Salty Flashlights

Salt is so incredibly useful. Most of us use it on our food, either to enhance the flavor or to curb some of the bitterness (a pinch of salt in coffee works wonders). Mankind has also used it for ages as a preservative. Long before refrigerators there was salt, keeping our food from going bad. And of course, we're gearing up to throw it all over the roads (and our front porch) as winter approaches, as something about salt melts ice and prevents it from building up.

Similarly, light is essential. Not only so that we can see, but the light from the sun gives plants energy and allows them to grow. Could you imagine a world devoid of light? Life would be so different. I used to go camping a lot more than I do now, and at night I would often use a flashlight to get around in the dark without bumping into or tripping over things. The light would show me what was around me so I could navigate through it safely. The Bible often talks about itself in this way, that the Word of God is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. It shows the way. It shows the truth.

In the main passage for today, Jesus actually calls His people the light of the world. This is the final entry in our series on How to Live the Christian Life in a Non-Christian world. We've already discussed that first you have to be sure that you are of the faith. I mean, what's the point of trying to live the Christian life if you're not even a Christian? Second, as a part of being a Christian, you have acknowledge the Bible as an authority in your life. You have to believe what it says to be true and live by it. And third, you need to understand the nature of mankind as revealed in the Bible - we were created good, but messed up and became separated from God, fallen in our sinfulness with no way to fix it by ourselves.

Today I want to talk about our role as Christians in relation to non-Christians. How do we, or should we, interact with nonbelievers? Let's look at Matthew 5:13-16:

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Jesus says we are to be the salt of the earth. I said earlier that salt is something extremely useful and helpful in our daily lives. It enhances flavor, preserves food from spoiling, and protects us from slipping on ice. If we are to be "salt" to others, then that means we should be useful - a blessing - in the lives of the people around us. We should be looking for ways to enhance other people's lives, make them better, or help in some way. This goes beyond offering to pray from someone, on to doing something practical for them. For example, if I see someone struggling to change a tire on the side of the road, I can pull over and help them (if you don't know how to change a tire, maybe don't do this). If I see that a friend is really struggling in math, I can offer to study with them. If I see that a coworker is just having a rough day, I can talk to and encourage them, or even offer to help them with their duties for that day - to make their load a little easier and their day a little better. That is what it means to be salt.

A word of warning here: salt, when used in the wrong way, can be bad. Just imagine putting salt in your hot chocolate instead of sugar - not good. We need to make sure that what we are doing is actually helping the other person, not just creating more problems. Good intentions isn't enough, we need to do good. Why? Jesus gives us the reason in the second part: "that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

We are to be salt, and we are to be light. What does light do? It illuminates, it shows the way. It helps us to see in dark places and avoid obstacles. Mot importantly, light helps us to see where we are going. If we, then, are supposed to be a light to the world, then that means we need to be showing people where they are going. Our good deeds - being salt - should point people to Jesus, not to us. Being light involves speaking the truth (which we find in the Word of God) AND living by it. When we live the way God has called us to live, and we do good for others, it will point them to God. In that sense, then, we are pointing people to God - we are light.

There is one more important thing to understand about how we are to relate to nonbelievers, and that is found in 1 Corinthians 5:9-13:

"I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. 'Expel the wicked person from among you.'"

It is not our job to judge those outside the church. I'll say it again. It is NOT our job to judge people outside of the church. "But Mike," you might say, "you just said we have to speak the truth! Doesn't that mean we have to call people out on their sin?" Yes, we need to speak the truth, and that means showing people that they are sinners (just like us). But there is a huge difference between showing someone that they are a sinner and judging them for their sin. The first is meant to lead them to the understanding that they need Jesus to save them from their sin, while the second is meant to make them feel bad. Should we feel bad about our sin? Yes, absolutely. Should we go out of our way to make other people feel bad about their sins? No. The Holy Spirit, God, convicts people of sin, and God is the one who will ultimately judge them. That's His job, not ours. Our job is to speak the truth - to let people know they are sinners and in need of a Savior, Jesus. And we do that in love, as we do good in their lives and point them to Jesus.

So to put this all together (and I know that last part might have gotten a little confusing):

1. Be salt - demonstrate God's love in practical ways - help and serve others.

2. Be light - be the person God has called you to be and speak the truth of His Word.

3. Share the Gospel, not judgment. Judgment IS coming, and that is a part of the Gospel, but it is not WE who are going to be doing the judging - that's God's job.

If we do these things, we will be living the Christian life, and these are all things we can be doing in a non-Christian world. People may not like us (a lot of people hated Jesus), but it is what God has called us to do. God bless.

Friends Tell Friends EVERYTHING... Right?

 Heyo! I know a bunch of you are a little bummed that we brought masks back last night, but on the bright side, at least we still get to meet every week! With the way that schools have to handle covid exposure, we didn't want the Summit to be an unnecessary risk. So, I hope you can understand our reasoning and I hope to see yall next week!

Last night was our Parent's Night, so I know I was a bit scarce throughout the night. Since I was in with some of your parents, we pulled out a video from "The Skit Guys" on YouTube - before you read any further, go look up "Friends Tell Friends Everything by the Skit Guys" on YouTube and watch it. Don't worry, it is hilarious and completely worth your time. Seriously. Stop reading. Go watch. I'll wait.

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Well? What did you think?

To be honest, I've never been one of those people who tells anybody everything. I have always kept certain things to myself and not shared them with anybody, not even my closest friends. And I am sure we all have those things that we keep hidden or secret, either because we're ashamed of them or because we just don't want anyone to know everything about us.

But in the skit, the two guys had grown up together and their friendship mantra was centered on "friends tell friends everything". And yet, right at the end we find out that "Danny" had kept his faith a secret from "Stevie" the whole time. He had never had the courage to open up and talk to his friend about the biggest news of his life. And even at the end, as they are about to graduate high school, he still can't find the courage to do it.

I don't know what kind of relationship you have with your friends, whether its a "friends tell friends everything" kind of friendship or a much more shallow one. But if what we believe is true, that mankind is in need of a Savior and the ONLY way to be made right with God is through faith in Jesus Christ, then what are we really doing when we "chicken out" of sharing our faith with our friends?

Like, "Hey, I know how to live forever but I'm not going to tell you."

It's easy to make excuses (I've made them, too). "They're going to think I am some kind of religious nut." I was called a Bible Thumper by my best friend in elementary school when he found out I went to church. "They won't want to be friends with me anymore." "It would just be such an awkward conversation." "I don't know what to say." "What if they ask something and I don't know the answer?" "What if they laugh at me?"

But let me put this out there: What if they believe you? You have vital information that could forever change their lives for the better. Don't be afraid to share it! 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline." Additionally, Romans 8:14-15 says "For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.'"

Every Christian has the Holy Spirit of God living inside of them. If you are a Christian, then you have the Holy Spirit of God living in you. When we give in to fear, or anxiety, it means we are relying on our own power to do something. But when we rely on the Spirit of God living inside of us, he empowers us to do what needs to be done - not by our own strength, but by his! So as you continue to hang out with your friends, look for ways to talk about what you believe. And don't worry about what to say, or how to say it - let God's Spirit handle that part. Just get the conversation started and see where it goes. Who knows, God may use you to bring your friends to faith in Jesus.

Here Am I. Send Me!

HEYO! We pulled out the old volleyball net last night and actually got a little bit of volleyball in (usually we just end up playing Nuke'em, an inferior game mode in my opinion). No offense to those of you who enjoy Nuke'em, it just isn't my favorite compared to volleyball. Anyway, starting out was a struggle because no one wanted to be a team player and some of us were a little rusty at the game. However, with a little bit of coaching we got people up to par to the point that ball would consistently go over the net. Uhh, returns, on the other hand, were rare (for both sides). We have some work to do before we can really play the game. Bump, set, SPIKE!

Mrs. L. was back with us after a couple of weeks on sick leave, and we were glad to see her on the mend! I managed to lose a massive game of UNO, and I know everyone is excited to see me lose. :)

Anywho, our message last night was focused on another of the early church's devotions: prayer. This is based out of Acts 2:42 - "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." We opened the message time with some singing - Take Me In by Kutless and Holy is the Lord by Chris Tomlin. I strongly recommend looking up the lyrics to these two songs as they tie in quite nicely with the message. I also shared my new morning routine, which is as follows:

1. Emilie's first alarm goes off at 6 AM - I wake up to it, she does not.

2. Emilie's next alarm goes off at 7 AM - she wakes up and takes a shower, then gets back into bed.

3. Emilie's next alarm goes off at like 7:27 AM - she gets up and gets ready for work. From this point on the phrase "Hey Michael - Wakey Wakey" will be on repeat until I finally get up.

4. I finally get up, remote start Emilie's car, brush my teeth and get ready, and then I drive Emilie to work.

5. We sit in the car for a bit (because we get there a little early), I pray over her day - that she has patience, that her students listen to her, and that her coworkers are a help, not a hindrance. Then she goes in.

6. Once she goes in, I pull out my phone, update my game on my phone (sitting in the car), wave to one of the dads as he brings his son in to the school, then drive to Wawa for my morning coffee (Cuban dark roast with Irish Cream dairy-free creamer). Then I return home.

That is my morning from Monday to Friday, my new routine. Now, there is so much more to talk about with prayer than I could possibly cover in a blog post (or a Wednesday night message, for that matter) and we talk about it a lot (look back at the "Prayer - What Does It Do, Exactly?" blog post). This message will focus on being devoted to prayer, and what that means for us.

Our passage for this topic is Isaiah 6:1-8, which reads: “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

This passage comes from a time before Jesus, when even the people of God (Israel) did not have direct access to Him. They were separated from His presence because of sin and could only come near to Him through animal sacrifices at the Temple. They had to atone for their sins and become pure in order to be in His presence, or else they would be struck dead (this had happened before). In the passage, Isaiah finds himself in the direct presence of God, in His throne room. Check out this diagram of the Jewish Temple below:

All of those lines represent walls and curtains which separated people from the next area, and then at the very center (toward the top), is the "Holy of Holies", or the "Most Holy Place". This is where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, and it symbolized the footstool of God's throne. So in our passage, Isaiah is likely standing near there, at the feet of God, and he is able to see all that is happening in God's heavenly throne room. For some context, the Holy of Holies was where the presence of God on earth could be found (God is omnipresent - everywhere at once - but if a person wanted to experience the direct presence of God, it was in the Holy of Holies). Once a year, the high priest of Israel was permitted to go in there and burn incense, sprinkle animal blood and pray for the atonement of the sins of all the people. If he went in without first making the proper sacrifices, he would be overwhelmed by God's holiness and die on the spot. That's how serious it was to be in right standing with God.

Getting back to our passage, this is the exact predicament Isaiah finds himself in - he is impure, unholy, and sinful. He has absolutely no business being in God's throne room and he knows it. He knows that he is about to die. But then an angel of the Lord comes and purifies him with a burning coal, and he finds that his sins have been atoned for and his guilt removed. He is made righteous before God and is allowed to stay. It is at this moment that Isaiah overhears God asking for someone willing to be sent out as God's representative and Isaiah immediately responds, "Here am I. Send me!"

A sinner comes before God, is purified by God, and then offers himself to be a representative of God in the world. This is what it looks like to commit your life to Jesus Christ. This is what it looks like to be a Christian. "But Michael," you might ask, "what does this have to do with prayer?" Well, I'm glad you asked! Let's turn over to Luke 10:2 - "[Jesus] told them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.'"

Prayer has two focuses: God and people. Through prayer we seek out God to spend time with Him, get to know Him, and learn about His will for us. His part of that conversation can be found in Scripture (God's Word), and He also speaks through His Holy Spirit in our minds, and through other believers. Through prayer we also seek out God's help for ourselves and for others. And when Acts 2 says the early church was devoted to prayer, it means that they were devoted to spending time with God and praying for all the people (believers and unbelievers). Most importantly for our purposes today, they were devoted to praying daily.

In the passage with Isaiah, he experiences the presence and mercy of God, and he talks with God! In the conversation he is made aware of God's will, His desire for a representative on earth, and so Isaiah responds with "Here am I. Send me!"

In Luke 10:2, Jesus explains that there is a vast world of people just waiting to hear the Gospel message, just waiting to be told about Jesus, and yet there are so few people willing to go out and tell them. The world is the harvest, Christians are God's workers. And Jesus says, "Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field".

This is an every day thing - every day we need to be asking God to send out His workers into the harvest field, to spread the message about Jesus and make disciples. So, the challenge from this week is something called the Luke 10:02 Challenge. Every day at 10:02 (AM or PM is up to you), take a few minutes to pray. Pray for God to reveal Himself to you, pray for God to work in your life, and pray for God to send out His workers to spread the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And, if you have any specific requests or praises, you can talk to Him about those, too. Do this once every day (like a daily routine), and let it be a time for you to respond as one of those workers, saying "Here am I. Send me!"

A Christian's First Step - God's Community

 HEYO!

I do not remember when I started saying that, but it has been a staple in my YG greetings for many years now. It has that light-hearted, ecstatic feel to it, you know?

Last night we had yet another small group - but we had fun with it. I introduced a couple of you to the wonders of "Love Letter" (simple game, loads of fun) and I am anticipating a great time at our upcoming Game Night. While I had left Gaga set up from last week, none of us touched it (although MadFrame and I played a nasty game of Wall Ball). Is it just me, or are we all ready for Covid-19 to get over itself?

This was week 2 of our worship experiment (using the bluetooth speaker to play music as we sing along) and I think it went rather well - except for when I printed the lyrics to the wrong version of the song, hehe. The two songs we sang together were We Fall Down and God of Wonders, both by Kutless. They brought our minds to submission and wonder before our mighty God.

Now, on to the message. I shared last night that before I met Emilie, I had been praying for many years for God to bring the right woman into my life. I was getting impatient and frustrated because I was longing for companionship in my life. Then, just a year or two before Emilie showed up, I was hit with a challenge in the form of a question: "Are you the right man for her?" The idea being that I needed to grow and mature and become the man that my future wife needed. I needed to strive to be Mr. Right for my Mrs. Right. This changed everything. Rather than longing for God to bring the right woman, I switched gears and started growing into the right man. And now, looking back, I honestly believe that if God had brought Emilie into my life before this challenge, we would never have gotten married - because I would have messed up the relationship. I was too immature and selfish to handle being in a committed relationship, and it never would have worked. God, in His infinite wisdom, had chosen to hold off on bringing Emilie until I had grown.

Last week, we talked about a mindset shift for Christians: When we become a Christian, we are not trying to fit God into our story, but rather we are looking for our place in His Story. And this week we looked at part one of the answer to that, the first step in finding our place in God's story - entering into a Christian community (the Church). To see what this looks like we read Acts 2:42-47, which is a picture of the very first church community and what they did as a community. Keep in mind before you read this (below) that immediately before this the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus' disciples and allowed them to speak in tongues (other languages) and Peter gave a rousing sermon (and Gospel presentation) to the Jews in Jerusalem, after which 3,000 people came to faith in Jesus! THAT is the community this passage talks about:

Acts 2:42-47 - "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

At the earliest point of the church, when someone became a Christian, they weren't just left on their own to fend for themselves - they were added to the church community. I condensed the main activities listed here into 7 categories:

1. Teaching

2. Fellowship

3. Breaking of Bread (sharing meals)

4. Prayer

5. True Community

6. Praising God (worship)

7. Welcoming new members daily

Our youth group is a modern day Christian community, so let's see how we measure up to the activities that should be found in one:

1. Teaching - we have teaching (this was a message, was it not?) - check.

2. Fellowship - we have fellowship - check.

3. Breaking Bread - if snack counts as sharing a meal, then we break bread! - check.

4. Prayer - we spend time in prayer, though not much and its usually just one of us, so - half-check.

5. True Community - do we check up on each other outside of YG, helping and building each other up? Perhaps a little bit, but this is definitely lacking - half-check.

6. Praising God - especially now with our worship experiment - check.

7. Welcoming New Members - taking Covid-19 into account, this is still very lacking in our group - no check.

So, we have some of these things in our group, but we really need to work on a few. What is interesting in the passage, and we'll talk more about this below, is that the last part says "the Lord added to their number...". This is where my opening story ties in. Just as God didn't bring Emilie into my life until I was ready to have a committed relationship, so I believe He won't bring in new members to our community until we are ready to welcome them in. Are we the kind of community that is going to help a new believer grow in their faith? So with this in mind, let's look at what it means that the early church devoted themselves to these things and then think about how we can devote ourselves to them as well.

Devoted to teaching: paying attention to lessons and messages for the purpose of understanding how it applies to everyday life. Just like we talked about in our Sunday School series from James 1, its about doing, and not just hearing what God has to say to us. This would also involve reading the Bible on our own and looking for ways to live it out.

Fellowship: This is more than just hanging out. This means that we look for ways to spend time together and work together in service to the Lord. We look forward to doing life together, eating together, serving together, working together, laughing together, mourning together - its that sense of togetherness.

Breaking Bread: This was not only a commitment to observing the Lord's Supper (communion), but also eating together and making sure that everyone had enough food to feed their families - so it involved providing food for the poor and hungry.

Prayer: This wasn't just praying over a meal or sharing requests with each other, this involved praising God, talking to God, thanking God, and looking for the will of God throughout the day. Not just once a day or once a week, but all the time. They prayed both in groups and on their own.

True Community: This involved making sacrifices for the good of others. Now, not everyone sold all they had, but those who had extra stuff (the rich and well-off) sold their excess so that others in the community could be provided for. This involved thinking about the needs of others before their own interests. "Others First" is the mentality here.

Praising God: This involved way more than singing a few songs together on a Wednesday night. This was a mindset of joy that was constantly thinking about God and putting Him first in everything. It certainly included singing songs of praise, but also included acts of kindness and obedience to what God says is right and good.

Welcomed New Members Daily: Now, God was doing the work here. He was the one adding to their number. But why was He adding to their number? Because they were the kind of community that new believers needed in order to grow and mature in their faith. God was doing the work, and the church got to be a part of it.

This is important because we are supposed to be a Christian community, and as such we should be welcoming in new members. Covid-related reasons aside, this isn't really the case, which tells me that perhaps we are not the kind of community that God wants to add new members to. I am not trying to put words into God's mouth, but the evidence is there. So, how do we become a healthy Christian community? By devoting ourselves to these things! Last night we discussed some practical ways to devote ourselves to these things, and I took a picture of the results of our discussion (see below):

We defined "devote" as meaning "to give our whole attention, time and energy to something". So as you look at some of these things, think about what it would mean to give all of your attention, time and energy to them. How would our community change?

Teaching - pay attention to messages, take notes, think through specific ways to apply message, look back at past notes to remember, join a Bible Study (also applies to fellowship, prayer, and breaking bread in some groups), talk to others about the messages...

Fellowship: Get to know other members of the YG better - intentionally have conversations with people you don't know very well...

Breaking Bread: Invite friends over for meals, bring food to contribute to our church's Perpetual Pantry...

Prayer: Pray in the morning before school or at night before bed, talk to God throughout the day, ask other people for prayer requests and offer to pray for other people, share requests/praises with others, volunteer to pray at YG, look at past examples of prayers (like the Lord's Prayer), keep a prayer journal to track how God answers prayers...

True Community: pay attention to what others are going through, offer to help when you can, be willing to give up what you want in order to provide for someone else (example, rather than buying new shoes, offering to buy groceries for someone else), or offering to help someone else go to camp, shoveling someone else' driveway/sidewalk (without asking for payment) - the 5 love languages (acts of service, words of affirmation, giving gifts, quality time, and physical touch - demonstrate love and care practically...

Praising God: Singing worship songs in the car or at home or at YG, thanking God for things throughout the day, obedience = praising God...

Welcoming New Members: invite friends, pray for God to provide new members, BE WELCOMING WHEN SOMEONE NEW COMES, and share the Gospel with your friends - they need Jesus, too!

I hope you are challenged by something shared here, and I hope you begin to work on at least one these areas this week. And don't stop there, continue working on each of these until we all grow into maturity of faith!

Out with the Old, In with the New!

 This past weekend a bunch of us were able to retreat to Rock Mountain for some spiritual input and challenge. Though we had a small group, it was a fantastic weekend filled with fun, food, and fellowship. The camp actually had some snow, which meant we not only got to go tubing, but nubing as well! Nubing = Night Tubing. Not to be confused with Noob Tubing, which is noobs using the rocket launcher to get kills in Call of Duty. Very different things.

Pastorian joined us as our speaker for the weekend, and "Bishop" led us in worship (with some help from Pastorian, Madframe, and Cole Train). The theme was "Impact" with a heavy focus on Romans 12:1-2 - "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will." Pastorian challenged us to take home one specific phrase: "It is impossible to have a true encounter with God and walk away the same." We cannot see and know God and remain unchanged because an encounter with God is an encounter with the Truth.

As usual, every morning after breakfast we broke away from the group and spent some Time Alone With God (TAWG). Today, I wanted to share some reflections from Sunday morning's TAWG. In it, we were challenged to read through Ephesians 4:17-32, which talks about the Christian casting off the old self and putting on the new self in Jesus. Below is an overview of the characteristics of the "Old Self" with their corresponding characteristics in the "New Self".

Old Self:                                                                        New Self:

Separated from the life of God                                      Connected to life through Jesus Christ

Hardened Hearts                                                            Soft / open heart

Ignorant of God                                                             Heard of and taught about God

Lost sensitivity to what is right                                     Follows after God's righteousness

Indulges in whatever feels good                                    Pursues holiness (what IS good)

Continually lusting/greedy for more                             Satisfied, content, fulfilled

Deceitful desires                                                            New mind focused on God's desires

Speaks falsely (liar)                                                       Speaks truthfully (honest)

Anger leads to sin                                                          Pursues reconciliation (lets go of anger)

Steals (thief)                                                                  Works with hands and provides for others

Speaks unwholesomely (puts down, curses)                 Builds others up with words

Grieves the Holy Spirit                                                  Honors the Holy Spirit

Bitter (holds on to past hurts)                                        Kind

Raging and angry                                                          Compassionate

Brawls (picks fights)                                                     Forgiving (just as Christ forgave us)

Slanders others (spreads rumors)                                  ^ ^ Builds others up with words and is honest

Full of malice toward others (wants harm for them) -> Forgiving, compassionate, and kind

After looking over this list, the next challenge is to consider which areas you find yourself particularly struggling. What parts of the "Old Self" are you holding on to? For me, indulgence in what feels good, greed for more (which could also be considered gluttony), and deceitful desires are where I struggle most. So for me, I can work on those areas by actively learning about what God says is pure and right and pursuing those things, finding contentment in what God has already given me, and turning my focus off of what I want toward what God wants. As I do this, I will be putting off the "Old Self" and taking on the "New Self".

What do you struggle with? How can you intentionally cast aside those areas in favor of the "New Self"? These are the questions you should focus on.

Also, if you have any questions about what some of these things look like in our world today (such as deceitful desires), ask in the comments and I will answer. Same goes for if you have questions about how to pursue the characteristics of the "New Self".

God bless.

Check Yo'Self B4 You Wreck Yo'Self

 We decided to go virtual for this Summit because the Winter Retreat is this weekend, and I for one did not want to take any chances of a Covid exposure and ruin the retreat. We tried out something I saw another youth group do, which is having one student "dance" "interpretively" through a song while everyone else does their best to mimic them. We opted for "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys with The Whiz Kid as the lead. It was... interesting. Can't wait to see how it goes in person!

Well, as some of you know, I am currently taking a class on the practice and theology of worship – basically, what does it mean to truly worship God and what does that look like. Right now, the class is going through the Old Testament worship of the Israelites, back before Jesus came to the earth and died on the cross, and the author is comparing those rituals (and the sacrifices) with what Jesus did for us on the cross. The imagery alone is really cool.

I would like to share a quote with you from one of the books, and while I know it is hard to follow along, please try to listen to what is being said about sin, confession, and forgiveness.

 

“In the Old Testament forgiveness of sin was granted whenever confession was made… the sacrifice symbolically completed the process, showing that forgiveness was based on the shedding of blood. The confession without the ritual was incomplete, but the ritual without the confession was worthless. In this way the Israelite experience is not unlike the Christian’s. We also need to confess sins and acknowledge defilements in order to participate fully in the worship and service of the Lord. God forgives people when they confess to Him. The ritual is the public expression of faith in the provision of forgiveness through the blood of the Lamb.”

 

You all know that mankind suffers from separation from God because of sin, and that it is only through the blood of Jesus Christ, who died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, that we can get to God and have a relationship with Him. On a grand scale, we admit to our sins and believe in Jesus, and we are saved. Romans 10:9 says “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord”, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Our salvation comes through confession of sin and belief in Jesus as our ritual sacrifice. His death in place of ours. And this bridges the gap.

 

But this is also true on a smaller scale. Jesus’ blood covers over our sins so that when we confess them before God we are forgiven. And I know from my own experience that when I have unconfessed sin in my life – where I have chosen to sin and then try to come before God – it is like that gap is back, like there is something separating me from God again. I haven’t lost my salvation or anything, but I have wandered away from God. How many of you have experienced this? Where you feel like you have somehow become far away from God again?

 

This is the result of unconfessed sin. When we are holding on to something, or doing something, that we know doesn’t please God. And when this is going on, it can be very hard to engage in worship, prayer, Scripture reading, and sharing our faith with others. And if we let it go on unchecked, it will lead us further and further from God. Sin, especially when we consciously choose it, drives a wedge into our relationship with God – it doesn’t separate us completely, but it certainly gets in the way.

 

This weekend some of us are going to Rock Mountain for the Winter Retreat (woot woot), and there we will be spending time in prayer, reading, and worship. But first, we need to prepare ourselves. We need to look inside and see what sin has taken hold in our lives. What are we doing (or not doing) that is driving us away from God? We need to identify those things and confess them to God, looking for forgiveness. Then, when we are at the retreat, we will be able to engage in full and genuine worship.

 

And this is not just for those going on the retreat. This is something we all need to do regularly – daily, weekly, monthly. I think the phrase is “check yourself before you wreck yourself”. Reflect on who you are and what you have been doing, identify any sin that exists in your life, and confess it to God. He will forgive you, but you must confess and believe in Jesus for forgiveness.

 

God is looking for worshippers who worship both in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). We must have a spirit which is willing to submit to God and be humble before Him, as well as be honest about who we are, who God is, and who deserves all the honor and glory. So tonight, tomorrow, and pretty much every day for the rest of your lives, “check yourselves before you wreck yourselves”.

Need a Leash?

Last night was our first Summit of 2021 and we had a great crew of people come out to join us. We tried to set up a Zoom call for those who couldn't join us in-person, but lets just say technical difficulties were had. We played some old youth group classics as far as games go: 4 Square and Kickball. Both were pretty fun, though I was reminded yet again that I am SO out of shape. Seriously, I need to start jogging daily or doing something involving moving around. Tbh, I've been sitting in my office staring at a computer screen for the past 3 hours straight... that CAN'T be good.

Anyway, it has been almost a whole year since our last visit to Rock Mountain Bible Camp, and my, what a year it has been. It took me until now to realize just how timely our theme was for that retreat - Call of Duty: Spirit Ops. DW came as out speaker and shared about the reality of spiritual warfare and our need for protection, unpacking some of the pieces of spiritual armor mentioned in Ephesians 6. Seriously though, this entire year has been one long spiritual battle, and we really needed that armor. Between Covid-19, quarantine, and civil unrest, there has been so much anger, hate, fear and panic saturating our country and filling our lives. These were the reasons why God gave us His armor in Ephesians 6, because He knew we would be fighting for our lives this year.

After meeting with many of you over the past several months, I have learned that we have all had some struggles in our relationship with God in 2020. Many have strayed pretty far from God, others have panicked and given in to fear, and still others are even a little apathetic towards God right now. Last night I shared something that my cousin had posted to Facebook regarding spiritual warfare. Here is that post:

“New year... same me coming at you with long posts. I just want to come on here and say that this post is more for me to come back and look at later.

Let me be honest. My brain is literally broken. While I was in the shower today I got more excited about something than I have gotten in a while. 

Today, I was able to make a dog training analogy that reminded me of Jesus, and God, and it made my heart happy. Mainly because it combined two of my favorite things in the whole wide world. 

Years back, I was in a dog training program, and for the last few weeks I was to bring in my dog for group training sessions. During this time, I witnessed my dog Scruffy panic a lot. We would do well with the start of training sessions. When it was just me and Scruffy in a quiet area he did so well. He was settled, and he was calm. As soon as I would bring Scruffy out and interact with other dogs, he would panic. I tried every training trick in the book to settle him. I tried redirecting his focus back to me through shuffling my feet, making funny noises, whispering his name, and treats. Nothing worked. He would still panic until everyone else backed away, or until we went back to our own separate spot. 

Finally, after try and try again, I was taught a new technique. When Scruffy panicked, I was taught to let the leash go as far as it could go. Still keeping my hand on it, but letting the leash go as far as it could go. Then, I was told to just stand there. Let Scruffy go nuts and panic. Let him bark it out, and let him, basically go crazy on the other side of the leash. The second... literally second, that Scruffy even glances in my direction, praise that. Throw a treat to him if I can. Basically, this cycle, letting him go nuts, and praising him when he looks at me, would continue for maybe 5 minutes. If I felt I had his attention long enough, then I could ask him to do simple commands for me. Sit, down, or, if he was capable, even a sit stay. It is a long process, but eventually, I knew he would look back at me and listen. 

Maybe I am wrong, but I feel the same thing can be said for Christians. Maybe I am wrong, but is it possible that Jesus is the one holding our proverbial leashes? There are times when we go astray from Jesus. There are times when we panic and so desperately want to run away. But is it possible, that Jesus is just waiting for us to calm down on the other side of the leash? Is it possible that He is just waiting for us to even just glance at Him? Is it possible that He just wants to praise us for just looking at Him? Oy. Is it possible, that the leash He holds will never break? Never?

Something else I want to say, is if you are struggling spiritually, with your relationship with Jesus... you are NOT too far gone. You really aren't. If you are struggling, speak out. Please do not be afraid. The worst thing you can do is keep your mouth shut. If you are noticing something is off in your journey with Jesus, SPEAK. It might sound like you are crazy, people might be annoyed with you, people might turn you away, but for real... speak up. Do not stay silent. Ask others to pray for you, and with you. Ask your pastors if you can talk with them. Ask your family for help, extra prayer, and to read Scripture with you. Please. Don't fight things on your own. It doesn't work well anyway. I can speak from experience. If you fight spiritual battles with Christian music, use Christian music. If you fight spiritual battles by talking to people, talk to people. However you fight, use it. Fight for the truth. 

Lean into Jesus, and don't fight it alone. To use an analogy that I love, when you are struggling with evil, ask your Husband, Jesus, to help you. Or, ask your Father, Jesus, to protect your Holy Spirit. Ask Him not to let you keep going astray. Be like a child, and ask the Father to protect you from the evil coming at you. Hide behind Him. The Holy Spirit is the most important, precious gift the Father and Jesus ever gave you. Protect it. The judgement of the world, is NOTHING compared to the judgement of the Lord. If you feel crazy while defending your faith, just know, you're in good company. Just read the Scriptures, and you'll find a whole bunch of "crazy people" who also defended their faith, and came out on top. 

All I can say, is I'm pretty sure, Jesus doesn't let go of the leash, but make sure you stop panicking enough to look at Jesus, or even glance at Him. And celebrate when you do. 

If you read all this... thank you for coming to my first TED talk of the year. Pretty sure there is more to come. Just saying.”

As Christians, there are going to be times when we have doubts, or when we wander away from God, or when we give in to fear and panic. God knows this. He knows that at times we are going to be like Scruffy, screaming and trying our best to run away. And just like my cousin said, He is always there, waiting for us to turn back to Him, to just look at Him for a moment, so He can affirm us and draw us back to His loving arms.

I firmly believe in the "once saved, always saved" idea, meaning that when you give your life to Jesus Christ, you are sealed in Him. You are tethered to Jesus, similar to a leash, and that tether is unbreakable. We don't have to worry that one day we will wander too far, or that He will let go of the leash. We can take comfort in knowing that He is and always will be there for us.

So, if you are struggling in your faith, remember that it is a spiritual battle. You are in a fight against the dark forces of this world which are trying to pull you away from God. As my cousin shared, "Lean into Jesus, and don't fight it alone". Speak up and ask for help, that's what spiritual community is all about - helping each other in our walk with God.

And if you see someone else struggling with their faith, speak up. Do what you can to help them. Talk to them, encourage them, share a Bible verse with them, and pray with them. That is what Jesus has called us to do as Christians. To walk with each other on this journey we call life.

Our Enemy will use whatever he can to distract us from God and pull us away. He will use friends, hobbies, school, teachers, family, work, and yes, global pandemics. Even situations like what is happening in the Capitol right now are efforts by our Enemy to distract us from God. Don't let him win. Don't let him pull you away. Instead, turn to God in times like this and pray, read the Bible, serve others. Only then will you find comfort, joy, and hope in an ever darkening world.

Prayer - What Does It Do, Exactly?

 So last night we were once again meeting virtually. Technically the wife and I were cleared from the 'rona, but I had asked the Prayer Warrior to share the message and she wasn't going to be able to meet with us in-person. So, we kept it virtual. Had a great time with a little scavenger hunt, and found out Changa has some fast hands. Honestly, I hadn't even finished saying what the item was before he had it on screen.

Well, as you can imagine from the title of this here post, the Prayer Warrior (I suppose her nickname gives it away, too) shared a message on prayer. She opened by sharing that she loves to pray (hence the nickname) and that she usually goes to bed praying through different requests from people which she writes on 3 x 5 cards. She flips through them, praying, until she falls asleep. She shared that she prays through Isaiah 41:10 every night - "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

One of the main points from this message is this: God answers prayer. If you do not believe this, write down your prayers - whether it be on your phone, on a notecard, or in a notebook. Make sure that it is somewhere you can go back to and look at. Then, as you continue to pray over those things, write down whenever God answers those prayers. You see, what usually happens is we will pray over a situation or a request and then forget about it. We never go back and thank God for answering, so we often don't feel like He does. But, He does. He answers prayer. And taking notes can help us to keep track of that and to see that.

What I just wrote above is the practical application from this message, so if nothing else, give it a try. Below are some biblical examples of God answering prayer, as well as an explanation for what prayer can do.

Luke 18:1-7

Here is a woman who demonstrated persistence in her request. She begged and begged and wouldn't stop until the unjust judge gave in to what she wanted. God is not like this unjust judge, He actually wants to work with us and help us (and He wants us to work with Him and help Him). But the point we can take away from this passage is that prayer is not a "one and done" thing. We don't just pray for something once and hope for the best. We should be like the woman and continue to pray, over and over, until God answers. What this does is it draws us to God often (since we are praying more) and then when He does answer, we are more aware of His presence and action in our lives.

2 Kings 20:1-11

In this passage it almost seems like God changes His mind because of prayer. This is not exactly what happens. Instead, what happens is that God tests the king's faith, and the king responds by crying out to God. As the Prayer Warrior put it last night, "The Lord graciously favors those who faithfully seek and serve Him". Prayer can attune us to God in a way that nothing else can, and God answers those who turn to Him. He may not always give us the answer we want, but that does not mean He does not answer at all.

Nehemiah 1:11-2:5

In this passage we see Nehemiah praying in the midst of a very stressful situation. He prays beforehand, and he prays again in the middle of the situation, and God answered. How many times do we cry out to God in the middle of a stressful situation? Probably a lot less often than we should. Instead, we try to handle it on our own, which doesn't always work out for us. We should follow Nehemiah's example to pray when get put in a tough spot. God is always listening, and He will hear you.

Hebrews 11:6 - "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

The Prayer Warrior pulled out a Russian Nesting Doll as an illustration. They are those dolls that have one big one, then another slightly smaller one inside, then another even smaller one inside of that one, and so on until you get to this really tiny doll in the middle. Well, the point of the illustration is that some people have really big faith, while other people have really small faith. The size of your faith DOESN'T MATTER, as long as you HAVE faith. We just need a little faith, and then as we pray and God answers, our faith begins to grow. The important thing is to pray believing that God will answer.

Mark 14:35-36

What is interesting here is that Jesus, who we know to be God, is praying to God to change His mind. He expresses in this passage a desire to not have to die on the cross. Well, we know that God said no to this part of His prayer, because Jesus did go and die on the cross. However, God did answer the last part, because Jesus said "not my will, but yours be done". Jesus recognized that the human part of him, the part that didn't want to go suffer and die on the cross, was going against what God wanted, and so His prayer was for God's will to be done, no matter what.

God is not a vending machine. We don't put in payer and get what we want in return. Prayer is a conversation, and God often uses it to help us understand (and come to terms with) His will for our lives. Prayer can help us to see what God wants us to do. He gives us direction through prayer.

Romans 8:28 - "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

The Prayer Warrior shared a story she had heard from some college friends who had gone to Spain. There was a day where rain loomed on the horizon, but hadn't started to fall yet. One of the friends was out at the store and prayed to God that it wouldn't rain until she got home. The other friend was with her host family and was praying for rain. So we have two different people praying for opposite things - one for it not to rain and the other for it to rain - and God answered BOTH. He made it rain, but until after the first one had gotten home. We can trust God to work for our good, and we should always look to Him in prayer in all things.

A final note is that prayer doesn't change God. Prayer changes us. It engages us in conversation with the all-powerful God of the universe, and helps us to see things from His perspective. It also helps us to see how much He cares for us when we go back and remember how He has answered our prayers in the past. And, this builds our faith. Prayer is not important for the Christian, it is ESSENTIAL.

A Message to the Silent Sufferers Out There

 How many of you would describe yourself as "suffering"?

To be honest, everyone is suffering. We could be living in perfection with God, but because of sin we are stuck in this broken world for the time being where there is pain, loss, heartache, and suffering. Now sure, some people are suffering WAY MORE than other people, but at the end of the day we each have our own struggles in life. Some of you reading this are struggling with constant self-doubt or anxiety. Some of you are struggling with traumatic experiences, abuse, or difficult family members. Some of you struggle with feeling like you just don't belong. Some of you are struggling with a general sense of hopelessness, worthlessness, or depression. Some of you probably just feel empty inside most of the time, unloved, unwanted, or unappreciated. Each of these things is a form of suffering in our lives.

The apostle Paul, the guy we talk about a lot who followed Jesus and wrote a lot of the New Testament in the Bible, knew A LOT about suffering - physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. This guy was beaten, stoned (and not the drug kind), left for dead, flogged, imprisoned, shipwrecked, bitten by venomous snakes, falsely accused, slandered, rejected, hated, and he struggled daily with a broken heart for the lost people of the world who needed Jesus in their lives. He knew what it meant to truly suffer. Now listen to what he has to say to some fellow Christians:

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God." -Romans 8:18-27

So Paul considers our present sufferings - everything we are going through right now and everything we will ever go through - as not even worth comparing with the glory that is to come for us. Basically, he is saying that what God is going to do in the future (and the life that we are going to have in Heaven) is going to be SO GOOD and awesome that there is just no comparison to be made with what we're going through right now. It would be like trying to compare a marble to the actual sun. It would be like comparing a 1st grader's drawing of the earth with the actual earth. It would be like comparing my arms to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's arms. There is no comparison.

And Paul is assuring you (yes, YOU) that no matter what you are going through right now, whether it be emptiness, anxiety, depression, self-doubt, trauma, or abuse, God is going to do something infinitely greater in your future. Paul is assuring you that there is hope of something better. And as we wait for that something better, he also reminds us that we can connect with God, and talk to Him, now. In the midst of our suffering, in the midst of our struggle, God is right there with us and we can connect with Him through prayer.

On this idea of intercession, I want you to picture in your mind that you are in an old western movie and you are stuck in a duel against the best sharpshooter in the west. The road is dusty, the doors to the saloon are swinging, one of those bush things blows across the road between you and this cowboy. Now, not only is this guy the best sharpshooter in the west, but you realize that the gun in your holster is just a water pistol. Even worse, its empty. You have an empty water pistol against his fully loaded Colt .45. Your knees are shaking, your hands are sweaty, and you have no idea what you are doing. The bell is about to ding, the duel about to start, and you are about to be dead. Then suddenly, someone jumps out between you and the cowboy, hands raised in that universal sign for "Stand down". This person talks to the cowboy and manages to get you out of the duel (and out of certain death). This person got between you and the cowboy and worked something out. THAT is what it means to intercede for someone. And that is what it means for the Holy Spirit to be interceding for us.

In our relationship with God, and in most of our prayer times, we are that lost, shaky, sweaty duelist with an empty water pistol - we have no clue what we should be praying about or saying to God. The Holy Spirit steps in-between us and God and shares with God what is really on our hearts, what our real needs are, and how we really feel. He is the go-between.

Do you want to know the real reason why we see so much suffering in the world and in our lives? It is because as humans, we are designed with a God-shaped hole in our hearts. And if you have ever seen that shape game that babies play with (you know, the one with the circle, the square, and the triangle), only God can fill that God-shaped hole. I have this hole in my heart, my wife has it in her heart, and each of you has it in your heart. And there are times in my life (probably more than I would like to admit) when I try to fill that hole with stuff other than God - videogames, sleep, food, music, stories, Netflix, memes, and even cleaning. This is like when that baby tries to put the triangle in the circle space. It just doesn't fit or fill the space. I only feel filled when I turn back to God and spend time with Him in prayer. He reminds me of who I am, and how much He loves me, and as Paul wrote, He reminds me of the glory that awaits me in the future. He fills me with hope. He fills the hole in my heart.

And for some of you, I know that praying can be awkward, and you don't always know what to say or what to pray about, but the reminder here is that we have the Holy Spirit as our go-between. When we don't know what to say, He says it for us. When we feel awkward, God fills the silence for us, and He fills that God-shaped hole in our lives.

So if you are out there right and you are suffering, turn to God. Cry out to Him and share your hurt, your suffering, with Him. Let Him remind you of who you are to Him (His child) and how much He loves you. Let Him fill you with hope as He points to the future and whispers in your ear "One day you won't feel like this anymore. One day I will wipe away all the tears and suffering." In the meantime, let us spend our time in prayer and eagerly await the glory He has in store for us.