Just Do What He Says

'Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”' -Luke 5:5
The faith of Peter is astounding sometimes. He does seem to get a bad rap... but every now and then... he does stuff like this.

This is EARLY in Jesus' ministry.

Way early.

But Peter has faith.

---


We worry and stress over a lot don't we?

I'm sure Peter was worried over paying his bills, getting food on the table, being able to live... He was ready to give up for the day though. He was tired, just cleaned the nets and was ready to give up.

Jesus climbs aboard and says, Just throw your nets out one more time.

'Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”' -Luke 5:5


"The destiny of your life is above your pay grade, your ability to evaluate your effectiveness in ministry, is above your pay grade, your ability to make decisions, is above your pay grade. Just do what he says." -Mark Moore

Just Do What He Says

Why do you complain, Jacob?
   Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the LORD;
   my cause is disregarded by my God”?

Do you not know?
   Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
   the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
   and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
   and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
   and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
   will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint. -Isaiah 40:27-31

Just Do What He Says

Yet I am always with you;
   you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,
   and afterward you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
   And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
   but God is the strength of my heart
   and my portion forever. -Psalm 73:23-26

Just Do What He Says

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
   for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
   through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
   for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
   they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
   in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
   my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me
   all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
   forever. -Psalm 23

 Just Do What He Says...

...Because He Cares about you.

Put away your stress.
Put away your problems.
Put behind you your sin.
Put behind you any excuses.
It's not our problem.

Peter stood in the boat, knowing that HE was the fisherman, the experienced, knowledgeable one. Jesus was just a carpenter.
But he said, "But because you say so, I will let down the nets."

The response?

Too much fish to even hold. Too much fish to even count. Too much fish to even bring to shore.

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
   Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. -Luke 5:6-11

They gave up. They cut the nets. Left the fish. Pulled their boats up and left... EVERYTHING.

But before this... Peter realizes he is in the presence of his... Lord. He said go away from him, he's not worthy.

We aren't worthy either.

But when we meet Jesus and have one of those moments... where we are unworthy. We realize it. We tell him to leave. He says, No. He will always say no.

When we see Jesus for who he really is, it's not this exhilarating 'Build-A-Bear' experience, it is terrifying, because we realize we have no control even over our own vocation. When we come to meet him, it's not Kum-Bah-Ya, it's probably, "Lord, you need to leave. I'm unworthy."
But he'll say, "No."

"No, I'm not leaving you. I'm not letting you go. You're mine."

“Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.”

From now on, we'll live life new. We'll live forgiven. We'll live free. We'll say, "Hey Problem, My God is bigger than you."

Because He will always be with us. 

Don't be afraid, Just do what he says.

"Be Faithful."

I haven't posted in ages, and I am deeply sorry to my readers. Thank you for your kind words of encouragement and thank you for still checking in on here to see any updates. Busyness has overtaken me a little bit with a new semester of school, a few new jobs, and some big changes in my life. I will try to update as much as I can and as much as the Spirit speaks. 

Today though has been rough, and it seems that when these "roller-coaster ride kind of days" hit me, words just appear in my mind and I jot them down or type them up. It's not my best, it was a quick throw together, but I feel it has a message that could speak to more than just me right now. I wrote a short poem tonight. 

---------------

“Whatever you’re doing inside of me…”
The chorus rings through my mind,
I don’t understand the chaos within.
Its days when the earth feels motionless
Or maybe I’m just blind.

I don’t understand and it’s not that you owe me
I just wish I could visualize what lies ahead
To see what I feel
To feel what I see.
Please. Anything.

But silence instead.
“But I’m giving into something heavenly.”
A reminder constantly my purpose is higher.
My calling so true.
How could I doubt Him? I grow weary and tire.
Because it’s the way things go.
We hold so strongly to the blessings He provides
I tend to forget the blessings themselves will fade so low.

You give and take away,

you train and mold.

You prepare us.

Anoint us.

Carve us.

You care.

As a Father has compassion on his children, so you have compassion on those who fear you.

Our lives are shaped and held by you.

All we need is you,
Your promise will stand true
The world fades but you stand.
For who do we have in Heaven but you, O Lord.

You call, your voice brings peace,
a command, an exhortation,
It’s not much, but it brings release.
You speak, you reach down and whisper

in the midst of my struggle, my storm... 

Just two words:

“Be Faithful.”

Religion > Relationship

I'm grateful for the ministries of people who proclaim Christ. Our savior. Our Lord. Our Lover. Our intercessor.

I'm grateful for the testimony, the vision, the love, and the passion expressed by the newest internet sensation, the Spoken Word Poetry of Jefferson Bethke  especially in the new poem that has shaken up the blogging community over the past few weeks.

Maybe some of you have heard of the video, watched it, maybe you even loved it.

I didn't.

I loved the video techniques, I was a TV production guy in High School, and I appreciate deeply the amount of work put into making the video look and feel so presentable.

I loved the poetry, the style, the way he fit things together. I love poetry, I write poetry, but nothing comes close at least in my own mind to the things I have heard from Jefferson.

Hands down. The guy is awesome. I hope to meet him one day.

But I do have an issue with the message portrayed in the video poem, "Why I hate Religion, but Love Jesus."

With the words of my mentor Brian, "This is not meant to be mean, to be a jab, to poke fun or to bash anyone. This is meant to be a loving response. I stand on the conviction that Jesus came to fulfill the law and that Christianity is a religion. Matthew 5:17 & James 1:27," I want to preface a response to the video that I think is just as well done.
Why?
Because Christianity IS a religion.

Christ came to make all things new. One thing was to create a new way of living, a set of standards, a new phenomena with the Holy Spirit of God in our midst, presence, and indwelling us, a stand for social justice, and freedom to pray and be God's people on earth. Whether we want to admit it or not, this idea explodes out of a tiny box we like to stuff it into with the word, 'relationship'.



'Relationship' can't even begin to describe

this journey.

This endeavor.
 

 This...

Religion.

The question that just recently came to my mind is not 'Why did he write such a poem?'

But...

'Why did he feel he had to?'

What kind of church have we become that we had to be awakened by such an idea?

Because I do believe that this was Jeff's exhortation against pride, laziness, and hypocritical 'Christians'.

Why do we need to address this to begin with?

Wake up Church. Be who you were called to be.

I wish I really knew the answer to that question. But I don't. It just plagues my mind. I don't know why we have settled for such a comfortable lifestyle when Jesus calls constantly for our trust in Him. For us to pick up our cross daily, forgoing comfort and security and to be thrill seekers and risk takers for His kingdom.

I don't know why I have settled for such a comfortable life.

I know I need to do more.

Do Justice.
Love Mercy.
Walk Humbly.


And so I believe that this video response says just about everything.
Let us be the church. The real church. Members of the religion that Christ established. Not our watered down, hypocritical version of it.

RIP Michael Enochs

Lamb of God
You take away the sins of the world
Have mercy on us.
Grant us peace.

For the unbearable toil of our sinful world,
We plead for remission.
For the terror of absence from our beloved,
We plead for your comfort.
For the scandalous presence of death in your Creation,
We pleased for the resurrection.

I did not know Mike, but from all that I have heard he was a hero, a man of great courage and a man who loved life, loved people, plain and simple: he loved.

I pray for peace for those affected by his passing. He may have lost the fight physically but emotionally, mentally, spiritually, he won. Death is not the end, merely a beginning.

Friends, my prayers are with you.

Lexi, my prayers are with you.

Peace be with you all, may Mike rest in peace, may Christ give His peace which surpasses all understanding.

Restoration

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.' And God said, 'Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.' And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day." Genesis 1:25-31 (ESV)

These verses say so much. God gave man authority in the earth. But we sinned, and whereas we still have some measure of authority it was tainted. It is no secret that we don't have any authority in this world like we seem to have been given in these verses. But it doesn't end here. God's love is too strong to be hindered by the barrier of our sins.

God sent us Christ Jesus. Christ came, taught us, lived among us, loved us, and then died for us. He was raised from the dead and ascended to be with the Father. But from then on everything changed, the isolation and the barriers were crushed. God sent His Spirit to dwell inside of those He has called.

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. 'I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved b y my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.' Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, 'Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?' Jesus answered him, 'If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words and the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me. These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." John 14:15-26 (ESV)

The Spirit comes upon us when we love Christ and follow His commands. Christ gives a few commands, He sums up the law into loving God and loving others. (Mark 12:28-34 ESV) and then he tells us to go out and make disciples. (Matthew 28:19-20 ESV)

These tasks are not easy to accomplish, they require something many are unwilling to give. A friend and I were talking about this on the way home from Passion. God is called the Consuming Fire. (Deuteronomy 4:24, 9:3, Isaiah 33:14, Hebrews 12:29). In the Old Testament God sends fire from heaven to consume sacrifices and offerings (2 Chronicles 7:1, Leviticus 9:24, 1 Kings 18:38). I believe God still does this today.

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." Romans 12:1 (ESV)

Why would we be asked to present ourselves as living sacrifices? Because God still sends His Consuming Fire down upon our offerings. We are now the offerings, surrendering to our Lord Jesus Christ to follow His will and expand our hearts to include the world and all of those within it. Our commission isn't about us, it is about all those around us, so we have to sacrifice ourselves in order to receive the Spirit.

This happened to me over the last few days, I surrendered in a way I never have previously, during worship I was completely abandoned, and with others I was fully given over to them, and God responded, I felt His presence, my body shook, and on my tongue were words not my own, words that uplifted and built up those around me. God's Spirit did descend, there was visible impact. These pages are not abstract thought and vague concepts to be pondered, the scriptures are TRUTH, they cannot be denied, and they need to be shouted from the rooftops to all who have the ears to hear.

I would like to close with a passage that connects with where I started, to bring this full circle.

"He is the image of the invisible god, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister." Colossians 1:15-23 (ESV)

Jesus is that image Genesis 1 says we were created in. We are created in Christ, and because of His death, and the coming of the Spirit we are one with Him again. The authority we were created with is resting in Christ, and when we surrender, Christ rests in us, therefore restoring things to a point of Genesis 1. God has returned His people to Himself.

To God be the glory forever, may He bless you all.

Wednesday Encouragement

It's the middle of the week. It's in the middle of the Holiday week. Crazy. Hectic. Tiring. I for one, am exhausted.

For those who celebrate, it's Holy Innocents day.

Holy Innocents

After -Jesus was born, Matthew’s gospel records that King Herod was so disturbed by the news of a potential contender for the throne that he ordered a preemptive strike, executing all boys in Bethlehem under two years of age. Since its earliest centuries, the church has remembered these “holy innocents” who died because -Jesus’ coming posed a threat to those in power. Today we remember all the little ones, born and unborn, who are sacrificed in a culture of death that has not yet welcomed the good news of -Jesus. And we recall that Herod’s kingdom is now long gone, but the kingdom of God goes on.

Most celebrate by feasting, yet in constant remembrance and prayer of the injustice present in the world.

Remember the lives of your little ones, Lord : and break the sword of the oppressor.
Francis Schaeffer, founder of L’Abri, wrote, “Our conscious relationship with God is enhanced if we treat all the things he has made in the same way as he treats them.”


But again, we are in the middle of the week. I saw this on Mike Donehey's (lead singer for Tenth Avenue North) twitter today, I thought I would share it.

Friend, If Christ lives in you, You are clean. You are forgiven. You are new.

If Christ lives in you, You are no longer a slave to those things you hate. You are righteous. You are loved. You are free.

In Christ, You are cared for. You are blessed. You are the hands of grace to an entitled world. Give in the same way you have received.

May the peace of Christ go with you.

Zach Dill: 8/26/1993-12/8/2011

I pray that I have accurately portrayed this man's life. I pray for his family having to go through this tragedy. I pray for those who were closer to him than I ever was. I pray for all of his friends, for all who he had left a mark on. From my friendship with him, this is what I have come to grips with. This is my memory. This is how I will cope. May the Peace of Christ rule in our hearts.

---
Zach, Myself, and Ben at CIY 2011

Every youth group has that one kid; that one guy that you can always count on to do something ridiculous. He’s the life of the party.  Everyone loves the guy.

Every school has that one kid; that one guy you can always count on to be there for you in your struggles. He’s the caring soul, the shoulder to cry on, and at the end of the conversation will always make you smile… even if it’s just a little.

No one ever knows the things that go on in his mind, the feelings he has, and the emotions that flood his conscience. He’s always willing to take on the extra burden of another's sorrow, he’s always smiling. The kind of guy who appears he could never break.

He never has it all together, but he doesn’t have to. He is the helping hand; the knight that rides in at the right time. The pains that hide behind the shining armor were only known by a trusted few, because that’s all he needed.
Outgoing.
Always charismatic.
Funny.
The epitome of a guy many would love to be, the guy many would love to be with.

Zach Dill was that guy.

I first met Zach just over a year ago, and throughout this past year had the privilege to get to know a little about him. Our friendship never went very deep, he was in high school, had his friends around him and I was the new guy in the church who graduated high school and was waiting for college to start. The crazy thing was that I almost immediately saw in him what everyone else saw in him. He was a genuine guy. However, being a sponsor in the youth group I got to see the reason behind it all.

Zach was a regular attender at Ignite, the youth group I was a part of as a sponsor and helper. It’s a new, growing church. The youth group was small but meaningful. Zach was an important part of our identity. I remember Wednesday nights where before the lesson we would play Cornhole, talk about how the week was going and that crazy place called High school. It always seemed to end in our favorite game of pegging Ben with the beanbags. I loved the guy.

During the lesson we could always count on him saying something hilarious or just poking fun at the things the younger girls said, his sarcasm was perfect for just about any situation. When it came down to getting serious, it was obvious that his answers and attentiveness were sincere. He wasn’t there just for the fun and games. He came because God meant something to him. He came because he wanted to grow, to understand. He wanted to be able to help others.

He traveled with us to a weeklong youth conference in July in Tennessee, before the conference started we went white water rafting on the Ocoee River. I fell out once and got my knee caught between the boat and a rock. Zach was one of the guys that were there to immediately pull me back into the boat… later I returned the favor.

That week is instilled into my mind.
I remember the man cave and phrases like “Hip ciricles!” and “Par Four!” Things you just had to be there for in order to understand. I remember ‘planking’ with him back when ‘planking’ was the cool thing to do… everywhere... and how he almost “face-planked” during one of the Devo times. I remember the Nerf wars that happened just about every night in the dorm rooms we were staying in, and in the RV as we traveled around. I remember the wall ball games: I can’t even begin to count all the games we played of that during free time and at night. I remember meeting a guy named Duc, and how Zach and Ben immediately thought he was coolest guy ever. I was able to witness that friendship being forged. I remember on the road trip back playing poker and it always coming down to me and Zach at the end… what can I say? We both had good poker faces. I remember the youth group time after the evening session where we just talked about our day together and got devotional on a few topics. I remember Zach praying. I remember him always speaking up in those moments just to keep the conversation flowing. I remember his encouraging remarks to everyone throughout the week.

I remember him opening up his CIY Kingdom Worker card: “Send an encouraging note to someone on facebook every day for a year.”

It’s hard to believe he’s gone.

It’s even harder to accept it.

He was a blessing to many. Just reading the posts on his facebook from others has shown that to me.

The last time I saw him was the Sunday before I left for college in August. I remember giving him a bro-hug as I said goodbye. It never crossed my mind that that would be my last in person memory of him. I’m drawn to the words of a song written by Michael W. Smith, “Though you are mourning, and grieving your loss/ Death died a long time ago/ Swallowed in life, so his life carries on/Still, it's so hard to let go.”

Though it’s in these moments we want to cry out, “Why!?” to whoever will give an answer that we can accept, I think it would be an insult to his memory to think that way. He wouldn’t want us wallowing. He would have asked if he could help. He would have stood next to us and said something encouraging, something positive in all of this. That’s the kind of person he was in the presence of those he cared about. We will miss him. We are hurt, devastated that he’s gone. But thankful.

Thankful for a life well lived. Thankful for the beauty of 18 years of life. Thankful for his life living in and through our memories of him.

We can’t forget. I can’t forget. The good lord gives and the good lord takes away… and I’m thankful that Zach is no longer in pain, but in celebration.

Celebrating with all of those who have gone before him.

Let us celebrate our memories of him. Let us celebrate our individual friendships with him. Let us celebrate the mystery and majesty of life.

Zach, we love you. We always will. We’ll miss you, but we will never forget your legacy you left in our hearts and our lives.

As we come to this crossing, pray. Pray for the family that has been affected, the friendships that have been buried in confusion and sorrow. Pray for peace. Pray for love. Pray.

The same song continues to play in the back of my mind:
This was his time. This was his dance. He swam in the sea, drank of the deep. He lived every moment leaving nothing to chance. He embraced the mystery of life, let us follow that lead.

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you Zach: wherever he may send you;
may he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm;
may he bring you home rejoicing: at the wonders he has shown you;
may he bring you home rejoicing: into those Heavenly doors.
Lamb of God
You take away the sins of the world
Have mercy on us.
Grant us peace.

Called to Contend

What many scholars believe to be the most neglected book of the Bible...
Philemon?
2 Peter?
2 John?
3 John?

How about Jude.

Jude.
The small book that everyone skips over on their way to Revelation... because beasts coming out of the earth and stars falling are more entertaining (and confusing) than a postcard from the past about false teachers in the church.

Hmmm...

In fact, Jude is so neglected, there once was a call to take it out of the Bible... mostly due to it's quotation of an apocryphal book and it's brevity.

But nonetheless, it remains. It belongs in the Bible.
Jude is a wonderful, beautiful letter of scripture.

And I hope to prove some of that in this post.

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,
To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:
May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
 -Jude 1-2

Jude opens up his letter introducing himself: a servant of Jesus Christ.
But to specifically give himself some sense of recognition he adds "brother of James"

James was a well known man, he was a leader in the early church, in fact he was an elder of the Jerusalem church. Paul identified James as one of the pillars of the church. (Gal. 2:9) And of course he wrote his own epistle which bears his name, 'The book of James'.

But Jude leaves something out of his introduction... something huge, something that would distinguish himself even more as someone to listen to.

Maybe this just shows his humility... Jude was one of the younger half-brothers of the very man he said he was a servant of.

Jude was a brother of Jesus.

And he had an inspiring, encouraging note that he wished to write to us about our salvation in Christ Jesus... but there's a problem.

Because he finds it necessary instead to write to us about a different topic at hand. One that is also just as encouraging, uplifting, and inspiring.

A beautiful message of God's call to us.

A Call.

God's call on our lives.

To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:
May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Because we are called and loved, and because we are kept for Jesus Christ, Jude is exhorting us to contend.
Contend for the faith!

He wanted to write about our common salvation BUT he has seen the perversion of the gospel unfolding in the church... and he instead calls us to contend for grace, contend for the only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

What would we have become, if He had not stopped us in our dead career of living? If we haven't recently teared up or felt that gracious thankfulness in our inner being... then perhaps we need our memory refreshed with our calling. We're called because we're loved.

We're loved... because God chooses to love us.

Even in our depravity?

Especially in our depravity.

God's call on our lives never stops, it never is just one moment that passes by and we have to remember.
God's call is continual.

And it is a call to contend.
Contend for grace.



Because grace is worth fighting for.

Jude is warning us against the false teachers who are perverting the grace of Jesus.
Asking questions like:

Are we saved by grace through faith or do we have to add something to it?

In order to be a Christian do we have to be ________?

This was the issue with the Jerusalem council in Acts 15.

'But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."' -Acts 15:1 (ESV)

For them the 'something else' was circumcision.
Because they were Jewish Christians, they weren't comfortable with the idea of God's grace being given to Gentiles... it was something new, something foreign to them.
They began asking, 'Do they have to be Jewish first?'




Paul said no.
These men said yes.
A dispute arose and a council was convened.

"And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question." -Acts 15:2 (ESV)

When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, "It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses."

The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, "Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will."
And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. After they finished speaking, James replied, "Brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,
"'After this I will return,and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;I will rebuild its ruins,
    and I will restore it,
that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord,
   and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,
    says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old.'
 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues."'            -Acts 15:4-21 (ESV) 

I believe this issue is so important to Jude that he felt necessary to write a letter because of this event, as well as others.
James, his own brother, had to fight this same topic.
Peter had to fight this issue.
Paul had to fight over this issue.
All at one large meeting.

But James makes a mistake, when he says to write a letter telling them to abstain from four things... he opens the door for false teachers to hold these four requests as laws.
Because they aren't laws.
God's grace is above food sacrificed to idols.
God's grace is above sexual immorality.
God's grace is above strangled food.
God's grace is above the drinking of blood.


God's grace defeated sin. Jesus rose from the dead.

Jude's echo is clear:
Once you start submitting to the first 'rule' there's a string of others behind it...

Fight for Grace.


Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." (ESV)

Grace through Faith: Is it Jesus + Something?

The +______ is always for you. It's always about us. Our reputation. Our social standing. Our personal view of ourselves.

Because we want to be moral, good, righteous, etc.

However, if we truly analyzed our motives:
Most of our morality is selfish, not to honor God.
Most of our ethics are to impress other Christians.
Our righteousness is given to us from God, not what we have done.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:20, "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (ESV)
The Pharisees self righteousness was so inflated... it seems impossible to surpass them... and it would still fall short.

We need to change our vocab.

We have attached ethics to the cross.

Going to Church is God's gift to you, not your gift to God.
Same with reading the Bible, Baptism, prayer.
It is God's gift to us to participate in these activities out of reverence, worship, and relationship with Him.

Doing something FOR God is heresy... because EVERY TIME it is works based.

Don't rob the Glory from God.

Fight for Grace.

Fight for Grace.

To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:
Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.

We are called to contend.


I hope to write another post on the rest of the wonderful book of Jude, but for this, I pray we can all contend for the grace of God.

Mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you;
may he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm;
may he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you;
may he bring you home rejoicing : once again into the our doors.

Prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola

Lord, teach me to be generous.
Teach me to serve you as you deserve;
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labor and not to ask for reward,
save that of knowing that I do your will.

Bask in this prayer today, and make it your own.
Meditate on what this prayer really means for your life.

I know that for me,
It's Revolutionary.

Wednesday Encouragement

It's mid week, the beginning of a new month. A fresh start for some, a burden for others. I thought we all could just use some encouragement though.

“That's why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn't stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I'd think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!" -Ephesians 1:18 MSG

There's people everywhere hearing about what you are doing, because you matter. People you never even would think of are praying for you. Like me. Like Jesus (John 17). Like Paul, right here, because his words are alive and mean the same today as they did then.

Bottom line: You aren't alone in Christ. We are a community, a kingdom, all serving and worshiping the same king.

Isn't that AWESOME!?

And we need to be praying for others. It's so refreshing to just sit back and thank God for other people in your life and who you don't even know, but may be in your life later on.

I want to get in a more consistent habit of praying for all of you, our readers. You guys rock! I don't know who all of you are but it's so encouraging to me that I pray you all are being encouraged as well.

Encouraging one another... it's all about this community idea.

And there is this huge blessing we have of being a follower of Christ... because he gives us 'ENDLESS energy and BOUNDLESS strength'. Be encouraged by that.

ENDLESS.
BOUNDLESS.

Those words have some pretty legit meaning.


He's inside, He's over, He's underneath, He's in between. He's got your back. Rest in that.

Have a great week everybody!