I Don't Know About That

So I am gonna double dip today because both of these have been on my heart recently (waiting and obedience). In college I tried to sit down and read some of A.W. Tozer's (known to many as just Tozer) works and I just could not get through it. However, I have been getting back into it and ran across this from Tozer, "There is something basically wrong with our Christianity and our spirituality if we can carelessly presume that if we do not like a biblical doctrine and choose not to 'buy' it, there is no harm done...The final test of love is obedience. Not sweet emotions, not willingness to sacrifice, not zeal, but obedience to the commandments of Christ. Our Lord drew a line plain and tight for everyone to see."
I know this is something I have struggled with where I read something in the Word and I disregard it because it was too far out there or something I felt I could not do. Then there are other times where I truly struggle and wrestle and try to grasp it and comprehend it. The struggle and wrestling can take a long time as I process what is being said. However, if we can freely disregard certain passages, doesn't that go against what 2 Timothy 3:16 says in saying that "ALL scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right." The other example coming to my mind is the story of Samuel correcting Saul in 1 Samuel 15 where he says that obedience is of way more importance than burnt offerings and sacrifices.
So in thinking about both of these (waiting and obedience), it comes down to control and submission to God.

The Waiting Game

No one seems to enjoy playing the waiting game. It is incredibly difficult especially in this microwave society. Everyone wants it like yesterday. That is part of the problem with consumer debt because kids want what their parents have now but they don't realize that it took x number of years to get that (That's another discussion at another time).
Anyways, God's time doesn't seem to work in our time period so we must wait or move irrationally and make a bad choice or decision. I know I've done this because the waiting is never fun. However, when you are waiting on God, it truly is a surrender because you are saying that your ways are better than my ways and you know what is best for me. This weekend, Ken Priddy referenced Psalm 46:10 which says, "Be still and know that I am God!" Loosely translated, relax or chill, I got this because you know I am God. Trust me.
God also brought this to my remembrance as well as I am in a waiting state, Isaiah 40:28-31:

Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.

So my prayer for anyone playing the waiting game is that you will trust in the Lord and be given new strength. The wait is worth it...

Go Nuts!

So tonight is the opening night of baseball again for Richmond after a two year hiatus. I am pretty stoked about the Flying Squirrels and seeing some of them up on the parent team, the Giants in San Francisco. The game tonight is sold out and I am really looking forward to this new chapter in Richmond baseball. The excitement is here and I can feel it. I just hope it just stays around and is not a short lived thing and is gone once the novelty has worn off. However, in my time in Richmond, I have found that Richmond just does not support professional sports. I hope this time is different, but only time will tell. GO NUTS!!!

Psalm 139

So in church, Pastor Rob gave us a challenge to memorize a chapter of Scripture during the Lenten season and I was like sounds good but had to think which chapter kinda stuck out to me. The more and more I thought about it, the more I was brought to Psalms 139. It is such a great chapter about how much God knows me and loves me in spite of me.

1 O Lord you have examined my heart and know everything about me. 2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I am far away. 3 You see me when I travel or rest at home. You know everything about me. 4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it. 5 You go before me and follow me. Your hand of blessing is upon my head. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful, too great for me to comprehend.

So here are some of my thoughts and observations from just those 6 verses.
1) What does my heart examination show?
2) God really wants me to know that he knows everything about me (said it twice in a 3 verse span, 1 & 3). Usually, when things are repeated in the Bible, it means it is important.
3) God knows my thoughts even when I am far away. However, it never says he is far away.
4) God goes before me (like someone clearing a path) and he follows me (like a companion/friend on a journey). So basically he gives me a hedge of protection all around me.
5) Like David, when I think about just these 6 verses, it blows my mind that God knows all of this about me and more. And not just that he knows all of this but even when I screw up, he still draws me to himself.

Ebenezer?

So at church Saturday night, we sang the classic hymn, "Come Thou Fount" and in the second verse it reads as so:

Here I raise my Ebenezer
Hither by Thy help I come
And I hope by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wondering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood

So my question is, what/who is this Ebenezer spoke of in this song? I mean when I think of the word Ebenezer, the first word that comes to mind is Scrooge from Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." So I wrote it down in my black journal to make sure to look it up and investigate. Well, I started reading 1 Samuel on Monday and when I got to chapter 4, there is a mention of the town of Ebenezer and then again in 5:1. These chapters 4-6 deal with the Phillistines defeating the Israelites and taking the Ark of the Covenant and the Phillistines returning the Ark after plagues came after taking the Ark.
However, in chapter 7, Samuel tells the people of Israel, "If you are really serious about wanting to return to the Lord, get rid of your foreign gods and images of Ashtoreth. Determine to obey only the Lord, then he will rescue you from the Phillistines." The Israelites immediately did as they were commanded but the Phillistines decided to attack. The Israelites were afraid and asked Samuel to continue pleading for the Lord on their behalf. While Samuel did this and was offering sacrifices, the Lord used a booming voice throwing the Phillistine army into confusion leading the Israelites to victory.
Verse 12:
Samuel then took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah. He named it Ebenezer (which means "the stone of help") , for he said, "Up to this point the Lord has helped us!"
So back to the hymn, it basically is saying that the hymnist has gotten as far as he has gotten by the Lord's help and he is saying with his continual help and God's good pleasure to arrive at his eternal home, heaven. We can do nothing of our own strength but with God we can do all things.

Happy Valentine's Day

Well it was another awesome year for Valentine's Day (or as I labeled it a few years ago SAD (Singles Awareness Day)). I got together with some buddies for dinner and a movie tonight and we really did have a great time together sharing life together and enjoying each others company. However, this Valentine's Day was special for me because it was the first year I truly spent some time meditating and thinking about how awesome God is and how much he truly loves me. Think about it, God sent his only Son, who is without sin or blemish, to this sinful world to die for me and give me a way out from the eternal death I deserved with hell. Since I don't have a significant other or child, I tried to think of the person I care about the most and love the most (which is prolly Danny, my brother) but there is no way I would willing send him to go and die on a cross. I love him too much to do that. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were in perfect harmony and relationship with one another and did not need to even create us but they decided to.
I totally can not grasp how much he truly loves me. I have heard it said that in his anger, he loves more than any human could love in the greatest act of love they could perform. I decided to come up with a list of why God loves me and not just how he says it in His Word but also how he shows it in the Word but also in my life.

Some examples off the top of my head from my Bible:
Rescuing the Israelites from the Egyptians
Providing for the Israelites in the desert with manna
Daniel in the lion's den
David being saved from Saul on multiple occasions
Esther being raised to queen and saving the Jews
Paul and Silas in jail
..and of course, Christ's suffering and subsequent death on the cross

Some examples from my own life:
Ending my relationship with ex-fiancee and providing support and comfort from friends and family
Bringing along godly Christian men & women my own age to share life with
Giving me a love to read more of His Word

So to conclude, I hope all of you had an awesome Valentine's Day but think about how awesome Christ's love is towards you. He beckons you and wants you so badly to experience this.

I Feel the Need...

One of my favorite movies is "Top Gun" because of the jets that Tom Cruise (Maverick) and Val Kilmer (Iceman) fly, the soundtrack and theme song, "Danger Zone", the love interest, but the thing I really love from this movie is the relationship aspect between Maverick and Goose. Goose is Maverick's wingman and basically looks out for his back both in the air and when they are on the ground. No matter what Maverick does, Goose sticks by Maverick through good and bad. He may openly disagree or question but he trusts his friend and sticks by him even when he knows it will get him in trouble.
Goose: No. No, Mav, this is not a good idea.
Maverick: Sorry, Goose, but it's time to buzz a tower.
They are not just friends but truly you see their relationship is like a family and they are brothers.
In life, we need people to be our wingman and look out for us and I am so grateful for the brothers that I have and can share my life with. The good, the bad, the victories, the struggles. I have heard it said that, "Except for one, the world is made up entirely of others." So sharing it and living it out with others is how God created us. When reading the book of Acts, it is great seeing how the believers relate to one another and truly do care about one another. I am thankful for the brothers I have and just truly love their advice and wisdom they share with me and bless me with. So thank you for being my Goose.

The Filter

So I bought a Brita water pitcher complete with filter about 3 months ago. It has been great getting fresh clean water. When you fill the pitcher up, you can see the water go through the filter and little black pieces start to float but get caught in the filter to prevent you from drinking it. Well, a few days ago, I went to go buy replacement filters because they recommend that you change it every three months to continue to get quality water. But I was curious if I really did need to change the filter out. So while changing them out, I decided to randomly shake the old filter which sounded like an egg shaker. So I took out the new one that I had just put in and it made no sound. All the black filaments from the water had gotten caught in there and I thought that is really awesome.
So the question is, are you allowing God to "filter" the black filaments that are in you right now? When you have never had unfiltered water, drinking tap water doesn't taste bad. I mean the body that God built has the capabilities to get rid of it without the filter. However, once I had the fresh pure filtered water with no stuff in it, I didn't have any desire to go back. So let God do his thing and filter out the black stuff in your life. I mean he is the Creator of all things including you so he should know what you need and what you need out of your life.

Run Away (Part I)

Have you ever been watching a movie and know something scary is gonna happen or something is gonna pop out? You can tell because the music picks up and it tends to be the calm before the storm hits for lack of a better phrase. I know I have said, "Don't go in there," "Or watch out," or "This never ends well." Well, this happens in real life as well when it comes to our sinful nature. 2 Timothy 2:22 puts it this way: Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the name of the Lord.
When I think of running from something or fleeing, there is a distinct sense that the object or person you are running from is gonna get you or hurt you. There is a natural fear element and the sense to get away from it QUICKLY. However, sin tends to slowly rope you in with the facade that it is fine and won't hurt much (more on that in Part II). However, Paul knows better than this and warns Timothy and the other readers of this. He even instructs TImothy instead to pursue: righteous living, faithfulness, love and peace. He also instructs Timothy to find likeminded believers and companionship to help with the fight because you can not fight this by yourself.
So, when sin comes down your block, do you run away/flee or do dabble and hang out there? Do you focus on the "big sins" (drugs, sex, etc.) and let the little ones in? God makes no differentiation between sins. Sin is sin in his eyes and it all is bad and separates us from God. For me, I know it depends on my circumstances and situation as it pertains to sin. Either way, I need to have my defenses up and ready for any and all attacks from the enemy because they are coming. (Ephesians 6:10-17). I need to not set up camp when sin comes my way.

Farther, Longer, More Expensive (Part II)

I love road trips. Being in the car and going somewhere is just so cool. Don't know what it is about them but God definitely put it in my DNA to love them. One reason I love them is I get to relax and take in some of God's beauty when I am not rushing with the normal here and now of daily life and the conversations you get to have with someone if you are riding with someone else. My favorite road trip of all time is the trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame with my dad. It was just him and I and plenty of time to talk on the drive from Richmond to Cooperstown. It also had plenty of scenery and beauty to behold specifically in upper New York (totally different than NYC).
However, sometimes you go on a trip and you get lost and head the wrong direction, then you get stuck in traffic and have to sit, or you will have an unforeseen expense pop up. I distinctly remember a trip I took back in August to see a concert. Nothing seemed to ever come together for it. I was able to get a friend to meet up with me at the VA Beach Amphitheater. However, the trip down got started late, then there was so much Friday traffic that I was late to see the first band. When I got there it was raining (mind you, it's an outdoor pavilion) and I was never able to meet up with friend at the concert even though we had cell phones but for some reason we just could not connect. The trip took longer than expected, cost a little more than I was planning to pay, and even though the bands were good, I left with a sour taste in my mouth from everything as a whole. Another "road trip" that is that way is sin.
"Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you are willing to pay."
Why is that when we dabble in sin that we can say, "I won't let it consume me," "it's not that big a deal," "I'll never go that far," "It seems fun and everyone else is doing and it doesn't seem to have any consequences," or fill in the _______________.
So what does the Word of God say, here's a brief synopsis of it:
1) Where did sin get started:
Romans 5:12- When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone for everyone sinned.

2) Well that sucks, but there is good news and a solution:
Galatians 3:22 But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God's promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:15-18 And what a difference between our sin and God's generous gift of forgiveness. For this one man, Adam, brought death to many through his sin. But this other man, Jesus Christ, brought forgiveness to many through God's bountiful gift. And the result of God's gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man's sin. For Adam's sin led to condemnation, but we have the free gift of being accepted by God, even though we are guilty of many sins. The sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over us, but all who receive God's wonderful, gracious gift of righteousness will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. Yes, Adam's one sin brought condemnation upon everyone, but Christ's one act of righteousness makes all people right in God's sight and gives them life.
Romans 6:7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.
Romans 6:14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead you live under the freedom of God's grace.
Titus 2:14 He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin to cleanse us and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.
Titus 3:5a He saved us not because of righteous things we have done but because of his great love and mercy for us.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20 Run/Flee (love the word flee but it wasn't used in New Living Translation) from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

3) Sometimes you know you are doing something wrong so you want to hide out and keep away from God because he'll find out but unfortunately he already knows:
Psalms 32:3 When I (David) refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away and I groaned all day long.
John 3:20 All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.
Romans 2:5a But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself.
Colossians 3:5a So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you.

4) Now sometimes we (as Christians) can set things up as"holy" things and then they become duty instead of service. It's interesting but Israel also struggled with this and God called them out on this.
Hosea 8:11 Israel has built many altars to take away sin, but these very altars became places for sinning.

When you think about sin from your past, has it ever left you with a good feeling? I know for me the answer is a definitive "no". However, human nature says, it'll be different this time or that even though it went bad for this person, it won't end badly for me. Two final thoughts to leave you with:
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.
Psalms 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
What that means is: The Christian race is a marathon not a sprint so while you are running it get rid of those things that slow you down like sin. And how do you do that, by hiding God's word in your heart.