Hebrews 12 is all about worship!

As I said last week I’ve been reading Hebrews 11 and 12. Chapter 11 is all about Faith that God gave each of  us, and honors His plans for our lives despite where we come from. He regenerated all of our forefathers. He even gave some of them new names, just like the new testament disciples. It is a great reminder of Christ’s faithfulness. Chapter 12 seems to be all about what we should look like and do because we are now regenerate, born again, new creations.

2 Corinthians 6 talks about the things that happen when we are Christians. It should all spawn from our love for Christ. Just like 2 peter Paul is talking about our passion, and how it should be for Christ. Anything else is effectively settling for less.

In verse 18 of Hebrews 12 we are reminded of Gods power, and who He is, and that we are part of His family. We are then called by the end of the chapter to worship God, out of our recognition of the Faith He has given us, that produces change in character and behavior. We worship the living God for who He is and what He is doing to all of creation.

We have a terrible, and majestic, merciful, and mighty God. We should tremble with fear before Him as well as be comforted in his loving arms.

28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

God calls us to worship Him in all things. He calls us to an acceptable act of worship which Romans 12 defines as offering our bodies as a Holy and living sacrifice. Let’s all worship the Lord not just in a corporate church setting, but in all we do.

Discipline eventually works

I’ve been reading Hebrews 12 lately. All week as a matter of fact and I am stumped by:

“10b but he disciplines us for our good, ​that we may share his holiness. 11​For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields ​the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

I am stumped because I know Jesus justified me, became my propitiation, and atonement for my sin when He was crucified. I know when He rose He conquered satan, sin, and death. I know I am being sanctified, but I never quite get it. How can I be holy and righteous before God, and yet need to be disciplined into righteousness.

This is always a complicated thing that blows my mind, and humbles me. I fail miserably all the time, in regards to taking the rebuke and discipline God allowes and actually applying it. Granted I may remember for a short time, and actually seek Christ first, but not for very long. It is this cycle, that drives me crazy. Yet religion says I need to do something about it, and I totally tend to be religeous, which also sucks considering Christ worst critics were religeous people.

And here we are reading scripture that seems to say do something about it. I guess it is a heart issue. Even when I don’t follow through with what I know I am supposed to do, my heart longs to do what is right, and eventually I do, by God’s grace alone. According to this discipline should eventually produce righteous fruit in me. Praise God. I need it.

Amen

OCD vs ADD

I wonder if have OCD or ADD. I can’t seem to start a major project and ever plan correctly. It seems to take me way to long to get in to working, but once I do I get focused and do not want to stop or change tasks. I get so focused on what I am doing I start focusing on such minor details that it takes me longer than expected to just finish. What is up with that.

I can’t focus then I get too focused. Am I totally nuts? Probably.

The Love of Money

I’ve been thinking on 1 Timothy 6:6-10 since last night. Check it!

6 Now there is great gain in godliness ​with contentment, 7 for ​we brought nothing into the world, and​3 we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But ​if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, ​into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that ​plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

I always remember the first part of verse 10 “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.” That is easy, but look at the rest. Verse 6 begins with contentment. That is a heart issue for sure. You can work to be a “godly person” and still have no contentment. So taking from the point of view that this is about our hearts and who, or what we worship it became very convicting for me.

I should be content for food and clothes. Then why is it that I desire a WII and the latest album from whatever band, and new tools, all sorts of things that I can’t take with me when I’m dead, things that don’t really matter anyway. It is because I am selfish and foolishly thinking something other than Jesus will give me satisfaction, comfort, hope, and joy. I’m calling bullshit on myself here!

look at the second part of verse 10 “It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” Paul is talking about money here people! I think I have totally been unfaithful by thinking I need things I don’t and foolishly spending the cash (or credit) God allowed me to have on crap that will not last. I could’ve helped the poor, or invested in charities, or church, but instead I have a scooter, three cars, tv’s, multiple computers, a few houses, a gob of tools, and no time to spend loving and serving others, because I have made myself a slave to making money so I can pay for my crap decisions. I have “wandered away from the faith and pierced myself with many pangs”, because I foolishly, and selfishly laughed in God’s face when He provided me with exactly what I needed, by going out and making purchases I thought I needed. Who am I to think I know what’s best for me. What a lack of faith in God’s provisions. This blog post is the beginning of a long act of repentance. Unfortunately restitution will need to be made to credit card companies, and that may take some time.

Thank you Lord for your grace and mercy that wills me towards repentance and, empowers me to repent.

I got a Zune and like it!

Recently I bought a Netbook. I wanted to try something less expensive than a Mac. It came with XP, and was working well for a while then it started crashing and other annoying things. I installed UBUNTU and once I got it configured It was running great. Idea was to install OSX on it, but due to the difficulty I had getting UBUNTU to do all I wanted and I decided to avoid the headache.

Well a friend offered me the release client for windows seven, I said sure. This same friend had shown me his zune and all that it could do. I wondered instantly why ipods, and itunes didn’t do as many cool things as the zune. Anyway, He gave me a zune 1089 with the windows upgrade. It is amazing! I can download and listen to any music I want from the zune store for $15 a month. It is amazing. I haven’t listened to new music forever, but now if somebody tells me about a new band I can connect to the internet wirelessly with my zune and download it. If I just want to listen to the radio instead of stored music I can. This is an amazing mp3 player and the software for it is so freaking rad. I have been a huge apple fan and was bummed when my ipod broke, but now I am stoked it did. If it hadn’t broke I would’ve been just another mac clone toting apple products as the new savior, and writing off any thing that may actually have merit, and not cost an arm & a leg.

So due to the zune I may be back to dealing with the minor annoyances of windows. The price point still makes windows better than mac especially now that I have to consider buying new computers for a whole family at some point. I am no longer a mac user. And ZUNE literally has way better features and kicks ass over the ipod any day.

Thank you ZUNE

The Saltiness of Salt

Matthew 5:13
Salt and Light
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

Salt doesn’t actually lose it’s flavor. Other minerals get mixed in with the salt, causing it to not be as flavorful. The salt is good for nothing at this point and needs to get thrown out. You need to be careful where you throw the bad salt. You don’t want to throw it in your garden or it could kill the plants. The street would be the most logical place.
I don’t believe this passage is speaking about losing your salvation, Christ assures that won’t happen (John 10:27: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.) like I have heard so many others suggest. I tend to believe it is speaking about idolatry. Christians can lose their effectiveness for the kingdom by pouring out and worshipping things created. We fail to be who we are as “Children of God” by worshipping something other than Jesus.
Paul says it best in Romans 7: 15-25.

15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

I can’t lose my saltiness. I can however let outside influences dilute it. That would be were Idolatry comes in. If I am more concerned about what people think of me, and my “Reputation” as anything other than a “Child of God”, I will not preach the gospel to others with love, and integrity. I may preach and teach, but it will be motivated out of self-worth, and the need for acceptance. If I am more concerned about my pleasure than other’s I will not serve in the way Christ has called me, and empowered me to. Instead I will serve (If at all) with hopes for earthly rewards, or acknowledgments.

Fortunately Christ is working through me regardless of myself, and I will remain salty, by worshipping Him. He has refined me, and made me “tasteful” by His empowering grace. All of the impurities are being drawn out, and as I am being sanctified, I get to worship Jesus, thus preserving the saltiness of the salt.
Thank you Lord.

Here is an interesting link If you want to read more about Salt. http://www.leaflady.org/salt.htm

What is this whole light thing?

Meditations on 1 John 1:5-7.

This is what I am thinking about today. Reading a “MacArthur” commentary and mulling over these verses.

“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:5-7

You know how sometimes we keep some sins to ourselves? Sometimes we “think I can handle this, because God gave me His spirit and has forgiven me”. This is true, but so is this “walking in the light” aspect of the gospel. He gave us each other, as His body (For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12) we should know what each part is and how it functions as well as how it needs help to function better.

I am always making excuses for shit, even though the “Spirit” convicts me. I know in the end Jesus will prevail and works regardless of my sin, but it is painful to hide. The more I think I can handle it the less I really can. Why do I keep coming back to the same place? It seems as if I am the dog returning to my own vomit, and eating it.

Fortunately there is a whole other way to look at the light. As we also know, we are children of God. He has given us new life in His son Jesus. We have been redeemed, justified, and are now being sanctified (made more like Him). So I’ve been thinking that We are like the moon and Christ is the sun. He shines His light and we reflect it despite the fact that we have no light in and of ourselves. This is so encouraging for me right now! Think about it. we are often infective, religious, pious, self-centered, prideful, self-seeking people who seem to destroy more things than we build up. Christ reflects His light on us and uses us for His glory despite us.

Thank-You Jesus

At It again: Damn Bike

Today was sunny in Seattle. I had a day scheduled to be in prayer study, and just enjoy some time with Jesus. Since it was a nice day and the morning went really well I thought taking a ride on this new bike would be nice. I could continue my prayer, get some exercise, and enjoy the day. So I put a plan together. It was simple I planned to ride to Pike Place Market and go to elliot bay bikes to buy a bike lock, and maybe a fender so if I have (choose) to ride in the rain again I won’t have mud spraying up my back and over my head again.

I begin my travels and figure I’d take the first ave bridge. I thought there would be a sidewalk and there was, but I couldn’t get to it from the path I took unless I rode half way up the bridge, climbed over a fence and lifted my bike over the fence with me. Needless to say that is what I did, practicing safety third again. The sidewalk took me underneath the other side of the bridge. So there I am riding against traffic now, with no sidewalk down first ave before the viaduct (I am heading North). I decide to ride along the train tracks. This proves to be jarring and somewhat difficult to navigate between tracks, dirt, asphalt, and half earth eaten sidewalk. I manage to make my way without falling, and finally find a cross walk to go to the other side where the sidewalk is.

“OK” I think; this is better. I didn’t think about the fact I’d have to bunny hop over every curb, dodge trees, and still have to contend with the half eaten by the dirt sidewalk. Added to all of these obstacles are large piles of leaves, and every once and a while more train tracks. As I’m riding the rear wheel starts squeaking. I figure I’d just have them lube it up at the bike shop. At least it’s sunny and I’m not panting. 

I decide to ride under the viaduct and check out the skatepark . I had never seen it before close up. It is a pretty cool thing a bunch of guys have built in a super rogue, we claim this public land kind of way. Next time I’ll have to bring a board. Any way after I talk to a few skaters about it for a while I decide to head over to first ave and continue my ride. The bike keeps squeeking. It is getting slightly worse. I make it to the bike shop and he tells me there is nothing he can do. the bike is to old and the parts will be hard to come by if even possible at all. 

Discouraged I went to the rendevous and had a beer with my friend Landon. When we were done it was getting dark and it was time to ride home. The squeaking was now a grinding annoying really loud metal scraping sound and it was much more difficult to pedal. I figured I’d be fine but by the time I got to the home depot in SODO I stopped and asked to get picked up. My girls were eating so I decided to not have them stop to come get me. I rode on a little bit longer and stopped in an alley to take a leak. After I finished I kept riding. I was able to coast a bit, which made the grinding go away. That is when it hit me. God was trying to tell me something. Here is what I think He was saying. “Son slow down, look around. The machine your on is no good, but I’m still here, and you can make it to the end even if it is a bit difficult, and you have to walk,  you’ll get there”. So I slowed down stopped peddling so hard and realized just how beautiful this city and this night was. I thanked God, and continued on my way, with a thankful heart a renewed hope, a lesson in perseverance, endurance, and pacing oneself. Last but not least a ceased up gear, hurt legs, and soar knees, and bruised ass. Once again safety is thrown to the birds.

Safety Third

So this morning I picked up a bike that my friend Mickey built me for my birthday. I was planning on riding it from georgetown to downtown then to Ballard, then back downtown, then home. This is because I had meetings at different times at all these locations. Anyway, I looked outside saw the rain and decided I better keep this simple and just pick up the bike in Georgetown ride it home and then have Teresa bring me back to the car, and just drive the rest of the day. I am glad I made that decision.

I show up at 7:15 at Mickeys work. He has a helmut, and a bike for me. The bike is a one-gear-peddle-brake-old-school-street-bike, covered in stickers. The most notable sticker is on the chain guard and says “Safety Third”. I was quickly told this sticker is a standard for anyone involved with the “Dead Babies” bicycle gang, here in Seattle. I thought “That’s cool, if I break down somebody will at least help me”.  Mickey and I go out to coffee, then part our ways. As I begin my ride It starts pouring down rain. 

I haven’t ridden a bike in like 10 years. I thought this should be easy. Boy was I wrong. As I begin the ride I realize that fenders would be a nice amenity, and I shouldn’t have worn my new coat my folks bought me for my birthday. I should’ve also probably worn a pair of pants other than dickies work pants. Maybe Jeans, or better yet, something made of rubber that you’d wear fishing. As I come to the end of the sidewalk and cross the street to head south on East Marginal I realize I am going to have to ride in the street. What a bummer! I’m pedaling as hard as I can Cars are passing me spraying water all over me. I decided this sucked ass, so I went to the nearest cross walk, and crossed so I could ride on the unused sidewalk again. 

By this time snot is running down my nose into my mouth blending with rain I’m panting,and can barely see over the rain on my glasses. Why in the hell did I actually think this would be easy? At this point I was so glad I did not try and achieve my ambiteous goal to ride to Ballard and back. After riding past being I realize I need to cross and there is no cross walk. I decide to cross on the south side of 14th right in front of a garbage truck. Smart Jeff. They honk at me and slam on their brakes while I barely make the bunny hop over the curb divider into a half ditch an dalmost flip the bike by hitting another curb. 

As I ride across the South Park bridge snot now in my mouth, I can see I’m going to have to work a bit to make it up the bridge. My heart is pounding and me knees and legs are screaming “Hell fire save me from this pain”. I make it up and start heading down, I brake a bit to slow down the pass (at this point I’m coasting), and the bike skids to the left and I almost fall off. I regain balance and fortunately have no more incidents the rest of the way home.

When I got Home at 8:30 I was covered in Mud, Water, & Snot. I had a sore throat, a chest ache, my knees felt weak, and my legs were burning. Bike Riding is hard and it is obvious to me that safety really is third.

Jesus always does something

Jesus’ work is always one that does something, says something, changes something, and teaches something. It may not be seen until after all the smoke has cleared and the light is bright again, but that is what He always does. We go through times of trouble and hardship, but when we persevere in Him remembering His sovereignty He will always lead us to the cross. This may mean more hardship, but it is always for the sake of His glory.

He refines us to give Him praise. Romans 12:1 says “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship”. All of life is worship. We either worship Christ or something else (idolatry).

The question is how do we respond to what God is doing.

God initiates we respond. He gives us opportunity in every decision to worship Him. So we get to do something, say something, change something, and teach something. Ask yourself what can I do for Gods glory, what can I say for God’s glory, what do I need to change for God’s glory, and how do I teach it to somebody else for God’s glory.

The only way we even desire to give God glory is simply because God initiated through Jesus’ death and resurrection. He adopted us into His family. He made atonement for sin, he justified us. Showed us mercy by taking His wrath that we deserve and placed it on Christ who did not deserve it. He has actively pursued us, and we get to share that with others through preaching, teaching, living life, and loving. By the power of the Holy Spirit through Christ alone am I able to give Him glory, honor and praise.