fresh salads, and the rest of our vegetable garden is flourishing! Now you may be asking yourself, "why is he telling me this?", and the reason is, that I've been learning/re-learning and understanding new pieces of the character of God and what it looks like to develop a character reflecting God while at work in my garden.
If you have ever spent time out in my yard, you know there are mass amounts of dirt spots. some are just wear and tear from the years that the house was inhabited but no one cared for the yard. While other spots of grass were destroyed by me and the previous tenants by leaving the shed door laying in the middle of the yard or random piles of leaves that sat through winter killing all the grass below. Now I'm working to fix the problems.
It takes a lot of time and work to prepare the ground for the new grass seed. I've been raking up pounds of dead grass and grass clippings. Tilling all the places I want new grass to grow. Planting the new seeds and then watering them to help them grow. It's a simple process, but that doesn't mean it's an easy one.
As I'm going through this process, I feel like I'm being reminded of what it takes for me to grow. I've been trying to use this same method in my walk as I do on my grass.
As I look at my current character I'm finding that I am covered in dead grass, grass that is blocking the Son and sucking the life out of my more healthy areas. So I have been working to first identify the sin, pain and anger in my life; then I stop and I pray that God will show me how to get rid of it, and slowly but surely I'm raking away all the dead grass in my life. From there I am preparing myself to grow new roots with new blades of grass. Spending my time reading scripture and praying for God to move in me, show me what it looks like to be healthy. Then you begin to see new grass sprouting up all over the place. Anger subsiding, pain fading and the patterns of sin becoming less of a pattern. The grass I plant, I'm hoping for a 50% growth rate, but the new life I'm creating feels like 100%.
I feel so gross using planting grass as a metaphor for spiritual growth, so lame. But it has been good for me, and the truth is, we are all being called into new growth. When we stop growing it seems that we are doing one of two things: assuming perfection or giving up. If you have stopped growing because you think you are good enough or perfect, trust me you aren't. I encourage you to go to your friends or people that care about you and ask them, "Where am I failing to see/experience/live for Christ?" Then grow some more, and remember if you find yourself drawing comparisons between you and the people around you, pride or judgment might be a great place to start. If you on the other hand are struggling to push forward I encourage you to turn to your friends and talk to them about your struggles, if you don't have those kind of friends, find some new friends. If you are giving up because there's just no hope for you, come look at my yard, trust me there is hope!
Hope this didn't suck,
WIT
-J
Monday, July 14, 2014
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
The Disconnected Smoker
Hey all,
Thought I would start by saying wow, I have way to many total views on this blog. there must be a famous person with the same name as me and people are accidentally clicking on the link that sends them here. I can only imagine how disappointed they are when they find out it's a totally random person saying totally random things about totally random stuff. Also I don't know the difference between affect and effect random fact.
Over the last month I stopped, not to be confused with quit (quitters never win, I'm a winner), smoking. The hardest part was/is that I simply enjoy smoking. It's like drinking Coke or coffee, fantastic. :) Now that I'm not smoking I am beginning to see how shamed I was by people or at least how, the things that people would say to me about my smoking habits or what I would hear people say about smokers, has had an impact on the way that I do life.
The smell of smoke doesn't go away when the cigarette goes out, it carries with the smoker wherever they go, and I can remember being continuously reminded that I was carrying a smell with me. So as a response I began trying to do things like reapply deodorant, change my clothes, or use mouthwash to lessen the scent or hide it so then other people wouldn't be affected by it. But if you've ever tried to hide the scent you should know, it's still there. Peoples comments continued to build and echo until I slowly started to walk away from the voices that, though typically spoken with good intent, came across with a dash of judgement and a hint of condemnation. While the echos persist I find now that I started to push away all sorts of people, because obviously they were going to see me as the scent on my clothes instead of trying to get to know my character, to know my heart.
Now that I have taken a season away from smoking I can see how I have been failing to reach out, because I have this lurking fear that people will react the same way that the people from my past reacted. If you know me then you know that I will always argue that smoking isn't my issue. I feel the same way now looking back, it wasn't the smoking that pushed me away, it was the people. It bugs me that the majority of people that pushed me away were Christians. It did and still drives me crazy that so many Christians are failing to love people because they are so caught up in the social stigma, stuck looking at the smoke instead of seeing the smoker, ignoring their character.
I've always felt that the world is split into two categories, sinners and saints. We can argue about whether smoking is sinful, but we can raise a similar argument about McDonalds, the ethical treatment of animals in food production, preserving the land, eating chocolate or drinking coffee (maybe the Apple products you're purchasing?). You being ignorant about the sins that your committing doesn't make them any more justified, and despite the sin in our lives can't we always come to the conclusion that grace is sufficient?
The point, however, is that God used smoking for me to level out the playing field so that I could have conversations with the people that the "righteous" have often outcast. I have had so many opportunities to share the gospel, and point to the cross. Opportunities to show people that God doesn't care about who you've been or how people see you, He loves you just the same. Smoking was never a curse in my life, it has always been a blessing.
My goal in this is that we will be conscious of the words we use, and that we will speak love into the lives of those around us. That we will have opportunities to see beyond the social stigmas and get to know people's character before making any assumptions. Above all that we will have an eternal perspective, and remember who Jesus hung out with the most, because often they are the ones we push away.
WIT
-J
PS
Here is a shout out to my dad. Mitch you'll probably never read this, but here's to you. Dad you were one of few family members that never tried to argue with me about smoking. The worst comment I remember you making in regards to smoking is when you told me that your brothers that smoked got their grey hairs early. I feel fairly confident that you didn't appreciate my smoking, but regardless you loved me just the same. You never resembled a voice of disrespect, disappointment, or condemnation; Instead you embraced me as your son, all labels aside, you cared for me well. I love you dad
Thought I would start by saying wow, I have way to many total views on this blog. there must be a famous person with the same name as me and people are accidentally clicking on the link that sends them here. I can only imagine how disappointed they are when they find out it's a totally random person saying totally random things about totally random stuff. Also I don't know the difference between affect and effect random fact.
Over the last month I stopped, not to be confused with quit (quitters never win, I'm a winner), smoking. The hardest part was/is that I simply enjoy smoking. It's like drinking Coke or coffee, fantastic. :) Now that I'm not smoking I am beginning to see how shamed I was by people or at least how, the things that people would say to me about my smoking habits or what I would hear people say about smokers, has had an impact on the way that I do life.
The smell of smoke doesn't go away when the cigarette goes out, it carries with the smoker wherever they go, and I can remember being continuously reminded that I was carrying a smell with me. So as a response I began trying to do things like reapply deodorant, change my clothes, or use mouthwash to lessen the scent or hide it so then other people wouldn't be affected by it. But if you've ever tried to hide the scent you should know, it's still there. Peoples comments continued to build and echo until I slowly started to walk away from the voices that, though typically spoken with good intent, came across with a dash of judgement and a hint of condemnation. While the echos persist I find now that I started to push away all sorts of people, because obviously they were going to see me as the scent on my clothes instead of trying to get to know my character, to know my heart.
Now that I have taken a season away from smoking I can see how I have been failing to reach out, because I have this lurking fear that people will react the same way that the people from my past reacted. If you know me then you know that I will always argue that smoking isn't my issue. I feel the same way now looking back, it wasn't the smoking that pushed me away, it was the people. It bugs me that the majority of people that pushed me away were Christians. It did and still drives me crazy that so many Christians are failing to love people because they are so caught up in the social stigma, stuck looking at the smoke instead of seeing the smoker, ignoring their character.
I've always felt that the world is split into two categories, sinners and saints. We can argue about whether smoking is sinful, but we can raise a similar argument about McDonalds, the ethical treatment of animals in food production, preserving the land, eating chocolate or drinking coffee (maybe the Apple products you're purchasing?). You being ignorant about the sins that your committing doesn't make them any more justified, and despite the sin in our lives can't we always come to the conclusion that grace is sufficient?
The point, however, is that God used smoking for me to level out the playing field so that I could have conversations with the people that the "righteous" have often outcast. I have had so many opportunities to share the gospel, and point to the cross. Opportunities to show people that God doesn't care about who you've been or how people see you, He loves you just the same. Smoking was never a curse in my life, it has always been a blessing.
My goal in this is that we will be conscious of the words we use, and that we will speak love into the lives of those around us. That we will have opportunities to see beyond the social stigmas and get to know people's character before making any assumptions. Above all that we will have an eternal perspective, and remember who Jesus hung out with the most, because often they are the ones we push away.
WIT
-J
PS
Here is a shout out to my dad. Mitch you'll probably never read this, but here's to you. Dad you were one of few family members that never tried to argue with me about smoking. The worst comment I remember you making in regards to smoking is when you told me that your brothers that smoked got their grey hairs early. I feel fairly confident that you didn't appreciate my smoking, but regardless you loved me just the same. You never resembled a voice of disrespect, disappointment, or condemnation; Instead you embraced me as your son, all labels aside, you cared for me well. I love you dad
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Heaven or Hell
Hey All,
Think about the person you like least. Better yet think about the person you hate the most. Now think about hell, if you're anything like me you are currently thinking about the person you hate most in hell.
Does it make me a bad person if I don't care if people go to hell versus heaven?
Yes.
My dad's dad died the winter of 2010 and I can remember my dad talking about him going to hell. Not out of a hatred for his dad, but as my dad looked back on his dad's life and his personal experiences with his dad he came to the conclusion he probably went to hell. My Grandpa was an alcoholic, who had zero knowledge or thought towards fiscal responsibility. He was a physically abusive dad and if not a physically abusive husband I wouldn't doubt that he was an emotionally or mentally abusive husband. I remember my dad recalling some very destructive stories from his childhood and I could remember some stories from my own life where my Grandpa wasn't there. Even after knowing and experiencing parts of my grandpa's story I can remember praying that he would go to heaven, no matter where he's been, or what he's done that God would see him to heaven's gates.
In the last two months I've had conversations with friends about their systems of belief, and after both told me they're atheist or believe in a God but not necessarily the God or the Jesus thing, I walked out thinking their on their own path and I'm on mine. It's not my job to tell them who to be, or where their path should lead. They have to sort out their own business.
true, butI've been feeling convicted, I'm reminded of a youtube video posted by Penn Jillette, and he poses the question how much do you have to hate someone so that you wouldn't tell them about Jesus. He then says if you saw someone and you could see they were going to get hit by a truck, as the truck got closer if they didn't move you would tackle them out of the way, and getting run over is nothing compared to heaven and hell.
There are so many of us Christians out there that must hate the world soooo much. If we truly believe in who God is and if we believe in heaven and hell, we have to be sharing the good news. I'm not saying it's your responsibility to convert people, but open a door the worst thing that happens is they say no. Share your story and how God has worked in your life, why you believe, the life of Jesus as a teacher and the life of Jesus as a savior. 1 Corinthians 3:6, "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow." Sometimes we'll see direct influence in the lives of people, but a lot of the time we're just called to plant a seed.
I asked you to think about the person you hate most, and now I ask would you wish that fate upon them? If we have one life to lead, what direction will we choose, to harbor hate and sin, or love? I say we choose love. Isn't that where God is calling us, what if we decided to love people so much that we offered them a chance for something greater? So please, open your eyes, open your hearts, and allow God to show you people that need to hear the good news. The severity of hell is far worse than the evil we see here today, it's time to be aware of God's call in our lives to reach out and impact our communities, coworkers, friends and family. If we truly believe what we say we do, then it's time to plant some seeds.
WIT
-J
Think about the person you like least. Better yet think about the person you hate the most. Now think about hell, if you're anything like me you are currently thinking about the person you hate most in hell.
Does it make me a bad person if I don't care if people go to hell versus heaven?
Yes.
My dad's dad died the winter of 2010 and I can remember my dad talking about him going to hell. Not out of a hatred for his dad, but as my dad looked back on his dad's life and his personal experiences with his dad he came to the conclusion he probably went to hell. My Grandpa was an alcoholic, who had zero knowledge or thought towards fiscal responsibility. He was a physically abusive dad and if not a physically abusive husband I wouldn't doubt that he was an emotionally or mentally abusive husband. I remember my dad recalling some very destructive stories from his childhood and I could remember some stories from my own life where my Grandpa wasn't there. Even after knowing and experiencing parts of my grandpa's story I can remember praying that he would go to heaven, no matter where he's been, or what he's done that God would see him to heaven's gates.
In the last two months I've had conversations with friends about their systems of belief, and after both told me they're atheist or believe in a God but not necessarily the God or the Jesus thing, I walked out thinking their on their own path and I'm on mine. It's not my job to tell them who to be, or where their path should lead. They have to sort out their own business.
true, butI've been feeling convicted, I'm reminded of a youtube video posted by Penn Jillette, and he poses the question how much do you have to hate someone so that you wouldn't tell them about Jesus. He then says if you saw someone and you could see they were going to get hit by a truck, as the truck got closer if they didn't move you would tackle them out of the way, and getting run over is nothing compared to heaven and hell.
There are so many of us Christians out there that must hate the world soooo much. If we truly believe in who God is and if we believe in heaven and hell, we have to be sharing the good news. I'm not saying it's your responsibility to convert people, but open a door the worst thing that happens is they say no. Share your story and how God has worked in your life, why you believe, the life of Jesus as a teacher and the life of Jesus as a savior. 1 Corinthians 3:6, "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow." Sometimes we'll see direct influence in the lives of people, but a lot of the time we're just called to plant a seed.
I asked you to think about the person you hate most, and now I ask would you wish that fate upon them? If we have one life to lead, what direction will we choose, to harbor hate and sin, or love? I say we choose love. Isn't that where God is calling us, what if we decided to love people so much that we offered them a chance for something greater? So please, open your eyes, open your hearts, and allow God to show you people that need to hear the good news. The severity of hell is far worse than the evil we see here today, it's time to be aware of God's call in our lives to reach out and impact our communities, coworkers, friends and family. If we truly believe what we say we do, then it's time to plant some seeds.
WIT
-J
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Who we talking to?
Hey all,
I was going through the sermon on the mount with a small group a couple weeks ago and we asked who is Jesus talking to? I felt like Jesus gave two sermons in one, and others felt like there is one sermon. There are some interesting text cues that have me asking if he is talking to two different people groups throughout the sermon on the mount.
Matthew 5:1 "Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and when He sat down his disciples came to Him."
Matthew 7:28,29 "And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
So, some of you may be thinking how did he just go from chapter 5 to chapter 7? and I will encourage you to open your Bible and take a look, because the Sermon on the mount spans multiple chapters and I'm not sure why, but the Bible developers felt it would be better to split it up.
Looking at just these three versus you could say that Jesus saw people coming and wanted to get to a place where all the people could see him so he went up on the mountain. If you see it this way then you can look at the end of chapter 7 and say well the crowds were astonished, so obviously he is speaking to everyone that he saw coming in chapter 5.
However, I feel like there are a few points that could separate the crowds from the just his disciples. In the first verse Matthew seems to distinguish between the crowds and the disciples. He says Jesus saw the crowds, but when he sat down his disciples came to him. The versus I chose from chapter 7 speaks specifically about how the crowds are perceiving Jesus as a teacher. The versus don't say anything about the disciples only about the crowds, but I think that, at least in part, is because his disciples already knew the authority that Jesus had and taught with. At this point in Matthew the disciples have already seen Jesus speak to great crowds, they had already heard of John the Baptist who had been preparing the way had baptized Jesus, and during the process the heavens opened and a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." Right before the sermon on the mount the disciples are walking around with Jesus stopping in cities and in synagogues while Jesus healing every disease and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics and paralytics. So by chapter 5 the disciples are already aware of the God figure in Jesus.
I also find there to be an interesting shift in the teaching style part way through the sermon on the mount. From my perspective it seems like Matthew 5:1-16 seem to be directed at the disciples, he seems to be telling them a group of things that are to be normative for each disciple. He is drawing a line and for me it seems like he is saying you are my disciples and therefore you should be living in a way that resembles these teachings. As you move forward to chapter 5:17-48, Jesus is saying, you have heard it said, but now I say... and I think this is where the crowds would begin to come in and hear about how his teachings come with a new authority. Then chapter 6:1-18 he is showing how people have been seeing the laws and practices being taught and lived out and he says, you have seen it like this but not you're being called to live it out in a new way. 5:17-6:18 he is pointing out how the laws and practices have been defiled and how the Old Testament church has been failing. To point out the leaders, pharisees, and scribes like this is to teach with a new authority, to teach against the grain like Jesus is in these versus is what I think the crowds are talking about.
Then he seems to go back into a standard teaching style using analogies to show who God is and what it takes to follow God. But then in chapter 7:21-27 Jesus refers to himself as Lord and depicts himself to be a judge or to have an overall decision on who will get into heaven. Which is another section of the text that would show his authority and separate him from other scribes and teachers.
Looking at the 5:1-17 could the crowds have been there yeah, but as I read it, it seems as though there is a specific language used to separate the crowds and the disciples in the first section of the chapter. I think that there is a definite change of style in Jesus' teaching from the beginning to end of the sermon on the mount, and I think that the crowds would be pointing to specific sections on the teachings to say that he is teaching with a new authority. Specifically the way Jesus discusses the law, the you've heard it said but now I say, and you've seen it taught and practiced like this but now I'm saying it should look like that.
Does it matter?
WIT
-Jay
I was going through the sermon on the mount with a small group a couple weeks ago and we asked who is Jesus talking to? I felt like Jesus gave two sermons in one, and others felt like there is one sermon. There are some interesting text cues that have me asking if he is talking to two different people groups throughout the sermon on the mount.
Matthew 5:1 "Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and when He sat down his disciples came to Him."
Matthew 7:28,29 "And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
So, some of you may be thinking how did he just go from chapter 5 to chapter 7? and I will encourage you to open your Bible and take a look, because the Sermon on the mount spans multiple chapters and I'm not sure why, but the Bible developers felt it would be better to split it up.
Looking at just these three versus you could say that Jesus saw people coming and wanted to get to a place where all the people could see him so he went up on the mountain. If you see it this way then you can look at the end of chapter 7 and say well the crowds were astonished, so obviously he is speaking to everyone that he saw coming in chapter 5.
However, I feel like there are a few points that could separate the crowds from the just his disciples. In the first verse Matthew seems to distinguish between the crowds and the disciples. He says Jesus saw the crowds, but when he sat down his disciples came to him. The versus I chose from chapter 7 speaks specifically about how the crowds are perceiving Jesus as a teacher. The versus don't say anything about the disciples only about the crowds, but I think that, at least in part, is because his disciples already knew the authority that Jesus had and taught with. At this point in Matthew the disciples have already seen Jesus speak to great crowds, they had already heard of John the Baptist who had been preparing the way had baptized Jesus, and during the process the heavens opened and a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." Right before the sermon on the mount the disciples are walking around with Jesus stopping in cities and in synagogues while Jesus healing every disease and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics and paralytics. So by chapter 5 the disciples are already aware of the God figure in Jesus.
I also find there to be an interesting shift in the teaching style part way through the sermon on the mount. From my perspective it seems like Matthew 5:1-16 seem to be directed at the disciples, he seems to be telling them a group of things that are to be normative for each disciple. He is drawing a line and for me it seems like he is saying you are my disciples and therefore you should be living in a way that resembles these teachings. As you move forward to chapter 5:17-48, Jesus is saying, you have heard it said, but now I say... and I think this is where the crowds would begin to come in and hear about how his teachings come with a new authority. Then chapter 6:1-18 he is showing how people have been seeing the laws and practices being taught and lived out and he says, you have seen it like this but not you're being called to live it out in a new way. 5:17-6:18 he is pointing out how the laws and practices have been defiled and how the Old Testament church has been failing. To point out the leaders, pharisees, and scribes like this is to teach with a new authority, to teach against the grain like Jesus is in these versus is what I think the crowds are talking about.
Then he seems to go back into a standard teaching style using analogies to show who God is and what it takes to follow God. But then in chapter 7:21-27 Jesus refers to himself as Lord and depicts himself to be a judge or to have an overall decision on who will get into heaven. Which is another section of the text that would show his authority and separate him from other scribes and teachers.
Looking at the 5:1-17 could the crowds have been there yeah, but as I read it, it seems as though there is a specific language used to separate the crowds and the disciples in the first section of the chapter. I think that there is a definite change of style in Jesus' teaching from the beginning to end of the sermon on the mount, and I think that the crowds would be pointing to specific sections on the teachings to say that he is teaching with a new authority. Specifically the way Jesus discusses the law, the you've heard it said but now I say, and you've seen it taught and practiced like this but now I'm saying it should look like that.
Does it matter?
WIT
-Jay
Friday, January 4, 2013
Who I Am Hates Who I've Been
Hey,
So some, but more likely none, of you have realized that this blog has the same title as a Relient K song. That's right everyone, today I was impacted by a few lyrics from Relient K.
Today as I'm driving around I was listening to Relient K and when this song came on these words were left in my head, see title. Isn't it the truth? Haven't we all come to a place where we look back and we see how much we have grown and we can see how icky our old self was. For me it's an interesting feeling because for most of my life I was the nice guy, the straight edge, and even coming from being a straight edge I feel disgusted in the straight edge I was.
This evening while Ashley and I were grocery shopping I was feeling very convicted/conflicted, because my wife said, "Jared we're rich we can get whatever we want." Why was that so bothersome you ask, let me tell you. Over the last month we have been making a conscious decision not to buy some things in order to give more. So now I feel convicted when I buy things because my money could go somewhere else and genuinely help people in need. One way that my beautiful wife has helped me grow and a way that I can see growth in my life. When I make that realization I'm feeling pretty good about myself. Then we hit the checkout and Ash runs to put some food away because the coupons didn't start until tomorrow, and a man gets in line behind me. He starts talking to me, and he looks like Homeless Greg Boyd. First fault, my initial reaction is, this guy is nuts. Second Fault, I'm looking for the way out as he's talking. Third FAULT, I quit listening. Step one, I put myself above him, Jesus washes feet but I rank myself above them. Step two when I failed to see him through love I fail to see his personality. Step three when I failed to listen, I fail to listen to him, and to God's call for me. I left feeling broken because this guys was getting $5 worth of food and I felt like I should buy it for him. I felt like I should ask if he needs anything else, there was a conviction and I failed to act on it.
Today, I got to experience a great example of how I will hate who I've been. Hopefully I learned enough to step out and be a lover, learned enough so that later I can see transformation in this and know that this moment in time is a reflection of where I've been and not who I am.
Growing a Kingdom
-Jay
So some, but more likely none, of you have realized that this blog has the same title as a Relient K song. That's right everyone, today I was impacted by a few lyrics from Relient K.
Today as I'm driving around I was listening to Relient K and when this song came on these words were left in my head, see title. Isn't it the truth? Haven't we all come to a place where we look back and we see how much we have grown and we can see how icky our old self was. For me it's an interesting feeling because for most of my life I was the nice guy, the straight edge, and even coming from being a straight edge I feel disgusted in the straight edge I was.
This evening while Ashley and I were grocery shopping I was feeling very convicted/conflicted, because my wife said, "Jared we're rich we can get whatever we want." Why was that so bothersome you ask, let me tell you. Over the last month we have been making a conscious decision not to buy some things in order to give more. So now I feel convicted when I buy things because my money could go somewhere else and genuinely help people in need. One way that my beautiful wife has helped me grow and a way that I can see growth in my life. When I make that realization I'm feeling pretty good about myself. Then we hit the checkout and Ash runs to put some food away because the coupons didn't start until tomorrow, and a man gets in line behind me. He starts talking to me, and he looks like Homeless Greg Boyd. First fault, my initial reaction is, this guy is nuts. Second Fault, I'm looking for the way out as he's talking. Third FAULT, I quit listening. Step one, I put myself above him, Jesus washes feet but I rank myself above them. Step two when I failed to see him through love I fail to see his personality. Step three when I failed to listen, I fail to listen to him, and to God's call for me. I left feeling broken because this guys was getting $5 worth of food and I felt like I should buy it for him. I felt like I should ask if he needs anything else, there was a conviction and I failed to act on it.
Today, I got to experience a great example of how I will hate who I've been. Hopefully I learned enough to step out and be a lover, learned enough so that later I can see transformation in this and know that this moment in time is a reflection of where I've been and not who I am.
Growing a Kingdom
-Jay
Thursday, November 22, 2012
A Thankful Process
Hey All,
Happy Thanksgiving!
Joke's on you! You get to read my cheesy this is what I'm thankful for blog:
This morning I woke up and my throat was full of phlegm and felt like it was on fire, and my head was hurting and felt like a balloon on the verge of popping, and not too mention I woke up at 6:30. What an awful day, I thought.
Then I was reminded of the people at Kwanzaa Church, a church in the middle of the Mpls Ghetto, a group of people that show up every week and they praise the Lord for breath, at least once a week someone will say that they are happy to be awake, they are experiencing God's blessing through the idea of being awake, they are breathing which reminds them that God is alive and active in them.
So as I rolled of bed I asked myself, "how can I be thankful for today?" and I came to the conclusion that God is alive and active in our lives, as he is in the lives of the Kwanzaa community. We're here, we're breathing, we woke up, and heads up! God is active in your life today, God has been blessing you today, and hold on tight because today he's going to continue to bless you! *Challenge* Today pay attention to the blessings that God has given you.
As I think about how God has blessed my physical body and has spoke life into me today, I can't help but look for God in the spiritual. Again and again I can look at life and feel unsatisfied with who I am, and the lifestyle I am living, even through all the blessing, I'm simply not Good. So I turn to biblegateway.com, and I found this piece of scripture, and now I truly have something to be thankful for.
2 Corinthians 3:16-18
16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate[a] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
How blessed am I that there is a God that loves me so much that when I turn to him, he pulls away my veil and allows me to see him more clearly. How blessed am I that our God is alive and active in not only my physical but my spiritual and he has given me freedom of mind, and freedom of spirit. He has given me the power to break free from the bondage of sin, he has poured a life of power and glory into me. How blessed are we?
This thanksgiving I am most thankful that God isn't done with me yet. Through the power of the holy spirit I am being transformed. Greg Boyd spoke of how today we may look like an acorn, but through the spirit we are created to be the oak that the acorn has become. Today I may not look like an oak tree, but I know that everyday God is alive and active in me working to produce a new and perfect me.
He's calling to produce a new and perfect you, turn to the Lord, let him pull away your veil, and allow God to work in your life as he is working in mine. Because today when you woke up God loved you so much he was alive and active in you, blessing you with life, maybe today is the day for you to turn to the Lord. Be new! Be perfect! Be transformed!
God Bless You
-WIT
Jared
Happy Thanksgiving!
Joke's on you! You get to read my cheesy this is what I'm thankful for blog:
This morning I woke up and my throat was full of phlegm and felt like it was on fire, and my head was hurting and felt like a balloon on the verge of popping, and not too mention I woke up at 6:30. What an awful day, I thought.
Then I was reminded of the people at Kwanzaa Church, a church in the middle of the Mpls Ghetto, a group of people that show up every week and they praise the Lord for breath, at least once a week someone will say that they are happy to be awake, they are experiencing God's blessing through the idea of being awake, they are breathing which reminds them that God is alive and active in them.
So as I rolled of bed I asked myself, "how can I be thankful for today?" and I came to the conclusion that God is alive and active in our lives, as he is in the lives of the Kwanzaa community. We're here, we're breathing, we woke up, and heads up! God is active in your life today, God has been blessing you today, and hold on tight because today he's going to continue to bless you! *Challenge* Today pay attention to the blessings that God has given you.
As I think about how God has blessed my physical body and has spoke life into me today, I can't help but look for God in the spiritual. Again and again I can look at life and feel unsatisfied with who I am, and the lifestyle I am living, even through all the blessing, I'm simply not Good. So I turn to biblegateway.com, and I found this piece of scripture, and now I truly have something to be thankful for.
2 Corinthians 3:16-18
16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate[a] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
How blessed am I that there is a God that loves me so much that when I turn to him, he pulls away my veil and allows me to see him more clearly. How blessed am I that our God is alive and active in not only my physical but my spiritual and he has given me freedom of mind, and freedom of spirit. He has given me the power to break free from the bondage of sin, he has poured a life of power and glory into me. How blessed are we?
This thanksgiving I am most thankful that God isn't done with me yet. Through the power of the holy spirit I am being transformed. Greg Boyd spoke of how today we may look like an acorn, but through the spirit we are created to be the oak that the acorn has become. Today I may not look like an oak tree, but I know that everyday God is alive and active in me working to produce a new and perfect me.
He's calling to produce a new and perfect you, turn to the Lord, let him pull away your veil, and allow God to work in your life as he is working in mine. Because today when you woke up God loved you so much he was alive and active in you, blessing you with life, maybe today is the day for you to turn to the Lord. Be new! Be perfect! Be transformed!
God Bless You
-WIT
Jared
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
The Tip of The Tongue
Hey all,
So there is a topic that seems to be on the tip of everyone's tongue lately, and especially here in Minnesota with the vote yes, vote no, for the marriage amendment. But for some reason, which I just can't figure out, I have had many people ask me what I think about gay marriage, my stance on homosexuality and what I think the Bible has to say relating to homosexuality and all the things related. So I thought I would say something so people would stop asking me.
I think there are a few different lenses to see this issue from, the lens of the christian, the lens of the homosexual christian and the lens of a normal homosexual person. Regardless of the lens I want to try to bring this into scripture and see if we can draw some answers from some text. So I guess I'll start here.
1 Corinthians 5:12-13
12 It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. 13 God will judge those on the outside...
Paul is writing here to the Corinthian church, previous to these versus he is telling the church that they need to remove the people in our midst that are claiming to be believers, but are refusing to turn from their sin and submit their lives to Jesus. Then Paul says I can't be the judge to the people that aren't in the church. I believe that this is a very applicable verse to homosexuality because we see and hear so many horror stories about christians telling people that God hates gays, or that gays are going to hell. But I submit to you that, that is not your job. looking at the life of Jesus he never used the threat of hell to help anyone find the truth of him (Jesus). As an end result the christian people are pushing more and more people away from faith than to faith. We do these things and we continuously harden the hearts of all kinds of people that are watching the church. When I look at Jesus I believe that he was the greatest lover of all time and by casting judgement and condemning those outside the kingdom isn't showing the love that Jesus has shown for us. Plus I think it is doing the opposite of what Paul is writing in this passage. Love your brother, love your neighbor, love the sinner, love the homosexual.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.
This verse speaks to a lot of sin that we need to turn away from. As we look at homosexuality in the church, we need to see this verse as truth. I have been surrounded by the idea that as christians we have to be practicing our faith or be faithing. John 3:16 says that all who believe will have eternal life, but James 2 says even the demons believe, so are these authors contradicting each other? No. From Bruxy. If you are trapped in a burning building with Jesus and He says follow me I know a way out, if you are faithing you will take off and follow Jesus, and with only belief that Jesus can save you, you will find yourself standing in a burning building. Without faith you will die. We need to be faithing, we need to be practicing our faith, living in a way that when we see something as sin in our life (burning building) we need to walk out of that sin (following Jesus). We can't stand in Jesus and stand in sin. We've all heard a million different ways to say it, where there is light there is no darkness, we have to burn away the hook of sin, but the bottom line is that you cannot choose a lifestyle that is sinful and choose the cross. At what point are we taking God for granted? Sin is disgusting, and we can't be okay with looking at our life and making a conscious decision to choose sin. Some people can't see it as sin and I believe that God is continuously convicting us in different ways and calling out different sin our lives, specific to our walk. But in the same way that God reveals the sin to us, we are called as Christians to be faithing, to walk out of the things we see as sin in our lives. I'll close this section with this, Revelation 3 says that it is better for a person to be hot or cold, but the lukewarm will be spit out. Don't be stagnant, don't settle for lukewarm, and remember that we are called to submit our lives to do all things in the name of the lord, we live to serve the lord, not to serve ourselves or our wants and if we submit to Jesus our wants will look like God's wants.
For the straight christian, let's remember that we aren't called to judge anyone, we are called to love everyone. There are situations in which we need to call out sin in each others lives, but let's do it in love. Remember that we are called to see the plank in our own eye before we see the dust in another's eye. Know that you are sinful and icky just like everyone else, don't become the pharisaic christian. Live in who God is calling you to be first and foremost, and if/when God opens a door for you to talk with the homosexual community, love them as God has loved you, give grace as God has given you grace. Don't condemn people, but point them to the cross. if they are gay or Straight, rich or poor, christian or non-christian, nice or mean, healthy or unhealthy, etc. love them, continuously strive to reveal who Jesus is in the situation, always, ALWAYS point to the cross. Remember that to love someone is to show them truth, God's truth, but do this in love to turn them from their sin as God has loved us to turn us from our sin. When I think about this I am always brought to the image of Jesus in John 8, I picture him reaching down and drawing a line in the sand, tossing me a stone, looking me in the eye and saying, "All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone." I'm struck with that image and immediately humbled, and I'm reminded God will never call me to throw stones.
I would be interested to hear thoughts, ideas, beliefs, how I was right or wrong, if you have a different scriptural take. If you don't want to comment and have one of the above, I encourage you to send me a facebook message.
-WIT
Jer
So there is a topic that seems to be on the tip of everyone's tongue lately, and especially here in Minnesota with the vote yes, vote no, for the marriage amendment. But for some reason, which I just can't figure out, I have had many people ask me what I think about gay marriage, my stance on homosexuality and what I think the Bible has to say relating to homosexuality and all the things related. So I thought I would say something so people would stop asking me.
I think there are a few different lenses to see this issue from, the lens of the christian, the lens of the homosexual christian and the lens of a normal homosexual person. Regardless of the lens I want to try to bring this into scripture and see if we can draw some answers from some text. So I guess I'll start here.
1 Corinthians 5:12-13
12 It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. 13 God will judge those on the outside...
Paul is writing here to the Corinthian church, previous to these versus he is telling the church that they need to remove the people in our midst that are claiming to be believers, but are refusing to turn from their sin and submit their lives to Jesus. Then Paul says I can't be the judge to the people that aren't in the church. I believe that this is a very applicable verse to homosexuality because we see and hear so many horror stories about christians telling people that God hates gays, or that gays are going to hell. But I submit to you that, that is not your job. looking at the life of Jesus he never used the threat of hell to help anyone find the truth of him (Jesus). As an end result the christian people are pushing more and more people away from faith than to faith. We do these things and we continuously harden the hearts of all kinds of people that are watching the church. When I look at Jesus I believe that he was the greatest lover of all time and by casting judgement and condemning those outside the kingdom isn't showing the love that Jesus has shown for us. Plus I think it is doing the opposite of what Paul is writing in this passage. Love your brother, love your neighbor, love the sinner, love the homosexual.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.
This verse speaks to a lot of sin that we need to turn away from. As we look at homosexuality in the church, we need to see this verse as truth. I have been surrounded by the idea that as christians we have to be practicing our faith or be faithing. John 3:16 says that all who believe will have eternal life, but James 2 says even the demons believe, so are these authors contradicting each other? No. From Bruxy. If you are trapped in a burning building with Jesus and He says follow me I know a way out, if you are faithing you will take off and follow Jesus, and with only belief that Jesus can save you, you will find yourself standing in a burning building. Without faith you will die. We need to be faithing, we need to be practicing our faith, living in a way that when we see something as sin in our life (burning building) we need to walk out of that sin (following Jesus). We can't stand in Jesus and stand in sin. We've all heard a million different ways to say it, where there is light there is no darkness, we have to burn away the hook of sin, but the bottom line is that you cannot choose a lifestyle that is sinful and choose the cross. At what point are we taking God for granted? Sin is disgusting, and we can't be okay with looking at our life and making a conscious decision to choose sin. Some people can't see it as sin and I believe that God is continuously convicting us in different ways and calling out different sin our lives, specific to our walk. But in the same way that God reveals the sin to us, we are called as Christians to be faithing, to walk out of the things we see as sin in our lives. I'll close this section with this, Revelation 3 says that it is better for a person to be hot or cold, but the lukewarm will be spit out. Don't be stagnant, don't settle for lukewarm, and remember that we are called to submit our lives to do all things in the name of the lord, we live to serve the lord, not to serve ourselves or our wants and if we submit to Jesus our wants will look like God's wants.
Romans 2:1-4
You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. 2 And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things. 3 Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things? 4 Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?
I would be interested to hear thoughts, ideas, beliefs, how I was right or wrong, if you have a different scriptural take. If you don't want to comment and have one of the above, I encourage you to send me a facebook message.
-WIT
Jer
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