Love

Is loving someone always telling them nice fluffy things that they want to hear? Or does it mean saying the hard things for the betterment of the person? When someone rebukes my behavior or tells me the truth, my initial reaction is: "They are wrong!", or "They just don't like me." I later realize the truth that these people speak into my life is good! Although I have a sinful nature, I pray that God would change my heart and make me more receptive to the truth.

Desiring God Chapter 4 on Worship

Here are some really good quotes from John Piper's book on worship. These quotes mean a lot to me in light of where I have been and what I was taught about worship the last year or so. Good stuff.

"Truth without emotion produces dead orthodoxy and a church full (or half- full) of artificial admirers (like people who write generic anniversary cards for a living). On the other hand, emotion without truth produces empty frenzy and cultivates shallow people who refuse the discipline of rigorous thought. But true worship comes from people who are deeply emotional and who love deep and sound doctrine. Strong affections for God rooted in truth are the bone and marrow of biblical worship."

"These are some of the affections of the heart that keep worship from being in vain. Worship is a way of gladly reflecting back to God the radiance of His worth. It is not a mere act of willpower by which we perform outward acts. Without the engagement of the heart, we do not really worship. The engagement of the heart in worship is the coming alive of feelings and emotions and affections of the heart. Where feelings for God are dead, worship is dead."

"It also becomes clear why it is not idolatrous and man-centered to say that our emotions are ends in themselves. It is not man-centered because of the emotions of our worship are centered on God. We look away from ourselves to Him and only then do the manifold emotions of our heart erupt in worship."

"Misguided virtue smothers the spirit of worship. The person who has the vague notion that is is virtue to overcome self-interest, and that it is vice to seek pleasure, will scarcely be able to worship. For worship is the most hedonistic affair of life and must not be ruined with the least thought of disinterestedness. The great hindrance of worship is not that we are a pleasure-seeking people, but that we are willing to settle for such pitiful pleasures."

Since It's About Christ...

As christians we preach the gospel and live out the gospel. What does that mean exactly? Well it does mean having a solid theology and worshipping God in spirit and in truth. However, I have gotten in the ditch of thinking it's all about having a solid theology. Which having a solid theology is important, but what do I do with that theology? Often times, I neglect to love others the way Christ did! How foolish of me! Even though we don't share the same view of God as other Christians and unbelievers, it should not keep us from loving them. I've been reading a few things lately, and I am blown away by Christ when he was at Jacob's Well with the Samaritan woman. I encourage you to read that story again. Jesus constantly preached to people and fellowshipped with others and LOVED people that didn't understand who he was. We can give others grace, because we have been given grace, and we can love because Jesus came to earth and showed us what love really is! If you think you are loving, read the gospels again, because Christ loved better than we are capable of! Pray that I will be more loving in the way that Jesus loved others.

OUCH!

I don't know why I go months in between leg work outs! Today at the gym, I worked out lower body with some squats, weighted lunges, and some calf raises. All I can say is O U C H! I expected my ankle to be sore, but it turns out that my knee is bothering me! Either way you slice it, I have to start working out legs more often to get ready for hiking some of the Appalachian Trail in July. My legs are very shaky already, which is funny because you usually don't feel a good work out until 24 hours after you do it. I'm going to have lots of fun sitting down the next few days!

2004 Auburn Tigers

2004 was the best football I ever witnessed Auburn play in my lifetime. They had it all! Offense, defense, and special teams. They went undefeated and most of the games weren't even close. But, the problem was that Auburn started the season ranked 18th in the polls while USC and Oklahoma were ranked in the top 10. Sure enough, all three teams went through their schedules with perfection. The BCS ultimately chose Oklahoma and USC in the national championship game over a perfect Auburn team that came out of the best conference in the nation. This still puzzles me to this day! Well to make a long story short, Auburn won its bowl game against Virginia Tech and finished the season undefeated. USC crushed Oklahoma 59 to 14 in the national championship game. I wished Auburn would have atleast gotten a shot at USC, but you can't change the past. Or can you? There has been an ongoing investigation that Reggie Bush, the Heisman trophy winner in 2004, and his family received money and were given a house while he was at USC. Because USC cheated, the NCAA is considering stripping USC of the 2004 national championship and Reggie Bush of his Heisman trophy. Guess who gets it if it is taken from USC? Yep, you guessed it! Auburn! Although no one really cares except Auburn fans, it should be noted that the 2004 Auburn team paved the way for future SEC teams getting in the national championship. You see, after Auburn got jipped in 2004, future SEC teams got the benefit of the doubt. In fact, Florida won the national championship with 1 loss seasons, and LSU won with a 2 loss season! I was bitter for a long time, and I still wish Auburn could have played USC for the championship on the field, but you can't go back in time. All I know, is that the 2004 Auburn team deserves a national championship and I hope they are awarded the trophy if USC did cheat. War Eagle!

The past few days

Monday I encountered an intense hail storm. I learned it's best not to drive in intense weather! I think it was like quarter sized hail! I was kinda taken back by it. I couldn't help but think of God's glory and how he created something as intense as hail.

Tuesday was pretty boring, and it ended in watching my Magic lose. It doesn't look good as far as winning the series goes. The Magic are now down 0 to 2 in the series as it goes back to Boston, but you never know.

Wednesday was a bit of a bipolar day. It started out in boredom. For some reason I was tired and had a bad attitude all day. Then I went to care groups at night and my whole attitude changed. I think that was a God thing. Praise God that just a taste of His word can change my heart!

And here I am on Thursday. I slept in and went to the gym for the first time since my injury. I certainly had missed it. I like coming back from an injury. I feel like the cards are stacked against me and I'm trying to come back stronger. My ankle is healing nicely. I'm taking it slow, but there is certainly progress. I can't wait to start back running, racquetball, ultimate frisbee, and basketball! It's only a matter of time.....

How do we share what we believe with people who don't share the same theology as we do?

Does anybody have an answer to this question? I've talked to my dad about it, and I like what he said. He said something along the lines of that we should speak positively of Christ. It is hard to give people grace when they don't see things the same way I do, but I really believe this is an area in my life where I need to grow. Instead of telling others why the way they see things is wrong, I can speak of how gracious God has been to me even though I don't deserve it and how I now have His righteousness and how Christ is my treasure and He alone satisfies. I understand that these words are often cliches in the Christian life, but for me it is real! I pray that I would live out what I believe about Christ in a way that wouldn't draw attention to myself, but instead, would stir other's for craving Him.

For anyone reading this: How do you interact/talk with people about God with people that don't share your same view about God?

Quote from Young, Restless, and Reformed

"The problem with Calvinists is that they go full stream into arguments with others over the sovereignty of God because they think God's glory is at stake..... But arguing over this actually defeats the very belief that God is the one who sovereignly changes hearts and the will. By arguing you prove you don't really believe the things you claim to believe.....Humility acknowledges that we all need sovereign grace in our lives, and this glorifies our God"

I'm so guilty of this! I'm actually worse than this I would say. I don't try to convince people that Calvinism or the doctrines of grace are right to glorify God often times, instead I try to convince them so I will be right. That's so sinful! That in itself is pride. I pray that the words I speak would not be said to lift myself up or to make myself look good, but instead exult Christ and make Him look big. I should look for ways to glorify Christ without pounding my chest in pride. Amen?

Some Good Quotes from Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper

I recently read Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper. I tried to read it several times before, but it seemed over my head. A friend of mine (David Chambers) gave the book to me when I graduated from high school, and wrote a letter saying how much it meant to him. I can see why, because it really challenged me as well. This book definitely gave me a bigger view of God. About half the book is "quote worthy", but here are just a few of them:

"For many people, this is not obviously an act of love. They do not feel loved when they are told that God created them for his glory. They feel used. This is understandable given the way love has been almost completely distorted in our world. For most people, to be loved is to be made much of. Almost everything in our Western culture serves this distortion of love. We are taught in a thousand ways that love means increasing someone’s self-esteem. Love is helping someone feel good about themselves. Love is giv- ing someone a mirror and helping him like what he sees.

This is not what the Bible means by the love of God. Love is doing what is best for someone. But making self the object of our highest affections is not best for us. It is, in fact, a lethal distraction. We were made to see and savor God—and savoring him, to be supremely satisfied, and thus spread in all the world the worth of his presence. Not to show people the all-satisfying God is not to love them. To make them feel good about them- selves when they were made to feel good about seeing God is like taking someone to the Alps and locking them in a room full of mirrors."

"This vision of life holds out to students and young adults so much more than the emptiness of mere success or the orgy of spring break. Here is not just a body, but a soul. Not just a soul, but a soul with a passion and a desire. Not just a desire for being liked or for playing softball or collecting shells. Here is a desire for something infinitely great and beautiful and valuable and satisfying—the name and the glory of God—'Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.'..........But whatever you do, find the God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated passion of your life, and find your way to say it and live for it and die for it. And you will make a difference that lasts. You will not waste your life."

"Christ is the glory of God. His blood-soaked cross is the blazing center of that glory. By it he bought for us every blessing—temporal and eternal. And we don’t deserve any. He bought them all. Because of Christ’s cross, God’s elect are destined to be sons of God. Because of his cross, the wrath of God is taken away. Because of his cross all guilt is removed, and sins are forgiven, and perfect righteousness is imputed to us, and the love of God is poured out in our hearts by the Spirit, and we are being conformed to the image of Christ.

Therefore every enjoyment in this life and the next that is not idolatry is a tribute to the infinite value of the cross of Christ—the burning center of the glory of God. And thus a cross-centered, cross-exalting, cross-saturated life is a God-glorifying life—the only God-glorifying life. All others are wasted."

"The opposite of being shamed is being honored. Yes, usually. But Paul was a very unusual per- son. And Christians ought to be very unusual people. For Paul, the opposite of being shamed was not his being honored, but Christ’s being honored through him. “It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that . . . Christ will be honored in my body.”

What you love determines what you feel shame about. If you love for men to make much of you, you will feel shame when they don’t. But if you love for men to make much of Christ, then you will feel shame if he is belittled on your account. And Paul loved Christ more than he loved anything or anyone. “Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:7-8)."

"It is good to work and have. It is better to work and have in order to give. God’s glory shines more brightly when he satisfies us in times of loss than when he provides for us in times of plenty. The health, wealth, and prosperity “gospel” swallows up the beauty of Christ in the beauty of his gifts and turns the gifts into idols. The world is not impressed when Christians get rich and say thanks to God. They are impressed when God is so satisfying that we give our riches away for Christ’s sake and count it gain."

"Forgiveness is essentially God’s way of removing the great obstacle to our fellowship with him. By canceling our sin and paying for it with the death of his own Son, God opens the way for us to see him and know him and enjoy him forever. Seeing and savoring him is the goal of forgiveness. Soul-satisfying fel- lowship with our Father is the aim of the cross. If we love being forgiven for other reasons alone, we are not forgiven, and we will waste our lives."

"What, then, is the root motivation for being a forgiving per- son? “Forgive one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” We are to forgive “as God . . . forgave” us. God forgave us in such a way that infinite joy in his fellowship becomes ours. God is the goal of forgiveness. He is also the ground and the means of forgiveness. It comes from him; it was accomplished through his Son; and it leads people back to him with their sins cast into the deepest sea. Therefore the motive for being a forgiving person is the joy of being freely and joyfully at home with God. At great cost to himself God gave us what we needed above all things: himself for our enjoyment forever. God’s forgiveness is important for one reason: It gives us God!"

Well, I could quote so much more, but at this point I'm just going to urge you to read the book if you haven't! There is so much richness in this book and you are missing out if you don't read it, and you might be wasting your life.

Life on Crutches

One of the bright spots (there aren't many) is that I have something to blog about. I'm starting to get the hang of crutches. I think my wrists and arms are more sore than my fractured ankle. Am I being counter productive? Speaking of being productive, I feel fat, lazy, and helpless! I am so blessed with the people in my life though. I am completely worthless and everyone has helped me get my food, given me rides, and helped me with my job. This is a humbling experience, but I think there is a lesson to be learned here. I believe God wants to show me the importance of serving. I have been shown an unbelievable amount of grace. I only hope that I can serve others when I'm recovered. Also, God is showing me how to receive. Like I said, it takes a toll on my pride to have people do things for me. I have come to realize how prideful I am. Pride is sin. Sin is thinking it's about you, when it's really about God. God has given me everything, and I deserve nothing. That makes Him so much bigger. Pray that I will be able to receive from others and that I wouldn't let my ego get in the way of what God is doing.

Childbirth Has Rights to a 10

So for the Brian Regan fans out there, you've probably heard his joke about the ER. It turns out that I had my first ER experience this morning. From the time I drove in the parking lot, to the time I left the place I was quoting his jokes. Apparently they "have" to ask you a series a questions. One of the questions they ask is "How would you rate your pain?" Of course they have to ask that one atleast three times or else they aren't doing their job. Like Brian, I felt childbirth deserves a perfect 10, so i rated myself a 3. This was probably a mistake. There weren't any other patients in the place and I still waited for over an hour! Live and learn I guess. I think the reason they make you wait so long in the ER is so that everyone won't come up there when they get a tummy ache or a bruise. In that case, I don't mind waiting. Since my ankle looks like an oversized blueberry on steroids, I felt like it was time to get it looked at. Over an hour later, they took x rays and it turned out to be a chip in a part of my ankle. So it looks like I will be out of commission for a couple of weeks. I will be on crutches (I'm horrible at it now) for the time being. I already know I take walking for granted, so this will be a very humbling experience. I feel myself getting very fat even as I type this blog post. All joking aside, I hope I can glorify God in some way going through this experience. He is so good to me!

Midnight Movies

Why would anyone want to stay up so late just to see a movie when it first comes out into the wee hours of the morning? Im glad you asked! It's more of a fellowship thing. The excitement builds for the movie and you actually to enjoy the experience. You get to catch up with people you haven't seen for a long time. In a normal movie, talking is viewed as a felony, but at a midnight movie there is plenty of time to talk beforehand. Another thing about midnight movies is that they show the best previews to peak your interest and you are actually there for the previews and not rushing to get to the theatre in time. At midnight movies, you can actually get your money's worth for the large popcorn and drinks in all the refill trips you make. Last of all, an early morning trip to Waffle House always tops things off right.

Midnight movies attended: (in order) 1. The Dark Knight, 2. Transformers II, 3. New Moon, 4. Iron Man II

Care Group Last Night

Great fellowship, great food, and great fun. These things describe TGI Friday's , but they also describe the first meeting of care groups last night. I am really looking forward to what God is going to work in me through this group. The list of things that we decided on doing from a fellowship aspect is a bit long and might take a couple of years to do! It's exciting to be around people who like to have fun!

Spiritual Anorexia

I've had this thought pop up in my head several times over the last few months. It's the idea of spiritual anorexia. If you take one look at me, you'd see that I'm no stranger to food. In fact, I rarely skip a meal. Sure, there are times when I get very hungry, but those times are always followed by me eating to satisfy that hunger. There is a common analogy that I've heard a few times that compares reading God's word to spiritual food. The Bible is filled with things that build us up in the faith and nourish us. So as believers, we look at the Bible as a type of spiritual food. Some other "spiritual foods" for me would include listening to sermons, listening to christian music, and thinking about everything God has created for his glory. So why is it that I often forget to feed myself spiritual food, but rarely forget to feed myself burgers and fries? I can come up with many excuses, but none of them would describe the joy that I'm depriving myself of. You see, I've come to realize that spiritual food is so much more satisfying than the junk I eat everyday. If I wait until Sunday morning to eat, and that is my only meal for the week, I have missed out on so much and am completely empty. I believe reading books and listening to music that stir my affections for Christ throughout the week really fills me up! In fact, I crave more and get a bigger appetite. I don't want to suffer from spiritual anorexia. I also don't want to be "spiritually bulimic" and not apply what i learn from spiritual food. My prayer is that I would be completely satisfied. And the only thing that is truly satisfying is Christ!

Joining the Blogging Word

Well, I finally started a blog. I think it's important to write down your thoughts and I enjoy sharing my thoughts, so why not start a blog? The purpose of writing my thoughts down is varied. I intend to write about what is going on in my spiritual life, and things that could benefit others. However, I'll post things that are silly and don't matter in light of eternity from time to time.