Sabbath

Posted on July 14, 2005 by Jason

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” — Exodus 20:8

One of God’s commandments to the children of Israel in Exodus 20 stipulates the importance of observing Sabbath. The Sabbath was a time for the people of God to pause and reflect on His goodness. Modeled after God’s rest at the conclusion of creation, the Israelites were to spend one day a week away from the work and toil of their lives. They would spend time in their prayer closet, reflect on Torah and spend time talking with their families about the ways of God. In fact, God has more to say about this commandment than many of the other nine. What does that tell you about the importance for us to “be still and know” in our own lives?

It’s interesting to note that the Israelites remembered the Sabbath by keeping it holy. Keeping it reserved. Keeping it set apart.

Are you reserving time for God in your own life?

Are you allowing time in your schedule to pause and reflect on the ways and word of God?

Some time needs to be reserved for holy things. Granted, we live under a new covenant and the letter of the old law is not binding for us. But the principle of Sabbath is as important today as it was in Moses’ day. With the frenetic pace of our lives, it would behoove us to remember to take time to get away and spend some quiet time with God. Turn off the cell phone and call God. Close your bedroom door and open yourself to the Word. Go out and find a quiet place and commune with the Creator.

At last night’s 180 Worship, you were given 8 minutes to spend in reflection, prayer & Scripture. 8 minutes is not nearly enough, but it’s a start. Would you find another 8 minutes today to spend with Him? Don’t forget to make time for the holy things in your life.

“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest…” Hebrews 4:9, 11

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Joshua & Abby Kate

Posted on July 7, 2005 by Jason

Yesterday, my children had their first birthday. It’s hard to believe that a little over a year ago, Abby Kate and Joshua came into the world. As I think about how much my life has changed over the past year, it’s almost impossible for me to remember what it was like before their arrival. So much of our time and energy is devoted to these little ones; they need so much from us, and Sunny and I are glad to give of ourselves to meet their needs.

Abby Kate, you were born first, which is fitting since you were the more dominant one in the womb. When you were born, you weighed two pounds more than your brother, and all the nurses said that you must’ve “stolen all the groceries” in the womb. Kinda strange sounding, but that’s what they said. We named you Abby Katherine, which means “father’s joy”, and you’ve always lived up to your name. When I found out I was going to be the father of a little girl, I literally jumped for joy in the doctor’s office. Since that moment, you continually melt my heart with your warm smile, your tiny little nose, your mischevious laugh. There’s truly something special about the relationship between a father and his daughter. You’ve brought out a side of me I didn’t know I had, and I’m thankful for that. But more than that, my prayer for you will always be that you would live to bring joy to your Heavenly Father, your real Father. I’ve loved you before you were, but He loved you before there was time. The verse your mother and I chose for you is Isaiah 61:10, “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God.” If those words may be said of you, then you will truly bring joy and delight to your Heavenly Father. I love you little girl.

Joshua, my son, you were born one minute after your sister. I almost forget how worried we were about you. You only weighed 2 lbs, 5 ozs at birth. You looked so tiny. The nurses told me I could’ve taken off my wedding ring and slid it over your fist all the way up your arm…that’s how small you were. But soon we realized that although you were small, you were strong. The nurses called you Mighty Mouse at first; they said they’d never seen such a strong baby at your weight. You had to stay in the hospital for 31 days after you were born. Those were the worst 31 days of my entire life. I would come to your bedside every night and we’d talk and pray. I’d read to you from the Bible. I told you the story of Jesus. And I’d bawl my eyes out on the ride home because I had to leave you. But I learned very quickly that you belonged not to me, but to another Father, one who promises to never leave you nor forsake you. That’s why we chose Joshua 1:9 for you; “Be strong and corageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” We named you Joshua Alan — Alan in honor of the men you come from (me, your grand-dads); Joshua in honor of the kind of man we hope you will become: Jesus. I’m so proud you’re my son. I love you little boy.

To both of you, your mother and I thank God for the blessing you’ve been to us. Thank you, Father, the author of life. Sometimes, I don’t know why you bless me so much. I don’t deserve what you give me, but I’m grateful nonetheless. Thank you for choosing me to be Abby Kate and Joshua’s daddy on earth. And may they come to know and appreciate you as their Father in heaven. Thank you, Father.

Posted in Blessings, Kids | 1 Comment

Sacrifice

Posted on June 29, 2005 by Jason

As I reflect on tonight’s 180 Worship, I’m so thankful for all the gifts God has blessed our youth group with.

*Hannah & Katie, you guys were hilarious in your skit tonight. Great job! And I loved the sweater-tied-around-the-neck look.

*Weston, you’ll be receiving a bill in the mail for the stool you viciously destroyed during tonight’s flogging scene. Just kidding.

*Heath, you did a great job, especially on the “Eli, eli…” line that you had to deliver THREE times during the torrential thunderstorm!!!

*Ian, I was afraid you were going to decipher Heath at one point tonight.

*Beth, Amanda, Jenna, Dan, Matt, Chelsea — y’all did a great job with your roles, too.

I hope tonight you all were drawn into a deeper understanding of the word SACRIFICE — both Christ’s atoning sacrifice for you and our charge to live sacrifically in response (Romans 12).

I love you guys.

The end…..REALLY!!!

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In Whom Do You Trust?

Posted on June 29, 2005 by Jason

This summer, I’ve been reading through the OT book Isaiah. The prophets are so rich with application for our lives today. Isaiah writes about God’s judment upon Judah and her impending captivity at the hands of the Babylonians. He begins by describing the arrogance and idolatry of Judah. Chapter 2, verse 22 says, “Stop putting your trust in mere humans. They are as frail as breath. How can they be of help to anyone?” (NLT)

Isaiah’s indictment of Judah could be ours as well. In many ways, we are a prideful people. Pride is at the heart of any sin. When I choose to live life the way I want, in essence I’m saying to God, “Your way isn’t good enough. I want to do things my way.” You can’t say anything more prideful than that! Our actions and lifestyle choices must wound God incredibly, much as Israel’s did.

Yet, God promises to be faithful to those who place their trust in Him. It sounds so trite and churchy – it’s even written on our money – but it’s the absolute truth. Living by faith is scary, though. It means trusting God’s way is better than mine. It means believing Him, taking Him at His Word, even when I don’t want to. It requires that I walk by faith, not by sight, trusting that even though God’s ways are not my ways, His way is ultimately best. When we stop trusting in ourselves and begin to live in full trust with Him, life becomes, in the words of Jesus, abundant.

Hear Isaiah. Stop trusting in humans. Stop worrying so much about what others think of you. Quit allowing other people’s perception of you to dictate how you live. Instead, fall fully before your Father and trust only in Him.

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IMPACT

Posted on June 28, 2005 by Jason

2 Peter 1:3-4, “As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness! And by that same mighty power, he has given us all of his rich and wonderful promises. He has promised that you will escape the decadence all around you caused by evil desires and that you will share in his divine nature.”

We praise God for His awesome work over the last two weeks at IMPACT. We now have 10 new brothers and sisters in Christ and many more of us renewed our commitment to Christ and His call on our lives.

This year’s theme for IMPACT was “ESCAPE”, taken from the text above. Here are some of my random thoughts from the week:

*No matter how many times I see it, it’s always funny to watch that clip from Finding Nemo where Ellen Degeneres mispronounces the word “escape”.

*From the POW videos we watched, the line that stood out to me the most was this: “Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is the presence of faith.”

*No prisoner in his right mind would ever willingly run back to chains after experiencing the joy of release.

*Drinking pureed Mrs. Winner’s doesn’t taste as bad as you might think.

*There’s nothing sweeter in the world than watching a father baptize his child. Pure joy.

*IMPACT is more fun when you’re sitting on Skidmore’s side.

*Yes, a bouncy ball can generate enough velocity to break a double sided pane of glass.

*After spending a week or so in the presence of God with so many other Christians, the choruses of our praise continue to echo through my mind.

*You should always treat your mother right.

*God is awesome!!!

I thank God for IMPACT. It truly is one of the evergreens of our youth ministry. Year in, year out, we always experience God in that place. Praise Him!

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Memorial Day

Posted on May 31, 2005 by Jason

Well, another Memorial Day holiday has come & gone. This year was a bit strange as we weren’t able to host our annual Jr. High Family Beach Retreat in Gulf Shores. I know many of our families spent the holiday at the beach, though. I guess some habits die hard!

As I reflected on Memorial Day, I thanked God for so many individuals who sacrificed their lives for the freedoms I enjoy and so often take for granted. I think back to a comment I once read: “Freedom is never free.” I’m thankful that there are those among us who believe in the truth that freedom is worth dying for. Surely there is something eternally signifcant about that statement. Praise God for determining that our spiritual liberty was worth dying for. As I think back to the agony & pain of Calvary, I know I am unworthy to receive such freedom. Yet, while I was still a sinner, Christ died for me. Let us always remember and commemorate those among us who have forfeited their careers, their families, even their very lives to grant us the freedoms we have as residents of this nation. But may we give ultimate honor to the One who sacrificed the spoils of heaven & communion with His Father to reconcile & redeem us. Praise you, Lord Jesus!

O Lord, we remember….
…and we give thanks.

Posted in Blessings | 1 Comment

Who’s on First?

Posted on May 26, 2005 by Jason

“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation….He is the first of all who will rise from the dead, so he is first in everything.” Colossians 1:15,18

This summer we’ll be exploring the question, “Who’s on First?”. We’ll be taking into account the words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:33, “Put God’s Kingdom first. Do what he wants you to do.” I pray that this summer will be a time for you to give priority to your relationship with God. I know how busy your schedules are. School, sports, work, friends, homework…it seems like most of our lives are spent rushing from one activity to the next. Sometimes, we’re even guilty of using youth group activities as a substitute for God! We need to be reminded that without God at the center, our lives become hollow and meaningless. Our striving to be “well-rounded” often leaves us as well-rounded as a donut – we’re completely missing what should be at the core of our lives, namely, God! Why not use this summer as a time to re-devote yourself to the simplicity of prayer, the study of the Word, the serenity of time alone with God? There’s no better time than today to put God first. Give Him the seat of priority in your life. Who’s on first? That’s the only question worth asking.

Posted in Devotional, Scripture | 1 Comment

The Word became flesh…

Posted on May 9, 2005 by Jason

“The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” — John 1:14

John’s Gospel begins with a beautiful prologue regarding the nature of Christ as the Living Word of God. “In the beginning was the Word…” echoes the eternal status of Christ; “…and the Word was with God…” reflects the relational character of triune God; “…and the Word was God…” confirms the deity of the Word. John expresses the incarnation of this Word in the person of Jesus, one who was “full of grace and truth.”

Grace and truth. Two somewhat opposing concepts. One scholar estimates that John uses the word “truth” some 25 times in his Gospel in reference to Christ. He is the one who opposes the so-called truths of the Pharisees. It is knowledge of His truth that leads to true freedom (8:32). It is His Spirit that will guide his followers into all truth (16:13).

And yet, John also chooses to describe Jesus as a man full of grace. It is this graciousness that is evident in his conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. Jesus exhibits mercy to yet another promiscuous woman in John 8. She stands before him naked, snatched from the arms of her lover, bare before a bloodthirsty crowd. But it is his mercy that fends away the mob and his words linger still for those with ears to hear: I do not condemn you. Go and sin no more. Grace!

It is with grace and truth that the Incarnate Word comes to us. He speaks truth to us: we are perilously sinful, separated from God by our sin and decadence. And yet, His mercy effectually extends to us, reconciling us permanently and irrevocably to God. This is the necessity of Incarnation. And this Word remains Incarnate today. Truthfully convicting. Gracefully calling. Word become flesh allowing flesh to become Word.

Come to me, O Lord.
Come to me in grace and truth,
Truth and grace.
Make your dwelling in me.
May my flesh become your Word of life
Bearing grace and truth
That I may see Your glory.
To the One and Only…
Amen

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The Traffic-Cop Lady

Posted on April 5, 2005 by Jason

Every morning as I’m driving in to work, I pass Randolph, one of the nicer private schools in town. It’s usually a fairly uneventful part of my day, but lately, it’s been different. You see, the police officer stationed there to direct traffic is a young African-American lady. Every time I see her, she has the biggest smile on her face. At first, I thought maybe she was just extremely happy that day. Maybe it’s her birthday or something. Maybe she just thought of a joke. Maybe she’s laughing at me! But then I noticed the same expression on her face the next day. And the next day. And the next day! No matter if it’s raining, sleeting, snowing, her expression is always the same. She’s constantly smiling, finding immense joy in what for most people would be a mind-numbingly boring task. I started thinking about how something that seems so insignificant (a smile) can make such an enormous difference in my life. I find myself smiling back at her now, and I feel better about everything after I see her each morning, dutifully carrying out her task with unmistakeable joy. She’s caused me to evaluate my attitude, my disposition. More than that, I want to be LIKE her. I want to be the one who brings joy to others. I want my expression to be as infectious as hers is. I’ve never spoken a word to her, and I don’t even know if she’s a Christian or not, yet I thank God for the traffic-cop lady and her irrepressible joy!

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Why Do You Look for the Living Among the Dead?

Posted on March 15, 2005 by Jason

I came across this text the other day, and it won’t let go of me. It’s in Luke 24, the first part of the chapter. Luke describes the activity on the first day of the week, that first and glorious Easter Sunday. The women came to the tomb of Jesus early in the morning to find the stone rolled away from the tomb. They entered, looking for the body of Christ, but He was nowhere to be found. Suddenly two men appeared before them “in clothes that gleamed like lightning (24:4)”. The women fell to the ground, but the men consoled them with words that are almost haunting: “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! (24:5-6)”

All too often, those words ring true in our lives. We’re experts at looking for life in all the wrong places. How often do we get caught up in the greed & materialism that defines our age? We think if we can just get a bigger house, if we can move up one more rung on the ladder, if we could just have a little bit more…THEN we would be content. Our lives can all to easily become an insatiable quest for status and possession. We’re driven to achieve a certain quantity to our lives. Security, prosperity, a nice home, a loving family, good friends…these are the DNA of a “good life”.

And somewhere, off in the distance, the Word rings softly…why do you look for the living among the dead? Why look for life among dead men’s bones? The writer of Ecclesiastes experienced it all: power, wealth, wisdom, sex. Yet he found them all lacking. He concludes his writing with these cryptic words: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man,” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full,” (John 10:10). Looking for life outside of Christ is akin to searching for a pulse in a graveyard. Jesus exemplifies for us the model of true life: a life centered on others, not self. Whoever loses his life for the sake of Christ will truly find it.

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