Appearance
I have started in 1 Timothy recently and when I first read chapter 2 I was hit with a curve ball. Paul starts off by writing about worship and how we should intercede in prayer for everyone. He then gives a charge to men:
“I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.”
This charge is simple to understand for the most part, but it is the next verse that made me wonder why it is here the first time I read it.
“I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.”
When I read it again this morning I had a slightly different take. After reading through some commentaries on this chapter it became clear that both of these charges were set to help both men and women worship God wholly. My first reaction when reading the charge to the women was so they would not distract the men by their dress. But a commentary broadened this and said it was more so it would not offend the people that could not afford fancy clothes and jewelry.
Even today we [men and women] must take this to heart and not make worshiping our God a public display of wealth by the clothes/accessories we wear. I will be the first to admit that I enjoy a nicely pressed Express shirt, but what would it look like to take your dress into consideration as part of your proclamation of Jesus Christ?
This passage helped remind me that while I might worship in song on Sundays, my life, each and every day should be a life led of worship. This includes my attitude, words, actions and appearance.
Pray
In the field of Christian higher education there is a lot of competition and rivalry, but there is also a common bond; Christ. In the world of GSAC sports there can be times of dislike, but that is all trumped when trials arrise.
You might have seen/heard on the news that a fellow GSAC school [Westmont College] suffered severe fire damage last night. You can go to the Westmont website for updates, but at this point the fire seems to be controlled after it destroyed/damaged multiple buildings on campus.
All this to say, it is at times like these where we must pray with expectation that God is in control. So after you read this just shoot up a prayer for the residents of Santa Barbara and Westmont that have been affected.
Thirsty Thursday: Nice People
My post today is coming from gate B17 at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport. I am waiting to board my flight back to Fresno and that is what inspired this post. It all started this morning when I got ready to head to the airport. And it didn’t start to good.
I woke up about 1 hour later then I had planned to catch my flight at 8:57am to Las Vegas. I woke up at 7:15am and had a 20 minute drive to the airport [without traffic] which turned into more like 35 because of traffic.
I then had to top off my rental car with gas so I would not incur a charge of $6.50/gallon for the rental company to fill it up. This just added to my lateness. However, I was not really worried the whole time. I woke up feeling refreshed from the extra hour I slept and knew if I worried it would not get my anywhere faster.
I made it to the rental complex, which is about 2 miles from the airport. I then had to wait in line for a receipt that took about 10 minutes. Next was the shuttle to the airport and then finally meeting my fate at the check-in desk to see what time I would get to Fresno and the extra cost that would take.
I walked up to the desk and the younger guy at the counter asked how I was doing. I replied with a sigh, “Oh I am OK”. I proceeded to tell him I woke up late and my flight was scheduled to leave at 8:57am. The time was currently 8:45am; you do the math.
I did not expect the response I got. It was a very nice, “so you are flying direct to Fresno then right?”. I thought he was kinda joking, but he set it all up and I did not have to pay another penny! As I got ready to leave the counter the attendant just smiled and said, “you can be happy you slept in today”.
This just made my day! I knew that worrying would not make the situation any better and it worked out better then I could have ever expected it to. So if you are worried about something, take heart and know that it is out of your control!
Thirsty Thursday: Maintenance
Many of you know I have a house with a pool. Now that sounds like it would be a blast, but it is not all peaches and cream. This is where I draw my thoughts for today. I see owning a pool much like owning my faith.
You see, there are many components to what makes a pool work correctly. You have water, chemicals, pumps, filters, sweepers and other maintance tools. I believe there are 3 ways to maintain a pool. 1: Do nothing 2: Do the once a month treatment 3: Do constant maintenance.
It is easy in my walk with God to feel I am doing good and I don’t really need to be in the word (maintenance). It works for a week or two. Then the little issues begin to grow and just become bigger the more time I just let it grow. Before you know it the pool is green and I need God again. Not the recommended course of action; for pools or life.
Second option is to get my fill once a month. This might extend the length of the collapse, but the end result is imminent. In this example the water in my pool will look ok. It won’t turn green, but the walls of the pool begin to show dirt and scum. Once again, without constant maintenance, the surface of my life will look good. All you have to do is look beneath the surface and you will find the mess.
Finally, to maintain a clean pool the key is constant maintenance. I need to be outside brushing the walls and steps. Checking the waters chemical balance and cleaning the filters. Much the same is my walk with God.
I can do my weekly or monthly maintenance to make the outside look good, but what is important is what’s inside. We all know that what’s inside will make its way out eventually. So my encouragement to you today is enjoy the work you put into your faith. It will show!
Thirsty Thursday: First Love
The other day I was reading through Revelations 2. In this chapter the 7 churches are addressed. Of this address I want to highlight one in particular; The Church in Ephesus.
“I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance…You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.”
From this text you know that the Church in Ephesus has the heart and desire to do the will of God. This is an encouragement of what the Church is doing; they are doing good things. However, this is not where the text ends.
“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen!”
This is a challenge to me in the season I am in personally with my involvement with The Well. As many of you know, The Well SouthEast will be launching on October 5th. I will be serving alongside an amazing group of people that have a heart to serve the people in SouthEast Fresno. But we must not forget “our first love”; which is worshiping Jesus with everything we do.
The role I will be serving in is lead engineer, which will incorporate the audio, lighting and video. I have a strong sense of responsibility to make sure that the presentation every Sunday is perfect. I think that desire is important, but it is not more important than building relationships with the people I am serving and serving with. I must continually “remember my first love” so that I don’t get caught up in just doing things at church. But rather, I want the things I do at church to glorify my Jesus.
In closing, if you think about it throughout the week, pray for the SouthEast launch. Pray that the people serving will have servants hearts. Pray for the people we will come in contact with. Just pray for Fresno.
Thirsty Thursday: The Right Mindset
Psalms 1:1-2
Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night
This passage has been one that I put to memory years ago and has been a blessing every time I think about it. David writes about what we are not to do, but he doesn’t leave it at that. It is the state of mind that follows the actions that hits home. “But his delight is in the law of the LORD”.
It is so easy to focus on what NOT to do. When I use this approach I tend to just fill my head with those thoughts even more. This is not what God calls me to. I am to delight in the LORD and meditate on His law day and night. When put into practice it works beautifully because I no longer focus on the bad things I can do. I begin to make a shift to understanding what God has for me. It is an awesome way to spend the day thinking about the things of God, rather then what the devil is tempting me with.
With all that said, it takes a daily reminder for me to continue in this state of mind. It does not mean I am sinless in any way, but it is one step closer to overcoming the sin nature in my body.
Thirsty Thursday: Being a servant
My inspiration for Thirsty Thursday this week comes from my buddy Gene Pensiero. If you have not checked out Jesus is Extravagant you need to. Today he posted an excerpt from a book written by Charles Spurgeon. It was about being a steward.
This resonated with me this week because of what is happening at The Well Community Church. On October 5, 2008 we will be launching The Well at Sunnyside HS. I will be joining an awesome group of STEWARDS that have a passion to serve the people in southeast Fresno. It is in the heart of being a steward that we dive into this opportunity.
With that said I ask for prayer; for the team, the logistics and feelings of inadequatcy. God is bigger then anything we can think up so we just need to trust in the strength that God provides.
Thirsty Thursday: Grace
This morning I flipped through my journal and read some entries I wrote when I was in the Dominican Republic last summer. I love looking at past entries periodically because it gives me a pretty clear picture of where I have come from in my walk with Christ. It’s not all peaches and cream, but it allows me to see the seasons God has brought me through.
When I looked through my journal today I noticed a few words that just jumped out at me.
“LET GRACE BE GRACE”
These words struck me today because that is exactly how God intended Grace to work. There is nothing you or I can do to deserve God’s Grace. This concept is so simple yet so profound. A perfect example of this concept is found in John 8, when Jesus is confronted by the religious leaders with the woman caught in the act of adultery.
When the religious leaders bring the woman to Jesus they are trying to trap him into contradicting his testimony or not obeying the law. Jesus starts writing on the ground and then tells the men, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone.” At this the men begin to leave.
After all the men had gone this is Jesus’ response to the woman. “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” The woman answers no. And this is where we see the beauty of Grace that God bestows on us.
“Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin”
Brad Bell taught on this passage a couple weeks ago at The Well Community Church and made me think about that last line Jesus said to the woman. Brad’s response was confusion because God gave this woman Grace and it was never recorded in scripture that she asked for it. There lies the wonder and beauty of Grace.
LET GRACE BE GRACE
Thirsty Thursday: Opportunities
I watched “Evan Almighty” this evening. I was expecting some good laughs from the one and only Steve Carell. It had some good lines, but there was one sequence that took me by surprise. It comes when Evan’s wife has taken the kids and they are now in a diner while Evan keeps working away on building the ark. It made me think about a couple things:
1. What am I praying for?
2. What am I expecting in the answer?
Stay with me…I know you are probably thinking I am going off on a limb here. Here is what I was getting at.
“If someone prays for patience, do you think God gives them patience? Or does He give them the opportunity to be patient…
“If they pray for courage, does God give them courage? Or does He give them opportunities to be courageous…
“If someone prays for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings? Or does He give them opportunities to love each other…
So I end with this simple question. Where are the opportunities God has placed in our lives?
Here is the clip from the movie
Thirsty Thursday: Solitude
I must start today with a quick confessions. I have really enjoyed the way that my blog has given me another avenue to write down my thoughts on life. I have a journal that I try to write in everyday, but the blog has a different feel to it. It is a place where I can write about my victories or my defeats as I keep walking with Jesus. It is public so everyone has the opportunity to read it. I appreciate the words of encouragement my friends give me through this form of communication. And I love reading about whats going on in their lives as they blog away.
A while back I was in a small group with some guys at FPU. Dave Obwald was the point man with Bryan Feil and myself as his back-up. It was really neat to get to know some of the guys that were students at FPU since I have been out for a couple years. We used the study guide for ‘Celebration of Disciple’ by Richard Foster as a launching pad for our discussion. I want to share a few bits of that about the disciple of SOLITUDE.
“The less we are mesmerized by human voices, the more we are able to hear the divine Voice. The less we are bound by other’s expectations, the more we are open to God’s expectation”
“In time, however, we found that solitude did not give us power to win the rat race; on the contrary, it taught us to ignore the struggle altogether.”
“God takes this ‘useless’ Discipline, this ‘wasted time,’ to make us His Friend“
Enjoy your solitude today!
p.s. The red and blue text is my simple way of saying BULLDOGS ARE NATIONAL CHAMPS!
