Be an Encourager!

(There won't be a post next Tuesday (6/7/11) as I'll be at camp. I hope you'll still come by and read an older post though!)

“But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”(Hebrews 3.13, ESV)

After the summer of my sophomore year of high school I made the decision to try-out for the football team. The team needed the players and as a result, I was accepted to the team with open arms (this was my first time to be on an organized team like this). Because this was my first time being on a team I had a profound sense of excitement. The excitement however, was short lived. The next few weeks brought about a series of sessions of me being yelled at and it wasn’t long before I decided “this isn’t for me” and left. 

Maybe you’ve had an experience similar to this. You attempted something you thought was going to be wonderful…only to find out later that it really wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. This was my experience when trying out for football; maybe you experienced this when you tried to start a new hobby or a new career. Maybe this has been your thinking since you made the decision to become a Christian. 

For those of you that are Christians, I’m sure you can remember the day that you were baptized. I remember mine as a joyous occasion. I was added to the church and couldn’t have been happier! But it wasn’t too long until I let the world get a hold of me. I would let myself get discouraged from my Christianity and there have even been times when I’ve thought “this isn’t for me”. 

Many Christians today go through the same exact thing! They get discouraged and as a result they let themselves get in a “spiritual pit” that is oftentimes very difficult to be pulled out of. Our responsibility as Christians is to encourage one another as we attempt to live a life that is pleasing to God. This verse in Hebrews is one that I thoroughly enjoy because it is a reminder that I need to be an encouragement to all my Christian brothers and sisters in Christ day after day after day!  

I think the problem is, is that we liken Christianity to that of a hobby, a career, or in my case football. When things get tough, we pack up our things and go to what’s easier. We’ve got to understand that Christianity is not something that should be taken lightly. It’s not something that should be thought of as an “I’ll do it when it’s convenient for me” kind of thing.

 The truth is Christianity can and will be difficult. It requires hard work on our end and we need to encourage other people to stay with it and not give up! This week I want to encourage you to encourage others to keep their head up and continue on “the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12.1). Without encouragement it’s easy for someone to fall away, however if you just take the time to let someone know that they’re not alone in this…you may save their soul and help them enter our “rest” (Heb. 4.9-11) that awaits those who are “firm to the end” (Heb. 3.14). -Jack D. 

 

Meditating on the Word

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1.1-2, ESV)

Today’s blog post is one that is rather short but I believe presents a great message. In Psalm 1 we see talk of the “blessed man”. This man is one that doesn’t wish to be around evil but rather very, very far from it. It is this man who meditates day and night on the law of the Lord. 

For many of us, it is difficult to actually take time to read and meditate (study) God’s word. We oftentimes get caught up in watching our favorite television show or the ball game. Or maybe we let ourselves get loaded with homework or overtime at work that we lose time to study God’s word. We have a tendency to work ourselves to the bone so much that when we do get a break, we are too tired to do anything requiring effort (and yes, studying God’s word does require effort)! We’ve got to train ourselves to set aside some of our day in order to study God’s word! 

This week I want to challenge you to be a part of a facebook group that is trying to learn and study God’s word. This group is going to try and memorize 1 memory verse a day for the next 100 days starting May 29^th! I challenge you to be a part of it! I’m going to give it my best and ask that you will too, even if that means only memorizing one or two a week. Don’t be afraid to delve into God’s word. As Christians it’s our duty to “rightly handle the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2.15), and we can’t handle it correctly if we don’t know it! I hope you’ll try this challenge out. It will be hard, but o so worth it!    –Jack D. 

Who Are You Serving?

^“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24.15, ESV)

Today’s post is a rather short one. I want to encourage a self-evaluation today, and what I want you to evaluate is: Who or what do you serve?

In this passage from Joshua we see that Joshua is telling the tribes of Israel that they need to pick between serving the LORD or serving the idols and foreign gods in the land of their enemies. I want to charge you, as well as myself, with the same idea. Are you serving God or stuff?

Oftentimes in our life we put things ahead of God whether it be schoolwork, our job, money, video games, our sports team, the list goes on. The fact of the matter is, is that if we’re placing one of these items ahead of God then we’re no longer serving God but the possession. In Matthew 6.24 we’re told:

"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth.” (NASB)

The word for “wealth” there means ‘possessions’, it’s not just limited to money. We are told clearly here in this verse that we cannot serve both God and our possessions we have to choose one or the other. For many of us this is no easy task because, well let’s face it, our culture loves to have stuff! Almost all of us are interested in getting the “newest” thing even though we bought the former “newest” thing just 3 months ago! Our culture loves stuff. 

We have to make the decision, not just today, but each and every day to serve the Lord our God and not possessions. This week I want you to think about who or what it is that you’re serving. Are you serving the created or the Creator? –Jack D.

Courage: Jonah or Joshua?

This year’s theme at Bear Valley is “Thinking Souls”. I got to thinking about what it means to think souls. I concluded that if we’re really concerned with the well-being of people’s souls then we will want to go out and try and save their soul. For most of us, talking to someone about their soul, is a scary prospect. There are a number of reasons, and they’re all differ from person to person. Maybe you’re scared because:

1)      You’re afraid of being rejected

2)      You’re a naturally shy person

3)      You don’t feel that you know enough

These are only a few of the reasons, but one thing I noticed with all of these is that they all boil down into the core problem of...a lack of courage. In this blog post this week I’d like to take a look at two contrasting sides of courage. The first is Jonah. In Jonah 1.1-3 we see that:

^“Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me." But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.” (Jonah 1.1-3, ESV)

The LORD spoke to Jonah telling him what to do and what did Jonah do? For those of us that have read this account we know that he fled. Ultimately he did go and teach but his initial reacting was to flee. Let’s now look at Joshua. In Joshua 1.1-2 says:

^“After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, "Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.” (Josh. 1.1-2, ESV)

I only posted a portion of the verse here but from verses 1 all the way through 9 we see the LORD commanding Joshua what was to happen and what he was to do. Joshua’s, unlike Jonah’s, initial reaction was not to flee but rather to:

 ^“And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, "Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, 'Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.” (Josh. 1.10, ESV)

Joshua went and “commanded” or told the officers what the LORD had just told him. He had trust in the LORD and courageously went and told his fellow Israelites what was to be done.

What I want to ask you all this week is this: What is your courage like? Are you a Jonah or a Joshua? Joshua took no hesitation in commanding and following what is was that the LORD told him to do, Jonah on the other hand fled away. I will say though that Jonah received a second chance and went and taught as he should’ve in the first place, however for us there may not be a second chance. If we don’t take the first opportunity we have to be courageous and spread the word of God then we may never get another chance and that person’s soul could be lost forever. So I ask you again: Are you a Jonah or a Joshua? –Jack D.

Our Rainstorm

(The blog this week is a repeat of one that I had done for a facebook group in April of 2010. I found it fitting however to present this message a second time seeing as how stress becomes such a common thing around this time with all the school kids taking tests. I hope you’ll read it and tell me what you think!)

^“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6.31-34, ESV)

This past weekend we were told we were gonna get a lot of rain. It was supposed to pour and pour on us and never stop. What ended up happening? We got a drizzle for about 5 minutes.

I don't want to rag on any weathermen, but they sure got that wrong, huh? How often do we, like these weathermen, hear about something and obsess and stress out over it, only to find out later that it really wasn't much of anything at all? I think we often assume that everything is going to be difficult now granted we shouldn't assume everything is gonna be easy, but if you live life stressed out all the time you will miss out on a lot of the good things that this life has to offer!

We need to learn more to let go of our worries, pray about them and let God, take care of it! More often then not you'll find that the rainstorm you had been expecting all week, really turned out to be nothing more than a drizzle. -Jack D.