A plan for 2015

I hope this cartoon doesn't summarize the depth of your resolutions!  Some of my resolutions have lasted years!  I haven't done 100% perfect on them, but Paul refers to life as a race, one that only the winner gets a prize.  This post is intended to share with you my prayer for 2015, a few resolutions/continuations of previous resolutions, and some practical tools I use to accomplish these goals.

Continue reading the One Year Bible

I began reading the OYB nearly 12 years ago, and it has been one of the greatest journey's of my life. There are great places to purchase an OYB, if you are interested in the challenge.  When I purchase these for others, I never spend more than $5.  Less than the price of a Happy Meal to begin reading the eternal Word every day.

Increase my Biblical understanding and depth

About 2 months ago, I began using BibleArc software to increase my knowledge of the Scriptures.  I intend to continue using this fantastic resource as I dig deeper into the Word of God.

Complete various YouVersion challenges
If you have a Bible app, it's most likely developed by YouVersion, or LifeTV.  I would encourage you to sign up for a free account, and then pursue one of the available challenges.  Some are 5 days, 21 days, or 365 days!  It's a great way to develop healthy habits, let friends hold you accountable, and become a solid Christian.  

Continue reading books
Sounds simple, right?  It is!  By reading a chapter every day, it is surprising how many books I can get through in a year.  Currently in my queue is "Think Biblically! Recovering a Christian Worldview" by John MacArthur.  If you're interested in reading this book, you can purchase it for $1.

Prioritize exercising
I have a membership to Planet Fitness and have been working out 3x a week.  I also began running with a friend 3x a week in the wee hours of the morning.  It has been fantastic for my energy level and watching my weight.  I mean, come on!  How else am I going to keep up with a 1 year old and a bunch of middle and high school students?!

Choose a 2015 prayer
My prayer for 2014 was Psalm 86:11-13.  That I might worship, rely, fear, praise, and glorify God; all with a teachable and undivided heart.
My prayer for 2015 is Psalm 17:1-15.  A couple of key thoughts from this passage:
"You have tested my thoughts and examined my heart in the night."
"I am determined not to sin."
"I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God."
"Guard me as you would guard you own eyes."
"When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied."

Continue listening to encouraging podcasts
John Piper has a great app and so does Ravi Zacharias.  These men have been influential in my life and I listen to both of them every day.  In fact, I will be attending John Piper's Pastor's Conference this February which will dive deep into the topic of original sin and its effects on mankind.


Don't you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize?  So run to win!  All athletes are disciplined in their training.  They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.  So I run with purpose in every step.  I am not just shadowboxing.  I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should.  Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Job vs. Calling

job ¹ |jäb|

noun

1 a paid position of regular employment.

Throughout my life, I have had a plethora of jobs...
Waiter,
Soldier,
Newspaper delivery specialist,
Linguist,
Janitor,
Working with the mentally challenged,
Armored truck driver,
Youth pastor,
... and the list goes on and on.

Each of these jobs have given me many different tasks...
Greet guests within 30 seconds of them sitting down,
Work with local governments to rebuild war torn countries,
Don't throw the newspaper on the sidewalk, put it between the screen door and the front door,
Tell a woman that her son was killed by a grenade,
Clean the urine off the walls because little boys miss the toilet,
Watch this person closely because he hits people,
Deliver $250,000 to a downtown bank,
Talk to parents about their child using drugs,
...and again, the list goes on and on.

And yet, throughout my life, I have had very few callings.  What am I on earth to do?  If I had to look back in 50 years, would I be content with the impact I have made?  Am I giving my all to the One who gave His all for me?

Francis Chan recently wrote an article about his marriage in the light of eternity.  While he only talks about marriage, it seems logical to apply the truths he shares to every aspect of my life.  I wrote a blog post a while back called Priorities in Ministry, which I outlined many things that Francis had said.  I received positive and negative feedback from that post.  It's amazing to me that some people continue to frantically grasp at this "American Dream" and refuse to think long-term, eternal thoughts.

I want to say, at the end of my life, that I accomplished the purposes of God.

Elf on the Shelf vs. Jesus

We are beginning a new series this week in Middle School called: Christmas Kombat!  It is designed to compare cultural Christmas personas against the true Christmas personage of Jesus Christ.  As I was researching Elf on the Shelf, I was surprised at how many doctrinal discoveries were uncovered in researching the differences between the two.

Here are just a few of the differences that have had an impact on me this week:


1.  The Elf is impatient while Jesus is filled with patience.



The Elf says,

"I'll watch and report on all that you do!

My job's an assignment from Santa himself. 

I am his helper, a friendly scout elf."

The Elf is not patient with disobedient children! Jesus, on the other hand, is incredibly patient with us!

When the time was coming near for Jesus to depart, He was determined to go to Jerusalem.  He sent some messengers ahead of Him, who went into a town in Samaria to make everything ready for Him.  But the people there would not welcome Him, because He was set on going to Jerusalem.  When James and John, followers of Jesus, saw this, they said, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven and destroy those people?"  But Jesus turned and scolded them and said, "You don't know what kind of spirit you belong to.  The Son of Man did not come to destroy the souls of people but to save them."  Then they went to another town. 

(Luke 9:51-56)

2.  You can call the Elf any name you like, but Jesus is the only name under heaven whereby you must be saved.


The Elf says,

"The first time I come to the place you call home, you must quickly give me a name of my own.  Will it be Foddle, Criddle, or Clyde?  Fisbee's cute, too, 

but you must decide.

You will never regret what you choose to call your Elf, but you may regret not calling Jesus by the name He deserves:

That at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth. 

(Philippians 2:10)

It is written: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 

'every knee will bow before me; 

every tongue will acknowledge God.'"

(Romans 14:11)

3.  The Elf hides from you every morning while Jesus is always searching for you.

The Elf says,

"You must find the new spot I will take; I can hide on a plant, a shelf, or a frame. Where will I be? Let's make it a game!"


Jesus does not hide from you. He stands at the door and knocks, waiting for you to let Him in!

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." 

(Revelation 3:20)

In order to find Jesus, the Bible is clear that all a person needs to do is proclaim Him with their mouth and believe in Him with their heart. He is near to you if you search for Him!

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord 

and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 

For with the heart one believes and is justified, 

and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 

(Romans 10:9-10)

4.  The Elf reports your wrongs, while Jesus takes the place for your wrongs.

 The Elf says,

"In the car, at the park, or even at school;

the word will get out if you broke a rule.

I tell him if you have been good or been bad,

The news of the day makes him happy or sad.

A push or a shove I'll report to the Boss,

but small acts of kindness will not be a loss."

Do you think the Elf would ever take your bad decisions on himself?  Would he tell Santa to not give you the piece of coal and instead give it to him (the Elf)?  Of course not!  The Elf is simply a tattletale reporter!  

Jesus is nothing like this!  He is your Advocate with God the Father in Heaven.  Once you have accepted Him as Lord and Savior, He constantly intercedes on your behalf.  Jesus prays to God and says, "Don't look at their wrong doings, look at them through me, the perfect God-Man."  

"He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed."

(1 Peter 2:24)

But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. 

And in him is no sin.

(1 John 3:5)

5.  The Elf is done after Christmas while Jesus' work never ends.

The Elf says,

"The night before Christmas 
my job's at an end,

the rest of the year with Santa I'll spend.

Blow me a kiss and bid me farewell,

I'll fly away when I hear Santa's bell.

Of course I will miss you,

But wait 'til next year.

When the holidays come I'll again reappear!"

Did Jesus' job end after the Resurrection?  No!  He is still active and alive in our lives.  He is interceding for us (Hebrews 7:25), preparing a place for us (John 14:1-3), and working in our lives through the Holy Spirit (John 15:26, Romans 8:9-10).

The question then comes: Have you made Jesus into an Elf on the Shelf?  Do you view Jesus as impatient, moldable to your image, a hidden tattletale who only appears around Christmas and Easter?

What will you do with Jesus?  I pray that you won't put Him back in a box just to pull Him out again the day after Black Friday.  He wants a relationship with you and wants to know you intimately.

Poverty and Joy Collide

I was able to visit the dump today with students and other leaders of the Nicaraguan church.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ was preached, food was distributed to grateful hands, and I was humbled to witness absolute poverty and joy collide.

It's interesting that Deuteronomy refers to the poor as "your needy and poor", not "the needy and poor".

For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, "You will freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land."
Deuteronomy 15:11

"Accordion Owls" in the American Church

Laughing during a funeral doesn't seem natural, does it?  The same seems true of those who cry during the Super Bowl.  And yet, there is something eternally strange about being a Christian that calls for sorrow while others around us seem to be happy.

I'm not talking about the moping kind of sorrow.  This isn't the response of a 5 year old when he can't stay up an extra hour past curfew.

The type of sorrow I'm referring to is an eternal sorrow that accompanies sobering truth.  Paul demonstrated this most when he said, "always sorrowful, yet always rejoicing" (2 Corinthians 6:10).

The first sorrow that I feel is the knowledge that most people around me may die and go to Hell.  This thought is especially prevalent working in a mega church.  Attending a church with thousands of people brings me to think that many people around me, sitting in the seats every week, may not be wheat, but weeds; with destruction looming in their future (Matthew 13:24-30).

The second sorrow comes from an overwhelming sense of apathy I feel within the church for our current situation.  Sometimes it seems as though I am living in Wonderland; with Christians who think that talking rabbits, tea pot orchestras, accordion owls, and disappearing cats are all perfectly normal.  I'm not talking about mega church anymore.  There are strange things happening in the church of America.

Examples of "Accordion Owls":

• I can't find a prayer partner in the church.  I have asked many people, but the lack of conviction that prayer is important is startling to me.
• We do not challenge believers to read the Bible every day.  "That's too hard", we say.  Instead, we give them a book to read and tell them to have chapter five done by next week.  Then we call these book clubs "bible studies".
• It seems we idolize the worship experience rather than heart transformation through Biblical discovery.  Young people are especially guilty of this.  "I can't worship God if the music doesn't bring me to that place of emotional ecstasy."  I love worshipping God through song, but I don't discover who He is by singing man's words about Him.  I find God by reading the words He wrote about Himself!  Without the Bible and the life of Christ, what would we know about God?  Nothing.

There are more, but these three stick out to me the most.  What are we doing church?  Where is our passion for the Creator of Heaven and Earth?  What will you do today that will make an impact in eternity?

Mathematically Fulfilled Prophecy for Christ.

This is an excerpt from a talk I gave to GSM this past week about the mathematically fulfilled prophecy surrounding the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

The edge of the cliff

My God is my rock, in whom I find protection.  He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.  He is my refuge, my Savior, the one who saves me from violence.

~2 Samuel 22:3

The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my Savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.  He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.

~Psalm 18:2

He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.

~Psalm 62:2

When I read these verses, I realize that the smartest thing I could do is to fix myself as close as possible to the mountain of God.  And yet, there are times when I am just plain dumb.  One of the biggest struggles I have is not that I am throwing myself off of God's protective summit, but that I come so close to "the edge" of the cliff that I can be pulled off by the enemy with the littlest of tugs.  

How much can I be angry without it being labeled "sin"?  How closely can I come to gossip before it's actually called that?  When is the exact moment my relaxation becomes laziness?

Watch this video of a golden eagle pulling a goat off a mountain and you'll see just how dangerous it can be to hang out at life's cliff edge.

O God, I pray that I will remain as close to your life-giving mountain as possible.  Please keep me alert, sober-minded, and always on guard for those little nudges in my life that are capable of throwing me into a deathly free fall.  Thank you for your mercy and grace which sustains me.  I pray that I can use this day to honor you and bring myself closer to your calling for my life.

PHS Lacrosse

Fantastic game with one of our own GSM students.  Zach Stanley (#59) played with such tenacity and helped his team defeat Saint Joe High School 7-6.  This game was so exciting that even through the downpour of rain, fans were glued to the edge of their seats as they watched an electrifying sudden death overtime.

Zach is equipped with so much leadership potential and it is awesome to watch him live that out spiritually, mentally, and physically (yes, that is him jumping through the air in the eleventh picture!).

"Objection your honor!"

Just ask my wife.  I can be a difficult person.  As quick and willing as I am to admit that, sometimes it's another person in my life that can be the problem.  Despite all that I've done, all the truth that I've spoken, there are continual "relational misfires" happening.

My wife and I have both experienced this in our lives.  A certain person that, no matter what we do, just does not want to get along with us.  Does not want to "agree to disagree" with us.  Ever experience someone like that?  What becomes especially hard is when this person is a confessed believer.  What do you do when two Christians disagree and one refuses to make amends?

Well, after recently coming through a situation like this, I would like to share some of my thoughts and encouragements.

1.  Confess your faults to God and forgive the person who has wronged you.  For me, the first part was easy, the second part was hard.  I did not want to forgive this person because my selfish pride wanted everyone else to know what had happened.  I wanted to jump up and say "Objection your honor!"

2.  Continue to dig into Scripture.  I can't stress this enough.  You cannot run today's faith on yesterday's gasoline.  Make the decision that, despite what is being said or done to you, that you will be a healthy, growing person.  You will seek the higher ground.

3.  Don't talk about past hurts with others.  This was hard for me also, and goes with the first point.  I wanted so badly for people to know the true nature of the person who hurt me, but I soon realized that it wouldn't do any good.  Forgiveness is not a one time decision, but a day-to-day decision.  I wake up each morning and must forgive this person, claim God's promises in my life, and CHOOSE to do what is right.

4.  Talk with a trusted Christian mentor.  I say "mentor" and not "friend" because sometimes friends agree with things just because they want to listen, but a mentor will tell you the truth even if it hurts. Make sure that you are being submissive to people in your life who can come in and say "Hey Jon, what you did was wrong, you need to make this right."  I know that if I have time to think about the wrong that was done to me, I can quickly become bitter.  It's these trusted mentors in my life who help keep my views balanced.

5.  Don't be fooled/discouraged by a Christian who uses Scripture as a "trump card".  It's sad to say, but there are believers who are not healthy, yet their "prophetic utterances" seem to say otherwise.  Even Satan had the guts to quote Scripture to Jesus.  That didn't make him right.  If you think this may be the case, ask some of the following questions:
a. Is the person living a balanced Christian lifestyle? (Part of a local church, has Godly mentors in their life, has a history of Godly living, has a good reputation in the community, has a strong base of Christian friends/family/fellowship?)
b. Is the person committed to building God's local church or his own kingdom? (note: I have strong apprehensions about people who run from church to church and have developed into a "loner Christian")
c. Does the Scripture quoted establish confidence in the Word of God or does it highlight the ingenious way in which a man interpreted it?  In other words, will people who hear this person develop a greater dependence on God's Word or this man's ability to interpret it?
d. Does this person build up the Body of Christ (the local church) or work against it?
e. Does this person defy authority or accountability in their life?  I know when I am kicking against authority and I can see it very quickly in others too (maybe because of my military background).  2 Peter 2 talks about false teachers (people who wrongly quote the Bible) and in verse 10 it tells us that these people are quickly identified as those who despise authority, are bold, and arrogant.
f. Is this person being reasonable?  2 Peter 2:12 says that they will be like "unreasoning animals, blaspheming in matters they don't understand." A big key is that this person will talk, but it won't make sense to anyone listening.
g. Is the passage quoted Biblically true?  Scripture is not to be looked at through a small one-verse peephole.  Does what is said line up with the WHOLE of Scripture?

6.  Finally, understand that sometimes a clean break from the person may be necessary.  There are times when putting effort into a relationship is just too exhausting and all of your mental/emotional/physical efforts are just "throwing your pearls to swine" (Matthew 7:6).  Even Christians who claim to be following after God can experience periods of separation.  We see this in Paul and Barnabas; the wonderful Christian team that had to split ways (Acts 15:3-16:10).

Hang in there, God can redeem your situation.

Four Ounces of Coffee

Every now and then I get an email that changes my plans for the day.  Yep, you guessed it.  It's the email that informs me that I have a free drink waiting for me at Starbucks.  Today, just happened to be one of those days.

Since I can get any drink free of charge, my mind jumps to the more expensive side of the menu:

TRIPLE SHOT WHITE CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT MOCHA.

Yum.

As I pull out of the drive-through today, drink in hand, and giggling to myself, I notice that the barista has made a terrible mistake.  He got everything correct, EXCEPT that he made it a grande instead of a venti.

"How dare he!  Doesn't he know that this is MY free drink!  I couldn't pay to have such terrible service!  Maybe I'll turn around, walk in, and demand that they make my absolutely free drink CORRECTLY!"

No joke, these thoughts were running through my head... until I remembered a video I saw last night that my friend Jim Blechl had sent me:

The video resolution isn't the best, but the message is clear.  These are Chinese Christians receiving their own Bibles for the first time.

Suddenly, four ounces of coffee doesn't seem that important.


I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
~Philippians 4:12

Life Foundations

Such an encouraging night!  Susanna and I began the Life Foundations series at Granger Community Church.  There were so many people who attended that we had to set up extra tables in the back!  This is a great Wednesday night discussion that is geared toward learning Bible study methods.

Answering the Call: Eyes Open

There are many times in life that I am absolutely certain that I should do something.  I am often reassured of my decision because I am in a comfortable place, know what the future holds, or have lots of time to think about the decision before I make it.  However, there are some times when I know I have to make a difficult decision and have to step out in faith, without much reassurance other than the voice of my Heavenly Father.

My wife and I have just made the biggest decision of our married lives.  We have decided to leave our current church ministry, my profession as a youth coordinator, and those that we care about deeply in order to pursue God's calling in our lives.

Before I get into the actual calling, I want to lay the ground work of how God has been moving in our lives this past month.  I will divide this post into five (maybe six) segments over the next few weeks; discussing different principles I have learned this past month.

The best biblical parallel to what we have been going through can be found in the story of Moses encountering the burning bush.  It is a passage that I read in the OYB (One Year Bible) at the end of January, and at the exact time I was going through this difficult transition:

Exodus 3:1-4

(1) One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian.  He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God.
(2) There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush.  Moses stared in amazement.  Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn't burn up.
(3) "This is amazing," Moses said to himself.  "Why isn't that
bush burning up?  I must go see it."
(4) When the LORD saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, "Moses!  Moses!"  "Here I am!" Moses replied.

Just like Moses was not expecting to be called away from his current position (tending his father's sheep), so too, my wife and I were not anticipating a calling to leave our church family.  The first principle I have learned in this process is to always keep my eyes open to what God is doing in my life.

Dim-witted Discover Magazine

The first edition of Discover Magazine for 2014 was a summation of the top 100 scientific stories of 2013.  Coming in at number 34 was this article:

A few personal thoughts:

1.  Discover Magazine is NOT a Christian-operated publication. 

Source: (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2009/06/23/science-and-religion-are-not-compatible/#.UvJflEJdV-g)

2.  Researches (experts in their field of study) didn't just find one piece of evidence, but four.

3.  Researches readily admitted that the tools must have been crafted by human hands.

4.  Popular evolutionary thinking is that Neanderthals were dim-witted, which made this discovery so much more confusing.

5.  The editor of this article only gives his readers two options to explain this discovery.

6.  This discovery flies in the face of evolutionary hominid teaching.

7.  Nothing about this discovery disagrees with Scripture.  In fact, the Biblical account is supported by this fantastic discovery.  God made Adam and Eve with brilliant minds from the beginning.  

8.  The Bible shows people of great intellect in the book of Genesis.  One such account of a man named Tubal-Cain, who already knew how to forge all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron (Genesis 4:22).  Doesn't sound like a dim-witted Neanderthal to me...

Try again, Discover Magazine.

The "eyes" have it! (Part 1)

Happy New Year!  I hope you are still going strong on your resolutions. If you haven't resolved to do any improving this year, it's not too late! As I was reading through the OYB today, I came across a passage that caused me to add a new resolution to my 2014 list.  Feel free to add it to yours as well.

Here's the passage:

Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body.  When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light.  But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness.  (Matthew 6:22-23a)

Was 2013 a victorious year for you in the faith?  Or, like many Christians that I've talked to, did you stumble and fall in areas that you now regret?  Yeah, me too.  According to this passage, the eyes truly are the window to your soul.  If my eyes are good, then my whole body is filled with light!  That's so encouraging!  

The resolution I'm adding this year is:  KEEP MY EYES GOOD.

It doesn't make much sense grammatically speaking, but I will know exactly what it means:

1. Put the Bible before my eyes every morning.

2. Close my eyes in prayer and focus on the God I love and serve.

3. Watch movies and internet clips that honor God.

4. Look for opportunities around me to share my faith and love people.

5. Get my eyes away from my smartphone and instead focus on my wife and son.

These are just some ways I hope to improve this year.  Praying I can look back at the end of 2014 and say with a big smile that "I am different than I was a year ago!".

"There is a road from the eye to the heart that does not go through the intellect."

~ G.K. Chesterton