“Think” by John Piper from Crossway on Vimeo.

Proverbs 21:13
If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.

Proverbs 31:8-9
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Matthew 6:1-4
Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Matthew 25:41-45
Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least among you, you did not do for me.’

Luke 14:13-14
But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.

Hebrews 13:2
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.

James 2:1-7
1My brothers,  show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?

Not much to say now…  I am still praying and asking God to work deeply in my heart.  I am really wrestling with the word “partiality”.  Every once and awhile I write a post just to hear what you all think, this is that post! What do you think?

When I go to other churches it always makes me ask God some questions.  What kind of atmosphere do we have at Life Connection Church?  How do guests feel when they come?  Is it a welcoming atmosphere?  Are people soft-hearted, open, and excited?

It is hard for me to know,  but I pray that we are a people who love God and love people.  I know that the Gospel offends and our worship experience is uncomfortable for some. But what I am asking is, “Are we loving?”

John 13:35
“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

This week Dana and I are going to Speak for a Valentine’s Banquet.   We are going to be using an article we wrote for destinyinbloom.com as our outline.  I wanted to post it on my blog so anyone who wants can check it out.  I hope you are encouraged!

Aaron writes:

I remember the first time I saw Dana … wow…  let me pause for second because the thought of it still makes me dumbfounded. I was a young Bible college student looking for a job. I went into an Italian restaurant and there she was, not only a waitress at the place I was applying, but also she went to the same college. It was a moment that I will never forget. It was like we had known each other for years. I was so attracted to her, but also, so comfortable with her. We were instant best friends! That is the kind of girl my wife is. She is so open, honest, and friendly that you cannot help but become friends with her very quickly. I knew right away that I wanted to marry her. Now don’t get me wrong, we had our struggles, but we were friends, and by God’s grace I got to marry the most beautiful, loving, and loyal friend I have ever had. Still, 14 years later, I look at her and wonder how I got such a blessing. The other day a girl at work said to me, with a confused look on her face, “How did you land Dana?” I could have got easily offended if I did not already know that there is no way I should get to be married to her. My only answer is and always will be … “God’s grace!”

Dana Writes:

I have the same memory of our first meeting! It was so fun! It wasn’t just meeting a guy, it was meeting someone that I wanted to spend so much time with and get to know every detail about! My moment of knowing that this was the man I wanted to marry, the man that would lead me and love me the way Christ loves the church, was shortly thereafter. We were at the end of what seemed like a very typical date. Aaron was walking me to my dorm when he stopped me and got very serious. There was a spiritual issue in my life that he had noticed was not in order. He pointed it out to me in a very concerned but confident way. I wish I could say I responded in love and appreciation, however it was nothing like that! I got so mad, I yelled and stormed off slamming the door behind me! As soon as I got inside my apartment I sat on the couch and realized this was the man that I needed to be with forever! No boy that I had ever dated cared at all about my walk with the Lord. In that moment, I realized Aaron cared more about where I was spiritually then where our relationship was going if he confronted me. He loved me more than he loved our relationship! He blew my mind that day!! I was safe and protected and I knew that I would continue to have that if I got to marry him. As much as he says he knows he shouldn’t have gotten to marry me, I am blown away that he asked me to marry him!

We Write:

We have discussed long and hard, and brainstormed for a long time, to figure out what we have to say since we were asked to write this article. To be honest we probably do not have much to say except, “We are evidences of God’s grace.”

For all of our married life, we have been in the ministry and spent much time working with couples in pre-marriage, mid-marriage, divorce, and post-marriage. We have seen the worst of the worst. The one thing we have learned over the last 12 years is when we get our eyes off Jesus, marriages fall apart really quickly. There are a few reasons why that we would like to share with you:

(1) In our culture, marriage is worshipped and not looked at as a way to worship Jesus, which in itself is idolatry. Many young people spend most of their time dreaming of being married, and even worship Jesus so that He will give them a “good” spouse. So many single adults do not feel complete until they are married. Marriage has become an acceptable idol in the church. Many married couples look to their marriage to give them identity, worth, protection, joy, hope, and fulfillment. All of the things we are supposed to receive from that which we worship the most, the place God is supposed to be, and the only place He will sit in our lives. Marriage is a good thing, but once it becomes a god, then we are in an extremely dangerous place. We do not want to harp on this to much but ask yourself this … “Do I worship marriage or do I worship God with my marriage?” Make sure that Jesus is the object of your worship.

(2) Marriage is to reflect the glory of God and not your love. We have been asked many times, and I have heard other people be asked, “why is your marriage so amazing?” Now we all know our marriages are not as amazing as they look, but it is so foolish and arrogant to take that question and praise ourselves, our chemistry, our endurance, or our strength, instead of pointing to the One who began the work and will be faithful to complete it. The power of the Gospel is: if God begins something He will sustain it and complete it. Jesus has given us His spirit, and anything that comes out of our marriage that is good is only a reflection of God’s spirit producing good fruit in us.

(3) Many times spouses are looking to each other as motivation and example for the kind of spouse they are to be. So, you have a husband who is not going to love because his wife will not submit, instead of looking to Jesus who loved His bride so much that He saw her dirty, and came and washed her, clothed her, and presented her to Himself. Jesus did not love the church because she was submissive, but because He is good and loving. Then you have a wife who will not submit because her husband will not love or lead. If she looked at Jesus who was equal with God, who is God, and who humbled Himself and submitted Himself to His father all the way to the point of death she would see what it means to submit. In marriage we need to stop looking at each other or we will find every reason to accuse and, in doing so, take the side of our enemy who is the “accuser of the brethren”. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. He will lead you and give you the strength, endurance, and grace to be who you should be in your marriage.

(4) It is so interesting that the number one reason for divorce in our country is sex. Sex has become a tool that is used to manipulate to get our own personal agenda! When marriage is hinged on how good the sex-life is, it’s in the wrong place in the marriage. It’s in the wrong place because sex is not designed to produce love. It’s designed to remember the love that is already existing there. When a spouse feels that they have to perform to keep love or prove love, it becomes very damaging. When a spouse knows they are loved, and uses sex to express that love, then it is very purposeful.

We have, through God’s overwhelming grace, the opportunity to be a reflection of Him. In a book we are reading right now called “You Can Change” by Tim Chester, he writes it this way:

• “We were made to be in God’s image on earth, to know Him, to share His rule over the world, to reflect His glory. The idea is probably that of a statue of a god that represents the authority and glory of that god. But we’re not to make images of the living God precisely because we are His image. We’re God’s representatives on earth. We’re God’s glory, displaying His likeness. After each day of creation God declared what He had made to be “good”. But on the 6th day God’s verdict on a world that now included humanity was “very good”. God’s work wasn’t finished until there was something in the world to reflect His glory in the world. We often excuse our actions by saying, “I’m only human.” There’s nothing “only” about being human: we are truly human as we reflect God’s glory.”

As a couple, our desire is that our marriage reflects God’s glory. Marriage was not created by God for just our enjoyment, but for His Glory. Creation is not meant to be worshipped, but to worship it’s creator. God created marriage and is the only one deserving worship.

Ephesians 5: 31-33 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”

The mysterious and profound part of marriage is that it has more to do with Christ and the church than it does about being married. So if there is anything we would challenge you with it’s this: keep your eyes fixed on Jesus … He is the author, sustainer, and finisher of your marriage. Worship God with your marriage!

I must say  I could not even begin to express the joy I am experiencing right now by watching the spirit empowered motion of this body. Last week while I was praying and thanking God for the movement at LCC He reminded me of a couple of pastoral letter’s I had written 6 months ago titled, The Stalled church.  The basic plea of those letters was for us to move out of pride or condemnation and move into action.

I feel like God has been answering our prayers and He has moved us from a “Stalled Church” into a “Called Church”. We have moved from a people who are paralyzed by fear to a people who are empowered by His spirit. I feel like God gave me a picture of this In John 5:8. Jesus is speaking to a paralytic who was waiting for the pool of bethesda to move so he could get healed. He asked the man “If he wanted to be healed” but the man came up with excuses for why he wasn’t healed. Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”  Just like this man I think we would rather have excuses then power. Many of us are more comfortable being a victim then being a victor. What Jesus did is healed the man by commanding him to carry his own bed and walk. He immediately gave him an assignment and purpose. This healing just spoke to me that the call of Jesus is both for our healing and for His purpose.

My challenge to you is to walk and live in the call of God.

If you would like to preview any of the called series messages please feel free to at lifeconnectionchurch.net.

This is a question sent in by Mike on the “Ask Aaron Anything” link:

What would you say is the proper way to “retire” a bible. I would feel kind of bad throwing it out like i did my english text book.

My Answer:

This is a solid question Mike. I actually know what you mean, just reading your question gives me a sinking feeling in my stomach because it reminds me of some of my old Bibles.   Selah

When you use a Bible by marking it, taking notes, and knowing where everything is you get attached to her.  For example, You know when you get a new bible and you can not find a verse for some reason but your old one would just flop right to it?  It was like your old bible could just read your mind.  I kind of believe a bible is like a good wine, the older it gets the better!

This is a hard one for me to answer… But… What I do is shelf it (cry and sing the B.I.B.L.E) and pull it out for future reference. So I guess I get the newer model but I leave the old one around for nostalgic reasons.

What do you do with yours?

At LCC we are located in a very marginalized area of Phoenix and what Tim said in this video interview fanned a flame in my heart for the weak and marginalized.  I hope you enjoy and I would love to hear your comments.

To see a call to anguish, Click Here.

Joy in Trial

I had a very amazing experience today at a job I was doing in Paradise Valley. I was sent to a job to fix some outlets and a fan that wasn’t working, nothing crazy just a quick in and out. I went to do the door, rang the bell and knocked but there was no answer. Just as I was about to pull away in the van the lady came out the door in her robe, telling me she was about to get in the shower and she was sorry but asked me to come in and she would get changed. She showed me the issue with the fan in her daughters room and said she would show me the outlets after she got her husband up and dressed in the master bed. She told me her husband has ALS and needs help getting ready before I go into the bed room. I checked out the fan and found the problem quickly, but she was still in the master bedroom getting her husband up and dressed, so I made sure I knew what I needed and waited for her to come out. After she came out she informed me that her son was going to be coming home and he is autistic, just so I know. The husband wheeled out of the bedroom and said thank you for helping them today and asked if I needed anything taking breaths from his respirator between every other word. I told him I was good thank you, and went into the bedroom with his wife, she showed me the issues she was having with the outlets and where they were located. She needed them fixed soon because they were the outlets used for his respirator, feeding tube, and hospital bed. At this point I was beginning to see what an amazing woman she was, raising an autistic son and caring for her ailing husband.

As I was leaving to get material, after her son came home, she informed me that her son likes to give gifts. As I was walking out he handed me a bundle of junk mail and news paper held together with scotch tape, one of the best gifts I have ever received. After getting the material and returning to the house I met the daughter as her, her brother and father were headed out the door. I was fixing the outlet in the master bedroom and the wife walked in, I felt an urge to tell her how beautiful her family was and what an amazing woman she was. The answer I got back was not what I expected but not surprising either. She said the only reason her family is the way it is, the only reason she is the way she is, is because of the Lord.

After fixing the electrical issues in the house I spent the next two hours in the kitchen with the husband, in his chair, and the wife talking about the Lord. They shared their testimony, the difficulties raising an autistic child, dealing with ALS and the most difficult of all was raising a teenage daughter. But the overwhelming foundation to their story was the joy of the Lord. The husband used to be a body builder, very fit and proud of his body, he told me it took the Lord breaking down his body for him to truly see what his purpose was, what his joy was. He told me that he never learned to read, left home at 14 after being abuse by his parents and dropped out of school at 16. He had his wife write meeting notes for him for his employees because he didn’t know which words to use. He also told me that after being stuck in a wheel chair he taught himself to read by reading the Bible, he would ask his wife what words meant and how to sound them out. He now knows how to read and understands the Word. Something, he said, he wouldn’t have done without ALS. The whole time I was talking with them the son kept coming in and out giving and taking another package from under my arm adding more and more material to my next gift. I unwrapped it when I got home and found more junk mail, news papers, and a box of Old Maid playing cards.

We shared back and forth about life, the gospel, and gave each other encouragement. They helped me to see that the Lord is good, always. The Lord was good to them before ALS, before autism, and before teenage rebellion. The Lord is good when he is near death from feeding tube malfunctions, when he found out the hard way that he couldn’t swim anymore, when their son has grand-mal-seizures.

I walked away with this. I went through a “dark night” with our infertility. I have seen others around me deal with hard times. I don’t want to diminish what I have gone through, or my close friends and family. But I saw something in them that I want to be able to say, to truly know deep down, no matter what I am facing, God is good. I wanted to hug them, thank them, to help them in some way. I wanted to ask the Lord to heal that man. But I know something now after talking to him, this is his joy, ALS is a part of his life but his focus is the Lord and Him glorified. I am amazed at how the Lord speaks into my life, and who he uses to speak, and I pray that I am used that same way.

So I leave you with this challenge: what struggle, trouble, trial are you facing right now? Again, no qualification or comparison to the things listed above, we all face trials that overwhelm us, whether physical, financial, life or death. What is stealing your joy, your focus? Is God good all the time? Will you yet praise Him through your trial?

This is a question sent in by Clay on the “Ask Aaron Anything” link:

What are your feelings about the doctrine of TD Jakes and the Potter’s House ministry?

My Answer:

I do not personally know the Doctrine of Bishop Jakes.  I can tell you this, that man can pereeeech up a storm!  I make it a habit not to call out dudes in public forums (i.e. the pulpit, blogs, or whatever).  This does not mean I do not have opinions or doctrinal beliefs that are differing, it just means I think when you call out a man people lose sight of what you are saying and start to think you are attacking the man.  I have great friends that I love and respect that are gifted at doing that, they would probably call me a coward and I probably am.  I can also tell you that there is a lot of opinions on the internet about Bishop and I am not sure I want to be another one of those opinions.   If I ever had a chance to talk to Bishop Jakes face to face and build a relationship with him then I hope I would know better what he believes and if i was given the chance I could speak into that.  Here is the honest truth… I do not know the doctrine of TD Jakes and the Potter’s House ministry and I do not know many people in our scope of influence who really listen to him.  I also think if I said anything about the man it would be like a Chiwawa barking at a Pitbull.  In order to answer this question properly I would have to not be lazy and study all that stuff.

Here is what I will say:

I believe in the Trinitarian God of the Bible.  I believe God created male and female in his image.  I believe man sinned and chose to believe the lie over the truth of God.  I believe that man is depraved and in need of a savior.  I believe that God has by grace sent His son Jesus to live the life we should have lived and die the death we should have died.  I know Jesus is rose from the grave and His life is mine.  By His grace he has redeemed a people to Himself, that is the church.  I believe in the Holy Spirits work in the new birth as being a changing of our deepest desire from the treasures of this world to the treasure that is Jesus.  I believe that the Holy Spirit is still at work today showing us Jesus, giving us gifts, convicting of sin, counseling, and much more.  I also believe that those who have been saved by grace and filled with the spirit of God have been brought into the community of God, the church, and have a specific mission to disciple the nations.  I am sure I am missing some things but that is it in a nutshell.

I also think that the “prosperity gospel” is one of the leading enemies of the true gospel.  It’s calling people to treasure money and health over Jesus, and even deeper then that, making Jesus worship their idol of money and wealth.  I also hate tricky teaching that points people to put their confidence in their flesh and not to the worship and glory of God.  Now I am not saying Bishop Jakes does any of this, I am just saying if any teacher does this we should be on guard because there is another agenda.

Thanks for the question.  Sorry I did not or would not do the research to answer the question for you.  However my prayer is that the body of Christ would know the word of God so deeply that if they hear false teaching or doctrine they would reject it and preach the truth.

It is reasonable to think that if these are true why am I blogging again? I am not saying it is smart or right but there are certain things I miss.

(1) I love the comments from people - Even over the year I was not blogging I was getting comments on all my old posts.  Here are just a few examples.

Jesus Himself commented “aaron your so ignorant.” -

Now when I got this comment from Jesus I had a hard time believing it was really him calling me out on my blog.  I am ignorant for sure but I think if it was really Jesus he would have said something more like… Aaron I died for your ignorance and caused you to know me as the only knowledge worth desiring.  I placed my spirit within you and in your ignorance I will use you to confound the wise.

N.LEON said commented on my post is it ok to smoke marijuana in moderation “i am high right now i cant even write jajajajaja i am so high for real hahahah sh%$ i am high i cant move my head”.

This is why I have to come back.  This guy would come to my post about marijuana and share what he is going through in his life.

There are a tun more but it is so fun to get feedback from both crazy and serious people.  LOL

(2) A place to interact with the people in my life - This is the real reason I want to blog again.  I love the interaction with the people in my life.  I am always getting questions and as much as I can I will try and answer them even if it is few and far between.

I want to do all I can to set your expectations low.  I am not a consistent, smart, or creative blogger BUT HERE I GO AGAIN. DO NOT expect much but visit as much as you can.

http://churcheshelpingchurches.com/

Pastor Mark’s Message about Haiti

Tweets -

@joshdailey – The best time in communion I have ever had. Lots of tears viewing our sin in light of the grace and mercy of Jesus on the cross. #hungerweek

@yourhairstylist – Last night was so humbling. I truly feel as if we have grown even more as a family in Jesus. #hungerweek

@mumsperez – Thank you Jesus for the cross, I want to live at the foot of it. You let me wear forgiveness as a crown. #hungerweek

@cdailey – Being convicted w/ the difference between coming 2 be fixed, & coming 2 fix my eyes on Him. #hungerweek

@ronni_christine – Excited bout theLord giving me words to write… And a passion to do so. He’s renewing my vision and reminding me of gifting. #hungerweek

@baplace – Wow i am so satisfied in Him. His intimacy is far greater than anything of this world. Oh how he loves us. #hungerweek

@hshouse – My salvation is not founded in me redeeming myself, but that God redeemed me…. Col 1:13-14 #hungerweek

@danadailey – I have been humbled, broken and loved by the Lord. The best part is seeing God’s grace, I don’t get it, I am blown away by it! #hungerweek

Over these last two days of the fast we are going to be focusing our prayers on the mission of God for us in this city.  We are saved by the Gospel, for the Gospel.  As Life Connection Church we have some real big disconnections between our inward professions and our outward expression.  Our prayer as elder’s has been that the knowledge of the Gospel would work itself out of us.  We have this power of the Gospel and we seem to be caging it.

“the Gospel is like a caged lion; it doesn’t need to be defended, just released.” – Martin Luther

I think I (we) try and protect people from the Gospel, if you know what I mean.  We try and cage it so that it is not so powerful, or we try and defended it because we see it as weak and that it does not have any power.  I am just praying that the Gospel would be lived in our lives in such a way that we have to answer questions to what has changed us.  I am also praying that we would not be ashamed to open our mouths and declare the Gospel.  I am praying for boldness and wisdom.  I am praying that His kingdom (rule & reign) would come and His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven.   We need a knowledge of the Gospel that is so deep and a zeal of the spirit that compels us to go.

Questions to meditate on…

(1) Do I have a passion from God to see people come to know Him?

(2) Is my life lived for myself or for His use?

Day three started for me rough.  Not because I was so hungry or had the detox headache, but because I was fighting admitting that I was discouraged.  This fast so far has been good.  I’ve studied, prayed, cried, and journaled, however; I have struggled with feeling like I’m missing it.  I had in my head this idea of what God was going to do with me during this fast.  There was going to be some great move that totally changed my entire world in five short days!  This morning I realized that wasn’t happening and we are already on the third day.  According to my schedule I should be recovering from the initial spanking and on my way to life changing freedom!

Aaron and I got ready to pray and he asked what was wrong.  I kept trying to say nothing (just because I didn’t want to admit-especially to Aaron-that I am discouraged in this fast), but finally I answered him and told him the truth.  I knew as it came out of my mouth that I was wrong, but I couldn’t shake it.  We started to pray, and through Aaron the Lord reminded me of what fasting is about. It caused me to repent and to find joy again in this fast.  I’m not fasting for me.  I’m fasting for Him.  To bring Him honor with the death of my flesh.  If that is the only reason for this fast, then I am grateful that I get to do it!  The Lord has given me a tool to worship and honor Him with.  A sacrifice that takes me out of my comfort zone and reminds me that He is my God!  For this brief time I get the opportunity to dedicate all of my life, my mind, my will, my emotions and my body to Him.  The truth is I am honored to do it.  It is blessing me to do this fast.  That is so humbling it hurts!  I am wretched, prideful, selfish, and arrogant and yet He still chose me… and not only chose me, but gave me a way to bring Him honor with my body!  My previously misused and incredibly dirty body has now become my venue to bring Him honor!  My mind is blown and I am so overwhelmed!  Thank you Jesus for giving me freedom from my sin and transgression so that I can honor my King!  Why do you love me so much?!!

I am so convicted by this.  This fast is to honor and glorify Jesus with my life, my mind, my will, my emotions, and with everything that is in me.  Is that more than enough, or do I get frustrated if I am not getting something out of it?  Lord, I pray that this whole thing would be all about you.  Show us our hearts, break our selfishness and pride, and make us reflect you more.

Questions to meditate on…
(1) Why am I fasting?
(2) Would this fast be enough for you if He was pleased and glorified?

Tonight all the Gospel communities are meeting in homes, all over the valley, to gather around the Lord’s table to confess sin and boast in His grace.  I think as people we tend to minimize sin instead of making much of sin.  For some reason we have made grace into an excuse for sin instead of the motivation for deep, deep repentance.  I pulled a portion of an article from Soma School, about ways we minimize sin, that I want you to read:

Six Way of Minimizing Sin
Defending // I find it difficult to receive feedback about weaknesses or sin.  When
confronted, my tendency is to explain things away, talk about my successes, or to justify my decisions.  As a result, I rarely have conversations about difficult things in my life.
Pretending // I strive to keep up appearances, maintain a respectable image. My
behavior, to some degree, is driven by what I think others think of me. I also do not like to think reflectively about my life. As a result, not very many people know the real me (I may not even know the real me).
Hiding // I tend to conceal as much as I can about my life, especially the “bad stuff”.  This is different than pretending in that pretending is about impressing.  Hiding is more about shame. I don’t think people will accept the real me.
Blaming // I am quick to blame others for sin or circumstances.  I have a difficult time “owning” my contributions to sin or conflict.  There is an element of pride that assumes it’s not my fault AND/OR an element of fear of rejection if it is my fault.
Minimizing // I tend to downplay sin or circumstances in my life, as if they are “normal” or “not that bad.  As a result, things often don’t get the attention they deserve, and have a way of mounting up to the point of being overwhelming.
Exaggerating // I tend to think (and talk) more highly of myself than I ought to.  I make things (good and bad) out to be much bigger than they are (usually to get attention).  As a result, things often get more attention than they deserve, and have a way of making me stressed or anxious.

How do you handle your sin or others?  I think many of us take one, or all six of these ways, instead of letting our sin be so dark that we are desperate for God’s grace.  Today, as you are praying, and tonight, as you gather, I want us to really let the spirit convict us of sin in our hearts and/or actions.  Refuse to defend yourself, pretend it is not there, hide it from sight, blame someone else, minimize the darkness of it, or exaggerate your circustances.  Refuse to have any other out and fall hard on the grace of God.  Let God’s grace be your only hope.

Questions to meditate on…
(1) What sins are in my heart and or life?
(2) What ways do i try to minimize my sin?
(3) What do i deserve for the sin I have committed?
(4) How great is God’s grace towards you?
(5) Do you know the Gospel and how Jesus has dealt with your sin?

Finally, C. John Miller speaks of a frontline prayer as opposed to maintenance prayer.  Maintenance prayer is designed simply to maintain the existing life of the church. A frontline prayer meeting longs for God to act in life changing ways, believes he can, and so confidently expects change praying fervently for his mighty work.

There were so many things that the author said in this book about prayer, but this just jumped out at me.  How much of my prayer life is just “maintenance prayer”?  Is my heart for change?  I was thinking that it takes so much more prayer to be on the frontlines of battle, than it does when you are maintaining.  I can tell you this:  my prayer life, for the most part, does not have the longing, expectancy belief in God that would reflect frontline battle.

I want to be on the frontlines!  I want to see God’s mighty work!  I want to pray because I know that He is the only one who can send me, empower me, and enable me to do anything that would glorify Him.

Questions to meditate on…

(1) What does my prayer life look like? A man on the frontlines or a man who is comfortable?

(2) What do I long for the most? Is that longing for God?

(3) Do I believe God hears me and is able to do what I ask in prayer?

Hunger week info

Who will help the churches in Haiti?

Sunday Wrap Up (01/10/10) from Our Rising Sound on Vimeo.

I guess one of my pastor friends felt the same way.  Pastor Justin Anderson at Praxis Church wrote a article on his blog that is getting hundreds of hits and comments.  I posted it below but you can also go to his blog and see all the crazy comments he is getting.  As far as I am concerned, “I fully agree with Justin.” (You can quote me on that.)

This was the first Halloween in my life that I didn’t dress up. I figured at 30, the time had come. We dressed up my daughter and her friends as fairies and took plenty of pictures and handed out our fair share of candy, but this Halloween was a different one for me. A couple years ago I went to Mill Avenue with some friends on Halloween and someone made the observation that costumes had changed over the years from scary to funny to sexy. He was right, I remember a few years ago trying to figure out what would be the funniest costume that I could come up with, and for guys, this is still pretty true. But something has changed for the girls.

Somebody, I don’t know who, decided that girls shouldn’t dress up as witches anymore, they should be sexy witches. No more cats, we need sexy cats! French maids have even gotten sexier over the years. How did this happen? How did Halloween become little more than a excuse for the ladies to dress slutty? I write this fully aware of the fact that I am going to sound like the old guy longing for the good ‘ol days but that really isn’t true.

I am writing this blog as a father first and a pastor second. My daughter is still years away from dealing with Halloween on her own and all the pressures that come with it. I will be able to protect her from this cultural transition for a few more years, but I wonder how much more it will have changed 20 years from now. I hope that I can love her and teach her that as a follower of Jesus we do things differently than the world does. We do celebration different, we think of our bodies different and we do Halloween different.

Facebook has become an interesting tool for Pastors all over the world. Every day I get status updates from hundreds of the people in my church, telling me what they are excited about, struggling with and how they are spending their time. This can be a great way to stay connected with my flock as it grows and changes. It can also lead to the disappointment I experienced today. Picture after picture came up on my feed today, chronicling all of the Halloween hijinx that took place over the weekend. Unfortunately, what I saw is that many of the Christians in our church dressed no differently than the folks I saw years before on Mill.

I know what you are thinking, “ease up Pastor, its all in good fun. Nobody got hurt, Christians are allowed to have a good time!” Here’s the thing, I’m sure that’s true. Many of the people that I saw on my Facebook feed today are solid, Godly Christians whom I trust and love. I don’t think for a minute that most of those young ladies dressed up with the intention of causing the young men they would meet that night to sin. I don’t think that they dressed up hoping that they would attract young men sexually. I don’t think they were thinking that they would put aside their Christian convictions for a night of fun. In fact, I don’t think they were thinking much at all. And I guess that’s what disappoints me.

In 1 Corinthians 10:31 Paul tells us, “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Followers of Jesus are called to frame all of our lives in view of Christ. No matter what we do, even trivial things like eating and drinking, should be done intentionally and done in a way that reflects the truth of the Gospel.

Paul goes even a step further in Philippians 4:8 when he says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Not only should we be intentional about our lives but also our thoughts. This comprehensive view of discipleship is a challenge to us to never blow things off as unimportant or see opportunities to set aside the Gospel. Instead, Paul implores us to see all things as opportunities to reflect the glory of Christ.

I hate being the guy that points out the negative when everyone else is having fun. It was just really disappointing to see so many of the people that I love, respect, pray for and pastor embrace Halloween as a day to dress and act like everyone else in the world, instead of taking the opportunity to make a statement about the different way we see the world. Next year, use October 31st as an occasion to preach the Gospel, not with a bull horn on a street corner, but by embodying things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and worthy of praise. I’m not sure how that guides your costume decision but I hope that you will allow that decision to be guided by the glory of the Gospel.