The Beatitudes

The last 3 weeks we have looked at the beatitudes of Jesus from a totally different perspective during our Wednesday night study. Jeff Walling (DVD) has led us in giving us a unique perspective on these various attitudes that Jesus calls us to have. Attitudes about how we deal with one another in relationships. Let me break it down for you the best that I can:

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit: "I need you." - The poor in spirit need others. We have to realize that as believers we need one another.
2. Blessed are those who mourn: "I'm Sorry." - Being a follower of Christ is not always easy, we have to realize when it is that we fall short and admit it.
3. Blessed are the meek: "I respect you." - Meekness is power under control. It is being respectful even when you are obviously supposed to be respected.
   
4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for Righteousness: "I will do what is right, regardless." - We are called be examples as followers of Jesus, as parents, as grandparents, etc. We must do the right thing no matter what the circumstance is.
   
5. Blessed are the merciful: "I have forgiven you already." - Mercy is a very hard thing to give, but we are called to do it. Mercy means forgiving others even when they are so obviously wrong. Are you a forgiving person?
6. Blessed are those who are pure in heart: "I will be honest with you always." - It is very important that people do not have to guess what you are thinking. Honesty is a lost art in our society. Be honest with others.
7. Blessed are the peacemakers: "Let me be the first to stop the fighting." - Wow what a difficult thing. Are you willing to be the first to stop the fight. Many times we get caught up in the fighting because our pride gets in the way of peace. Be the first to stop the fight.
8. Blessed are those who persecute you: "I will cut you slack, because Jesus did for me." Hmmmm I think this one speaks for itself.

God is very very concerned about how we treat one another. John 13:34 speaks of this very truth. How we care for one another matters.

Let's all try to apply these truths about relationship not only within the church, but within our families, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc.

As my family was looking at the amazing lunar eclipse this evening, my wife reminded me of an awesome truth this phenomenon: We should all be like the moon, reflecting the sun (son) as we live for Jesus. How is your reflection.

aaron

Sermon Challenge
Luke 18:9-14
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

This week we took a deep look at the difference between the attitude of the Pharisee and that of the Tax Collector. The difference really comes down to the heart of the matter. The Pharisee thought he was something, he tithes, fasts and is not a sinner. Yet, he failed to recognize that apart from God, none of us are anything. Where as the Tax Collector came to the realization that God desires from all of us. "Forgive me God, I'm a sinner!"

God desires for us to be people of repentance. To realize how far from perfect we are and how much we really NEED God. James 2:10 tells us that we are all in the same boat, one sin made us guilty of breaking the whole law. Romans 3:23 says that we have ALL sinned, and 1 John 1:10 even tells us that if we say we are with out sin, we are liars.

Repentance is the turning away from sin, to follow God (Acts 3:19). It is more than just being sorry, it's a choice to follow God and live by His example. "Be Holy as I am Holy," God told his people. (1 Peter 1:16) It does not mean we will be perfect without sin, but it does mean we are going to make every attempt to be the kind of people God wants us to be.

My challenge for you this week is to take some time, write in a journal, who is God asking you to be? As a father, mother, grandparent, child, church member, city dweller, neighbor or friend, what kind of person is God desiring for you to be?

Prayer for Faith

This past week a couple incredible friends of mine gave pre-mature birth to their second child, Faith. Faith needed immediate recesitation and within the first few minutes of her life 11 doctors tended to her every need. The doctors are not hopeful that Faith will have full recover. The prognosis is not strong, though her kidneys and lungs appear to functioning properly it seems her brain was lacking oxygen for an extended period of time. Her is what Brock (Faith's dad) wrote today regarding God and his daughter Faith. . .

"I am a father that is hoping and praying for a miracle. And I have Faith that God will come through. I understand that God has a plan, and that sometimes his will is not my own. I understand that know matter what happens, God is in control and that I need to trust him. Throughout this entire ordeal I have felt God's hand on my shoulder keeping me strong. Even when I am a ball of mush that cannot contain my tears, I know that God is still with me. And I know he is with Faith as well. Remember, Faith is believinging in God even when it is hardest."

Please be praying for baby Faith, her parents, Brock and Cami and Faith's big sister Brenna.

If you would like to read the blog Brock wrote about Faith, click here.

Sermon Challenge
Luke 16:19-31
The Rich Man and Lazarus

I'm not normally this late with my sermon challenge posting, but I really do have good excuses, which also includes helping my father-in-law pour cement at his new house. If you are a father-in-law, or have one, you know why I had to do what I did. . .

This week's sermon was scary for me. I don't talk a lot about hell. It's just not my favorite subject. I prefer many other things which is probably why this week was so good for me as I was able to really put this world into perspective. I can live confidently in knowing that when I die, my savior is waiting for me. With that hope and confidence in mind I press on working hard in this life to make an eternal difference. Not everyone around me has that hope, that makes my job all the more important. I MUST be sharing Jesus to a world dieing without him.

This week: Take some time to pray for those who do not know the Saviour. Do not live in fear, live in the confidence that comes from knowing Jesus. I spoke on Sunday about a couple friends of mine that I have lost, these guys lived their life with hope. I found this (actually someone found it for me) on the internet. Jeanne Clem is dieing of terminal cancer and she was asked by her church to share the joys and the struggles of know Jesus during this hard time. Check out this video here.

We do not need to be concerned about death. Paul says to this great enemy of man kind, "O Death where is your victory, where is your sting?" Be strong in that hope but please do not forget to share it with those who have none.

Sermon Challenge
Matthew 20:1-16
Workers in the Vineyard

Jesus tells an interesting story here in the 20th Chapter of Matthew. A Vineyard owner hires some help for his Vineyard. He hires a few guys bright and early in the morning, promising them a full days wage. Later on in the morning he hires a few more, promising them a fair wage, later on he hires a few more, and even hires a few guys just before quitting time. At the end of the day, he begins to pay those who had arrived latest (who had only worked for one hour). He pays them a full denarius (one days wage), the others expect to be paid more, naturally. Yet, the land owner pays each and everyone of the workers the same exact wage.

Yesterday we looked a few different aspects to this story. It is a story about grace, each and every one of us does not deserve grace, yet God gives it to us, not based upon how we live or who we are, but based upon who we follow. There are some warnings that God gives:

1. Be careful of comparison: Those who had put in a full day expected more, they compared themselves to the others who had not worked a full day. There will always be someone more holy than you are, and there will always be someone far less holy than you too. Don't worry about it. You need to be concerned about you. Are you giving all that you have to God?
   
2. Be careful of complaining: The first thing the guys who had worked a full day did when they received their pay was to complain. The felt they deserved better. They probably had a pretty good beef, it doesn't seem fair to me from a worldly standard. Yet, God makes it quite clear that we are not to be focused on the things of this world. God's ways are far better than ours, we need to trust his judgment in the things happening around us.

God is sure mysterious. Isaiah 55:8 says, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." We certainly saw evidence of that on Sunday with the snow. What incredible beauty the snow brings, and consider the power of the weather, knocking down trees and power lines. I don't remember hearing about that kind of storm in the weather on Saturday night.

Our lives with God in control, are built to handle the storms of life. We serve God with an eternity in mind. Let's keep from complaining, from comparing, let's focus on what matters. How is your relationship with God? It matters not if you are 10 or 100, we work, we serve, we follow our God until the end.

This week, strive to be a follower of God!

aaron

Sermon Challenge
Luke 16:1-9
Using our Treasure

Today, is Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year (according to people who know that sort of thing). It is the day that people's lives come crashing down. Monday's are generally no fun at all anyway, combine that with an unmet New Year resolution, the reality of over spending during the holiday, and the average January full of cold, cloudy blah. Today is a reality check day for most of America.

Yesterday we talked about being wise with our treasure, being smart about how we share our faith and how we use the hope God has given us. Today is a pretty good day to use that schrewdness. How many people do you know that have over spent during this holiday season? How can you be an encouragement to a friend or neighbor on these dreary days? Who can you talk to about your faith?

As sermon challenges go, this is not an easy one. It takes fore thought, planning and the usual follow through. Let's start with this. . . write down the name, maybe two names of people in your life that need to know Jesus. A friend a neighbor, maybe a co-worker. Then, pray! Pray that God will give you the right words to say, the right circumstances to say them under. Last of all, I pray that you will share this person you are praying for with another believer who will help you pray for him/her. Share it with your small group, or close friend.

We need to work together on this one! Let's ALL accept the challenge.

ae

Sermon Challenge
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
Matthew 25:1-14

Are you ready? That is the questions we posed yesterday. Well, are you? Jesus is very clear that his return is pending and that when he does come back, he will return without warning, like a "thief in the night." Many people speculate the return of Jesus and the type of things that will go on before his return. Recently, a man in northern Idaho chopped his hand off and put it in the microwave, truly believing that he had the mark of the beast.*

We can either live in fear of the Lord's coming, or we can stand confidently knowing that as followers of Jesus we have a glorious reunion to be preparing for. In the parable of the 10 virgins, there were 5 who were prepared and 5 who were not. The bridegrooms return was delayed and 5 were not prepared for the long haul. Are you prepared to stick it out? The prepared virgins had enough to last, they were fueled up, and though the bridegroom's return was delayed, when he arrived they were ready!

This week take some time apply this passage and ask yourself that hard question. Are you ready? Maybe we should ask this question in another way: Are you excited about the return of Jesus? If you can answer yes, than most likely you are ready. If you are not ready, it's time to get ready. Make a plan, a decision to know your creator and be ready for his return.

*read more about it: here
**The best thing to remember about the return of Jesus, is that Jesus wins!

Applying Scripture

Application: The step between knowing and doing what scripture tells us.

Often times we talk about "living out our faith", or being "doers of the Word," but do we really understand what we are talking about, or even how to do that? I believe there are some very important steps that we as readers of God's Word need to know and to understand so that we to can apply God's Word to the way that we live. Each time you open your Bible, or dig into your devotions there are a few things to consider:

1. What is the Challenge? In trying to understand what God is challenging you with, you may want to consider why and to who was this section of scripture originally intended. What then are you being challenged with today through this passage. It may be challenging the way you treat others, the way you parent, the way you manage, your attitude, etc. So, what is that?
   
   
2. What is your plan to change? How are you going to apply this scripture? If you are being challenged to be a better father, how are you going to do it? Maybe God is encouraging you to have a better attitude, how do you pull it off? Make a plan, put legs to the idea. This is action required stuff, what is the action going to be.
   
   
3. Seek accountability. Who is going to encourage you to follow through with your plan? Many times we make a plan and never tell a soul about it. Then it is easy to simply not follow through. If you really want to follow through with the plan, tell someone who will bug you until it gets done!
   
   
4. Do it. Don't talk about it, do it!
   

I hope these thoughts help you as you dig into God's Word this year. The Bible is soooo full of awesome ideas, lets work on putting some action; some application, to our reading this year. In all things God will receive the glory.

Sermon Challenge
The Parable of the Treasure
Matthew 13:44-46

The last couple of weeks we have focused on the parable of the Treasure. Jesus gives us an awesome picture of the importance of the Gospel and our relationship with God. He equates the Gospel and this relationship that we have with Jesus to a treasure, a treasure you would give anything to have.

The best part of this treasure, is no matter how much you give away, you will never lose any of it. God does not want us to be stingy with this treasure, he wants, he needs us to give it away. Our treasure is not to be buried or hidden, it is to be shown and shared. Make sure you are sharing your treasure.

My challenge to you this week is to take your treasure and share it. This can be as simple as telling someone about how excited about you are about your small group, or church family that you are. Sometimes it's that simple, we don't have to know all the answers, we just need to be excited about our Savior.

Have a great week!

aaron

Sermon Challenge
The Christmas Story
Matthew 1, 2; Luke 2

I love the Christmas season. There is something to be said for this time of the year. I love Christmas trees, I love Christmas lights, I love peanut butter fudge. I love Christmas music, giving gifts and yes, the cold rain brings it all together nicely.

Sometimes in the midst of all of this we forget the real purpose, the real meaning behind Christmas. I want to give you an action required Challenge this week. I want to challenge everyone to spend some time this week in the Christmas story. Read it aloud to your spouse, to your children or grand children. Soak in the story, remind yourself, all of these things about Christmas are fun, but the real meaning about Christmas revolves around a little baby.

(future students?)
Our Visit to Boise

We just got back from a trip to Boise to spend time with family. On our trip, we went to Boise Bible College to see some friends and to check out the new buildings. It was awesome! The new class rooms are state of the art and it was great to see Seth and Ash, they seem to be doing very very good.

Our trip was great, you can see and read more about our trip at www.earlywinefamily.blogspot.com

See you Sunday.

Aaron

This Week's Challenge

The Prodigal Son
Luke 15

Luke 15 gives us an incredible indication of how much God loves those who have not accepted him. He gives us an awesome picture of how far he goes to get his message heard. Ultimately, we are the tools that God uses to bring people to Him. All of us at one point in time or another were prodigal sons and daughters of God. We had to make a conscious decision to follow and accept our Savior Jesus. He waited on us, the same as he waits on others.

It really struck me while I was preaching this Sunday about how closely the last two weeks connect. I even thought about how much better these sermons would have fit flip flopped. Last week we discussed the sermon about the banquet and this week we talked about the prodigal son, who's father throws him a banquet upon his return. In each case, we see that coming to Jesus and seeing other's come to him is reason for CELEBRATION. God is all about a party.

This week, let us not forget the absolute joy that God brings when one returns to Him. With this in mind, we should be sharing this incredible news to those around us, in a natural joyous way. Ask God to help you live a life naturally expressing your love for God and others. Let it not be a forced expression, but a natural expression based upon what God is doing for you.



On another Note:
Please be praying for my family as we travel to Idaho to visit friends and family. It is always nerve racking to travel the roads this time of year.


Book From Yesterday's exert:
What's so Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey

This Week's Challenge:

The Parable of the Banquet
Matthew 22

This week we looked at the parable Jesus tells in Matthew 22. The great King throws a banquet for son, a wedding banquet none the less. He invites all of his friends and some ignore the invitation and others kill the servants who deliver the request. So, the King sends out his servants again, to invite everyone that they see both good and bad. The banquet is full, packed with people dressed in their wedding garments. The king walks into the banquet and notices one dressed, not in the wedding garments, but in other clothes. "How did you get in?" the King asks. He doesn't know how to respond and the king sends him away.

The Application:
Yesterday, we applied this parable in a few ways:
1. Sometimes people will respond to the invitation of Jesus and the Gospel the same way they responded to the King's request. Some will ignore the invitation and will find better things in life to do. Some may actually respond negative to the Gospel and may even harm or kill those who bring the message of Christ.

2. When the King receives negative responses, he gives another opportunity for his invites to respond. Finally, he opens the invitation to everyone. God, first of all will always give more chances. He is patient and full of mercy, not wanting anyone to perish. Secondly, his invitation is not just for a select few. His invitation is extended to everyone, both good and bad. It's not about who you are, it's about who you know.

3. The King at the banquet, notices that their is someone at the banquet who does not have the proper clothing. These wedding garments are not earned, they are given, based upon your relationship with the King.

The Challenge:
This week, take some time to consider your role as a servant and a messenger of the Gospel. Are you ready for the banquet? Pray for those you know and love, who need to hear this message.

This Week's Challenge:

What's Best for the Gospel

John Whitaker from Boise Bible College was our guest on Sunday. He had some very cool insights on Acts 16 from the life of Paul. The decisions that Paul made, he made with the Gospel in mind. The way he conducted himself and the decisions he had to make.

This week, in the midst of your decisions, consider very carefully the impact that those decisions will have. How are they going to affect the mission of Christ? What are those decisions going to say about your witness? How we carry ourselves makes a BIG difference. Carry yourself well.

aaron

A lot of memories have come flooding back to me lately. I was just recently made aware that a pastor in this beautiful city of Cottage Grove, that I call home has come down with brain cancer. It is a pretty serious sort, all brain cancer is and it's kind of scary. In fact, not too long ago a friend of our church was also diagnosed with the same form of cancer. It seems that both families struggle with this. It is not easy and it doesn't make sense.

The thought that has been returning, is the experience that I had with my best friend Cory that died of stage 4 brain cancer a couple years. The frustration, the anger. Yet, the things that stick out most in my mind are the things that happened, that could not have happened had Cory not had this cancer.

I remember one evening when we were gathered around in our small group. The room was full, and we prayed for long time and everyone in our small group prayed. We were calling out to God, praying for healing and even more than that, we were praying that God would give Cory the strength to fight this thing. At the end of our prayer time, Cory's dad, asked if he could pray. I remember seeing the tears in Cory's eyes as his dad prayed, how powerful.

At the funeral service, Cory's doctor got up. He mentioned how he had been to many of his patients services. He had seen many people die of this cancer, but this was the first time that he got up and spoke at any of his patients services. He said some words that ring in my head even today. "Cory was different than my other patients. He had hope, and love for people that I had not seen before. To give you an example of that, on Father's day this year, after a hard surgery that left Cory weak and in bed, Cory called to wish me Happy Father's Day. Even in the midst of this harsh battle, he was thinking of others."

I know this cancer thing is really lame but I live with hope and encourage you to do the same, that God knows what is going on and he will work to bring good out of every tragedy!

aaron

A Popular Day:
November 15th

November 15th, tomorrow, is a very popular day, at least in my world.

November 15th, Carl Hurd turns 75 years young.

November 15th, AJ turns 4 years old.

November 15th, Howard (my neighbor) turns somewhere between the 4 and 75.

November 15th, is also America Recycles Day. (at least there is one day to recycle huh?)

November 15th also marks my time here at the church in Cottage Grove. It was on this day, 5 years ago that I started as the youth minister. What an awesome experience this last 5 years have been. Lord willing I, Carl, AJ, Howard, and all of those recyclers will have many more November 15th's to celebrate.

aaron

The Least of These

I had never really considered this idea of reaching the "least of these." As a pastor, my concept of ministry was reaching out to all people. Yet Jesus was very specific with who and what and who he was a part of. He did not minister and preach to the religious people of his day. He brought Jesus to them.

That really got me to thinking about the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus came to set up. This Kingdom was the church, God's kingdom. As the people of his Kingdom, are we good stewards of what we do. Our King spent a lot of time with the people who did not know him and the people that needed him. Shouldn't our church reflect that? Our building even on Sunday morning should be welcoming to the "Least of Theses." Our ministries should be targeting the sick, homeless, poor, broken, drug afflicted, you name it.

I have to say, my heart is confused by how this looks and what it entales. Yet, at the same time, my heart is repentant for not seeing this better. How could I have missed this? Starting in a couple of weeks I am going to spend some time preaching through a few of the Parables of Jesus. I want to hammer the idea of community through the heart and narrative of God. To spark a church that is more than a community group, but a church that cares for its community. A church that finds its significance in the their relationship with God and understands that relationship so well that it becomes a part of their life.

Simply Jesus

I had a great opportunity to go to a great conference at the Oregon Christian Convention. The guest speaker for the one day conference was LeRoy Lawson. He is a native of Oregon and has gone to wonderful for the ministry. He gave us some very important encouragement on making our lives and ministry simply about Jesus.

One of the points that Lawson really drove home for me, is this idea of making sure that my life is simply about Jesus. As a pastor I sometimes get caught up in the ministry around me. I get stuck trying to come up with the answers, looking for the right program or formula to have effective ministry. The kind of business that takes away from Jesus.

All of those things are important. Yet, the most important thing is my relationship with Jesus. I have to put that as my primary goal, in life, in relationship, and in ministry. Everything we do as a church MUST be focused around Jesus, finding the effective ways to reach people with the message.

It is not about our church building, it's not about our Sunday School Program, or Small Groups. It's not about our fellowship times, our potlucks or our building project. It is about Jesus. All of these ideas are ways to bring the knowldege of the creator to people but they are not the only ways. They are not the end. Jesus is the end. Jesus is the answer. Jesus is the program. If we are not pointing people to Jesus through any of these, we need to stop it.

Let our lives be about Jesus, let the way we treat others be about Jesus. Let's not complicate things, lets simplify them. The one question we need to ask, "How is ____________ about Jesus?"

aaron

Our faith series has come to a conclusion and I have recieved a lot of wonderful feed back from our faith adventures. In particular, I really got to thinking about applying this to our lives. A life lived by faith is something completely different, something unique. A life lived by faith is lived with excitement and joy. A life lived by faith is specifically defined as a life of hope.

If this is truly the case (I think it is), than my life should have more hope and joy. I should be more than excited to be a part of living, and when things aren't going the way I expect them to be going, than I should remember that it's not me that is in charge. Hmmmmm

I was listening to Bob Welch, who was at a local church of a men's ministry evening. Bob was talking about how important that it is that our lives are a better representation of our faith. He spoke at the beginning of a man who had called him angry about a piece that he had written for the Register Gaurd. The man was yelling frustrated and when Bob mentioned the church he attended, this man replied with, "Oh, you are one of us Christians." From then on the man was nice.

Shouldn't it not be that way. Shouldn't we be nice regardless of the person, doesn't my faith call me to be different. Anyway, Bob talked about a time when he was in the library and heard a little girl singing. Frustrated that she was cause a quiet library to be not so quiet, he moved closer, considering asking the girl and her mother to be quiet. As he approached, he heard the words to the song, "Jesus loves me this I know. . . " Wow, he thought, she is one of us.

Than it hit him, shouldn't he have showed love and grace to her regardless of the song?

It is very important that our faith is not only something very personal, but something very public. People should notice the joy love and peace that we have in Jesus. They should notice the love that we have for EVERYONE. Does your faith give you the confidence to live your life like that?

Lets do this, together.

aaron

All we need is that one thing. . .

I have been really reminded of something extremely important. This week at the schools of mission, the missionaries have reminded me of the importance of knowing and following Jesus. Terrorism, boarder patrol, drug and alcohol abuse have a simple answer. Jesus. Last night, a missionary by the name of Jaffet spoke of this important relationship. He said, "We have 12 step programs and therapy sessions and all sorts of things like that, but we are missing the 13th step, Jesus."

Every other religion finds it's significance, it's heaven based upon living the right kind of life. If you are to take away that religion, there is no true heart felt desire to live right. That is the importance of this faith. We have a unique religion in Christianity, that salvation we recieve is not conditioned on how well we obey the rules. God does care that we are Holy but he desires for us to be holy based upon our love for Him, not because the law tells us to.

aaron

A Faith that Pleases God

"Without faith is it impossible to please God." That right there is an exact quote from the Bible. What does it mean though? Frankly, it means exactly what it says it means. Without faith, we cannot please God. Here is something we may not have spent a lot of time on this Sunday: Our faith defines who we are in the eyes of God. God pays no attention to our lip service, he cares about the way we live out our beliefs.

So, ultimately please God is simple. Live for Him.

This pretty much encompasses every part our lives. Pleasing God requires that I have faith and I show that I have faith by my actions. I please God through the way I carry myself.

There were these T-shirts everyone wore while I was growing up, they were called "Trash Talking T's." One of the T's said, "You talk the talk, I walk the talk." As Christians, how good are we at walking our talk. One of the many excuses I hear about people who do not attend church, is that Christians are hypocritcal. I have difficulty with this excuse because I believe that a majority of Christians, try as they may, fall short. I am by no means perfect and have fallen short in terms of my word too. Yet I'm not certain those are the kind of people that they are talking about. I have seen a lot of people claim the name Christian and their lives are polar opposite of the name they claim. Those are the hypocrite I do not want to become.

The best way that I have found to see how you are doing at this, is what I call the characterization test. When you are described by those whom know you best, do they characterize you as a Christian, or not.

Aaron

Thoughts on Faith

Yesterday, we had the chance to begin the thought process of faith. We dove into the premise of what faith is and the awesome gift that faith brings. I have a couple reminders and challenges for you this morning and this week to consider. If you would like to participate in this discussion, click on the thoughts link at the end of the article, or send me an email by clicking here. Enjoy.

This faith we are talking about has a very distinct start. Faith is not just something that you stumble upon, like a great coffee house. Faith is often purposeful and we may not recognize its beginning, but it has one. “so, faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Rom. 10:17) Faith comes from the Word of God. Without the Good News (the Gospel), there is no faith. It just can’t happen. You have to have something to put your faith in.

The day that you heard, read or were told about Jesus was the day that faith began to grow within you. Sometimes it may take years for that seed of faith to sprout, for some it may never sprout at all. I remember very distinctly the day that my faith officially sprouted. Call it a scare tactic, persuasion, whatever you will, but it worked. I was sitting around a Bible Study at a youth retreat on the Oregon Coast, when the speaker paused and said this: “About ½ of you will not be Christians by the time you go to college.” I sat there in amazement at that statistic. I realized I better take this seriously, or get out. I allowed that seed to sprout on that day and I allowed God to be the conqueror of my life.

Do you remember the day you put your faith in Jesus? As a former youth minister, I have seen the faith dance played out in many lives. Some, I expected faith to grow, flourish and take hold. Others, I doubted their faith would last. Often times I have been surprised and completely disappointed. Yet, I have to say I have learned a lot by watching people go through this journey.

"Jess" had come from a broken home, she had an alcoholic mother and a father who lived in another state all together. She came to know Jesus at a Christian sponsored concert through the church. I was shocked to see her walk on stage to accept Jesus as Lord. As we sat and talked about this important decision I could see a real desire for change, yet with her background and friends I wasn't sure this was going to really stick. She was baptized into Jesus and has since done some very incredible things for the Lord. She took hold of her faith and lived by it.

"Tod" was quite different. He had grown up in church and had been surrounded by Christian people his whole life. He came to youth events, shared his faith, and invited just about everyone from school to attend. He began to drift a little from the church as he experimented with drugs, skipping classes and distancing himself from the church. Now, his parents still remain conected to the church they attend, but he is far from it.

It is often difficult to understand how this faith takes root but I believe it can be seen. For Tod, his faith never took root, not because he didn't have the knowledge but because he never really allowed it to penatrate his heart. Maybe he was living out the faith of his parents, maybe he never really had a faith of his own but it didn't take root.

Jill on the other hand, allowed the faith in her life to change her life. She changed friends, activities and places she hung out. She allowed Jesus to run her new life, and allowed God to change her.

What are some ways we can encourage a stronger faith with in our children and grandchildren?

What was the difference between the experience Jill and Tod had?

Is your faith grounded, rooted and ready to withstand anything?



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Just as a fun side story, my kids did something incredible this morning. They caught a mouse. I have been setting traps, finding them unsnapped, missing the bait for the last 3-4 days. I play basketball at the high school on Monday mornings. When I arrived at home, there was my furry friend, captured by 5 strong willed children. Have a mouse problem, I've got something better than a cat.

Enjoy

Aaron

We are stepping out in faith here in a few weeks. We are going to be trying something we haven't tried since at least I have been here. We are shooting for an outdoor service, combining both of our services together. It should be awesome. Come check it out.

I picked this up from another blog. A youth pastor who heads back to school as a Sophomore. This is very interesting and I look forward to the experiences he has to share with everyone about this. Parents, please read. Grandparents, take heed. Our youth are important, VERY important.


After sitting on my experience for over a year and reflecting on this “Back to School” season, here are a few suggestions I would like to offer to parents if they want to have a better relationship with their kids.
1.Offer Amnesty to your kids
2. Play Favorites.
3. Suck up to teachers
4. Take your kids out of school.
5. Schedule a two week check up
6. Yell less, hug more
7. Don’t listen to your kids
8. Get comfortable with the word “Porn.”
9. Don’t believe everything you read..
10. Practice not being surprised

1.Offer Amnesty to your kids…Wouldn’t you love for your boss to walk into your office and tell you that every mistake you have made in the past can be forgiven , without consequence, if you’ll just come clean at that instant. . “You get a fresh start and a chance to start over” he says. Your kids would love that chance with you and they need that. Take your kid out to eat at a restaurant of their choosing. Share with them that you want them to have the chance to share anything they have ever done wrong with no consequence ... That’s right, you can’t ground them, spank them or punish them for what happened in the past. Offer them a clean start. (while there may be no consequences or punishment for past mistakes, your future decision making may be influenced by their previous bad choices.) Partner this with suggestion number ten: Practice not being surprised.

2. Play Favorites. Your kids are different. No two kids are alike. They are in different grades, they are at different maturity levels and they even view the world differently. So don’t treat them the same. The odds are pretty good that one of your kids right now needs more attention that your other one. So give it to them. It doesn’t mean that you love the other ones less, it means that you care enough to reach out to the one in need, when they need it. As a matter of fact, if you share with the family what is going on, all of you can work together to play favorites!
3. Suck up to teachers—You suck up to your boss, why not suck up to your kid’s boss? Think about it…teachers generally spend more time in a day with your kids than you do. You want them being nice to your kids. You want them investing in, caring for, nurturing, supporting and encouraging your child. Model that for them. Treat teachers like you want them treating your kid. Now that I read this one, it seems kind of obvious. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto your kids.”

4. Take your kids out of school. These are your kids, so spend time with them. Perfect attendance awards may be important, but a high school graduate who knows their parents care more about them as a person than they do about a perfect attendance award is priceless. I’m not suggesting taking your kids out of school every week or on test days, I’m suggesting a calculated, “planned surprise”, coordinated with teachers and administrators where you get to spend lunch, an afternoon or even an entire day with your kid.

5. Schedule a two week check up… Why wait until the first grade card comes home to check on your kids. Two weeks after school starts, take them out for a burger and inquire how things are going. Focus on their academic life as the last part of your conversation! The odds are pretty good that the social aspect of their day is consuming most of their time. Help with the relational/social part of their life…and the academic part will follow. Let your child know that this time is about you caring for them and not about you trying to ensure college scholarship money for excellent academic performance.

6. Yell less, hug more. Do I really need to explain this one? Kids never outgrow hugs. Safe meaningful touch is always appropriate from a parent. Your kids will never come home from school and say “Hug me, I had a bad day.” Look for moments to grab your kids, no matter their age, and wrap them in a genuine warm embrace. They won’t say that’s what they need, and will probably even act like they don’t want it at first, but they are lying. If it’s been a while since your last parent/kid hug, it may be awkward at first…but over time, it will get easier and you will see your relationship change from this simple, yet meaningful gesture.

7. Don’t listen to your kids. Kids say things that hurt. Sometimes they say things that make no sense. Sometimes they even say things that aren’t even true. So don’t listen to them. Okay, you need to listen to them a little bit, but don’t let their words be the only data you use to determine what they are trying to communicate. Filter their words with the information you have about their personality, about their maturity, about their relationships, about their day at school and even about their diet and sleep patterns. If you don’t know about those things, maybe you need to find out more about your kid before you try and listen to just their words. They are trying to tell you something, even if they don’t know how to say it with words. All behavior has meaning.

8. Get comfortable with the word “Porn.” If they can’t talk to you about it, they will talk to someone else about it. You don’t want your or your kid ending up on Dateline because you were afraid to say it. So go into the bathroom, look into the mirror and practice the phrase, “So, do you know kids who look at porn on the internet?” Get them talking about other kids and their habits…then go for it. Ask the question: “So, have you ever looked at porn?” It will be awkward. Do it anyway. You are making an investment in their future relationships, their eventual marriage, and even the relationship you have with them right now. Keep the conversation short, but ask regularly. Seriously, get comfortable using the word porn.

9. Don’t believe everything you read. –A lot today is written about kids. Every day statistics are released, studies are done and we are bombarded with even more information about how bad things are for kids, and sometimes even how bad kids are. I wonder if kids are even starting believe this stuff? We are the grown ups. We are supposed to be the ones they trust. We are supposed to paint the picture of hope for their future. In my opinion we are committing an act of betrayal by bombarding them with all of this information that “de-inspires” them. Thank Al Gore and Jeremy Iverson (High School Confidential, Atria books) for your “near sighted” view and of a potential future and current reality for our kids.

10. Practice not being surprised. One reason kids don’t communicate with their parent is because of the initial pain involved for the student. Kids know they are sharing things that will leave parents hurt, confused or even upset. Often they don’t share because of the initial “freak out”, “hit the ceiling moment” that happens when the information is shared. Practice a calm rational response that only includes phrases like, “tell me more” and “you have my attention, would you like something to drink while we talk about this.” You may be surprised how much your kids will share if their introduction to the conversation isn’t greeted with “I told you so…”, What did you do now…” or “I can’t believe you did that.”

Building up or Knocking Down

I don't consider myself much of a carpenter or a repair man for that matter. I'm not very good with a saw and I am much worse with any forms of electrical tools. Give me a sledge hammer though and I can make it work.

This last couple of days I have been removing a harth from my house. It is made of cement stones and brick. I have loved just about every minute of it, in fact my 3 year old looked at me when we were almost done and said, "Lets do this to the whole house!"

Sometimes as Christians we fail miserably at building one another up. Let's face it, that is one of the traits of being a human being. If we are down in dumps, it feels much better to bring other along, or if we are feeling great, we better kick others down before they kick us. Once you get started, it's hard to stop, if you're not careful, you've destroyed the whole house without even knowing it.

Paul is very clear about how we are to treat one another. "Therefore as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humilty, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another and forgive. . ." Colossians 3:12-13a. Yikes, that is a lot of goody goody stuff floating around.

Stop for a minute and think about this though. Isn't it nice to be around people who are like this. I know a few and I much perfer their presence over say, almost anyone. Now, here is a much deeper question. Do those verses describe you? I know, touchy, but think about it. Are you that kind of person or are you destructive in nature?

I'm not trying to get anyone in trouble, infact my hope is that all of us will treat one another in the way that Paul describes how we should. I sense that if we were truly this kind of people all of the time that everyone would want to know what this faith thing was about.

For know though, we can try. We can put our best foot forward and when we fail, and accidently on purpose destroy something, we will strive to build one another up. Not for our glory, because it's not about me anymore.

aaron

On a Faith Search?

Faith is not dead*. Jason Elam, the field goal kicker for the Denver Broncos is taking a comparative religions course in his spare time. When he attended Hawaii for college he wasn't exactly sure if what he believed was true. He chose to set his preconcieved ideas out of the way and started from scratch, so to speak, to figure out what was true.

The study has only made is faith stronger. You can read the brief article here. He is getting ready to lead a group of athletes to Israel and he knows what he believes and is not afraid to share the reason for the hope that he has.

Elam brings up a strong point. Many times we as Christians have a fear of defending our faith. We are afraid of looking stupid, we are afraid of looking foolish, we fear being challenged. Yet, God is not afraid of such advances. He is not afraid of being called in the carpet, He is the truth.

If you are having a difficult time with your faith, do not be afraid to test it. Here are some important things to consider when testing your faith**:

1. Be sure you are truly using an open mind. This can be hard, truthfully an open mind is very hard to come by. Don't go into your faith test with the purpose of proving something wrong. Take a look at all of the different angles. Consult others on both sides of the fence.


2. Don't bog yourself down. Sometimes we try to look at EVERYTHING related to our study. Follow the most important keys to the religions in question. Truthfully, no matter which religion you are studying, answers on specific things vary person to person. Understand the foundational beliefs. Ask the right questions. Who is God? Who is saved? How do you get there?


3. Set a time to make your conclusion. We can all argue ourselves to death. Literally, argue until we die. Set a time, be specific, on such and such a date make a decision. Give yourself enough to study, to focus and to answer your questions.

The God I serve is not concerned about being tested. He challenges you to seek. To find. We are not to be waffling in our faith for our whole lives. He wants us to understand, believe and live for him.

*Many people believe that it is a waste of time to have faith. It takes a lot of faith to believe that doesn't it? Faith is defined as taking what you believe and putting into action. If you believe there is no God, you must act like it. I pray more and more believers in Christ will put there faith in action and truly live what they believe. Wouldn't the world be a truly different place?

**I am sure there are more things to consider, but it is very important to set parameters on how you are going to make your decision. Don't argue to argue, argue to learn.

Struggling Because of Others

Colossians 1:23-2:5

We have been dealing with some pretty heavey stuff on Sunday mornings in regard to how we fit into and live our lives for Christ in the world around us today. Specifically, this week brought a lot of pain when we focused on living and dealing with the struggles we have today. One of the things we did not have time to discuss in our services is how do we deal with struggles that involve other people. For example you may be going through a struggle with someone, or your struggle directly effects the life of another.

Struggles are not fun, especially when they involve another. Let's first look at how God wants us to deal with those who harm us. In the book of Matthew Jesus asks Peter how many times he thinks we should forgive others. He responds that we should forgive 7 times, Jesus counters, saying, no, 7 times 7. Are you kidding me? Truthfully I pray none of us put ourselves in position to have to forgive someone that many times. We should be smart about who we choose to be around. Yet, in the same breath, when someone brings a struggle in your life, or they are a struggle in your life, God desires for you to forgive.

Often, to avoid in sort of confrontation, we choose to ignore. Hope it goes away. I believe that God wants something more from us. He wants us to take those challenges head on. Remember in Col. 1:29 Paul says that we struggle with all of GOD's energy, he will give us the strength to forgive, to face the struggle.

You cannot hide or avoid a struggle, you cannot make it disappear. Face up to your struggles, trust God for his strength and never ever give up.

ae

CIY Sickness

Art and the kids are at CIY this week and unfortunately they are sick!! About 3 or 4 of the youth we sent to CIY are sick with the flu. They have been taking turns using the bathroom and all of our sponsors are exhuasted. Let's all be sure we ar praying for them.



New Youth Minister

Last night the Elders and I met to discuss bring on a new youth minister. We all agreed to offer the job to Shaun Hart, a graduate of NCC. Shaun and his family live in Eugene, for the time being, Shaun will commute down to the church from Eugene on Sunday's and Wednesdays. He starts on Aug 12. What an exciting time for the church.

ae

Day 4 - Alive and Well

Bob Russell was the guest this morning and he did a fantastic job of encouraging us. He pointed out the amazing amount of people who are drawn to the independant churches on a weekly basis. It was awesome to think that 20 years ago the Restoration Movement was basically dead and no one had any answers. Church planting wasn't a blip on the radar screen and for all intents and purposes there wasn't a whole lot of hope. Yet, look how far we have come.

This whole week was overall very encouraging to me and I think I got some serious business taken care of with God and I'm so glad that I came. This wasn't exactly what I was hoping for but I suppose it was what I needed. God has really developed the vision he has been giving me for quite a while. I don't know if I fully comprehend it yet, but this vision is beginning to get legs and is becoming feesable.

I had an awesome couple of walks today. I ventured out into KC, had a cajun chicken sandwich and boy was it cajun. The temperature today was amazing, a couple of times I was sure that I was going to melt. I kind of enjoy the heat here though, it is a dry heat. Oregon can prove to be a little humid when the temperature climbs.

I look forward to seeing my family again tomorrow. I really have missed them and it will be soooo nice to see them. My flight gets into Portland around 9pm. I get to stop in New Mexico on my way home, another state to stop in on this trip. Heading home.

aaron

Day 3 - Church Planting

I have always had the utmost respect for church planters. You can't argue with statistics, church planting is the best evangelistic tool that the church has. So, how do we in Cottage Grove, OR tap into that. First of all I think we need to develop an attitude of church planting. It may not be exactly feesable to plant a new church in Cottage Grove (though I could argue that it needs one) but we could be supporting, or saving up to support a church plant in the local area. Another way we can help is by raising up a church planter. We can hire on staff an associate minister who will be sent out to plant a church in the future. We can be the place he prepares and is inspired. Those are some very legitament ways we can be a church planting church. Those may not be ideas we can put into practice next month, or next year, but I do believe we sshould have an attitude of outreach in the area of church planting.

The mentorship breakfasts for me, have been truly disappointing. I do enjoy the free breakfast and sharing the vision and awesome things happening at Sixth and Gibbs, but there was very little time, or ability to truly be mentored. I sat around a table with a mentor and six other pastor's. Unfortunately, no one got to be very specific and ideas that guys were throwing my direction just don't work for the situation the church is in. It is not their fault, we just really don't have the time for me to sit and explain the West Coast mentality and what our city is truly like. Let's face it, things are different everywhere, what works in one place may or may not work in another.

Individually it has been a struggle, I miss my family and though there are some people here that I know and love, there is no one here from my peer group. I have been kind of loner the last couple of days which by the way, has provided for some quiet times with God and lots of reading to catch up on too.

I worked out a free lunch, breakfast and bought a quick dinner at the conference. I have failed to experience the culture here in KC, I promise to do better the next couple of days. Peace

ae

Day 2 - Hearing From God

I must admit, I was totally set up by God for this one. A couple of awesome things have been going on. Last weekend in my sermon I spoke of a gal in our church who said she knew without a doubt what God wanted her to do. On my flight from Oakland to KC I listened to book I have on my Ipod called "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell. In the 3rd chapter I believe, Rob digs deep into the idea that God is still at work in his miraculous ways, and we today are an extention of this church discussed in Acts. Last night during the main session, the speaker spoke along those exact terms, calling us today the Acts 29 church. (The book of Acts concludes in Chapter 28, meaning God's story continues.)

This is a very deep thought for me. If I truly believe God's word to be living, breathing, then God's story is not done yet. His word lives and moves within my life and within the life of the church. Truthfully then, God is speaking and moving and I have done an excellent job of making myself too busy and playing off the word of God. I believe God has to work hard to get my attention and many times I have taken credit for his direction and his leading.

Almost eerie was our elective class teacher. Speaking yet again on the power of the Holy Spirit in sermon directing. He challenged us today to listen to God, be subjective and that when we truly are tuned into God, our response should be in humility. Often when I think of God speaking to me, I picture the obnoxious televangelist, using the "word" from God to push his agenda, ask for more support, and apply a thick layer of guilt.

I have not heard the direct audible voice of God, but God still speaks to me through my thoughts. I know this simply because his words are not ideas of mine own, but wake up calls or words of encouragement to direct me. I have often passed those off, or taken credit for them myself but today I was challenged, to listen, to take time to be quiet and to apply these things to my life directly.

I have had a couple more interesting thoughts, of which have been mine not specifically from God. I have noticed how sterile this enviroment is. Yeah, I think sterile is a good word for it. It's a little wierd, but I have spent my free time mostly talking to street vendors and people along the road. The rain poured down this afternoon, I mean poured!!! I made it just before it got nasty into one of the vendor's tents. I guy who just wanted to paint my picture for $5. As we were trying to save some of his art work from being destroyed by the elements we had a great conversation. After the storm let up, I hit the ATM and brought him back $10 for a tent fee. He really wanted to draw my picture, but truthfully, I don't want a picture of me.

This whole conference is so sterile, I needed that rough conversation, that rough challenge to truly minister to someone. I love that, I need that. There has been an interesting debate going on in our family, my wife thinks, and she is probably right, that certain personality types are energized by being around there same personality. Extraverts are energized by being around people and introverts by being by themselves. It has been interesting how energized I have felt by being around people who need Jesus. I need that.

No BBQ yet, with the rain I have yet to chance it. Friday I either need to hit a Royals game, or spend some time in a sports bar with tons of memorabilia that I spotted on the way into KC. But the street vendor brauts have been great.

ae

Day 1 - The Conference Begins

Well, I am here in KC, sitting at our hotel at the Radisson, and things here have been awesome. The conference itself actually begins in about 6 hours or so, but we took some time to take a look at many of the boothes and tables. The thing that really blows me away, are the amount of ministries ideas, plans and well, just plain ministries. Lots of quality, needy well meaning ministries. Lots and lots of ministry ideas and tools, many colleges and tons of resources. The difficult thing I am having is trying to determine what it is that will benefit the church and ministries back in the Grove.

I have also ran into many many familiar faces and people. Boise Bible College has a presence this year at the conference and they are doing a big dinner gathering on Wed. forllowing the conference. I ran into an old friend of mine in ministry and I have just really gotten a kick out of the things going on.

I plan on taking a dip in the swimming pool before the conference time tonight and of course, I'm in Missouri and will be looking for some real life good BBQ. I will keep you posted on my trek for the eats. I am really looking forward to seeing Jim Putman too, he is the main speaker on Wed. I believe.

One more thing. I plan on taking some time to visit the youth portion of the conference, things will be awesome!

Aaron

Kansas City
Here I Come

I am off, to KC, to the North American Christian Convention. I do believe that I will be having an awesome and an excellent time. Goodness, as of right now, I have had enough time to actually blog, now that is crazy. I have lay over in Oakland, then I will be in KC around midnight Central time.

I am really looking forward to a couple of things. First of all there is a mentorship breakfast, where a seasoned minister will meet with us "unseasoned" ministers. I am also really looking forward to viewing all of the booths and getting some exciting ministry ideas. The list of main speakers is awesome to see and I am sure I will be learning lots of tons of stuff. I will do my best to keep all of you posted on my experience.

aaron

I Hate Allergies

One thing that really drives me crazy, sanity and all, is allergies! My head feels like it is imploding and the pressure release valve is all plugged up. Claritin works most of the time but this is sooooooooooooooooo frustrating.

Sometimes I think that if I could just set up a shop vac to my sinus cavity that I could clear the whole thing out. What a thought. I leave you with that.

ae

Man, I need a Tent

I never caught this, in all of the times I have read through Exodus I never saw this. In fact, it had to be pointed out to me. Moses had this tent, a tent that was made available to all of the people, but it seems he was the only one to use it. A tent that was far away from rest of the group. A tent reserved for one on one contact with God. Exodus 33 introduces us to this "tent of meeting," that Moses would go out to, to encounter God. When he went everyone knew where he was going. It really seemed like he went when things were the craziest too, right after the golden calf incident. I'm sure he had a lot of issues going on but that tent was a priority.

Where is my tent? Where is my place, my time to escape? It is no one's fault but my own, I need a tent. Maybe not one with stakes and poles but a tent nevertheless. I would hope that if one really has a tent, a time with just you and God, that life gains a little more perspective.

Yet, even with his tent, Moses still failed to set foot in the Promise Land. He was still human. Imagine what his life may have been like without his tent. He had a lot of responsibility. Man, I need a tent.

ae

One of the things that has struck me lately, is this idea of God being everywhere. Not only his ability to be everywhere, but his ability to celebrate my victories with me and weep and mourn with those dealing with heartache and heart break. As much as he is with me, he is also with you. This is such a concept to ponder but this also reminds me of how powerful God is.

I don't have a lot of time to ponder this idea. God obviously lives outside of our time and space, common, he created it right. In the midst of this deep ponderful idea I am over whelmed and comforted by a God who is fully in control.

Outreach Comedy Presents

July 15 @ 7pm

BBQ @ 5:30pm

What an awesome opportunity coming July 15th for our church here in Cottage Grove. Dana Daniels, a christian comedian will be here to perform, encourage and make us all laugh.

We will be doing a BBQ here at the church immediately before the show. Then we will converge on the High School and enjoy Dana. This is a great and non-confrontational way to invite your friends and family who may be skeptical of the church. This will be just an enjoyable night of fun. We hope everyone brings their friends.

Tickets are $3 and can be purchased through the church.

See you there.

Because we were never meant to be alone.

The Christ in Youth Conference is coming. To read more about the conference, go check out www.ciy.com and click on the Summer Conference section. There is a special section for students this year on the sight, with lots of fun stuff.

Check it.

Aaron

The Riverside Cleanup

The cleanup I think went very well. There were about 110 or so people registered and cleaning up around Cottage Grove. We were done with all of the river cleanups only 1 hour into the deal, and so, we went out throughout all of Cottage Grove and went cleaning up everywhere. The most disgusting place was probably behind the skate park and by the park by Safeway.

There was about 8 or 9 people from our church and I was encouraged to be working along side those from our church. We also spent some time at a BBQ at the park and we had a chance to fellowship not only with others from the church community, but also those from the city community. It was a great step in letting our city know that we as a church truly care about them.

I do hope this is only the beginning, and that we have a great opportunity to reach out to our city! What an opportunity to show Jesus. To show we care. I know I will be praying for more and more opportunities like the one we had this weekend.

The Discipline of Blogkind

I have to be honest, I am not a very good blogger. This stuff takes discipline, time and real effort. My hats off to all my fellow bloggers, who really can't even call me a blogger. An absentee blogger maybe.

I must say, I have really been encouraged by some awesome things happening here in the metropolis of Cottage Grove. I have been meetin with the local ministerial association, a group of us ministers from around Cottage Grove, and we have been putting together a plan to change the attitudes about church in our community. We are looking to bring an attitude of blessing to the city. On the National Day of Prayer, we gathered about 50 of us or so, from many of the local churches to pray for our city and city leaders. I do not envy the decisions and rulings they make and they can use our prayer. We also prayed for those within the Fire and Law Enforcement Departments. It was a great day.

This Saturday is the day I am REALLY looking forward to. Cottage Grove is participating in the state wide "Riverside" cleanup and our church and other churches in the Grove are going to help. This is an awesome opportunity to show love to the city of CG and to help bueautify the most beautiful city in the world.

I will let you know how it goes, if I am ever back on the blogger again.

I spent some deep and awesome time with my wife last weekend at the Family Life Marriage Conference. Honestly, this is the first conference that I have been a part of that didn't make me feel like a schmuck. I was encourage, I was driven to try to be a better husband, a better father and ultimately a better believer. I had one of those "duh" moments that I really would like to share with you.

Here it is, the "duh" moment. I sat in the session specifically for men, and as the speaker spoke he reminded me of the importance of being a Chrsitian first and then God will be the one to help me be a better Husband, Father and person. Yeah, that's it. If I want to have a better relationship with my wife, I need to work on my relationship with Christ first and then he will show me how to be a better man. Same with my children. Same with work, entertainment, everyting! See, I always try to do it on my own. To force myself into being the right person and as I look back in my life I see that those times that I am doing stuff the way it should be done, it was because I wanted to. God planted those desires to be a godly man. See what I mean, a "duh" moment.

You see, Marriage itself is a complete God thing. He is the one who started it, defined it, gave it its perameters and ordained it. Without God, it has difficulty succeeding. With God, marriage is about making my wife happy by being the man God wants me to be. Without God, marriage is about making me happy by satisfying my desires in hope that those fit in with my wife's desires. Now, because I'm human this doesn't always work perfectly but my goals are the same, focused and fresh on being who God wants me to be, thanking him for grace and a graceful wife.

Spend some time today, focused on figuring out who God wants you to be and how that impacts every part of your life. God can help you with that. Give it to him, "duh."

Choices

So far this past month we as a church have been going through the book of Genesis, looking the foundation of our earth, our religion and the scriptures. We have entitled our series, "New Beginnings." Not because this study is "new" or its thoughts are "new," simply because God gives us new beginnings everyday in our lives and we seek to live like he desires us to. In tern, we should desire to be a people with our hearts and thoughts in the right place. Ultimately, we are all on a journey in our lives to be the people that God has called us to be. This journey implies that we wake up everyday prepared to travel, prepared to move, prepared to live every part of our life in the right way.

It has been quite the turning point in my life when I realized that I'm on a journey, in every part of my life. When I arrive, a new journey is set before, just as the world around us is constantly in a state of change, our lives are not the same today as they were 5 years ago, nor will anything be the same 5 years from now. If we want to be God's holy people, the journey starts today, and continues tomorrow. As we follow this path, change is inevitable and each day, each step gets us closer to our goal, or further away from it based upon how we choose to live.

I over heard Bill Long, the CEO of Winco, talking to one of his managers. He made this simple analysis of his company, "If we aren't growing, we are dying." That thought has stuck with me throughout time. The truth in that simple phrase is eye opening and devastating. Ultimately if we are just seeking to maintain something, it will eventually die. Sadly, that is the way many of us treat our relationship with God. If I just do the basic duties, tenants of my faith, I will be okay. Yet, time and time again I have seen so many people become comfortable in their faith, lose interest and fall.

How do we avoid this fate? Well, I think it is simple. Each day we just need to recognize it. The first steps to the recovery of any addict is recognizing the issue. Each day, when we wake up, we must recognize that we are continuing on a journey to be the people God wants us to be. A few thousand years ago (or so), God called Noah to build an Ark. He gave him the dimensions, supplied the wood and gave him a year to complete the project. I have to think, the idea of an Ark was quite the nonsense. Really an Ark makes no sense, no rain has ever been seen, and in the lives of these people, thousands of years, their has never been a flood that would necessitate such a huge boat, if they had ever seen a flood or a boat for that matter.

Noah had to get up every morning and make a decision to work on this Ark. He pulled himself out of bed, strapped on his boots, and made a decision to continue his work. In the same way, we are choosing to live our lives completely different from the way this world does. We wake every morning and have to choose our Holiness. The decisions we make are counter culture to the world around us. We are as different as Noah was to the world around him. Are you prepared to wake every morning and choose Holiness?

Adventures in Ministry

I was blessed this week to speak at a youth revival in Idaho. It was an exciting time for all of us as we dug into the Spiritual "Battle." We looked at the Battle for Holiness, the Battle Within Ourselves and we focused on How God Doesn't Fight Fair. This is literally the core of Battle, Jesus says in John 14, "Take heart, I have overcome the world." You see, he's already won! The battles we face, have nothing to do with the outcome of the war. It's over, it ended on the cross on Calvary. So, this battle is not about winning, it's about "becoming all that God has called me to be." (Phil. 4:12b)

Wow! If you really stop and think about it, that should make us even desire to battle more diligently. The thought of already being labeled victors should drive us to be more like Christ, our King. The idea that we are going to win should cause us to stand with confidence, the armor of God in hand, prepared to accept any challenge.

How incredibly awesome!

ae

Boise State ranked #5

I know I sure am curious to see what the outcome would have been in a Florida vs Boise game but I guess we will all just have to wonder.

Check out Dan Wetzel column on Yahoo. . . .

It is always a touchy subject. People squirm and eyes bug out every time name Jesus Christ is mentioned. Truthfully when you talk to someone about Jesus you never know what you are going to get. Some people have say he was an alien, others say he was a man, some say he was enlightened, some say he was a prophet and others of course say he is God. So, what are we to say, who side do you stand on? What Jesus God, or merely man? Was he from Mars or born of virgin? Does it even matter?

Well, the truth is, it does matter. It matters more than you know. Really, by saying who Jesus is, points and directs us to his motive. What was his purpose for being here? Let me give you an example. Lets say Jesus came from Jupiter, an extra terestrial from another planet. He arrived on the scene for the purpose of what? Pointlessness. He lied and decieved us and he is by no means a person worthy of following. All this talk about going to the Father and preparing a place for us. All this talk about saving the world. All this talk about being the Way Truth and Life means nothing if Jesus is an alien.

Had Jesus just been a man, we are left with some serious issues to discuss. For instance we have to deal with the fact that Jesus outright claimed to be God. He not only claimed it, but did nothing to stop others from saying it. In John 4 Jesus is chillin out with a gal at a well. He dives into her life and shares with her truths about God. She says to Jesus that when the Messiah comes he is going to clear this all up and Jesus reply to her, "I who speak to you am he."

Well, if Jesus were human, he must have also been a little delusional. Not only delusional, but a little suicidal as well. When confronted with this same question facing death, he also continued to back his claims as God. (Mark 14:61-62) Not only that, but the Jewish leaders of that day wanted him to be killed, why, for blsphemy, for claiming to be God. If Jesus was a man he was delusional, decietful and suicidal. He doesn't sound like a great prophet, or a great man to me at all. Unless of course, he was GOD!

John explains this quite clearly in John 1. Jesus was with God, he was God and he became flesh. In the book of Philippians Paul describes Jesus as having the very same nature of God and being equal with him and leaving his Godliness to take the form of a human. Jesus is God.

It is also important that Jesus is God simply because he is the only worthy sacrafice. Let me repeat that again. If Jesus was not God than his death on the cross was basically meaningless. Nothing more than a martyr. Jesus death was far more than that. He took on the sins of the world, a perfect sacrafice. The sacrafice of God. That is why Jesus says "I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me." As God he was an worthy sacrafice. As man, he was just another crazy hung on a tree.

Some would say that I am exclusive and closed minded. No, God is exclusive and closed minded. It's his world, he could have saved us however he wanted to but he didn't. He sent Jesus part of the us from Genesis 1:26 to earth to live with us as an example, to show love and grace and to die for our sins. So that God would be glorified. He could have changed up all of history, taken back all the promises made and prophecies that spoke of who this Messiah had to be. No, God was very clear about who the Messiah would be, it would be God. Immanuel, "GOD WITH US." Not, some guy, or an alien from Pluto. Jesus had to be God.

ae

Fall From Grace?

It has been a challenge for me to understand the happenings this last week with Pastor Haggard from New Life Christian Church in Colorado. Read about the story here. It is sad and disappointing on so many levels. His prominence makes this story that much more devastating but the truth is, he is not alone. Every year I hear of another pastor I know personally, who is caught in his sin his secret life exposed, a family devasted, a church blindsided. What have we learned? What can we learn?

The first thing we can learn, is that pastors are people too. They are still tempted, they still have good days and bad ones. They struggle just like anyone else. By no means is that an excuse yet we should not be surprised, sin is sin. Pastors are tempted and have just as much opportunity to sin as anyone. The position they hold does require the church handle it properly. As we see in 1 Timothy 3, the leadership of a church is held to a much higher standard and must be held accountable for and removed from their position. A sinful pastor is no longer "above reproach," and the church needs leadership they can trust. Pastors must be ministered to in these circumstances but must be removed from their leadership roles.

The next thing we need to learn, if you are in ministry and in sin. GET OUT! If the reports are true, Haggard has had an ongoing relationship with another man for three years. That is a long time. There are a lot of people that are or will be hurt by this sin. It would have saved himself and his church a lot of heartache and humiliation had he been honest with his struggles years ago. He lived a lie, denyed accountability and lived in sin. If you are in ministry, don't lie to yourself, your sin will harm your church and the longterm effects can devastate. Get out of ministry now!

I also think about Pastor Haggad's lack of accountability. Not that he didn't have others around him that he could talk to, he may have. Yet in the midst of it all, he chose not to be held accountable. We all need someone we can trust, someone we can share those deep dard secrets with. Some one who can hold our feet to the fire and cares enough to love us as when we need it most. Few people and even fewer pastor's have someone like this, but we all need it, and we should all be seeking it.

The next few months and years are going to be hard for Haggard's church and family. Sin like this is devastating. Gay activists are calling Haggard to "come out of the closet." Ministries across the country are asking, "why?" Pastors a like are devasted and heart broken to see another one fall to temptation. Another battle lost. We should all be praying, not only for Haggard and his church, but for the leadership of our church's and churches across America.