So where was I? oh yeah first night of Men's bible study. We start with the book of Acts, never read it had no clue about it, I think by this point I had read a little bit of Genesis and some of Mathew. Well the book of Acts is about the early church and the first preaching of the Gospel and other things that I am still learning as we are still in the book of Acts in bible study to this day, chapter 16-17 at this point.
Well after the first night of Bible study I realized I certainly was not a Christian. I had not accepted Jesus as my savior, I was not really sure what that even meant. I did feel lacking of something. I suddenly felt inadequate. I had a void that I felt needed to be filled, it had always been there I just really felt the weight of it after that night. I was still not sure what to do or what to make of it but I knew I wanted to keep investigating.
As a letter carrier I am very fortunate that I have plenty of time to listen to music or whatever on my headphones as I walk along delivering my route. My pastor had recommended an "app" that I could listen to on my phone, "Mars Hill Church" with Pastor Mark Driscoll. I had never heard a sermon like this. The hour long sermons Pastor Driscoll gave were, well, intense, powerful and fully connecting to me. I remember walking down the street delivering my mail on the verge of sobbing, and on the next block I was laughing out loud. It was coming together for me. Religion as Driscoll put it is a "steaming pile" but Jesus, Jesus was the perfected Adam. Jesus, God become man, was sent by the Father for me. To do what I could not ever hope to do.
It was on Judith St. when it kind of hit me, or tapped me on the shoulder, Adam was the original sinner and man has sinned ever since, and God sent his Son to take my sin for me that I may gain eternal life. When I got back to my car I sat and tried to think of the words I was supposed to say, I didn't have a bible with me, but I said something like, "ok Jesus I am yours, I want you to take me and do with me and my life as you will. Guide me and help me grow and learn Your word."
I wasn't sure if I had said it right, but I knew He would know.
The next Bible study I told Pastor how I realized I had not been a Christian, he asked if he thought I was now, I could barely say it but I did say yes. I think he was almost as happy as I was. I truly have not looked back since. It really has been that whole paradigm shift that I have heard of but never believed. I have become those things I had mocked, and I don't really care if people want to mock me. I have more than I could have hoped, and my life has changed in so many ways, some I have already discussed and others I will post in future blogs. The most important of which I find, other than my relationship with Jesus, is the relationship with my wife.
I will close this by saying if you have read this and have questions ask your Pastor, or find one to ask, for if you have read this with an open heart and mind I believe the Holy Spirit is calling on you to explore and come to Him. I pray that you will.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
Testimony
A big part of being a Christian in community is testimony. The who, what, when, where and how of being saved...some might say "you missed the "why?"" well I don't think anyone who has been saved knows just why Jesus saved them, we only know we asked to be saved and by His grace He said yes. It is also part of membership, which as I mentioned the last blog my wife and I will be doing soon, the deacons will be asking us about it. And in general I think it's good to be able to relate your "story" when you speak to someone who is not a Christian who maybe interested.
I hope my testimony is a pretty good one, but most importantly it is the truth, without embellisment or hyperbole. The coolest part is that God chose to save my wife and I at the same time through our son, we didn't know it at the time but looking back we now recognize that is exactly what happened.
We moved to our town about three years ago buying our first home, a small suburb in a fairly affulent town, very family oriented, and it instantly felt like home. We were keen on getting involved in our community, I coached a season of Tee Ball for our son, our daughter seemed to fit right in and make friends fast, and my wife was volunteering at the schools. We really wanted to find a church, for community, for the kids, and in my case (to be honest) someplace to send my family so I could sleep in and watch football in peace.
Sure I would go from time to time to make it look good, but mostly I was looking forward to the alone time on Sunday. I was pretty much an agnostic, I was a good person, better than I ever had been in fact. I quit smoking, quit drugs, was pretty honest about most things, I was polite and a pretty hard worker. I almost felt like a defacto Christian, I just didnt read the Bible or go to church or have a savior. If I was going to Hell well that was Gods fault not mine, and I could deal with it.
So after asking around alittle my wife decided to give the Baptist church a try, it was Mother's Day. I was working delivering flowers as a side job, easy cash. She wanted to go but was not sure, finally our 9 year old son said he would go with her, our teenage daughter was in bed sleeping still.
Apparently the service was pretty powerful, the pastor's wife had recently had a miscarriage which he shared with the congregation on that day, yeah no doubt powerful. The congregation is a mix of wonderful people from all walks of life, all suprisily welcoming and not in a creepy way. Later that day my wife shared it with me and I'm sure I was like "yeah whatever"
The only concern she had was how few people were in church, maybe 20 people. Otherwise she really enjoyed it, "yes! football here I come!" I thought. Well the following weekend my wife was working and I was off. I took my son to his baseball game and on the way home he asked if we were going to church. I was, unfortunately, discouraging. After all he was still in his baseball uniform, I was tired, I had other things to do, like take a nap. Then he dropped the bomb on me.
"But Gods more awesome than you." he said.
Just like that, out of the blue, "really?" I said.
"Yeah" he said.
So we went. It was ok, alot of songs I did not know. A sermon I would shortly forget. But at the end I felt good, we went down to the fellowship after and I had people who knew my son from the previous week coming up to me and talking like they knew me, it was pretty cool. So we kept going as a family including my teenage daughter, it was ok and I was learning. The sermons got more interesting, seemed to make sense, almost like watching an historical show about "biblical" times. So when men's bible study was announced starting on Wednesday night, with womens bible study as well, seperately, we decided to go.
So now I have to start reading the Bible, and I did. It was ok but a little hard to understand, so I figure its good to be with someone to explain it. The first night at Bible study.....well thats to be continued....
I hope my testimony is a pretty good one, but most importantly it is the truth, without embellisment or hyperbole. The coolest part is that God chose to save my wife and I at the same time through our son, we didn't know it at the time but looking back we now recognize that is exactly what happened.
We moved to our town about three years ago buying our first home, a small suburb in a fairly affulent town, very family oriented, and it instantly felt like home. We were keen on getting involved in our community, I coached a season of Tee Ball for our son, our daughter seemed to fit right in and make friends fast, and my wife was volunteering at the schools. We really wanted to find a church, for community, for the kids, and in my case (to be honest) someplace to send my family so I could sleep in and watch football in peace.
Sure I would go from time to time to make it look good, but mostly I was looking forward to the alone time on Sunday. I was pretty much an agnostic, I was a good person, better than I ever had been in fact. I quit smoking, quit drugs, was pretty honest about most things, I was polite and a pretty hard worker. I almost felt like a defacto Christian, I just didnt read the Bible or go to church or have a savior. If I was going to Hell well that was Gods fault not mine, and I could deal with it.
So after asking around alittle my wife decided to give the Baptist church a try, it was Mother's Day. I was working delivering flowers as a side job, easy cash. She wanted to go but was not sure, finally our 9 year old son said he would go with her, our teenage daughter was in bed sleeping still.
Apparently the service was pretty powerful, the pastor's wife had recently had a miscarriage which he shared with the congregation on that day, yeah no doubt powerful. The congregation is a mix of wonderful people from all walks of life, all suprisily welcoming and not in a creepy way. Later that day my wife shared it with me and I'm sure I was like "yeah whatever"
The only concern she had was how few people were in church, maybe 20 people. Otherwise she really enjoyed it, "yes! football here I come!" I thought. Well the following weekend my wife was working and I was off. I took my son to his baseball game and on the way home he asked if we were going to church. I was, unfortunately, discouraging. After all he was still in his baseball uniform, I was tired, I had other things to do, like take a nap. Then he dropped the bomb on me.
"But Gods more awesome than you." he said.
Just like that, out of the blue, "really?" I said.
"Yeah" he said.
So we went. It was ok, alot of songs I did not know. A sermon I would shortly forget. But at the end I felt good, we went down to the fellowship after and I had people who knew my son from the previous week coming up to me and talking like they knew me, it was pretty cool. So we kept going as a family including my teenage daughter, it was ok and I was learning. The sermons got more interesting, seemed to make sense, almost like watching an historical show about "biblical" times. So when men's bible study was announced starting on Wednesday night, with womens bible study as well, seperately, we decided to go.
So now I have to start reading the Bible, and I did. It was ok but a little hard to understand, so I figure its good to be with someone to explain it. The first night at Bible study.....well thats to be continued....
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Membership
"Membership has its privileges." We've all heard this advertising slogan enticing us to join what would appear to be a select group. So recently when I told my mother that my wife and I were taking membership classes for our church, and would soon go before the deacons to be questioned and hopefully approved for membership, she asked a logical question. "What do you get from being member?"
I wasn't sure what to say. I wasn't told I would get anything. No one made any promises, no one really talks much about membership. Sitting in the church pews you certainly cannot tell a member from a non-member. In fact I assume we could attend church for the rest of our lives without ever becoming members.
When I thought about it for a while I began to assume that by becoming a member more would be expected of me. I assume that I would now be scrutinized perhaps a little more and now be subject to church discipline. I assume I would be expected or perhaps required to donate of my time and talents to church related activities.
And looking back to the last few sentences perhaps I should change the word "assume" to the words "I hope". Since becoming saved I have actually yearned to do more, to learn more, to serve more at my church. This from someone who had no desire to ever attend church, and at times eve mocked believers. But now I search out membership of just such a church and pray that I will be accepted. So I guess instead of "membership has it's privileges" it should be "the privileges causes one to desire membership." For the privileges I have received in Jesus I could never earn, I could barely ever hope for what He has given me. Because of this I desire membership and hope all the things "I assume" are part of membership are true, so that I may serve and glorify Him.
I wasn't sure what to say. I wasn't told I would get anything. No one made any promises, no one really talks much about membership. Sitting in the church pews you certainly cannot tell a member from a non-member. In fact I assume we could attend church for the rest of our lives without ever becoming members.
When I thought about it for a while I began to assume that by becoming a member more would be expected of me. I assume that I would now be scrutinized perhaps a little more and now be subject to church discipline. I assume I would be expected or perhaps required to donate of my time and talents to church related activities.
And looking back to the last few sentences perhaps I should change the word "assume" to the words "I hope". Since becoming saved I have actually yearned to do more, to learn more, to serve more at my church. This from someone who had no desire to ever attend church, and at times eve mocked believers. But now I search out membership of just such a church and pray that I will be accepted. So I guess instead of "membership has it's privileges" it should be "the privileges causes one to desire membership." For the privileges I have received in Jesus I could never earn, I could barely ever hope for what He has given me. Because of this I desire membership and hope all the things "I assume" are part of membership are true, so that I may serve and glorify Him.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
God will speak to you
God will speak to you, yes it's true He will. As a Christian you have a personal relationship with Him, He is in your heart and has a personal interest in your life. Now does this mean He will audibly converse with you on every aspect in your life, no. And I have never had the priviledge to have him audibly speak to me, however there has been times when I can feel Him push me in a certain direction. Times when the Holy Spirit has moved me to do something I would not have done on my own.
So can you seek and communicate with Him everyday? I know that I do and have come to rely upon it, to crave it. I read, or listen, to the Bible daily. I dont think there has been too many days when I have not sought help or advice from Jesus since he saved me. Ask Him to come and take control of your life and He will, sometimes this is more difficult than it may sound for you will second guess what He wants. I know I have lived most of my life listening to my own advice, on good days I feel like I have done pretty well, and on bad days well...you know how it can be. Now I still have good and bad days but even on bad days I still am amazed that when I turn to Him I can almost always get straightened out and put things in perspective.
Sometimes when bad things happen we seek a quick fix, we do live in an instant society afterall, but God's providence does not. He is the same eternally. The same God that made Abraham wait 25 years for his first born son is the same God of today. He may give you a solution instantly or he may wait a lifetime or lifetimes. We think in human way of human problems, He thinks in a Godly way on His terms. Only He knows why, and if you ask why surely you will only frustrate and confuse yourself.
I guess what I am trying to say is God will talk to you, He will answer your prayers, but He will do it on his terms, in His time, for His glory. And this is what Christians should pray for everytime we talk to Him.
So can you seek and communicate with Him everyday? I know that I do and have come to rely upon it, to crave it. I read, or listen, to the Bible daily. I dont think there has been too many days when I have not sought help or advice from Jesus since he saved me. Ask Him to come and take control of your life and He will, sometimes this is more difficult than it may sound for you will second guess what He wants. I know I have lived most of my life listening to my own advice, on good days I feel like I have done pretty well, and on bad days well...you know how it can be. Now I still have good and bad days but even on bad days I still am amazed that when I turn to Him I can almost always get straightened out and put things in perspective.
Sometimes when bad things happen we seek a quick fix, we do live in an instant society afterall, but God's providence does not. He is the same eternally. The same God that made Abraham wait 25 years for his first born son is the same God of today. He may give you a solution instantly or he may wait a lifetime or lifetimes. We think in human way of human problems, He thinks in a Godly way on His terms. Only He knows why, and if you ask why surely you will only frustrate and confuse yourself.
I guess what I am trying to say is God will talk to you, He will answer your prayers, but He will do it on his terms, in His time, for His glory. And this is what Christians should pray for everytime we talk to Him.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Let it Snow
Contemplate snow. Thankfully we haven't had much snow this year, so contemplating it doesn't automatically depress me. Now in depth really think about snow, now how would you describe it to someone who has never experienced snow, notice I didn't say "see" snow, because anyone knows snow knows it is an experience. It is cold, it is slick, it is wet, fluffy, pretty and so many other adjectives. According to "Lexemes referring to snow and snow-related notions in Steven A. Jacobson's
(1984) Yup'ik Eskimo dictionary[1]" there are at least 15 words for snow in the Eskimo lexicon.
So really giving an honest effort to someone who has never experienced snow how would you even begin. I'll try by best.
Whitish frozen water crystals that can be almost sand like, yet melt on your tongue, which fall from the sky in varying intensity and may accumulate rapidly. Snow accumulated on the ground can be very pretty, even beautiful, especially when the sun hits it at just the right angle and it reflects like diamonds, causing the one gazing upon it to squint as if looking into the sun. It is hard to walk upon, slippery and putting one off balance, yet people like to strap pieces of wood, called skis, to their feet and glide on top of it, or strap-on special shoes, called snow shoes. to prevent from getting sunk in to deep snow. Snow can be light and fluffy, or wet and dense, pure and clean, or dirty and mucky. It can bring joy or misery. Pure and simple it is something that needs to be experience to truly understand. No matter the description, how adept and adequate the description the reader will never truly be able to appreciate snow.
Now contemplate God. Have you ever experienced God in your life? Have you asked Jesus to take control of your life? If you have can you describe it to someone? We can all study about Jesus, but do we really know Him? How do you share that knowledge with someone else?
If you think I know the answers, HA! I wish I knew the answers. Only thing I do know is that I will try to share the Word, I will share my story, but until you experience God and have a personal relationship with Jesus, you cannot know God.
So really giving an honest effort to someone who has never experienced snow how would you even begin. I'll try by best.
Whitish frozen water crystals that can be almost sand like, yet melt on your tongue, which fall from the sky in varying intensity and may accumulate rapidly. Snow accumulated on the ground can be very pretty, even beautiful, especially when the sun hits it at just the right angle and it reflects like diamonds, causing the one gazing upon it to squint as if looking into the sun. It is hard to walk upon, slippery and putting one off balance, yet people like to strap pieces of wood, called skis, to their feet and glide on top of it, or strap-on special shoes, called snow shoes. to prevent from getting sunk in to deep snow. Snow can be light and fluffy, or wet and dense, pure and clean, or dirty and mucky. It can bring joy or misery. Pure and simple it is something that needs to be experience to truly understand. No matter the description, how adept and adequate the description the reader will never truly be able to appreciate snow.
Now contemplate God. Have you ever experienced God in your life? Have you asked Jesus to take control of your life? If you have can you describe it to someone? We can all study about Jesus, but do we really know Him? How do you share that knowledge with someone else?
If you think I know the answers, HA! I wish I knew the answers. Only thing I do know is that I will try to share the Word, I will share my story, but until you experience God and have a personal relationship with Jesus, you cannot know God.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Brood of Vipers
Okay the other day I talked about a having a new Christian "high", after all Jesus is our saviour, he saved us, he saved me! How amazing! As we learn more what this means we find that it was not just a simple act performed by God, like a wave of his hand. Jesus, Gods only begotten son, was murdered by us (sinners) to take our sin, for our sins. He took our sins upon Himself. Think upon your sins, he felt the weight of all those sins upon the cross, plus all the rest of the sinners for all eternity. The word excruciating comes from lack of descrpition of the pain felt from being on the cross, it means literally "from the cross" Jesus was scourged(beaten and flailed) which killed many before even being nailed to the cross, then was forced to carry his cross, a huge beam of wood weighing more than He could bear in the end and had to be carried by Simon. Fully bloody and exhausted his hands and feet were then nailed to the cross by long metal spikes his body was then hoisted up and he would feel the full weight of his body pulling on those spikes. Just horrible!
Now alot of this information was derived from my reading of the Bible as well as "Doctrine:what Christians should believe" by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears. paraphrased mostly but I wanted to give credit as well as two very good books to read, especially the first.
Ok this all being said please do NOT let your enthusiasim lead to buying things like this:
http://www.orientaltrading.com/cross-shaped-suckers-a2-5_683.fltr?prodCatId=388673&categoryFromSearch=true&tabId=1&Ne=90000&rd=lollipop
Now I dont blame Oreintal Trading for selling it, I would only blame those who buy it. What comes to mind is the phrase "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?" Matthew 23:33
Now alot of this information was derived from my reading of the Bible as well as "Doctrine:what Christians should believe" by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears. paraphrased mostly but I wanted to give credit as well as two very good books to read, especially the first.
Ok this all being said please do NOT let your enthusiasim lead to buying things like this:
http://www.orientaltrading.com/cross-shaped-suckers-a2-5_683.fltr?prodCatId=388673&categoryFromSearch=true&tabId=1&Ne=90000&rd=lollipop
Now I dont blame Oreintal Trading for selling it, I would only blame those who buy it. What comes to mind is the phrase "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?" Matthew 23:33
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Ok so Tim Tebow lost tonight. Does this mean God has forsaken him, should he give up his faith because God has failed him ?...Hardly....Seriously?..Yup God cares about football that's his ultimate goal ....for His team to win. Well being from New England ...its true, which is why the Pats won!
Ok this is why I am writing this particular entry..just because your a Christian does not mean everything will go your way. Alot of us, including me, start with a "Christian High" and soon realize life is still hard. This should be expected in fact we should be lucky if we get any sort of "christian High " at all. Immediately we should expect people calling us fools and losers for excepting Christ. Any belief in anything other than personal success is fool hardy nowadays. So anyone claiming in a belief other than that is to be criticized and put down ...sometimes from unexpected critics. Family members, friends and even just media you used to enjoy seem to mock your belief. You cannot let this sway you, take heart in the Word and in fellowship that you are closer to God in Jesus Christ everyday. No matter what anyone thinks or how you are criticized, the only one who matters is Jesus. I will never say I know all or know everything, in fact I think I know very little, but I am learning and I hope you will do the same no matter how inadequate you feel or how people criticize you. God Bless!
Ok this is why I am writing this particular entry..just because your a Christian does not mean everything will go your way. Alot of us, including me, start with a "Christian High" and soon realize life is still hard. This should be expected in fact we should be lucky if we get any sort of "christian High " at all. Immediately we should expect people calling us fools and losers for excepting Christ. Any belief in anything other than personal success is fool hardy nowadays. So anyone claiming in a belief other than that is to be criticized and put down ...sometimes from unexpected critics. Family members, friends and even just media you used to enjoy seem to mock your belief. You cannot let this sway you, take heart in the Word and in fellowship that you are closer to God in Jesus Christ everyday. No matter what anyone thinks or how you are criticized, the only one who matters is Jesus. I will never say I know all or know everything, in fact I think I know very little, but I am learning and I hope you will do the same no matter how inadequate you feel or how people criticize you. God Bless!
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