Whenever we talk about sin we also need to talk about righteousness. It doesn’t help someone very much when you tell them what they shouldn’t do if you don’t give them an alternative course of action. Yesterday, I looked at the nature of sin a bit. To summarize, sin is an addiction to the self and only Jesus Christ can set us free. We talk about this side of things a lot, but the natural question to ask is, “great, what now?” We must live for something other than ourselves. The purpose and drive behind our actions must be a love for Jesus Christ rather than our flesh. Christ’s version of righteousness is pretty simple. He told us to love God and love other people. (more…)

The bible says that the Holy Spirit is in the world now convicting people of sin, righteousness and judgment. Guilt is undeniable. I know a lot of people who try to fight it or create complex systems so that they can deal with it. However, I don’t know anyone who hasn’t felt it. Sometimes when we are sharing the gospel with people you run across someone who claims that they live their life without regrets or that they simply don’t feel guilty for their actions. Usually we find out later in the conversation that the person needed to be able to say that so that they could support whatever philosophical position they were trying to use. When you dig into their real lives instead of the life they put up for the purpose of debate, you find that most people are deeply hurting inside. Usually this is because they are addicted in some form or another. This is the basic problem of the human condition: sin. (more…)

I thought it would be a good idea to follow up the last post about fatherhood by talking about the story of the prodigal son. I like this story because Jesus uses it to show a lot of things about fatherhood all at once. First he uses the first son to show us how we can be rebellious and try to do things our own way. Then he shows us how we can be rebellious but make it look like we are doing things God’s way with the second son.  Finally he shows how the father really desires to know both his sons and have a relationship with them. I’ve heard quite a few sermons on this particular parable and they usually try to stress one son or the other. I think this is a bit of a mistake, because both sons clearly don’t understand the father’s heart for them and are simply walking in different kinds of rebellion. I think we can often fall into the same mistakes that these two sons make and miss the relationship with the father that is there for us. (more…)

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” -1 John 3:1

One of the things that we like to talk about the most in our church is the fatherhood of God. This aspect of his character is central to who he is. The more I come to know God and walk through my life with him, the more I know him as Father. From the beginning God wanted children. Ever since, we have been rebellious sons. He is hungry to know us and care for us, but we don’t trust him, and we want to do life our own way. I enjoy spending time with families in the church who have young children. You can learn a lot about yourself and your own immaturities with God by watching how young children interact with their fathers. I thought it would be a good idea to share a few of these lessons that I have picked up. (more…)

Sartre said hell was other people. I tend to think that hell is myself. It is so easy to fall into the pit of ‘me’. I’ve been a little frustrated lately because it seems like all my thoughts and feelings revolve around myself. This certainly isn’t how Jesus lived. I want to have a real heart for other people and love them unconditionally, but I can only seem to think about myself. This is a bit of a vicious cycle because the more you think about how you can change yourself to love other people you end up just thinking about your own problem. There is no way that I can free my mind from its narcissistic trap. Only Jesus is able to free us from ourselves, and that is exactly what he does. (more…)

God has been dealing with some of my spiritual laziness lately. When I am on a religious high it is easy to follow God. I can get into worship, I can pray for hours on end. However, all it takes is a few changes in my body to bring me down from this state. If you make me tired or hungry, you reveal my zeal for what it really is: emotion. This all wouldn’t really be a problem except for the fact that I tend to get tired and hungry and grouchy fairly often, and that seriously cuts into my ability to seek God. I want to be the steadfast Christian that will follow God in difficult times. Like Peter I promise Jesus that I would die for him, but when it comes time for my faith to be tested, I shrink away. (more…)

I thought it would be a good idea to follow up yesterday’s post with one on repentance. Rose made the comment that many people don’t want to come and seek God because they don’t really want to face themselves. This raises an important question, “what is repentance?” I don’t know very many people who are all that afraid to say ’sorry’ to God. Usually it is a relief to get things of your chest; make a clean slate of it all and forget about it. However, it is a much different thing to actually come to the place of giving something over to God and abandoning a way of life that you have been cherishing for so long. (more…)

In talking to people about God, I often tell them that they really need to seek Him. This is often met with a blank stare or a confused comment. People seem to think that seeking God is some mystical kind of lifestyle that has to do with monk robes and candles. However, when I say “seek God” I mean an action that is as definite as playing basketball or watching a movie. I stand on the promise of scripture that if you seek God, you will find him. Too many Christians have never really heard from God because they have never really sought him.

People generally think of requests when they think about prayer. They think about talking to God and asking him for things. However, the most valuable part of prayer is when God talks back. Most of us never experience this because we aren’t really listening. (more…)

Last night I watched the first episode of the BBC program Planet Earth. I was stunned by the amazing camera shots and high definition images. As one of my friends said, “This looks more real than real. If I went to that place, it wouldn’t look nearly as cool.” The presentation of distant and exotic parts of the globe reminded me to worship God. I think it is very easy for us to get caught up in our problems and the things going on right around us. We can forget to praise the Creator of this fantastic world we live in. I can easily become discontent with God because things right around me don’t look so wonderful. It is also easy for modern Christians to come before God with a flippant ‘buddy’ attitude, forgetting that he is the Lord of all that is, Maker of heaven and earth. (more…)

“Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.” –Luke 11:34-35

We need to watch ourselves. Jesus is simply stating a spiritual law here. The stuff that comes into you from the outside, the stuff you see, affects your insides. All too often we think we are unaffected. We think it is fine to watch the movie, because we would never do any of the things in it ourselves. The question is never, “what can I do and still be Christian?” The question is always, “how can I become more like Christ?” (more…)