My Weblog

Budget or Blueberies?

As the State of California faces a $24.3 billion deficit and the threat of running out of cash by late July, the Governor has threatened to shut it all down. Even with the present situation there are some who ask, "What budget crisis?" by sponsoring some  "eyebrow-raising bills" in the state Legislature (Budget or blueberries):

- Ensure that juice sold as "pomegranate" is 100 percent pomegranate.

- Instruct 9th and 10th graders about the value of organ donation.

- Ban toy cigarette lighters.

- Require day cares to serve only healthy food to children.

Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, a Democrat from San Francisco, is the author of the name-tag bill and another that would establish a commission to promote California's growing blueberry industry. The commission's $1.2 million annual budget would come from a surcharge on blueberries.

Maybe shutting down the state government isn't a bad thing!

Old Fave Movie

I have some favorite movies that I have watched over the years. Some are real gems that I think about every once in a while. Buckaroo Bonzai is a classic that I recently dug up in my memory. It came out in 1984. Check out John Lithgo! "Character is what you are in the dark."

My Thoughts Today

I was told by someone this morning that I had not blogged for a long time and he implied that I needed to. So all morning some things have been buzzing through my mind and so I wrote them down. These are my thoughts and ideas about the church, ministry, life, and faith. It is just a few. I could go further in depth on these but too many words on a blog is a death sentence. So, take a look and leave a comment.

My primary mission is not to do witnessing, but to be witnesses.
I remember when I first became a follower of Christ it was implied by many in the church that what would really please Jesus was to give a verbal account of what Christ has done in my life. I was to witness, or tell someone about Jesus. As I review scripture it really seems to me that this is not the case.  In Acts 1:8 Jesus says … you will be my witnesses...This implies more of a life expression than a verbal acknowledgment.

My desire for the church I serve in is not to be a service organization, but to be a redemptive society.
We don’t serve without a purpose. We don’t serve to make life better for people. We serve to restore what was destroyed. We serve to renew what is old and decaying. We serve to reconcile relationships that have been severed. We serve to draw people’s attention to the kingdom of God.
   
My goal in life is not to make converts, but to make disciples.
Jesus tells us to make disciples, not converts (Matthew 28:19). Jesus is always pursuing people. We just need to put ourselves in those places where he is active and where the Holy Spirit leads us (Philip, Acts 8). Once we are in that place we are to help others know who Jesus is and how they can live for him and others in his kingdom.

I don’t have go to church, but I want to be a member of a community living out the reign of Christ.
Jesus didn’t save me for me. He didn’t die for me to live a life of selfish behavior and isolation.  I am saved into his kingdom with other followers who are in Christ so that together we can give witness to his kingdom.

I don’t think the best use of my time is to be in a bible study, the best use of my time is doing what the Jesus tells me to do in his bible.
Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commands” (JN14:15).  In reality he was saying that a proof of no love is to not keep his commands. So, just listening to what he says in a bible study and doing nothing in response is not the best use of time.  John 1:14 tells us that the Word (Jesus) became flesh (incarnation) and dwelt among us. Jesus put himself (the Word) into practice or flesh.   In Matthew 7:23-24 Jesus exhorts every follower to put his word into practice or flesh (incarnation).

My role as a paid staff member is not to do ministry, but it is to gather and equip teams of unpaid servants for redemptive ministry.
The primary role of paid servants is to create an environment in which leaders, at every level, are equipped and replicating the redemptive DNA of the church through living out their spiritual gifts
(EPH 4:11-16).

My reason for giving money to the church is not so the bills get paid. It is not like giving a tip at a restaurant for good service. I give because it shows who really has control of my life.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:21 where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Lets face reality, what you spend your money on shows the priorities in your life. If I am reluctant to give to the work and ministry of Jesus do I really love Jesus?

I don’t pray to get what I want, I pray to get what God wants.
Right from the start in the Lord’s Prayer (MT6:10) Jesus lays out the priority in prayer, “your (God) kingdom come, your (God) will be done.” I pray out of desire to see the reign of Christ a reality in his creation more than to see my reign realized in my world.

Young Men | Old Men

your young men will see visions,
       your old men will dream dreams. - Acts 2:17

As I look at this verse I am reminded of the vision that so many young men have today. Visions of things bigger and greater than what most of us can think of. Being at the age that I am right now I am more concerned with dreams. I wonder why old men will dream dreams. Maybe because it is so easy for you to lose sight of your dreams as you get older. Other things creep into your life to destroy your dreams and you come to a point where you have no more mental energy to dream again. Could this be a promise for those of us who are old (even though I don't feel old) and have lost the spark that God through his Spirit can and will reinsert in us old dudes something fresh, new and life-giving? Hope so!

SAFETY FIRST?

I am reading a book called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I read something today that was life changing for me. Here is the excerpt from the book that I want to share with you...

Haven't we all prayed the following prayer? Lord, we pray for safety as we travel. We ask that no one gets hurt on this trip. Please keep everyone safe until we return, and bring us back safely. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. The exact wording may vary a bit, but that is the standard prayer we recite before leaving on mission trips, retreats, vacations, and business trips. We are consumed with safety. Obsessed with it actually. Now I am not saying that it is wrong to pray for God's protection, but I am questioning how we've made safety our highest priority. We've elevated safety to the neglect of whatever God's best is, whatever would bring God the most glory, or whatever would accomplish His purposes in our lives and in the world. Would you be willing to pray this prayer? God, bring me closer to You during this trip, whatever it takes...
- Crazy Love, pg 133

As I read the scriptures the people who did the most for God and were used by God were people who were not obsessed with safety. They were more consumed by their knowing God and doing his will regardless of their own safety.

Sit, Walk, Stand | #1

I am under the impression that when you align your life with Jesus and  make the pledge to follow him you will have a desire to discover how that works out in life. You will want to know him better and adjust your life according to his life and teaching. This makes sense to me. We are beginning a new series this coming Sunday called, "Sit, Walk, Stand" and takes a  look at our life as Christ followers from the lens of Ephesians. The series is based on the book "Sit, Walk, Stand" by Watchman Nee. My first message is an introductory with my focus on Ephesians 1:22-23:

²² And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,       ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

What are your thoughts concerning this scripture in light of the first chapter?

What does all things mean to you personally?

What does it mean that Christ is the head over everything for the church?

New Logos as Result of Our Financial Crises

 

Do you ever wonder how many words you speak per day? I read somewhere that  the average woman speaks around 5,000 words per day whereas the average male speaks around 2,000.  The amount of words we speak is not nearly a priority as the quality of the speech that proceeds from the mouth. Take for example what James says about the tongue, or the words that we speak:

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water. James 3:9-12

It was very disconcerting to James that a follower of Christ could praise God in one breath and curse human beings in another. To him it was not a natural occurrence for anyone who says they are a follower of Jesus Christ.

You can examine scripture and clearly see the kind of speech that God condemns. Everything from gossip and slander to lying and complaining. Jesus even tells us in Matthew 12:34 that a person's speech is an indicator of what the person really loves, For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

OK, so here is a prayer that we can say every morning as we get up and set out on our daily adventure

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

Weighing in on My Affliction

This is the second week of my affliction. You can read about it in a previous blog. Nothing has really changed. I have refused to read the book of Job during this time, but I caved in and read this...

 If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales! It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas— Job 6:2-3

It would be so easy to feel like Job. To feel the weight of my anguish, to let it control me. But I have a lot of hope because I know that it is only temporary. People recover from this thing. In my affliction I am reminded that there are people who don't have the hope that it will get better. I just learned about a friend of mine, a fellow pastor who has been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gerigs Disease). If you know anything about ALS, there is little or no hope of getting better outside of God's intervention. His misery surely outweighs the sand of the seas. Pray for him, his name is Mark.

My Thorn in the Flesh

Our Mexico Team arrived home yesterday from a week of service. We built a house, hosted a VBS everyday, and we helped with other projects. It was an awesome trip and I will post some pixs later. Personally, all through the week I was having some physical difficulties, but I didn't think much of it. I had a pain behind my right ear and I couldn't hear out of my right ear. I thought it was just an infection and I would go to the doctor when I got home.  When we got back to San Diego things changed. That night (Friday) the right side of my face started to feel numb and the next morning I could not close my right eye. Also, I was off balance when I walked.  I still had the pain and the constant ringing in my ear so everybody on the team told me that I should go to Urgent Care, so I did. The doctor diagnosied it as Bell's Paulsy, but he thought I should go to the hospital emergancy to be sure. So, I went the emergancy. They did an x-ray, a CT scan, and blood work. The doctor concluded that it was Bell's Paulsy, although he was not sure about the burning pain down my neck. So he gave me some pills and prescriptions. Bell's Paulsy is the restriction of the facial nerve and cused by a viral infection. The recovery could be days, weeks or months determined by the amount of damage to the nerve. The worst part of this is my eye won't close and I drool when I eat. Not a pretty sight.