Paradoxes of a Man of God...

As life continues to bob and weave my attempts to nail it down, I am brought back to reality. Life is not meant to be nailed down and figured out. God calls us to obedience, which at times is hard for me, and I'm assuming you, because we all want our own ways and desires. Today I was very glad to be reminded of my favorite poem. It is from an unknown author, at in my feeble attempts have been unable to find the author, and it is named Paradoxes of a Man of God.  I hope you enjoy and my prayer is that we all can begin to live in this way.

Strong enough to be weak;
Successful enough to fail;
Busy enough to take time;
Assured enough to cry;
Leading enough to serve;
Serious enough to laugh;
Rich enough to be poor;
Victorious enough to lose;
Important enough to be last;
Loving enough to be angry;
Wise enough to say I don’t know;
Right enough to say “I am wrong”;
Compassionate enough to discipline;
Conservative enough to give freely;
Mature enough to be childlike;
Righteous enough to be a sinner;
Courageous enough to fear God;
Planned enough to be spontaneous;
Controlled enough to be flexible;

Free enough to endure captivity;
Knowledgeable enough to ask questions;

Great enough to be anonymous;
Responsible enough to play;
Industrious enough to relax.

May God continue to change us and challenge us.

Blessings,

Pastor Scott

The Bible is Scary: Judges 19

The Bible in places can be scary; it can also give great hope. There are some stories that scare me and I know have scared some people away from God. I get to preach on one of those scary passages this week, Matthew 25:1-13. I truly am looking forward to sharing what God has been revealing to me about this passage.

But today I wanted to talk about another scary story. This one is more gross and disturbing. If you have a weak stomach or are highly emotional (weepy or angry) at this moment you may want to stop reading and wait to you level off. That might sound worse than what I mean, but you might get the idea when you read Judges 19.

So, let’s breakdown this disturbing/scary story. You’ve got a Levite who takes a concubine. In this time of history priest were allowed to marry and some did have concubines, though it was not common amongst the Levite’s. Most texts say she was unfaithful and so she left to return home. We don’t know in what matter she was unfaithful, but the Law would have permitted the Levite to put her to death. With her going to her father’s house suggests she may have left him because he was not living up to expectations.

After four months and him realizing that she was not coming back he went to go win her back. This does lend to the idea that he was the reason for her leaving and not her “unfaithfulness”. He journeys to get her and when he gets to her home her dad welcomes him in with open arms. I get the sense that she has also warmed up to the idea of returning to him because the dad “gladly” welcomes him in.

After a number of days at the fathers house the Levite with the woman head for home. As they traveled they were coming to the end of the day and needed to find a place to stay. The Levite passed on staying in a foreign town and headed to a town of “like” people, a town called Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. As custom they went to the center of town to see if anyone would let them stay in their home, but no one offered until much later. A man came in from his work in the fields and offered/insisted that they stay with him and not in the town center. This man knew what type of people lived in Gibeah and didn’t want to see harm come on these travelers.

While everyone was resting and eating at the man’s house in the hill just outside the city men from the city came to visit the travelers. And this is where the story turns bad, very bad. The men surrounded the house and demand to have the Levite come out so they can have sex with him. Yep, you read that correctly. If you don’t believe me read Judges 19:22. The owner of the house is appalled by this and suggest they take his “virgin daughter and the man’s concubine” instead. I don’t know about you but I get very angry thinking its okay to offer someone else to get raped. This group of men is given a choice, gang rap the Levite or gang rape the owner’s daughter and the Levite’s concubine. You should be able to tell already that this story is not going to turn out well.

The group of men doesn’t want the girls and demand to have sex with the Levite. I can’t imagine the fear that was in that house. This gang of men if not satisfied could end up killing everyone. The Levite, to save his own skin, basically throws his concubine outside. The men rape and abuse her throughout the night. At dawn they let her go, and by daybreak she has enough strength to get back to the house where she falls at the door. The Levite gets up and peeks outside to see if the evil men are gone. He finds his concubine there at the door as she falls into the house. The Levi seems rude by telling her to get up. We find out, or at least hope, she is dead. Boy, that sounded worse than I meant it, but keep reading and you’ll understand why I hope she is dead. He picks her up and travels home.

When the Levite reaches his home he proceeds to cut the woman into twelve pieces and sends the pieces to the tribes of Israel. The people watching this say, “Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Think about it! Consider it! Tell us what to do!”

Why would this scary/disturbing story be in the Bible? Read the first and last sentence of this chapter once again, “In those days Israel had no King,” and, “tell us what to do!” The people of Israel wanted to live life by their own standard. They had no king telling them what to do or how to act. That first sentence also implies they did not seek God or His counsel. The last sentence also is an indication of the people’s heart, because they are asking the Levite and other men what to do, they are not seeking God’s direction.

When left to our own way or rule we are capable of more heinous acts than this. Without godly counsel and wisdom we are capable of horrible acts against each other. And that is why I believe God allowed this hideous history to be recorded in the Bible. May we take lesson from it, may we seek first the Kingdom of God.

Peace to you,

Scott 

In The Image of God...

So I read a lot. There are others that read much more than I, but I think I read quite a bit. So the book I'm in the middle of is Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe by Mark Driscoll & Gary Breshears. Usually I try to read a chapter in a day or two, but with this book I am going much slower. It's one of those book that is so packed with good/great stuff that I need to plan to read it through once and then go back and re-read it with my highlighter.

This morning while I was reading I came across a paragraph that stopped me in my tracks. I'm in chapter 4 where they speak of humans being created in the image of God. Driscoll & Breshears unpack it very well and then wham I got smacked upside the head. They have just being talking about the implications of being created in the image of God as being both personal and communal, "Furthermore, image is both personal and communal. By personal, we mean that we as individual worshipers must continually ask whether we are good reflections of our God. By communal, we mean that churches, families, and Christian communities must continually ask whether they are good reflections of God to one another and the world." 


So I have to ask myself and you who consider yourselves a follower of Christ, "Are we as individuals, and communal as churches and families being a good reflection of God to one another and the world?"

If so, great, keep at it. If not, what is keeping you or your church from being the image bearers of God?

In pondering thought,
Scott

The Bible is Scary???

I’ve been listening to a musician named Misty Edwards. She is a worship leader at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, MO. One of my favorite songs of hers is Matthew 25. She puts the parable of the ten virgins to song and it’s AMAZING. I’ve listened to the song so much and read and re-read Matthew 25:1-13 that I think I’m going to ask our pastor if I can preach that passage when we get to it (we are currently going through Matthew as a sermon series).

Jeanette Danielian, the church’s office administrator, was listening to that song the other day. She is one of the most biblically literate people I know and I respect her insight very much, but what she said to me made me chuckle. Once I said that I’d like to preach the passage she says, “That’s in my top five scariest passages.”

What made me chuckle is the fact that she knows which Bible passages scare the daylights out of her. I’ve got ones that scare me too, I just have never thought about trying to figure out my Top 10 List of Scary Bible Passages. I would love to hear some of your top scary Bible passages. I will try to compile a list and then blog about those passages.

Here are some passages that come to mind for me:

Matthew 7:22-24-The “I never knew you. Away from me you evil doers” passage
Revelation 3:16- I’ll vomit you out of my mouth passage
Matthew 14:16- Jesus tells his disciples to feed the 5,000, “You do it.”

These are just a few, but what are the ones that you don’t understand or freak you out? You see I believe in a God who is big enough to handle our questions, so let’s hear’em. I don’t believe God is a boogie man who wants to leave us scared under our covers. Yes, there are passages that freak us all out, but what I love about God is that he doesn’t leave it there. He gives plenty of insight to help us understand him, even the scary stuff. I look forward to your comments.

Blessings,
Pastor Scott

Holy Silence...

I am reading a book at the moment called The Divine Commodity: Discovering a Faith Beyond Consumer Christianity by Skye Jethani. I am reading it with the church leadership from my church. I just finished the second chapter and have fully enjoyed the book. This second chapter, The Canvas of Silence, focuses on how our lives are filled with words from music, computers, TV and a host of other areas. Because of this we have a hard time letting our minds comprehend the big things in life. Our lives are so filled with the noise of words, read or heard, that we can’t begin to fathom the greatness of our maker.

How do we break from these things that hold us down? How do we create a “quiet time” that goes beyond “quiet” and goes to an Amazing time? “But finding true silence requires more than quieting our surroundings. It also requires our souls. This is the real dilemma of living in a wordy world. Even when we are still and alone, like the minutes before falling asleep in bed, our minds are racing with the images and words we’ve marinated in all day. It is inner silence that eludes us (pg. 33)”.

How do we quite our souls so we can comprehend to vastness of God? How do truly quite our world so that we may hear from God? I challenged myself this morning to go to the river/creek a block away from the house to silence my world. I had to fight against taking my mp3 player or my cell phone or my watch. I also fought against wanting to pray or talk to God. Yes, I did not want to pray. Because I wanted to be silent and know that He is God.

I couldn’t help to wonder why the water spiders (that is what we call the guys that are like spiders that skate on the top of the water) dart back and forth on the water. Or, why the water snails aren’t bigger. They have so much food but seem to only eat what they need to survive (novel concept). God has so incredibly woven this blue ball in which we live into a beautiful dance. I so want to hear that music.

I want to encourage wives to allow their husbands to seek some solitude. Husbands watch the kids for your wife so she can get away for an hour of silence time. But here is the catch. Don’t use that time to nap, to use your smartphone, or to pray (that will come in time). Use that time to ponder your existence, to ponder the vastness in which we live and to ponder the things beyond us. Does this sound to weird for you? It might, but people have been doing just this since the beginning of mankind.

Pondering the bigness of God comes fairly easy to me, but this exercise is a good reminder of his bigness. The bible says we’re “fearfully and wonderfully made”. Can you grasp that, I can’t, but God can begin to help me understand it.

Blessings in your search for silence,
Pastor Scott

After Thoughts...Integrity

I was really pleased with youth group went last night. There were some unexpected people that came and to be honest, I love that. So the big question, how do you teach about living an integrity filled life to a generation that fudges everything? Integrity is a tough one, but so very vital to living a life worth living.

Some of the students shared about how doing the right thing are not accepted. I know this to be true, but it leaves me floored every time I’m confronted with it. When was doing the right thing the wrong thing. Well, too be honest it’s not just the teens of this generation that struggle with that. If you’re an adult reading this do you remember being a teen, you never wanted to come across as a goodie-two-shoes and integrity would take a back seat.

I am convinced that unless you are one very sick individual you know what the right thing to do is. That doesn’t mean we always act on that knowledge, but more often than not we know what the right thing to do is. Keep that thought for just a moment.

Some of the students also voiced that they try not to care what others think of them. If this is true and we do, deep down, know what is right then why don’t we step out and try something different and do the right thing? The answer is easy; it’s because of sin, yes that icky topic. Sin does keep us from being the person God created us to be, but that doesn’t mean we have to let it win all the time.

How’s is life working for you? (Sorry, bad take off from Dr. Phil) Government official, pastors, teachers, lawyers, doctors, you name it; have failed at modeling integrity to us and the younger generations. If life isn’t working so great for you then stand with me and do something different. Live a life that stands for integrity.

Proverbs 13:6 says, “A God-loyal life keeps you on track; sin dumps the wicked in the ditch.” This is basically saying, “Live a life of godly integrity and you will stay on track, but for sin it will only through you to the wayside.” Let’s get out of the ditch and run on the track.

Blessings,
Pastor Scott

After Thoughts...Goal Oriented

This version of After Thoughts is not really on the subject of being Goal Oriented. Even though I am a youth pastor and love what I do, last night I my mind was not on the kids. Many of you know what has been going on with my in-laws, but if you don't let me catch you up to speed.

Last Thursday night they lost everything (except their lives and the dog) to a house fire. The fire was due to a gas leak and they are truly lucky to be alive. Here is a link to see some of the fire pictures: http://www.sanjuanislander.com/groups/fire_orcas/01-08-2009.shtml .

As if this wasn't enough Kim's dad, Doug, was coming down to Seattle from their property in the San Juan Islands. He still works as a dentist and had a couple of patients lined up for Monday. It was going to be a good distraction from dealing with the loss of so much. On the drive down his right hip dislocates. This is a hip that has been replaced twice in recent history. So, Sunday night they got to a hospital in Seattle and the doctors were trying to pop his hip back into place. The doctors couldn't get it back in so they were going to do it surgically on Monday. Oh yeah I forgot to mention that Kim and Luke headed up to meet her parents in Seattle. The surgery took quite a while and later that evening they found out why. His hip joint was so full of infection that it popped it out of the socket. Ouch!!! So, instead of resetting his hip they cleaned out the socket and don't plan to re-set it for another 6 or so weeks. Yes, that's right his leg is attached only by flesh and tissue.

I found this little bit of information out on Tuesday, which is also youth group night. Needless to say I felt very distracted. I think I gave a talk and played a game, but I really don't remember much from the last few days.

So how does this tie into being "Goal Oriented"? It doesn't. God does things that at times we can't understand and at time He allows things to happen that seem out of control. But I believe in a God who is in control and nothing is by accident. That doesn't mean that this kind of things are easy, matter of fact they are very hard, but God had a plan when He created the universe, He had a plan when He created Adam and Eve and He has plans for you and me. We don't always get what happens, but I know I can rest in the fact that He does understand. For that I am eternally grateful.

My prayer if for Doug and Jeri. Let them grieve the loss of a home (which in many ways is like losing a loved one). May they continue to be thankful for life and life abundantly. I also pray for healing, both physical and emotional. May God be with Doug and Jeri and they adjust to what is going to be a different lifestyle than they had before.

For those of you reading this, please take inventory of your life. Not just material things, but what truly matters to you. If it is stuff understand that it can be taken away in a matter of seconds. If the things that matter most are people, then make sure they know that. Hold them close and make sure they know that you care about them.

Blessings on you,
Pastor Scott

Father, please forgive me...

Father, please forgive me for I have sinned. I have not blogged in many months. There are many reasons I could give for my lack of writing, but I call on you Father to look past my faults and lack of focus.

Any who, hope you all are doing well. We are about to enter into a new year and somewhere on my list of to do's in 2009 is to blog more frequently. I had an idea to create "After Thoughts". Since we have been studying character during our mid-week youth ministry I thought I could shoot down quick "after thoughts" shortly after all the teens have gone. I'm kinda excited about this idea and hope it gives me a bit more accountability to blog more.

Other than that, I was reflecting on 2008. I have several highlights. Last January I performed my first wedding (thanks Andy & Erin), in June I got to baptize 5 teens during our mission trip to Cibecue, Arizona, in August had a great family vacation with the Meyer's and McKee's on the Oregon coast, in September I began running again (after a year off since back surgery), celebrated lucky number 13 years of marriage, and totally revamped our youth ministry.

This has been a huge year and like always I thank God for what He has done. As we head into 2009 I encourage you to seek God more and more. His ways are incredible and will bring peace and understanding into your lives.

Have a safe and wonderful New Year's Eve.

Blessings,
Pastor Scott

I just about messed my shorts...

Okay, so I am back to running and I must admit it feels great. But this last Monday I had the poop scared out of me while on my morning jog. I had been awake since 3:30am and could never fall back to sleep, so after watching Sportscenter and the news I get ready for my run. I head out of the house around 6am. It is still dark outside, but that has never bothered me, less cars, less distractions. As I run out of the neighborhoods, past Makayla’s school and a couple of churches I head out to the farm lands that surround Dallas.

There is a field that had been recently plowed that buts up to the road that I am running on. I notice something dark in the field but very close to the road, but since it is still dark I don’t give much notice to it. I’ve got the music pumping and my mind is in some far of thought. When I get to about fifteen feet of this dark something I think I see something move and I try focus on this dark something.

Now, I am not a small man, nor am I a stealth runner, but this object which is gaining my attention still hasn’t moved much, if at all. Now, I am maybe ten feet from this something when it explodes into movement. At this I think I did poop my pants. I realize that this dark object in not one object, but rather three coyotes having their morning road kill. Every hair on my body stood on end. Here is where I begin to get a little spooked.

The coyotes never left their morning meal out of their sight. They may have stepped back 15-20 feet and as I passed their breakfast I could see them coming back. We’re they thinking, “There goes an after breakfast snack?” I was praying hard and I could help look back over my shoulder. It became apparent the coyotes were not interested in me I was able to begin to focus on the road ahead, but I have to admit, I was distracted. Remember, it is still dark out and there are still many shadows that now seem to be lurking danger.

This is how life is much of the time. We have a goal, for me it was a morning run, but many times it could be something to do with your job, your education or your family. You’re energized by moving toward that goal, but you can’t truly see what is ahead of you, but you continue on. Then no matter what you’re going after trouble comes up. It doesn’t matter if you’re a person of faith or totally against any religious beliefs, something goes wrong or trials come up.

That is when the rubber meets the road. When those trials arise do you stop what you are doing on go back to where you came? Do you continue to go forward, but still look back over our shoulder? Do you continue to go forward, but are scared of every thing that could be the next scary trial? Or do you let the past be just that, the past? Do you acknowledge what happen, regroup from the situation and then just plow forward?

I must admit, I continued to move forward, but was nervous about every shadow that was lurking in front of me. It is amazing the power of fear, but the Bible tells us to, “Fear not.” I think many of us let fear control our dreams and the passions God has placed on our lives. I beg you; I implore you, don’t give in to fear. We were created to live free of fear, free from the cages that bind us. Let God reign and live the life He created you to live.

Blessings,
Pastor Scott

Get Busy Livin' Or Get Busy Dyin'...

This is going to seem like much to many of you, but today was a huge day for me. I went for a run that was a little of two miles. Please hold your applause. I know that is not much, especially with how much I love to run or at least did love to run. It has been a little over a year since I had my back surgery. For those that don't know, I went to bed fine and woke up not being able to move my leg very well. My right leg became numb and stiff. The worst part about it was not being able to point to anything as the cause. After about a month and a half I did have surgery and was able to move pretty good after that. There has only been one thing still wrong, my right leg is numb. It is the strangest thing, I've got strength in it, I've got some flexibility in it, but it feels likes it is asleep.



Well about two weeks ago Kim and made a decision to get back at to eating right and exercising. We have an elliptical that has gotten some use, but whenever I have exercised my right leg would feel like it was on the verge of cramping for a couple of days. So two weeks ago I tried something very difficult, I got on the elliptical and went slow, very slow. I did this for a couple of days and then I started increasing the pace and length of time. I have been very nervous about this, but had to make a decision, "Get busy livin' or get busy dyin'!"



After a couple of weeks of increasing distance and pace I began to get an ache to go for a run. I have missed the cold air in my lungs and seeing the early sunlight. But like I said, I've been afraid of something happening to my back or leg and that fear has kept me down. But no longer!!! So, I went for my first run, numb leg and all. I am sore, but it felt good.

Get busy livin' or get busy dyin'

Our faith walk is much the same way. This past weekend I got to preach from the book of Matthew 9:1-8. It's the story of Jesus healing a paralytic. I always learn something new and challenging when I read through the Bible (I love that about God's Word). This sermon spoke to my condition very strongly and I had to put it into practice. I learned four main points from the passage.

1) We must Take Heart! This is easier said than done, but we have to stop our worrying and let God be in control. Jesus tells the paralytic, "Take heart, son." It is as if he is trying to calm him down and reassure him that everything is going to be okay.

2) We must Confront Our Skeptics! There were teachers of the Law there to see Jesus forgive the sins of this paralytic. Only God can forgive sins and this man Jesus was telling this guy his sins are forgiven. That was creating an equality with God that a Jew couldn't take. If you stated you were equal to God that was punishable by death. But Jesus didn't ignore these teachers. He confronted them. He didn't correct their theology about sin, he did correct them about who he was. All too often when we face our skeptics we do it in a defensive way or with a holier than thou attitude. This only defeats the purpose. Yes we must confront them, but do so with the right heart.

3) We must Get Up And Walk! Yes, we have to move forward. Jesus didn't just leave the paralytic on his mat. He made sure there was no question about his authority to forgive sins. Jesus calls us to also get up and walk. This faith journey in not one of convenience, but rather it is living and breathing inside of us. This journey calls us to walk and in some cases run.

4) We must Stand In Awe And Praise God! I forget to do this one sometimes. God is in control and it is Him who should receive our highest praise. Not just when good things happen, but in all things. Do you realize as you are reading this, you are spinning at over 1000 mph, and not only that but we are also circling a big ball of plasma at over 68,000 mph. And all too often we think its just another day. Holy Cow, we have to wake up and see how incredible God is and what he has done in creation. We have to slow down so me can stand in awe of what He has done and praise Him.

Well, like I said, I needed to take my own words to heart. So this morning I woke up about 5:30am (on my own, no alarm clocks). I had to take heart and realize God is in control and that includes my back. I had to face my skeptics and in this case it was myself. I got up and walk, no I ran. And finally during my run I was able to look around and be in awe of what God did in his creation and that make me want to sing.

How about you? Is there anything that has been on your heart to get back to or to get started. Don't hold that inside, get busy living so that God may be praised.

Blessings in your journey,

Pastor Scott

Getting Ready 4 The New School Year...

Okay, its about time I posted something (sorry for the long time between posts). Well needless to say I am getting very excited for the new school year. This is always a good time of the year. Many students are wanting to get back into seeing friends and getting back into a routine, its the homework that they would love to see left out. So many changes to come.



Well we couldn't sit back and not change! We have a great year planned. We have two very big changes. First we are moving everything to Tuesday night. That's right, Jr. and Sr. High will be meeting on Tuesday night from 6:30-8PM. We need to do this for space reasons. Both youth ministries and Children's Ministries have grown. Having Jr. High and Children's Ministries meeting on Wednesday was very taxing on our building and there was not enough room to do what God had laid on my heart.



The second big change is the format. We are going to be meeting in age & gender appropriate small groups. This means will have small groups of sixth grade girls all the way up to twelfth grade boys and everything in-between. We will meet for the first fifteen minutes or so for some singing, drama and announcements, then we'll break off into our small groups. This will allow all of us to ask the tough questions and build deep relationships with those in similar struggles.



But what about all the fun we've been having over the past few years. Well have no fear, every four to six weeks we are going to be having a huge Game Nite!!! That's right, a real knock your soxs off, snot coming out your nose, barf on the verge of coming out type of Game Nite.
Sorry Caleb, I had to find a way to get this picture of you puking in my garden into a blog. But I digress, we are going to have a great time this year. I am truly excited about what God is doing in all or your hearts. Have a good couple of weeks and be ready for God to move mightily in your life.

In Christ,
Pastor Scott

Wisdom And Knowledge...

As we are finishing up another school year I am forced to ponder education and the pursuit of knowledge. I just finished reading two articles, one about a 10 year old who just finished his second year of college (that's no typo) and the second article about a 19 year old college professor. My first thought, Nerds, was spawned out of jealousy. I have a hunger and thirst for knowledge, but why can't my brain be more like theirs.

But something struck me about these two individuals. They appear to be very humble. The 10 year old doesn't consider himself a genious and says that eveyone is smart in their own unique way. The 19 year old professor is teaching in a college that was ravished by Huricane Katrina. She didn't feel like she could go rebuild a house so she thought she could teach. That was refreshing to my soul.

We live in a world where individualism is push and we are taught from a very young age to take whatever we can get. These two individuals (from the outside) embody a humility that should be comended. Why can't these types of stories lead on the 10 o'clock news? That's for another rant!

Go to http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,355603,00.html for more information about the 10 year old and http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24273418/ for more information about the 19 year old professor.

Now, after you read this I want to make one thing very clear. You are wonderfuly made by your Creator. God wove you together to be you. Yes, my jealousy bone acted up when I read these articles, but get it under control and you can praise God for what He is doing in your life. It may not be perfect, but when following God it will be right.

Have a great day and God bless,
Pastor Scott

Sping is finally here...

Yeah, baby. Spring is finally here (but since I am writing this I am sure God will make it snow). I was hangin' with my buddy Austin Powers the other day and we got to thinking, does every person have an arch enemy?

What would Batman be without the Joker, Superman without Lex Luther, or Austin Powers without Dr. Evil? Many times it is our adversaries who make us stronger and wiser. Funny how life works that way.

Our Christian walk is not much different. No we don’t have the ability to fly or cool gadgets to help us repel a huge building, but we do have the Holy Spirit and we do have an adversary. I have been around people far too long to see the many ups and downs life throws at all of us. Satan is powerful and many times he feels as though he wins all the time, but most of the time we don’t recognize the victories.

Our enemy will win sometimes and at times will seem to have defeated us, but fear not, just when it seems the darkest, the power of the Holy Spirit rises inside of us and God’s glory triumphs.

Anyways, that’s what Austin and I were throwing around. Never give up, keep up the fight.

To God be the glory,
Pastor Scott

Good or not so good Friday...

It's Good Friday, but many ask, "What's so 'Good' about it?" I have to admit I was one that didn't understand why this day was called, "Good". Jesus was tortured and killed, what is so good about that?

God made it Good Friday for you and me. Let's be honest, it wasn't good for Jesus, his mom or even his disciples. I can't imagine what it would be like to see my child tortured to death. I would have a hard time looking back and calling that day good.


But this day is good, not for what Jesus had to go through, but rather for what Jesus did for all of us. "He was crushed for our sins," Isaiah 53:5. His death made the way for us to connect with God.

Thank goodness God made a way. Can you imagine if He left it up to us to figure it out how to connect with Him. I can barely figure out what clothes to wear, let alone how to connect with the Creator of the universe. It's "Good" because as the preacher once said, "Sunday is a comin!"

Good Friday is good because it is where Jesus said, "It is finished!" He didn't say is was almost done, but rather, "IT IS FINISHED!" Everything was defeated on Friday, but Sunday is a comin' and death has no more sting. Praise God.

Blessing,
Pastor Scott

A sinless life...

So Jesus lived a sinless life. Is that truly possible? We say the Jesus is fully man and fully God. Well if he is fully man then wouldn't he sin by his own words? Jesus says in Matthew 5 :27-28, "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. " Okay women, the cat is out of the bag, guys have lustful thoughts. I know its a shock, but it is true. Let me get the kidding aside.

To be honest this is not just a guy thing, but a human issue. We all have lustful thoughts because sin has entered our DNA. But this is nothing new to us, but who does Jesus who is fully man get a free pass on this?

I heard someone a while ago say this, "It's not like guys lust for every female. You don't lust after your mom or sister, and if your a dad and your reasonably normal don't lust after your daughter." The speakers point was that lust is controllable. If lust is controllable then could Jesus have done this? I would say yes, but there is a better case than that.

Jesus is fully God and was there at the beginning of creation. Matter of fact he had a hand in creation itself. Jesus is creator and therefore every person, every women is his creation. How does he not look at a women lustfully, he is fully God and is their creator and Father.

Why does this matter? Why does Jesus have to live a sinless life? If he doesn't, then he is not the perfect sacrifice for mine or your sins.

Sacrifices had to be blemish free and pure, otherwise they weren't considered for sacrifice. Every year people had to bring their sacrifices and be reminded of there sinful ways. Over and over and over they would go through the process of trying to get right with God. But that is where the beauty comes from what Jesus did on the cross.

We find in Leviticus 17:11 "For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life." There is saving power in the blood. Jesus blood was spotless and sinless. Because of that His blood could pay the once and for all atonement for one's life.

Blessings,
Pastor Scott

Eight HUGE elements of the Christian faith...

Over the next several weeks we are going to be taking a look at 8 key elements of the Christian faith. Some may disagree with my list, but this is not an end all be all list. These are what I see as 8 key elements of a Christians faith. There are many other elements to our faith, we are just looking at these 8. If teenagers don't have a good understanding of these they have an 80% higher probability to walking away from their faith after high school and never returning. That number freaks me out. That is why we are looking at them. So here is the list:

1) Jesus Christ lived a sinless life
2) God is the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe and He still rules it today
3) Salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned
4) Satan is real
5) A Christian has a responsibility to share their faith in Christ with other people
6) The Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches.
7) Unchanging moral truth exists
8) Such moral truth is defined by the Bible

Like I said, over the next few months we are going to be looking into this during Revolution, Sunday's 9:15-10:15am @ the Youth Center. I look forward to unpacking these topics with you there and here at the blog.

Blessing,
Pastor Scott

What Do You Think Of When You Hear The Word Sin?

These are some of the things that come to mind when the teens hear the word sin. Sin is such an all encompasing word. It is different things to different people. Sin is not restricted to Christianity, matter of fact, I would say at least 90% of the world population believes in sin and the destruction it plays in our lives. No matter how hard we wrestle, we just can't seem to get rid of it. And that's the whole message of Jesus, "No matter how hard you try, you can't get rid of your sin, but I will."

Isaiah 1:18 says, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be white as snow," and also in Jeremiah, "For I will forgive their wickedness adn will remember their sins no more." This is great news, God will forgive us our sins. Let me say that again, God will forgive us our sins! What Jesus did on the cross blows my mind. Not many of us, if any of us, would be willing to die for those that are guilty. But that is exactly what God, through Jesus did, "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us," Romans 5:8.

While I was a sinner, Jesus died for me. We all can say that and we need to say it over and over again. We live in a society where Christians are known more for what we are against than for what we are for. The world hears, "Don't do that, Don't do this..." We, as Christians should not be agents of God's judgement, but rather for God's redemption and forgiveness.

I know that John 3:16 is used over and over, but it is so powerfull, "For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life." God loves me, He love you and everyone around you, and everyone around them. Let the Holy Spirit convict hearts, we can then be left to spread God's grace, mercy and forgiveness.

He loves the world soooooooo much. Get out of the way and let Him.

In Christ,

Pastor Scott

Picking Pastor Scott's Brain...Homosexuality

What a strange week I just had. On Tuesday evening I had a great time of prayer and worship with the Sr. High kiddo's. On Wednesday I met with the Jr. High kids which was alot of fun, but it did have a wierd twist.

Every so often I like to allow the students to ask me any question they would like. I know this is risky because the students could, and often do, ask some very tough questions. But, this allows me to be as transparent with the teens and helps them to ask questions. This is particularly tricky with Jr. Higher's because you never can figure out what is going on in their minds.

This past Wednesday I got a large amount of homosexual questions. It's not that abnormal to get a question or two from time to time about homosexuality, but this past week I had at least five questions. Some of this has to do with the pack mentality of Jr. Higher's, but nonetheless they asked, so I answered.

When it comes down to it homosexuality is not that different from other sexual issues. Matter of fact I would contend that internet pornography is just as or more of a threat to a godly life. I know that might cause some church goers to question me, but do you remeber who Jesus hung around with; tax collectors, prostitutes, the lame, the sick, etc. Matter of fact when the so called "churchy people" questioned Jesus about the people he hung around with He told them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." (Matthew 9:12)

Why is it that the church is more disturbed with homosexuality than divorce or alcoholism? Is it because we feel we understand divorce and alchoholism better, or the fact that they are more socially acceptable? This might make us uncomfortable, but we do need to see how Jesus dealt with tough issues. He never once pushed people away or made them feel unapprochable. He went to them and showed compassion, gentleness and truth. The only people Jesus spoke harshly to were the "religious"or "churchy people".

So, back to the Wednesday night questions about homosexuality. I answered them, but then I did try to make it clear that it doesn't matter if your black, white, purple, green, gay, straight or anything in between, you will be welcome in this youth group. What is not welcome is hatred, bigotry or judgemental attitudes.

This leads me to another thought, are we hanging out with the type of people Jesus did? If Jesus were walking across America today, he would find a way to hang out with the homeless, gays, the party'ers, and anyone else who we as the church tend to look down at. What am I doing to cultivate these types of relationships? At the moment not too much. Don't get me wrong we need our Christian friends and mentors, but are we to the point of isolating ourselves from those who Jesus came to minister to.

That is enough for now. Continue to seek God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.

In peace,
Pastor Scott

Is freedom a right given by God, or created by man?

This was a question recently given during Sunday school. Actually, there were a bunch of questions that would be good for blogging. This one though stood out to me because so many things spin off of our struggle with freedom.

I think many people see Christianity as a bunch of do's and don't's. This is true of about everything in life. At school "do" turn in your homework, "don't" cheat. At home "do" clean up your room, "don't" put a fork in the garbage disposal. In many ways Christianity is no different, "do" love one another, "don't" keep on sinning.

Matter of fact, the Bible is very clear about "the freedom we have in Christ Jesus, " (Galatians 2:4). But God gave us freedom from the very beginning. In the garden of Eden God tells Adam that he can eat from ANY of the trees, except from the ONE tree of knowledge of good and evil. That is a lot of "do's" and only one "don't". God is the creator of freedom, but freedom comes with a cost (just ask any person who was in the military during WWII).

What cost was given for this freedom? The cost of freedom is free will. By God creating freedom, he also created free will. He knew that by giving us free will we might choose not to take Him up on His freedom. And unfortunately that freedom didn't last long. Adam & Eve feel into the temptation and our true freedom was lost.

But, God loves us so much (which is still beyond me why) that He didn't leave us to our own demise. He sent His son Jesus to give us the power of His freedom back. Jesus death paid so that we might have a chance at God's freedom. Jesus' resurrection slammed to door shut on the possibility of that freedom being stolen back by Satan.

Freedom in Christ Jesus is a wonderful thing. I can't fully understand what all it entails, but I do know that His freedom is far better than Satan's dungeon (which he has tried to convince us is a golden palace).

Freedom is definitely given by God, but like many things man has twisted it into something far from its original form.

Epiphany!

Taynyn asked the question of an epiphany that any ones has had. I have had a few so called epiphanies in my life time. I have had a hard time trying to figure out which one to write about. Do I talk about a time I had to break up with a girl? No, but I have learned many lessons from the different relationships I've had. I could talk about the epiphany I had before deciding to get back into full time ministry. No, I've shared that fairly recently.

I have been thinking of the time I told my parents that I wanted to be a youth pastor. Many of you may remember that I was not raised in a christian home. I first shared with my parents of my desire to be a pastor when I was eighteen. I felt God had gifted me in many ways to be a pastor and that He was leading me down that path. My parents voiced their concerns about me studying an area that was so limiting. They would ask,"What happens if you study to be a pastor and then never become one?" They felt I should study something that could get me along in the "Real World".

I tried to follow my parents desire, so I entered college to become a history teacher. I enjoy history and this gave me the idea of teaching history, coaching football and/or baseball, and being a Young Life leader. Before long I knew something wasn't right. I felt God calling me towards full time ministry. What would my parents think, would they support my decision? These were questions I struggled with. I wanted to follow God, but I also was very afraid of separating myself from my parents love and support.

I went for it and told them I wanted to be a pastor. I was prepared for an all out, no holds bard arguments. That never happened. They listened and didn't say a whole lot. I think they realized I wasn't going to be steered a different direction.

Life was never the same from that point on. I knew that where I lived, who my friends were going to be, who my family was going to be was now in God's hands. I learned that if you steer from what you feel God calling you He may not shut the door permanently. We serve a God of redemption and restoration. And thank goodness for that.

Feel free to share some of your epiphanies.

In Christ,
Pastor Scott