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
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
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
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