Stay True To Your Roots in God

Back in my younger years, so like 15 years ago, I just started to learn about Christianity. I still had so much to learn, and still do today, but I started my foundation then. I grew up in a family of strong believers; almost all of my aunts and uncles were missionaries at one point and know the word. I grew up getting to know the word from everyone around me. I wouldn’t say it totally stuck with me until I was mature enough to grasp it. Today’s reading is 2nd Timothy Chapter 3, let me tell you about that!

The first part of the chapter talks all about the coming of God. End times if you will. It again points out the signs that come before the coming of our lord and savior. Paul says that these are some of the signs in Verses 2-7.

 

“For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” (2nd Timothy 3:2-7)

I studied those words because each and everyone one of them looks very familiar to the world we live in today. This journal entry is not about end times but it is important to be aware what the bible says about what the signs are of the lord before he comes.

I want to focus on the second half of this chapter. It’s important to read and really understand what Paul is telling Timothy here in this letter.

“You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2nd Timothy 3:10-17)

All of this is important writing but I really want you to focus on verses 14-16. “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it.” We are talking about Timothy’s upbringing in the word of God and how his mother and grandmother taught him about Christ. “And how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” This verse is so important to understand. It is saying that Timothy was taught the scriptures (Bible) when he was younger and do you know what that does? Learning the scriptures not only makes you wise but it also shapes you into a better image of Christ, which is where WE CAME FROM.

If you can take anything from this chapter in 2nd Timothy, it is to get into the word of God and truly commit to learning the scriptures. I struggle with it myself and it will take discipline but it will be worth it in the end.  Have a great Thursday everyone and enjoy diving into the word!

2nd Thessalonians Introduction

Today I am introducing the second letter to the Thessalonians. This is a letter written to the Thessalonian church about a couple things. First off, this letter is short. It only has three chapters and it’s written to the church to give hope and to teach. There are three parts to this letter. The first part talks about the people of this church thinking that Christ had already come, the second part is an encouragement to stay strong in the persecution, and the third part talks about idleness.

 

PART 1

The Thessalonian church was struggling with something. There were people who were coming into the church and spreading lies. They would speak for Paul by bringing letters that they said Paul had written. The problem is that no one knew he didn’t write those letters. These false writings were basically explaining to the church that Christ had already come and they missed the cut. This was hard to hear because this church was constantly under stress and persecution. Their only hope was that one-day God would return and get them out of this persecution. Paul found out that about these false teachings people were told in his name and had to write this letter. He reminded them that the coming of Christ is a good thing and that the signs would be hard to miss. He spoke on the signs again and encouraged them to stop listening to these false teachings.

 

PART 2

Like I said in the first part, the Thessalonian Church was heavily persecuted. They needed encouragement to keep on this path because it was hard for them to keep choosing to be persecuted for Christ. Paul understood this from his own experience. He also encouraged them by letting them know that the other churches respected their church and that he talks about their church all the time to other people.

 

PART 3

The last part talks about idleness. Basically, since the church was being so heavily persecuted people stopped working. Some thought it was because Christ was going to come back really soon so they didn’t see the point. Paul writes to the church to let them know that idleness is wrong and that they should all be working to earn their keep. He reminds them that when he was visiting, he also had a job and worked to earn his keep so that they didn’t have to support him while he was there.

 

Those three parts explain the short letter to the Thessalonian church. It is a quick book to read but it has so many important points to learn. We can’t wait to dive into this book the next three days with you! Be on the lookout of 2 Thessalonians Chapter 1 tomorrow morning!

Onesimus Has To Face The Music

Philemon 2 is a story about forgiveness. I think we can all relate and think of a time where we did something before we knew Christ, only to be saved and now have to face the problem you created. Onesimus had to do that very thing in this story.

 

The chapter starts off with Paul writing to someone named Philemon. We learned in Chapter 1 that Philemon was a guy that Paul brought to know the faith and it changed his life. Philemon went back to where he lived to tell others about the gospel and he grew to be a major part of the church. Now chapter 2 we find out that Philemon had a bondservant named Onesimus. Onesimus did something to Philemon, the passage hints toward him stealing something because Paul offers to put Onesimus’s debt on his “tab.”

 

Onesimus, after stealing from Philemon, runs off to Rome and happens to meet Paul. Paul teaches him the gospel and he becomes a Christ Follower. Now the story could have ended right there. Paul could have used Onesimus to help him out with ministry in Rome, but check out what he does!

 

I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. 11 (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) 12 I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. 13 I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord.

 

Do you see the maturity in this passage? Paul is good friends with Philemon and as he got to know Onesimus he found out that he was one of Philemon’s bondservants. He could have just sent him a letter and kept Onesimus, or not even have written a letter to him BUT he didn’t. He chose to get his friend’s consent. Have you ever done something behind someone’s back thinking they would never find out…. and they did? Paul is so mature in his faith that he wants to make things right with Philemon and Onesimus rather than selfishly keeping him for his own intentions. Even though his intentions were good.

 

I think the moral of the story is think about the decisions you make and how they affect not only yourself but others. Also be willing to forgive someone who has wronged you, especially if they didn’t know Christ at the time that they wronged you. Have a great Thursday everyone!

Why Do We Keep Treating Our Salvation Like a Debt That Needs To Be Paid?

I’m in a small group that meets on Tuesday nights. If I could just pop in here and give a small plug for small groups, it would be that I think you all should be in one. It is so good to be able to grow and sharpen iron together as relationships build amongst the group! Anyways, for the past 3-4 months, we have been doing a study on Galatians. As a 24-year-old Christian, I think I can fall prey to what Galatians 2 is talking about. The biggest thing I have learned through this study is that there is no work or deed that can give us salvation.

God died for us, and in doing that he paid for our sins yet we go on trying to save ourselves by doing good. It’s not about the works that you do. I’m not saying to stop doing good things; I am saying to stop thinking that good things are worthy of your salvation. Try to think of it from this example. A guy is in jail for life, for doing something terrible. In jail he does everything right, he never gets in trouble and does all the good things to make his time go smoothly. That guy does everything right but guess what; he still has to be in jail. All of his right that he is doing is not making up for that wrong that got him in there in the first place.

 

Just like in that example, we are all sinners that will always have sin in our life. Our job is not to try to do as many good things as possible to make ourselves feel better, our job is to have a relationship with God. When the relationship is there, you will want to do good things because that desire comes out of love for God. When that relationship isn’t there, your desire turns into settling a debt.

 

The most important verse in this chapter, in my opinion, is verse 21. It reads, “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” This is huge to understand. If we stick to the idea that we are going to make up for our sin than GOD DIED FOR NO REASON!

 

One of the best things I have learned from the study I am going through is to not only repent of your sins but to also repent of your righteousness. Confusing at first, but remember that our good deeds will never be good enough to save us from our sins.

 

Today, meditate on your life. Think about if you have been doing good deeds for the wrong reason. Have a great Thursday everyone!

Men of Society vs. Men of God

I grew up in a house full of almost all brothers, I played football and baseball, and worked for the family business in some way since I was 12. Needless to say, I knew how to be a guy. I was around other guys all of the time; I learned many important life lessons from other guys in my life. For example, I learned how to take a punch in the shoulder and always come back with a straight face saying, “that didn’t hurt, you hit like my sister!” In reality, my shoulder was killing me! I learned that society looks to men to be the strong, emotionless figures that can handle every situation put at them. I learned that it’s better to not cry because crying makes you look weak. The problem with these few learning tips that I have pointed out is that they are all lies. They are lies to cover things up. They are temporary solutions that only result in a bigger fallout in the future.

 

You might be wondering how I am going to tie this into 2 Corinthians 2. That’s a great question. If you read that chapter you start to realize something. Paul has these deep emotions that guys from our culture tend to not have. Paul says in verse 4, “For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you,” and verse 13, “my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.”

 

Notice the key words in those two verses: affliction, anguish, many tears, abundant love, and my spirit was not at rest. These are all feelings and emotion that Paul, a man, had.

 

So if you are a guy out there and you’re reading this, struggling with the same lies that the culture puts on our hearts every day. Remember this passage. Remember that being a man centered on Christ does not mean you are weak and emotional, it means that you have realized that you can’t do this on your own! God is our strength, and through our weakness, he is made strong.

 

Today, men, take some time to pray for God to make a change in your life. Pray for a softening of your heart. Pray that he will convict you to moments where you are acting more like society tells you to act than God tells you to act. I promise it will be a struggle but it will cause us to rely more on God. I’m up for this challenge. Are you?

Actions Have Consequences

When I was in high school there was a night that I remember very well. I remember that night because I was with some of my friends hanging out at one of their homes, as we left we came out to find ice cream all over our windshields. We found out who did it and did what any other teenager would do…we planned an attack of our own.

 

We got eggs and flour and set out to find a car that one of the other guys owned. We eventually did, and I sat and watched as my friends started egging and flower bombing this car. I knew what they were doing was wrong but I kept my mouth shut. We ended the night in an all-out paintball gun war in my parent’s front yard (we lived out in the country) but that’s beside the point. The point was that my friends did something wrong, I knew it was wrong, and I didn’t say a word about it. In the end, it ended in disaster.

 

1 Corinthians 5 talks about this in the church. The chapter specifically talks about sexual immorality but I think this is something that can be taught about any sin. This chapter talks about the hard truth that sin is still a part of our lives and can easily start to take over our lives if we are not watchful. This chapter talks about a man committing sexual immorality by sleeping with his father’s wife. It may be easier to think about this in a different way. What about that time your coworker started to gossip about another person and you just sat there and listened. Maybe you didn’t participate but you knew that it was wrong.

 

Whatever the situation, it is your responsibility to stand up for what is right. God called us to go out to all nations and that could be as simple as your work, your friend’s house, or your own home. We have this responsibility because of love. If we truly love everyone and want to see them go to heaven, we stand up to wrong and with God’s help, we lead people out of the darkness.

 

Romans says that the wages of sin is death, so why wouldn’t we stand up against sin? Why wouldn’t we tell our brother or sister that what they are doing isn’t right? Paul ends this chapter with this, “Purge the evil person from among you.” This stuck with me. We try to focus a lot on spreading the gospel to all nations and but sometimes we disregard the church itself.

 

Christians are imperfect and sin-filled people too. We too can fall right back into the enemy’s grasp. Paul is saying that we need to focus some of our efforts on making sure that the church stays free of the enemy. Let me clarify I don’t mean that the church needs to be free of sin, I am saying that the people who are actively sinning and choosing to do so need to be spoken to. Not only are they acting in a way that leads them away from eternal life, their actions may also lead to false interpretation of Christianity by a new believer.

 

I don’t want you to go around looking at whom you can judge by their sinful behavior but I do want you to look around at some of your close Christian friends. Today, start to pray that the Holy Spirit opens your eyes to any evil that needs to be purged in you and the people who are close to. Just like my story about my car wars experience, I knew what I was doing was wrong and it ended in disaster. If we choose to keep allowing wrong to happen and not standing up against it, it will end in disaster.

Paul on Trial

Heart pounding. Mind racing. Paul stands in front of hundreds of people who will decide whether he is innocent or guilty of his accusations. I’m sure even Paul had fear in that moment with such an uncertain future ahead of him.

 

In Acts 23, Paul was face to face with his accusers and a council that didn’t have any sympathy for him. Sometimes I find myself reading the bible and placing a lot of the people on pedestals because of the life they lived for Christ. If we really dive into the word, you can start to see that these people are just as human as we are. Let’s look at Paul as an example.

 

So Paul is up in front of this council getting accused of many things that aren’t wrong in the eyes of God. The first thing he chooses to say is, “ Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” He is pleading his case, trying to help them understand that he sees nothing wrong in what he is doing…because there is nothing wrong in what he is doing. Instantly the high priest orders Paul to be struck, not just anywhere, on the mouth.

 

I imagine myself in his shoes. I am wrongfully being charged and I want to keep this civil so I start off with a calm statement of my innocence and then BAM! I get punched right in the jaw. Growing up with four brothers has, I would say negatively, gifted me with having the ability of not thinking before swinging. In this situation, it would have been my natural reaction to swing back or tackle the guy if I got hit like that. As we keep reading we can see that Paul reacts in a similar action(He responds in anger and frustration) and that makes him just as human as you and I. Paul says, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall!” He didn’t punch the guy, but his words are powerful because they have the authority of Christ behind them. I can also imagine that he isn’t saying that in a friendly tone either. Though he was angry and probably wanted to punch the guy back, he knew that God was the ultimate judge and would take care of it in his timing and grace.

 

The rest of the chapter goes into the plot to kill Paul by 40 men who have sworn to not eat or drink until Paul is dead. This story has always been interesting to me because there has been nothing, so far, in my life that I have hated enough to give up eating and drinking until that thing is dead. The hatred towards God and his people just amazes me sometimes as I read through the bible.

 

Chapter 23 ends with Paul getting sent to Rome secretly to avoid being ambushed by the 40 men so that he can await trial there. Remember that even though there are men and women in the bible, they were sinners just like us. Don’t put these people on pedestals but learn from their actions as you go through similar situations in your life.

One of the Greatest Conversion Stories of All Time

There are moments in each of our lives that we can remember almost every detail of. Some of these moments are full of tragedy, and some are full of happiness. One moment I think everyone can remember is the moment they gave their life to Jesus.

 

I was sitting in my small town church and it was nearing the end of our week of vacation bible school. I was 9 years old and remember sitting in the sanctuary with all the other kids, right next to me was my younger brother and my cousin. As we were listening to the pastor talk, he started to ask if anyone wanted to accept Jesus as his or her Lord and Savior. I was hesitant at first but eventually decided to go up to the front as long as my brother and cousin came with me. All three of us headed up and asked Jesus to be our Lord and Savior. It was a simple prayer but I remember distinctly feeling different after it. After the service, we grabbed Dad’s phone and started calling everyone we knew to let them know that we accepted Jesus!

 

I remember that story in such great detail, and if you asked me to pull out another memory of when I was 9, I truly don’t think I would be able to do that. My conversion story had so much meaning to me that it stuck with me.

 

Acts 9 talks about one of the best conversion stories we have come to know. Saul was not the nicest guy around, he was a guy that really enjoyed power and had a deep passion for destroying the Church and the people of the church. As he was headed to Damascus, he was blinded and spoken to by God. I don’t know about you but if God’s first words to me were “ Saul, why are you persecuting me?” I would be a little afraid.

 

Saul was on his way to persecute more Christians and on that path to Damascus, his whole life changed in one moment. That is how it feels to truly meet God. The reason I titled this as one of the best conversion stories is because God took one of the worst of us and showed him the light. God showed Paul that he was fighting the wrong battle and in that moment God showed Paul an unimaginable amount grace that we can’t comprehend.

 

Think of this as someone that really dislikes you or even hates you. Someone that seems to have it out for you and does everything in their power to make fun of you, call you names, physically harm you, and even try to kill you. This person has done this to all of your friends and you are sick of it. Instead of reacting with anger and frustration, you react with love. Loving our enemies is one of the hardest things to do but I think God gave us a great example of how to show grace and love our enemies with this story.

 

Remember that there will always be Saul’s out there in our world, but we need to make sure that people know that Jesus is there too. Take today and reflect on that. Reflect on your story and try to be a light to all of the Saul’s of this world.

Our We Missing the Point Entirely?

I turn 24 on Saturday. I have learned to reflect on my life so that I can truly learn from decisions and choices I have made over my lifetime so far. Birthdays are some of the best reminders of where I have come from and where I am headed. Part of my reflection process includes reflecting on my relationship with God. Where have I come in the past year? Where have I grown in my walk?

My small group started a Galatians study this past week and we started the study by writing out our story. It started with where we were without God, and then moved on to the moment where we experienced God for the first time, and finally ending your story with how that encounter is shaping your future. As I wrote my story, I took some time to really reflect on my life with God. It’s been just under 24 years since I was born and even though I accepted Christ at an early age, I didn’t have a relationship with him until I was in my early twenties, which means I’m still a toddler in my faith walk. Today’s reading is about having that relationship with God so let’s dive into that.

John 10 talks about Jesus explaining how to truly have a relationship with him.

He says,

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers”

They didn’t understand so he explained it again.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is ha hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

The reason I explained my story above was that I was like the Jews in this story. I was missing the moral of the story. Jesus is the only way to the father. No matter how many good things we do, how much we give to the church, or how many times we got up early to go to church on Sunday mornings. If we don’t have a relationship with Jesus, then all of that means nothing. The passage says that Jesus knows his own and his own know him. If we don’t have a relationship with God, how can we truly know him? He wants us to know him, so today do some reflection. Reflect on your life and your walk with Christ. Does your walk truly reflect a relationship with God or is it just filled with good works? Think on that. I hope this passage starts a work in you today.

The Coming Times

I always like to start my writings with a story. I think that we, as humans, love stories and can relate to them. I found that today’s reading was more challenging than most to find a story to help even grasp the teachings in Luke 21.

 

The only way I could think to relate this story to your life and mine is the story of Christmas. Each year parents tell their kids all about Santa and make sure to do everything in their power to make sure they believe that Santa was the one who put presents under the tree and not them. That isn’t the point, though. Before Christmas day comes there are signs that Christmas is coming. Lights start to go up on all the houses in the neighborhoods, the salvation army Santa Clauses’ come out, and of course, Starbucks has bright red cups to remind us of the season. As a kid, there were signs also, but they were different than adulthood. I remember when we got to decorate and put up the tree, snow started to fall and I got to put on my snowsuit, and my favorite part about the season was that everyone was happy. It was hard to explain, but everyone knew Christmas was coming soon because it was almost like it was “in the air.” The signs were there and because of those signs, we knew what was coming. We prepared ourselves because we knew these signs created an expectation in us. This is the same as the reading in Luke 21.

 

Luke 21 talks about the coming of the Son of Man. This chapter also talks about the signs of the coming season and scripture tells us to be watchful. We don’t know the day, the time, or the hour that Jesus will come back because it will be like a thief in the night but there will be signs for us to know when the day is nearing.

 

Jesus states these as the signs to be watchful of:

  • Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

  • There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences

  • But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake.

  • You will be hated by all for my name’s sake

 

I sometimes wonder if we are seeing warnings now in our day-to-day lives. Wars are happening all around us. Earthquakes are killing people here and in other countries and famine is something that we can see all around us and it definitely can be found in poor countries around the world. Persecution is not happening in the world around us as much, and I think that some of us may even feel that we are persecuted here in the US, but nowhere near the same level as other places in the world.

 

What I am trying to say is that these things are happening in our world and Jesus warns us to be ready because when these signs appear he will be coming soon. I am not writing this to scare you; I am writing this to make you aware that we may not have a lot of time. The question is; what are you going to do the remaining time you have been given?