I was just reading through my study bible this morning about the book of James. My sort of "goal" this summer/fall is to read through all the epistles. As I was reading through this little commentary about who James was and the context in which this letter was written, I was blown away by a simple date:
James became a believer in 33 AD.
If you know much about James, I sure didn't before I started reading this letter, but James was the brother of Jesus. Yeah, that's right Jesus the Messiah. So if we piece this all together, Jesus was crucified in 33 AD. His brother became a believer in 33 AD. Therefore, James lived his entire life with Jesus not believing in who he was until he was crucified!
If I could yell over the internet, I would yell that last sentence again! My mind has been blown! How easy is it to give up on someone because they just don't seem to get it? You know they've heard the gospel a hundred times and they still live in sin. They still live in rebellion. James was the brother of Christ yet he still lived in sin and death until the year his brother was killed.
How can I give up hope on a person? There are so many examples of people who came to faith after the craziest of circumstances.
The bright side is, even if I do give up on someone (which I hope I never do again)... God never gives up on them.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Unexpected...
I've been thinking a lot about unexpected things lately. I think that unexpected events are what really shape us... what really make us into the people we are. Unexpected things are hard for me to deal with. I love science. The major basis science works on is taking something that you know is going to happen and defining how it happens or what makes it happen. Life doesn't work that way. Life is filled with unexpected things. People who randomly show up in your life, people who randomly leave your life, things that happen to you, things that don't happen to you, the list goes on and on.
I think it's since we don't know what may or may not happen, that these events can shape us, mold us, bend us, and sometimes break us. I think that's the beauty of faith. We trust that God is going to use anything and everything he does for his glory. That is the difference between religion and faith. Religion, to me, is a practice. It is something you do. Faith on the other hand, is not a practice. It is a lifestyle. It is even more than that, though. Faith is stepping out into the unknown, the unexpected, and trusting. Trusting that God is there. Trusting that He loves you. Trusting that in all things He works for the good of those who love him.
I think that God uses unexpected events to help us grow in faith. If, for example, I knew everything that was going to happen to me over the course of my lifetime, it wouldn't take much faith. In fact, I don't think it would take any faith. I would know, start to finish, what was going to happen, when it was going to happen, and obviously what would happen after. It's when we are in a situation that we cannot see what is next, when we can't see what the outcome might be, that we grow. That our faith becomes stronger because we trust that God is at work and we trust that He is true to His word.
The best part about all of this is that even when we are not faithful, when we have doubt, when we have hesitations, when we falter, when we are reluctant--God is faithful. He is true to His word.
I might keep writing later, but that's all I have for now.
I think it's since we don't know what may or may not happen, that these events can shape us, mold us, bend us, and sometimes break us. I think that's the beauty of faith. We trust that God is going to use anything and everything he does for his glory. That is the difference between religion and faith. Religion, to me, is a practice. It is something you do. Faith on the other hand, is not a practice. It is a lifestyle. It is even more than that, though. Faith is stepping out into the unknown, the unexpected, and trusting. Trusting that God is there. Trusting that He loves you. Trusting that in all things He works for the good of those who love him.
I think that God uses unexpected events to help us grow in faith. If, for example, I knew everything that was going to happen to me over the course of my lifetime, it wouldn't take much faith. In fact, I don't think it would take any faith. I would know, start to finish, what was going to happen, when it was going to happen, and obviously what would happen after. It's when we are in a situation that we cannot see what is next, when we can't see what the outcome might be, that we grow. That our faith becomes stronger because we trust that God is at work and we trust that He is true to His word.
The best part about all of this is that even when we are not faithful, when we have doubt, when we have hesitations, when we falter, when we are reluctant--God is faithful. He is true to His word.
I might keep writing later, but that's all I have for now.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Floored...
I'm not a very emotional person by the worlds standards. I've never cried watching a movie. I don't cry at weddings. I didn't even tear up when I read Where the Red Fern Grows. The way I experience emotions is more like getting kicked in the stomach--having the wind knocked out of me.
You may be asking, why is Isaac writing about this? And that is a good question. Because I will tell you. Now.
As many of you know, I lead Wyldlife. For those of you who don't, it is a Christian ministry that seeks to introduce middle schoolers to Jesus Christ and help them grow in their faith. By "leading" Wyldlife, I am in essence a leader at a middle school. I help organize events, hang with kids, but most importantly, share Christ with them.
Anyway, this week is our summer camp trip. I sadly couldn't go this year because of numbers, but, I went down yesterday to catch up with some of the guys who went with our other guy leader, Micah. Yesterday, the camp speaker presents the kids with a problem. A big problem. He lays out the problem of sin. He explains to them what sin is and how it differs from sins. He explains how there is absolutely nothing we can do to fix this problem. We've made our own choice to go astray and do the things we want to do.
It hurts to hear this message, but seeing kids begin to open up... to think about their own lives... to think about how there is something greater than girls, clothes, sports, school... is simply amazing.
After the talk last night, I headed back to the cabin that the guys from my school are staying in for "cabin time". It is essentially a leader-led time where we all sit on the floor and process what was just talked about. If you know anything about middle school kids, boys in particular, they have an attention span of 2 seconds, so cabin time can often be an adventure. However, last night was different. The guys were thinking, sharing about their lives, asking questions.
The thing that really got me was what one kid said. He hadn't spoken the whole 30 minutes we'd been talking, but he raised his hand and said, "We are like a work of art... like the Statue of Libery... when it was first made it was bright and shiny copper, but it quickly became tarnished and turned green. It was still the original creation, but something had changed... it wasn't perfect anymore."
I was floored. The wind was knocked right out of me. If I cried normally, queue up the tear factory. This kid, probably 12 years old, just made a brilliant comparison. I don't know if he's following Christ, I just met him yesterday, but that analogy struck me.
We are still the beautiful creation that God made us to be; however, something has happened. Something that can't be reversed. We've all become tarnished. Imperfect. Sin. The Statue of Liberty itself cannot clean off the tarnish, the imperfection. We are the same way. We cannot clean off our sin. Only our creator can.
Today the kids hear about the cross, about Jesus, that he did what we cannot do. It's the best day of the week. It's the best day of their lives.
You may be asking, why is Isaac writing about this? And that is a good question. Because I will tell you. Now.
As many of you know, I lead Wyldlife. For those of you who don't, it is a Christian ministry that seeks to introduce middle schoolers to Jesus Christ and help them grow in their faith. By "leading" Wyldlife, I am in essence a leader at a middle school. I help organize events, hang with kids, but most importantly, share Christ with them.
Anyway, this week is our summer camp trip. I sadly couldn't go this year because of numbers, but, I went down yesterday to catch up with some of the guys who went with our other guy leader, Micah. Yesterday, the camp speaker presents the kids with a problem. A big problem. He lays out the problem of sin. He explains to them what sin is and how it differs from sins. He explains how there is absolutely nothing we can do to fix this problem. We've made our own choice to go astray and do the things we want to do.
It hurts to hear this message, but seeing kids begin to open up... to think about their own lives... to think about how there is something greater than girls, clothes, sports, school... is simply amazing.
After the talk last night, I headed back to the cabin that the guys from my school are staying in for "cabin time". It is essentially a leader-led time where we all sit on the floor and process what was just talked about. If you know anything about middle school kids, boys in particular, they have an attention span of 2 seconds, so cabin time can often be an adventure. However, last night was different. The guys were thinking, sharing about their lives, asking questions.
The thing that really got me was what one kid said. He hadn't spoken the whole 30 minutes we'd been talking, but he raised his hand and said, "We are like a work of art... like the Statue of Libery... when it was first made it was bright and shiny copper, but it quickly became tarnished and turned green. It was still the original creation, but something had changed... it wasn't perfect anymore."
I was floored. The wind was knocked right out of me. If I cried normally, queue up the tear factory. This kid, probably 12 years old, just made a brilliant comparison. I don't know if he's following Christ, I just met him yesterday, but that analogy struck me.
We are still the beautiful creation that God made us to be; however, something has happened. Something that can't be reversed. We've all become tarnished. Imperfect. Sin. The Statue of Liberty itself cannot clean off the tarnish, the imperfection. We are the same way. We cannot clean off our sin. Only our creator can.
Today the kids hear about the cross, about Jesus, that he did what we cannot do. It's the best day of the week. It's the best day of their lives.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
One to the next one...
Well I have almost finished reading Jesus For President. Yes, I realize I've been reading it for about 4 months now. That is how I read books. I am a bit of a binge reader. I will go weeks without reading a page, then I will sit down and read 100 pages and not touch the book again for a couple weeks.
Enough about my reading habits... I think my next read is going to be The Diaries of Jim Rayburn. For those of you out there in the blogosphere, I am involved in an organization called YoungLife. The mission of YoungLife is to bring the gospel of Christ to adolescents and help them grown in their faith. Jim Rayburn is the founder of YoungLife. It was his idea, to step outside of the church, and take the gospel where kids are--schools, football games, parks, etc--that began the movement that is now known as YoungLife.
I am really pretty excited about reading his diaries. I feel like getting to peek inside the mind of one of the most godly and awesome men I've learned about is going to be a very encouraging and convicting experience. Sometimes I feel like I get disillusioned with my work as a leader when I lose focus on the goal. It will be interesting to see what ways Jim combated this feeling (if he even felt it at all).
I don't really have any major point in writing this other than cluing you all in on my next reading experience. I have approximately 27 days 'till school starts, so who knows, maybe I will get this book finished by then.
Enough about my reading habits... I think my next read is going to be The Diaries of Jim Rayburn. For those of you out there in the blogosphere, I am involved in an organization called YoungLife. The mission of YoungLife is to bring the gospel of Christ to adolescents and help them grown in their faith. Jim Rayburn is the founder of YoungLife. It was his idea, to step outside of the church, and take the gospel where kids are--schools, football games, parks, etc--that began the movement that is now known as YoungLife.
I am really pretty excited about reading his diaries. I feel like getting to peek inside the mind of one of the most godly and awesome men I've learned about is going to be a very encouraging and convicting experience. Sometimes I feel like I get disillusioned with my work as a leader when I lose focus on the goal. It will be interesting to see what ways Jim combated this feeling (if he even felt it at all).
I don't really have any major point in writing this other than cluing you all in on my next reading experience. I have approximately 27 days 'till school starts, so who knows, maybe I will get this book finished by then.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Sincerely...
If you're anything like me (which would be really surprising) you wonder about the meanings and origins of words sometimes. One thing I really enjoy is learning languages. Granted, I can only speak one fluently, I am fascinated with other languages. It is so interesting to me that the human race has so many different ways of explaining emotions, the world, actions, things. One of the things I really love about the church I go to is that we often dive into the original Greek and Hebrew that the Bible was written in. I gain such a deeper appreciation for what the author was trying to convey when I get to read it the way he wrote it.
This past Sunday, we were learning about Philippians 2 and discussing what it means to live a "Philippians 2" lifestyle. If you haven't read this chapter recently, stop reading my blog, go read it, and come back. You can pick up right where you left off.
Welcome back. In verse 20, Paul is writing about his beloved Timothy. He writes: "For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare." (ESV). The Greek word that Paul uses for "genuinely" here is: gnesios. This word literally means legitimately born, true, genuine, and sincere. I got to thinking... am I genuinely concerned for other people's welfare? Am I sincere? Am I true?
I got to thinking about the word sincere too. As you may or may not know, sincere comes from the Latin sincerus which means clean, pure, or sound.
So, let's ask that question again. Am I clean? Pure? Sound? Am I true? Sincere? Genuine? People now-a-days, especially the younger generations, are extremely good at detecting sincerity. They can tell when you don't mean what you say. They know when you are not genuine and they are often quick to call you out on it. I work with middle schoolers on a regular basis, and it is no secret that unless I mean what I say, they are simply going to ignore me.
I often have to remind myself of being genuine. I hate to admit it, but there's times I am just not interested in other people--I just want to sit in a dark room and be alone; however, I don't always have that luxury. That doesn't mean feigning sincerity--that will get you in more trouble. So, this is the problem. How do you act genuine when you aren't? That's a loaded question... you don't act. You are.
I wish I knew how to get there. I think I'm getting better. It's a one-day-at-a-time kind of thing. I'm not going to wake up tomorrow and be sincere... maybe, but I doubt it. I do; however, have a choice. Will I choose to take an interest in the people around me? Or will I be too concerned with me?
Sincerely,
This past Sunday, we were learning about Philippians 2 and discussing what it means to live a "Philippians 2" lifestyle. If you haven't read this chapter recently, stop reading my blog, go read it, and come back. You can pick up right where you left off.
Welcome back. In verse 20, Paul is writing about his beloved Timothy. He writes: "For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare." (ESV). The Greek word that Paul uses for "genuinely" here is: gnesios. This word literally means legitimately born, true, genuine, and sincere. I got to thinking... am I genuinely concerned for other people's welfare? Am I sincere? Am I true?
I got to thinking about the word sincere too. As you may or may not know, sincere comes from the Latin sincerus which means clean, pure, or sound.
So, let's ask that question again. Am I clean? Pure? Sound? Am I true? Sincere? Genuine? People now-a-days, especially the younger generations, are extremely good at detecting sincerity. They can tell when you don't mean what you say. They know when you are not genuine and they are often quick to call you out on it. I work with middle schoolers on a regular basis, and it is no secret that unless I mean what I say, they are simply going to ignore me.
I often have to remind myself of being genuine. I hate to admit it, but there's times I am just not interested in other people--I just want to sit in a dark room and be alone; however, I don't always have that luxury. That doesn't mean feigning sincerity--that will get you in more trouble. So, this is the problem. How do you act genuine when you aren't? That's a loaded question... you don't act. You are.
I wish I knew how to get there. I think I'm getting better. It's a one-day-at-a-time kind of thing. I'm not going to wake up tomorrow and be sincere... maybe, but I doubt it. I do; however, have a choice. Will I choose to take an interest in the people around me? Or will I be too concerned with me?
Sincerely,
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Testing... testing... is this thing on?
If you are anything like me, you don't like tests. Granted, I'm not typically the kind of person who freaks out, has panic attacks, or stresses out about a test; I'm just not a very big fan. They're usually mentally draining and leave me feeling a bit hopeless. After you finish, there's nothing left you can do--it's entirely up to the grader at that point to determine your grade.
Testing on the other hand is slightly different. I do enjoy testing. Being a scientist/engineer at heart, I love trying things out and see what the outcome will be. It can be day-to-day things like, let's see what happens when I mix peanut butter and pickles (very tasty by the way) or more thought out testing like, let's thermochemically gasify wood chips and see if we can power a spark-ignition engine with it.
If there's one thing I've learned in my life as a follower of Christ, it is that you must always be testing. I can attribute this learned trait to my Bible study leader and good friend, Bruce. I'd need more hands and feet to count the number of times one of us in our Romans study would start, "Well I think it says..." and Bruce would stop us and say, "No, what does it say..." as he pointed at his Bible. You must always be testing anything you hear, read, see with what God's word says. Isaac's word should probably be ignored all together (but don't stop reading my blog, please :) ).
I met with Bruce a couple of weekends ago to catch up, talk about life and what's going on, and to talk about some things I'd been struggling with. As I laid out how I was struggling with citizenship and how one source tells me this and another source tells me that and a third source tells me something completely different, he stopped me and said, "What does it say?" as he pointed at his Bible.
The feeling I felt then I can't put to words. It was relief, but it was also conviction. My eyes had been opened. I realized that I had become so attuned to listening to the world around me try to say what it means to be a citizen that I had all but forgot the only word that matters.
Therefore, readers, I ask of you this. I can't guarantee this is the only time I will give you homework, but bear with me. Always be testing. Test what I say, test what you hear, test what you read, test what you see. Test it all. Test everything. Test it against what you ask? Against God's word. What does he say? That's what matters. That's only what matters.
Testing on the other hand is slightly different. I do enjoy testing. Being a scientist/engineer at heart, I love trying things out and see what the outcome will be. It can be day-to-day things like, let's see what happens when I mix peanut butter and pickles (very tasty by the way) or more thought out testing like, let's thermochemically gasify wood chips and see if we can power a spark-ignition engine with it.
If there's one thing I've learned in my life as a follower of Christ, it is that you must always be testing. I can attribute this learned trait to my Bible study leader and good friend, Bruce. I'd need more hands and feet to count the number of times one of us in our Romans study would start, "Well I think it says..." and Bruce would stop us and say, "No, what does it say..." as he pointed at his Bible. You must always be testing anything you hear, read, see with what God's word says. Isaac's word should probably be ignored all together (but don't stop reading my blog, please :) ).
I met with Bruce a couple of weekends ago to catch up, talk about life and what's going on, and to talk about some things I'd been struggling with. As I laid out how I was struggling with citizenship and how one source tells me this and another source tells me that and a third source tells me something completely different, he stopped me and said, "What does it say?" as he pointed at his Bible.
The feeling I felt then I can't put to words. It was relief, but it was also conviction. My eyes had been opened. I realized that I had become so attuned to listening to the world around me try to say what it means to be a citizen that I had all but forgot the only word that matters.
Therefore, readers, I ask of you this. I can't guarantee this is the only time I will give you homework, but bear with me. Always be testing. Test what I say, test what you hear, test what you read, test what you see. Test it all. Test everything. Test it against what you ask? Against God's word. What does he say? That's what matters. That's only what matters.
Monday, July 5, 2010
Our manner of life...
As I've mentioned many times, I'm reading Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne. I came upon an excerpt from Aristides the Athenian. He was a Christian in Greece around AD 137. He wrote:
"It is the Christians, O Emperor, who have sought and found the truth, for they acknowledge God. They do not keep for themselves the goods entrusted to them. They do not covet what belongs to others. They show love to their neighbors. They do not do to another what they would not wish to have done to themselves. They speak gently to those who oppress them, and in this way they make them their friends. It has become their passion to do good to their enemies. They live in the awareness of their smallness. Every one of them who has anything gives ungrudgingly to the one who has nothing. If they see a traveling stranger, they bring him under their roof. They rejoice over him as over a real brother, for they do not call one another brothers after the flesh, but they know they are brothers in the Spirit and in God. If they hear that one of them is imprisoned or oppressed for the sake of Christ, they take care of all his needs. If possible they set him free. If anyone among them is poor or comes into want while they themselves have nothing to spare, they fast two or three days for him. In this way they can supply any poor man with the food he needs. This, O Emperor, is the rule of life of the Christians, and this is their manner of life.
- Aristides, AD 137
If that doesn't knock the wind out of your sails, I don't know what will. If I made this into a check list and went item by item for my own life, I might check off one or two of the multitude of attitudes and behaviors listed here. What has happened to the Church? What has happened to Christians? We have become less and less imitators of Christ. I want to get back to the way the Church was when it first started. I want to open my house to complete strangers and love them as a brother. I want to give until it hurts. I want to be aware of my smallness. I want to be an imitator of Christ.
What am I waiting for?
"It is the Christians, O Emperor, who have sought and found the truth, for they acknowledge God. They do not keep for themselves the goods entrusted to them. They do not covet what belongs to others. They show love to their neighbors. They do not do to another what they would not wish to have done to themselves. They speak gently to those who oppress them, and in this way they make them their friends. It has become their passion to do good to their enemies. They live in the awareness of their smallness. Every one of them who has anything gives ungrudgingly to the one who has nothing. If they see a traveling stranger, they bring him under their roof. They rejoice over him as over a real brother, for they do not call one another brothers after the flesh, but they know they are brothers in the Spirit and in God. If they hear that one of them is imprisoned or oppressed for the sake of Christ, they take care of all his needs. If possible they set him free. If anyone among them is poor or comes into want while they themselves have nothing to spare, they fast two or three days for him. In this way they can supply any poor man with the food he needs. This, O Emperor, is the rule of life of the Christians, and this is their manner of life.
- Aristides, AD 137
If that doesn't knock the wind out of your sails, I don't know what will. If I made this into a check list and went item by item for my own life, I might check off one or two of the multitude of attitudes and behaviors listed here. What has happened to the Church? What has happened to Christians? We have become less and less imitators of Christ. I want to get back to the way the Church was when it first started. I want to open my house to complete strangers and love them as a brother. I want to give until it hurts. I want to be aware of my smallness. I want to be an imitator of Christ.
What am I waiting for?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
