Thursday, December 10, 2009

Snuggies!


“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:26-29
Being clothed in Christ is like wearing a Snuggie. Think about it. Snuggie’s are made for everyone, both male and female, young and old, black and white. Anyone can afford one, it’s just a matter of deciding if you want/need it. Snuggie’s also serve to protect and make you look good. The super-soft, super-thick, super-luxurious fleece blanket will protect you from experiencing arctic temperatures when your roommate, spouse or family member sets the thermostat to a chilling 65 degrees. And who doesn't look good in loose layers of flowing red fleece? When someone is wearing a Snuggie, all insecurities that people have about their body are hidden. You can't see kankles, potbellies, cellulite, moles, scars, bruises, or cuts. You just see the glorious, velvety, red fabric. You could also say that a Snuggie provides you with some sort of identity (especially if you buy the new designer styles) . Just think of the possibilities for you to be known as sensibly chic, functional yet trendy, economical yet cozy.

When we accept Jesus Christ into our hearts as Lord and Savior of our lives, we then become clothed in Christ and reap the many blessings associated with that. The most obvious blessing is getting free admission into heaven. But how does that work exactly? It’s simple. Like a Snuggie, being clothed in Christ’s blood will protect us, make us look good, and give us identity. (Note: the reason we have this available to us is because Christ died for the sins of the world (Hebrews 2:9, 2 Corinthians 5:21))

Once we die, we will all come face to face before God almighty. At this time we will be judged according to our deeds. Well what is the standard we have to meet? Surprisingly, the Bible doesn't state that our good deeds must outweigh our bad deeds; it actually sets forth an even more absurd standard, a standard of perfection. Jesus himself says " Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48). Jesus said “perfect” because he meant it. Perfect is defined as being entirely without any flaws, defects, or shortcomings. Thus, it is wrong to assume you can qualify for perfection because you have avoided what some ignorantly call 'major sins' including murder and adultery. All sin is equal, and breaking even one is enough to separate us from God forever. " For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." (James 2:10).

So admitting that we all have sinned, where does that leave us? The Bible says the wages of sin is death and that we will be eternally separated from God. Well the great thing about being clothed in Christ is that it will protect us from getting what we deserve, a fair judgment. We will be protected from God’s judgment against our sin and Christ’s blood will makes us look good. In fact, it will make us look perfect. When a believer goes before God, all God will see is that the believer is clothed in the blood of Christ. When we hide behind the blood of Christ, God won’t be able to see the times when we worshiped things other than God, lied, dishonored our father/mother, and took credit for our own accomplishments instead of giving the glory to God. Because all God will see is Christ, our social status, gender, ethnicity and good deeds become irrelevant because our identity becomes that of Christ. Therefore, since Christ led a perfect life and will spend eternity with God in paradise/heaven, so will a believer! “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! “(Romans 5:9). Now that is Snuggylicious!

Christ's Bell

Someone sent this to me in an email and I wanted to do my duty and pass it along.

Christ's Bell

THE BELL

I KNOW WHO I AM
I am God's child (John 1:12)
I am Christ's friend (John 15:15 )
I am united with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17)
I am bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19-20)
I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)
I am a personal witness of Christ. (Acts 1:8)
I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt 5:13-14)
I am a member of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27)
I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom. 8: 1-2)
I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil 3 :20)
I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31 34)
I am a minister of reconciliation for God (2 Cor 5:17-21)
I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)
I cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom 8:35-39)
I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor 1:21-22 )
I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8:28 )
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fru it (John 15:16 )
I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12 )
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13 )
I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)
I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16).
I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).. I have been justified (Romans 5:1)
I am God's co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1). I am God's workmanship (Eph. 2:10)
I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected. (Phil. 1: 5)

I have been redeemed and forgiven ( Col 1:14). I have been adopted as God's child (Eph 1:5)

I belong to God
Do you know
Who you are?



Keep this bell ringing...pass it on

'The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you
And be gracious to you;
The LORD turn His face toward you
And give you peace...
Numbers 6:24-26


Thursday, October 29, 2009

"I'm preggers" / "I AM"


Today we are going to be detectives, so get your thinking caps on! Take a minute and skim over this article published on September 11, 2009 by People magazine. The link may be found here.

HOKAY! Now that you’ve read the article I have a question for you…. Is Gisele Bundchen pregnant, yes or no?! I know the question sounds ridiculous and the answer seems to be an obvious yes, but is the answer really that clear?! I mean sure, her husband Tom Brady says she is going to have a baby in December and that he will take her to Lamaze classes, but is that enough to believe that Gisele is pregnant? I mean after all no where in the article do we get a quote straight from the horse’s mouth (i.e. Gisele) that says “I am pregnant”, so are you sure of your answer? I mean if she personally wasn’t recorded as saying it then this article must be an absolute farce, right?! Okay, so maybe Gisele doesn’t literally say “I am pregnant” , but what if in the article Gisele was asked what her body’s status was and she said “ I’m preggers! Or she said “ I have a bun in the oven” … would those terms be good enough for you to believe that she was pregnant even though she never literally said the words “I am pregnant” ?! Or what if the article talked about how she was behaving in a way that only pregnant people behave and mentioned something along the lines of “Spotted. Gisele Bundchen outside a local Rite-Aid downing a Vitamin Water and popping pre-natal vitamins. She was later seen eating pickles and peanut butter before going into a hidden local OB/GYN in Greenwich Village." Would that be enough for you to believe she was pregnant? Or what if the article talked about how others were behaving in a way that would verify that at some point she did sayshe was pregnant. For example, what if the article talked about how the Patriot’s stadium had dedicated an “Expectant Mother “ parking spot for Gisele’s limo to use between now and December!? Then would you believe that Gisele in fact was pregnant?!

So now we have Gisele saying she is pregnant (just using more relevant terms other than "i'm pregnant), we have others confirming she is pregnant (Tom Brady), we have Gisele acting in ways only pregnant people would, and we have others acting in ways they would only if she had told them she was pregnant. So with all this surmounting evidence, would you believe that Gisele is in fact pregnant?! Well DUH! Of course any of those instances on it’s own would make it blatantly obvious that Gisele was pregnant. But I exaggerate my example to show a point that we don’t hold People Magazine the same strict standard we use to judge the Bible. We simply read the title of the article alone, make inferences, and are satisfied in concluding Gisele is pregnant without even reading the article. So if that’s how we operate, why then when we have all the same type of evidence as with the Gisele example, for something about Jesus, do we STILL challenge the Bible and say “Oh, well Jesus never actually said “I am God” so therefore He isn’t God. If He really was God, he would have at least said so”. Check out the table below to see how the ‘type of evidence’ we have is the same in both the Gisele and Jesus situation.


In case you’re wondering, the names Jesus used to describe himself as God are names that would have been immediately recognized by Jewish people as names used by someone who was claiming deity. The first “I AM” is how God referred to himself back in the day of Moses . “God said to Moses, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "’ (Exodus 3:14). The second name “Son of Man” is a reference to a prophecy in the OT, “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14). “Son of Man” was a Messianic title, and by Jesus calling himself this he was assigning this prophecy to himself and thus proclaiming to be the Messiah/God.

In conclusion the claim that because Jesus never literally said the words “I am God” doesn’t mean jack because our evidence is so much greater than that ! The only question that remains is do you believe the Bible is Truth? I know I do !

Monday, September 21, 2009

T-E-S-T-I-M-O-N-Y, i'm flying first class, up in the sky

"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace." (Romans 6:1-14)
This past weekend was epic. I finally did something I've been wanting to do for the past few years. I publicly declared my love for God and was baptized in front of several hundred people. I wanted to get baptized because 1.) Jesus got baptized 2.) Jesus commanded believers to get baptized as an act of obedience and 3.) It is an outward expression of the inward transformation that had already taken place in my life when I accepted Jesus Christ as my lord and savior.

Now typically, before a person gets baptized, she will give a brief testimony that explains what she was like before she knew Christ, how she met Christ, and finally how she changed post-Christ. When I signed up to get baptized at the Frontline Fall Retreat, I was told by the staff that my testimony had to be 20 seconds. WHAT?!??! I can't even eat complete an order at the Starbucks drive-thru in 20 seconds if I wanted to, so how am I supposed to clearly share my life story that details the radical transformation in my life as a result of Christ? As a joke, my friends and I decided the only way to make it work would be to avoid talking in sentences and using articles, and instead just speak one-three words at a time. However, I ended up really liking the idea and decided to just go with it. The below text is what I ended up with. I also have a longer version of my testimony below in case you're curious.

Hi I'm Chessy, and I like to think outside the box.

catholic. indifferent.
UVA. success. party.
dazed and confused.

atheist brother. found Christ.
constant peace. my jealousy ensued.

discovered frontline. gospel made clear.
fence sitter still. it was pretty painful.
something changed.
chose Christ. final answer.

SERENITY NOW!
Long version:
I was raised Catholic. My family went to church every Sunday for the most part. I always remembered believing in God, but that was the extent of my 'religion'. I went to Sunday school because my parents made me. Sunday school and confirmation was a complete blur. (In fact, I remember years later when I was in a small group and people would ask me what the Catholic church's stance was on certain theological topics, and I would honestly respond with "I don't know".)

High school was the first time I was taught about other religions, and it led me to question my own beliefs. I remember feeling disappointed when I would ask a specific question about why my church would performed a certain ritual and the answer I was given was "because that's what we are supposed to do". Upon starting college , I went to church a few times. However, I quickly lost motivation to go to church when I would stay out till 4am partying on a Saturday night. The last thing I wanted to do was wake up early to go to something I didn't understand and wasn't excited about. The icing on the cake was when the media started to report about how priests, who were portrayed as 'holy' and somehow incapable of 'bad sins', were caught molesting altar boys...SICK.

The rest of UVA was spent under the 'play hard, work hard' mentality. I studied and got good grades, but I also went out partying and drinking most nights. I was convinced my purpose in life was to be happy, and for the most part I thought I was achieving it.... well except for those times when I should have been happy from a worldly perceptive (good friends, sorority, family, health, academic success, etc) yet felt empty. Around the same time, my older brother, a former athesit, was suddely attending church, and eventually started calling himself a 'born-again' Christian. I was EXTREMELY skeptical, and thought he had joined a cult, mainly because 'born-again' sounded like a term crazy people use, and especially when I saw him get baptized in a neighborhood swimming pool. (Keep in mind, I was brought up in a very traditional Catholic church, where baptisms were performed on babies in a church with holy water and priests, and not on adults in a pool with a random pastor . Additionally, I had never read the bible so I wasn't aware that the term 'born-again ' was in fact a legit thing to call a Christian thanks to Jesus coining the term in John 3:1-8 ). My skepticism eventually turned into curiosity when I realized that my brother wasn't just going through another phase. He had completely changed his lifestyle, and although he gave up many worldly things, he had joy and constant peace.

I decided I wanted to find that peace, or at the very least just check out a non-demoninational church, to see what my brother's hype was all about. Through a friend of a friend, I was taken to a church in Bethesda, but had a 'blah' experience. This friend of a friend told me I might like the music at McLean Bible church better. I ended up going to McLean Bible church by myself. I remember feeling completely overwhelmed when I walked into a church of several thousand people and heard the sound of electric guitars and drums coming from the main sanctuary. I remember thinking to myself how I would never again trust a stranger's opinion about anything... but then a man came out, Todd Philips in fact. He started talking and I found myself instantly engaged. I felt like I was sitting in on a college lecture. His speech was extremely well structured, with 3 main points, and each point was affirmed by scripture verses... HOW LOGICAL! He also shared about how the message related to his own life and challenged the audience to apply it to their own life. SO COOL! I knew this was a place I would want to keep coming back to. After the service I went to the new comer meeting, and signed up to be part of a small group so I could try and learn more about the bible.

Over the next 6 months I was like a sponge. New information was flying at me daily that I had never heard before. God wants a personal realationship with me, huh?! God show us grace and offers us a free gift of eternal life just by believing that Jesus is God, and he died for our sins, say whaaaaat? You mean I don't have to earn my way to heaven?! You mean I can be 100% certain of where I will be going when I die, and that regardless of what I do, I can't do anything to screw it up? COOL.

Despite all these new truths being spoken into my life, I was still sitting on the fence. It wasn't until one night when I heard a sermon about how Jesus doesn't want us to be fence sitters. The pastor told us how Jesus plainly stated "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters" Matthew 12:30. The pastor then said it was time to make a decision, and had everyone bow their heads . I remember he asked people who wanted to stop being fence sitters to stand, and it was at that moment that I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart as lord and savior of my life.

So that was the start of my relationship with Christ. Almost four years have passed, and I've changed in so many ways... I no longer rely on drinking as a way to have fun.. I no longer get drunk and seldom drink..I know everything has a purpose including the trials of my life and often find myself looking for ways to grow as a result of the trials...I know the purpose of my life is to bring glory to God and I try and base all my thoughts, deeds, and actions around this truth...I have been able to use the comfort Christ has given me through the storms of my life to comfort others when they are going through a hard time... I have been able to forgive people that have severely wronged me... etc. But guess what, I'm still imperfect. I still sin just like anyone else, yet Jesus's love for me is unconditional. He will never change. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. me the same yesterday, today and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8) . AMEN!


Thursday, August 27, 2009

Blame it on the A-A-A-A-A-DAM.


As a follow up to my Slutty Slutty Slutty post, I promised to answer the question 'What did I ever do to make God decide that I will perish if I don't believe in Him ? The short answer is found in Romans 5:12:

"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned ".

The long answer is found by explaining this verse, so let's look at one section at a time, mmm k?!

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man
The "one man" Paul is blaming for sin entering the world is Adam. I wish I could say there was alcohol involved and we could blame it on the Hennessy, but sadly that wasn't the case. If we look at the first book of the bible , Genesis, we find out exactly what happens:

God creates the universe/world. Everything is good. (Genesis 1:31). God creates Adam and Eve and they live in The Garden of Eden which sounds like paradise based on the fact that Adam had a woman and was surrounded by trees that were "pleasing to the eye and good for food" (Genesis 2:9). God commands Adam 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it, you will surely die'. (Genesis 2:16) . Adam eats the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:6) effectively disobeying God and sin enters the world ,FML.

Death through sin
Right after Adam choked down the apple, we would expect a la sleeping beauty, that the apple would be poisoned and Adam would drop dead, because after all that is the consequence God laid forth, right?! Actually, no. The type of death God was referring to was not physical death (separation of soul from body) but rather spiritual death (separation of soul from God). This notion of being separated from God is apparent when we look at Genesis 3:8 and see how Adam's fellowship with God had become broken,
"Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. "

And in this way death came to all men, because all sinned
Like it or not, we are all related to Adam and as a result have inherited his sinful nature. All that means is that since the time we are born we have the inclination to do things that are displeasing to God (i.e. sin). King David summed it up best when he said “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5).

Okay, so hopefully now you understand that all people are inherently bad, and we are all separated from God. The only way for us to NOT be separated from God would be to live a perfect life without sinning, which is clearly impossible. This is why we all need a savior. We can't possibly restore our relationship with God on our own because "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless;there is no one who does good, not even one." (Romans 3:10-12)

So yeah, Jesus came to earth, was perfect, and died to pay the penalty for our sins "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. " 2 Corinthians 5:21. Anyone has the opportunity to accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. This is a free unmerited gift God has offered to every single person in the world. If we accept this gift we will spend eternity with God. If we reject this gift, we will spend eternity without God. The choice is yours. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23).

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Sunday, August 2, 2009

My fist love *sigh*


He sees. He likes. He pursues. You test it out. You enjoy. You commit. You love. [Something changes]. You break up. You’re upset. You’re sad. You’re regretful. You start over. You compare the new fish in the sea to the X. You think “I’m never going to meet anyone as good as X”. You worry “I’m never going to be able to find as good of a connection as the one I had with X”. Sound familiar? What I’m referring to is the inevitable stage post-break up during which the person you were formally dating becomes the measuring stick to which you compare every new potential mate. In some weird sense, this is EXACTLY how I feel right now, except it’s not with a guy it’s with my church. Over the past four years I have fallen madly in love with Frontline (young adult part of McLean Bible Church) and have recently parted ways due to moving to Chapel Hill NC. Although dating of an X is normally not something I would support or encourage, I would like to invite you as well as anyone else you know to get to know Frontline. If you have a pulse, I think you'll love it. (even if you don't live in DC , you can still enjoy it). The story is below.

How we met
It was a crisp Autumn day in the fall of 2005. A friend of a friend had taken me to 4th Presbyterian in Bethesda, and it was “very nice, but just not my type”. This same friend of a friend said “You might like the music better at McLean”. Two weeks later, by myself, I walked into the church that sat 3,000 people, not knowing a soul, and the rest is history.

Why I fell so hard so fast
#1 The Style/Looks
Church in the past, I found to be boring, a waste of time, and hard to understand. Lots of stand up sit down, look at watch, lose interest, feel confused. Frontline, however, was like a breath of fresh air. The service starts 5:30pm on Sundays with a live band playing contemporary Christian music for about 20 minutes. After that, a staff member talks for a few minutes about upcoming events at the church and how to get invovled. Finally, Todd Philips, the pastor, comes on stage and talks for about 30 minutes. That's it. [Note: communion takes place once every few months.]

What drew me in so quickly was the pastor. He is an excellent public speaker, he is charismatic, hilarious, and his style is much like a college lecture (but a really exciting class, not the boring ones). His sermons are structured in a way that keep your attention because he always relates the message at hand back to how to apply to your own life. He also is honest with us, and shares his personal struggles which makes it all the more personable and not detached like some preachers who come off as 'holier than thou'. What's even cooler and more awesome is that each talk given is part of a sermon series. Series can range from 2 weeks to 12 weeks and can be either based on a topic such as grace, life after death, dating, money, or can be based on a book or story in the bible.

#2 The Values -
So crucial! Mission of the church is plain and simple: Share the message of Jesus Christ with DC. The core and heart of Frontline is the doctrine that is taught. Frontline teaches from the bible. It is not the opinion of the man, or the church elders. Every point that is made during a sermon is backed up with scriptural references, making for a very sound, logical, presentation of great truth! For more detail about Frontline's statement of faith, go here.

#3 The Personality
I was previously under the impression that it was all about the looks (shallow I know). But as it turns out a church has NOTHING to do with a building (looks) and everything to do with it’s people (personality). Below are some ways I've been able to get involved and I've organized it by Frontline's 4 point vision Connect. Grow. Serve. Share.

Connect- Interacting with friendly people that have a genuine interest in you (Dinners at Jason Deli and the like after church), Going to a camp for the weekend in the mountains to zip line, relax, learn about God (Frontline Fall/Summer Retreats), Playing left midfield for Frontline Soccer (Athletics Ministry), Encouraging, comforting, and sharing life with others (Small Group),Welcoming people and handing out brochures at a newly opened church campus (FL Arlington)

Grow-
Learning my spiritual gifts and that my personality is combination of lion/otter (Shape Workshop), Taking a class on how to share my faith (Christianity 301), Taking a class on how to study the bible (How to Study the Bible Workshop) Studying parts of the bible and praying each week with 8-10 women my own age (Small Group)

Serve
- If there isn’t a ministry in existence, you can start one (ex. A woman had the idea to go to a nursing home and show old woman love by painting their nails, and then Pretty and Polished was born). Running in a 5K to help bring clean water to the entire nation of Liberia (www.thelastwell.org); cleaning/landscaping/beautifying/painting the public schools in DC, making care packages to send to deployed soldiers (Operation Kindness), preparing 10,000 boxes with thanksgiving goodies to give to less fortunate families in the DC area (Turkey Outreach), buying Where’s Waldo books and Girl Talk as Christmas gifts for less fortunate kids (Angel Tree)

Share-
Feeding lunch to and sharing the gospel with the homeless (Homeless Ministry), passing out plastic eggs filled with candy and a frontline card (Egg the Metro), teaching 3rd graders about Jesus using awesome arts/crafts/videos/creative ways (Kid’s Quest), Watching Frontline LIVE on the internet even when you aren't in DC (Internet Campus)

That's a wrap. If you too have become gaga over the awesomness that is Frontline, feel free to comment and let people know what captured your heart, haha.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Slutty Slutty Slutty!


Have you ever gone into a clothing store, held up garments and found yourself wondering , "Is this a tube top or a skirt?" "Is this a dress or a shirt?", "I have never seen denim underwear before... wait maybe it's shorts?" ? This past weekend I was in Forever 21 trying on an ambiguous garment that could have easily been a dress or skirt. Upon asking the sales associate whether or not my ambiguous garment was a shirt or a dress she looked at me as if I was crazy for asking, rolled her eyes, smacked the gum in her mouth, and sass-fully said, "obvi a shirt". In my defense, this was a fair question, because the store is notorious for having clothes that are very short, very revealing, and not exactly modest. Nonetheless, I was happy to have my answer, and proceeded to the checkout confident that I wouldn't be that girl who wears jeans underneath a dress because she thinks the year is 1997 and also thinks the French have a good sense of fashion. After the sales clerk rang up my shirt and a pair of skinny jeans, she shoveled the items along with the receipt into a yellow plastic bag, and slid the bag across the counter for me to grab. The bottom of the yellow plastic bag was now in my sight, and I noticed there was some black text at the bottom of the bag. That's odd I thought. I picked up the bag and to my UTTER SHOCK I saw "JOHN 3:16". I had to do a double take. It just seemed bizarre coming from a store where a good 1/3 of the products could be labeled "slutty slutty slutty" in the same way Michael Kors labeled a scantily clad outfit on Project Runway. But there it was!!!!! A bible verse from John chapter 3 verse 16! Only the most well known and recognized verses in the entire bible! A verse that, in as little as 25 words sums up Christianity in a nutshell (or at least does a better job than any other verse on it's own.) Clearly the owner of Forever 21 wouldn't waste time, money, and effort to put John 3:16 on every bag unless he thought it was SUPER important for people to know about it, so let's get to it!

JOHN 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

What the verse says

- God exists
- God loves the world (i.e everyone!)
- God sacrificed his only Son, aka Jesus
- If you believe that Jesus is the son of God, you will have eternal life (i.e. go to heaven).
- Looks like there is only ONE way presented as a way to get to heaven
- If you don't believe in Jesus, ultimately you will perish. yikes!

What the verse does NOT say
- going to church every Sunday will get you to heaven
- being a good person will get you to heaven
- as long as you believe in "a God" , you will be golden

Now, wait just a minute. What did I ever do to make God decide that I will perish if I don't believe in Him ? And why did God have to send Jesus to die for me, what do I need saving from?! These were the exact thoughts that went through my head the first time I was presented with this verse, almost 4 years ago when my small group was studying the gospel of John. The answer is longer than a simple sentence or two, so I will save the answers to these questions for my next post. In the mean time, you can pop into Forever 21 next time you're at the mall and take a look at the bag, or if that's not your thing, go to In-and-Out Burger in CA, order a soda, and look at the bottom rim of the cup.

DISCLAIMER: I am not hear to pass judgment on the owner of Forever 21 or the store itself. I happen to enjoy Forever 21 and have found several good trendy yet classy items. Sometimes I just put titles up because I know it will grab your attention and get you to read ;).

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

I'm a little clay pot, short and stout!

Where does your mind go when you hear the word "clay"? For me, I think back to 10th grade crafts class (which by the way was the most stressful/hard class in all of high school, harder than any AP science or math class simply becuase I am terrible at ARTS and CRAFTS. ) I always knew my craftyness was bad, but it was reaffirmed when I brought home a basket I had weaved in crafts class out of rafia, and my parents ended up using it as a receptacle for old newspapers that needed to be thrown away, instead of hanging it on a wall to display the magnicance and intricacies of the weaving as suggested by the teacher to myself and my classmates. Problems only magnified for me when we moved to the art room to make our own clay pots. Around the same time, I had the misfortune to trip over a line while backpeddling during basketball practice the week before the championship game and breaking my right (dominant hand) wrist. Although I was in a cast/sling, I managed to use my left hand to whip up a lopsided clay pot, with top sides folded out to give the illusion of flower petals and a fun lavendar glaze covering it to help prevent cracks. So perhaps you don't have the same thoughts as I do, haha. Maybe you think about clay from a functional standpoint, such as clay can be used as soil fertility for plants or as a vessel. Regardless, did you know that the original Hebrew word that is translated as the "dust" that Adam was created from actually means clay, making God the first "potter," ? "Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." (Isaiah 64:8) and "The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life ... I too was formed from a piece of clay." (Job 33:4,6). Pretty cool, right?!

Today I want to share with you all my friend Rachel S's favorite devotional. Devotionals are things us Christian folk read on a daily basis (although doesn't always happen) to provide encouragment, remind of us biblical truth, and help us focus on God. As you may already have figured out, this devoltional talks about clay! I hope this finds you well!

Devotional

God calls us clay pots. And true to the name most of us sport cracks, carefully glued back together. We are oh so sturdy, yet oh so fragile. Why would God entrust clay pots with the light of His love? We try to fulfill His purposes but we get cracked and broken. Yet His strategy is clear... He knows our weaknesses yet He chose clay pots anyway. He tells us why... "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us" (2 Corinthians 4:7). Don't be ashamed of the cracks in your life... don't be afraid to show how God has mended you. This is the testimony to the watching world. Our God fixes broken pieces! If you are broken today because of circumstances in your life, or because of choices you wish you had made differently, don't stay in pieces on the floor. If you know you have disappointed God in your walk or in your talk tell Him you are sorry. God will forgive you, pick you up and mend you. Changed lives, lives lived in the power of the Holy Spirit, demonstrate that it is His power at work in us. This is our hope...
this is the hope we hold out to a needy world.

Father God, Thank you that You use cracked pots to demonstrate Your love and power. Forgive me today for the guilt trips and the pity parties and help me to tap into the power that changes lives. Thank you that You put Your Spirit in me so that Your amazing power can be visible! Shine through my cracks today, Lord so that others can see who You are. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Questions: Do you need to change your thinking and accept the cracks in your life as the very places Jesus can shine through? Invite Him into those places today.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Spotted: Stephen Baldwin baptizing Spencer Pratt in a Costa Rican jungle river



Yes, that’s right. Spencer Pratt (most known for his role on The Hills as the jerk boyfriend/fiancé/and now husband of Heidi Montague) was baptized on national television by self proclaimed born-again Christian Stephen Baldwin. WHAT?! This act was first seen Monday June 1, 2009 when the show “I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!” debuted drawing in approximately 6.4 million viewers. According to Wikipedia the show is “about celebrities live in jungle conditions with few comforts and have to earn human essentials”. Now, you are probably wondering why on earth did Pratt choose to do this?! … maybe it was to make his wife Heidi happy … maybe it was for publicity…. maybe it was to “be washed clean of his filth” as he stated moments before getting dunked in the river… or maybe it was for some other reason. I don’t know Spencer’s heart, only God does, so I won’t try and figure out what his true motivation was. However, I would like to clear up two common myths about baptism and also share why many believers choose to get baptized.

Myth #1: Baptism will wash away sins (or as Pratt stated “clean you of your filth”.)

Truth: The act of baptism does not save us or wash away our sins. Only the blood of Christ cleanses us from sin. 1 John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. "

Myth #2: Getting baptized allows a person to go to heaven.

Truth: The only requirement for getting to heaven is to believe that Jesus is your personal Lord and savior. (John 3:16, Acts 16:31, Ephesians 2:8-9). Baptism is not a requirement for salvation, it is simply the outward testimony of a believer's inward faith. Romans 6:3-4 says “Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." You are "crucified" (standing upright in water), you are "buried" (immersed into the water), and you are "resurrected into life" (raised out of the water). See also Corinthians 12:13.

Why do believers choose to get baptized?

#1 Cuz all the cool kids are doing it!!!!
And by cool kids, I mean Jesus. "At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan." Mark 1:9
#2 Cuz Jesus told us to!
Jesus’s love language is obedience, and following his commands shows our love for Him (Jesus said "If you love me, you will obey what I command. " John 14:15) Jesus also said, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Matthew 28:19-20.
#3 Cuz it shows you are a believer!
In the OT, Jewish people would get circumcised (ouch) as an outward symbol of their faith, whereas Christians get baptized as an outward symbol of their faith! Acts 18:8"...many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized."

CONFESSION: I have not been baptized, YET. I am hoping to do so before I leave DC. Details to follow soon.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Mullets and Other Fun Ideas by Mike O'Brien

NOTE: THE FOLLOWING WAS WRITTEN BY MY FRIEND MIKE O'BRIEN. THIS IS THE SITE'S FIRST GUEST BLOG. ALL I DID WAS ADD A PIC OF UNCLE JESSE AND POST.

The other day I was walking to work and I saw a guy with an incredible mullet (a hairstyle characterized by short hair on the sides and long hair on top and in the back). According to Mullet Junky, as reputable a source one finds on such things, this was an Animal. This sight nearly distracted me to the point where I almost tripped on a curb. In that humbling moment, I remembered a question someone asked at a Bible Study a few years ago:
Q: I want to get a mullet, and some of my Christian friends say it's not cool, what did Moses say
A: Your friends are right, Leviticus 19:27 reads, "Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head..."
Q: Are you kidding me, are you sure this isn't one of those Old Testament Laws that got replaced by the New Covenant?
A: I'm sure, 1 Corinthians 11:14-15

That is as straightforward as biblical law gets. The Old Testament says it (no short hair on the sides), the New Testament confirms it (no long hair at all) - God disapproves of mullets. However, few items are so straight-forward in the Old Testament. The casual reader may find a prohibition in the Old Testament to which there is no counter prohibition in the New Testament (such as getting a tattoo, Leviticus 19:28), and ask whether it still applies.
The bible discusses God making covenants or promises with different people at different times. There are five covenants described throughout the Bible:
#1. Noah, Genesis 9:1-17, explained here in detail. In short, God rewards Noah’s faithfulness and promises not to flood the world again.
#2. Abraham, explained here in detail. Including that God will extend the forgiveness and engagement to everyone else…someday. Genesis 18:18, Genesis 22:18.
#3. Moses, Exodus chapters 19-34, explained here in detail. God provides a plethora of regulations (one of which is the subject of this post), and then promises to be merciful and gracious while He forgives iniquity, transgression and sin. Exodus 34:6-7.
#4. David, 2 Samuel 7:12-17, explained here in detail. Basically, God is a establishing a throne from the heirs of David which will last forever.
In each of these covenants, there were certain standards of behavior that accompanied the promise. To enjoy the promise the covenant holder had to have faith in God. The standards of behavior were reflections of whether that faith was present. It is important to note that there was no requirement for perfection, since, if there was, there would be no need for God’s grace which is the common theme throughout these passages.
#5. New Covenant By the time of the new covenant, a bifurcation existed between church law (which governed conduct of believers) and civil law (which provided remedies for private and public disputes among mostly everyone). Romans 13. So, Paul recognized that there was a general moral obligation to obey the law (there are obviously conflicts between church and civil law, but that is a topic for another day). This event narrows the discussion to restrictions on personal conduct instead of prohibitions on public behavior.
To begin, in the Old Testament Jeremiah predicts that the “old covenant” personal conduct will not be around forever, 31 "The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. 33 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." Jeremiah 31:31-34 (my emphasis). Luke 22:20 explains, “In the same way, after the supper (Jesus) took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.’” Some scholarly dispute agrees as to whether the new covenant began at the moment Christ died or at Pentecost. Regardless, we are certainly in a new covenant time now, and Hebrews 8:13 explains, “By calling this covenant ‘new,’ he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.”
Therefore, the Old Testament restrictions on behavior have passed. But note how all of the promises of God explained above have been fulfilled (or are currently in progress, such as not flooding the world, the availability of forgiveness of sins, etc.). That brings me back to the original question about getting a tattoo. The important inquiry is not whether one can get a tattoo, but why one would want to. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says that as believers we are to honor God with our body. If one is getting a tattoo to glorify God, then it wouldn’t be considered sinful. However, if one is getting a tattoo for some other reason (to spite one’s parents, etc.) then it could be considered sinful.

Monday, June 8, 2009

"I'm swine flu serious"


You know something is a big deal when 1.) your Mom sends you an email chain entitled "Breaking News- Celebrity Swine Flu Fatality", that includes a picture of a lifeless, Kermit the Frog laying amidst a muddy pig pen, and a one line text in blue Courier font reading "And we all know who gave it to him" and 2.) a random dude at one of the classiest, most fun, low-key, entertaining, and delicious weddings I've been to in a while, decides to crack a joke and show his commitment to getting drinks after the open bar closed by exclaiming "I'm swine flu serious! I've got everyone's drinks covered". Now I realize, this topic is a bit stale, and that the whole swine flu scare was so 2 months ago, but let's travel back in time to our state of mind when we first heard about swine flu. For me, I remember I was on gchat sometime in April, and my friend sent me a news link about people in Mexico dying from "swine flu" and how it could very easily spread to the U.S. if proper precautions weren't taken. I kind of forgot about it until a few days later when the U.S. declared a public health emergency over swine flu after there were 20 cases diagnosed in the U.S.. Shortly after this, travelers were shown on TV carrying face masks on their business/personal trips to Mexico, and stories such as "Only pig in Afghanistan locked up... to protect country from swine flu " made headline news. For a while people panicked, myself included, and I will admit that I fell prey to the http://www.doihaveswineflu.org/website whose name implied a self-assured way to detect if you had symptoms of swine flu. I remember my mind momentarily wandered to the "what if" mentality. What if it were to become a pandemic, what if it were to kill massive amounts of people, and I was one of those people?

I thought to myself, well of course it would really stink to die and miss out on all the things that life has to offer between the age of 26-78 such as marriage, kids, mastering drums on rock band, grandchildren, playing bingo, etc. And although it would be really sad to die, I am not afraid of death. If I was to die in the next 5 minutes, the next 5 days, or the next 5 years, I am 100% certain that I will be in heaven with the God of this universe because I have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal lord and savior. And what's even cooler and reassuring is that I can't under any circumstance lose my salvation. In essence, I have eternal security. Let's briefly look at the Bible (i.e. word of God) and go straight into the truth and the amazing promises that are given to believers regarding their eternal security. Note, when I say 'believers' I am referring to Christians- i.e. someone who has, by faith, received and fully trusted in Jesus Christ as the only Savior (John 3:16, Acts 16:31, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:1). Once saved, always saved. Here's why:

1.) Christ died once for ALL sins (past, present, future).
You can't do anything to screw up your salvation because let's be real here people. God is omniscient . He knows about the sins you are going to commit 10 minutes from now, and 10 years from now. That is why God's grace is so AMAZING. God, being the all knowing genius that he is, knows our thoughts before we speak them (Psalm 139:2-4), knows all the hairs on our head (Matthew 10:30) , and knows every darn tuten bad thing we will ever do, yet is choosing to love us in spite of ourselves. He loved us so much he sent Christ to die, once, for all sins (Romans 5:6-8, Romans 6:10, 1 Peter 3:18) Wow, that is really nice of him!

2.) Nothing can separate us from Christ's love
Romans 8:38-39 "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

John 10:28-29 "I give them eternal life, and
they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand."

3.) God keeps our salvation in a safe place for us. You can't lose something you aren't holding. Yes, I have lost countless cell phones, wallets, and receipts in my day, but thank God I am not in charge of holding on to my salvation.

1 Peter 1:3-5 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and
into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time."

4.) The Holy Spirit seals us. God gives the Holy Spirit to every believer when he/she gets saved as a down payment of His promise to take us to heaven and give us our inheritance


Ephesians 1:12-14 "in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were
marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.

2 Corinthians 1:22 "set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come"

And that, my friend(s), is why I am able to go to bed every night at peace, and not fear death.

Monday, June 1, 2009

I like it, I like it a lot!


It's 2015. Matt Lauer still works for the today show and its that time of year again for "Where in the World is Matt Lauer" (not to be confused Where in the World is Carmen San Diego, one of the many nerdy games I enjoyed as a child). This morning, Matt Lauer has traveled to Liberia. But what's the occasion?! The camera zooms in on Lauer and it becomes apparent that the locals in the background are building a well. "Folks, what we are witnessing behind me is the LAST well being put in Liberia". Lauer walks over to the well site, where 10 gringos between age 18-40 are standing smiling and waving at the camera. Lauer approaches the leader of the gringos, introduces him as the founder of theLASTWell saying "Todd, in 2009, there were 1.8 million people in Liberia that did not have access to clean, safe, water to drink and now there are enough functional wells with enough clean water for the entire nation... this is unbelievable... rarely do charities have specific missions with specific end dates, much less achieve the specific goal in less than a decade, is there anything you'd like to say? ". Todd shrugs, then smiles, and simply replies " We encouraged people in their 20s, to help change the world, and we did it all in the name of Jesus."

WOW. That was my reaction when Todd Philips, the teaching pastor of Frontline (McLean Bible's service for young adults between 18-40), shared the vision of theLASTWell during a fundraiser for folks preparing to climb Mount Whitney. As you probably have already inferred, the mission of theLASTWell is "to provide safe, affordable drinking water to the entire nation of Liberia and preach the message of Jesus Christ to those we serve". The cost of this project is estimated between $10MM-$15MM. Now, it would be relatively easy to contact a Fortune 500 company to get the money, but that would defeat the purpose of TheLASTWell, which is to inform and empower young evangelical adults across America to come together in order to accomplish amazing feats of service for Jesus. If you want even more granularity, new wells can be built for $5,000 and dysfunctional wells can be fixed for $2,500-$3,000. (Living Water International is the organization that actually builds the wells). And it get's even more exciting hearing that a donation of only $1 is enough to provide clean water to 1 child in Liberia for an entire year.

So the question remains, how does theLASTWell raise $10MM-$15MM?! Already in the works are numerous hikes throughout the entire world, including climbing the tallest mountain peak on every continent. If you are interested in climbing Kilimanjaro in August 2009, or interested in climbing another mountain in the future, or donating money, please visit http://www.thelastwell.org/ Oh, and the picture is from July 2008 on the top of Mt. Elbrus, the first hike completed.

Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." - John 4:13-14

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Silly Obama, tricks are for kids!

So Obama's latest "peace" plan is to divide Jerusalem into two and make the holy city the capital of a Palestinian state. Now I am TOTALLY ignorant when it comes to world news, so I don't feel educated enough to comment on why this is a bad idea from a political perspective. But I do know what the Bible tells us about Israel. (btw Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and yes I had to look that up because I didn't know that because I only read news on finance.yahoo.com).


#1 Jerusalem is part of the land that God promised to Israel. God tells Abraham” To your descendants I will give this land” (Genesis 12:7), “For all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever” (Genesis 13:15), and “To your descendants I have given this land.” (Genesis 15:18). In fact, Israel currently possesses only a fraction of the land God has promised. "Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates — all the Hittite country — to the Great Sea on the west." (Joshua 1:4) and " On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates- he land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."" (Genesis 15:18-22).

Translation: Based on today’s geography, land that is rightfully Jewish peoples is all of the land modern Israel currently possesses, plus all of the land of the Palestinians (the West Bank and Gaza), plus some of Egypt and Syria, plus all of Jordan, plus some of Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

#2 God promised and gave the land originally to Jews (descendants of Isaac and Jacob) not to Arabs (descendants of Ishmael). In Genesis 17:18-22 Abraham asks if Ishmael can receive the blessing to inhereit the land, God specifically says "no" and that it will be Isaac instead. Also, in Genesis 35:10-12 God says to Jacob Isaac's son, "Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel." So he named him Israel. And God said to him, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you."

Biblically speaking, Israel has a right to exist as a nation in its own land that God gave to the descendants of Jacob, grandson of Abraham. At the same time, Israel should seek peace and display respect for its Arab neighbors. Psalms 122:6 says“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure.”

#3 Don’t mess with God’s chosen people!
God to Abraham: "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Genesis 12: 3.

Hopefully you have learned something new because I definitely did in researching this topic. For an interesting perspective on why Obama's plan will cause conflict and not peace go here.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Pop Quiz Hot Shot!


POP QUIZ HOT SHOT.. there's a bomb on the bus. Wait, it's not 1994, and Keanu Reeves is no longer an A list celebrity so people probably don't remember this reference, failblog.org! Anyways, I just ate a delicious cupcake from cakelove that Alison got me for my birthday, and I feel the need to exercise instead of just going to bed immediately, so here I am working out my metatarsals. Below I'll present a list of sayings and you have to decide whether or not it comes from the bible, then we'll review and see how you do, READY OK (no i was never a cheerleader, but Alison was and she helped me look up some of the bible verses!)

Statement #1: God helps those who help themselves
Statement #2: Everything happens for a reason
Statement #3: Jesus didn't come to bring peace, he came to bring a sword.
Statement #4: The truth will set you free.
Statement #5 : Being a Christian will bring you health, wealth, and happiness.
Statement #6:
Joesph, one of Jacob's 12 sons, who was sold into slavery by his brothers, was known for his faithfulness, and eventually became 2nd in command in Egypt behind Pharaoh, was part of the bloodline of Christ.
Statement #7: Jesus died once for all sins, past present and future.
Statement #8: The new testament states to follow only 9 of the 10 commandments.
Statement #9: God will never give you more than you can handle.
Statement #10: Those who honor their father and mother will be rewarded with long life.

***************************ANSWERS BELOW******************************************************************

Explanations: For the sake of your own attention span, I've kept this brief. If you want more details, just ask me =)
Statement #1: Not in Bible.
This is actually a quote from Ben Franklin and it appeared in Poor Richard's Almanac in 1757. In fact the Bible teaches the opposite. God helps the helpless! Isaiah 25:4 declares, "For You have been a defense for the helpless, a defense for the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat..." Romans 5:6 tells us, "For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly."
Statement #2: Not explicitly in the Bible.
Original author of this quote is unknown. The bible does talk about how God has overall plans and purposes though. ex. Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Statement #3: Yes in the Bible.
The verse below indicates that following Jesus in his original Jewish society may not bring peace to a family, but may "split" it up, the precise function of a metaphorical sword. Matthew 10:34-36 (Jesus talking) "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.For I have come to turn 'a man against his father,a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her motherinlaw—a man's enemies will be the members of his own household."
Statement #4: Yes in the Bible.
John 8:32
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
Statement #5: Not in Bible.
The bible no where promises heath or wealth. The bible tells us that 11 of the 12 disciples were persecuted for their faith and eventually martyred for their belief in Jesus. Additionally, look at what 1 Corinthians 4:9-13 says about the apostles: For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored. To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure;being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the off scouring of all things until now.
Statement #6: No.
Judah, the son of Jacob that convinced his brothers to sell their brother Jacob into slavery, is in the direct bloodline of Christ. Matthew 1:-1-3 A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah...
Statement #7: Yes in the Bible.
1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit...
Romans 6:10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all...
Psalm 103:12
as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. [regarding past sin. also note: think about this statement. He didn't say north from south, because if you go north long enough you eventually will end up going south. but if you go east, and keep going east, you will still always be going east]
Hebrews 10:10-12, 14 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. ...because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
Statement #8: Yes.
In reading John chapter 9 we see that Jesus himself is working on the Sabbath effectively making the Keep Holy the Sabbath i.e. don't do work , hereby null and void.
Statement #9: Not explicitly in the bible.
No where does the bible directly say that God will not give you more than you can handle in terms of suffering. Often times 1 Corinthians 10:13 gets misquoted, but this verse tells us that God will not let us be tempted beyond our ability but will provide a way of escape so that we can withstand the temptation without giving into sin. 1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
Statement #10: Yes in the Bible.
Ephesians 6:1-3
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."
Exodus 20:12 Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.




Answer Key: 1:no, 2:no, 3:yes, 4:yes, 5: no, 6:no, 7:yes, 8:yes, 9:no, 10: yes



Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Mmmm, Yeah... I'm Gonna Need You To Come In On Saturday, mmm K?!

It's a Friday afternoon. You've shut down your computer, and start heading for the exit, when you run into your boss (think deer in headlights look) and he asks you to come into his office for a minute, ugh. Your boss explains there is a last minute project that needs to be done before Monday and asks if you would be willing to come in tomorrow (Saturday), work from 9:00am -9:00pm, and in return get paid $1,000. Although you will have to cancel all your Saturday plans, you decide to accept your boss's offer because you could really use the extra money in these economically unstable times. So the next morning you show up bright and early, work your butt off for 12 hours straight, and get your assignment done promptly at 8:59pm. Although exhausted and worn out, you are content. You feel accomplished. You worked hard, and earned the money. You start doing the victory "i'm the man" dance while waiting for the elevator, when suddenly your co-worker Bob appears out of no where. You ask Bob what he's doing here on a Saturday. Bob says the boss called him last minute and asked him to come in at 8:00pm and work for an hour to help on a last minute project. Bob also reveals that your boss offered to pay Bob $1,000 for his work. WTH (heck). Bob continues to talk saying how generous he thinks your boss is and how grateful he is for such a sweet opportunity, but you don't hear Bob. You are angry. What once left you feeling content, now leaves you feeling disgruntled. You feel robbed, schooled, played, juked. You are jealous of the generosity displayed towards Bob and are thinking "IT'S JUST NOT FAIR" . To make matters worse, Bob says that the boss actually also had people come in at 12:00pm, 3:00pm, and 6:00pm and paid them $1,000 also. GOO! You contact your boss expressing your anger with his unfair treatment saying `Bob worked only one hour, and you have made him equal to me who has worked all day'. Your boss says "Take what belongs to you, and go; I choose to give to Bob as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?' So the last will be first, and the first last."

Now what if I told you that the above illustration is exactly what the kingdom of heaven is like. What if I told you that some people will spend most of their life being devoted to God and will have the same reward (eternal life/heaven) as those who come to God later on in their life?! In fact, what you just read is a modern day version of 'the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard' from Matthew 20:1-16. Jesus often spoke in parables so that it would be easy to understand his message. What I take away from this parable is

#1 Getting to heaven is not based on merit, but rather on God's grace/generosity. God's love for us disregards our levels of obedience, performance, or achievement. He loves us no matter how long we have been working (i.e starting at 9am, 12pm, 3pm, etc) God is generous in opening the doors of his kingdom to all who will enter, both those who have labored a life-time for him and those who come at the last hour. [Note: even though our works don't change God's love for us or affect our status in heaven, someone who does have a personal relationship with God and loves God would follow his commands and be obedient to Him as a way to show love for God ]

#2 God is sovereign. He created the world! He created you and I ! He is the ultimate ruler who owns everything. He can bless who he wants and often blesses those most undeserving , in our example Bob (can we say "grace"?! )

#3 Go on brush your shoulder off! Don't begrudge God's generosity to others! Instead of grumbling about blessings we didn't receive and felt were owed to us, and instead of getting jealous when we see grace being given to others, such as Bob, we should be content with what we have (1 Timothy 6:6, Hebrews 13:5)

And finally, if you would like to read the actual story from the bible, you may do so below !
Matthew 20:1-16
1 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place; 4 and to them he said, `You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.' So they went. 5 Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing; and he said to them, `Why do you stand here idle all day?' 7 They said to him, `Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, `You go into the vineyard too.' 8 And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, `Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.' 9 And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 10 Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. 11 And on receiving it they grumbled at the householder, 12 saying, `These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' 13 But he replied to one of them, `Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you, and go; I choose to give to this last as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?' 16 So the last will be first, and the first last."

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

How Good is Good Enough- Part II

In my last post, we tested the "I'm a good person, and God is good, therefore I'll go to heaven " theory. If you haven't read that yet, please take a moment now to do so. At the end, it appeared that the theory leaves us with tons of unanswered questions such as, just how much of our lives has to be good (50%, 10% , 90%)?, what benchmark will we use to measure our goodness on a curve (mother theresa?! eek), how do we know how to be a "good" person if our own morals and values are constantly changing over time, and why on earth was Jesus quoted saying that someone would have to be more 'good' than the Pharisees to get to heaven Matthew 5:20 (ie religious leaders of the time whose job it was to follow the 10 commandments and other laws laid down by Moses) YET when Jesus was lying on the cross about to die, he told the prisoner/criminal on a cross next to him "surely you will be with me in paradise" Luke 23:39-42? HUH?! So if being a good person doesn't get you into heaven, then what does? being a bad person? Well the alternative view, which is the view I hold along with 1/3 of the world's population is that FORGIVEN people go to heaven. Forgiveness is made possible by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. It goes something like this.

1. We are all by nature bad people. GASP! yea that's right I said it. All sin is equal, and it takes just one sin (i.e 1 white lie, 1 time when you idolize something other than God, 1 time when you disobeyed your parents) to separate us from God.

2. The wages of sin is death. Yeah that's right, we're completely screwed at this point. It doesn't matter how many good works we do, or how hard we try to earn our way into heaven, it won't work because we are still separated from God by just 1 sin. "All our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment” (Isaiah 64:6). BLAST!

3. I'll just atone for my sin by offering up a dead lamb, mmm k? It's true, the Old Testament made it abundantly clear that God can't dispense sin without a sacrifice, and sin required death, which is why God allowed a dead animal to temporarily substitute for the death of the sinner. BUT, the death of the lamb did not permanently erase the guilt associated with the sin, it merely atoned for or covered the sin.

3. Jesus to the rescue! Heyyyooooo. Jesus positioned himself as the once-and-for-all sacrifice for sin--the Lamb of God (get it?!) . He died on the cross once for ALL sin, past present and future. His death on the cross made it possible for anyone to restore their relationship with God and spend eternity in heaven.

4. We now have been given a free gift of eternal life. It wasn't anything we deserved, or earned, hence 'gift'. All it takes to accept this gift is to believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior.

Is this fair?! heck no! it's more than fair. Fairness would be for us to face the consequences of our sins and be eternally separated from God. But no, Jesus loved us so much that he offered us the chance to go to heaven even though we didn't deserve it

Sunday, April 19, 2009

How Good is Good Enough- Part I

In a recent survey, 90% of Americans said they believed there is a heaven, while only 30% of Americans said they believed hell is a real place, and of the people that said they believed in hell, almost none of them thought they were going there.

Good People Go to Heaven: There is a good God who lives in a good place reserved for good people. This God goes by many names. He is behind all major world religions. Therefore, all major, and possible minor religions provide a legitimate path to God and therefore, heaven. It is no wonder this theory is the most popular held theory in the entire world because:
1. It is fair
People who do good deserve good things. You study hard, and you get a good grade. You turn in quality work, you get promoted. This cause and effect relationship is not only shown in our day to day lives, it is also illustrated in many religious texts. For instance The Bible, The Koran, The Book Of Mormon all recount God's eagerness to reward good behavior in this life.
2. It is logical
The theory Goes along with idea that there is a 'good God'. If he dwells in a good place, it makes sense that God would fill heaven with good people.
3. It is good for society
It keeps everyone on their best behavior, or at least it should.

And most people STOP at this point and continue living their lives. I mean why bother to continue thinking about this theory anymore when on the surface it seems to make absolute logical sense. But why not take 5 minutes now to really 'test' this theory a little bit further. HOKAY! Let's take a minute and ask ourselves the following:

1.
What defines 'good'?
If good people go to heaven, a good God should have communicated directly to us what qualifies as being 'good'. I mean sure on the surface you may tempted to think well all religions are the same, everyone agrees that it is wrong to lie, cheat, and steal, but then why can't all the religions agree on the formula of good works needed in order to go to heaven? Why does one religion see that participating in suicide bombing in which people get blown up secures them a spot in heaven, while other religions believe that loving your neighbor as yourself gets you into heaven? It just doesn't make sense that a good God wouldn't have made it perfectly clear to everyone what defines 'good'.
2. Maybe everyone uses their own moral compass to define 'good'?
Even if we do innately posses some sort of moral compass or conscience that helps us distinguish right from wrong, it changes over time. For instance, when I was under 21 and would have 5-10 drinks in a night I didn't see it as being bad or doing something wrong. However, now at age 25 I would personally find it wrong for myself to go out and get 'trashed' even though I am of legal age. So which 'moral compass' would God use when determining whether or not to allow me into heaven... my moral compass at age 18-20? or my moral compass at age 25?
3. How does the scoring system for good deeds work?
Maybe God is more merciful than he is just, and will allow us to go into heaven if 10% of our life is filled with good. Or what if God is more righteous and holy than he is merciful and expects 90% of our life to be filled with good works. Or what if God grades us based on a curve, and he uses Mother Teresa (a women who dedicated her life to serving the poor) as a measuring stick. If the latter two are the case, I'm screwed!
4. Can't we use the 10 commandments/bible as a way to gauge how close we are to getting in to heaven?
No. The 10 commandments were given to the Israelites once theywere freed from being slaves in Egypt, because they needed a system of rules to live by to provide a social and civil framework for the nation of Israel. Yes, the bible does tell of people facing earthly consequences for breaking God's law, but you will no where in the bible find it saying that by obeying /breaking the 10 commandments did that make you any closer to getting into heaven/ getting sent to hell. Furthermore, the New Testament gives the reason for the 10 commandments when it says in Romans 3:20 "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin."
5. What would Jesus say?
Jesus told the most religious people of his day (i.e Pharisees) that they were not good enough to enter God's Kingdom [Matthew 5:20, For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven] while promising a criminal a spot in Paradise. [Luke 23:39-45 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."]

So where does that leave us... if 'good' people don't go to heaven, then who does.. bad people?? Stay tuned for Part II of my book report.

{Above is a summary of How Good is Good Enough, by Andy Stanley, which I read this weekend. It's short and only takes an hour to read. It can be bought here}