It's All Pointless

I know I really need to start posting more, but it's hard getting into a groove to do so with a wacky schedule like mine.

Recently my Bible reading has taken me to Ecclesiastes. So for the next few days, I'll be talking about that. It's some really good stuff.

Please now read chapter 1 of Ecclesiastes

We see that this is written by a son of David, most likely Solomon. And it's interesting to see how he starts off his book.

Everything is meaningless. Everything quickly fades away.

He tells of how time passes despite the work that we do.
He tells of how the wind just constantly goes around and around
And of how the streams and rivers constantly flow into the ocean yet the ocean never fills
He writes of how we are constantly receiving information, seeing and hearing, yet we constantly seek more
And he tells of how everything comes around again, how history will repeat itself.
There is nothing new under the sun.

Yes, we may have new technologies and new ways to communicate, share information, travel, etc. But is any of it new? We're still communicating, something we've done since the beginning of time. We're still sharing information, something we have always done, and is also the point of communication. We still travel, which is what they did in the beginning by walking. We do the same tricks in new ways thanks to the inventions of man.

Not only do we do the same basic things that our ancestors did in new ways, but we also sin in new ways.

Sexual immorality
Substance abuse
Greed
Being lazy
Idols

These few examples are all sins (Note on being lazy. There's nothing wrong with having a lazy day off, but constantly putting rest before anything else is a sin of laziness, putting your rest before God and his mission.)

These sins can be done in new ways that our grandparents, even our parents couldn't do.
Do you know how easy it is to have sexual sin in your life? All you have to do is get on the internet and bam, you are assaulted with sexual sin between social media and any number of websites. Your parents didn't have this problem that way, but they still had this problem.

There is nothing new under the sun.

Looking at the last few verses, we see the Solomon writes that he has made it his mission to "seek out by wisdom all that is done under heaven." What he is saying is that he is looking to see what the point of everything is, why are things done, how are they done, and what purpose do they serve. He then says that this is a sorrowful task for man to do. Why is that? Verse 18 tells us, "For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow."

All of this comes back to what he starts off with: Everything is meaningless.

Everything that we do on earth, everything that we strive for, money, fame, girls, guys, the newest gadgets, the best games, all of it is meaningless. All of it is like chasing after the wind. And when we begin to evaluate the things we deem important, we see that this is true. When we become wise we see that everything that we've chased after is meaningless.

When we take away everything that we value, and stand it against time, everything will fade away. All but Christ.

He will be the only thing that remains.

The Grace of God

Hebrews 2.8-9: Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste dead for everyone.

God has put everything in the hands of Jesus, the hands of himself. From our view point, and from the way life goes, we don't see or understand how God has everything in his control; and how can we when it seems like everything is out of control. But what we do see is Jesus.

We see him coming to be lower than the angels. We see him crowned in glory and honor because he suffered death. And it is by God's grace that when Jesus tasted death, he tasted death for us all.

My hope today is to not be long winded, get off topic, or go too deep, which will cause the first two to happen.

But I do need to get off topic on one thing. I believe in free will. I believe everything is in God's hands, but that's all that he's touching it until he purposefully needs to stick his hand in. For example, I would not be where I am today if God has not stuck his hands in my life. End side note.

The thing that I really want to get into today is that last bit there, "the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone."

God put this huge plan into motion. He created all, waited to see what happened. The Fall happened, and sin and death entered into the world. He began a plan to redeem the entirety of the world, and that started with Abraham. Throughout the years he waited the perfect time (Rom. 5.6) for send his son. He sent his son, he came, walked the earth, began to bring the people back to his father, and teaching others to do the same. Then he died, and God tasted death. But three days later he rose again.

It is because of the love that God has for us that his son tasted death. It is his grace that sent him to the cross. Because without the death and resurrection of Jesus we would have no hope, none at all. We would still be dead in our sin, but because of the grace that God has for us, manifested in Jesus, which sent him to the cross to taste death, we can come alive in Christ in his resurrection.

All this comes from the grace of God.

Pray it Up

There was something else I was thinking about posting about today, but it's super deep stuff that I have to take a lot of time to look into, so I'll do that at another time.

Again, sorry for the lack of posts, but last week I was at camp where there was no service at all, and little internet. It was good to get away, but you know how people get all twitchy without communication to the outside world. Anyways.

Today I want to talk about prayer. Prayer's a good thing.

Many posts ago I posted an entry called "Conversations with Ourselves." I want to build off that, forever after I originally posted it. I'm good like that. Anyways again.

So prayer. There's a lot in scripture that talks about prayer, but I want to just touch on different ways you can pray.

First off prayer is just communicating with God. Just sitting down and talking with him. Some day that there's a formula modeled off the Lord's Prayer, I've met people who always start off with that prayer, and there are some with incredibly formal with their prayers. If you've ever heard me pray, I'm incredibly informal with it. I always start my prayers off with "Hey God" or "Hey Dad." And why shouldn't I? God and I have been reconciled and have every right to talk to each other as friends, because we are. But that's how I'm comfortable praying, so the next thing to know about prayer is that you should be comfortable doing it.

Now some ways to pray. Back in the fall semester, a group I was in for a class put on a prayer thing, where we had different ways to pray as stations. I'm going to share those with you in attempts to get you to talk with God.

1) Prayer through silence: Psalm 46.10 "Be still, and know that I am God." Take some time to sit and recognize the power of God. He will be exalted among the nations. He will be exalted in the earth. He is that great and that powerful. So sit back and reflect on it. Find silence in your life and seek God in it. Take time and be still.

2) Prayer through conversation: Find out how you view God, search through scripture and see who God is, and talk to him like that. You can even take some creative liberty with seeing God. I have no problem if you see God as your Jedi Master.

3) Prayer through writing: Write out to God, write him a letter. Some people can write a lot better than they can talk. That's alright, write something to God.

4) Prayer through scripture reading: Communication goes two ways. Listening to God can take form in sitting in silence, or sitting and reading his Word. Find a passage of scripture and read it, see what God is saying to you. Psalms are really good for this, my particular favorite is Psalm 18 or 46.

So take some time tonight to talk to God. Try different ways throughout the week. But

TAKE TIME TO TALK TO GOD!

Doing the Hard Things

There's a lot of people I don't like, mainly because I got anger issues. Being the youngest in a family like mine, that's not surprising. But as a Christian I am called to love all as Christ has. We see this when Jesus talks about the Greatest Commandment. We see this happen in Luke 10, and Jesus tells a parable of a good Samaritan.

Some background for the parable that Jesus tells is that he was speaking to Jews. One things Jews were not to do were touch a dead body. Jews also hated Samaritans.

So the parable goes a Jew was walking down the road, was robbed and left for dead. A priest walks by, then a minister, both of which keep clear of the body. Finally a Samaritan walks by, sees the bloodied half dead Jew, and carries him to the next town to be taken care of.

Jesus then asks the question, "Who was the man's neighbor?" Well of course the dirty, rotten, no good Samaritan, he's the only one that took care of the guy despite their hatred for each other.

This is what we are called to do as Christians.

At camp this past week I had a couple guys get in a fight during football, so I had to break it up and talk to both of them. I told them that I wanted each of them to pray for the other, that they be blessed, happy, and that they would have a great rest of the week.

Whenever I pray, I always think of people I don't like, either they make me mad, there's just something about them, or they have actually done things against me, and I pray for them. I ask God for their well being, for their happiness, for them to be blessed.

I tell you this not to build myself up, but this is what I see Jesus tell us to do, to love those we just down right can't stand.

This is one of the hardest things you will ever do. But ask you continue praying for them you will begin to have compassion for them. My list of people that I don't like gets shorter and shorter, with me having more and more compassion for those people.

I don't know about you, but I want to be more and more like Jesus. I'm a far sight from being even close to what he's like, but I make and effort every day. A lot of days I fail, but I actually love Jesus enough to keep trying despite the fact that there may be little to no change sometimes. But he's worth me trying.

So I end with this encouragement: Love others to the best of your ability.  Do all you can to be like Jesus. Start off simple, and pray that those you can't stand have a great day, and that God blesses them more than he blesses you.

For the first shall be last and the last shall be first. To be the greatest you must become the least.

Humble yourself, and be a servant to all in all ways, from actions to prayer. Just make sure your do it with a sincere heart.

Struggling to Live Out Your Faith

This past weekend I went to a college retreat, and was asked to put together a devo for Friday and Saturday campfire, so that's what I want to share with you today. Not because I'm lazy, but I am green, in the way of recycling, but I also think there is something big being said here, not by me, but God. So enjoy.

Living your life for Christ is hard. Trusting God is hard. Following Christ is hard. These are some of the hardest things you will ever do.

There’s this verse in Acts, when I read it I was completely blown away by it and what it meant. The verse is Acts 9.16.

Up to this point in Acts, we’ve seen Jesus ascend up to heaven, the Holy Spirit come, and the Apostles speak at the day of Pentecost where at least 3000 gave their lives to Christ. That’s some great stuff. And it gets even better! The believers are gathering daily, God was adding to their number daily, and no one in the company of believers lacked anything, pooling all their resources together and there were miraculous healings.

But then things started to get rough.

Peter and John were brought before the Jewish council for their healing of the crippled man, and were threatened never to speak of this Jesus again. Some were discouraged by this, but the believers gathered together to pray for boldness, to weather the storms that may come.

They had people try to come in their faith and gain favor, lying for it, which resulted in their deaths. The Apostles were arrested again for more miraculous things that were done. Those that arrested them and accused them wanted them dead for the things they did and the Christ they preached. Finally the men who had them arrested decided to beat them and send them on their way.

Later, we see a man named Stephen, who was full of grace and power, doing great things, signs and wonders among the people. The Jews saw this, heard his words about Christ, and seized him. Those who grabbed him stirred the people up, and had an unfair trial against him, full of slander and lies against him. In his defense, Stephen gives an outstanding speech for Christ. This was the final straw for those around him. They dragged him out of the city, beating him along the way and forcefully throwing him out the gate. They picked up stones and began throwing them at him, killing him there. All the while a man who made acts like this his career stood over the stoning nodding his approval.

Saul goes throughout the towns and cities, rounding up Christians for arrest of death. The persecution of the Church is in full swing at this point. He is commissioned by the Jewish leaders to go to Damascus to arrest more Christians and bring them back to Jerusalem. But along the way Christ appears to him, and Saul “sees the light,” he sees the truth of who Jesus is.

God goes to a man named Ananias, and tells him that Saul will be coming to his house. This man knows of Saul, he knows of his attacks against the church and wants nothing to do with him. But God assures Ananias that Saul is on his side. He reaffirms this with Acts 9.16, “For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

Paul, one of the greatest missionaries this world has ever seen had his new life started off with the sentence of “I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”

We look through the rest of Acts, and we even have a recounting from Paul himself about the things that he went through for the sake of Christ.

2 Corinthians 11.23-30: Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one, with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings and often times near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews (his people) the forty lashes minus one (40 lashes being death). Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned (and probably killed). Three times I was shipwrecked; and spent a night and day at open sea; I’ve been on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, robbers, my own people and Gentiles, those I’m supposed to take the Word to. I’ve been in danger in cities, the wilderness, at sea and from false brothers. I’ve had toil and hardship, many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often times going without food, in cold and exposed to the elements. And on top of that I have all the added anxiety of the churches!

All of this can be summed up in one verse: I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.

Paul had an easy going life. He had a great life up until Christ burst in like the kool-aid guy. Before he was top dog, rising fast in his social circles. He was well known and respected, probably loaded, and in a position of power. Then things got hard.

Christ himself tells us that those who follow him will suffer persecution. In Matthew 10 Jesus sends out the 12, and he tells them, “I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves. Watch out for those around you, they’ll arrest you, beat you, and you’ll be dragged before those in power. People will turn on you, even those you think are on your side; and you will be hated for the sake of my name.”

Jesus knows the type of problems that come with the message of the cross, and those problems make following hard, and it becomes a struggle to live out your faith.

In James 2 we see that faith without works is dead. It just doesn’t exist, it doesn’t work. And in times like today where the Christians have lost the culture war and are now being attacked for their beliefs, it’s hard to accompany your action with your faith. It’s hard to ask a friend if you can pray for them knowing they’re not a Christian. It’s hard to go up to a person you don’t know and strike up a conversation just for the sole purpose of making their day. It’s hard to love on total strangers like Jesus did, just to show them the love of Christ.

One of the hardest acts of faith though is taking that giant leap and letting go of everything for the sake of Christ. Jesus tells us that anyone who wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for him will find it.

Push through the hard parts of life as a Christian. Live out your faith. Let go of everything for Christ. And on the other side, things will better, and there will be the greatest reward ever for you.

As we end the night I want to leave you with some questions to reflect on.

1) What is it that you value most?

The World values things that we don’t value, yet it’s hard for us not to value those things as well, be it money, popularity, sex, reputation, material items. What is it that you value, and how does it stack up against the things God tells us to value?

2) What part of your old life are you holding on to that you don't want to?

These things that you value may be items of your past life that you don’t want to let go of, you’re afraid to take the complete leap. What are they? What do you need to hand over to God?

3) What do you need to pray for?

The early Church prayed for boldness. Many of the Apostles prayed for open doors to spread the Gospel. What is it you need to pray for?

Finding that Joy

There's this old kids song I remember from church.

I got joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart

Where?

Down in my heart

Where?

Down in my heart

And it basically does that for a good long while until kids are screaming and adults want duct tape and super glue to get the kids to shut it for 30 seconds.

But today I want to talk about joy; what it is and where to find it. I realized after yesterdays post that I talked about quit constantly complaining about stuff and find joy in your life without actually telling how to find joy in your life. My bad.

What is joy though? In the easiest terms, it's happiness, it's being glad, it's not allowing crap in your life to get you down. You know that feeling you get when you unwrap the mystery gift at Christmas? The one you're handed after all the other ones have been handed out and you thought you didn't get the one thing you'd give all your other presents for? Then when you open it you see that it's exactly what you wanted? That game system, the newest cell phone, the best lap top, tickets to see your favorite band. You remember that feeling?

That, ladies and gentlemen, would be joy.

I want you to think about all those times you've felt joy.

For me? There's been a few when I got what I wanted for Christmas, but over all I'm an unexcitable person. I'm not married, I have no kids, so I haven't felt joy from those things. There have been a few spiritual times where I have felt joy though (and I know what you're thinking, typical preacher guy only finds joy in "spiritual things"). When I was in high school I won a preaching contest and got to preach for 1500 high school students. I was pumped for that one and felt that joy. To stand on a stage and be able to present the Word, that was great. But get stared at by 1500 people, that felt better (I'm sad to say). I've done a few baptisms here and there, some of them I felt nothing about and haven't seen the person since. But a few I felt great pride and joy in ritually killing them for my God.

There was this one guy who, I found out later, was a self-described atheist. He went to a week of camp refusing to believe, but forced to go by his parents. The entire week the teen had fun, but refused to open up to Christ. At the end of the week, he goes up to a councilor and tells them he wants to be baptized. When I was told this I was happy, but not really full of joy because I didn't know anything about this kid. He comes up to me later, asking if I'd baptize him to which I give my usual response of, "sure." It was then that we sat down and he told me his story, and his spiritual past. Later that day I got to bring that kid into my family, both of us with tears running down our face at the way God changed this kids life in just a week. That day I felt joy, and still do when I think about it.

In Galatians we see that there is something called the fruit of the Spirit. Let it be noted that a lot of people like to say "fruits" of the Spirit. This is wrong. Look at scripture, Galatians 5.22. And it's not a typo because the sentence says, "But the fruit of the Spirit is..." See how that works? One thing, singular, fruit. Not fruits. But anyway, we see here that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. All of these things are produced by the Spirit together. When we receive the Spirit, these nine things are to start growing in us. Some of us have a harder time with them, some easier. But we are to have these things to some extent, including joy.

I see all the time on social media how bad you think things are. Yeah, maybe the guy you like doesn't like you back. Yeah, maybe your girlfriend broke up with you. Sure, maybe your parents grounded you. We live in a broken world where things go wrong. But compare your life to someone else's.

Do you have a house to live in?
     What about those that don't.
Do you have a fridge full of food?
     How about those kids that are starving.
Do you have a family around you? Maybe you don't think they appreciate you but do they abuse you or sell you to fuel their addictions?
     What about those people who are beaten or sold into sex slavery by their families?

How bad do you really have it? Sure we can go on and on about the problems in your life, and they very well can be problems, I am in no way trying to diminish the problems you're having. But I'm trying to shift your perspective so you can see that honestly, you don't got it that bad.

And not only that, if you're reading this and call yourself a Christian, say you've been baptized and received the Holy Spirit, then you really don't have much to complain about.

Yes, things go wrong. Paul had a heck of a hard time as a Christian, yet no where in scripture do I see him complaining about those hard times. Why?

He had joy in the knowledge that he had Christ in his life. When you receive the Spirit, the fruit of it begins to grow in you. When you receive the Spirit you are saved. When you receive the Spirit you have God living inside of you.

Isn't that something to be constantly joyful about?

Find that joy, remember it, and live in it.

For your viewing and listening pleasure:

http://youtu.be/MxFx8V3DSwc

So What?

This blog is called "First Take." Why is it called that? Well I figured this is mainly going to be me posting things, people reading them, and that's it.

And that's what it has been, which is fine.

But the reason for the name of the blog is because it is my first take on whatever it is I'm talking about that day. Maybe I'll put some thought into it, or a lot of thought into it, maybe some research, or a lot, the prep varies. But it is always my first take on the topic, and I give it to you.

Just so you know.

Also, my apologies for lack of posts. I have recently had a week long intensive class, then up and moved to Pittsburgh. Takes a lot out of a man. But transitions are good.

Sit in a four legged chair. Don't get smart and say "Like I can sit in a two legged chair." Recliners anyone? They don't have four "legs."

But go sit in that chair, all four legs on the ground. Comfortable? Feel like everything is in its place? Good!

Now lean back, find that sweet spot where you can lean back perfectly balanced on the back to legs. Like a boss.

Then you reach that point, where you lose your balance, and you flip out. Not like a boss.

These are the three zones in which we live every day life. Comfort zone, sitting in the chair; answering a question in the class from your desk. Growth zone, leaning back, balanced, in a delicate position; standing up in front of the class showing your work on the board with others around you. Panic zone, you lose balance, you start to fall, and you flip out; you have to stand in front of the class and present a paper, everyone is staring at you, you're sweating, they all can see it, you see someone whisper something to someone else and you know they're talking about you.

My mom is on a mission trip right now on an Indian reservation. This is her first one. This was supposed to make her step out of her comfort zone for a week, which I think it did, but not to the extent that it should of. But I push myself and others to do more. I'm a jerk. I know. But how many of us have done something different, something risky, something new for the kingdom? Not exactly something that has never happened in the history of the world, but something that you have never done.

How often do we sit and complain about whatever is going on and how terrible our life is when in reality we say we believe Christ has risen and that has saved us? Why not flip things around, and instead of constantly moping we actually have joy for once, instead of throwing a pity party of one?

How about this? Instead of sitting with all your friends at lunch, go find the kid that sits by themselves. And be sincere about it. Nothing made me angrier than when guys at school would try to impress girls by "being friends with the weird kid." Yeah, that doesn't push people away, seeing that you don't care, you just want to "do your duty." Honestly care for the person, they're as important to God as you are. Do you want someone to show you that? Well go show it yourself.

See these things make us step out of our comfort zone, but they are not extreme enough to make us lose it and freak out. Sure most of you are probably saying, "Oh I can't do that. I just wouldn't be comfortable doing that."

Good! That's the point!

I'm taking a huge leap of faith right now. As I said, I just moved to Pittsburgh. I have basically no place to live, hardly any income, and don't like doing what I'm called to do. I'm an introvert. I like to sit by myself, think about things, avoid people. Most people think there's something wrong with me. No, I'm just wired different. But here I am, stepping out of my thought filled shell, and going to college students to show them that Christ actually cares about them. Do I want to do that? No, I want to go be a monk and make beer to fund my ministry of thinking deep thoughts. But God has bigger plans for me. His plan for me is to go and make disciples of all nations. What better way to do that than actually go to the lost, go to the lonely, go to the hopeless, the scared, the angry, and tell them about this joy and happiness and fullness that we have in our lives.

Is that going to be hard? You bet your most expensive electronic device it is.
Is it going to be worth it? More than you will ever know.

What I'm beginning to talk about here is evangelism, which ties in with discipleship. Words some of you may not understand, and that's alright. I may start working on that soon... We'll see. But I'm not asking you to go out and thump them over the head with a Bible and demand a decision as some churches would have you do, but I'm asking you to show someone that they matter. You don't even have to mention Christ or God or anything religious at all. Find someone you know doesn't have the joy that you do, and pour it into them, be friends with them. There is no one below you. There is no one not worthy of your friendship. There is no one who God does not want to bring into his love and grace. I don't care how bad the kid may smell, or what kind of reputation they have, or how mean they are. Jesus went to the cross for them just as much as he went for you.

Remember that, and remember this.

Jesus said himself, "The first shall be last and the last first." He also said, "Who ever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it." Let go of yourself, let go of our pride, let go of what you cling onto to stay in your old life. You died to that, but if you keep on trying to hang onto it you will lose it all. But if you let go of that life for the sake of Christ, you will find a better, fuller, more perfect/complete life.

Now go, and make someones day.

What to Take and What to Leave

Class this week is interesting. It's called "World Christianity" and is about, you guessed it, Christianity around the world.

The main thing we have been talking about this week is stuff I've thought of before, but not with the titles we've been using: Indigenizing and Pilgrim Principles. The first is about using the culture around you for religious purposes. The second is about moving forward into a new culture, coming our of your old one.

Let's talk about these for a few and see what we come up with.

A lot of Christian practices are made up of things taken out of other cultures and given a Christian purpose. Some examples would be holidays, half of our Bible, communion, our gatherings, and even a lot of our symbols such as the cross. (Disclaimer: For any scholars reading this, I know there's more to the story than that, but I'm just doing easy things that people associate with Christianity. So please forgive me.)

Nowadays we see things like this happening in the Church as well. I've been around for a few years, and haven't yet seen things come full circle yet, but I have seen things change in the Church as culture outside of it changes. For example, we are moving into of an era of worship marked by acoustic guitars, beat boxes (I don't know what they're actually called), and vocals. Sometimes a piano. Outside of Christianity we are seeing the rise of close knit friends, getting together for very acoustic based music. The Church has seen this, has picked up on it, and is using it. This also comes with the fact that those who do this outside of the Church are beginning to come into it, bring their culture with them.

There is nothing wrong with this.

But sometimes there is the problem of a Church adapting too much to the culture and it ceases to be what it is meant to be. Some people in class today gave a presentation about this and talked about how they know churches which are dropping true biblical teachings in favor of "God will give you everything you want" type teachings. I haven't actually seen this in a church yet, but I'm sure it's out there.

The other side of the coin is moving out of the culture we're in into the culture that is Christ centered. Instead of trying to transform the society that we're in completely, we move into a society of believers. In an article by Andrew Wells talking about these two things he says that no society has ever existed in which Christianity can painlessly incorporate itself into. This is true.

Think about if tomorrow the US became a fully Christian nation, pushing its beliefs on everyone and passing laws which are based on scripture. That'd be awesome right? Until those who refuse the message begin to riot and rebel against the government. Then the nation would tear in half, and the transition would not be painless. It couldn't happen.

We are called out of our culture and society to join a new one, a better one. One with Christ at the center. The idea of the "Pilgrim Principle" is to shift our focus from ourselves, our friends, our family, money, whatever it is, to Christ. It's a big transition, one where you have to turn around 180 degrees. It's not easy, but it's worth it.

All this to say, I want you to think about what around you can you use for Christ? What in your culture or society can you transform for Christ to use as common ground with unbelievers around you? And the other side of that is what do you need to let go of to move into this new type of life? A while ago I made a post about what you struggle with. What is it? Is it tying you back to your old life? What do you need to get away from to have your Christ centered life?

The Foundation

The Church and all of Christianity are based on one thing, and one thing only; but not just a thing, but a person. That person is Jesus Christ. The root of “Christianity” is Christ, the Greek for Messiah, the Hebrew for Savior. There is long explanation about what a messiah really is, and while intriguing, the definition of “savior” will suffice for now. But the belief of who Jesus is, the life that he lived, the death that he had, and the resulting resurrection all cumulate for the basis of Christianity. Without Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior, Christianity would not exist. Our faith is in this truth, and this truth is the foundation of all that we will build upon. To have a good sturdy structure we need to have a firm, strong foundation. Jesus is that foundation.

Here’s few examples. When a house, or any building for that matter, is being built, what is the first thing done? I grew up in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio in a subdivision, and when I was a kid a lot of houses were being built. So me and my friends, being kids and love doing things we were not allowed to do, went and played in them. We would go to a house that was about to be built, and jump into the basement, which always started as just a big hole in the ground. As we would play and the houses would be built, we would see the foundations of the house being put together. First would always be the digging of the hole (the best part to play in). Then they would pour concrete at the bottom. Concrete is strong once dried, and becomes a big square rock. Or rectangle. Then they would put up the walls to the basement with more concrete, or mortar, I could never tell the difference, and cinder blocks, just more concrete shaped into blocks. And they would put more concrete down the holes of the cinder blocks to reinforce the walls and foundation of the house. This created an incredibly strong foundation, something that a fairly large house could be built on; something to create a good place to live.

Another example. A friend from college told me of a school being built in her home town. They first tore up the ground where the school was going to be built, and then after a while started building. They did not let the ground, and therefore foundation, settle. She told me about how already, after two years the school was beginning to sink in places, with students in it. The people building the school never let the ground settle, allowing for a firm foundation. How easy is this to tie into talking about Christ as the foundation?

When we build our faith structure, and the Church, we need to tear away the old and destroy the old foundation of our lives. Paul talks about this very thing saying, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5.17 ESV). For us to build the Church on a good foundation, we have to build a good, firm, strong foundation in our own lives. We have to let the old foundation be destroyed, so that the new one, Jesus, can come.

My hope is that you already have the foundation of Jesus in your life, but if not, then we need to establish that. 1 Corinthians 3.11 says, “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” We see here that Jesus has already been laid as the foundation, foundation for what though? Well obviously the Church, but later we will look at more verses from this chapter, and build on the foundation we are building now (see what I did there?). So this foundation is Jesus, and has already been laid, but by who? “…Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone” (Eph. 2.20). Jesus was the first stone laid of this foundation. But I said he is the entire foundation did I not? Here’s how I see it.

Jesus is fully God and fully man, being human in nature and divine in character. So Jesus probably has a lot of different characteristics. On a side note, I think God has multiple personalities, until I get a divine revelation or some smart person tells me otherwise that this is wrong, we will continue with this thought. My thought process behind this is that God can connect to each and every one of us in a deeply personal, intimate way. One person, with one personality cannot do that, but one person and different personalities to connect with everyone can. God remains who He is, but I feel there is something behind the name that He gives to Moses when He is asked His name.

“Then Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,” and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.” (Exodus 3.13-14)

“I AM WHO I AM” is a powerful name. I have read through the Bible at least once, and that was just to say I have read it. I want to read through it again and every time ask God who He is, and see that He tells me there. “Are you my Father?” “Yes.” “Are you my rock?” “Yes.” “Are you creator?” “Yes.” Throughout the Bible we get an insight into who/what God is. I could go on and on about who/what God is, but by now I hope my point is made clear. God is a multitude of things to us, each one of us may see God as the same type of figure, but we still all see Him differently. Take God the Father for example. I may see God as my Father, and so might someone else, and someone else, and someone else. But each one of us sees him differently as a Father, because we each see a father figure in a different light.

Now back to my original point: What does this have to do with Jesus as the foundation of the Church? Looking back at the verse from Ephesians, we see that he is the “chief cornerstone” But he is also the entire foundation. Jesus, being fully God, I believe is the “chief cornerstone” of all of Christianity. The cornerstone in buildings is the first stone laid and all the other stones are set by that one stone. So when we have the faith, and understanding, as much as we can understand God, that Jesus is fully God, we have our first stone of our foundation placed. After that stone is placed, we then see what, and who, else Jesus is. This is shown to us primarily in the Gospels, but also in most of the Epistles. Jesus, like God, because he is also God, has multiple characteristics for us to identify with. All of these characteristics of Jesus stem off of the stone that he is also God, creating a foundation that we are built off of. The more people in the Church, the more foundational stones there will be, and the stronger they will be, giving us the chance to make an even bigger and better Church.

Now I may have gone too fast there, and maybe you do not understand how I got that Jesus being God is the chief cornerstone. Well luckily Jesus has shown that to us already.

“When Jesus came to the district of Caesarea Philippi, he ask his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them ‘But who do you say I am?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but by my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16.13-18)

Alright, time for more confusion, then hopefully clarification. Peter in the Greek is Petros, which means or sounds close to “rock.” So here we see Peter pipe up and say that Jesus is the Son of God and the Christ. Jesus in turn renames Simon to Peter and then says “on this rock I will build my church.” Now question. Is Jesus going to build his entire Church on one man? And if you know the story of Peter at all, is Jesus going to build it on the man who denied him three times? No. Absolutely not. The rock that Jesus is building his Church on is the truth that Peter spoke, the confession he made, that Jesus is the Son of God and the Christ. This is the chief cornerstone that has been laid for the foundation of the Church: That Jesus is the Son of God, making him God himself. (More evidence given in John 1.1-18. Key to this passage: The Word=Jesus)

Wrap Up

So all of this evidence given, we see that Jesus is the foundation of Christianity, the Church, and our faith (faith bringing us to Christianity). So what does this mean for us as the Church? Well first off, it lays a base for us to build on for later topics. The Church as a whole is built on this foundation of Jesus, and a firm understanding of Jesus being our foundation gives us a firm base to build on. I know I seem to be repetitive here, but I think if I put it different ways it will be better understood.

Now I challenge you: Allow yourself to be broken, and build your life on Jesus.

What's God Telling You?

First off I apologize for the long absence. I've been a bit busy the past week.

Last week I had the chance to go to a campus ministers retreat in Indiana, and it was a great time. I got to sit with some of the Father's of campus ministry and pick their brains for hours. Internet and phone service were both horrible there, so it prevented me from posting. Along with that when I got back I had a sermon to write for church on Sunday. So there's that too. This week I have class, but I should be able to post for the most part. But now on to more important things.

Like I said, this past week I had a sermon I had to do for church, meaning I had to preach. The topic was fellowship, and I think it turned out well. But most people will lie to a preachers face and tell them they did a good job when really they bombed it. But anyways. The main thing I was to focus on was the idea that we need to be in church so that we can enjoy fellowship on Sunday's.

Do I think we should go to church? Yes. Solely for the purpose of fellowship? No. But I couldn't exactly go into my entire theology of discipleship and the role fellowship plays into it. I had a certain perameter and time limit I had to stay within. So I feel that the sermon may have suffered. But I'm getting off point. I'll talk about discipleship and fellowhsip another time.

But while writing the sermon I went from a broad idea to a very fine point. This is called inductive preaching. I like it a lot. But while I was doing that, I used a lot of example of fellowship, and how fellowship gets us to a common goal.

I talked about Jesus and the 12. Paul and his partners on his missionary journey's. There's more examples of Timothy and Elders, Elijah and Elisha, and many more. But biblical examples aren't the only ones that I used.

There are secular things in this world that will perfectly discribe biblical situations. For example, I used Star Wars, Converse shoes, the expression "spread too thin," and I could have used more.

I find that sometimes we can't understand everything that we're reading in the Bible. Sometimes concepts are really hard to get. Like C.S. Lewis we can use annalogies to help us understand better. And in this day and age there are plenty out there in forms of songs, movies, TV shows, I've even seen a vodka commercial that made me tweak my theology on discipleship, preaching, and even lesson writting.

With all this to say, I wanted to get to this point: God can use anything to help you understand what he's trying to tell you. It doesn't have to be Christian music, or the movie God is not Dead. But he coul use Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Led Zepplin, vodka commercials, whatever. Be open to see what God is telling you.

Now of course, depending on where you're at in your Christian life or your own view on sin you may need to avoid certain things, like movies or music, but that is for you to decide. If you question it, avoid it. Pretty simple rule to follow there until you talk to someone about it.

But keep your eyes open, and see what God is revealing to you.