Blessed are those whose ways is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD!
Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
who seek him with their whole heart,
who also do no wrong,
but walk in his ways!
Psalm 119:1-3-Aleph
We have some big problems that we struggle with these days.
Young men looking at Pornography and teaching their bodies to naturally respond in a very unnatural way.
Young ladies giving themselves away and doing whatever they can because they think it will make them feel loved and wanted.
Teen guys and girls making terrible life choices to the tune of "YOLO", (you only live once) and then finding unthinkable ways to get rid of the mistakes that they have made.
The kicker is, these big problems are not only happening outside the church, they are happening inside the church as well. In some cases, the problems are more frequent with "believers" than non-believers. What is wrong with us, the church, these days? How did we get to this point?
I don't know as though I have the answer but allow me to share a theory with you. We, as the church have become so complacent, we have stopped teaching that Jesus needs to be our lives, rather than add him into what we already have going on. Its like we don't drop everything when he says "Follow Me", we come to him and say "Jesus, Follow Me, be a part of the life that I already live, but don't change anything in it. Just be my get of of hell free card".
Am I wrong? We live life the way we think is best, then scream at God for not saving us from certain situations when the outcome is not what we expected. The above Psalm says blessed are those whose way is BLAMELESS, who walk in (there own way, no way) THE LAW OF THE LORD. Blessed are those who seek after him with their WHOLE HEART!!
Jesus said the only way to save your life is to lose it to Him!! If you try and hold onto your life you will lose it for good.
This is what we need to teach our sons and daughters and youth. Lose your life to Jesus and He will save it. Follow Him, rather than Him follow you.
Here are three ways we can do this;
-Teach the word of God rather than trends and fads. Talk about God and his way of living with our kids and teach these things in our Youth groups. If we do not teach the word of God in our groups, these kids will never know about it. When we teach the Word, it will inevitably answer their life questions and problems they face.
-Let's be less sensitive to those who are not believers yet. I am not saying be mean but often times we don't give kids the truth because they "are not believers yet". Encourage those kids to cry out to Jesus, to pray, to worship. Dong this will teach them to be a disciple even before they give their lives to Christ. That is the truth and the only way to live, why would we cover that up or try and dance around that with advice. Give it to them straight, talk to Jesus, pray to him, read the Word.
-Teach those who do claim to be believers to get rid of all the things in their lives that keep them from following Jesus and get serious about following him. Sometimes you have to draw the line in the sand and say, "either you are with Jesus or you go your own way". Continuing to teach these students that they can live life and add Jesus in when they want is only doing more damage. We need to teach them and our children that Jesus needs to be their life, Period.
May our LORD be with you
Josh
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Friday, June 22, 2012
Superheroes, Vampires and Mermaids
I am beginning to notice a pattern here. There has been an increasing number of movies, tv shows, books, magazines and all kinds of other stuff that involve supernatural things, ie Superheroes, Vampires, Mermaids, Werewolves, Ghosts, Goblins, Witches, Hobbits, Creatures from the Black Lagoon and so on. Okay, honestly I haven't just noticed this, it's been happening for a while but I think the increase has been slow enough that it snuck up on us. Now all of a sudden when you go into a book or movie store it seems to be everywhere. Don't forget also that you can't browse through your TV Guide without seeing a show involving some kind of supernatural element on every station. Even the History Channel has programs of extra-terrestrial beings. It's getting kind of ridiculous.
Lately, in my personal time with God I have been praying for understanding. I have a knack for jumping to conclusions and claiming I know what people are thinking and making snap judgments based on my premature notions. So I have been asking for understanding, to peer into a situation and understand what is going on beneath the surface rather than jumping to conclusions.
So as I view the media driven world around me and I see the preoccupation we have with things that are superhuman, I wonder what this could mean. What is going on beneath the surface of our fascination with Vampires and Superheroes? In our culture and society today, why all of a sudden are we so taken with stories about such beings?
I believe that answer can be found in the bible. In Psalm 139, it says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. The author is writing poetry here about how amazed he is at God's creation of man. Throughout all of history we have be amazed at ourselves and how our bodies function and operate. In the ancient world it was physical limitations, in the Renaissance it was our emotional and artistic frontier and in today's culture we are fascinated with our psychological boundaries.
However, I believe we as mankind have missed the other part of what the author of Psalm 139 was trying to express. Some scholars believe and have written that, that phrase "fearfully and wonderfully" could also be read "fearfully wonderful," describing God and his work on mankind. Either way you look at it only a "fearfully wonderful" God could "fearfully and wonderfully" create us.
So we got the part about how great we are created and what cool creatures we are...but we have totally missed the mark on exploring how great and cool God is and that is where I think all of this super, extra-human stuff is coming into play. We want so desperately to believe that there is something else out there. That is why fantasy material is so captivating. The thought of something greater than ourselves is appealing.
The problem is, there is something greater than us...He is called God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit. We have looked inward for so long, mankind has tried to deny God for so long, that we don't see God is the simplest things anymore. The sunrise at the beach, the waves crashing on the shore, a neighbor doing a good deed, a trespasser being shown forgiveness when he or she doesn't deserve it, we can see God in every circumstance we come across in life. We can acknowledge how cool he is and how wonderful are his deeds but instead we put more credence in creatures that are figments of our God-given creative imagination. The church is not immune to this either. We have stopped looking to God for our everything and look to ourselves. Lest we forget it is God who will save the world and not us!!
I am not saying that reading books or seeing movies about these things are a bad but do they take up more time in your life than God? Do you give more energy to fantastical stories rather than the truth of God's word?
I like Superheroes and the like as much as the next guy but, friends I encourage you if you are looking for something that is greater than yourself...something superhuman, look to God. Give your life to Jesus. Living this life with God's Spirit inside you and the adventures He will take you on is greater than any story you could ever watch or read about. The power to do good works and bring people to a relationship with Jesus is the great superhuman story of all.
When will yours begin??
May our LORD be with you
Josh
Lately, in my personal time with God I have been praying for understanding. I have a knack for jumping to conclusions and claiming I know what people are thinking and making snap judgments based on my premature notions. So I have been asking for understanding, to peer into a situation and understand what is going on beneath the surface rather than jumping to conclusions.
So as I view the media driven world around me and I see the preoccupation we have with things that are superhuman, I wonder what this could mean. What is going on beneath the surface of our fascination with Vampires and Superheroes? In our culture and society today, why all of a sudden are we so taken with stories about such beings?
I believe that answer can be found in the bible. In Psalm 139, it says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. The author is writing poetry here about how amazed he is at God's creation of man. Throughout all of history we have be amazed at ourselves and how our bodies function and operate. In the ancient world it was physical limitations, in the Renaissance it was our emotional and artistic frontier and in today's culture we are fascinated with our psychological boundaries.
However, I believe we as mankind have missed the other part of what the author of Psalm 139 was trying to express. Some scholars believe and have written that, that phrase "fearfully and wonderfully" could also be read "fearfully wonderful," describing God and his work on mankind. Either way you look at it only a "fearfully wonderful" God could "fearfully and wonderfully" create us.
So we got the part about how great we are created and what cool creatures we are...but we have totally missed the mark on exploring how great and cool God is and that is where I think all of this super, extra-human stuff is coming into play. We want so desperately to believe that there is something else out there. That is why fantasy material is so captivating. The thought of something greater than ourselves is appealing.
The problem is, there is something greater than us...He is called God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit. We have looked inward for so long, mankind has tried to deny God for so long, that we don't see God is the simplest things anymore. The sunrise at the beach, the waves crashing on the shore, a neighbor doing a good deed, a trespasser being shown forgiveness when he or she doesn't deserve it, we can see God in every circumstance we come across in life. We can acknowledge how cool he is and how wonderful are his deeds but instead we put more credence in creatures that are figments of our God-given creative imagination. The church is not immune to this either. We have stopped looking to God for our everything and look to ourselves. Lest we forget it is God who will save the world and not us!!
I am not saying that reading books or seeing movies about these things are a bad but do they take up more time in your life than God? Do you give more energy to fantastical stories rather than the truth of God's word?
I like Superheroes and the like as much as the next guy but, friends I encourage you if you are looking for something that is greater than yourself...something superhuman, look to God. Give your life to Jesus. Living this life with God's Spirit inside you and the adventures He will take you on is greater than any story you could ever watch or read about. The power to do good works and bring people to a relationship with Jesus is the great superhuman story of all.
When will yours begin??
May our LORD be with you
Josh
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Growing into Greatness
The life of Peter has always amazed me. I don't know if you know this but the
book of Mark is really the book of Peter. Back then computers were known as people
who knew how to write. Peter wrote his book through a man named John Mark. John
Mark was able to write so Peter dictated his account of Jesus to Mark and Mark wrote it
down, which is why to book is called the gospel of Mark and not the gospel of Peter.
Either way you look at it the gospel is about Jesus, but the life and story of Peter always
fascinates me.
I recently read through the book of Mark. Knowing that this is the account of
Jesus through Peter's eyes makes the book a little more interesting when you read it.
You can find personality traits of Peter scattered all throughout the text. For example
we know Peter to be a man of rash action rather than well thought out planning.
Throughout the book the word "Immediately" seems to appear quite often. Jesus
immediately got into the boat and went to the other side and immediately a crowd came
upon him and he immediately began to heal the sick and immediately they were
healed...you get the point. Another example is the account of when Peter denied
Jesus. In this gospel it is particularly detailed.
I say all this to bring up this point. Peter is known to all believers as one of the
giant heroes of the faith but the thing is he didn't start out that way. He made a lot of
mistakes, even to the point of denying that he knew Jesus, pretty much to his face. We
know him as this great man of God who wrote beautiful material and theology on our
faith but Jesus knew him as the blundering idiot who put his foot in his mouth more
often than not. Yet Jesus still said of Peter, "upon this rock, I will build my church".
I don't know where you are at today. But I can tell you that Jesus loves you more
than you could ever comprehend and he wants to use you in his high risk endeavors.
You may feel more like the blundering Peter than the faith giant Peter...that is okay.
Jesus did not write Peter off the first time he made a mistake and he will never do that
to you either.
Being a Christian is not a one time thing; say a prayer and you are perfect, it is
life changing and growing experience. Peter didn't go from fisherman to Saint right
when Jesus said "follow me", he grew into the greatness we know of him today and the
same is true for you and me. We can be great followers of Christ, even though we don't
feel that way sometimes, it is still true, we can be great just like Peter. Friends, the key is that
we need to realize that we need to go through the growing process and take the right steps
towardJesus. When we stumble and fall get up, learn from the mistake, ask for forgiveness
and use the experience to draw closer to Jesus.
Christ wants to use you to change the world. Yes, YOU!!! The broken, sinful,
wretch that you are, he wants to use you, the same way he used Peter. I encourage
you, stay the course, follow after Christ and remember, Peter started out just as much
of a mistake maker as you and me.
May our LORD be with you
Josh
book of Mark is really the book of Peter. Back then computers were known as people
who knew how to write. Peter wrote his book through a man named John Mark. John
Mark was able to write so Peter dictated his account of Jesus to Mark and Mark wrote it
down, which is why to book is called the gospel of Mark and not the gospel of Peter.
Either way you look at it the gospel is about Jesus, but the life and story of Peter always
fascinates me.
I recently read through the book of Mark. Knowing that this is the account of
Jesus through Peter's eyes makes the book a little more interesting when you read it.
You can find personality traits of Peter scattered all throughout the text. For example
we know Peter to be a man of rash action rather than well thought out planning.
Throughout the book the word "Immediately" seems to appear quite often. Jesus
immediately got into the boat and went to the other side and immediately a crowd came
upon him and he immediately began to heal the sick and immediately they were
healed...you get the point. Another example is the account of when Peter denied
Jesus. In this gospel it is particularly detailed.
I say all this to bring up this point. Peter is known to all believers as one of the
giant heroes of the faith but the thing is he didn't start out that way. He made a lot of
mistakes, even to the point of denying that he knew Jesus, pretty much to his face. We
know him as this great man of God who wrote beautiful material and theology on our
faith but Jesus knew him as the blundering idiot who put his foot in his mouth more
often than not. Yet Jesus still said of Peter, "upon this rock, I will build my church".
I don't know where you are at today. But I can tell you that Jesus loves you more
than you could ever comprehend and he wants to use you in his high risk endeavors.
You may feel more like the blundering Peter than the faith giant Peter...that is okay.
Jesus did not write Peter off the first time he made a mistake and he will never do that
to you either.
Being a Christian is not a one time thing; say a prayer and you are perfect, it is
life changing and growing experience. Peter didn't go from fisherman to Saint right
when Jesus said "follow me", he grew into the greatness we know of him today and the
same is true for you and me. We can be great followers of Christ, even though we don't
feel that way sometimes, it is still true, we can be great just like Peter. Friends, the key is that
we need to realize that we need to go through the growing process and take the right steps
towardJesus. When we stumble and fall get up, learn from the mistake, ask for forgiveness
and use the experience to draw closer to Jesus.
Christ wants to use you to change the world. Yes, YOU!!! The broken, sinful,
wretch that you are, he wants to use you, the same way he used Peter. I encourage
you, stay the course, follow after Christ and remember, Peter started out just as much
of a mistake maker as you and me.
May our LORD be with you
Josh
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Verbal Vomit
When I get worked up about something it is hard for me not to voice my opinion. However I am getting better at using that filter in my brain. Lately though, it has been really hard to keep my mouth closed especially when it comes to people's comments on certain social media sites. People make the most outlandish, uneducated, brash remarks, at times I can hardly believe the commentary I am reading. The Internet is a great tool but unfortunately it is also used for people to spew their verbal vomit all over everyone else. Every time I read something it takes a lot not to comment back but I remember the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the mount, "don't cast your pearls before swine because they will trample on you", and trample they do.
Take for example this once instance that my wife encountered. Someone posted an uplifting picture referencing God and how He uses people whom we would think are unusable. The comments, from people who claim to be non-believers and such, went a flyin'. The funny thing is, when they would comment about their unbelief, believers would try to encourage and speak in love to them in a non-judgemental way and the unbelievers would then revile the believers and tear them down.
It makes me sad and mad all at the same time. Then this morning I was reading in Psalm 73. David is complaining to God about the wicked people he sees getting ahead in life and asks what is going on. Then about half way through David makes this statement, "But I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin".
I though about this for a bit and found that I have similar feelings and thoughts with David. I think how crazy these people are and how awful things seem to be and I don't understand any of it. I don't understand how these people can live this way and mock God the way they do and it all seems to be okay. I can't stand having different issues and people's opinions rammed down my throat day after day and then I am called the bigot because I disagree or see things a different way. How can this be?!?
David says when he sits back and gets in God's presences, he begins to understand what is going on here. These people seem to be okay with life. They seem to know what they are talking about and have it all together but the truth is they are so far from being okay. Their own life style and choices make their life ruin. They seem to walk a good path but their way is slippery.
Only a life given over to God and built on the rock of Jesus can stand. Things may seem bad and headed for worse but we can always stand on Jesus. He and only He provides the foundation we need for a life that is worth living. Keep the faith, keep walking the walk, live for Him and nothing else. Acknowledge God in everything and He will make straight your path.
may our LORD be with you
Josh
Take for example this once instance that my wife encountered. Someone posted an uplifting picture referencing God and how He uses people whom we would think are unusable. The comments, from people who claim to be non-believers and such, went a flyin'. The funny thing is, when they would comment about their unbelief, believers would try to encourage and speak in love to them in a non-judgemental way and the unbelievers would then revile the believers and tear them down.
It makes me sad and mad all at the same time. Then this morning I was reading in Psalm 73. David is complaining to God about the wicked people he sees getting ahead in life and asks what is going on. Then about half way through David makes this statement, "But I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin".
I though about this for a bit and found that I have similar feelings and thoughts with David. I think how crazy these people are and how awful things seem to be and I don't understand any of it. I don't understand how these people can live this way and mock God the way they do and it all seems to be okay. I can't stand having different issues and people's opinions rammed down my throat day after day and then I am called the bigot because I disagree or see things a different way. How can this be?!?
David says when he sits back and gets in God's presences, he begins to understand what is going on here. These people seem to be okay with life. They seem to know what they are talking about and have it all together but the truth is they are so far from being okay. Their own life style and choices make their life ruin. They seem to walk a good path but their way is slippery.
Only a life given over to God and built on the rock of Jesus can stand. Things may seem bad and headed for worse but we can always stand on Jesus. He and only He provides the foundation we need for a life that is worth living. Keep the faith, keep walking the walk, live for Him and nothing else. Acknowledge God in everything and He will make straight your path.
may our LORD be with you
Josh
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Opportunity is knocking at your door
I want to keep it short today. I know what your thinking...yeah right!!
When I started out in ministry, I could always come up with great ideas for ministry opportunities. The problem was, my ideas were always on a huge scale. I was told growing up that I was meant for great things and that to me meant nationally famous kind of things. What I had to come realize is my definition of great and God's definition of great were two very different things.
God's definition of great could be nationally famous or could mean ministering and loving on a small youth group of 20 students in a small town that no body outside of the state knows about. Great, to God, could be living in a hut in the jungle, teaching the gospel to people whom everyone else has written off as savage. Great could be starting a small church that meets in a school cafeteria.
As long as Jesus is being glorified and people are giving their lives to him, your (what looks to be small) ministry is GREAT!! It is not small to God. Anything that loves on people and bring glory to God is great.
I am in the midst of starting a new branch of ministry that in human terms is small, but I am totally excited about it. I will give more details when I can but for now, this is going to be a great opportunity.
What is a ministry that you have been thinking about starting but didn't because it's "too small." I have news for you, it's not small at all. I always thought that doing things that didn't impact thousands of people was not worth my time but I was dead wrong. God does amazing things through the "small", just look at David vs. Goliath. God took all of my desires, the things that I wanted to do (on the huge scale) and showed me how I can fit those things into his plan. God's plans and purposes are big enough to fit your huge and small ideas.
So many people think about "God's will" for their lives, wanting to know what it is that God has for them and then end up not doing anything. God's will is for you to come to know Jesus Christ as your Savior and to then share his love and gospel with others who need to hear it, using the talents He has given you.
So what is on your heart? What is a ministry opportunity that is knocking at your door? Big or small God wants to use you to impact the lives of other...so go answer that door.
May our LORD be with you
Josh
When I started out in ministry, I could always come up with great ideas for ministry opportunities. The problem was, my ideas were always on a huge scale. I was told growing up that I was meant for great things and that to me meant nationally famous kind of things. What I had to come realize is my definition of great and God's definition of great were two very different things.
God's definition of great could be nationally famous or could mean ministering and loving on a small youth group of 20 students in a small town that no body outside of the state knows about. Great, to God, could be living in a hut in the jungle, teaching the gospel to people whom everyone else has written off as savage. Great could be starting a small church that meets in a school cafeteria.
As long as Jesus is being glorified and people are giving their lives to him, your (what looks to be small) ministry is GREAT!! It is not small to God. Anything that loves on people and bring glory to God is great.
I am in the midst of starting a new branch of ministry that in human terms is small, but I am totally excited about it. I will give more details when I can but for now, this is going to be a great opportunity.
What is a ministry that you have been thinking about starting but didn't because it's "too small." I have news for you, it's not small at all. I always thought that doing things that didn't impact thousands of people was not worth my time but I was dead wrong. God does amazing things through the "small", just look at David vs. Goliath. God took all of my desires, the things that I wanted to do (on the huge scale) and showed me how I can fit those things into his plan. God's plans and purposes are big enough to fit your huge and small ideas.
So many people think about "God's will" for their lives, wanting to know what it is that God has for them and then end up not doing anything. God's will is for you to come to know Jesus Christ as your Savior and to then share his love and gospel with others who need to hear it, using the talents He has given you.
So what is on your heart? What is a ministry opportunity that is knocking at your door? Big or small God wants to use you to impact the lives of other...so go answer that door.
May our LORD be with you
Josh
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Marwiage...Marwiage is what brwings us togetwer today
That bwessed arwangement. That drweam within a drweam!! Haha!!
I love that movie!!
I have been dealing with a lot of marriage things lately. Our friends Sarah and Jaymin are getting married. I am helping out with the wedding of our friends Mike and Sarah. So marriage has been on my mind as of late.
This morning I had a conversation with my wife about marriage...our marriage. We kept several relics from our wedding ceremony and have tried to keep them nice over the years. Unfortunately, life happens and some of those relics have been ruined or destroyed.
Let me give you some examples.
We kept the candle with 1 Corinthians 13 4-8 written on it that we used in the ceremony. We kept it, in the attic where it melted because of the heat and the words got all messed up, so we had to throw it out because it was ugly. We kept our toasting glasses. But the great and mighty Zion broke one when he shook the wine glass rack that they were on, so now we only have one.
We were pretty bummed about these relics biting the dust but you know, as I think more and more about it, in the grand scheme of things they really don't matter. Our marriage is not based on the relics we used in our ceremony. In fact the ceremony was really nothing in comparison to the rest of our lives. The relics do not make or break our marriage, our vows to each other and to God is what really counts.
I think sometimes we forget that marriage is a picture of something greater. Take for example the story of Jesus being cornered by the teachers of the law. They thought they would trick him by asking him a trick question. See this sect of the Religious teachers did not believe in the resurrection, so they asked him a resurrection question hoping to trick him and make him look stupid. They asked, what would happen if a man marries a women but he dies with no children, so she marries his six brothers (one at a time) and (one at a time) they all die without giving her any children to carrying on the first brother's name or take care of her. Who will she be married to at the resurrection?
Now it was Jewish custom that if a man marries a woman and dies before having children that the man's closest brother would have to marry the widow and try and give her a son to carry on the name and line of the first brother. This son would be considered the child of the first man. Kind of strange to us but the way they did things back then it makes total sense.
So Jesus has this question before him and tells the teachers that they are idiots and don't know the scriptures at all (which was their job by the way). Jesus says that marriage in this life does not carry over into the next but is a picture of something so much greater. Marriage is a picture of the relationship that we the church have with God. A picture of absolute commitment and love, to the point of giving your life fully to your spouse. A promise that forsakes everyone else, for the sake of the one you married.
That is the kind of relationship that Christ has with us is it not? Husbands are to love your wives as Christ loves the church AND gave Himself up for her. That is why divorce is so wrong to God, because it takes this idea of a relationship where the people are so committed to each other and turns it into a relationship that can stop at the precise moment when things get too difficult. That is not the relationship that Christ has with us. The cross was pretty difficult for him but he stuck with it so that we could be made righteous and holy and he is holy.
Marriage is a picture of that. A committed relationship that endures hardship and see it through to the other side.
I encourage you if you are married or thinking about getting married make sure you are certain it is for life!! May your marriage be a reflection to others of the relationship between Jesus and his Bride.
May our LORD be with you
Josh
I love that movie!!
I have been dealing with a lot of marriage things lately. Our friends Sarah and Jaymin are getting married. I am helping out with the wedding of our friends Mike and Sarah. So marriage has been on my mind as of late.
This morning I had a conversation with my wife about marriage...our marriage. We kept several relics from our wedding ceremony and have tried to keep them nice over the years. Unfortunately, life happens and some of those relics have been ruined or destroyed.
Let me give you some examples.
We kept the candle with 1 Corinthians 13 4-8 written on it that we used in the ceremony. We kept it, in the attic where it melted because of the heat and the words got all messed up, so we had to throw it out because it was ugly. We kept our toasting glasses. But the great and mighty Zion broke one when he shook the wine glass rack that they were on, so now we only have one.
We were pretty bummed about these relics biting the dust but you know, as I think more and more about it, in the grand scheme of things they really don't matter. Our marriage is not based on the relics we used in our ceremony. In fact the ceremony was really nothing in comparison to the rest of our lives. The relics do not make or break our marriage, our vows to each other and to God is what really counts.
I think sometimes we forget that marriage is a picture of something greater. Take for example the story of Jesus being cornered by the teachers of the law. They thought they would trick him by asking him a trick question. See this sect of the Religious teachers did not believe in the resurrection, so they asked him a resurrection question hoping to trick him and make him look stupid. They asked, what would happen if a man marries a women but he dies with no children, so she marries his six brothers (one at a time) and (one at a time) they all die without giving her any children to carrying on the first brother's name or take care of her. Who will she be married to at the resurrection?
Now it was Jewish custom that if a man marries a woman and dies before having children that the man's closest brother would have to marry the widow and try and give her a son to carry on the name and line of the first brother. This son would be considered the child of the first man. Kind of strange to us but the way they did things back then it makes total sense.
So Jesus has this question before him and tells the teachers that they are idiots and don't know the scriptures at all (which was their job by the way). Jesus says that marriage in this life does not carry over into the next but is a picture of something so much greater. Marriage is a picture of the relationship that we the church have with God. A picture of absolute commitment and love, to the point of giving your life fully to your spouse. A promise that forsakes everyone else, for the sake of the one you married.
That is the kind of relationship that Christ has with us is it not? Husbands are to love your wives as Christ loves the church AND gave Himself up for her. That is why divorce is so wrong to God, because it takes this idea of a relationship where the people are so committed to each other and turns it into a relationship that can stop at the precise moment when things get too difficult. That is not the relationship that Christ has with us. The cross was pretty difficult for him but he stuck with it so that we could be made righteous and holy and he is holy.
Marriage is a picture of that. A committed relationship that endures hardship and see it through to the other side.
I encourage you if you are married or thinking about getting married make sure you are certain it is for life!! May your marriage be a reflection to others of the relationship between Jesus and his Bride.
May our LORD be with you
Josh
Monday, April 16, 2012
Doubt
I got to speak in Church yesterday and I thought I would write here what I spoke about. For those who were in service yesterday, sorry you have to hear this again but maybe you will get something new out of it.
Yesterday was the Sunday after Easter and that is always a difficult day, espicially if you have to preach. There is so much momentum building up to Easter and all that that celebration involves that the weeks follow kinda seem like a let down, all that momentum is gone. We can get caught up in the hype of the celebration. So let me ask you do you really believe what we celebrate. Do you believe that Jesus died of the cross then three days later he rose from the dead and is alive today...or do you have doubts about that story.
Doubt is a pretty common thing in humans. All the disciples had doubts about Jesus truly being alive. The two guys on the road to Emmaus doubted so much they decided to go home, that is why Jesus caught up with them on the road. When he appeared to the disciples in the Upper Room they doubted ti was him, they thought they were seeing a ghost.
Doubt is a pretty common theme in the last chapters of the gospels but there are other common threads or theme. Jesus does not condemn his followers for doubting his resurrection but what he does do is give them 2 things to combat their disbelief and if we use these examples they can help take away our doubts as well.
With the guys on the road to Emmaus Jesus gave them his story. The bible says in Luke 24 that when Cleopas told the stranger(Jesus) of what had happened in the past days and how they doubted Jesus was the real Messiah, Jesus gave them his story starting all the way back to the books of Moses and highlighting all the Prophets said about the Messiah. Jesus gave them his story of which he was the hero.
So what is your story and how is Jesus made the hero. We cannot go through this life without God being a part of it. Even athesists who deny Jesus with their mouths proclaim the exsistence of God with the fact that they are still breathing. We cannot escape him no matter how hard we try. God has been a part of your story from the beginning. When you tell your story, make Jesus the hero of it. The proof of Jesus being apart of your life will take away any doubt you may have that he is alive today.
In the Upper Room Jesus gave his followers his body. They thought he was a ghost but he showed them his body as proof that he is alive. We don't have the physicial body of Jesus here with us today but we have something just as good, the church is the body of Christ. In Ephesians the church is called the body of Christ here on earth. So if you have doubts about Jesus being alive, get more involved in the body of Christ. See the body alive and active and be apart of it. When the church is doing it's job of loving God and loving and serving our neighbors, people can't help but notice that Jesus is alive today.
I heard a story of an athesist down in North Carolina who did all kinds of stuff to be a pain for this church in his neighborhood but they never spoke out against him or anything. It happened that the man need eye surgrey because he was going blind but didn't have the money to pay. The church raise the money for him to have the surgrey and he became a believer because of it.
That is the church being the risen, alive body of Christ here on earth. That took away that mans doubts and I know if you get more involved in the body or invite your friends to come be apart or see the body at work, yours and their doubts will vanish for all eternity.
May our LORD be with you
Josh
Yesterday was the Sunday after Easter and that is always a difficult day, espicially if you have to preach. There is so much momentum building up to Easter and all that that celebration involves that the weeks follow kinda seem like a let down, all that momentum is gone. We can get caught up in the hype of the celebration. So let me ask you do you really believe what we celebrate. Do you believe that Jesus died of the cross then three days later he rose from the dead and is alive today...or do you have doubts about that story.
Doubt is a pretty common thing in humans. All the disciples had doubts about Jesus truly being alive. The two guys on the road to Emmaus doubted so much they decided to go home, that is why Jesus caught up with them on the road. When he appeared to the disciples in the Upper Room they doubted ti was him, they thought they were seeing a ghost.
Doubt is a pretty common theme in the last chapters of the gospels but there are other common threads or theme. Jesus does not condemn his followers for doubting his resurrection but what he does do is give them 2 things to combat their disbelief and if we use these examples they can help take away our doubts as well.
With the guys on the road to Emmaus Jesus gave them his story. The bible says in Luke 24 that when Cleopas told the stranger(Jesus) of what had happened in the past days and how they doubted Jesus was the real Messiah, Jesus gave them his story starting all the way back to the books of Moses and highlighting all the Prophets said about the Messiah. Jesus gave them his story of which he was the hero.
So what is your story and how is Jesus made the hero. We cannot go through this life without God being a part of it. Even athesists who deny Jesus with their mouths proclaim the exsistence of God with the fact that they are still breathing. We cannot escape him no matter how hard we try. God has been a part of your story from the beginning. When you tell your story, make Jesus the hero of it. The proof of Jesus being apart of your life will take away any doubt you may have that he is alive today.
In the Upper Room Jesus gave his followers his body. They thought he was a ghost but he showed them his body as proof that he is alive. We don't have the physicial body of Jesus here with us today but we have something just as good, the church is the body of Christ. In Ephesians the church is called the body of Christ here on earth. So if you have doubts about Jesus being alive, get more involved in the body of Christ. See the body alive and active and be apart of it. When the church is doing it's job of loving God and loving and serving our neighbors, people can't help but notice that Jesus is alive today.
I heard a story of an athesist down in North Carolina who did all kinds of stuff to be a pain for this church in his neighborhood but they never spoke out against him or anything. It happened that the man need eye surgrey because he was going blind but didn't have the money to pay. The church raise the money for him to have the surgrey and he became a believer because of it.
That is the church being the risen, alive body of Christ here on earth. That took away that mans doubts and I know if you get more involved in the body or invite your friends to come be apart or see the body at work, yours and their doubts will vanish for all eternity.
May our LORD be with you
Josh
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