Earthquakes and the Bible

Right after the earthquake in Haiti, my dad and I were hanging out and he asked me the question, “How does God allow earthquakes?”  Let that question roll around for a moment.

My answer was this:  I think that God allows the earth to tremble and quake the same way He allows us to make our own decisions.  What most people don’t know is that the earth is fallen the same way that mankind is fallen.  When Adam and Eve were cursed by sin, so was the earth.  If you read the account in Genesis 3, you will notice that the earth changes.

Another interesting scripture is found in Romans 8…

22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

The Bible says that the earth is groaning as in the pain of childbirth.  Jesus says in Matthew 24:7-8, that in the last days the earth will quake and these would be the signs of the end.  But He also says else something interesting – that we should not be alarmed.  If there is anything that I can encourage you with, it’s this:  God is in control.  So while there may be earthquakes, tsunamis, wars or rumors of wars.  God is still in control.  I guess the main question would be…  Have you surrendered control of your life to Him?

Dating Standards

At our Young Adult Connect Group we are still talking about the subject of dating.  This last week I shared one of the most important keys to dating:  STANDARDS.  Or I should say, having the right standards.  Here is what I mean.  Before you start dating, you should be able to sit down with pad and paper and write out a list of standards that the person you will be dating will meet.  Here is a list of some of the standards I think could be helpful.

  • Honesty – if a person is on the shady side, they are a no go.
  • Ladies, if a guy doesn’t open the door for you it may be a red flag.  He might get a pass if you think he doesn’t know any better but opening the door is a sign that he has a high value of women.
  • If a person has some questionable friends, that’s a red flag.  Momma was right when she said, “You can tell alot about a person by the company they keep.”  That is a biblical principle.
  • If they come off as critical, controlling or jealous, slow down, red flags are everywhere.  It is the indicator that they are not ready to date yet.
  • THE ULTIMATE STANDARD for any follower of Christ is this:  Don’t date anyone who does not know and love Jesus.  2 Corinthians 6:14 makes it clear that when we partner together is serious relationship with someone who does not follow Jesus, we are heading off path.

LAST NUGGET:  Your standards are a based on your perception of what your worth is. If you believe that you have no worth then you will have no standards.  If you believe you have low worth, you will have low standards.  But if you realize that Christ gave His life for your, you will know that you have great value and will therefore have high standards or should I say Godly standards.

The Origin of Man

Loving this past Saturday morning’s breakfast with the men of JTV.  Good food, good fellowship, good God.  I spoke on the subject, “The Origin of Man”.  Here are some of the notes:

The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7

The LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’ Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. Genesis 2:18-19

So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man. Genesis 2:20-22

  • God made man first.

Don’t worry ladies, that doesn’t make us any better or more valuable, it just makes us different.  We have different roles and goals as men and God has given us different responsibilities.

  • Man ordered his world with God before woman was created.

One of the biggest temptations for men is this:  ”I can do it on my own.”

  • Man was sleeping when relationship began.

Sorry ladies, we were asleep when God created you and we obviously missed out on some things so please be patient.  Men, you need to wake yourself up to your wife’s needs.  Being asleep when she was made doesn’t give you an excuse, it just means you need to do some catching up.

  • The Origin of Man is Leadership

In the beginning, God created man to work, have dominion, take care of the garden, order his world, name the animals.  All in all, God made man to be the primary leader on planet earth.  This is our design, it is in our DNA.

Many times, the leader is not the smartest, most talented or the strongest;  he is simply the one with the most courage.

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Genesis 3:6

  • The first sin of man was passivity.

We were given the gift and responsibility of leadership but in the most crucial moment we dropped the ball.  Instead of leading his wife, Adam stood by and did nothing.  But let me give you some encouragement:  IN CHRIST, WE GET IT BACK.  The Bible clearly challenges us to take up the responsibility of leadership in the areas of our marriage, children and our church.  Remember:  THERE IS A LEADER INSIDE OF YOU.  You don’t have to wonder anymore, you can just know that it’s in you by God’s design.

You Don’t Have to Date.

This last week, I kicked off a little message series on the subject of dating for our young adult group.  Valentines Day always seems to get people thinking about that special someone.  Or it gets you thinking about the special someone that you are not with.  Either way it gets you thinking about the subject of dating.  But here is a RADICAL CONCEPT:  You don’t have to date.

Here is what I mean.  If you look up dating in the Bible, you can’t find it.  There is no, “Thou shalt” or “Thou shalt not”.  There is no, “Thus saith the Lord” on the subject of dating.  WHY?  Because dating is cultural.  Anything that is cultural is optional.  We only FEEL like we have to date because of what culture has influenced us to think.  For guys it’s something like, “If you can’t get a date it’s because you’re not the man.”  For girls it’s, “Well maybe you’re not pretty enough.”  or “You’re just not datable.”  We take these thoughts and force ourselves into the cultural phenomenon called dating (remember, dating is a new thing.  most of human history marriages were arranged.)

But here is the NEW THEORY:  what if you didn’t date?  What if you just pursued God and His plan for your life and in the process of that life allowed God to bring the right person into your path?

LADIES:  The Bible says that if a man FINDS a wife, he finds a good thing.  So here is what I’m saying.  You love Jesus.  You pursue His plan for your life and just let the right guy find you.

GUYS:  Be the right guy.  Develop your character.  Pursed God’s plan for your life and I promise He will bring the right girl along.

Dating is not wrong or sinful (although a lot of sinning goes on in dating).  But dating might not be the best thing for you so just remember, you don’t have to.

Cut it Off!

Yesterday, I had a great conversation with a young man in our church.  He was wrestling with some personal sin issues and was looking for help.  My advice to him was this:  JESUS’ COUNSEL FOR DEALING WITH SIN IS TO CUT IT OFF AT THE SOURCE.

In Matthew 18, Jesus says, “If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.  It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.”  This is a pretty radical and even gruesome statement.  And while I don’t believe that this was a literal prescription for dealing with sin, I do believe that Jesus wanted us to take radical steps for dealing with sin.

  • If you know you struggle with pornography – get rid of the internet.  Trust me Facebook is not that important.
  • If being around people drinking alcohol will make you stumble – Stay away from the bar.
  • If you there’s a possibility that you’ll hook up with that guy or girl – don’t go out with them.  Your relationship with God is more important than the relationship you have with that person, I promise.
  • If you know you are tempted to do drugs – don’t hang out with people doing drugs.  Unless you have a “special garden” in your basement, the only way you can do drugs is to be around people who have drugs.  The radical approach is to cut off those people from your life no matter how hard that might be.
  • If playing gold makes you cuss like a drunk sailor – take up knitting.  OK, maybe I’m a little off on this one.

The main point is this:  Sin may be fun for a moment but hell last for eternity.  There is no sin that compares to God’s plan for your life or the eternal joy that will be experienced in Heaven.  Keep your eyes focused on eternity and when you do fall, repent and turn to Christ.

Haitian Relief

So proud of our church this week for stepping up big and helping out financially with our Haitian Relief Offering.

In case you didn’t know.  A massive, 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on Tuesday, January 12th.  Tens of thousands of people are without food, water, shelter or medical supplies.  JTV has decided to partner with World Vision to help the people of Haiti.  Through your donations we were able to help send food, clean water, blankets, and tents — to children and families devastated by the earthquake.

If you missed this past Sunday but would still like to help, please go directly to worldvision.org and you will be one click away from making a difference.  If you have already given , then please put the people Haiti in your prayers.

Again, thanks to all you great JTVers who gave this past Sunday.

Under the Fig Tree

One of the scariest (maybe just the scariest to me) scriptures in all the Bible is found in Matthew 7.  It says that in the last days many will come to Jesus saying that they prophesied, cast out demons and did many wonderous things but Jesus’ response is shocking.  He says depart from me, I NEVER KNEW YOU.  The reason that scripture scares me is because it reminds me that I can dedicate my life to ministry, preach good sermons, do good things on the earth, but THAT’S NO WHAT GETS ME INTO HEAVEN.  This same phrase, I never knew you, is also used at the end of the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25).  The 5 foolish virgins come back to the party after a run to the store for some more oil.  Upon arriving, they are told that they can’t come in because, I DON’T KNOW YOU.

I’ve always believed that salvation was NOT about knowing Bible stories, being a good person, singing some songs and listening to sermons.  But sometimes I’ve been challenged in my own heart with this question, “Do I know God?”  But even that is a incomplete question.  Jesus didn’t say that you get into Heaven if you know God, it was the other way around.  Many of us fall into the trap of trying to know alot about God, and while that’s good, it’s not everything.  Some of us know about God the way celebrity junkies know about their favorite actor or singer.  We know where they were born, how old they are, what there dog’s name is and there favorite flavor of ice cream.  But that doesn’t mean that the celebrity knows you.  If you ran into them on the street, they would have know clue who you were.

These 2 scriptures have it reversed…  DOES GOD KNOW YOU?  That is the real question.  For some of us, that’s a hard concept.  We say, “I thought God knew everything.  Of course he knows me.”  But that is clearly not what Jesus is referring to.  ENTER NATHANAEL…

When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.  Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”         – JOHN 1:47-48

Nathanael asks Jesus that powerful question, “How do you know me?”  And in Jesus’ response, I hope there is a true answer.  The type of answer that sets you free, that makes a light-bulb pop on top of your head, that leaves you feeling like you just found buried treasure.  Jesus’ reply, “I saw you while you were sitting under the fig tree.”  At first glance there is not much to this answer until you dig a little deeper into history and culture.  You see, the fig tree was a where Rabbis’ would take there students to teach them and a place where the students would go on there own to have prayer and study with God.  THE FIG TREE WAS A SPIRITUAL HIDEAWAY FOR PURSUING GOD.

The way that God knows who we are is by us opening up our lives to HIM and inviting Him in to the problems, issues, dilemmas, joys, experiences, emotions and thoughts of our life.  When we express to Him our deepest pains and desires.  When we invite Him into every aspect of our lives, not just Sunday morning or when we need something.  God is waiting on us to find a fig tree and get under it, and while under a fig tree pursue knowing Him and open our lives up so that He can know us.

I’ve been challenged to spend more time under a fig tree, I hope you’ll do the same.

Sunday Reflections

I had so much fun at church this past Sunday.  There seemed to be a unique energy in the air.  I think that most people enter a new year with a great expectation.  The key is to keep that high expectation all year long.  My old pastor use to say that “Expectancy was the breeding ground for miracles.”  I believe that is so true.  That’s why you always have a different energy at camps or conferences.  Everybody is there with the hope that something great is going to happen.

On top of it being the first Sunday in a new year.  We introduced our new worship leader, Aaron Grijalva.  He has been around for a long time serving in so many different capacities but no one ever knew he could sing.  I thought he did an excellent job and the investments into our sound system are paying off.

One of the things that I hate to see is people who treat worship as the lesser opening act to the main event.  I do that with concerts.  If I don’t know who the opening act is, I’m likely to come strolling in late so I’m there just before the main attraction hits the stage.  THIS IS NOT WORSHIP.  I am believing that the changes in our worship team help change that mindset.  For those of you who happen to stroll in late every Sunday, let me encourage you…  One moment in God’s presence can be more powerful that a 1,000 sermons.  Just ask Moses, Isaiah, or the Apostle Paul.  There is something powerful when you can feel God’s presence – I’m hoping that we can experience that as a Church Moving Forward.

The Bloodline of Grace

This past week, I took on the challenge of making the most boring part of the Bible interesting.  The “begats” section of the Bible is usually one that we overlook  because it is just a long list of names of people we don’t know and names we can’t pronounce.  But to the Jews, the genealogy was very important.  It meant everything to them because it was a connection to their heritage, inheritance and their rights.  But in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, he breaks the mold and does something very strange.  Here are some of the notes…

Genealogy means beginning, origin, birth. It’s the same title given to the book of Genesis in the Septuagint, which is the Greek writing of the Old Testament.

Genealogies were almost exclusively linked to men. Matthew breaks with tradition and mentions 4 women in his genealogy.  And not just any 4 women.  He decieds to bring to remembrance 4 of the most drama filled women of the Old Testament.

Tamar dressed up like a prostitute to trick her father in law into having sex with her.

Rahab was a prostitute who helped the spies do some recon on the city of Jericho.

Ruth was a Moabite woman, meaning that Jesus didn’t even have a totally pure Jewish bloodline

Uriah’s wife, aka Bathsheba, was the wife of one of David’s soldiers who he took and then had the husband killed.

Before the Jewish readers can even get to the warm and fuzzy story of a baby born in a manger, they are reminded of some of the most drama filled moments of the O.T.  Why?  Why would Matthew even put this in there.  At the end of the genealogy, I think we have our answer.  In Matthew 1:21 it says,

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Who are His people?  The people who were forgotten about, ashamed, outsiders who were away from God, even people who believed but were in some terrible circumstances.  Even a tax collector that was hated by his own people.

The Reality of the Genealogy is this:  Jesus did not come to save good people, He came to save all people.  This is the bloodline of grace.

Marriage is Spiritual

Here are some of the thought from the final message in the series, “I Do but sometimes I don’t”.

There is more to a marriage than good communication, conflict resolution, passion, good friendship and some positive attitudes. Marriage is a SUPERNATURAL event founded upon a mutual exchange of HOLY PLEDGES.

In Matthew 19:3-9, Jesus defines marriage is a God idea.  It is God ordained since the beginning of human history.  When asked about the law of Moses, He doesn’t even go there, He goes back to the beginning.

Marriage is spiritual so it will be spiritually attacked. Our enemy is crafty in his ability to plant thoughts.  He drops in ideas like, “They’re just not the one, I need to move on before it’s too late.”  He invades our culture with with the sins of adultery, divorce, co-habitation, and homosexuality.  All in an effort to de-value the sacredness of marriage.

“ I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me In righteousness and justice, In lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the LORD.”

Hosea 2:19-20

In Hosea, God’s defines the 5 Ingredients of Marital Bliss

Righteousness, Justice, Lovingkindness, Mercy and Faithfulness.  Notice that God doesn’t use relationship words to describe marriage.  He uses spiritual words to describe marriage.

Marriage is spiritual so there must be a God factor. That’s why the most important things we can do are to worship together, pray together and serve together.