What is "Above Reproach"?

I am ashamed to admit that I am a fan of Sports talk radio. As a believer this can be quite difficult due to the fact that sports radio tends to be like the sports section of the newspaper, a Hooters advertisement on steroids. If you happen to be like me then you have been listening to all the talk about Alex Rodriguez and his divorce. They have been talking about did he or did he not have an affair with Madonna, did he or did he not have an affair with another girl earlier this year. They have been talking about whether or not it was right for the media to report on these things. They talk about an era in sports reporting where when athletes were cheating on their wives the media would look the other way. It's interesting, but none of the shows I have listened to has stated teh obvious, be above reproach.

"Encourage younger men likewise to be self-controlled, yourself to be an example of good works in every way. In your teaching show integrity, dignity, a sound message that cannot be criticized, so that any opponent will be at a loss, because he has nothing evil to say about us." Titus 2:6-8

As I listened to all these sports guys talk about this situation all I could think about is that as Christians we are called to be above reproach. That is we are called to be in a position, like the verse above states, that will not give anyone the opportunity to speak evil about us. If we live our lives so that no one could even intimate that we are cheating on our wives, so that no one could say that we are liars, cheaters or thieves. As believers we must live a life that is holy. The word holy in the original language means to be separated from and that is what we are to be. If you are a believer do you hang out with people that curse the Gospel? Do you watch movies that you shouldn't? What about the television shows you watch or the music you listen to? How do you act at work? Is it different then when you are a t home or at church?

There are a lot of believers out there that are that are riding the fence. If we as believers chose to look like the world then we are doing anything, but remaining above reproach. In our culture today Christianity has become a religious word. It really can mean everything and anything, even one who does not believe in the true Christ. Believer the challenge for you today is to live a life that truly defines the word Christian. You are called to live a holy and righteous life. You are called to be above reproach. Believer if the media were to follow you around as much as they follow the celebrities of our culture would they be able to bring a case against you showing that you have acted contrary to the Gospel? Examine your life and chose not to be an Alex Rodriguez. Chose to be holy and above reproach.

Christian Secession

Today I read an article about the town of Needles, California and how it wanted to secede from the state of California. Apparently they are not happy because the county seat is over 200 miles away. They are closer to Las Vegas, Nevada and Bullhead City, Arizona then they are to the place where county business is taken care of. They feel that Needles will get better representation and that they will have an opportunity to grow if they were in one of the neighboring states.

This article got me to thinking of Christians. When we make a profession of faith we are in a sense seceding from culture and the world. We are telling a culture that is given to sin that we would be better represented with Christ. When we secede from our culture we are shedding the "Old Man".....

"That you put off concerning the former conversation the OLD man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that you put on the NEW man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." (Ephesians 4:22-24)

If you call yourself a "Christian"(let me make this a little more clear since these days "Christian" could mean anything, a follower of Jesus Christ, the Truth, the Life and the Way.....the ONLY Way)you are to shed, uh secede from, the old man and put on the clothing of the "New Man". The idea here is that those clothes that once made us the "Old Man" need to be shed and burned so that we can be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. You know that saying, "the clothing makes the man"? Well this time it is true. Our representation is in Christ, because we get better representation before His Father. Christ stands before His Father and tells Him that His death on the cross paid for our sins. Our secession from the culture comes with the benefit of eternal life in heaven.

As believers we must secede from our culture for this reason also....

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2)

Paul tells Christians that secession is not just physical, it is mental also. Our secession must be a total change of our mind set. When we leave our culture behind we must leave it realizing that our commitment is total and not in part. When a city secedes from a state, it is total. There is no turning back. So it is with us when we become Christians.

So here is what you have to ask yourself Christian, have you seceded from the culture? Have you made more then just a physical commitment to Christ? Is your mind being renewed by the Word of God?

What if God Twittered?

Well I'm back from my techno fast (not fast like speed, but fast like to go without). Every now and then I go without stuff just to regain focus on what is important to me. Mainly to re-dedicate myself to my study of Gods Word, to re-dedicate myself to being a husband and father and most importantly re-dedicating myself to the Lord. So anyways while on my techno fast I though up the following blog entry and a few others I will be writing over the next few days and weeks.

I guess it's been a month now since I read an article about an American student who was arrested in Egypt along with his translator. The American student almost immediately started Twittering about what was going on. He was eventually released, but what is amazing is that all his friends whether in America or abroad were instantly updated to what was going on with their friend. Then a few weeks ago I saw that the same student was using Twitter to get his translator released. Once again this student was utilizing the power of the internet and this bulletin board of sorts to get information in the hands of his friends and loved ones.

So this got me thinking, what if God were to utilize Twitter to tell us what He was doing? or better yet what if He were to tell us what we need know when we need to know it. For instance one of His Twitters could be "Sitting here watching my creation live life without me" or "@Paperboy, Dude you need to treat your wife better". Wouldn't that be awesome?

Another thought was what if God had His own blog? He could blog about the things He does everyday. He could blog about what He sees day in and day out as He watches His creation. Talk about bringing people to Himself and letting people know about His grace. God could blog about Jesus and the sacrifice He made on the cross. He could blog about the necessity of the cross and about how there is only one way to heaven and it is through his Son. How awesome would that be?

Well if we take a what we know of God we will see that He actually was ahead of the times and already has His own "twitter" account and blog. Here is what I mean. When we pray God in essence Twitters us. Instead of posting What He is doing or what He requires of us on the internet, He lays it on our hearts when we humble ourselves before His thrown. God twitters us everyday if we allow him to. When we pray we allow ourselves to see and hear God's twitters. So do you hear God's Twitters?

As to the God's blog, we have scripture. God has written all about Himself in the Bible. God has blogged through the pens of men in the canon of scripture. God has told us who He is and all about what He has done. He has shown us what is required to be one of His own and He has told us why He required the blood of Christ for our sins. We see His love for man and at the same time we see His righteous judgement displayed. So do you read God's blog? It is the oldest blog known to man.

So my question to you is, do you humble yourself before the throne of God? Do you read scripture?

The Religious Buffet Line

Today's society is one that claims tolerance and co-existence. This mentality has seeped into the church in a big way. We have said that for the sake of "co-existence" we will claim the doctrine of humility and call all religions good. After all if we are truly humble then how can any of us claim that we know absolute truth. Under this doctrine of humility we allow ourselves to treat all religions as a buffet line so that we can take the parts we like from varying religions. In the mainline Protestant/Evangelical religion some have taken the Bible and carved it up so that all that is intolerable, all that may be offensive and all that may cause others to be convicted by their sin, is taken out of our so-called faith.

I know I cannot escape the following verses when it comes to God, Jesus and the Bible and for that reason I do claim to know absolute truth.

"All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and truth To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies." Psalm 25:10

"Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have ransomed me, O LORD, God of truth." Psalm 31:5

"For His lovingkindness is great toward us, And the truth of the LORD is everlasting. Praise the LORD!" Psalm 117:2

"The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting." Psalm 119:160

"For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ." John 1:17

"Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." John 14:6

"Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." John 17:17

"because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel" Colossians 1:5

"In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures." James 1:18

The above are only a few verses in scripture that testify to 1) God being the truth; 2) Jesus being the truth; and 3) Scripture being the truth because they are the words of God. So for me is there absolute truth? Absolutely, scripture tells me so.

One argument that is made by buffet line Christians and that is that Jesus is a way and not the only way. Well look at John 14:6 above. Jesus says clearly that He is the way and that no one gets to heaven except through Him. I do believe that makes His statement absolute. This is not a verse we can leave behind as we pass through the buffet of religions. Christianity is not part of the buffet line, it is the meal.

Another argument seems be the humility argument. The one that says that if I were truly humble I would see that there are many ways to heaven and my way is only one. Well true humility is humbling yourself before an almighty God, realizing that you are the created being and He is the Creator. It is actually prideful of us when we choose the buffet line in opposition to the one true God and the one way. True humility is not found through self-actualization or relying on your own understanding to find out what is truth, it is the belief in one true God and then coming into submission and obedience to that one true God.

I just want to close this post with one verse, " For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." Romans 1:25.

To Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

I say that because you did not leave your name when you made your comment yesterday on my blog. I normally do not respond to anonymous responses because they are usually drive by commenter's. People who leave their two cents but really have no intention of discussing the article they have commented on. You commented on the "Coexist" bumper sticker and that movement in particular when the article you commented on was on the singularity of truth. You say that we "coexist" so that we all will meet in heaven when the reality of that statement is just the opposite. We accept coexistence so that we do not have to believe in an absolute truth.

Your comment proves my point out to a tee. Our post modern culture has taken us to the point where we believe the parts of differing religions we want to believe so that we are not convicted of our sin. Anonymous, I understand that you feel that by not upsetting anybody due to their religious beliefs you are right in line with a God that loves all of us. That reality of that statement is that it is only half true. God, the one true God, is also a God of wrath. He is a God that demands payment for our sins. Since none of us are perfect and will never reach perfection He gave us the sacrifice He required in Jesus Christ. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins, yours and mine, He satisfied the payment that was required by God. When Jesus rose from the dead He conquered death so that we may have eternal life.

Please understand that their is only one way to heaven and that is through full repentance by us that we are sinners requiring a Savior and that we believe that Jesus....not Budah, Jesus.....not the Islamic Allah, Jesus.....not how good you of a person you are, but belief in Jesus and in Him alone will gain you entrance into heaven. Understand that to believe that the coexistence of religions as a way to gain heaven will only gain you an eternity in hell.

Anonymous it is my prayer that you would understand that there is a singular truth and that the only way to heaven. For the record my desire is to see you in heaven too so if you happen to come back across this blog,please comment and please feel free to leave your name because true Christianity will love you and desire you to have what all believers have in Jesus Christ.

Training Your Children By Using Proverbs

Over the summer our college group will be going through a series on "Practicing Proverbs". My thought behind this series was to train our college students in the use of Proverbs. Proverbs is a book full of Wisdom on varying different topics. I hope and pray that this is as much of a blessing to the students as this study has already been to me.

As I started studying for this series I re-read a book I truly love, "Practicing Proverbs" by Richard Mayhue. This book lays out how to utilize proverbs to combat situations that we encounter daily in our lives. This book also has taken the topics that Proverbs talks about and gives references to which proverbs speak into which situation. This is a great training tool as well as a great study tool.

As I went through this book his time the text that grabbed me was the one on training your children through the use of Proverbs. Mayhue sites that these 10 principles came out "Successful Christian Parenting" by John MacArthur.

Proverbs 1:7;9:10 – Teach your children to fear the Lord.

Proverbs 4:23 – Teach your children to guard their mind

Proverbs 1:8 – Teach your children to obey their parents

Proverbs 13:20 – Teach your children how to select their friends

Proverbs 2:16-19;5:3-5 – Teach your children to control their lusts

Proverbs 5:15-20 – Teach your children to enjoy their spouses

Proverbs 4:24 – Teach your children to watch their words

Proverbs 6:6-8 – Teach your children to manage their money

Proverbs 3:27-29 – Teach your children to love their neighbors

When Solomon wrote Proverbs he was writing them from a father to their sons. These Proverbs were written for the purpose of instructing our children in the way they should go. We as parents should be echoing the following sentiments of Solomon:

"Hear, {O} sons, the instruction of a father, And give attention that you may gain understanding, For I give you sound teaching; Do not abandon my instruction. When I was a son to my father, Tender and the only son in the sight of my mother, Then he taught me and said to me, "Let your heart hold fast my words; Keep my commandments and live;" Proverbs 4:1-4

I pray that we all as Christian parents would desire our children to follow in the footsteps of Christ. Let us all train our kids in the Proverbs.

Impact Your World

This morning as I was going through my morning routine I came across this article at CNN.com titled "Impact Your World". As a believer I was curious as to how a secular news site would instruct people impact their world. If it wasn't so early in the morning I probably would have guessed on my own, but I didn't. As the article came up it spoke of different organizations we can support that are going out and helping countries that are in need, like Myanmar. This is a good thing, I really don't want to criticize this method of assistance, but if you are a believer what are you doing to impact your world?

That is the question that nearly floored me this morning. Lately I have been struggling with the question, "Am I impacting my world or community......for Christ?" I think that we as believers should ask ourselves this question often. Thew question does not become is it better to help the cyclone victims of Myanmar or the beleaguered people of the United States that are currently struggling with gas prices, food and the possibility of losing their house. The question is am I doing anything? Providing people in need with the necessities of life is an open door to give them the necessity for eternal life.

Some of you as you read this are probably like me, asking yourself the following question: "How can I help, I have a full time job and a family. I have no time to give." The thing that I have come to realize is that we all have a missionary field and it is the one we live in everyday. Do you have co-workers? Do they know Christ? How about your neighbors, have you shared your faith with them? Listen believer I'm not saying to beat your co-workers over he head with scripture, but I am saying are you looking for the open doors God gives you?

Yesterday I read a friend's blog and he had written an article about how allowed fear to paralyze him when the Lord opened the door for him to share the Gospel. I believe that his blog describes us on most occasions that the open door comes. We are afraid of looking like freaks or fundamentalists or just plain religious. We put our own pride before our ability to share the best gift we have ever received with someone. On Monday I had to give my boss a Seminary referral sheet for him to fill out. I did not know how my boss was going to react so I was a bit afraid. When he took the evaluation and explained my intentions he began to ask questions about the bible and why I felt it was important to have this type of training. Open Door! For the next half hour I proceeded to explain the Gospel to him and I explained how my love for God and scripture had grown to the point where I felt I needed to educate myself so that I could teach, preach and train others. It was an opportunity that I did not expect to have, I'm glad the Lord gave me the courage not to miss it.

So how can we impact our world believer? First pray for it and second share the love of our Lord and the salvation we have through the cross. Call those around you to repentance and invite them to church with you. Be a living example of Christ's love.

Howto Combat Spiritual Fatality Syndrome (Pt. 2)

In my last blog I spoke of one of many causes of Spiritual Fatality Syndrome (SFS), Anxiety. This is not the only cause, but is one of the most common in the evangelical church today. As I meet with college students I began to see that they have anxiety over tests, grades, life after school and relationships. All these can, if left unchecked the beginning of the road to SFS. In adults we see it often with finances, marriage issues, children and a lot of times the rampant sin in our culture. In the next few blogs I am going to give you a couple of ways to build up your immune system against SFS.

Today we can take a look at "Reflecting on the Promises of God". A great way to inoculate yourself against SFS is to go through scripture and remind yourself of the promises of God and look at how He fulfilled them.

Ps. 89:3-4 “You have said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: 'I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.'" Selah” This promise we can glory in with the Psalmist, because God did advance Davids line forever and that throne is the one Christ will sit on forever. God promised David that an eternal kingdom would come through his bloodlines and He fulfilled that with Jesus. So what can we glory in? We glory in the fact that God makes promises that are to be fulfilled generations in the future and then arranges lives and events so that Jesus would be born with the right bloodlines. Jesus is also the one that resides on an eternal thrown and because of this promise we have an eternal King that has resided with us and has experienced exactly what we have experienced.

2 Peter 1:3-4 “by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” Here is the promise that we have in Christ. This is the promise that through Christ's sacrifice we have been forgiven of our sins and share in His divinity. This is the promise that we have a future inheritance in Christ. We, through Christ's sacrifice on the cross, have a future in which we will reign with Him in heaven. What joy we have in that. If you are a believer, can you not joy in this?

Rom. 15:8 “For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,” Christ fulfilled Gods promise that He would send a perfect sacrifice for His people. Christ became our servant so that He could show that God did not lie when He promised that He would send us a Savior. The part that amazes me is that Christ humbled Himself to come down here to be a servant to us so that I could spend eternity with Him.


2 Cor. 1:20 “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” What an awesome reminder that all of His promises find their "yes" in Him. Hopefully if you are a believer you, like Paul, utter a hearty amen when remembering that our God fulfills all His promises.

Titus 1:1-2 “in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began” Lastly, one of my favorite verses on God. We have eternal life because His promises have been fulfilled. Why? Because He never lies! Awesome. This is a great reminder to comfort in Him and not men. Men lie, God does not! Glory in that.


Hopefully with inoculation shot one you can find glory in God and through that fight SFS.

How To Combat Spiritual Fatality Syndrome (Part 1)

A while back I taught a lesson to the college group at Placerita Baptist Church on Spiritual Fatality Syndrome. Spiritual Fatality Syndrome, or SFS as I like to call it, grips most Christians and renders them ineffective in the Christian race (Heb. 12:1). SFS can be diagnosed fairly simply. When you see a believer that is so encumbered by things like anxiousness, fear of man, spiritual inadequecy or the feeling that their sin is so bad that they could never be forgiven, they have Spiritual Fatality Syndrome.

Why is it called Spiritual Fatality Syndrome? The reason is simple. When you have believers that are rendered of no use to the kingdom because of their encumbrances they experience a slow spiritual death. This hits all age brackets and sees no boundaries.

When I spoke to the college group I gave them 5 ways to battle this, the first was "Be Anxious for Nothing". We took a look at the following verses as a way to build up our immunity against Anxiousness and Fear of Men.

Ps. 127:2 “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.” So often we lose sleep when we are anxious for things to happen in our lives. We are anxious that things may go bad or that we may not be able to handle what life throws our way. The Psalmist says here have faith in God. If you rest in Him then you will have good sleep. Anxiousness and fear of man stem from a lack of faith. Believe that He gives you rest and He will give you rest.

Isa. 35:4 “Say to those who have an anxious heart, "Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you." When trials seem so hard that you can not get out from under them remember that God, when relied upon will come to your rescue. When we believe that God is powerful enough to save us out of all situations we will be blessed.

1 Cor. 7:32-34 “I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. (33) But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, (34) and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband.” Paul addresses some of the anxieties we could have and goes on in 1 Corinthians to show us that we need not be anxious for these things. If we are in prayer and in the scripture and our heart is truly fixed on the Author of Life, then we will be in the Lords will and we will be doing what He desires us to do. The key here is having the right focus. We must focus on God and not the things that encompass us.

Philippians 4:6 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” So what is the best way to fight anxiousness? Through prayer and supplication. Come into perfect obedience to God, by submitting to His authority and He will comfort us. When we pray we ought to asking him to strengthen us from our anxious hearts and to comfort us our time of fear. We should also pray that the Lord would give us the faith we need to run our race effectively.

Now these are just a few verses. There are more that address anxiousness like Jer. 17:8, Matt. 6:25-34, Luke 10:41 and Luke 12:22-26. Ultimately we need to have faith and that pointed out beautifully in Matt. 6:25-34. Always remember the lilies, the birds and the grass of the field. As pointed out in Matt. 6, if God takes care of those things why would He not take care of you believer? This reminder keeps me from being anxious and I hope it does the same for you.

Running the Race

When I was in high school I tried out for many sports. In my Freshman and Sophomore year I played football and basketball and at the end of my Sophomore year the football coach came to me and told me as kindly as he could not to try out for the football team because I was on the small side. At this time I was not happy with basketball either, the coach and I didn't see eye to eye on things like favoritism and my playing time(when I say playing time I mean lack of playing time....well I mean like it was non-existent). That spring I decided to give track a whirl. I mainly stayed with the field events at first, because I had no desire to run in circles. Then as the season progressed my coach needed a 400 meter hurdle runner so I tried it. After a couple of weeks I got pretty good at it. A few weeks later the distance coach got a hold of me and that was it my running career began. I then ran cross country and track my Junior and Senior year. I started to enjoy it because I was half way descent at it. It is because of that time in my life that I have always had a fondness for bible verses that talk about running. I could relate to the symbolism.

This week I am going to be teaching our of Hebrews 12:1-3, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted."

As I read this passage a couple of things stuck out to me having been a runner. The first was the part where the writer of Hebrews says "let us also lay aside every weight". The Greek word used here for lay aside every weight is the word for hook. The idea here is a hook that you would use to hang some objects by. In today's terms it might be a hanger that you use to hold your clothes, but this hanger would hold heavier things. The though that came to my mind was, "you've got be kidding me running with something attached to you? You could never run to your full potential that way". That is the writers point exactly. The message to us out of this is that we can not run the Christian race as long as we are weighted down by things like anxiety, fear of man, fear of death, fear of being made fun of or even something as simple as not repenting of your sins. You see in your race all these things weigh you down and your running will not be that effective. I can remember as a runner the clothes we would wear, I should say the lack of clothes we would wear, they were barely there because you did not want them to interfere with your running. Dear believer shed those things that may be weighing you down. Go to the Lord now in prayer and ask Him to help you shed those things.

The second thing that struck me was "and the sin that clings to you". The imagery here is fantastic! The Greek word here gives you the idea of something closely guarded, some sin that is constantly occurring in your life. When I read this I though of a friend of mine. This friend would work out with leg weights on. I practice he would never be towards the front of the pack because of the leg weights. Our coach would tell him that the leg weights worked out the wrong muscles and worked out the right muscles the wrong way. In essence he would never gain the speed he needed to be effective in a race. Sure enough when race day came, he was never towards the front because of his workout habits and his lack of listening to the coach. That is the idea here. The writer of Hebrews is telling you and I that we need to shed the sin in our lives that hinder our running the race. When we entertain sin and tell ourselves it's ok, that is hampering your ability to run the race. When we allow certain sins into our lives because they are fun, we hamper our ability to run he race. When we justify sin in our life because other so called believers do it, we hamper our ability to run the race. Dear believer shed that sin. Strip yourself down to only the necessary things to the race you are running.

Dear believer run the race to your best ability and don't be complacent with a walk. Run.....run as hard as you can and to the best of your ability striving for those around you to impacted by the manner in which you run.

It's a Good Thing God isn't an NBA Referee

It's funny, basketball is my favorite sport. I enjoy playing the game even though in my ever increasing age what little talent I had is getting less and less and my recovery time from playing is getting greater and greater. I love college basketball more than the NBA, but at this time of the year I do watch a few NBA playoff games. You see I really do not like watching the NBA, because there are two sets of rules. One for the highly talented, famous ones and one for the rookies and the not so talented. If a sport has rules then they should apply to all and not just a few.

As I sat and watched one game tonight I thought about if God was an NBA referee. Would you have to be rich or famous to be worthy of salvation? Would it be about the return on His investment in you? Would He favor some of us over others because of our talents? Would pastors gain a greater favor with Him than say a lay leader? If God were to treat us like NBA referees referee an NBA game we would not know how to get to heaven or even if we did our best if we would even get into heaven.

I find comfort in knowing that my God is a fair God and that He does not judge us based on who we are. We all start out as sinners (Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,") and it's by Gods grace that we are seen as perfect (Romans 3:24 "being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus"). It is not based on how we use the talent God gifted us with and how we use it. It is not based on a popularity contest or how many good deeds we do. 

As I watch the NBA I will be reminded now and find comfort in the fact that my God is the same God for me as He is with you. I will find comfort in the fact that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ for both of us. I will find comfort in the fact that there is nothing I can do to gain salvation outside of proclaim Christ as my Lord and Savior. 

Kids That Live.......Gospel

The past few days I have been working on final lesson for our college group this school year. You see our college group is primarily students that live in other places then my beloved SCV. Now it's not like we shut our group down for the summer or anything like that, but come May 11th our college group will decrease by 80% and takes on a totally different dynamic. While studying I couldn't help but think about raising the next generation to live like the Gospel matters.

So how do we as Christian parents do that? Well the best way in my mind is to train them in the understanding of Scripture, not just memorization. Take a look at the Westminster Catechism for Children. I believe this to be a great way to help your children to understand the theology that comes with an understanding of scripture. Let's take a look at a few.

The first is "Who made you?" Teaching the understanding of this one principal this day in age is a great state. In a society that questions who made who to teach your kids that an all knowing creator God created them is a monumental start.

The second is "What else did God make?" After your child understands that he/she did not just come from some ooze and that they have an almighty God that created them, they can learn that He also made everything else. Boy I don't think Oprah will go there. We must instill in our children that their God, the one that wants to have a personal relationship with them created everything.

The third is "Why did God make all things?" Goodness, doesn't this piece of theology fly in the face of our culture? When we teach our children that God created all things for His glory and not our own personal fame and glory we raise a generation that is humbled by the awesomeness of our God. This one question also brings us back to raising children that live like the gospel matters in their lives. If we raise our kids to understand that they are here on earth at this point in time to glorify God then we see kids that understand that life is not about them.

I could go on and on with this. Questions like "Can God do all things?", "Where do you learn how to love and obey God?" and "Can any one be saved through the covenant of works?" Parents have you ever looked at the Westminster Catechism as a part of your understanding of what we believe? If you have never read this you should take some time and go over it. What a way to understand what we believe.

I pray that we would all raise children that live like the Gospel matters.

Man's Great End

The following is taken from "The Valley of Vision". Normally I don't do this, but this is one of my favorites and this morning as I read it and even now as I write it I pray that I would live this.

Lord of all Being,
There is one thing that deserves my greatest care,
that calls forth my ardent desires,
That is, that I may answer the great end for which I am made -
to glorify thee who hast given me being,
and to do all the good I can for my fellow men;
Verily, life is not worth having
if it be not improved for His noble purpose.
Yet, Lord, how little is this the thought of mankind!
Most men seem to live for themselves,
without much or any regard for thy glory,
or for the good of others;
They earnestly desire and eagerly pursue
the riches, honours, pleasures of the life,
as if they supposed that wealth, greatness, merriment,
could make their immortal souls happy;
But alas, what false delusive dreams are these!
And how miserable ere long will those be that sleep in them,
for all our happiness consists in loving thee,
and being holy as thou art holy.

O may I never fall into the tempers and vanities,
the sensuality and folly of the present world!
It is a place of inexpressible sorrow, a vast empty nothingness;
Time is a moment, a vapor,
and all its enjoyment are empty bubbles,
fleeting blasts of wind,
from which nothing satisfactory can be derived;
Give me grace always to keep in covenant with thee,
and to reject as delusion a great name here or hereafter,
together with all sinful pleasures or profits.
Help me to know continually
that there can be no true happiness,
no fulfilling of thy purpose for me,
apart from a life lived in and for
the Son of thy love.

My prayer is that I would live like the Gospel Matters! Live with a Kingdom purpose and not to get caught up in the folly of the world. I hope yours is too.

Living Like the Gospel Matters

What could be better than a weekend at the beach? Could it be beach camping with a good cup of Starbucks in your hand? Could it be watching the wonderful sunrise and sunset that can only be captured when camping? Those are all good things, but a great weekend at the beach includes a great speaker challenging between 40-50 college students to start living a life that shows that the Gospel matters.

This past weekend was the Placerita Baptist College group camp out and it was a wonderful time of hearing Gods Word taught and admiring Gods creation in all it's splendor. A person who I am glad to call my friend, Todd Nighswonger, Executive Pastor at Simi valley Cornerstone Church, was our speaker and he taught out of 1 Corinthians.

Todd in teaching through 1 Corinthians asked us if when we woke up each morning do we think about the work we as believers are privileged to do, the work of the gospel and spreading it through out So. Cal. and beyond. He then went through a day and asked if we were excited that all day long we were to be living, eating and breathing the Gospel. He asked us if when we look at unbelievers are we praying for them to come to a saving knowledge of the Gospel. Then he asked us that as we lay our head down at night are we excited by the fact that tomorrow morning we get to do it all over again. In fact you will know that you have run into one of our college students because he challenged us to remind each other of our Gospel duty by saying to each other,"Gospel". So right now if you have Facebook you can see the impact of this message, because our campers have posted their status as "Gospel". I pray that this will not just be a "mountain top" experience.

In his final message he challenged us to live for the Kingdom. He told us that if we were living like the Gospel mattered then our finances would be used for advancing the Kingdom, our education would be used for advancing the Kingdom and most of all our lives would be given to advance the Kingdom. What a challenge for today's Christian! Are you living like the Gospel matters?

A thought that I was struck with throughout this weekend was that there is no such thing as an inactive Christian. As believers we are to be active at all times, living like the Gospel matters and do everything within the talents that God has given us to further the Kingdom.

What Ever Happened to the Color Purple?

You know it's very interesting the way people flock to celebrities. It's almost like we feel if we are somehow tied to them (i.e. wearing their clothes line, autographs or their line of dishes) that we will be a celebrity to. Lately though we have seen celebrities advocating the religion they support unabashedly (i.e. Tom Cruise and Scientology). The one that I have tried to steer clear of is Oprah though. When she endorsed "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne I shrugged it off to her version of "Scientology". But lately Oprah has taken on a new sense of spiritual enthusiasm. It wasn't until I read this article this morning that I realized that this is getting to be like a fire in So. Cal. on a day that the Santa Ana's are blowing a gale.

Oprah has taken this idea of informing us of her religion to the next step, which is evangelizing us with her religious beliefs. Even in our Post Modern, everyone has their own personal truth culture, her "religion" seems pretty out there. As shown in this article even the press seems to be hammering on her choice of people to support as her guru's. So why did I feel now was a good time to bring this up?

2 Timothy 4:3 says, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but {wanting} to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,"

I believe that we live in a culture that typifies what Paul was telling Timothy in the above verse. We live in a culture first that cannot "endure" sound doctrine. Thats just it isn't it? They do not have the foundation to endure that battle at hand. When you have a solid foundation in God through Christ by the reading and understanding of His word then and only then will you be able to endure the battle at hand. This is not to say that it will be easy, but you will have the armor that is required to fight.

So then when believers in our culture do not endure we see that they give into a doctrine that "tickles" their ears. The idea is that because the Gospel is so hard to believe they seek a palatable gospel. This is where the post modern church steps in. They have a gospel of love so that they can attract more people. They take away the necessity for the cross so that they do not have to be sinners in the hand of an angry God. Our culture also will take away the singularity of the truth so that their sin can become tolerable. If we reduce God to our level, if we say that God is not all knowing, if we say that God is not everywhere or if we say that God is not all powerful then we teach a heretical gospel. When we do not endure we will seek a Gospel that does not convict us.

Then comes the last verse and what I feel sums up our culture to a tee. They seek teachers in accordance to their desires. Since these people are not well grounded they seek out teachers that teach a doctrine that is easy to believe. Not only are there pastors teaching Gospel lite, but there are people that want a lite Gospel. This is where we come to Oprah and her bizarre religious beliefs. Since her religion talks about how we are all good and that we just need to find ourselves. Believers we need to defend our faith from the attacks by people like Oprah and the Post Modern Church. It's more than that though, it's also evangelizing the people caught up in these ministries. We must desire to see them come to know the one true Gospel. Pray that many warriors would be raised up for this battle.

If you would like to listen some powerful messages on teaching the one true Gospel, listen to these messages from the Together for the Gospel conference.

Dr. Peter Jones on University Truth Exchange

Below is a video that Jay Wetger of The Masters College sent me of Dr. Peter Jones describing UTX (University Truth Exchange). It is going on this weekend at The Masters College and this will be the only time it's on the west coast. You can sign up at the College. This is a conference that will be all over the country so if you would like to know if it will be in your region of the country please feel free to leave me a comment and I will get you the information.

It's all in the Parenting

This morning as I was going through my normal reading regiment I came across and article (sidebar to this article has some articles that are inappropriate please use caution when navigating there) about a young lady that started drinking at 12. By he time she was 14 she had liver failure, but that did not stop her. She is now 18 and is in rehab. She suffers from short term memory loss due to the drinking.

As a Christian parent I read this and was appalled at the fact that the mom didn't have a clue about what was going on, but then as I though about it I know parents like this and they attend church weekly. It is amazing to me that parents can be so clueless about the goings on of their children, but yet in our society it has become "cool" to let our kids act like adults. We have allowed our kids the freedoms that used to be only alloted to an adult and the scary thing is that we, as society, are allowing it to affect younger and younger children.

So how do we handle this as Christian parents? Do we bring our kids in closer to home and become inclusive? Do we shelter our kids from the culture to he point that all they know is the four walls of your home? I don't believe so. I believe whether you are a home school parent or a parent of a public school kid these dangers exist. It all comes back to the interaction you have with your children and how you have trained them.

There are a few of scripture that always come to mind when I think of how I should parent my children.

Psalm 34:11 " Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD."

Psalm 78:5 "For He established a testimony in Jacob And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers That they should teach them to their children,"

Deut. 6:6-9 "These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

We are to train our children to in scripture so that they will turn from sin when encountering it. We as parents cannot expect to always be there when our kids encounter temptation. By shielding our kids from what we perceive sin to be instead of training our kids in scripture and helping them to understand who God is will be foolishness and yet many Christian parents see this as a solution. Sheltering our kids from the culture is not the solution. the solution is training our kids.

We as parents, not just Christian parents must start acting like their parents and not their friends. We must debrief them when they get home from school, screen their friends and most of all listen to their music and screen their television shows and movies. We as parents are supposed to train and guide them not hang out with them.
Parents how well do you know your kids? Do you know their friends? Do you know what they are doing? Don't be like the mom above and assume that your child is at a friends house instead of at school.

A Shameless Plug

For awhile now my brother in law, Matt Green and a person on staff with me at our church, Brad Silverman along with a myriad of other people have been working on a faith based movie called "No Greater Love".

Here is a synopsis of the movie, taken from the web site for the movie:

Jeff and Heather were the “Lucky ones.” Best friends from childhood, high school sweethearts, and married by twenty-two. They were inseparable soul mates. Over time, however, Jeff became a workaholic, and Heather felt the neglect. After the birth of their son, Ethan, and with Jeff never around, Heather fell into a deep depression. In a moment of despair, Heather made the life-altering decision to leave Jeff for the night…and never returned. After police searches, missing person’s reports, and endless efforts to find her…she was gone.

Ten years later…life has moved on for Jeff and Ethan. Jeff is on the verge of proposing to Katie, his girlfriend of eight months, and Ethan has grown into a well-adjusted eleven year old. While not forgotten, Heather is a vivid, but distant memory of the past for Jeff, and no memory at all for Ethan.

Jeff is befriended by Dave, a fellow regular at a local coffee house. After striking up a friendship, they learn that their sons are baseball little league teammates. With summer break approaching, Dave encourages Jeff to allow Ethan to come to “Kids Fest,” a fun, week-long kid’s summer event at Dave’s church. Ambivalent toward God and church, but feeling that Kids Fest would be - if nothing else - good babysitting for his son, Jeff accepts.

Ethan has a blast, and on the final day, Jeff and Katie are persuaded to attend a brief show, which the kids are performing. It is on this day that Jeff receives the monumental shock of his life. Heather is one of the Kids Fest helpers!

Three years prior to their Kids Fest encounter, Heather had been saved from her sin, and was now a committed Christian. With all her heart, she had diligently attempted to find the whereabouts of Jeff and Ethan, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Turning it over to God, she had fervently been praying to see them again, and by God’s grace, here they were!

Jeff is forced to wrestle with forgiveness, reconciliation, and the irresistible grace of God.

I would encourage you to go to the web site to see a behind the scenes video and to sign up for updates on the movie. Most of all I would like to ask you to pray for this movie.....pray that it may find it's way into an arena that would get the maximum exposure and pray that people would come to know the Lord through this.

The Purrrrfect Cup of Joe

OK tonight while doing my normal Internet reading I came across this article about a $100 cup of coffee. Now I consider myself somewhat of a coffee snob. I like Peet's coffee instead of Starbucks coffee because I feel that the flavor of Peet's black coffee is a lot better. So......when I see an article about a $100 cup I have to see what's so special about these beans that makes this cup of coffee worth $100. 

Well this is a blend of two types of beans, it combines Jamaican Blue Mountain and Kupi Luwak, two extremely rare coffees. Now check this part out, "The beans of Kupi Luwak are harvested after first being ingested by Civet cats and only around 260 kilos of the coffee is produced each year." OK lets follow this logic, cat ingests coffee beans and ......coffee beans come out....a yeah the coffee beans come out of the cat. I can see the barista now, "Sir would you like the kitty litter blend or the non-kitty letter blend?" They call it Caffe Raro, they should call it the Purina Blend or the new and improved Meow Mix.

OK so check out this quote, "The cats select the best beans to chew. It's rather like a natural filtering process," OK so lets go through this one more time....the cats eat the beans and the beans come out. Does that gross anyone other than me out?

So now for the understatement quote of the year..."It's not exactly flying off the shelves -- it's very expensive after all -- but customers are buying it," I have a feeling it has nothing with the price.

So tomorrow morning I think I will grind my non-kitty cat beans and have a good cup of coffee. And to think that I used to think that $2 for a cup of coffee was expensive.

The Saddest Time of Year

This is the saddest time of the year for me. Why, you may ask. Is it because something wrong with your family? Does your job slow down to the point where you feel like you might get laid off? Is it getting close to your birthday and you really are starting feel old? As much as those questions all sound like important reasons to feel sad, they are not the reason for my sadness. For you see when we hit the beginning of April, there isn't any college basketball to watch. I come off the best time of the year, March Madness, and then go straight into the worst time of the year, no more college basketball.

You see I am a UCLA fan. I bleed Bruin blue through and through. This year, like the two previous, we fell short of a national title. That means that until late November I have to be satisfied with the fact that we lost to Memphis and that maybe next year we will come home to Westwood with the title. This is also the saddest time because I have to wait and see which of non-seniors will jump to the NBA. I say to myself, "maybe that feeling of no national title will bring the non-seniors back, maybe......just maybe".

What I described above is not far from the truth about where I used to be with college basketball. I would mope around after team losses, like I was apart of the team or something. I would always use the word "we" when referring to the team, like I was the 13th man at the end of the bench waiting for the coach to say,"okay Pilarski, since my guys don't seem to want to win a title you go in and show them how it's done". I found fulfillment in every win, hope in every season and salvation in every National Title. 

So what's changed you may ask. Well what's changed is my relationship with Christ. You see, instead of finding fulfillment in a win, I now find fulfillment in scripture and living a life that glorifies my God. I find fulfillment in knowing that I have a loving God that desires my best and desires me follow Him. I find hope in Christ now. I find that hope in His death and resurrection. I find hope in the fact that I will reign with Him for eternity. I find hope in the fact that my God loved me so much that He sent His Son down here to die for my sins. I find salvation in Him alone. I know that I am saved from the wrath to come. I know that I am saved from an eternity in hell. I know that because Christ paid the price for my sins that I have salvation from an eternity of pain and suffering to which extent I cannot understand in this lifetime.

Now don't get me wrong I still watch college basketball. I am still a UCLA die hard and still desire another National Title, but it now just pales in comparison to the joy I have in my God and what He did for me.