Master Pine Head

Last May I joined a forum site called "DerbyTalk" (http://www.derbytalk.com/). It is a site that allows members to ask and discuss any question about the Pinewood Derby topic. After joining the site I saw that there were ranks associated with each member; Apprentice, Journeymen, Pine Head, Master Pine Head, and Moderator. Immediately I thought, "Wow, that would be cool to actually know enough to be in the high ranks of knowledge of the Pinewood Derby (PWD) world. As a sat with the rank of Apprentice I wanted to know more. I began to read the posts people had written and gain knowledge. I felt as though I was gaining experience and wisdom through other people's testing, success, and failure. The more I read, the more I became confident; the more I became confident the more I would reply to other peoples questions, and the more I replied to other peoples the questions the high rank I began to receive.

There is something that feels good inside of us when someone has a question that we have the answer to. We may not have an answer all the time, and we may not always have the right answer, but it still feels good when we get it right. More and more I find people asking me about a PWD subject. When they do I have a moral dilemma; since I race against many of these people whom ask questions outside of Derbytalk I have to choose whether to give them the best answer and have them potentially beat me, or tell them a portion of the answer so they have a less likely chance of beating me. So, how do I answer? I tell them what I know. I appreciate that people have been patient and honest in teaching me. If I withhold what I know then the next generation of racers will be at a disadvantage. I would rather leave a legacy of aiding in victory rather than a trail of defeat.

As I have contributed to helping inform racers on DerbyTalk, I recently achieved the highest level of ranking that anyone can achieve without being personally selected for a moderator selection (and since all of the limited number of positions are fulfilled I can't go any higher). I am now officially a "Master Pine Head"; a title which I am honored to wear.

So, what does all of this have to do with a church website's blog? A lot. When someone comes to Christ they are often on fire and want to know more about God. We instruct them that they need to start reading and learning about God and how he can transform their life. The more they begin to learn about God the more they find that they gain experience and knowledge from others around them whom have been a Christian for a longer time. The more experience and knowledge you receive the more confident you become and begin to witness and answer the spiritual questions of the people around you. Soon people start to ask questions because they are confident that you will have the answer and that you know what you are talking about. And, in the end you receive a rank from God in eternity of a "Faithful Servant".

A portion of Matthew 25 tells of a group workers who were giving a talent (portion of money that was given for a natural ability the person had. "Talent" was originally a financial term but what it was used for is what it is now become. It was the payment given to the painter or musician on the corner, the task that someone did extraordinarily well that came natural to them.) The workers were sent out to do what they could naturally do well and use this money wisely. It didn't require anything outrageous, just what was natural. When the workers returned the Master examined the talents and saw that 2 had doubled their money and the other had held on to what he had and wasn't even willing to use what he had to generate what he didn't have. The one who had refused using his natural gift to create and increase was forced to give it up the the faithful; and to the faith the master said, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord" Matthew 25.21.

What are we doing with the natural ability God has given us. You don't have to go out of your way to make something of yourself for Christ; you just need to be willing to use what you have and it will naturally increase.

When it comes to Christ are you willing to give it all so you have lead a legacy of victory, or a trail of defeat?

Batteries and Jesus.

For all who read this before December 14th, you will be hearing this again on Sunday's Christmas service but here goes.

Batteries and Jesus? What do they have to do with anything? Batteries are little round cylinders that carry an electric current to anything that requires that works off from electricity... that has nothing to do with Jesus. Continue reading.

Growing up we didn't have a whole lot of money when it came to gifts so we never really expected much which worked well because none of us 5 kids required much. We always had more fun playing with each other than with than toys... don't get me wrong, we liked our toys too though. I remember one Birthday, I think I was eight when I received a toy radio controlled car, you know, the ones that turn by going in reverse (the ones that if you leave them like that will make a cat so dizzy it pukes). I thought this birthday was the greatest until the batteries went dead. Thankfully my older brother, 18 at the time, jumped on his bike and went to the nearby store for some more. When he got back I proved I was now a big boy and put the batteries in myself but the car still didn't work. I couldn't figure it out; were they duds? I put the old ones back in it and they didn't work either. Frustration came over me as I went from being the happiest boy in the world to the saddest because me new toy didn't work. Thankfully, big brother nearby was willing to help and showed me that I had put the batteries in the wrong way. Once they were put in the right way they worked perfectly.

So, what does this have to do with Jesus? Jesus did not buy me batteries, nor did he deliver a great incite that they were in backwards. What does Jesus have to do with all of this?

Just like you get birthday gifts on your birthday, Jesus' birthday is coming up and guess what... you get gifts on his birthday too. John 3.16 says "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life." Jesus' birth began the tradition of giving presents at Christmas as God sent his son as a gift, but you receive something too. There are two thing in that verse give to the world; since you are reading this-that's you. We are given Jesus - The Savior and provider of restoration of relationship... eternal life with God, and we are given eternal life.

We are like the idea of having a close relationship with God. Most people believe in a god or higher power. There is a part ingrained in us that tells us there is a god. We like this idea. However, what people seem to have an issue with is that it is Jesus and Jesus alone that makes this relationship and restoration possible; we like the gift, but not the required power source. We look all around us trying to find some loophole to restoring the relationship and try many different things: money, kindness, numerous "religions", support groups, goodness, organizations, etc... and then we get mad when someone says that these things are good, but won't restore that relationship. We tell people things like "You're narrow minded" and "If God is really a loving God wouldn't he let all religions go to heaven" and the list could go on.

This is where Jesus and batteries get something in common. Imagine how stupid you would sound if you called up that toy car manufacture and said something like this: "You are so narrow minded! If you really wanted me to play with your toy you would make it so the batteries could be put in anyway I wanted to!" or maybe "I can't believe you actually requires batteries to play with this toy. I have been good my whole life and worked hard to get this toy car, that should count for something!" and even "I'm not going to put batteries in it because I know other people put batteries in their cars and they are jerks!"

If you really did call up a manufacture and give these complaints you would end up and the next "list of stupid" email going around the office because they claims are simply ridiculous but we justify saying the same thing about Jesus and having our relationship with God restored.

You can have the greatest gift set before you but if you don't have the batteries it will never be used. You have to have the right power source to get any good out of it. God has given you eternal life but you can only use it by placing your faith in Jesus Christ.

Genuine Thanks Generates Generous Actions.

When I was in high school my sister and I had been out with a friend who lived with her grandma. Her parents lived several hundred miles away so she didn't see them often so around Christmas her local aunts and uncles would bring her gifts. I don't remember what we had done while out that ngiht, but we had all decided to go back to her grandma's and watch a movie. When we got there her aunt and uncle where there and they had stopped over to surprise her and her grandma with Christmas gifts. All is fine with that but it left my sister and I feeling a bit awkward. I didn't drive yet so we were stuck there watching her family Christmas. We did end up watching the movie, but I remember what she said after the family Christmas; "I am so sorry, I didn't know they were coming or I would have wrapped something up to give you guys." She felt bad that in the spirit of giving, she wanted to give.
The natural reaction for humans is to give when given too. If we appreciate something we like to pass it on. Now, I know that someone just popped into your mind that is ungrateful, but in general we are give when given to. The friend had been given to and wanted to give. We all know the feeling when someone gets you a gift but you have nothing to give back... uncomfortable.
David writes a song about this. In Psalm 116 David takes the first 8 verses to sit back to list all the things that God has blessed him with... all the blessings that he does not deserve but appreciates, then verse 12. "What can I render unto the Lord for all his benefits unto me?" David has received and now he is wanting to give. David has received what he cannot buy, earn, or deserve and he doesn't want to take it for granted. But what had David received that was so special that he wanted to give in return?
-V1-2 David needed someone to talk too and God heard... How many people do you know right now that may just need someone to listen. You may not agree with them or even like them, but you can listen with scrutiny or distraction. A listening ear is a gift that costs nothing but is very meaningful. It is praactical yet extravagent.
- V3-5 David had gotten himself into some hard situations; we know his story, theses hard places were often brought on by his own foolishness... but God delivers him. Someone that you know is going through a hard time that they have brought upon themself. They need you to help them get through this time and be delivered from their struggles. God didn't not beat up David or kick him while he was down... he helped him be delivered.
-V6-7 David tells that he was low and God took him high. God didn't not do the least effort in recovering David because it was a mess that he'd gotten himself into... God wen't the extra mile and was "bountiful" with David, not average or ordinary. If David's struggles were a lake; God did not help David get back to shallow water, He took him unto dry ground, sat him down, warmed him up, and gave him something to eat.
When we see what God has done for David and what he has done for us, we too should ask what David asked, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?"
God has blessed you and we must praise God's name for it, and pass on teh blessing. God has used others to be a blessing to you, and he is counting on you to be a blessing to those around you. Examine the people around you today and see whom you may be able to take out of the lake of struggles and set upon dry ground.

Tripping Over Myself

On the campus of Pensacola Christian College my sophomore year they built a new dining hall and called it "The Four Winds". It was gorgeous; high ceiling, bright colors, large portions of class that shown the bright Florida sunshine and let us look out to the palm trees and landscape of the campus. In it there were several food lines that were categorized by ethic tastes or preferences. it was magnificent. But, then there was the carpet. No, it wasn't really ugly but it was bright and reminded me of the big casinos you see in a movie, but it could do amazing things! I fell prey to the carpet many times and you could humorously watch other be victimized by it as well! The carpet would reach up and trip you when you weren't suspecting it! I can remember more than one occasion seeing people drop a tray full of food because the carpet tripped them. Now, there were to magic powers bestowed to the carpet, but it happened over and over. For some reason the knap and weave of the carpet could make a completely competent person stumble. As silly as it sounds to say that the carpet actually tripped people, there is something else just as silly... we often trip ourselves. We want to move forward but we become the very thing that holds us back.

In Matthew chapter 6 Jesus is talking in the Sermon on the Mount and repeats the same phrase or idea over and over again. That phrase: "...and you Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly" (verse 4, 6, 18, and 33 (the idea of 33)). Jesus is stating that God the Father is wanting you to be a blessed person. God wants people to look at you and say, "I wish I could be like them." Face it, we all have idols; maybe not in worship but in admiration. We have role models in finance, in family, in dress, in speech, etc... and this is good. There is nothing wrong with having people that we look up to. Jesus is saying that God wants to bless you, and to bless you OPENLY. Why openly? Because he wants people to see what a dedicated life to Christ brings. God is holding a handful of blessings to give to you but there are conditions.

This chapter tells us that God is waiting to bless us so all can see that we are blessed, but we are not the ones to make our blessings known... that is to be God's job.

This chapter reveals 4 areas that we must keep ourselves in check and all 4 of those areas come to the root of our motives; more specifically our prideful and selfish motives. When we are able to suppress ourselves in these areas God is adorn us with blessings for the world to see as a testimony of what he has done for us.

Area 1. Verses 1-4 deal with our charity toward other people... our "good works". No, not for salvation, but cause of salvation. It paints the picture doing things for the sake of helping in the name of Christ, not so you can be pointed out. Remember, it is your job to do the work and God's job to do the pointing out. Recently I was at a funeral dinner where there was a sweet old lady who had made many dishes to share. However, standing beside her she fed you a running commentary of what she had brought and how many people had taken it. She boasted of how good of a cook she was and how her items must be superior to other's. I couldn't help but think that the only reward she received was her own pat on the back when God could have been ready and willing to bless her with anything from a good nights sleep to a check in the mail. On the flip side. Last year our church was in need of an air conditioner unit which would rest in the range of $1,300. After mentioning this (not even asking for money) a visiting guest came up to me after ward and said, "God told me to give you this, but don't tell anyone where it came from." This person is not a church member and I have seen them only a handful of times since, but it is no wonder that God has blessing them in high levels of success because they follow this principle.

Area 2. Prayer. This passage holds the most quoted prayer of all time, The Lord's Prayer, but that is not what carries the main message of this section. Verses 4-15 speaks of the hypocrites that only pray if and when someone is watching, including making themselves a public spectacle to do so. They repeat the same thing over and over and make sure they use impressive words. This doesn't please God. If we want to impress God with our prayers we are told to keep it between him and us, then he will bless us publicly for it.

Area 3. Fasting. This is a practice that is done less and less since it deals with suppressing the physical so we can give more attention to the spiritual and that is not popular in a society that tells us that it is all about us and as long as we believe in ourselves things will be just fine. Matthew 17.21 Jesus tells the disciples that some things can't be done but by prayer AND fasting, he is specifically talking about casting out demons. In Matthew 6.16-19 we see that people are fasting, which is good, but they are making themselves look sick so that others know they are fasting. Again, it is all about us... or the person involved... so much for the "suppressing the physical" part. We are instructed to take an extra effort to make ourselves look strong during times of fasting including the use of make up if necessary. Verse 17 says to anoint your head and wash your face. This is not anointing like often we thing of anointing with oil; this is actually staining your skin with olive oil to give color and then washing off the excess so you look healthy. When we get this area in check and do it properly we will then know the blessing that God has for us and it will be a public example of what he has done.

Area 4. Wealth. From verse 19 to the end we are told all about our assests. We are told to invest into areas that will never pass away, not areas of earthly possessions and treasures that will someday rot and decay. We are not able to serve God and money, they are two areas that are constantly at war because they both want complete control of your time, money, and life. We must freely chose to follow God and let him supply our needs. It draw the comparison of a flower and King Solomon. A flower does nothing to look pretty, it just comes natural because God has designed it that way; King Solomon was the richest man ever and he worked hard to make sure he looked better and had more things than anyone, but he failed at it because he found out the hard way that he can't buy what God gives freely.

I am not saying all of this because I had an extra 15 minutes to write an article for the web, but because this is true. Get yourself in check and act out of the right motives and God will reward you openly. I have seen this over and over in my life. If you look at me I am an average person, but there are many areas that God has proven this. I am not perfect but God has blessed me openly in areas that I couldn't never achieve on my own and He gets all the credit, not me. I have a home that I shouldn't be able to afford, a wife and kids I don't deserve, a car I shouldn't be able to afford, a phone I could never afford, a tv I never dreamed of, peace that I sure don't create on my own, and a God that I can never repay. This in not bragging, this is just praising God for keeping his promise to reward us openly. God has a blessing for you today. Don't trip over yourself trying to get it on your own power.

"I disagree with what you're about to say!"

Recently I had the opportunity to host a local pastor fellowship meeting with about 16 pastors and their wives present. I had chosen the topic study of the age demographics of our church and which areas we are excelling at and which areas we are missing the boat. The begin I drew a pie chart on the board and divided it into quarters labeling them Kids, Teens, Adults, and Seniors to represent the basic areas of ministry a church has. Having said little more, I wanted to stir a little discussion and asked, "Which areas do you find the American church as a whole is doing a good job in, and which areas do you feel we are lacking in?" A few Pastors who are obviously blind to American church trends said, "I don't know that we can really answer that..." Then rose a voice above the rest saying, "Randy, I can see where you are going with this and I disagree with what you are about to say!" He went on telling me why he disagreed with what I was about to say however, I hadn't said anything yet for him to disagree with! For the next several minutes I allowed him to dig a whole as he told all about why he didn't agree with me. In his speech he received many affirming gestures and remarks from other Pastor's present.
Immediately a fence was built down the middle of our group; on one side was everyone who agreed with what he said, and the other group on the side of what I said... although I hadn't said anything, and frankly, I was on his side because he said what I was about to say. Once his whole was deep enough and my blood was boiling enough I interjected as calmly as I could, "_____, You started your speech saying to disagreed with me. I am wondering, the question was, 'Which areas is the church doing good at and which areas is it failing?' What is your answer to this?" After he then answered the question and I asked him this, "Okay, now which areas did you expect me to pick?" After back peddling and denying he every claimed to disagree with me he was bound to an answer but, it was the same answer that he had given! He vehemently said he disagreed with me, took five minutes to tell me why he disagreed with me, and then says that he thinks I agree with him! I am not one to get mad but on the inside my blood was boiling!!! No matter what I said the rest of the meeting I knew that since all I did was retold what he had just said, it sounding like I was only following his direction and not presenting it as my own... the fence was already erected and though we were on the same side it was still dividing. To his credit he did publicly apologize, but that did little for me.
Throughout the afternoon and evening I couldn't get the incident out of my mind. The next day I couldn't get it out of my mind. I got little sleep either of those nights because of the who ordeal, but I knew it wasn't right. God continued to pound my mind with verses like Luke 17.3b-4 If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. It kept through my mind like a Christmas list through the mind of a child. The verse, the ordeal, the apology, the fence... it was all consuming until I finally had to claim victory. It was not God who was wanting me to hold a grudge, it was Satan! I was holding myself victim to a man that simply made a fool of himself in front of his colleagues. I was allowing his foolish action to plague me and keep me from sleep! Satan was throwing this back into my face and keeping me down.
Lying in bed getting no sleep for the second night in a row I finally had to claim victory over defeat and release this from me. God had been prompting me to give it up all along with the scriptures he brought to my mind, but I wasn't done with it yet. Finally, laying there in the stillness of the night I mentally took my hands off from around the man's neck that I had been wringing for the last days and in turn released the bonds of bitterness and unforgiveness.
Sharing my personal struggle with you is not to tattle on anyone. I get the overwhelming feeling that many of our readers are also holding on to something in their life that they need to let go of. Something of the past is dragging you down in the present. You are not only hurting yourself in self-bondage, you are limiting the work of God in your life, and allowing someone else's foolish actions to control yours. Release yourself from their grasp today.

Tempting or Testing?

After a month since posting the last article I am back at the reigns to help you continue your spiritual walk and understand the character of God.

I was asked a question a couple of weeks ago that seemed quite simple to me until I began to reply. Thankfully the question was via email so I had a bit more liberty to stall and research before reply. The question was this: "How do you know the difference between God's testing and Satan's tempting? Are they the same? Do you treat them the same?"

Some of you just thought, "That isn't that hard, we all know that God doesn't tempt he tests, and Satan tempts. Come on Pastor, don't you know that if we 'resist the devil he will flee from [us]?'" Well, for those of you who just said that... keep reading and realize that in the Bible is actually says that God “tempts” people (Genesis 22.1).

Now that you know this there are some things to consider; What is the difference between God's temptation and Satan's temptation? Here is the difference: Intent. Testing is using a circumstance or situation to prove or improve someone. Tempting is using a circumstance of situation to get someone to fall. The same circumstance or situation could be used to either test or tempt someone so you must determine the intent. Once you have determined the intent you can see who it is coming from; God or Satan. God wants to prove us to Him and ourselves while also improving us. Satan wants us to give in and fail.

So, to put it in few words. Testing and tempting can look identical. The easiest way to know is to look at the intent and outcome. God leads us into his likeness, and Satan leads us to destruction.

Next question. Does it matter which?
Answer: No. Any temptation of Satan can be overcome. Or, we can fail any test given by God. The important thing is that we stay true to God in either situation and overcome. I Corinthians 10.13 says that “there is no temptation given to us but that which is common to others. God is faithful and will take the temptation and make a way of escape.” (Barton translation from memory). Essentially, when we are tempted, it can be overcome and God can help you get through it. Notice in the verse it says that the very temptation turns out to be the way of escape. The when we pass the test/temptation we are stronger in the end.

Next question. Do you handle the issue the same?
Answer: Yes. All testing and temptations should be executed using the actions, thoughts, and heart of God. Essentially, WWJD. Very important is to know your Bible. When Jesus was tempted by Satan himself he used scripture to overcome Satan’s temptation. I know that at times we feel we don’t know enough scripture to save our life let alone our soul, but that is where we have to turn to God for help and through the Holy Spirit that help is provided. John 14.26 says “…the Holy Ghost…shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance…” A lot of prayer and Biblical counsel and church support can go a long way in overcoming a test/temptation.

Whether you are under Satan's attack or being tested by God, you can be an overcomer and rise higher than you have ever been for Christ. You can become one in the great cloud of witness mentioned in Hebrews 12.1 for someone around you. You are an ambassador for Christ. You represent Christ. We must represent that Christ is all we need to overcome life.

The Rest of the Story

Before you read this article, read the posted before it (most likely just below) entitled, "How do I become a 'Baptism'?"

Upon arriving at church last night for our weekly youth outreach service I was met by the same girl who had asked this question. "Guess what!" sprang out of her mouth. "What?!" I exclaimed in a way that somewhat exaggerated her youthful enthusiasm. "I got saved! ... Sunday night after church I was sitting outside and I started to pray; I cried out to God and asked Him to open His arms and come into my life. After that it was amazing, I just started to cry for like 10 minutes."

I couldn't believe it! What a blessing! I never cease to be amazed at how the Holy Spirit will work in people to bring them to Christ. This young lady has been coming to our youth services for nearly 6 months and now heard dozens of calls for salvation and now, all on her own she cries out to God asking him to come into her life. Rarely to you ever hear of someone getting saved without someone walking them through the "Romans Road", but I just had.

In further talk I asked her what made her decide to get saved then. She said that she knew she needed to, and during our Sunday night song service she kept feeling more and more like it was something she needed to do. Little did she know that it was the Holy Spirit working in her, convicting her or her need of salvation. Whether she knew it or not the results are now eternal history.

But there is more. Last night after the youth service SHE approached ME with the question, "So, when can I get baptized? Maybe this Sunday or next?" Wow, how amazing! She was so excited that she wanted to announce it in person in the service. She did, and all of the other teens erupted in applause!

This was such a great praise I knew I just had to share with you the rest of the story after having posted the question, "How do I become a 'Baptism'?" And there you have it.

"How do I become a 'Baptism'?"

Sunday night as I finished up a few last minute things a teenage approached me with the question, "How do I become a 'Baptism'?" I knew what she meant... baptist, and I knew why she was asking it. She has been attending a different church her entire life with her mother and as felt... less than Spirit led at that church; things seem to be more steeped in religion and tradition that relationship and grace. Having come for nearly 6 months to our Wednesday youth outreach, she has realized that we are not interested in someone merely doing motions in a service nor anyone attending a church based upon the title on the sign. During her attendance here she has urged her mother to come and see our church and experience the difference of relationship over religion... with no avail. Well, Sunday might have changed things. Apparently at the "other church" the sermon was all about how their church and every one of it methods were far superior to any other church in the world, regardless if their practices had any Biblical backing. So, what did I say in regards to the question, "How do I become a 'Baptism'?" The same thing Paul and Silas told the jailer when he asked them a similar question: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." Acts 16.30

The first thing out of my mouth (after, "You mean 'Baptist'" was;) "It isn't about being a Baptist, or a Lutheran, or a Methodist, or a Catholic, or... it is about knowing Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior. Anyone is welcome to come, participate, and attend our church; if you want to know what it takes to become a member, however, you must profess the name of Jesus Christ having placed your faith in Him and asked him to forgive you. AFTER that you need to be Biblically baptized, and attest that you believe the basic Bible doctrines as we do. It's that simple; Have faith in Jesus Christ, believe the Bible, and follow the Bible."

Immediately there was a relief in her eyes. "So I don't have to do _____, or _____ like at my other church?" she asked. "No, those may be nice things to do, and you may choose to do those to help you reverence God, but the most important things is to live by the Bible." With a smile on her face she said, "I think it would be great to be a 'Baptism'!" I reminder her, "It isn't about being a 'Baptist', it is about being a 'Bible Believing, Christ following Christian' that matters. We have 'Baptist' in our church name, but we have 'Christ' upon our hearts. Worry about being a good 'Christian', not a good 'Baptist'."

As she ran turn to leave the smile was still on her face as she exclaimed, "I'll tell my mom, I hope we can start coming."

There are some who will disagree with me and you are welcome to. However, if you claim that there is something more that a believer should do than what the Bible says, or less that a believer should do than what the Bible says I believe you should read Revelation 22.18-19 "For I testify unto every man that hears the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." We need stop worrying about the title on the church sign, and start worrying about the title of Christ upon your heart.

Is Christianity a Religion?

The question came to be from one of our church members, "I believe Jesus is the only way to heaven… but even so does all the religion really matter? And isn’t religion just another meaning for tradition?" I could see where the conversation was soon heading as there has been a big misrepresentation of Christianity in the minds of our nation as being a "religion", or something that does something for the sake that "it has always been done that way before" and "since God doesn't care about all the 'religion' stuff aren't we wasting our time with all the 'religious stuff'?" This is a great point and good thought.

Going back to the question; it stated that religion is another word for tradition. If you look up "Religion" in any dictionary you will find multiple definitions for it, but one will mention something to doing certain things "religiously" or out of ritual... tradition. Along with the long list of definitions you will see one that says something to the order of "a faith based system." Looking at these two definitions I find that Christianity fits one definition perfectly, and not so much the other. Biblical Christianity is certainly a faith based system as it is centered around the faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of all, but it is not something that should be believed or practiced simply out of ritual reasons. Thus, yes, you could accurately says Christianity is a "religion" but it may not be the best word to describe it.

There is a common saying amongst Biblical Christians: "Christianity is a relationship, not a religion." This is a true saying. Though Biblical Christianity does fit a portion of the dictionary's definition for religion it does not cover all of them. Relationship however, describes the very basis of Christianity; it is a relationship with Jesus Christ.

In a discussion over this same question it was brought up that we do practice things that may appear to be done in tradition, thus making Christianity appear to be a religion: communion, baptism, modest dress, sexual purity, prohibition of alcohol, support Christian music, etc... "What about these things... aren't we making Christianity a religion? Why are we wasting our time doing them?" was a legitimate question that came up. To answer this question you have to consider a relationship. A relationship, any relationship has expectation within it, and expectation are not all bad. In fact, lets consider some relationship that have no spiritual relevance. In your relationship to a cashier you expect them to give you the correct change and they expect you to put all your items on the belt the be paid for. In your relationship to your mailman you expect him to give you your mail without reading it first, and he expects you to have your mail in your box by the time he comes with the correct postage on it. In your relationship to your boss she expects you to be to work on time and be on task while you expect her to provide the proper wages and a healthy work environment. So far there are no complaints in any of these areas in the expectations we live with every day. Expectations actually create a health relationship. Now, in our relationship to Christ we are equated as being a bride for her husband so, what are some reasonable expectations a husband has for his bride? He expects her to be faithful to him in her love, he expects her to dress in a way that doesn't attract attention from others, he expects her to talk well of him, he expects her to spend time with others in his family, he expects her to read his love letters, he expects her to keep open communication. Etc... All of these are things that are done in a health relationship of a husband and wife and our world is filled with examples of consequence when these things are neglected in a husband wife relationship.

So, does having expectations on a Biblical Christian make it a religion? NO! In fact, it makes it a healthy relationship. In Matthew 15.2-4 the religious leaders were upset at Jesus because they didn't wash their hands so Jesus points out that they are focusing on the entirely wrong thing because they are breaking the Law of God in several areas. It is true, God is concerned about our heart and its intent. The Pharisees were worried about the disciples hands more than they were their own hearts. Yes, we should seek good hygiene, but we can't neglect our heart's condition. Romans 12.1-2 tells us we are to present our bodies a sacrifice to God and that it is our reasonable service. God is concerned our hearts first, but he does have expectations of how we handle our body, dress our body, and conduct our body. Satan will tell us that it is OUR body but God says that it is for his work. This is another healthy expectation; what groom wants a bride that has neglected and abused her body and only wants to give him what is left after she and everyone else is done with it. Preserving our body and living a sanctified life is not a call of religion; it is a dedication of a deep relationship.

I'll close with this. Last week in counseling a man who claims he "believes in God but doesn't care about what God cares about or thinks about him" he said, "I'm not coming to church anymore because I will be a fake a be just one of the 'religious' people who don't believe in their hearts." My response was in two parts: "So why don't you give your life to Christ and make it so you're not a 'fake'," and "Who is more likely to get an understanding of God and become a genuine Christian, the person who believes in God but stays home because they are a fake, or the person who continues attending church and being fed the Word of God?" He admitted that I was right, but still walked away from God.

Religion carries a set of rules that are kept because they have always been kept. A relationship carries a moral code that is kept in order to get to know each other better.

David: All Action, No Drama

David is loved by all but what makes him so special. Sure, we say "David, a man after God's own heart" and give him a lot of credit for being a really great warrior and king, but David was a failure in so many accounts it isn't even funny. David failed at his marriage. David failed in his family. David failed in humility. David was selfish. In the midst of all David failed at we sit back and give him some of the highest praise of all the people in scripture. Is this all for no reason or just because we like to hear stories of a hero that can take down a giant? Are we putting this guy on some pedestal that needs to be knocked down a few notches? What makes this guy so special? Does playing a harp and having the kings son as a childhood friend make you such a special person that people think you are cool? The answer to all of these questions: No.

Yes, David failed in many areas just like we do, but there is something about David that is reflected the most in the first verse of the vast majority of the Psalms. Take a moment and skim through the first verse of nearly every Psalm and you find something in common; David is calling out to God. David wants to be heard by God. David wants to hear from God. David is wanting to further his relationship with God. Can all of these things be said of us? It can be said of David and that is some of what makes this guy special.

In Psalm 15 David proposes the question of how he can ABIDE in the tabernacle; the place where God was dwelling at the time. He wanted to know how he could DWELL in the holy hill. David is not wanting to visit the presence of God, he is wanted to stay in the presence of God. From verse 2 through the end of the chapter he is answering his own question under inspiration of God. He spells out a lifestyle that conveys the holy character of God. A lifestyle that is needed by each of us and if each of us lived this character we would see the world change a record speeds for Christ. Now, notice that the question is not "how do I get saved?" rather, (paraphrased) "How do I stay in the active presence of God?" and the answer had to do with how we live. This is not legalism for it is not adding anything to salvation, but it is promoting a lifestyle that reflects integrity and character for a greater reason than "because it is nice". We must live a life of integrity for the fact that it will help us remain in the active presence of God.

David demonstrates this type of integrity in Psalm 38. It seems that everyone is coming down on David and he feels that the heat is on. As you enter verse 12 the skeptics are breathing down his neck and he would have every reason to start lashing out and backbiting but he doesn't. What does he do? He becomes as a deaf mute who refuses to listen to the scrutiny of his critics or shoot off his mouth in retaliation. Instead he turns his focus from being on the prosecution to being on the Lord. When it would be easy to play childish name calling games or a bar-room brawl, David chooses to please God over scuffling with men. David chose to live the life of integrity in the active presence of God over a life of superficial conflict.

What will we choose? In chapter 15 we have a clear lifestyle integrity spelled out for us. Now the question shifts to us, "Are you willing to live lifestyle godly character and integrity so you can dwell in the active presence of God?"

Calling All Heros

Last week was Vacation Bible School and what a blessing it was. The theme this year was from The Pirate's Who Don't Do Anything and we gave a challenge of "Calling All Heroes" for our kids to be a hero for God; first, to accept his salvation, second, to stand up for what is right and witness.

Each night the kids were welcomed by staff who were adorned like pirates, complete with pirate names. Each learning station was decorated like a fun tropical location with really helped to set the mood for fun and learning. The staff and kids all went by their "pirate names" all week and this added an extra fun atmosphere for learning.

Something new we did this year was the concept that "Every station was learning station". Most VBS programs simply have the story time the move on to an irrelevant game, craft, and snack; not so here. We had an 2 hour long VBS program and to use on 20 minutes to convey the truth of Jesus Christ would be a waste of every one's time. Each craft, game, and snack went along with the Bible story of the day. The verses too were specifically chosen. In the end, each child had a full 2 hours of Biblical learning and Spiritual growth. The fruit of it was great!

On Thursday we gave the heaviest emphasis on salvation and 4 responded. No one was pushed to make a decision for Christ; rather, they made the decision to repent of their sin themselves. Following their salvation they all burst into tears of joy as they had been set free from what would weigh them down and keep them from God.

VBS is a lot of work and will undeniably wear one out by the end of week, but it is worth it. Our staff enjoyed it the most I think. It is a bit sad to now say that it is over for another year, but we are looking forward to next year when we can serve God in this capacity again.

What Will It Take

Wouldn't it be neat if you could push a magic button and take the place of one of the disciples for a moment, or even a few moments? In the back our minds we believe that if we could just see Jesus and sit by his side that our doubts would melt away and we could follow him the way he intends us to. Which disciple would you like to be for you moment? Personally I would rather not be Judas Iscariot. John would be neat but I don't need to be Thomas or Peter; I already struggle with doubt from time to time and put my foot in my mouth. Which would you choose.

This would undoubtedly be a neat experience if it could be done, but would it melt away any spiritual struggles? Unfortunately, no. In John 21 it records Jesus appearing the disciples as they are out fishing. They have been out all night and caught nothing; we probably all know the story, but do you know the background and setting? Jesus has recently resurrected and the disciples have seen him twice already (which you likely think would solve all of your spiritual doubts and shame to have seen this account first hand) but the disciples continue in fear. Before Jesus had been crucified we have accounts of them being very busy in ministry and serving along side Jesus. After Jesus' resurrection we find them in their popular hideout... huddled in an attic in fear of death. Time seems to be stacking atop itself and they have time to burn as they cower. Finally as John 21.3 records, Peter says, "Guys, I'm going out fishing" and almost instinctively some of the others say, "Hey, I'll come too. Wait up." They are doing this under the cover of nightfall. Ask yourself this, aren't these God's chosen people who he trained to carry the torch after the resurrection? Now they are just going fishing when no one is looking, and doing nothing when people are?

Peter and the others are starting to regress from the divine call; they are returning to the people they used to be: fishermen. After the fish all night they find that they have miserably failed at what they thought would be something they could always fall back on. About that time some crazy old loon calls from the shore and tells them to try fishing on the other side of the boat. What do they have to lose? They try it and it worked. They had more fish than they know what to do with and they recognize that the loon on the shore was really the very Son of God, Jesus Christ. He had come to visit them again. But, when did his visit begin? I believe that God had been with them all night. God was the one that didn't allow them to catch any fish to teach them a lesson: Whenever you chase your own plans, thought, ideas, or vocation instead of God's plan for your life you will only come up disappointed at best. God had moved his hand on them to fail in order to direct them back into his will and call for their life. Jesus essentially saw the recovering drunks car and the bar and went in to drag them out.

Back on the sea shore Jesus feed their belly then heads straight for the heart. Talking to Peter, the ringleader of the fishing trip, Jesus tells him to "Feed my lambs" and to "Feed my sheep" (v15-17). Jesus was reminding Peter of his divine call while Peter was sneaking out at night to do his own thing.

Peter knew what his divine call was. Peter knew that he had influence on others. Peter chose to use his power of influence to reject his call from God and get others to do the same. Jesus had to bring failure in the life of Peter so he could see that true success came from listening to the voice of God.

Where are you? Have you sneaked out at night to follow your own direction and areas but finding that all you continue to do is fail? Maybe it is time to start listening to the voice of God and returning to what he has called you to do in your life. When Peter listened to the voice of God he found that he life suddenly became so bountiful that he couldn't hardly contain it.

Leading Like Jesus

Today God revealed to me a great nugget of information that is nestled into a Psalm of David. Psalm 28.1 says "Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my Rock; be not silent to me, lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit." Did you catch it? Let me show it to you.

David begins by saying this: "I am crying out to God, now it is your turn to talk to me. God, if I don't hear from you then I am as good as being in hell". That is a loose paraphrase with emphasis added, but look back to the actual verse and you will see it there along with the state that David might as well be in if he doesn't hear from God. Here is a bit of what brought to my heart as I saw the verse in this light.

First, David is listening to hear from God. You say, "Yeah, so?" This is possibly the most important part of the verse because God could be speaking loudly, opposed to the "still small voice" and if David wasn't listening to God it wouldn't make any difference. David, being a believer if the triune God, is taking the time to recognize that God is wanting to say something and he wants to listen because to him God is his "Rock". If God was not the "Rock" of David's life then he likely wouldn't have cared if he heard God or not. We must make God the Rock of our life and listen for God; He is talking to you and wanting to be heard.

Secondly, David realizes that if he does not hear from God his life is useless and he may as well just go to hell now and save the waste of his earthly breaths. Without the voice of God, David could not write the 23rd Psalm which portrays God as being the Shepherd that leads to the lush great pastures and the calm waters nor prepare the feast before him. David knows that it is imperative that he stay in tune with the voice of God for his life to have meaning and purpose. David knows that as soon as he stops hearing the voice of God his life is over, spiritually speaking. What about you, are you too far from God to hear him speaking? Are you the same as the sinner still bound for hell? Your life has a greater purpose than to be a spiritual couch potato. It is time that we all make God our Rock and stay close enough to Him to hear Him and stay fresh, not stagnate.

Lastly, I was struck with a great truth of a parallel truth of this passage and a series we are currently going through with our 11 am worship services called Follow the Leader where we are learning to not only follow Jesus but to lead like Jesus as well. It has been said that the average person will influence over 200,000 people in their lifetime. If that is the case we have the opportunity to influence A LOT of people with the love of Christ, but if they don't hear from us they are as good as being in hell already. David is crying out to his leader and wanting to hear from them. God was also the mentor and advisor to David and greatly relied upon. If you are believer in Jesus Christ then you are leading someone too and are their spiritual mentor and advisor. No, you should not be their god but you should be the voice of God in their life. If you are someones "spiritual mother or father" they need to hear from you God's voice, and see God's character in you. Are we answering the cry of people who are looking up to us?

God has established the church to be His body in this New Testament church age. We are the ones people are looking to and crying out to for help as they cry out to God. It is time for you to stand up and answer that cry. Live the love of Jesus and lead someone like Jesus would.

ForeRunners

Over the last 3 years we have seen a youth explosion of sorts in our church. I have been with the ministry of Millett Bible Baptist Church for over 3 years; when I came there was one to two teenagers or preteens that came. They were were disinterested and came because their parents came. In the following months we had a man step up and begin taking on our youth work and doing a great job at it. We began seeing another teen and another teen come and see the grace of Jesus Christ. Within a year and a half we were running 6-8 teens (Which is great because as anyone who has started a ministry knows, the hardest part is getting a core.) Our church was excited and we saw the excitement in the teens who came to be known as "Checkpoint". For the past year and a half I have been working with Checkpoint and God has continued to bless more than imaginable 3 years ago. Now averaging 13-15 teens each Wednesday night we are running out of room and needing more assistance in operation. So, where did we go for the assistance? To Checkpoint.

Some people may disagree with me on this next portion but they can post their opinions in their own blog. I believe that leadership needs to be taught to all ages. If you are a child, start leading. If you are an elder, keep leading. I follow the example of Jesus. Even as a child in the temple Jesus was stepping up and being an example leader with the theologians. As an adult in His Father's ministry he lead the masses but he focused on 12, particularly 3. What does all of this have to do with Checkpoint? We have begun a Student Leadership group to step up and become leaders within the students and attendees. That group: ForeRunners... Leading the Way to Jesus Christ.

ForeRunners had its first meeting last Sunday PM and is lead under my supervision by one of our recent graduates. It is for everyone in checkpoint but not for anyone. Only teens who are eager to learn more about Jesus Christ in their own personal, daily lives is able to come. They must complete daily bible study material and have a regular prayer time. Church attendance, good attitudes, and maintaining an accountability partner is also required. Soon we will be integrating checkpoint officers which will be pulled from our leadership group to begin teaching responsibility and church operations.

The greatest visions we have for ForeRunners is to have our teens become closer to God in their daily Bible Study time and prayer time, draw closer to each other by being in a group setting with the encouragement of each other, nurturing a healthy accountability relationship that helps each other to stick with there commitment to God, Church, and each other, and to learn the Bible so they can build their life upon it and counsel others with it truths.

I am excited to see the life change of our youth as they discover and unlock what God has for their lives. Please pray for ForeRunners.

Player One

A couple of months ago a good friend of ours gave my kids a Nintendo Gamecube. That was really nice but we didn't have any games. We got some and the kids began to become addicted. We have the addiction well under control now and they eager look forward to every occasion they are able to play. After turning down many proposals to play with them I gave in an sat down to play a great game of "Cars" the video game. It was entertaining and enjoyable but there was something else I soon realized; my kids have control issues. Yes, my oldest is 4 and he has control issues. No matter what it is we are going to play on the gamecube he is determined to be player one! To some that may not seem like a control issue but you must understand that player one holds privileges that the other players do not have. The entire menu, the initial game setup, sometime the only ability to pause an active game, etc... No one ever told my kids that player one held more power, but if you ever play with them you will automatically be handed the player two controller as they hold the plastic scepter of power. This made me think...

How many times do we do this with Jesus? We know that we need to have Jesus a part of our life so we invite him into it our "game of life"; we are really excited that we don't have to "play it" alone but then we stick him with the player two controller. Yes, he can still play the game with us and we can enjoy His company but at the end-of-the-day we are the ones in control.

We tell people Jesus is a part of our life, we thank Him for being a part of our life, and we experience his grace but we just can't bring ourselves to let him be player one.

"Any one can die for Christ; that's easy. Living for Christ is the hard part," is what a man recently told me. How true that is.

Being a Blessed Nation

Driving down the road I saw a bumper sticker from a radio station that read, "God has blessed America." I agree. It is undeniable that God's blessing has been upon this country for many years and has helped it rise to be the superpower that it currently is. This makes me consider the verse that tells us exactly why a country would be blessed. Psalm 33 holds the key to a nations blessing; "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." v12

Understanding this verse as truth there are a few things we must understand; this is not the complete verse. The second half of this verse says, "And the people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance." God has chosen those who follow him, and those who follow him have chosen to follow Him. This is not to spur a discussion of predestination, but rather the sufficient grace of God. Romans 10.13 say, "Whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved." This is true with our nation. If we will bind together with our God being the Lord (Jesus the Christ; the deliverer) we will be blessed.

In the old testament beginning with Abraham God established a nation that would be His example people to demonstrate to the world the blessings of making God your Lord, and the consequence of denying God as Lord. These people are now known as the Jews but have bore names such as Israelites, Children of David, etc throughout history. They have shown the world that God does indeed bless a country when He is made their Lord; and they have demonstrated the painful consequence of proclaiming fame, riches, fornication, or power to become their lord. On a roller coaster ride of faith the nation has seen blessing of wealth and prosperity and the struggles of famine and pestilence.

In the new testament church age (which we are now in) the believer in Jesus Christ is the new chosen people of God (there is still a special place and purpose for the Jews) and they are now given the promise of Psalm 33, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." America is called a Christian nation but the percentage of true God followers is declining every moment. As the spirit of the antichrist saturates our society we are losing true believers in record numbers as they are convinced that there are multiple ways to know God and receive his redemption. Yes, I believe that God has blessed America because it has been the strongest Christian country in the world with the most missionaries sent out than any other country. There was once more Christian churches in America than in the rest of the world combined. Still, the promise holds strong that the nation, regardless of which it is, will be blessed if God is it supreme ruler.

The remainder of Ps. 33 spells out clearly that it is not a king, an army, or its technology that wins a war, it is the power of a God keeping his promise that wins the war. Having said all of this I do not desire to press one into a corner of depression and tell us to look around at all the spiritual ruin, rather I urge you to stand up and claim the promise of God and press forward to maintain a nation whose God is the Lord.

This is an election year and you have a voice in the next leader. You can choose someone who will help us keep God as the Lord, or you can cast your vote for destruction. As you cast your ballot in a couple of months remember this verse as you slide your ballot into the machine.

Getting Along: Conflict Resolution.

You won't get a long with everyone you meet. Duh.

You won't be friends with everyone we get along with. Okay.

You won't get along with everyone we have to live with. Ain't that the truth.

You were told, "Live peaceably with all men" and "Blessed are the peacemakers." Yeah, but...

No matter how we look at it we don't get along with everyone and there are times in life we can't get away from the people we neither like nor get along with. That is just a part of life. Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount that there is a blessing though for people who are peacemakers. Paul instructed us that as much as possible we are to live peaceably with all men. This is not instruction that is easy or enjoyable, but necessary to grow in God's love and ways. Humans relationship are what often stand between us and God. If we are not living peaceably with our fellow man, it will be live within the peace of God. There is a common solution but it is not easy.

Conflict between people is likely because of one or more of these reasons: We do not like the way the person is acting or has acted. We do not like the rationale a person has or has had. We do not like the influences that person has upon them. Or, we don't like the choices the person has made, is making , or is about to make. If you think of the people you have conflict with you will agree that the conflict lies in at least one of these areas. Did you notice though that so far everything has to do with the other person. Of course, because in your mind you are automatically correct and the other person is wrong; thus you have a conflict.

I do not want to trivialize your conflict but there are steps to resolve the issue and the are not: 1. I'm right. 2. You're wrong. 3. Get used to it. NO! That only leads to a bigger problem but we like to do those three much more because they are easy and put us in a position of power.

Here are some much better steps which can help, they are all questions to ask yourself... Now, before I tell you them I want to point out that this is all within the bounds of "generally speaking" and they must be looked at as a basic outline for you to custom tailor to your conflict without changing the intent or thought behind them.

1. What type of relationship is this?

2. What is my God given role within this type of relationship?

3. What can I learn/How is God bettering me through this conflict?

4. What action can I take to resolve this conflict without stepping out of the bounds of my role within the relationship?

5. How can I change to resolve this conflict?

6. How can I praise God for this conflict?

I agree that at face value this looks like it would solve nothing because it never even asks the question of "What is the conflict?" but let me give you a scenario that that is a true happening with my counsel to a teenager this week. The issue was that they could not get along with one or more of their parents and here is how these questions were used to resolve the conflict without me every knowing what any of the specific conflicts might be. (I still don't know what they were, it didn't matter.)

"I just don't know what to do... I a just can't get along with my [parent]" is what was told to me. Obviously then I knew that this was a conflict within a parent-child relationship, pointed this out to the person and went on to question number two. This person knows some basic Bible so I asked, "What are you God given role in your relationship? What does God tell you to do as your role within it?" and I had them look up Exodus 20.12 and Ephesians 6.1-3. It took a little while but the response came, "Obey your parents." They didn't really like hearing it but it was true and no matter how much it wasn't liked you can't really argue that instruction if your parents are creating you to break God's moral or spiritual laws. It was made clear that I was not trying to come down hard on anyone or take any ones side in the issue except for God's and we moved on to the next question. "How can God better me through this conflict?" Pretty soon answers came; learning to listen to authority. learning to get a long with people. learning to submit. humility. The list could go on and on... but it hadn't been thought of like this before.
In life we like to look at how we are being wronged and mistreated... victims to everyone and everything, instead of as over comers who can take any situation and see it as a chance that God is strengthening us. Once we had established that this was a way for God to better our lives; even through conflict, then we could move toward possible resolutions because now we had the correct perspective.
"What action can I take to resolve this conflict without stepping out of the bounds of my role within the relationship?" There were some suggested actions mentioned and discussed but some quite different then they would have been if we had not already established our roles and perspective. Then came the kicker, the point that we hate the most because it reverse our nature and selfish way of thinking. We asked the question "How can I change to resolve this conflict?" You can't consider this question if you are still thinking you are right and they are wrong and that is it! Sure, they may be wrong, and you may be right but one thing still stands: you can't change them but you can change yourself. In the case with this teenager and likely with yours, both parties were wanting to be in charge but when you examine the God given roles it was not both of their positions to be in charge. Again, if you hadn't already established the roles you couldn't get to this question. This all leads us to the last question, "How can I praise God for this conflict?" When you resolve a conflict you will find out that it has only strengthened your relationship regardless of who may have had the biggest peace of humble pie to swallow. If it were not for the conflict your relationship would not be as strong as it is afterward and for that you need to thank God... but please, don't see this as an excuse to create another conflict, they will come again soon enough.

God did not intend for his prized creation to live continually at odds with each other so don't. Seek peace with God, man, and even your family. Focus on what God has done and is doing even in the face of conflict and praise him for it. No one would ever have victory it there had never been a war.

Becoming a Gladiator

Monday nights is Gladiator night; regular athletes get to take on a breed of seemingly super-humans in an arena that is designed to press your limits. Thousands show up to see this in person and millions tune in via television. We are fascinated to see limits pressed and effort given. Most of us sit on the couch being the bench warming coaches we've becoming, telling the contenders exactly what to do and how they "should" be doing things when they are likely doing better than we ever could.

June of 2008 my family had our first family vacation ever and enjoyed every minute of it. We took our churches teenagers up to Lake Ann Camp in Lake Ann, MI, and stayed the week ourselves in a beautiful log cabin on the camp's grounds. We did not have much interaction with our teen campers but did see them from time to time. One such occasion was as they were scaling "Goliath". Goliath, named after the giant whom David overcame but the hand of God, is a Gladiator style 4o' tall climbing course that is straight up. You begin on the ground and climb a 10' rope ladder to a swaying 4x6 beam held by cables between two trees. Above that beam 4' is another beam, then another at 6' above that, and another at 8' above that. Above the top beam by 10' is a bell hanging just waiting to be rung. All of this held together by cables and is swaying at every breath of wind. 4 people at a time would scale this behemoth and attempt to ring the bell at the top; but there is more to it than that.

Lake Ann makes it a point to show the campers that God is in every part of our life, and every part of our life should reflect God. So what does "Goliath" have to do with God?

Before climbing a goal was set. Each group had to determine what there level of completion would be, how much were they going to conquer; would they sell themselves short or press themselves all the way? This is paralleled to the issues we face in life and temptations that try to get us to sell short in our walk with God. The course was assembled so that you could not complete it on your own, even if you were an American Gladiator; you had to rely on the people around you. Team work and trust were key elements to reach the top and have 100% completion, just as it is in our Christian walk. We can try to run a strong Christian walk all alone, but that is not how God designed it, we are a body and must work as a community to encourage and support each other to reach for God and draw closer to Him. So, where is the "God" in this Goliath thing? Each person had to strap on a harness before climbing; there's God. See, no matter how bad the climbers may mess up and even fall, they would be caught. Yes, they may lose some ground and have to re-climb some areas they had already conquered, but they were safe and secure in the harness. (The boole' rope holding the harness was also held by other teen campers on their team, talk about trust.)

Such is true in our walk with God. We watch others around us and tell them how to run their Christian walk just like we sit on our couch and tell the contenders how to compete with the Gladiators, when we are the one on the sidelines, and they are the ones in the action. We must take the step to begin climbing the "Goliath's" in our lives and realize that there is support and encouragement around us in the body of Christ, and that God will be there to for us in case we may slip and lose some ground. Remember, "Not succeeding because you are afraid to fail is failure also. Begin to overcome the Goliath's in your life today.

And for you who are thinking I am just a sideline couch for Goliath and couldn't have done it myself... While I was watching our group the camp director told me they were one person short for the next group and asked if I could do it with them. I did.

Why Did God Create Evil?

"Our teens have a lot of questions..." is the words that came out of our teen Sunday School teachers mouth on Sunday morning back a few months. "They are really questioning everything about Christianity, God, and Salvation." This conversation did not shock me, I have been working with teenagers now for 9 years and have found that the 13-18 year range is a transition period of youth. Up until now they have seemingly blindly followed what their parents believed. The teen years is an eye opening turning point of them having the choice of what to believe, and somehow whatever their parents have always believed will many times appear archaic and outdated. So, what are we doing about this?
This summer we are letting our teens decide what we teach to them. No, we are not going to change the Bible or its message to say that teens are always right and parents are always raging buffoons; we are taking all of their questions and answering a few of them each week using the Bible as our answer source.
Last week we took up the first round of questions and there was one question that was dominating the question pool. No one knew what another person asked but there was a lot of people wondering, "If God created everything, why did He create evil?" Some even went on the write a story on their question card about a baby that had died in their family or a godly person who came down with a disease. This is a good question which is asked by both teens and adults. So, why did God create evil?
To grasp the answer to this question there is a concept you must understand. There is no such thing as evil. Yes, that is right; there is no such thing as evil. What?! Okay, now you think "Pastor Randy has gone nuts-o on us." So what about Satan? We'll get back to him.
Evil is like darkness and cold, they don't exist. Yes, I have been locked a dark room, and yes, I have been out on a winters day, but yes, I have also had high school chemistry where they teach you that there is no such thing as darkness and cold, only levels of light and heat. You can have no light, little light, or a lot of light, but you can not add a measurement of darkness of anything. The same is true with cold; you can only have levels of heat. You can have no heat, little heat, or a lot of heat, but you cannot add "cold" to something. Now, think of this with God and evil. God we know did not intend for evil to be in the world but it is here and it will be until He returns. In the mean time we, through the consequence of sin, cannot not experience the level of God on earth that He intended to be. Instead, we live in a world of lesser levels of God. The more we see unrighteousness, the less God we see. In some places God has been entirely shut out, we know that his spirit is there, but is work is not. In other places there is just a trace of God.
So, what about Satan? Doesn't he work evil? If Satan works evil won't that mean there is such thing as evil and that I was teach heresy when I said there was no such thing as evil? Satan certainly does work evil, but since evil is the absence of God, Satan's work is to lessen the level of God in our lives, our homes,... our world. Satan's goal is to take our focus off from God and push Him more and more out of our lives... thus creating a higher level of evil. Make sense? If not call me.
Okay, so far we have said all of this without cracking the Bible; very dangerous because this teaching is not mine, it is from God and God has given us the Bible. Here's the proof.
1. Genesis 1-3 Mankind was created into a perfect environment where they were able to run, frolic and play freely and were accompanied by God himself. Thus, they were in a place with a high level of God.
2. Romans 5.12 says, "...by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" Adam and Eve had a high level of God but they also had free-will which gave them the choice to retain the high level of God or give it up; they chose to give it up under the influence of Satan (who remember is out to lessen the level of God.)
3. Notice in Romans 5.12 that sin entered into the WORLD and was passed upon ALL MEN so that ALL have sinned. Do you get the point? Adam cursed the entire human race! Sin did not just send its curse upon one person and enact natural selection, it damned the entire human race. This is very important to remember. The next time you are wondering why a baby died or a godly person got sick you must remember it is because of sin! Sin effects everyone, not just the person who is sinning; we are all sinners and our world is riddled with evil.
4. Romans 5.8-9 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." Did you see that? In Romans 5.12 we were condemned because of sin, but now in v8-9 we are "justified" (cleaned thoroughly of our sins)! We no longer have to live in the condemnation of our sins. Just as one man brought sin upon the entire human race, one man (Jesus Christ) was able to pay the sacrifice and counteract it. It was act of love that made forgiveness possible, it will be an act of "grace through faith" (Eph. 2.8-9) that accepts this forgiveness.

Having said all of that, why do we still have problems after we come to Christ? If Jesus came to reverse the curse of sin on mankind, why do believers still encounter evil? This is simple really, remember what was said the be the highest price in Genesis? Death. There were other things that came along with it, but death was most supreme. For the believer, the greatest penalty of sin is wiped away immediately (eternal death) and we will see the rest of our penalty wiped away when Jesus returns and establishes us to a higher level of God; in his presence of eternity.

Good Temptations.

Has life ever seemed like a race? If you said "NO", your next move needs to be hitting your knees in confession because life can seem like a race and is even referenced as a race in scripture. Life is a race to be completed strong. We may not win the race in the first place position, but we should all strive to finish strong knowing that we did all that we could to finish at the top. In Hebrews we are encouraged to look around us and see that there is a great crowd of witnesses here to support us and be an encouragement to us (Heb 11). The fellowship of the church is also here for support (Heb 10.25). If this is true, why is it that we may find ourselves feeling alone?

A race is made of many people and "contestant" that are all wanting one thing; finish, if not win. In a good race the other racers will be the support of each other, but what if there is no one around us? If you have ever watched a race that is more that a sprint you see that even though the racers start at the same time they will soon be spread out. Sure, there may be clusters of people here and there but soon even they will be split apart because no one runs at the same speed. There are some times in a marathon that a runner can see no on in front of or behind them even though there are hundreds of other runners, and there is no one standing along the sidelines. Runners testify these are the legs of the race that giving up is the easiest. Without the support of runners or witnesses what is left to help the runner press on?

This same thing happens to us spiritually when we hit times in life that everyone has either passed us, or we have passed everyone; we end up finding ourselves all alone; we forget the great distances we have covered and begin to get tired. We are tempted to just give up.

I Corinthians 10.13 says, "There is no temptation give to you that is not common to man; God is faithful and will not tempt you more that you are able but will with the temptation provide a way of escape so that you will be able to bear it."

Did you ever stop to think about this? We are not facing something alone even if we may be running by ourselves for the moment because people who may be out of sight from us right now are going through the same thing; people who have run this race before you went through the same thing; people who run this race after you will go through the same thing. Every time you see someone take first place in a race they were proving that this leg of the race can be conquered. But how could they ever make it through without the support of the fans and the runners?

"God is faithful". The difficulties are overcome because they stop thinking of the race, which lasts only for a short while, and remembered what is eternal. When marathon runner finishes the race and is interviewed they commonly share what "got them through" the race and it is something that had nothing to do with the race; family, charity, prize money, etc... Something other than the race, the fans, or even the other runners support; it was a bigger something that would be waiting for them after the finish line. For the Christian our race of life is doable because of the fact that God is faithful and will keep his promise that "I go to prepare a place for you..." (John 14.1).

The verse does not stop though with God being faithful, if also gives a promise that "God won't bring you to it unless he is willing to get you through it." There is even a cooler part than that; God will end up using the temptation to quit itself to get you past the temptation! This is a part of the verse that seems puzzling to some. What is that supposed to mean? How could a temptation ever help get you out of itself? The way this is possible is if we look to God and allow his the make us stronger through this experience. No, this does not mean we walk into temptation or invite it into our lives so that we can become strong; temptation will find you easily enough without you having to find it.

Think of the alcoholic who ruins his family. When the alcoholic comes to Christ and repents of alcohol, the visions of his past life's effect on his family will keep him from going back, and he will be an effective witness to other alcoholics because he can relate to them. Thinking again of the race scenario, since you are running at different speeds you will eventually come along side of someone else again, and since your temptation is common, they too have likely had a hard time dealing with it; when you are now come together you can be a great support and encouragement on to another.

There is no race that is completed without running it, but running it can become a great experience, even the lonely/temptation times if we remember that we are not facing it alone, God is faithful.

The Power of Willing Heart.

Having grown up in a strong Christian family which showed up to church whenever someone was there I have been in thousands of services and been a part of just as many events, banquets, fellowships, and celebrations. Through all of those meetings I have heard a common saying over and over; "God will us anyone with a willing heart to serve Him." What is that supposed to mean? As a child there was no choice in Christian service. Either you would left home all alone or you were going to be a part of the church; and the choice was easy for me because my parents made it for me... I was going to be a part of the church.

Now, as an adult I have seen something. I have seen that God is willing to use anyone who is willing to serve Him. (If that sounds familiar to you it is because it is the same quote used earlier.) In recent studies I have done, this theme has been bouncing off the page at me. Over and over again we see that God will use anyone regardless their strengths, weaknesses, background, or social status. Here are a few of the people in scripture that have stood out to me lately as proving this statement true.

Noah. Genesis 6.8 says that "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Why? Was he some super business man that was well equipped to fund the larger missions project in his time of history? Did he have a church with an amazing worship band, world class pastor, and have everyone tithing? No. He wasn't even in ministry as we think of it today. What made Noah so great is in Genesis 6.9, "Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God." That is it. He is great because he was will to do what was right and continually walk with God. He simply had a willing heart to do whatever God wanted him to.

Abraham. The father of all the nation of Israel, and even that of Palestine. Abraham is noted as being the faithful of the faithful but why? He was born into an ungodly family. (Actually, they were very "godly"... they had one for everything.) He worked in his dad's idol shop. He travelled in his family as they sought their own desires. He lived secular life. How did he become so great in the eyes of God? God saw much deeper than what was on the surface; God saw the heart. God was the potential of Abraham, the faithfulness within him, and the obedience he would have. The first time we see Abraham see God (the one true God) is in Genesis 12.1 when he gives him a simply but difficult order to leave his family and his homeland. God's judgement of choosing a father for his future chosen people proves itself from the beginning as Abraham obeys. Again, a simple person with a willing heart to serve God.

Jacob. Jacob may be the grandson of Abraham, but a lot had changed by then. Jacob was a greedy little fella who was out to get everything. So, how could God change him into a patriarch of the faith? This one is a little more like most of the people I know; we are greedy, we want what we see, and we would rather give our energy to fight God than serve him. Jacob goes through the first part of his life living it all about him. He is following the philosophy that he has one life to live so he will get as much as he can during it. All goes well in his eyes until God calls him out of his comfort zone in Genesis 32 to face those who he had trampled down in the past. God sees him through and sets him up for a hard-learned-lesson. Verses 24-30 Jacob wrestles with a mystery man (Most believe this, being the Angel of the Lord, is a Christophany; an appearing of Christ before being physically born of Mary) who doesn't give up fighting him until dawn. At the end of the fight Jacob has his leg thrown out of joint and set straight as far as who is in control here... God is. Through the fight we can see something very important about Jacob; he fought all night. He was willing to stand up for what he believed it. He was strong and courageous even in the face of God. Do see what I see? Jacob had the strength and courage to do great things, he was just channelling it the wrong direction. It is very easy to take the talent God has given to us and use it to our own advantage instead of God's. Jacob found out that his strengths were intended for God and he begins to follow after God's plan from there.

God is willing to us anyone with a willing heart to serve Him. The saying is true, but is it true in your life? The people who we think of as being great are nothing more than ordinary people who are willing to serve and extraordinary God.

Life is Good; Eternal Life is Better

Standing in the line at the Secretary of State is never on the top of someones "Best time of my life list" as the lines are often long and the wait is painfully boring. Yesterday I was, however, one of the many who were there; along with my 4 year old son, and 2 year old daughter. Amid the drone of the crowd and the counter clerks helping others, there was another more familiar sound of music. Nothing too pronounced but still very noticeable. I soon discovered it was coming from beneath me. It was my son singing his favorite song: "Life is good; eternal life is better. Life is good; eternal life is better..." and so on. The song is catchy and has a fun rhythm and he sings is often, including... the Secretary of State office of all places.

I couldn't help but smile. It occurred to me then that while I had been dreading the trip to the overcrowded and intensely boring line, there was still a song to be song and a message to be told. As Jesus told his disciples to "suffer the little children to come unto me" this may be some of what he had in mind; 2,000 years later the fruit of a child coming to Jesus would begin a ministry to people in a place notorious for causing anxiety and discourse.

I did not shush my son nor did I tell him to sing louder. I simply told him, "That's right. Eternal life is better and people need to know about it." He continued singing most of our stay; repeating the opening line over and over. When we had received our number and took a seat in the waiting area we sat next to a man who works at the gas station we frequent. With the song still on repeat we got into conversation and discovered that he too is a Christian. His number was soon called. No one came to sit next to us for the rest of our time, but all heard that their life may be good, but eternal life was better.

What Makes One Great?

I can read, but I am not a scholar.

I can strum guitar, but am no master.

I can turn a wrench, but I am not a mechanic.

I can talk to people, but not always relate to them.

I can type, but have many typos.

I can tell of Jesus, but still get nervous.

I can sing a song, but it comes out flat.

I can stand boldly, yet fall spiritually.

What makes someone great? We all have things that we may be good at but we still have failures. We say things to ourselves like, "If only I could...", or "If I had the talent that 'so and so' has, then I could...". Life can become a big period of procrastination because we repeatedly tell ourselves what we can't do instead of doing what we can.

Last Sunday everyone of our services had something to do with Abraham. The more studying that went into one service, the more material came out of it until there was an entire days worth of 'good stuff' to share from this guy. In the midst of studying I found myself saying, "If I could only have had this kind of faith then maybe God could use me like he did Abraham." For just a moment I imagined what it would be like to be one of God's most used people and what it would take for God to chose to use someone that greatly. Then something hit me; I am better equipped than Abraham! YOU are better equipped than Abraham!

Abraham did not have a copy of scripture. Abraham did not have a local church to attend that gave him a weekly recharge and instilled hope. Abraham did not have a computer with an entire internet to let him explore the goodness of God through Biblically based evangelistic websites. Abraham did not have a radio that produced praise music, or Christian programming for him to listen to. There is only one thing that Abraham had that made him great... FAITH! If you have that, then you are just as equipped as Abraham was. Romans 4.20-21 says, "He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.”

Abraham did not have an evangelistic ministry, a radio show, or a website, but he changed to world with faith. "By grace you are saved through FAITH..." (Ephesians 2.8). Take your faith, and use the resources God has blessed you with and change your world for Christ.