My Simple Point of View

OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT…

What does the Jesus of America look like? How does he compare to the Jesus of the bible? Are they the same Jesus?

……..?

I mean foolish worship, no I mean… never mind just keep reading. Do you honestly long to worship the Lord as He would desire? Do you realize what the Lord desires of us as a key ingredient?

First we must understand that worship is a way of life. It was never intended to be a place and time, but a conscious decision to change ones life (lifestyle) in a way that is pleasing to God. Which by-the-way is a lifelong process. In Isaiah 58 we are given a unique look at the character of God and His desire of His children.

Isaiah is writing to an inwardly living community that is seeking only it’s own. One that is Continue Reading »

What does it mean to mature?
To ripen as fruit or to come fully to age; Explicit adult content intended for or restricted to mature adults.

From a very early age we are eager to grow up (mature). When the little boy was asked how old he was he replied, “I’m 6 and a half”. The young lady was asked how old she was and she replied, “I’m only 3 months from my 18th birthday”. And when the woman was asked if she was 32 she just smiled with a laugh. She did not bother to correct the young man for she was actually 37.

My observation is this. When we are young all we see is the liberty granted to those older. As we grow up we realize that there are consequences that coincide with these liberties and not all good.

As a result of these life experiences, I am convinced that many of us refuse to spiritually mature because we realize (deep deep down in our heart) this too requires us to accept the consequences that coincide.

The bible is meant for maturing believers. Without that growth much of the scripture is incomprehensible.

Just thinking out loud again….

Deuteronomy 11:16
16 “But be careful. Don’t let your heart be deceived so that you turn away from the Lord and serve and worship other gods.

Joshua 24:15
15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

Matthew 6:24
24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other.

Mark 10:45
45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Any thoughts how this may applies to you or I… less chatter and deeper self examination!

In the Todd Agnew song “My Jesus” he poses a dilemma that many proclaiming Christians ignore or try to refuse. He writes (sings), “I want to be like my Jesus but I’m not sure what that means to be like You Jesus. Cause You said to live like You, love like You, but then You died for me. Can I be like You Jesus?”

Try putting your arms around that statement. It’s in perfect tune with scripture, yet leaves an after taste that most rinse away quickly. So, Can I be like Jesus and do I have to accept it all or can I go à la carte?

Do I really need to die like You?

A thought from the far corner of my skull cap after a disturbing conversation with fellow believer…

By rearranging and excluding scenes we easily change the context of the story. Hmmm?

Warning: The content of this video might have adverse effects on your tear glands.

This one should rattle you to your core it did me!

Does your church fellowship and the community in which you live have a symbiotic relationship? Can it? And if so how? And would that mean that your fellowships existence would greatly depend upon that relationship?

Just thinking out loud…

Alright, I’ll come clean. Neil Young is not on my radar for musical talent. But there is a significant point to my showing his video yesterday. I’m personally sick and tired of people (more specifically mature Christian’s) telling me that they don’t have the ability to share the gospel or that it is not their responsibility. Hmmmm! This is not only sad but entirely wrong (Acts 1:8, 22:15-16) . I’m not saying that we need to be bible thumping evangelist, but we are to be spokes people for God. This means we are to share with the world our unique testimony of how we came to a personal relationship with Christ Jesus. This is done not only with words but actions also.

So what does this have to do with Neil Young? Simple really, watch how we sings and carries himself. He cannot sing, he has no looks, and his dancing skills are a big zero, yet the crowds love him. Why? His passion is HUGE, he really believes in what he is doing and that is what people connect with. If you really believe let’em hear and feel you. Don’t be afraid to share your unique story, it’s yours and no one can say that your story is not true. They may not like or agree with you but they cannot call you a liar and discredit your feelings and personal experience.

Look at Acts 4:13, “The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures.” These common men spoke with boldness because the Holy Spirit was with them and they believed. Do you believe?

Not convinced, wrap your arms around Hebrews 6:1 So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding.

1 Corinthians 13:11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.

May the Lord God revile in His perfect time His will for each of His new creations.

Tullian has an excellent blog post here, excerpted from the book he’s working on (Unfashionable). Here’s a part of his post:

There’s a major difference between having a tribal mindset and a missionary mindset. The highest value of a tribally minded person is self-protection. They ask questions like: Since I feel the safest around those who are just like me, how can I protect myself from those who are different than I am? So they intentionally surround themselves with people who think the way they think, like the things they like, and despise the things they despise. As a result, they live with a sense of superiority, looking down on those who are not like them (for half my life I was convinced that surfers like me were far cooler than anyone on the face of this earth).

In contrast to a tribal minded person, the highest value of a missionary minded person is not self-protection but self-sacrifice. A missionary minded person is a person that exists, not primarily for himself but for others. She is a person that is willing to set aside personal preferences in service to those whose preferences are different than hers. Missionaries are people who are willing to be inconvenienced, discomforted, and spent for the well-being of others. The Gospel of Jesus Christ demands that we be missionary minded, because the gospel is the story of God sacrificing himself for others.

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