Today I want to talk about what it means to be a REAL Christian, to truly live your life for Christ. We hear a lot these days about people being fake, and how so many Christians are hypocrites. Basically, if you look at the origin of the word hypocrites, hypocrites, it is ancient roman for “play actor”. In other words, it’s somebody acting like something that they are not, putting on a show. The best way for you to cure this perception of yourself, and yes you have to do this one for yourself because people are GOING to make that assumption about you, is to be Authentic. Let’s check out 1 Corinthians 13: 1 – 3 to see what Paul has to say about it.
1If I speak in the tonguesa of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,b but have not love, I gain nothing.
One of my favorite hymns is one that we sing in The Church Of The Brethren a lot is called “And They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love”. What better way to put forth the WHOLE philosophy? That’s the ONLY way to really show that Christ is in your heart. Be authentic with it. Love people for who they are. It doesn’t matter what gifts God has given to you, if you don’t show love, people won’t care what you have to say. To quote a cliché, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
It all ties back to that whole LEAP thing, ya know, that capital L. Cultivate Love right. That and that whole “Greatest Commandment” thing that Jesus guy said. You know, the one about “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and Love your neighbor as yourself. OH yeah, and there is also that whole Love your enemiesi and pray for those who persecute you thing too. It’s pretty much ALL about love. To keep it authentic, when you mess up, own it, chase those Oh Wow! Moments, because everybody is going to grow from it, you’ll know what to fix next time, and everybody else will see that you are human, and it’s OK to mess up, because Jesus loves you just like He loves them, and that’s all that matters.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
All ya need is Love...Everybody
The Beatles had a pretty good idea about life when they wrote the song "All you need is love" back in July of 1967. They were asked to write an inspirational song for what would be the first ever global telecast, called "Our World". Given the global audience they were asked to write a song with a simple message that the world could understand. What they came up with was as profound, cliche, sappy, and true, as any message ever conveyed could be. However, one of the biggest rock stars ever, gave the same message in front of a sold out crowd about 2000 years ago.
The story is in Matthew Chapter 22 and, in typical fashion, after giving an extremely profound parable (The Wedding Banquet), and duping the Sadducees, and the Pharisees twice in their attempts to fool him into saying something that would cause him to be arrested, the Pharisees and the Sadducees got together and used real scripture from Moses to trick him, and they asked him which is the greatest commandment of the law.37Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’b 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’c 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Quite simply, all you need is Love, Love for God, Love for your neighbor, Love for your enemy, Love for ALL. That is our job here on this earth. We are to spread the Love that Jesus Christ gave us and told us about. We are supposed to spread his message - through Love! That is all we need to spread his message! All you need is Love.
The story is in Matthew Chapter 22 and, in typical fashion, after giving an extremely profound parable (The Wedding Banquet), and duping the Sadducees, and the Pharisees twice in their attempts to fool him into saying something that would cause him to be arrested, the Pharisees and the Sadducees got together and used real scripture from Moses to trick him, and they asked him which is the greatest commandment of the law.37Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’b 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’c 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Quite simply, all you need is Love, Love for God, Love for your neighbor, Love for your enemy, Love for ALL. That is our job here on this earth. We are to spread the Love that Jesus Christ gave us and told us about. We are supposed to spread his message - through Love! That is all we need to spread his message! All you need is Love.
Tempting
This go round I want to tackle something we are surrounded by every minute of every day, Temptation. It's very easy to list temptations and tell you how you should beat it or stand tall, but this time I just want to give some scripture, some prayer, and ask some questions. First up, the questions. For those facebook readers, please comment with answers!
What is temptation and what does it mean in today's world?
Are there times you find yourself defeating in with God?
How often do you find yourself defending it to God?
Do you ever blame YOUR faults on God?
Next up - scripture:
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
and of course with a little background, when Satan had tempted Jesus through his 40 days in the desert, Jesus said this:Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only'
Matthew 4:4, 7, 10.
And finally, a prayer:
Lord,
Temptations come my way and my first response is to yield. Help me to know that the power of Your Word sets me free and gives me victory.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
What is temptation and what does it mean in today's world?
Are there times you find yourself defeating in with God?
How often do you find yourself defending it to God?
Do you ever blame YOUR faults on God?
Next up - scripture:
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
and of course with a little background, when Satan had tempted Jesus through his 40 days in the desert, Jesus said this:Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only'
Matthew 4:4, 7, 10.
And finally, a prayer:
Lord,
Temptations come my way and my first response is to yield. Help me to know that the power of Your Word sets me free and gives me victory.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
The Unopened Gift
Our Christmas play this year was titled "The Unopened Gift". It held elements of a typical Christmas play with your standard nativity story of course, but it also held so much more. Due to some scheduling conflicts I was asked to play the role of Andrew, the teenage son of the family at the center of the story arc. Now, the funny part I will get to later, but first let me explain the play.
The play starts like a lot do in today's world. A family enters their living room after the Christmas meal and begin talking about said meal. After some chat about that, one of the little girls asks if it is time t read the Nativity story. She gives her Dad the Bible and he turns to Luke 2 and begins reading. Throughout the entire story, each scene of the nativity is pantomimed on the other side of stage as the father is reading, and after the first bit, carolers appear outside the window of the family's home as they are reading the story of the nativity.
As all of this is happening there are things spoken by Timmy, Suzy, Amy, Mom, and Dad of course, but nothing from Andrew. After reading through to the exit of the sheperds the Father stops and gets ready to have the family sing, but one of the little girl's of course asks about the "Wisemen", so the father turns to Matthew and recounts that piece of the story as well.
Finally, after singing "Joy To The World", its time for the ceremonial Gift Exchange. The kids are giving each other presents and giving presents to their parents, but when it's my character, Andrew's turn to give a gift, he gives one to his Mom, and it is a Very special gift, but she just shrugs it off and tells him she will open it later. The gift exchange continues and Andrew again asks if his mother will open the gift. After a similar reply Andrew is visibly disappointed.
The play culminates in Andrew asking why his mother won't open the gift. She replies with a question of her own, "Why do you want me to open it?" Of course Andrew explains that he loves his mother and made the gift very special. Her retort is, "Well then I guess you know how we feel about you then?" Andrew is taken aback and puzzled by this. Andrews parents then explain that since he has put off accepting the gift of God's Salvation through Jesus Christ, he has essentially done the same thing, and his parents are saddened by this.
Of course, from seeing this comparison drawn Andrew comes to pray and accept Christ as his savior. Now, the funny part comes in. This is the second year in a row I have been placed in the "come to Jesus" part of our Christmas program. I keep wondering, are these people telling me something? Haha, but really, each time it has been a blessing. Putting myself in the frme of mind of someone that has not accepted Christ, I always try to look at the "reasons" why someone decides that salvation isn't "their bag", if you will. Everytime, I find myself strengthening my faith in God.
Why? Well, because each time, as I begin examining what may be someones "reason" or "excuse" I always end up finding one of my own "reasons" or "excuses" and always end up opening my own "Unopened Gift". So the question here is, of course, what unopened gifts are sitting around in your faith life? Find them, and open them. You never know how great something is until you apply it. Paul said it well in Ephesians 2: 8 - 9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast
The play starts like a lot do in today's world. A family enters their living room after the Christmas meal and begin talking about said meal. After some chat about that, one of the little girls asks if it is time t read the Nativity story. She gives her Dad the Bible and he turns to Luke 2 and begins reading. Throughout the entire story, each scene of the nativity is pantomimed on the other side of stage as the father is reading, and after the first bit, carolers appear outside the window of the family's home as they are reading the story of the nativity.
As all of this is happening there are things spoken by Timmy, Suzy, Amy, Mom, and Dad of course, but nothing from Andrew. After reading through to the exit of the sheperds the Father stops and gets ready to have the family sing, but one of the little girl's of course asks about the "Wisemen", so the father turns to Matthew and recounts that piece of the story as well.
Finally, after singing "Joy To The World", its time for the ceremonial Gift Exchange. The kids are giving each other presents and giving presents to their parents, but when it's my character, Andrew's turn to give a gift, he gives one to his Mom, and it is a Very special gift, but she just shrugs it off and tells him she will open it later. The gift exchange continues and Andrew again asks if his mother will open the gift. After a similar reply Andrew is visibly disappointed.
The play culminates in Andrew asking why his mother won't open the gift. She replies with a question of her own, "Why do you want me to open it?" Of course Andrew explains that he loves his mother and made the gift very special. Her retort is, "Well then I guess you know how we feel about you then?" Andrew is taken aback and puzzled by this. Andrews parents then explain that since he has put off accepting the gift of God's Salvation through Jesus Christ, he has essentially done the same thing, and his parents are saddened by this.
Of course, from seeing this comparison drawn Andrew comes to pray and accept Christ as his savior. Now, the funny part comes in. This is the second year in a row I have been placed in the "come to Jesus" part of our Christmas program. I keep wondering, are these people telling me something? Haha, but really, each time it has been a blessing. Putting myself in the frme of mind of someone that has not accepted Christ, I always try to look at the "reasons" why someone decides that salvation isn't "their bag", if you will. Everytime, I find myself strengthening my faith in God.
Why? Well, because each time, as I begin examining what may be someones "reason" or "excuse" I always end up finding one of my own "reasons" or "excuses" and always end up opening my own "Unopened Gift". So the question here is, of course, what unopened gifts are sitting around in your faith life? Find them, and open them. You never know how great something is until you apply it. Paul said it well in Ephesians 2: 8 - 9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast
Hardship
This week I want to talk about hardships. I want to talk about the things that keep you from being the Christian you want to be. There are plenty of things that people struggle with, whether it be drugs, alcohol, or pleasures of the flesh, maybe gambling, or something as simple as lying or having a sharp tongue, any of these things can be our stumbling block to keep us from Christ. Everyone has something that they struggle with, and it has always been that way. From the internal struggles that Judas Iscariot dealt with to the social pressures that Aaron dealt with when he created the golden calf to whatever it is that haunts you today. The good news, is that God is always there to help you through it. Our favorite Rabbi from Tarsus put it rather well in our scripture so lets get into that. The scripture come from the Book of Romans Chapter 8, Verses 35 & 37 – 39. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So that’s it – NOTHING can separate us from God. Nobody, Nowhere, No-how. All we have to do is put God first. Just say to yourself, I am Second. Another program I will be bringing into the church will explore this concept a little more, so tell your friends, and come join us!
So that’s it – NOTHING can separate us from God. Nobody, Nowhere, No-how. All we have to do is put God first. Just say to yourself, I am Second. Another program I will be bringing into the church will explore this concept a little more, so tell your friends, and come join us!
The Word
So as we start moving forward this month, we are going to start our adventure into storying. What I am looking to accomplish is not only to get you guys to remember God’s story, but I want you to find yourself IN God’s story as your story, and inspire you to dive into it on your own as well. This is a short lesson, but it is to prove a simple point, a simple truth. We have a long journey ahead of us, and it is going to require effort on your part as well. Let’s read the scripture, which is from Hebrews Chapter 4 verse 12.
12 For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are.
Now it’s obvious what this scripture is saying. I don’t think I have to give you any interpretations or alternative hidden meanings. Let’s just let the scripture speak for itself, and let it speak to you.
12 For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are.
Now it’s obvious what this scripture is saying. I don’t think I have to give you any interpretations or alternative hidden meanings. Let’s just let the scripture speak for itself, and let it speak to you.
More Than Meets The Eye
OK, this week, I figured it only be fitting, that our lesson be on The scripture theme from NYC, we all will be leaving on Friday 7/16, which is 12 days from now. I want this to be fresh in our minds as we move into our Journey. The scripture is one that has been used as a theme by plenty of bands, movies, and other events. It is, of course, written by everybody’s favorite Rabbi from Tarsus, Paul. Let’s jump to 2 Corinthians 6-10 and 16- 18
For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"[a]made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
What is this message saying? What does it say to you? Lets start at the beginning and I will try to break it all down into simple paraphrasing that will give us all some basic insight.
The same God that created everything in the beginning, gave us not only the gift of initial life but the gift of everlasting life through our Savior, Jesus Christ. If we know Jesus, we will be able to hold onto these gifts forever. We WILL be made fun of, attacked, and isolated, but we will never be alone, God will NEVER leave us, we will never be truly destroyed as long as we have Christ in our hearts. Because Jesus died on the cross, we have the opportunity to live forever, if we let Jesus live through us.
Don’t ever worry or feel let down. For through our whole lives on earth, we are dying in our bodies, but through Christ our souls are being strengthened and Renewed. We will have good times and bad times here on earth, but with Jesus in our hearts the good that we will achieve at our eternity will far outweigh the bad. This is all because of what is here on earth is only temporary, but what we attain in Heaven will last forever.
That is what I hear when I read this, maybe you hear something different, maybe you hear something similar, but not exact. Take the next 12 days and think about it. We will have plenty of time on the car ride, the bus ride, and the plane ride, and the other bus ride, plus dinner, to discuss this. So, that’s what I want to do. Think about it, and tell me what you hear exactly. Post it on our Facebook, Post it on your Facebook in a note, send it to me in a text or message, or email, just read it, and interpret it to your words. I wanna know exactly what this means to you, and where we can take it from here. My goal is to come up with a scripture that we can begin using as our theme for PMCOB Youth, maybe we can even rename ourselves, lets start our process of branching out. I think NYC will bring us a LOT of energy and blessing. Let’s use it, capitalize on it, and GROW!
For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"[a]made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
What is this message saying? What does it say to you? Lets start at the beginning and I will try to break it all down into simple paraphrasing that will give us all some basic insight.
The same God that created everything in the beginning, gave us not only the gift of initial life but the gift of everlasting life through our Savior, Jesus Christ. If we know Jesus, we will be able to hold onto these gifts forever. We WILL be made fun of, attacked, and isolated, but we will never be alone, God will NEVER leave us, we will never be truly destroyed as long as we have Christ in our hearts. Because Jesus died on the cross, we have the opportunity to live forever, if we let Jesus live through us.
Don’t ever worry or feel let down. For through our whole lives on earth, we are dying in our bodies, but through Christ our souls are being strengthened and Renewed. We will have good times and bad times here on earth, but with Jesus in our hearts the good that we will achieve at our eternity will far outweigh the bad. This is all because of what is here on earth is only temporary, but what we attain in Heaven will last forever.
That is what I hear when I read this, maybe you hear something different, maybe you hear something similar, but not exact. Take the next 12 days and think about it. We will have plenty of time on the car ride, the bus ride, and the plane ride, and the other bus ride, plus dinner, to discuss this. So, that’s what I want to do. Think about it, and tell me what you hear exactly. Post it on our Facebook, Post it on your Facebook in a note, send it to me in a text or message, or email, just read it, and interpret it to your words. I wanna know exactly what this means to you, and where we can take it from here. My goal is to come up with a scripture that we can begin using as our theme for PMCOB Youth, maybe we can even rename ourselves, lets start our process of branching out. I think NYC will bring us a LOT of energy and blessing. Let’s use it, capitalize on it, and GROW!
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