Earth Day Project

Since Grace was born on Earth Day and will always celebrate a Bearthday I think it would be awesome to incorporate some kind of activity into her Bearthday celebrations to help take care of the Earth God gave us (1). This year she is only 1 so I did the project during her nap. Anyway, I came across a fun and EASY project. Reusable tank top bags. I had just gone through a bunch of clothes and sent a pile including several tank tops to our Goodwill basket (2). So I went out to the basket and reclaimed my tank tops and have 2 fun shopping bags. All I had to do was sew a seam across the bottom. It was so easy that I'm willing to make these for anyone as long as you supply the tank top.

(1) As a side note I get the impression that saving the Earth has become somewhat of a religion in America. While I think it is very very important to take care of the Earth I have to wonder if some of the passion people feel towards the Earth is misdirected. We should express passion towards the God who gave us this great place to live and take care of it because that's what God called us to do. It just saddens me that so many people don't know the God who made this planet and them.

(2) A helpful tip I learned from my mom to keep your closets less cluttered is find an easily accessible place in your house to keep a laundry basket deemed the Goodwill basket. As you come across things you want to get rid of take them out to the basket. Then when the basket is full make a run to Goodwill or sort the stuff to give to whomever or wherever you'd like. Our Goodwill basket is in the garage so it's easy to run stuff out there and my clutter stays to a minimum. You can also teach people about your basket so they can "basket dive" and pick out stuff they might want. My sister and I always do this at my parents house.

Merry Christmas

"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor." -- Isaiah 61:1-3

There is a lot of stuff mentioned in these 3 amazing verses from the prophet Isaiah. The summary is clear to me: Jesus came to save us. Thank God for Jesus!

So to the internet world and to the entire planet earth and even to our neighboring planets....from all of us at Pennyrile, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Commentary On Prayerlessness

"Prayerlessness Is Unbelief", by Kevin DeYoung

Prayer is essential for the Christian, as much for what it says about us as for what it can do through God. The simple act of getting on our knees (or faces or feet or whatever) for 5 or 50 minutes every day is the surest sign of our humility and dependence on our Father in heaven. There may be many reasons for our prayerlessness—time management, busyness, lack of concentration—but most fundamentally, we ask not because we think we need not. or we think God can give not. Deep down we feel secure when we have money in the bank, a healthy report from the doctor, and powerful people on our side. We do not trust in God alone. Prayerlessness is an expression of our meager confidence in God’s ability to provide and of our strong confidence in our ability to take care of ourselves without God’s help.

Too often when we struggle with prayer we focus on the wrong things. We focus on praying better instead of focusing on knowing better the one to whom we pray. We focus on our need for discipline rather than our need for God. Almost all of us want to pray more frequently, and yet our lives seem too disordered. But in God’s mind our messy, chaotic lives are an impetus to prayer instead of an obstacle to prayer.

You don’t need to work and work at discipline nearly as much as you need faith. You don’t need an ordered life to enable prayer, you need a messy life to drive you to prayer. You don’t need to have everything in order before you can pray. You need to know you’re disordered so you will pray. You don’t need your life to be fixed up. You need a broken heart. You need to think to yourself: “Tomorrow is another day that I need God. I need to know him. I need forgiveness. I need help. I need protection. I need deliverance. I need patience. I need courage. Therefore, I need prayer.”

If you know you are needy and believe that God helps the needy, you will pray. Conversely, if we seldom pray, the problem goes much deeper than a lack of organization and follow through. The heart that never talks to God is the heart that trusts in itself and not in the power of God. Prayerlessness is unbelief.

Prayerfulness, on the other hand is an evidence of humility and faith, which is why God loves it when we pray.

(Note: this content was taken directly from Kevin DeYoung's blog -- http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/2009/11/06/prayerlessness-is-unbelief/).

Happy Easter!

Have a great day today and remember how much Christ has done so that we can live eternally with him. I'll leave you with a hymn that I love.

"In Christ Alone"
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2001 Kingsway Thankyou Music

In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

Convicting

I just read a really cool post on a John Piper's Desiring God blog. Since I tend to lean more towards the legalistic side (wrongly so) this really challenged me to search my heart a little bit more deeply. Please take a few minutes to read this because it is really good stuff.

Knowing the Nature of Your Evil

February 19, 2009 | By: John Piper
Category: Commentary

It is important that we know the nature of the evil in our hearts.

Do you think the essence of your evil is disobeying commandments? That’s a good start. But it’s not the essence of our evil. Commands simply name the evil and its fruits, and tell us not to do them.

The essence of our evil is that we prefer anything to God (Romans 1:23; 2:23). Commands do not create the possibility of evil. Commands name it.

Long before we are told not to covet, we covet. Disobeying the command, “Thou shalt not covet,” is not equivalent to the evil of coveting. The evil of coveting is there first, and then is compounded by the transgression of the commandment not to covet.

Paul said, “I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet’” (Romans 7:7). That is, I wouldn’t have known the seriousness of my evil if God had not named it in the law.

But lawbreaking is not the essence of my evil. Desiring anything above God is the essence of my evil, before any commands name it.

One reason this is important to know is that it will affect the way you pursue change. If you think the essence of your evil is commandment-breaking, your focus for change will be commandment-keeping.

That is doomed to fail for two reasons. If we get good at it, we think we have changed, but the essence of our evil remains. If we can’t get good at it, we despair and quit trying.

But if we know that the essence of our evil is not commandment-breaking, but preferring anything to God, then our focus for change will be a change of heart. That is hopeful, because God promised, “I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 11:19).

This is the new covenant that Jesus purchased with his blood (Luke 22:20). We receive it by faith.

The Will of God

I just read this poem today and really loved it....

The will of God will never take you,

Where the grace of God cannot keep you,
Where the arms of God cannot support you
Where the riches of God cannot supply your needs,
Where the power of God cannot endow you.

The will of God will never take you,
Where the Spirit of God cannot work through you,
Where the wisdom of God cannot teach you,
Where the army of God cannot protect you,
Where the hands of God cannot mold you.

The will of God will never take you,
Where the love of God cannot enfold you,
Where the mercies of God cannot sustain you,
Where the peace of God cannot calm your fears,
Where the authority of God cannot overrule for you.

The will of God will never take you,
Where the comfort of God cannot dry your tears,
Where the Word of God cannot feed you,
Where the miracles of God cannot be done for you,
Where the omnipresence of God cannot find you.

Everything happens for a purpose.
We may not see the wisdom of it all now,
but trust and believe in the Lord that everything is for the best.


AUTHOR UNKNOWN

Merry Christmas

"For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David's throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this." -- Isaiah 9:6-7

A manger.  A freakin' manger.  Of all the places to show up in this world, that's where God decides to make His "grand entrance."  And to think that thirty-some years later, He makes His most memorable mark on a wooden cross at His own execution.  It's not what I would have picked out for the plans for God coming down to earth.  I would have given him a golden crib at birth and a millionaire mansion as a retirement home.  

Thankfully, God doesn't fit into my feeble plans or follow an expected path; God's ways are higher than my ways (Isaiah 55:9).  Finally, after enough frustration and attempts of controlling my life, I'm learning that at times when things seem the most unexpected or the most out-of-place (like in a manger in a stable), it is there when I can see God most clearly.  I'm tired of looking for God in the ways I want to see Him -- in my plans, on my time schedule.  Now I'm starting to look for Him in the ways that He wants to show Himself (Isaiah 17:7-8), even if it's inconvenient or if I'm not in control.

Yes, Christmas is a great day because of great food, family, and sometimes great presents; but more than that, it is a great day because it reminds me that God always has a plan, even if it happens to be different than my own.  And as I'm figuring out, God's plans are always better than mine anyway.  In math terms: God's plans > my plans. 

Merry Christmas!!!!

P.S.  If you're looking for something to do on Christmas Day at 4pm, please tune in to ABC to watch world-class basketball as the Lakers take on the Celtics.  You will thank me later.

Yikes

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. With school starting all I do is think about my job and sleeping. Teenagers are rather draining. I'm looking forward to the day in a couple of weeks when I've forgotten about summer vacation and I can find my mind elsewhere and not focused on school. Anyway, in attempt to think about things other than seating arrangements, discipline, tardies, algebra and geometry I decided to read one of my favorite devotionals while at work. And today's topic made me say yikes. Maybe you're better at this than me but I'm imagining you'll have the same reaction when you read the devotion too. So, here it is...

Pouring Out the Water of Satisfaction from "My Utmost for His Highest"
by Oswald Chambers.

He would not drink it, but poured it out to the Lord —2 Samuel 23:16

What has been like "water from the well of Bethlehem" to you recently— love, friendship, or maybe some spiritual blessing ( 2 Samuel 23:16 )? Have you taken whatever it may be, even at the risk of damaging your own soul, simply to satisfy yourself? If you have, then you cannot pour it out "to the Lord." You can never set apart for God something that you desire for yourself to achieve your own satisfaction. If you try to satisfy yourself with a blessing from God, it will corrupt you. You must sacrifice it, pouring it out to God— something that your common sense says is an absurd waste.

How can I pour out "to the Lord" natural love and spiritual blessings? There is only one way— I must make a determination in my mind to do so. There are certain things other people do that could never be received by someone who does not know God, because it is humanly impossible to repay them. As soon as I realize that something is too wonderful for me, that I am not worthy to receive it, and that it is not meant for a human being at all, I must pour it out "to the Lord." Then these very things that have come to me will be poured out as "rivers of living water" all around me ( John 7:38 ). And until I pour these things out to God, they actually endanger those I love, as well as myself, because they will be turned into lust. Yes, we can be lustful in things that are not sordid and vile. Even love must be transformed by being poured out "to the Lord."

If you have become bitter and sour, it is because when God gave you a blessing you hoarded it. Yet if you had poured it out to Him, you would have been the sweetest person on earth. If you are always keeping blessings to yourself and never learning to pour out anything "to the Lord," other people will never have their vision of God expanded through you.

God Is The Gospel

I'm just finishing reading a book by John Piper entitled "God Is The Gospel". Piper writes at a very deep and rich level, so my brain hurt a lot while reading this. But by the grace of God, I got a lot of solid wisdom out of the book. Here is Piper's explanation of the book:

"The point of this book is that the Christian gospel is not merely that Jesus died and rose again; and not merely that these events appease God's wrath, forgive sin, and justify sinners; and not merely that this redemption gets us out of hell and into heaven; but that they bring us to the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ as our supreme, all-satisfying, and everlasting treasure."

The book has helped push me to not settle for less than the glory of God in my relationship with God. Too often I find myself satisfied in secondary things -- financial blessing, success, marriage, freedom from sin -- rather than in the primary Treasure that is available to me. The secondary things are great, too, and come from God but they pale in comparison to grasping and experiencing God.

So, in short, God Himself is the greatest blessing we can ever experience. That's what I want to put my hope in.

Psalm 77

I've been struggling a little bit (ok a lot) lately with trusting God and anxiety. I was talking to a friend about it and she reminded me to reflect on what I know is true about God and his goodness. The next day I read Psalm 77. I was encouraged because the Psalmist did exactly that. He starts out talking about his trials and emotions (maybe different than mine as mine is a lack of reliance on the Holy Spirit) and then ends with what he knows is true about God. I bolded the ending because that's what I need to remember. How can I not trust my holy, mighty, great, awesome, sovereign God.

1 I cry out to God; yes, I shout.
Oh, that God would listen to me!
2 When I was in deep trouble,
I searched for the Lord.
All night long I prayed, with hands lifted toward heaven,
but my soul was not comforted.
3 I think of God, and I moan,
overwhelmed with longing for his help.
Interlude

4 You don’t let me sleep.
I am too distressed even to pray!
5 I think of the good old days,
long since ended,
6 when my nights were filled with joyful songs.
I search my soul and ponder the difference now.
7 Has the Lord rejected me forever?
Will he never again be kind to me?
8 Is his unfailing love gone forever?
Have his promises permanently failed?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he slammed the door on his compassion?
Interlude

10 And I said, “This is my fate;
the Most High has turned his hand against me.”
11 But then I recall all you have done, O Lord;
I remember your wonderful deeds of long ago.
12 They are constantly in my thoughts.
I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works.

13 O God, your ways are holy.
Is there any god as mighty as you?
14 You are the God of great wonders!
You demonstrate your awesome power among the nations.
15 By your strong arm, you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
Interlude

16 When the Red Sea saw you, O God,
its waters looked and trembled!
The sea quaked to its very depths.
17 The clouds poured down rain;
the thunder rumbled in the sky.
Your arrows of lightning flashed.
18 Your thunder roared from the whirlwind;
the lightning lit up the world!
The earth trembled and shook.
19 Your road led through the sea,
your pathway through the mighty waters—
a pathway no one knew was there!
20 You led your people along that road like a flock of sheep,
with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds.

Book Review: "Life Together" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Over the last few years, I have a read a number of books related to small group ministry and building biblical community, focused more on the strategy and practicals of participating in and leading a small group. I have not read many books which speak to the heart of community. I was recommended "Life Together" by a friend and I must say that the book turned out to be one of the most encouraging and challenging books I've ever read. Not only did it speak to the heart of community, but it captured the essence of Christian living.

Bonhoeffer was a Christian leader during WWII Germany and participated in leading an underground seminary which eventually led to his arrest and death. The book details his observations, teachings, and wisdom on what it means to live in community for God. Bonhoeffer detailed the difference between spiritual community and human community. He spoke of the tension of a Christian solely depending on God yet allowing God to use other people in a Christian's life. And through it all, Bonhoeffer painted a picture of an authentic, vibrant, living community that was Christ-saturated and Christ-exalting. The book is a quick read, with the first part containing Bonhoeffer's exposition on a biblical view of community, with the remaining parts of the book detailing the practical community he experienced.

If you are in a small group or find yourself looking for more in your community, I strongly recommend this book. God used it to change my perspective on what real Christ-centered community life can and should be.

He Is Alive!

The Resurrection

Luke 24:1-12
1But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and that the Son of Man be crucified and on the third day rise." 8And they remembered his words, 9and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, 11but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.

1 Corinthians 15:3-5
3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

Have a wonderful Easter! Praise God for His perfect plan and love for us!

Working For God

In my almost-5 years of living in the working world, I've found myself on a journey to experience God not just in my "quiet time" activities or ministry events or Sunday morning worship time.  Work takes up the majority of my waking hours, so God has to be in that somehow, right?  I've found there aren't that many resources out there that attempt to make disciples of the working world, teaching men and women to work for God from 9-5.  Please send me any good books/links if they're out there.

Here are a couple solid articles sent from a friend:

http://newattitude.org/articles/thank_god_for_work

http://newattitude.org/articles/thank_god_for_work_pt_2