exposure to living water

Meals with Jesus
Exposure to Living Water
John 4.1-.42

In the forth chapter of John Jesus moves his ministry from Judea back to Galilee (John 4.1-.3). In order to do this he has to go thru Samaria (John 4.4). Now Jews of this time usually took the long way and bypassed Samaria because of the racial tensions between the Samaritans and the Israelites. Jesus on the other hand takes the short cut thru Samaria because he had to. Why did he have to couldn’t he have taken the long way? No and the rest of the chapter answers the question.
On this journey he stops at a well near the city of Sychar while his disciples went into town to buy some food (John 4.4-.6 & .8). While he sits there, a woman walks up to the well to get some water. Jesus asks her for a drink (John 4.7). She answers with bitterness “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” John explains her responses by stating for his readers that Jews and Samaritan don’t associate with each other (John 4.9).
Jesus doesn’t really answer her question instead he does what he came to do in Samaria. “If you new the gift of God and who it that asks you for a drink, you would have ask him and he would have given you living water.” (John 4.10) This doesn’t answer her surface question but it answers questions and desires she has deep inside of her but she doesn’t realize that yet. Instead she wants to know if Jesus is greater than Jacob the patriarch who dug this well (John 4.11 & .12). His answer is yes but it is more complicated than that. “”Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4.13 - .14) Yes I am greater than Jacob because the water I give quenches the thirst of the soul forever giving you eternal live!
She wants this water but doesn’t realize that exposure to Living Water can be dangerous.
First, living water exposes out sins. (John 4.16-.18) She asks for the living water so she won’t have to come back to the well and Jesus tells her to get her husband. BAM! Sin is exposed she isn’t married to the man whom she is living with. Jesus knows this in fact he knows that the she has had 5 husbands.
Next the living water creates tension in her. (John 4.19 - .20) She knows that her sin has just been exposed and she just admitted to it. Now she is uncomfortable and isn’t sure if she really wants this living water. So she tries to change the subject and talk about who knows the truth Samaritans of Jews.
Jesus knowing that she is trying to dodge the living water tells her the truth. (John 4.21-24) The truth is salvation is coming from the Jews. The truth is a time is coming and has come when people will worship not on mountains or in temples but in spirit and truth.
The exposure of her sin, her tension and the truth has created in her a desire to know the messiah. (John 4.25) Jesus satisfies that desire by telling her the ultimate truth; that He is the Messiah, the Christ who will explain everything! (John 4.26)
Now she has the living water and wants to share it. So she runs into town and testifies to the living water. You can imagine the town’s people. Here is a woman admitting to sin and telling them she has found the Messiah. The power of her unchanged and testimony draws them out to meet Jesus. (John 4.28 - .30)
While she is in town the disciples show back up and offer Jesus food. But Jesus has also found satisfaction by revealing His Good News to a woman who desperately needed it. He did his father’s work, which fills our deepest hunger and need. (John 4.31 – .38)
The town’s people come out and meet Jesus and listened to his many words. Because of his teaching they come to believe for themselves. (John 4.39 -. 42) The living water has done its job to them; exposing sin, creating tension, revealing truth, creating desire, providing satisfaction and finally they now testify to the power and truth of the living water.
Have you let Jesus’ living water do it work on you? Has it exposed your sins? Has it created tension in your life? Have you see the truth is reveal? Have you felt the desire for the Messiah? Have you felt the satisfaction that comes from Jesus Christ? Have you testified to the truth and shared the living water with your neighbors?

Psalm 65.5-.8

You answer us with awesome deeds of rigthteousness
O God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest sea,
who formed the mountains by your great power,
having armed yourself with strength,
who stilled the roaring of the seas
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of nations.
Those living far away fear your wonders;
where the morning dawns and the vening fades
you call forth songs of joy.
Psalm 65.5-.8

tyler sleeping in his highchair

tyler fell asleep in his chair

diner at levi's house

Matthew 9.9-13, Mark 2.13-.17 & Luke 5.27-32

In the previous meal we saw that one of our responses to God's power at work in our lives is worship. Peter's mother in law is sick in bed. Jesus comes and rebukes the fever making her well again. Out of her gratitude she gets up and serves Jesus and the disciple. (Mark 1.29-.34, Luke 4.38-.41 and Matthew 8.14-.17)

The next meal moves from Peter and Andrew's house to Levi's (also known as Matthew) house. (Matthew 9.9-13, Mark 2.13-.17 & Luke 5.27-.32) Levi is a tax collector. One day he is sitting in his tax collector's both and Jesus sees him. Jesus walks up and tells Levi to “Follow me.” As crazy as it may seem Levi leaves everything and follows Jesus! Something about this short encounter with Jesus cause Levi to follow. None of the Gospels record any contact between Jesus or Levi before this conversation. I feel that Levi must have heard Jesus before. I feel this way because in context of this “calling” you find Jesus teaching and healing by the sea with a large crowd. It is possible that Levi/Matthew was in that crowd or as it got closer heard about what Jesus had been teaching and doing.

The act of following is the first response that we see in this meal story. Jesus doesn't call Levi to do anything but walk where He walks. We are called the same way. Jesus is calling us to follow. That is all. That is all that He expects from us as we start our lives as a follower. He doesn't leave us where He finds us. Instead we are being lead out of our sin and condemnation. We are being lead into an eternal life with the Father!

Following his call, Levi doesn't keep Jesus to himself. He invites all his friends to come and eat with Jesus. Here is our meal. Our second response to Jesus is to share him with others. We are to invite them to follow along with us and bring them into His presence so they can hear His call too. Today we might call this evangelism. What Levi does is so much simpler than what many people think of as evangelism. He doesn't sit down and have a personal Bible study. He doesn't discuss with them about the truth of Jesus. Instead he simply invites them to see Jesus for themselves. He shares what Jesus has done to him with them. Levi brings them into Jesus presense so they too can hear His call. This is what evangelism is all about. It is about sharing what Jesus has done in your life. It is about inviting other broken sinful people to walk with you as you follow Jesus. It is about bringing people into the presence of Jesus so they too can hear His call.

Bible studies are important. How else are you going to know who Jesus is in order to hear the call? Discussing the truth of Jesus is important. How else are people going to know that the historical Jesus is really the Son of God? In my opinion, your personal testimony is just as important. If all your Bible study and all the truth about who Jesus is doesn't change how you live, then it is meaningless. You have to be changed. You have to follow.

As some Pharisees and teachers of the law looked around they discovered that Jesus was eating with tax collectors and sinners. How could a rabbi do such a thing? How could the Son of God eat with these dirty sinners. He should be with the righteous like them. He should be pointing a condemning finger at “those people.”

Why is Jesus eating with “those people”? The answer is simple “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” He came to call the sinners. That is you and me.

This meal story is so very powerful. We see Jesus calling Levi to simply follow Him where ever he leads and Levi does. We see Levi responding to his call by inviting, sharing and bringing his fellow sinners into the presence of Jesus. Finally, we see that Jesus came to call us in the middle of our sinfulness to follow Him. As we follow Jesus, He leads us out of our sinfulness into eternal life with the Father. What an awesome message to share.

Supper at Simon Peter's Mother In-Law's House

Mark 1.29-.34, Luke 4.38-.41 and Matthew 8.14-.17

In the next meal we see in a small picture, the big picture of Jesus' ministry and our response to that ministry.
It was Sabbath day and Jesus had just finished teaching in the Synagogue. Suddenly a man possessed with a demon challenges Jesus. Jesus frees the man from his possession. The people were amazed at Jesus. They were amazed by the authority of Jesus over the demon and the fact that his teaching had authority! (Mark 1.21-.28 & Luke 4.31-.37)
Simon Peter and his brother Andrew invited Jesus, James, and John to their home. When they came to the house, Jesus is asked to heal Simon Peter's mother in law who has a high fever. Jesus goes to her and takes her by the hand, helps her up and the fever leaves her. Immediately in response to her healing she begins to serve them the meal. (Matthew 8.14&.15, Mark 1.29-.31 & Luke 4.38&.39)
Later when the sun goes down and the Sabbath day is done the people in the town bring all the sick and demon possessed to be healed. Jesus goes threw the crowd healing and casting out demons. He does this not in and impersonal way, but he touches them. Just like he reached out and touched Simon Peter's mother in law, he takes the time to provide a personal touch. (Matthew 8.16&.17, Mark 1.32-.34 & Luke 4.40&.41)
In these little pictures we see two big pictures. First, what our response to God's power working in our lives should be. Worship! Simon Peter's mother in law is sick in bed with a fever. Jesus comes to her takes her by the hand and the fever is taken away! God's power enters into her life and changes her. No longer is she sick but she is whole again. So what is her response to what happened? She serves him. She devotes time to wait on him. She worships Jesus with her actions. This is what our response to God's power working in our lives should be. When we are made whole, when our sins are forgiven, when our emptiness is filled by God's power, we are led to worship! We are led to devote our time and lives to the LORD!
The second big picture is Jesus' authority. In Mark's gospel authority is a major theme. In this story we see Jesus authority over disease and over demons. By healing and casting out demons he shows us his authority over them. We also see he has authority in his teaching. After Jesus finishes teaching and casting out the demon, the people are amazed because the teaching had authority on its own not like the teachers of the law!
Finally we see his personal touch. When Simon's mother in law is healed and when he heals the many in the crowd he touches them. In the middle of his mission to save everyone from sin, He takes the time to touch individuals in a crowd. He has the time for each of us.
In this little picture of the meal at Simon's house and the events surrounding it we see three big pictures. First we see that our response to Jesus' power in our lives is worship. Second we see the Jesus has authority over demons, disease and his teaching has authority. Finally we see that our LORD has time to touch each of us and not just deal with the crowd.

the many faces of austin

back home and waiting

i am back home (have been since friday night) and now i am just waiting. waiting to hear back from the two intern candidates i offered the jobs to. i had one younglady turn us down already so i went to my second candidate. today is the day i asked for them to give me an answer.

this is the hardest part just waiting, not knowing and praying. i offered the internship to 2 really good candidates and i really really want them to accept and come out this summer. that is what i am praying for.

if they say no i keep searching. i am not looking forward to that if it happens

sitting in the airport

right now i am sitting on the floor in hartsfield airport in atlanta waiting for my flight home. why am i on the floor you might ask. so i can use the electrical outlet for the laptop. i think it makes me look kewl with my glowing apple shinning forth from the back of my screen as i sit here on the floor. of course my bum is falling asleep soon my legs will fall asleep and then my feet and i will probably look stupid when i try to stand up and fall on my face.

i can't wait to sleep in my own bed is has been a long week. winterfest, intern hunt and prepare/enrich certification all in one week. lisa is the best wife ever.

oh i got gmail! so if you want to email my gmail account and add to my kewlness send it to phyrebyrd@gmail.com

here is cabin 4 at the abilene koa

cabin 4 at the abilene koa

reflections on abilene

last night there was a big thunder storm. i forgot how this town uses it street as flood control so i drove thru alot of big puddles it was fun!

had diner with my friend paul and caught up with him.

i love my cabin at the koa. it is nice and queit. no cable tv. i am about 10 feet from the bath house and i have wifi! what more could you want.

very different from the hotel at winterfest last weekend. which was noisy with crappy wifi and all the junk on cable. although the company was awesome with all my teens.

intern hunt

well i am sitting in the bean waiting for my next candidate for our intership program this summer. i had three guys this morning and i have two more to go for the day. i have some good candidates so far but i am still looking for the young women to interview.

it is hard to look at these college students who are seeking a ministry position and figure out who would work best at falls church and me. i have to find one youngman and one young woman to fill our positions. prayer is my big tool, seeking the Lord's wisdom and listening to who He is calling to work with us.

had lunch with my old friend glen macdonald and keith the youth minister where he is preaching. it was a lot of fun and i don't think our poor waitress will forget us soon. tonight i eat with some former students and it will be great to catch up with the,

i made it to abilene

i have been on the road all day long and right now i am sitting in the bean sprout listen to my friend and former student paul bryan present a movie he made on homelessness. this is a really kewl movie he put together for a class project that won an award!

i will be writing from acu for the next few days as i hunt for interns and get certified in a premarital councling instrument.

to see the movie click here

halloween 2004

i know that this little slide show is about 4 months late but i just had share what we did halloween eve 2004

the meals of Jesus: the wedding in cana

The meals of Jesus
The wedding in Cana
John 2.1-.11

As best as I can tell the first actual recorded meal of Jesus would be the wedding in Cana found in John 2.1-.11. Jesus, his disciples and his mother are invited to a wedding of an unknown couple. Everything seems to be going great when it is discovered that the wine has run out. This is a big deal because there is nothing for the guests to drink. It as if you went to Dairy Queen and they ran out of ice cream or to Kentucky Fried Chicken and they were out of chicken. (Both of these examples have happened to me.) This new couple is about to face a very embarrassing situation. In which they will lose face and status with their friends, family and their community.

Jesus’ mom hears about this and tells Jesus about the situation. His answer is interesting. Instead of saying “No” or “Okay Mom.” He says “My time has not yet come” (John 2.4). What kind of answer is this? It is the answer of the Messiah who is not ready to go public with his identity. It is the answer of the Messiah whose hour of glorification has not come

In John’s gospel there is a lot of talk about “time.” On two occasions mobs either want to kill Jesus or try to but they can’t because “his time had not come” (John 7.30 & 8.20) Jesus’ family wants him to go up to Jerusalem during the feast of Tabernacles to make a name for himself but he refuse because “The right time for me has not yet come” (John 7.6). Timing seems to be everything. For the first half of John’s gospel Jesus’ time has not come. He is not ready, the time has not come, and the hour is not here for the Son of Man to be glorified.

It is not until chapter 12 that the hour comes. Then in at the beginning of chapter 13 John tells us “It was the time of the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father.” Then he washes the disciple’s feet. As Jesus prays for himself just before he is arrested he tells the Father that the time has come for the Father to glorify the son and the son to glorify the Father (John 17.1). All of the talk about “time” is pointing to the Crucifixion.

In Cana Jesus’ time has not come for him to reveal his identity. Followed by attempts on His life that are thwarted because His time to die had not come. Finally the glorifying event comes, the time is ready and Jesus is Crucified. It is all about timing. It is all about the Father and the Son being in control.

I find it interesting that at the Wedding in Cana it is only the servants and the disciples who know where the new wine came from. It is to the servants and His disciples that the Messiah reveals himself. The Master of the Wedding, the bride, the groom and the rest of the wedding party have no knowledge of where this best wine saved for the end came from.

It is as if John is letting us in on the secret. It is as if John is telling us that we are the servants or disciples to whom the best new wine saved for the end has been revealed. It is as if Jesus is that best new wine and we his servants are to take it to those around us. The LORD has saved the best for the last. He saved his Son to rescue us from sin. We are the servants who take this wine to those around us. They don’t know where it came from but we do.

The wedding story ends with “This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. Jesus doesn’t “go public” but he shows his disciples his glory and they believe.

The Meals of Jesus: The Meal that Never Happens

We don’t have a written record of the first meal of Jesus. We can assume that Mary
nursed Him for his first meal. If you stop and think about the fact that the creator of the
universe needed a young freshly married woman to sustain him it is amazing. Every
fiber of Mary’s being was created by the child who she nursed.
The first recorded meal of Jesus is one that never happens. After being baptized by John
the Baptist, Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit. Then the Spirit leads him into the dessert to
fast for forty day and be tempted by the Devil. We find a full account of this event in
Matthew 4.1-.11 and Luke 4.1-.13, while Mark (4.12 & .13) deals with this event briefly.
At the end of the forty days of fasting Jesus must have been so hungry. So the Devil
exploits what could have been a weakness and asks “If you are the Son of God, tell these
stones to become bread.” (Mathew 4.3 & Luke 4.3). The tempter knows who Jesus is and
he wants Jesus to use His power take care of His own physical needs by altering creation
in order to show that He is the Son of God. Jesus answers the Devil “Man does not live
on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4.4,
Luke 4.4) this is a quote from Deuteronomy 8.3.
If you go back and read Deuteronomy 8.3 you will find that the full quote is a reminder
to the Israelites of how the LORD takes care of them. At first the LORD caused them to
be hungry and then fed them manna so that they would learn that man does not live by
bread alone but on every word that comes from the LORD.
What sustains us? Is it the bread of this world or the Word of the LORD? After not
eating for 40 days and nights Jesus skips his first meal. He overcomes the next two
temptations to teach us that it is the Word of the LORD that truly sustains us and not
simply food.

it is snowing

today it is snowing.

we will get about 6 inches and the kids will love it

these days always make me introspective and sleepy i like them. with 4 kids it makes it hard to curl up with a cup of tea or coffee and read a book like i want but i catch little quiet moments for myself when i can

i have also been thinking about the fact that it was 14 years ago when my brother died. from this point on i will have more days with out him than i had with him. he was 14 when he died and now that 14 years have passed there are more days with out him that with him. something to think about.

i have so much going on in my life that i don't think about erinn as much as i used to but every time i take ashley to the doctor i am reminded of him. she is named after him and so when it has his first name on her insurance card i am reminded of him. it is not a sad reminder just a little nudge.

kind of the way the wind reminds me of the LORD's prescence. when i stand out in a strong wind i am reminded of God's prescence in my life. it is as if He is pushing on me reminding me He is there. i even talk back and tell Him "i feel you." we all feel the LORD's prescence in different ways and that is mine.

prayer request

i want to ask all my readers to please prayer for the families of the teens who were injured and killed from the highland church of christ.

they were coming home from winterfest in arlington and one of their suburbans flipped killing on student and injurying the other on bord.

here is a link to mike cope's blog whose son chris was injured in the wreck.

Meals of Jesus Begins

Have you ever wondered what it would be like for you to eat with Jesus? Have you ever wondered what happened during those meal times mentioned in the Gospels? I have and so I am going to explore the meals of Jesus here on my blog this year.

To do this I had to lay out what is an actual meal with Jesus. I came up with these two criteria for a “meal” of Jesus. First, food is offered to Jesus or he asks for food for himself or someone else. Second, Jesus is either eating or a meal is taking place with him present. Using these two rules as my guide I discovered at least 22 meals of Jesus in the Gospels and Acts. This list includes meals found in several Gospels like Peter’s mother in law being healed and feeding Jesus, diner at Levi/Matthew’s house, the feeding of the 5,000 and his final Passover Meal with the Apostles and disciples. It also includes material unique to individual Gospels such as the wedding in Cana found only in John or multiple meals Jesus has at Pharisee’s houses found only in Luke and his meal with the disciples in Acts when they are told to wait in Jerusalem for the Spirit.

I have learned a lot by experiencing and studying these meals. I want to share my reflections and to hear your reflections as we explore the meals of Jesus.

Here is my list of meals of Jesus

Temptation

Matthew 4.1-.11

Mark 1.9-.13

Luke 4.1-.13

Wedding in Cana

John 2.1-.11

Peter’s Mother in Law

Matthew 8.14-.17

Mark 1.29-.34

Luke 4.38-.41

Dinner at Levi/Matthew’s House

Matthew 9.9-.26

Mark 2.13-.17

Luke 5.27-.39

Samaritan Women

John 4.1-.54

Grain Heads on the Sabbath

Matthew 12.1-.8

Mark 2.23-.27

Luke 6.1-.5

Dead Girl Eats

Matthew 9.18-.26

Mark 5.43

Luke 8.55

Dinner at a Pharisees (anointing)

Luke 7.36

Feeding of the 5,000

Matthew 14.13-.21

Mark 6.30-.44

Luke 8.10-.17

John 6.1-.15

Feeding of the 4,000

Matthew 15.29-39

Mark 8.1-.13

Dinner at Zacchaeus’ House

Luke 9.1-.27

Mary and Martha’s Home

Luke 10.38-.42

Dinner at Another Pharisee’s House

Luke 11.37-.54

Anointed at Bethany

Luke 12.1-.11

Sabbath at a Pharisee’s House

Luke 14.1-.24

Fig Tree Cursed

Matthew 21.18

Mark 11.12-.14 & .20-.26

Home of Simon the Leper

Mark 14.1-.11

Passover Supper with the Disciples

Matthew 26.1-.30

Mark 14.12-.26

Luke 22.1-.38

John 13-17

Road to Emmaus

Luke 24.13

Post Resurrection Appearance

Mark 6.14

John 22.19-.31

Come and Eat Breakfast

John 21.1-.14

Wait for the Spirit

Acts 1.1-.11

my first christmas sermon

i gave my first christmas sermon on the sunday after christmas this year and it is on the church's website for you to listen to.

it is not a traditional sermon on the birth narative but it is about the people of israel returning to the promise land after 70 years in captivity and the restoration the begins and the silence of God at the close of the old testament and his voice's return as the new testament opens.

give it a listen and tell me what you think it is only 24 minutes.

http://www.fallschurchcoc.org/Media/sound/122604.htm

jingle cats

ok last saturday morning i am listening to morning edition on npr minding my own buisness when they do their yearly worst Christmas music segment. i mean some of this stuff is just awefull but on cd they featured i had to buy it was the jingle cats "mewie Christmas" cd. imagine an entire cd of christmas songs "sung" by cats.

be afraid be very afraid this is at once some of the worst music i have ever heard and one of the funniest cds ever! probably the best is the ode to joy! almost as funny as space ghost's musical bar-b-que which when i first heard it nearly made me wet my pants and the seat to my buddy brice's rodeo.

if you dare to buy this cd i would recomend that you buy a used one from amazon i got mine for 5 bucks with shipping. if you want to hear a sample go to the jingle cats website you can also buy other jingle cat's cds or the one with the dogs called Christmas unleashed. they are also available on itunes

what josh is listening to

alright this program ain't working like i want it to so i turned it off for now. if keeps giving me the wrong album art! oh well.

what is josh listening to right now?

chlick here to find out what i am listening to as i work on my sermon for sunday moring

lego man waves take two

a few weeks ago i posted a small movie of a lego man waving. unknown to me the link was bad but now it is good so go on down a few posts and check it out

Controversy and Replication

I was reading “The Writers Almanac” this morning and discovered it was Gustav Eiffel’s birthday (Wednesday December 15th 1832).. In his day Eiffel was a famous designer of the iron structures. He designed the internal structure of the Statue of Liberty and many beautiful bridges. We know him for his famous tower in Paris, “The Eiffel Tower” built for the Universal Exposition in 1889.

As construction began in 1886 so did the controversy. Many artists, writers and Parisian thought the stark design was an atrocity and an affront to the beautiful architecture and design of Paris. Pamphlets and newspaper articles were written but construction went on. When the tower was completed in March 31st 1889. The controversy and opposition died down once the tower was completed and the positive response it received from the throng of visitors who first visited the tower.

This once derided tower is now reproduced in mass quantity. You find Eiffel Tower clocks, paperweights and snow globes. It shows up in artwork and is a must see for anyone who visits Paris.

Sound familiar?

It reminds me of the Cross. We don’t know who built the cross that our LORD died on. We do know it was controversial in the beginning. How could the LORD and KING of the universe be executed in such a manner only common criminals and scum die that way? Some didn’t believe that the physical Jesus died but his spirit was not on the Cross. Over the centuries the controversy has died down. Now you find the cross reproduced everywhere on t-shirts, on jewelry, artwork, hats and bumper stickers.

Even though it has been reproduced millions of times, the Cross has not lost its power. The power is not in the reproduction but in who died on the original! When one stops and thinks about what happened on that old rugged cross hundreds of years ago the power of that moment returns. Every Sunday when we eat Communion together we remember that our LORD died for our sins. That powerful and controversial event’s impact can not be diminished.

(For more information on the Eiffel Tower visit the official Eiffel Tower website and for more information on the Cross read Matthew thru Revelation in your Bible.)

mohammed helped me

it seems that great religious leaders are helping me. as you know jesus helped me at staples the day after thanksgiving.

well today at target mohammed helped me. actually he found lisa's 1 hour photos and checked me out in a retail way. now i just have to wait for someone with jewish, hindu or pagan leaders name to help me. when that happens ya'll will be the second to know

quiet friday night

it is a quiet friday night here at the byrd house. the kids are playing legos on the wonderful table my folks gave them. tyler is happy on the floor sitting up very well. lisa is getting better but is still feeling bad. i am ok but in a thoughtful mode more on that later.

all in all it is a quiet night at the byrd house. hope all is quiet with you.

ug we are all sick

this weekend was good but now austin, tyler and sarah are sick arg! life is crazy but you gotta loving

lego man waves

having some more fun with legos check out the lego man waving. that is austin's hand reaching for the lego man at the end. i had planned on having him walk back the way he came but was thwarted by a 2 yr old!

jesus helped me at staples the other day

staples had a wireless router on a great sale the other day and i went to pick one up for the church. well they had sold out so i asked a clerk if they had any more in stock. they didn't but they special odered one for me.

i was thinking to myself "this guy is so helpfull i wonder what his name is." so i looked at his name tag. his name was "jesus" i had to suppress my laughter.

so now i can say that jesus helped me at staples the other day.

happy thanksgiving

i know millions of people are posting this on thier blog but i don't care.

happy thanksgiving!

legos come alive

here is a fun little stop action movie me and my daughter sarah made: lego 3 wheeler 05.mov

the century oak

last christmas we were in california w/ lisa's parents and one day by the pool i wrote this short story.


Century Oak

Mark rode down the road on his bike. He squinted his dark eyes as he rode, fast and faster down the hill and then up again. He was on his way to Mary’s house. They were going he climb the Century Oak. Te Century Oak was an oak tree planted by the families who founded their town. It was the oldest living thing alive.

Mark rolled up to Mary’s. Opened the gate to her fence and ran up the walk to her door. On the way he stopped to get a flower for her. He put the flower behind his back and strode across the porch.

Knock, knock, knock

Mary opened the door; she was wearing overalls, boots and a white t-shirt. She had dark eyes like Mark and was tall and slender. She opened the door. Mark gave her flowers and Mary gave mark a hug. They were the best friends in the world. They raced down the walk through the gate and onto their bikes.

It was two miles from Mary’s to the century oak. They rode together past Mary’s family’s farm. Then they rode across the new wooden bridge and across the old stone bridge. Finally they rode up the last rise before the rolled into town to the tree.

They knew the tree was old and climbed it often, always wondering what this tree had seen during its long life. The lowest branches were just over Mark’s head. Being the tallest he jumped and climbed on the first branch. Then he reached down and pulled Mary up. Limb after limb and branch after branch they climbed higher and higher. They were a few yards short of the op when the branches became too weak to hold them. So her they stopped each on a branch looking out over their world. They could see their whole town. Looking west they saw the road they had rode on. The church was to their right. Its white steeple was easy to see. Next they saw the general store. Then the courthouse, its golden dome shone brightly in the late afternoon sun, the other side of the road went east out of town. They saw the hotel, stables, mechanic, gas station, the bank, and finally the post office. It was a complete circle with the Century Oak and them in the middle. As they watched the Road they saw horses, cars, bikes and buggies coming and going. They looked further out to the west and saw the old stone bridge, the new wooden bridge and the windy creek that flows under them to the Great River, Mary’ farm and beyond that Mark’s farm. Turning around and following the Road again they could see the Mill and the Power House out in the Great River.

Mark and Mary loved this view, their world all around them. They talked about the people they could see and made up stories about the strangers. Mark reached in his pack and pulled out some biscuits for them. Mary had lemonade in a bottle. They ate and drank up in the Tree as the sun began to set and the winds began to blow. Mary felt the wind blow thru her short red hair. She looked over at Mark as it moved his long black hair.

Before it was too dark they climbed back down as the fireflies came out. Branch by branch and limb-by-limb they made their way down to their bikes.

Evening was deepening as they pedaled hard to beat the sunset. With the fireflies out it was as if they were riding past stars. Over the old stone bridge and the new wooden bridge rolling up to Mary’s house. Mary thanked Mark for a great day and gave him a hug and went inside.

Mark climbed back on his bike and made his way home. The sun had set and Mark rode by moon and star light all the way home. While he was still a way off he could see his porch light and could smell the diner his family was cooking.

THE END.

unfinished short story

i don't know when this was written and i don't know where it would end so i give it to the world to do with as it pleases

Unfinished Short Story

Look deep into space
What are you seeing?
It is beyond you or me
But he knows?
Yes he knows
He knows the when and where
He knows the how and why
I know it, I see it.
How long
As long as I remember
What are you?
Who are you?
I am the one
The one who runs with the night
I am trapped in my power
He is sad
Yes he is
For he did not ask to be what he is
It is not a gift but a curse
No, you are wrong
It is a gift to those who need your help
Stop pitying yourself
No, how dare you add to my sorrow
I do not add to your sorrow
Instead I give you a way to joy
Yes joy that is what I miss
And what you need
Yes
Help
Yes!

He woke up, the dream over. “Thank you” he thought as reality opened around him. Stumbling through the house he entered the kitchen. Going through his normal morning routine of making coffee. He finally looked at himself in the mirror but was it him? He thought he could see a woman. Where had he seen her before? “The dream, what dream? Of course she is in my dream. Wait how?” He stood there starring at himself. Reaching for the faucet he began to get ready for work

Walking to his car the wind seemed to have a voice, a faint but audible voice. “Help” nothing more than “help” is what the wind asked for. “Don’t lose it now. Business meeting think business meeting.” He said to himself to calm his nerves. “I’ll call Valerie and talk to her. She know about this stuff

true citizenship

i am writting this before i have voted and before any winner is projected because i think that many christians miss something important and i don't want to sound like i am glouting because the candidate i voted for won or like i am a sore losser because my candidate lost.

as a christian and a follower of the LORD JESUS CHRIST i have a king and i am part of the Kingdom of God. It really doesn't matter who sits across the river in the white house because they really don't have any power over me. that person is not my KING he or she is not my LORD. the president of the united states of america doesn't rule the Kingdom of God.

the Kingdom of God is an unstoppable kingdom with no physical or temporal boundaries. The Kingdom spreads all over this planet and has existed before the usa and will exist long after this worlds passes. citizens of the Kingdom are united together thru the blood of the SON, the LORD JESUS CHRIST.

as a christian my allegiance is not to the democratic nor republican party. as christians our concerns should not be of the polotics of this world but of going about the buisness of the Kingdom!

thats david in the front with the corolla and me in the back in my "don't be a dick" shirt on my ranchero 

the corolla

i posted a comment on www.guiroo.com but couldn't put the picture that would go along with it so here it is now for your viewing enjoyment

i am home

got home last night and rushed to the building to teach snl. lisa had strep this weekend and now austin does. of course stuff like this happens only when i am out of town.

it sounds like at least one of the guys is a definate to apply to acu and the other 2 are maybes. all in all this weekend was a success!

hanging out at paul's

we are chill'n at paul's studio aka his garage. the tour was great and so was lunch with the addmissions guy.

just hanging in out in campus

just finished our tour of campus and we are about to eat and talk to our addmission guy

i am in abilene

i am in abilene for the weekend showing acu off to the 3 seniors from the youth group

walked this road before

so far i have come!
so far i have to go!

so far have i come?
so far have i to go?

the road behind is short
the road ahead is long

is the road behind short?
is the road ahead long?

i follow Him
who has walked this way before

who has walked this way before?

everyone has...
no one has...
only One has...

...walked this road before

I Love My Dad

On Monday I changed the front brake pads on Lilly. We love to name things; my Palm Pilot is Sparky, our van is Bluebyrd and our white station wagon is Lilly. I went to auto parts store and bought the pads. Then I jacked up the car and pulled one of the front wheels off. I found the 11/16^th socket, my grandpa’s ratchet and started to undo the bolts that hold the pad housing. They were stuck hard. I figured that a manic tightened those bolts. So I did what any good son should do I called my dad for help. He recommended that I spray some WD40 in there and wait. So I sprayed some WD40 between the bolt and housing and waited. It worked great!

I have lots of great memories of my father and I working on cars. We rotated tires, changed oil, changed spark plugs and did all kinds of things together on our family cars. A lot of my joy of doing things for myself with my kids comes from those experiences. Monday Austin helped me with the lug nuts on the wheel. Ashley and Sarah have helped me build and/or fix things in the past. I know Tyler will be there with me as well. I could almost start a handyman service with my kids and I as the handymen/women.

I also have lots of great memories of when my Father and heaven and I worked together. We didn’t rotate tires, change oil or spark plugs but we He allowed me to be a part of some great things. One of my favorite things that the Father does is allow me to be a part of someone’s salvation. Whether I am answering questions that a young person has or I am the one with the privilege of baptizing a young person. That is the Father at work. The Father also allows me to help teach teens and students every week. When I start a new lesson I pray that it will not be my message but the Father’s.

I am not the only person the Father works through here at Falls Church. Each one of you is an instrument in the Father’s hand. We are all like tools he uses to fix people whose lives are broken. You and I are the hands and feet of the Father. When we put our pride and selfishness aside He does great things through us. Not that we are great but He is great and in His greatness uses us to do great things. Great things are not always big and splashy sometimes they are small and intimate. So even if you are not an elder, deacon, ministry leader, preacher or youth minister, you are still and instrument in your Father’s hands.

no title

rock, hard, cold
inpenatrable
i pounded on the
rock
i yelled at the
rock
i wrote my message on paper
and tried to slip it through
the cracks in the rock
i wantd to touch
the heart behing the rock
i failed,
turning my eyes to
heaven.
then,
suddenly a great torent
of water poured over
me and the rock
the water ran into the cracks
past all the defences
my message desolved
but
the message penetrated

no splashing

here is an unfinished fragment of some poetry i wrote along time ago while the girls were in the bath tub

warm black coffee
on a cool september eve

two little girls
in a bubble bath

mandy the salamander
joins them in the tub

bad spelling

i know that there are a lot of poorly spelled words in my last post. Bad spelling is a trait that used to be a problem escpecially when i was in school. now that i am an abult its not so bad especially since i have a spell checker! i need a spell checker for my dry erasure board when i teach. that would make life easy i could just go back and rewrite misspelled words. instead a teen usually reminds me or lisa tells me my words are wrong. sometimes i correct them sometimes i don't it is kind of a part of me now.

this is the curituk light house on the out banks of north carolina. that is dad, mom and the girls the day we visited it. me and sarah climb the light house and the view is awesome from the top 

Beautiful Broken World

I was standing on my back porch the other morning looking at the beautiful sunrise. It had turned the sky behind my house into a pink and orange color that is difficult to describe. I was struck by the wonderfulness of it all and was thanking God for the beauty He put into this world when I heard the sirens.

It was probably and ambulance heading up Annandale Road but it broke the peacefulness of the morning. It reminded me that no matter how beautiful or wonderful or special something in this world is it is broken. I don’t mean that this world is cracked or that it is in pieces. Instead I mean this world is broken by sin.

The shadow of sin is everywhere. Open the newspaper, turn on the radio or surf the web and you will find brokenness. In the newspaper we read about a world full of injustice where those with power and money have it easy but those who are poor and powerless struggle everyday to survive. We read about people who are desperately trying to make sense of the world by relying on their own wisdom and not God’s folly. () On the radio we hear songs about people seeking love, looking for direction, destroying their lives with sex, drugs and alcohol. Seeking to fill the void in their heart with the stuff of this world they ultimately fail. Finally as you surf the web you discover how dark the world can be. One can easily find websites that promote hate, pornography and exploit anything and everything to make money.

Now in each of these mediums you can find beauty. In the newspapers there are stories about people triumphing over the injustice of our world. On the radio you can find music about hope and discovering how to fill the God shaped hole in all of us. On the net you can find light, love and purity.

The beauty of the world shows us the brokenness. I think back to Jesus’ statement that we are to be in the world but not of it. We are to be beauty and light in this dark and broken world. It is not our light or our beauty but it is the LORD’s light and beauty we reflect.

my cross

the cross which stands before me
was mine
i was to hang and die
the sin is all mine
the cross which stands before me
is His
He is to hang and die
the sin is all mine
the tomb which stands before me
was mine
i was to lie there dead
the death is all mine
the tomb which stands before me
is His
He is to lie there dead
the death is all mine
He took my cross
He took my tomb
He took my sin
He took my death
the cross stands empty
the tomb lies empty
He is alive
He gave me life

What Does a Holy Life Look Like?

What Does a Holy Life Look Like?

Since we just explored why we as God’s people live a holy live we need to know what that life looks like. Some people feel that to live a holy life you have to follow a list of “don’ts” Don’t do this or don’t do that and if you don’t do all the bad things that you are living a life pleasing to God. That is almost true. It is pleasing to God for us to avoid sin. This theory of holy living is missing an important part. There is more to a life pleasing to God than avoiding sin we also have to do something.

I want us to look at the “do’s” of a holy life. To do this we are first going to see what Paul say’s in the 3^rd chapter of Colossians. In this chapter he talks about setting our hearts right with God in three areas. The first area is setting our hearts on Christ Himself (Colossians 3.1-.4). The next area is setting our heart against sin (3.5-.11). The last area is setting our hearts on pleasing God (3.12-.17)

He begins the chapter by telling us to set our hearts on Christ Himself (3.1-.4). This is the “Why be holy?” question. We are holy because we recognize what Christ has done for us by raising our hearts with Him (3.1) and we set our hearts and minds on thing above. Next we recognize where Christ is. He has been elevated to God's right hand. Then we recognize that we died and our lives are hidden in Christ (3.3). Finally we are holy and set our hearts right with God because we recognize that Christ is our life (3.4).

In the next section of the 3^rd chapter Paul writes about setting our hearts against sin (3.5-.11). These are the “don’ts” of a holy and pleasing life. We put off our old self that died and with it our old sinful practices (3.5-.9a). Then we put on our new self that was raised to life by the blood of Christ (3.9b-.11)

In the last third Paul talks about the “do’s” of a holy and pleasing life by setting our hearts on pleasing Christ (3.12-.17). Here we can see what a holy life looks like by being…

compassionate and kind (3.12)

humble, patient, and gentle.

forgiving (3.13)

loving (3.14)

peaceful and thankful (3.15)

indwelt by the word of Christ (3.16)

an ambassador for Christ (3.17).

As we discuss a holy life we will look at some of these “do’s” more closely.

To live a holy life we must to do the “do’s” and avoid the “don’ts”. We must avoid sin and at the same time live holy! It is important to note that just because you do the “do’s” and don’t do the “don’ts” does not mean you are live a holy life only. More on this to come!

01 Why Be Holy?

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Why Be Holy?

Do we live a holy and pure life in order to be saved?

Do we obey God in order to earn salvation?

If I am forgiven for my sins why should I live a holy life?

Why be Holy?

These are all questions we wrestle with in our lives from time to time. We ask these questions because we are seek to know our true motivations for living a Godly and holy life. The answers to these questions lead us to something deeper that we could ever imagine!

I want to focus on three verses to help answer the “Why be holy?” question and also share some others that will help you in your own discovery.

We are going to start in the small and often-overlooked letter of 3rd John verse11 (RSV) “Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. He who does good is of God; he who does evil has not seen God.” In this verse John answers the holiness question simply. We are holy because people who do good are from God and we are from God.

In another letter John writes, “You know that Jesus [he] appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him.” (1 John 3.5-.6 RSV) Again the answer is simple. We are God’s people and God’s people do not sin. He doesn’t say God’s people shouldn’t sin or might sin but that no one who abides in Jesus sins.

Finally in Leviticus 11.44 - .45 (RSV) we find the foundational reason for holiness. “For I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls upon the earth. For I am the LORD who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God; you shall therefore be holy, for I am holy. " We as God’s people are holy because the God is holy! This is the deep end of the pool. When you start to meditate, study and experience God’s holiness you change your perspective on the world. No longer is it about you instead it is about God. No longer do we seek our own glory but we strive to reflect God’s glory.

The realization that the holy and sovereign creator God calls me to be holy like Him blows my mind. There is no way I have the power to do that! You and I don’t have that power but Jesus did. He opens the door for us to be holy by cleansing us and giving us the Holy Spirit.

Now that we know why we are to be holy we have another question to answer; “What does a holy life look like?”

(For further reading on the holiness question read Psalm 119.1-.3, 1^st Corinthians 7.22-.23, Colossians 1.21-.23, 1 Thessalonians 4.7-.8 & .11-.12, Titus 2.11-.14 and 1^st Peter 1.14 - .16, 2.9, & .11 - .12)

sarah and tyler for the fist time 

ashley and tyler together for the first time 

back on like

after a two month break i am back!

i will be posting my youth zone stuff again soon!

In a World of Bad News, the World Needs Good News!
Where is some good news? A quick view of the news today reveals a lot of bad news. Sure there are some stories that seem like good news but on the whole we live is a world full of bad news! We also live in one of the most medicated societies ever! Most of the medicine being taken (not all of it legal) has to do with depression or mood alteration. Why? BAD NEWS

So where can we find some good news?

We have the good news for our depressed society. Don’t believe me read the first simple sentence in Mark’s Gospel:

“The good news of Jesus Christ - the Messiah! - begins here.” (Mark 1:1 the Message)

As we have read Mark’s account of Jesus life in the Upper Room we keep seeing good news! Here are a few headlines:
Satan Defeated in the Desert by Hungry Man (Mark 1:9-13)
Evil Spirit Cast Out in Capernaum Synagogue (Mark 1:21-28)
Leper Healed and Praises God (1:40-45)
This is just from the first chapter. The rest of this book is filled with the good news of Jesus’ authority! He has authority over Satan, demons, leprosy, paralysis, fevers and other disease. He has authority to call people to follow him and to teach. He has authority over nature stopping storms and feeding thousands with one lunch. These events alone are great news but Mark has even better news.
Over the next few weeks we will explore Mark’s Good News and reveal the best news of all.

i have a sore throat and sarah just got glasses so now everyone but austin wear them maybe tyler will too.

It is all About the Game
Leading up to this year’s super bowl there was a lot of hype! Hype about the commercials. Hype about the half time show. Hype about the tribute to the Columbia Disaster. Everything surrounding the game got the hype, but not the game. Instead the game got what I like to call “anti-hype.” Anti-hype about how boring the game was going to be. Anti-hype about how it was going to be a mostly defensive game. Anti-hype about the fact that there were no “super-star” players. It seems like everyone (including the NFL) forgot that the Super Bowl is about a game and not the entertainment surrounding the game.
In my opinion, this was one of the best Super Bowl games I’ve ever seen, second only to the Titan’s loss to the Rams a few years ago. It had suspense. It had some awesome passes and running. The defense not usually the glamorous part of football was incredible. It all came down to the last few plays. It was all about the game.
We are in a game too. In fact, each of us is running a race. Our life of faith is a race. Listen to what Paul has to say...
Acts 20:24
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace. (NIV)
Galatians 5:7
You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? (NIV)
2 Timothy 4:7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (NIV)

Finally listen to what the author of Hebrews has to say...
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV)
Don’t forget that our life of faith is not about the hype! It is about the game. It is about the race. The author of Hebrews warns us to throw off the sin, to forget the hype and run the race. We don’t run this race alone. Jesus ran it before us. We must keep our eyes on the leader and follow Him so we know where we are going and won’t get lost. So we aren’t distracted by the hype or the anti-hype instead we remember it is all about the game.

i am going to out of town for the next week so don't expect any blogging for a week

Empty

This weekend Special Forces in Iraq emptied a whole. The great leader of that country was found hiding. No longer the well-kept man we had seen in past photos now he looked like a disheveled homeless man. It is reported that as he emerged he said, “I am the president of Iraq, I want to negotiate.” He simply surrendered and left and empty whole. The hopes of his followers that they would be victorious and we would leave dashed. Their great leader was conquered.

As God’s people we an empty tomb. Our great leader was left for dead, abandoned by those who publicly followed him. Soldiers guarded that tomb but they could not hold him. When Jesus emerges from his “hole” he was not surrendering at gunpoint. Instead he was emerging victorious over sin and death. All the hopes of his people were restored. No longer did they have to hide in fear. Instead just like their leader, their Lord, their King they too are victorious!

We are also victorious like those of the early church because of Jesus. His resurrection, his empty tomb was not just for those who lived in the past. It is also for us now. We may not know where that empty tomb is but we know it is empty. We may not have seen Jesus in the days following his resurrection but we have the testimony of witnesses. We see the truth in the resurrection by the way that fact, that truth changed the lives of those original believers. We also see the truth of the resurrection by the way the lives of believers today are changed.

Encounters with the truth of Jesus never leave people the same. We are always changed. Like Paul said the resurrection is foolishness to those who are perishing but hope to those who are being saved.

Larry and Stanley

They walked into the bowling ally wearing matching bowling uniforms. Larry’s suit was green with gold strips; his personal bowling shoes were also green and gold. He pulled his custom green with gold flecked bowling ball with his name engraved in gold letters across it, out of the his bowling ball bag that matched his outfit. Stanley’s bowling uniform was equally cool. Except his uniform and bowling shoes were gold with green highlights. His ball was also gold with flecks of green and his name was also engraved on it. They didn’t need to rent shoes or borrow a ball like everyone else instead they simply got a lane and started practicing. They always practiced before they played a real game.

Stanley was the first to go. He stood on all the right dots and lined himself up with the correct arrow. He started his bowl, 1 2 3 and away the ball went right over the correct arrow and between the 1 and 2 pins for a strike. Larry gave Stanley a high five and made his first practice bowl. He stood on the right dots and aligned himself with the correct arrow. He started his bowl, 1 2 3 and away the ball went right over the correct arrow and down the lane. Striking between the 1 and 2 pins for a strike. They bowled 10 perfect frames for practice before they played for real.

Before they began to play their real game Larry and Stanley rented a locker. Then they changed out of their bowling uniforms. They rented some bowling shoes and picked out balls from the rack like everyone else. Finally they put all the custom bowling gear into their locker and started to play a “real game.” They looked around to see how everyone else was bowling. Instead of their perfect games they bowled average games like everyone else

At the end of the day they walked out of the bowling alley looking like everyone else you couldn’t tell the difference. It was only during practice that put on their custom bowling uniforms and shoes. It was only during practice that they used their special bowling balls. It was only during practice that they used their best bowling moves to bowl strikes of to make a spare from a difficult split. But they hide all that talent, their uniforms and balls when they played for real

Why on earth would someone do that?

We may know the answer better than we want to admit. Like Larry and Stanley every week we practice our Christianity. On Sunday we come to church in our nice shoes, nice suits and personalized Bibles. We know all the right answers to the questions, we know all the right moves when it is time to pray, we know all the songs in the books and to be quiet during communion. We have no problems looking like and living the Christian life during practice.

But when we wake up on Monday practice is over and it is time for the “real game.” We dress like everyone else. We drive to work and get angry with the slow guy like everyone else. We leave our personalized Bible at home so it won’t get lost. We forget to pray. We forget to read our Bible. We leave our Christian life at the church door at practice and live the “real game” like everyone else.

If you are terribly offended by this story GOOD. You should be. Even if you are not as extreme as Larry and Stanley we are all tempted hide our Christianity in some ways at sometimes. The challenge I want to leave you with is to never hide. We are called to be light to a dark world and no one ever puts a light under a bowl. That is just silly. Instead we put lights out where all can see then.

Be a light during the real game of life not just at practice.

this is the final in the origenal series pak series i will have to write some more in the weeks to come

B.Y.O.B.
(Bring Your Own Bible)

Pak looked at his old wornout Bible. It was given to him by his youth minister when he entered highschool. It wasn't really old it just had a lot of millage. It had survived 4 years of highschool. The back was taped on because of a skateboarding accident. The edges were dirty from regular (or not so regular) Bible reading. Paper and old bulletins stuck out. The "gold" letter was worn off.
He opened it up and a flood of memories returned as he read the notes on paper and in the margins. He found a note from a girl asking where he wanted to go to eat after church. There was a book mark the mother of a friend had given him. It simply said Matthew 5:14 - 16 but reminded him to be "the salt of the earth" and a "light to the world." He read a whole lesson on Acts 2 that he had written in the margin of his Bible. He was amazed at how much information he had crammed in a space smaller than 1/4 of an inch. He also thumbed through the old bullitens which had accumulated in between the last page and taped on back cover.
"This old Bible is like an old friend. I am glad we have all these memories together. I am glad we journeyed together." He thought to himself as he placed his old highscholl bible on the shelf of his new college dorm room.

another glimpse into the life of Pak and his friends this is a story based on a skit that i have performed in the past but i don't know who the author is.

A LITTLE DIRT

Pak was excited about seeing his best friend, James, who had just bought a car. They had grown up in school and church together. When James pulled up in his "new" used car Pak ran out to meet him. "Wow, man, this is a cool car," said Pak as he walked around James's mid-80's green Honda.
"Thanks. Want to take it for a ride?" asked James.
Pak hopped in the car and James backed out of the driveway. They cruised down the road with the stereo blaring and the windows down. Pak was looking around in the car thinking James was so lucky. In the glove box Pak found a pack of cigarettes. "Hey James you don't smoke. What's up with these?"
"Oh, those are nothing. Me and some new friends of mine cut class for some smokes down by the river that's all." James answered.
"Who are these new friends?" Pak said suspiciously.
"Jimmy, Todd and those guys."
"Wow, man, they have a bad reputation! You know Todd has been to juvenile hall for theft."
"I know that but they are great guys and a lot of fun."
As Pak listened to his friend he still searched the car and found a six pack of beer in the back seat. "O.K." Pak declared, "This has gone too far. Take me home! I am not riding with you. Not if you are going to hangout with Jimmy, Todd and 'those guys'. Not if you are going to start smoking and especially not if you are going to start drinking!"
"Don't get uptight Pak. I'm not a bad person, I just want to sow some wild oats. I'm tired of being a 'goody﷓goody'. I want a new image, a new 'James'. Anyway, a little dirt never hurt anybody."
"Fine just take me home."
They rode home in silence. James knew he had upset Pak. He knew that Pak did not approve of his new lifestyle. He also knew that he valued Pak's friendship more than his new friends. As they pulled into Pak's driveway John said, "Hey, Pak, why don't we go in and get a coke and talk. O.K.?" They walked into the kitchen. James sat at the table while Pak grabbed a 2-liter out of the fridge. He poured two glasses of Coke and walked toward James. He put his glass down and then carried James' glass over to a house plant and put a handful of dirt into his glass.
"What on earth are you doing Pak?" exclaimed James in surprise.
Pak answered James with a smile on his face. "Well you said a little dirt never hurt. So enjoy your dirt!"

in my effort to reprint some of my old bulletin articles and youth zones i have stumbled across some old friends i want to share with you. over the next few weeks we will see some stories about them. you will meet pak, zoon, james and the others i will also give some info about their origen as well.

This morning I am beginning a series of articles that will center around a young man named Pak. We will get to ride "shot﷓gun" with Pak as he experiences life. We will share in his ups and downs and meet his friends along the way.

REVELATIONS

Pak had been roller blading with his buddies all morning and stopped for lunch. So he skated up to a hamburger stand for a burger and a sports drink. He sat down at a small cafe style table to eat. He watched his fellow roller bladers as they jumped over park benches, chairs and an old homeless man.
Pak did a double take and stared at the old man for a while. His feelings toward the man were a little scared and a little disgusted combined. Scared because he had been warned to stay away from street people. He had always thought of them as crazy drug addicts who wanted to bully money out of people. Disgusted because not only did this homeless guy look and probably smell bad but he was also in his friends way. "I am glad to be young," he thought to himself. "I am also glad I am not some homeless guy who doesn't have the drive to get a job. I am glad I don't mooch off of society."
"In fact I have a job at a pizza place and I contribute to society through some volunteer work. I wish more people were like me!" Pak was feeling very proud of himself. So proud of being better than any homeless person. Especially the one over there. Then he noticed that the homeless man was looking right at him. At that moment the blue lonely eyes of the old man met Pak's energetic brown eyes. In that moment Pak saw the man for what he truly was. He was not a scary street person, he was not a jobless bum, he was not a crazy drug addict and he was not an obstacle. No, the old homeless man was a person just like Pak.

here is my third and final article in my narnia series from early 1997

The Women at the Wardrobe

Lucy, in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, discovers that the wardrobe is actually a door to another world, Narnia. She has come in contact with a magical place. It is a life changing place and she wants to tell everyone she can about it. She is so excited about her discovery that she runs to tell her siblings. They, of course, don't believe her. They have never heard of such a thing nor have they seem such a place. It takes their own experience of going to Narnia for them to believe.
In the Gospel of John we meet a lady who has a similar event happen in her life. She discovered that a well was a doorway to a new life because at this well she meets Jesus. He is the life changing person. Her encounter with him is a life changing event. She also runs and tells people about who she has met. They believed what she said and had their own experience with Jesus. Many come with her to see this man and believe.


There stories are ours as well. We have had a life changing encounter with Jesus. We also should run out and tell everyone we can. Not all will believe us. Some will even make fun of us. We need to be like little Lucy and the Samaritan women. We need to bring people to meet Jesus and his forgiveness.

The De-Dragoning of Eustace

An episode in the life Eustace Clarence Scrubb gives us an insight into forgiveness. Eustace is the obnoxious cousin of Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie (The heroes from The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe). We first meet him in C.S. Lewis's book The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader" the third book in the Chronicles of Narnia. He starts his adventure in Narnia as an ugly natured brat, always wanting his way and thinking everyone else is against him. During the voyage he is transformed into a dragon. Inside he has been a dragon all along now he is one on the outside too. For the first time in his life he is lonely and realizes how he has acted. He wishes that he could become a boy again. Aslan, the Lion King of Narnia and the son of the Emperor-beyond-the-Sea, appears to him and through the long process of scrapping the dragon skin off, Aslan transforms Eustace back into a boy. Eustace is a new person from then on and becomes the hero of later Narnian books.
As Christians, we have had our ugly, scaly and dirty outsides cleaned off. Like Eustace, it was not our power that washed us of our ugliness but God's power. It was Jesus' death on the cross that cleansed us of our sins. We are no longer self serving brats but we serve others as children of God. We have been de﷓dragoned as well.

this is one of my favorite articles i ever wrote!

here is another one of my classic youth zone articles from february 5th 1997

Confession of a Marsh﷓Wiggle
Toward the end of C.S. Lewis' The Silver Chair we find the heroes(Eustace Scrubb, Jill Pole and Pubbleglum) trapped in the Underworld and under the spell of the Queen. They have been sent under Narnia by Aslan to rescue Prince Rilian. Rilian is the rightful heir to the thrown of Narnia who had been kidnapped by the evil Queen of the Under world years before. The spell that is enchanting Eustace, Jill and Pubbleglum confuses their minds and they begin to forget that Narnia and the Overworld is real. The Queen is trying to convince them that their is no Narnia and their is no Aslan. Pubbleglum the Marsh﷓Wiggle proclaims one of the greatest confessions of faith in the Chronicles of Narnia.

"Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things-trees and grass and sun and
moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that
case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones......We're
just babies making up a game, if you're right. But four babies playing a game, if your right.
But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow.
That's why I'm going to stand by the play world. I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any
Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live like a Narnian even if there isn't any Narnia." (SC pg. 159)

The world we live in tries to enchant us. The messages that are all around us try to convince us that their is not a Heaven and that their is not a God. We know there is a God and that there is a Heaven and a Hell. Pubbleglum's confession is our confession.

"I am going to live as a citizen of Heaven and I am going to stand on God's side no matter what the world says!"

just discovered craig's list it is pretty kewl

i forgot to introdude the "evil is real!" article it was written last year at this time while we were all dealing with the sniper in our area. since it is the one year aniversery i thought i should publish it

Evil is Real!
Evil is real. Evil is so real. We have been reminded about this truth once again. Right now evil is easily seen as a person shooting seemingly random people in our area. Evil is easily seem as a shadowy terrorist organization that has killed thousands. Evil is easily seen as an unknown individual who has killed several by mailing anthrax. Evil seems so obvious, but this is not always the case.
It is so easy to see evil outside of our own lives, but you and I are evil as well. The letter that James writes describes how that evil works in our own lives (James1: 13-15).
First we are tempted not by God but by our own evil desires. Next we are enticed by this evil desire we have. The evil, sin-corrupted part of us has desires and pulls at us and tries to get us to act on these desires.
Once this desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin. Sin is action and thought. Jesus teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount that sin starts in our heads. For example, murder is not simply physically killing someone; we can kill with our words (Matthew 5:21 -26).
Finally, when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death. We start as slaves to sin. It rules our lives and in the end it kills us. We would suffer a physical as well as spiritual death.
But, we know that Jesus lives! We know that Jesus died the death of sin and conquered the final enemy, death. We know that Jesus rescues us from death and brings us into life. We also know that if we are one of God’s people, the Holy Spirit lives in us and gives us the power to overcome the evil desires in our hearts (1 John 4:6)
Even though you and I see evil out in the world, we must not forget that we too are evil, but Jesus gives us the hope and power to overcome this evil.

RECALL

Last night the people of the state of California recalled their old governor and elected a new one. The campaign was short but it was hard fought with a lot of twists and turns. But in the end the old was thrown out and the new was welcomed.
as Christians we have also had our own recall in our lives. We had a king in our lives. This king ruled us not by love but thru sin, guilt and lies. This king sat on the throne in our hearts and made us his slaves. He made us believe that we could do things on our own and we knew the best way for us to live. We were pulled deeper and deeper into sin. We were dead under the leadership of this king

Then we met the King! We wanted this new King to rule our lives. But, our old king did everything in his power to keep his job. This new King offered us love but our king pointed out how much evil we had done. “Who could love you?” asked our king. The new King offered us forgiveness. But our king pointed out all the sin in our lives and asked, “Who could forgive you?” This new King called us to a life that was hard but full of victory. Our current king pointed out all our weaknesses. “How could you have victory? You are a loser!” Finally the new King sacrificed Himself for you. “Even if everything your old king said is true. I love you. I forgive you. I give you the power to be victorious.” So we threw out our old king and replaced him with the True King Jesus Christ.

If you are still living under the old king you need to have a recall. Your life will be so much more with Jesus as your King. He resurrects us from death and gives us life. He rescues us from sin and gives us forgiveness. He rewards us daily for our submission to him. Your recall won’t take place in an election both but in the waters of baptism

Jesus came and died for us not when we were ready for Him to be our king but because he loves us. The perfect Son of God died for us even when we were sinners. Thank the Lord for such love.

RECALL

Last night the people of the state of California recalled their old governor and elected a new one. The campaign was short but it was hard fought with a lot of twists and turns. But in the end the old was thrown out and the new was welcomed.
as Christians we have also had our own recall in our lives. We had a king in our lives. This king ruled us not by love but thru sin, guilt and lies. This king sat on the throne in our hearts and made us his slaves. He made us believe that we could do things on our own and we knew the best way for us to live. We were pulled deeper and deeper into sin. We were dead under the leadership of this king

Then we met the King! We wanted this new King to rule our lives. But, our old king did everything in his power to keep his job. This new King offered us love but our king pointed out how much evil we had done. “Who could love you?” asked our king. The new King offered us forgiveness. But our king pointed out all the sin in our lives and asked, “Who could forgive you?” This new King called us to a life that was hard but full of victory. Our current king pointed out all our weaknesses. “How could you have victory? You are a loser!” Finally the new King sacrificed Himself for you. “Even if everything your old king said is true. I love you. I forgive you. I give you the power to be victorious.” So we threw out our old king and replaced him with the True King Jesus Christ.

If you are still living under the old king you need to have a recall. Your life will be so much more with Jesus as your King. He resurrects us from death and gives us life. He rescues us from sin and gives us forgiveness. He rewards us daily for our submission to him. Your recall won’t take place in an election both but in the waters of baptism

Jesus came and died for us not when we were ready for Him to be our king but because he loves us. The perfect Son of God died for us even when we were sinners. Thank the Lord for such love.

because of yesterdays recall election in california i am going to post two bulletin articles. the first one will finish up the big fat lie series and then after lunch i'll post my "recall" youth zone for this week.


Lie #4: Teens are Selfish Me﷓First Slackers
The author of the article corrected this lie with
uncharacteristic brevity. He simply listed the youth movements and groups that are helping and serving.
New teens join these organization by the thousands every year. In the year 1996 13.3 million teenagers volunteered 2.4 billion hours ﷓ 1.8 billion of those hours were with formal organizations. Also thousands of teens work for a paycheck while going to school.
There are many differences between teenagers today and teenagers of the past. Teens today focus on helping people where they are. They are not out to "Save the Planet." Instead they want to help the homeless man on the street. This is the perspective Jesus took. He knew that by saving individuals He would save the world. He showed everyone He came in contact with that they mattered. He did this by challenging Pharisees to give up their self righteous attitudes. He challenged sinners to live righteous lives. Even though He knew the big picture, He still took time with the little brush strokes.

Lie #3 Teens are Less Committed to Church

In a recent Gallup Youth survey 68% of teens said that "I attend church because I decided myself I wanted to go." That is an amazing fact! It is incredible to me to see that teens across this country want to go to church. Overall church attendance has stagnated but church attendance by teens is up. Generation Xers have witnessed many broken commitments(especially family commitments.) It is no wonder that many are cautious and afraid to make commitments. Even with their attendance being up, their commitments are often "lukewarm." This should be applauded. Yes, applauded because in a world where a promise is nearly meaningless for them to commit, even a little bit, is a big step.
Most of the teens here at Falls Church have not had a family breakup, but they have seen the affects on their friends. They know the pain their friends must deal with as they try to make sense out of what happens in their lives. Our teens struggle with commitment as well. On the sign up sheets for church activities, among the “yeses” for participation there are often as many “maybes.” In the short time I have been here, I have observed that the teens are fairly committed to church but are more committed to their friends at church. This is a good sign, because the church is made up of people.

Lie #2: Teens Have Frustratingly Short Attention Spans

The problem is not that teens these days have short attention spans, instead it is the way they have been trained to receive information. "Teenagers' brains have literally been trained to think on many levels, about many things, shooting at them from many sources, all at once."("Four Big Fat Lies", Group, May/June 1997) Many have mistakenly attributed their apparent boredom to shallowness. On the contrary they are bored because teens today are "fast﷓paced info﷓eaters." In school and Sunday school classes they sometimes tune out because the information is coming at them to slowly. They learn differently than other generations.
This is a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that they can take in all this information, from various sources and are able to process it. They can take in so much and still come out with meaning to it. For instance they have access to information from a variety of sources; the T.V., the radio, CD/tape player and the computer. To people older than they are, the message is garbled by the speed and variety of sources. It is a curse because so much of life takes time and patience to understand. For example, the spiritual journey that we as Christians travel is not an information super highway. It is, instead, a slow process of transformation. Their ability to process information from various sources helps them survive in an ever changing culture but may hinder them in the slower aspects of living. As parents, mentors and ministers we need to present the Gospel to them in the way they learn without losing the truth to speed.

here is my new series of old bulletin articles. this series deals with 4 big fat lies told about teens. i wrote this back in 1997 also but earlier than the 3 love series. i am posting the intro and first article today

BIG FAT LIES

Rick Lawerence in his article "Four Big Fat Lies About Kids" (Group, May/June 1997) exposes four lies about kids and teens these days. Replacing them with the truth. Over the next four Sundays we will be examining these lies. Yes, young people in our society deal with issues that past generations may not have. Yes, there is a lot of pressure on teenagers these days. Yes, they are not perfect but they are not all bad. The news media and even Christian authors would have us believe that kids these days are more messed up than any generation before. So they tell us the following lies not out of malice but misunderstanding.

Lie #1 Kids Don't Know Right from Wrong.
Lie #2 Kids have Frustratingly Short Attention Spans.
Lie #3 Kids are Less Committed to the Church.
Lie #4 Kids are Selfish Me-First Slackers.

Lie #1: Teens Don't Know Right from Wrong

Teens these days do struggle with what is right and what is wrong but this generation is not facing a new struggle. Jesus calls the generation He was preaching to a "wicked generation" (Matt 12:39,16:4 and Luke 11:29) At times, both young and old seem to have difficulty knowing the difference between right and wrong. The best example of this cross generational ignorance of right and wrong is the speed limit. On the Beltway and I﷓66 the speed limit is 55. (I actually think this number refers to the amount of people who actually drive the speed limit.) Young and older drivers speed down these highways at 65 plus mile per hour. So it is not only teens who struggle with knowing right from wrong, but adults as well.
In spite of this struggle young people across this country do know the difference between right and wrong. Organizations such as S.A.D.D. show that teens realize drinking and driving is wrong. Teens are looking for ways to use their talents and gifts to do right. Their are thousands of mission trips and service projects under taken by teens each year. Why? because they want to do what is right
The difference between this generations struggles and the struggle of past generations is "mass media". Everyone now sees and hears how teens struggle to figure out what is right and what is wrong. What was once covered is now revealed.(Matt 10:36) This internal struggle is splashed across movie and T.V. screens nation wide, making the problem seem larger that it is.

here is the forth and final installment of my 3 love theory series

Love for God

Having looked at the other two loves we are left with the final love, our love for God. This love overlaps with the other two loves. We shall see through our love for God how the Three Loves act as three over lapping circles.
First it over laps with our "love of God. In order to show the "love of God" we must obey God's commands and by obeying God's commands we show Him that we love Him. (1 John 5:3 "This is the love for God: to obey His commands") How does this show our love for Him? Because we do what He wants by choice. As Christians we know that we can never act so good that we will save ourselves. It takes faith in Jesus and accepting His grace. We obey God's commands not to be saved but because we are saved. We show our love for God by being like God wants us to. We are His children and need to obey our Father.
Our love for God over laps His love for us. Looking again at First John we discover that "We love because He first loved us." This "first love" is God continually caring for humanity (us) even when we did not love God back. We have a tendency to love those who love us. It is the same way with God.He knows that we have this tendency so He showed love first so we could love back.
Our love for God is connected with the other loves. Just as the other loves are connected with each other. Think of them as three interlocking circles.