Searching for Meaning and Purpose...

Here we go again... I've hit on some of the issues surrounding purity, and touched on some of the Scriptural truths that we would rather live without, but today we're going to get a bit hardcore in our exegesis (reading what Scripture says, versus eisegesis where we make it say what we want it to say) as we go to the heart of the matter. Some would tell you that being pure is part of our duty as Christians, to which I would agree, partly. The truth is, we need to live life with purity for a LOT more reasons than some "duty." The thing is, to call oneself a Christian literally means "someone who is like Christ or "a little Christ" (think Spanish: adding "ita/ito" to the end off a word makes it "little"). But so many of us don't take that name very seriously, which is why we hit on Christian Atheism Monday! The hard-to-swallow fact of the matter is that we may well be the only Jesus someone sees, which can bee quite frightenin...

So, after yesterday's post you might wonder ho much more I could rant... the answer is A LOT more! This is one of those things that has been bubbling over in my brain this week, matching so many thoughts and combining them together, hopefully allowing me to put into words a lot of what God has been telling me lately. Back to the conversation... Yesterday I talked a little about the connection between how we think and our purity level, especially when it comes to the excuses we make! Today we're going to look at several specific standards God sets and how it relates to us. First off, here's a chunk from the New Testament (Ephesians 5:3-7 NIV): But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy pers...

Bill spoke of real faith Sunday, and it was awesome. The idea that believing alone isn't all we're called to is so much bigger than we say. Just as God called Abraham to leave his home or Peter to leap out of the boat, He calls us to live a life as He did! How does that relate to Ephesians 1 you might ask? Simple, Paul speaks of God as having "blessed us with every spiritual blessing...because we are united with Christ." One of the blessings, whether we see it or not, is faith! It might sound odd, God giving us faith to believe in Him, but it's the way it works. Without God's gentle (or not so gentle!) nudging, none of us would have ever found Jesus Christ, much less come to a saving knowledge of Him. The Psalms say it pretty clearly: "No one seeks God...no not one." We weren't seeking God, He was seeking us. Why would He do that? He is perfect in and of Himself; why seek us, imperfect, flawed, and ungrateful as we are? Short answer: ...

As I finished W.P. Campbell's book, "Turning Controversy Into Church Ministry," it has made me want to re-examine Ephesians. Partly because it is the framework upon which he builds the entire book (which is VERY, VERY, VERY good and comes highly recommended for everyone in ministry or who is dealing with issues related to homosexuality, in fact I'm going to recommend [and possibly push "gently"] it become required reading material for our church and Presbytery officers/staff) but mainly because he brought a lot of great thoughts into my head. But, I'll start my thoughts around this particular quote and passage from Ephesians 3 tonight: "The love of God is wide enough to reach all kinds of people, long enough to keep your church on track through time, high enough to change any life, and deep enough to heal every wounded heart." Followed by Ephesians 3.14-19: When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of ...

Yesterday I mused a bit about the fact that for the church to be the church it meant dropping our agendas, pretenses, and pride to be who Jesus Christ called us to be. The same is true for real friends, they must do the same or as the plaque my students gave me for my birthday says, "Good friends are like bras- supportive, make you look good, never leave you hanging, and are always close to your heart." Now that might be a bit off my mark, but it hits the point: friendship requires a degree of selflessness. Jesus modeled selflessness as one of His last acts on the planet by washing His disciples feet. Peter, being Peter, first denies Jesus' servitude then asks for more than Jesus said he needed! But the point is this, Jesus lowered Himself to the position of the lowest servant to help us understand what He meant. Loving others means dropping our pretenses of pride and the way we think so highly of ourselves so that we can embrace what God has actually called us to do...

I've been astounded at the lack of tolerance exhibited by those who claim to be tolerant. First, there was a hubbub over the Focus on the Family ad that ran during the Super Bowl: Now the same folks are mad about another simple ad that was subsequently yanked by the NCAA because they're apparently afraid of looking intolerant!. Wait, aren't these some of the same people who rail against censorship (like, every professor at every university in the NCAA), or is that just me? Oops, didn't mean to poke that hole in their bubble of illogical thought... Here's a simple question: why does a positive message from a group (any group) become something objectionable? I mean, if a group of GLBT people got together and released the same kind of ad, would the NCAA yank it because it is objectionable to people of certain faiths? Or better yet, if and Islamic family group posted a similar ad would there be the same kind of outcry against their "homophobic, anti-woman...

So, how easy is it to drop a habit? Relatively simple! I had been regularly posting and writing up a daily devo for our student ministry, but have since dropped both. Why? I can blame time, with the master's classes causing me to have way too many late nights and not enough sleep. Or I could go with my family and work, both demanding time and effort that I cannot spend elsewhere. The idea of either excuse being written down seems to me to be rather distasteful! But, even with those being true in part, the real answer is priorities. I spend my time fighting for things that are "more urgent" and allow other things to slide into the background... Should this have slid into the background? Probably not! It gives me a place to vent, to put thoughts into cohesive form, and tell people about what matters most to me. So, I realized it was time to get things rolling again and put my thoughts out there for the world to see... With that in mind, I've been jamming the ...

As I make choices and decisions for our student ministry, I am constantly reminded that grace is greater. No matter what we do, we can never make God love us less. Is that amazing? I think so. But, how does a greater grace play out in my life? That's the question that keeps bugging me. How does this incredible knowledge make me different? Or does it? It should, but it doesn't always work that way. However, if the knowledge of God's love for us doesn't cause massive change, did we really get it? The idea that one can be grabbed by the grace and love of Jesus and not change is insane. In fact, it goes counter to everything we have documented or seen! Jesus took regular, plain jane, guys and made them extraordinary. How? Because when they understood the love of God and the grace He extended through His son they responded the only way they knew how, telling everyone! In fact, the same guys who denied Jesus and ran off scared, later stood in front of the same le...