This week in our small group we are starting a series on the book CRAZY LOVE by Francis Chan. This book is a great find for my family and I can't wait to share it with others. Attached is a link to a prezi that introduces the book. If you have some time please look at this brief prezi with videos and introduction questions.

Crazy Love Introduction on Prezi

Something to think about?

A man went to visit his preacher and was wondering why no one seemed to care about him. "What do you mean?" asked the preacher. "No one has knocked on my door to see about me. Not one person. No one cares about how I feel, or how I'm doing, or even if I am alive or not." The preacher apologized for the church's neglect of this man and asked forgiveness for the wrongs done that hurt the man.

The man was at church that next Sunday and the preacher saw him and told him how glad he was to see him at worship. The preacher asked, “Can you go and visit Brother Thomas? I noticed he wasn’t here today.” “I would, but I have a really busy day planned today,” replied the man. “Well, what about tomorrow?” asked the preacher. “Well, tomorrow I have to take care of some things around my house.” “Then what about Tuesday?” asked the preacher once again and once again the man was too busy to go to visit brother Thomas.

I hope you don’t find yourself in either of these men’s shoes. The man who was offended, the preacher or brother Thomas. All of these men could have been hurt by the actions or lack of action of a brother in Christ. How are we doing?

In Him,
Joe

Questions

There was a time in my life when I felt completely clueless about computers and other forms of technology. I remember sitting in college classes thinking there was no way I would be able to use a computer to its fullest. Slowly I asked enough questions to the right people and I started to learn what button to select, how to copy and paste (thought this was a life savior), how to email, how to search on the internet, and more each day. I learned that the computer could help me accomplish certain task and what not much benefit with others. Eventually technology sparked my interest enough that I completely change my degree plan (don’t act like you have never done that) and go after a degree in network engineering. I was the one in the class that everyone could expect a Q&A session from at the end of each theory class. Although it’s not my comfort zone to speak in front of a large group of people I put that aside in order to learn all I could so that one day I would be marketable in the work place. Lesson learned ask questions in order to succeed.

The same goes for Christianity. So many times we don’t want to ask the questions we have out of fear that someone will look down on us, or maybe we don’t want the answer because of what changes we might have to make in our lives. Seems there was a rich man in the bible that asks what he must do in order to be saved and didn’t like the answer he got.

There was another character in the bible named David knows as the man after God’s own heart. He constantly went straight to God with his difficulties and got his answers.

Did you also know that one of the most famous verses in the Bible came about as the result of someone asking a question? Check it out:

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." "How can this be?" Nicodemus asked. "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven--the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:1-16)

I might be completely wrong about this but I am sure you have some questions about God and his word. Here is something I recommend you try with all your questions:

1. Go to God – Trust me there is not a question that you have that he hasn’t heard. More importantly there is not a question you have that he won’t have the answer to.

2. Ask a minister, elder, deacon, or teacher at church. Let them minister to your spiritual needs.

3. Know that there are some questions that we all have that will remain a mystery until we meet our maker.

In Him,

Joe

New Routine

STORY

There’s a true story of a man I have worked with who has spent his entire life believing that his ears were not symmetrical and therefore sunglasses always looked crooked on his face. He came to accept this over time, until he came in touch with mindfulness practice.

One day as he was standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom he chose to take a moment to come down from his busy mind, become present, and really look at himself. What he noticed was astonishing.

He suddenly realized that he had not been standing straight and that one shoulder was slightly lower than the other. In that moment, he chose to stand up straight and low and behold his eyeglasses were no longer crooked on his face. All this time he thought his face was lopsided in some way when in effect, it was his posture.

This story is just a metaphor for the rest of us in our lives. Over time, what do we just get used to and learn to accept that keeps us limited in how we see things? What in our lives has become routine to a point that we have lost our sense of wonder in this world?

LESSON

Do you ever get that feeling that you’re tired of the same old routine? Your tired of getting up going to work or school accomplishing the task that are placed in front of you only to go home and do the same thing you did the night before. Maybe you go home and watch TV until you fall asleep, or play games, or maybe you clean house or do chores. Whatever you do most of us have some type of routine that we fall into.

We stop and pause from time to time and have a urge to just get away from it all. See something or do something new for a change, but most of us don’t we stick to the routine. It’s that so wrong? It’s not like it’s going to upset the balance of the earth if for a change you just drive home a different way from work, or walk a different path on the way to class. Maybe instead of watching TV when you get home you will go outside and take a walk.

Jesus lived a life that I would say was far from routine. Maybe the only one and true routine that he might have would be to seek and save the lost, but each day there seemed to be a different path in which he would go. Why do you think that is? His goal was to meet as many people as possible and to save them. To share his story with them and let them decided to follow him.

How is it that if we are charged with the same instruction as Jesus (to seek and save the lost) we are not meeting more people? Why do we not go out of our way to meet someone new each day? When is the last time you meet someone new? It’s really hard to meet new people when we are stuck in our routines.

The world tells us that our time is our time and everyone else can wait. That understanding is the complete opposite of Christ. He tells us that we are here to serve others and by doing so we are to give them our time.

If we rely on human reasoning to get through life, we'll eventually be led astray. Sometimes a choice or an option appeals to us or seems right, but it really isn't. We need spiritual discernment from God to help us understand what's truly good and what isn't.

Proverbs 14:12 (New International Version, ©2010)

¹² There is a way that appears to be right,
but in the end it leads to death.

The Umbrella of Faith

“A rural church in the middle of farming country, much like the one many of us attend, had a special service to pray for rain. The drought had hit the area hard and the farmers and community were suffering financially and spiritually. Many people came to the service to pray and as the pastor looked out over the crowd he was encouraged. However, the thing that inspired him most was a little girl sitting in the front pew, holding a bright red umbrella. Everyone had come to pray for rain, but only the little girl believed enough to bring an umbrella.”

I love this story and I was reminded of it while discussing prayer in our small group. One person in our group told us how a lot of the times we go to God in prayer asking for something only to give God an out. We ask for someone to be healed and then say God if that’s your will. Maybe we ask for rain and then say God only if you see fit. Yes God will do what he wants to do. His will is his plan but it’fs not up to us to determine what that plan is exactly. He told us to ask for the things we needs to seek and we shall find to knock and the door shall be open.

Next time you pray say the prayer like you mean it. Pray only for the things that you have faith in. As another once told me “there is really no need in praying for something if you don’t have enough faith to believe in it”. How true that statement is.

God knew what he was talking about when he said that we should come to him as little children. Children do not doubt their father. They know his purpose is to take care of them the best way possible.

In Him,

Joe

Sin Popsicle

Up in the arctic circle there is tribe of Eskimo's who have learned to set a very simple yet effective trap for wolves. First they sharpen a knife razor sharp. Then they dip it in the blood of a seal they have killed. (you see seals are fairly easy to trap but wolves are very dangerous). After dipping the knife in blood they set it outside in the cold so the blood freezes on the knife. After if freezes (a matter of minutes) they dip it again into the seal blood and again take it out an let the blood freeze. Layer after layer they make a blood popsicle. When they are done, the knife's blade is hidden inside just like a popsicle stick. Now they take the knife out into the wilderness where they think a wolf might be. There the bury the handle of the knife in the snow leaving the blood popsicle standing up and they leave.

Now after a while a wolf will come along guided by his sense of smell and find the "bloodsicle". He will being licking it, enjoying every taste. Over and over he licks the knife and soon his tongue is so cold he cannot feel it any longer. It's numb. But his taste for blood is growing and he is not getting as much as he wants - you see, popsicles are slow eating. Finally his licking exposes the razor sharp edge of the knife. It cuts into his tongue again and again but he does not even notice for his tongue can no longer feel anything. The wolfs own blood now flows from his cut tongue. The wolf is thrilled, blood is now more plentiful and he continues to lick more and more.

Soon he notices something is wrong, he is getting weaker not stronger. Since he knows blood as food he increases his efforts to feed on the ever increasing flow of blood. His last thoughts are of how good the now warm blood tastes. Within minutes he licks his last and collapse next to the now fully exposed knife. Here the Eskimo knows he will find the wolfs body the next morning.

Now Satan's is capable of much more elegant schemes to trap us and injure us with sin than the Eskimo and we are often less wise than the Wolf. So Peter and Paul have both written to encourage us. They write -

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Pet 5:8 (NIV)

The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. ......, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. 2 Cor 2:9 &11 (NIV)

The Bible teaches us that temptation itself is not sin. (see Heb 4:15). It begins with our natural desires and Satan. Satan knows about our sin nature just as the Eskimo knows of the wolves desire for blood. He then sets a trap for us and lies to us to convince us we must act outside of God will in some area of our life.

Pepaw takes aim

As an elementary kid one summer I remember working side by side my grandfather, dad, brother and uncle. It was at a time when we were all pitching in with helping hands to get ready a piece of land and house for my uncle and his family. My brother and I were very distracted throughout the day with a large family of cotton tail rabbits that were living on the piece of land. There had to be a dozen of them running around, and every time we moved something or made room for something there would be a rabbit or two. They didn’t seem fearful of us and that made it even worse. Let me tell you we were two country boys who had been raised to hunt all animals and this was torture. Several times during the day we would pick up rocks or sticks to chunk at the rabbits but were unable to bring home the bacon. I remember us both making comments about wishing we had our guns, or bows, or knifes, or slingshots, or anything that could be used for ammunition. Watching us all throughout the day was our grandfather (Pepaw). Never too far away from us but not once did he say a word to us at all of our failed attempts. Finally as the day was losing sunlight and we had gathered around the truck our Pepaw asked us both if we were able to bag some supper. Both of us feeling a little down on ourselves shook our heads no. Just then a daring rabbit hopped out about twenty feet from us and with lightning speed Pepaw pulled his trusty old pliers from his back pocket stepped and threw. This throw would have made Nolan Ryan weak in the knees. Pepaw walked over picked up the rabbit and brought it over to us. He didn’t gloat about it or show boat to us. He simply said, “You know when I was a kid if you missed your shot you didn’t get to eat”, and then we all laughed. My brother and I tried several times to get Pepaw to take aim again at another rabbit, but to no avail. He just didn’t believe in taking more than you needed or he thought there is no way I could make that same throw again (Scott and I believe that latter).

Really even though this may be a little rough or gory for some this was one of my fondest memories. I have told this story to several people due to the rarity of the great shot. Call it a hunting story for the books!

Have you ever taken aimed at something? There are a few people in the bible I can think of who took aim. Some hit the target dead on and other’s not so much. David would be my first pick and probably most obvious to most as he took aim with just a stone and defeated goliath. What a day that must have been. I know how much I looked up to my Pepaw for his shot with the trusties pliers, but those watching David had a story to tell. Another person who took aim was Moses. Maybe not so much with a slingshot or bow but he had a target of the promise land and he aimed himself along with several Israelites on the path. I don’t think any of us who know this story would say Moses made a bull’s eye here. It to me is one of the saddest stories about Moses. All the hard work he put forth lost due to what God says is trust in him.

Numbers 20:9-12

⁹ So Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he commanded him. ¹⁰ He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” ¹¹ Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

¹² But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

We read of the mistake Moses makes here and can’t believe he would lose trust in his creator.

Have you ever lost trust in God? Your immediate response to that question is “No way.” But really it’s not that far out there. Losing trust in God happens when we feel like we don’t need God no matter the task at hand. For some of us we tend to lean on God when things are hard in our lives but on a day to day we let God take a break and handle our lives by ourselves. What are we truly saying? Maybe we too don’t trust God enough to give him full control of everything in our lives.

As you finish reading this try and make this week be about taking aim on the right target. My real shot in this life is to aim to finish what God has left here for me to do, and that is to take his word live it and share it with as many people as possible. I pray to God that I don’t miss my target.

Acts 20:24

²⁴ However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.