On Studying Scripture…

Posted on December 20, 2011 by theflier13

So what is it about studying Scripture that scares us? Why do we make it so very complex? The funny thing is that it is so very simple. Some of the Godliest men I know study scripture in a very simple manner. They read it. They don’t worry about cross-referencing or using a concordance. These aren’t bad but before you ever start using them, you need to understand what Scripture says as a whole. So here is my challenge, read your Bible straight through. Don’t stop. Use either the NLT, the NASB, or even The Word which is a paraphrase  Soak it up like you would your favorite book. Once you have been through it once, then ask your pastor or one of your friends that already is to the point of using other tools how to dig in. One other piece that will probably help you is to keep a journal of what you are learning and seeing in the Bible. Write down the cool things, the troubling things, and the questions you have. This can help you form the foundation for future Bible study.

~ Jonathan

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On Being Christ Followers…

Posted on December 20, 2011 by theflier13

This past week, I have been being challenged to evaluate my life in the area of being a Christ follower. I use the term Christ follower because it seems to fit better that Christian, although both apply. But I want more than to be what our society labels Christian. I want to care not what others inside and outside the church think but rather what Christ thinks.

As I have evaluated that simple point of caring what Christ thinks, I have realized something, I haven’t put the effort into developing a relationship with him as closely as it has to be for me to be an effective follower of His.

In small group last night, we talked about the fact that God’s purpose is two-fold for us. First, he wants relationship with us. Not just a friendly chat once in a while. Not just a “thank you for food” conversation or a “please bless my parents” conversation. God wants true authentic relationship where we are looking to him to be our everything.

I was talking with my wife last night and we had been sharing with each other our day’s struggles and some of the things we knew were going on with those around us and it was getting heavy. We were both struggling with how to cope and how to minister in these situations. It took me a while of talking with her but there came a point at which I was just overwhelmed. It was at that point when I finally realized something, God is part of our relationship. This doesn’t seem earth-shattering and it really isn’t, but when we realize God is part of our relationship, the fact that we are struggling with things dims. When we have an all-powerful God who stands with us as an equal partner in our marriage, we don’t have to worry about anything. We just have to look to Him for leadership.

What I am trying to say is that being Christ followers doesn’t mean following some 12-step program. It means seeking after Him with all that we are. It means giving more time to him than we give to other things. It means that we spend time reading and praying instead of watching the next cool thing that happens to be on tv. It means that we spend more time with our family showing them Christ’s love instead of pursuing that hobby that we like. While these aren’t all bad, when they take our eyes off Christ, they become sin for us.

God calls us to greater things, I choose to strive after Him with all that I am. It will look different to the world. It will look different to most of the Church. It will be out of the norm because that is what God called us to. I will not settle for mediocrity or indifference. I will not settle for second best. I will not settle with what mainstream Christianity says is what I need. I will read Scripture to see what it says. I will live and obey everything Christ directed us to. I will take Scripture as truth and live within that truth. I will strive after God with all that I am, all that I do, in all the relationships I have, in my time, in my work , in my marriage, in my church…. In absolutely every part of my life, God is first. God is second. God is third. God is everything. Without Him I can do nothing. I will be with Him. I will look to him for guidance, direction, sustenance. I am a child of the Great High God who made the universe. God is my father.

This is my choice. This year I will do my best to live the above. I will try to set an example that others are drawn to. Join me in this effort. Hold me accountable to the above. Because, I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it,but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

~Jonathan

 

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What are we thinking?

Posted on December 13, 2011 by theflier13

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.   ~   Philippians 4:8 NIV

Whatever happened to Christians following the above verse? I have sat in many small groups of friends and listened to them talk about what they have seen that is funny or tell jokes that everyone gets a good laugh at. What is it about an SNL skit that talked about suppressed anger and takes it to the point of murder by repeated stabbings that is funny? Why do we enjoy a tv show where there are all sorts of sexual perversions, crude humor, irreverent language toward God, and much more? Why do Christians like to watch things that make them so scared and fearful that they have nightmares for days? Why do we laugh at humor at work that demeans God’s created children or even repeat it to our Christian friends for another laugh? What is it that has lulled us into this apathetic state?

God told us to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, not fill them with every perversion known to man. We have gotten to the point where we don’t even recognize the perversion for what it is – sin. I am equally guilty. I have gotten sucked into the same apathy. It has been just recently that my eyes have been opened and let me tell you, it is not easy to close a door once it has been opened.

Toby Mac writes a song called It’s a Slow Fade. In it he basically says that the process of conditioning our minds to accept sin as ok is slow. He makes the comment that Christians never stumble in a day. We don’t. We slide into it over the course of much time in which we are conditioned to accept it by what we see, hear, and feel.

Brothers and sisters, those of you who call yourselves Christians, it is time to wake up. We have to wake up now. If we wait any longer it will be that much harder to pull out of this mess of sin that we have found ourselves in. Christ wants to help is out but we must accept it for what it is, ask for His help, and work hard to replace the sinful desires with Godly desires.

Friends, join me.  Together we can live as fellow athletes who are striving with every sinew in our bodies to finish the race and win the prize of an eternity with our Savior for which He has called us heavenward. Let’s hold each other to that level of accountability.

~ Jonathan

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Thoughts on Media

Posted on December 7, 2011 by theflier13

My pastor recently had me look at a video (found here: Mark Driscoll on Teen Fiction) and wanted my thoughts on the matter… Here is how I responded:

Thoughts and reactions… I am one who does not like to watch or read things with dark themes in them… That said, I have done so in the past. I was listening to Ravi Zacharias yesterday and he made a point that I think is relevant. He says “Any pleasure that takes our eyes off God is an illegitimate pleasure.” It was a challenge for me. When we start putting things entertainment into our minds that expresses something that is totally not in the image of God, we are sullying our thinking.

1 Cor. 9:24-27 says “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

And in Hebrews 12:1-2: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

We are pushing for a goal that is so much more than what we could ever get here on earth. Do you think that through much of the entertainment that we see, read, and hear, we further ourselves along the race to get to the goal of being Christlike? For me, after hearing Ravi yesterday, I have been thinking much about what I am doing with my time. Am I allowing myself to get caught up in the media and entertainment and ultimately get spiritually stagnant or am I pushing on toward the goal to win the prize of an eternity with God which God himself has called me to?

After hearing what Ravi had to say, anything that takes my eyes off of God is an illegitimate pleasure. This does not mean that there is no pleasure, this just means that I do not put something in front of me that gives me a pleasure that portrays something that is sinful and ultimately the opposite of God. I long to win the prize of an eternity with my Savior and I never want anything to ever stand in my way.

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