Sorry for the long time between posts, I have been really busy with the start of school and volleyball. I will try to be a little more regular in my posts now that things are settling into a routine.
I have a basketball card that is supposedly worth a little over $300. I have tried on several occasions to sell it and have been unsuccessful, nobody has been willing to pay what it is "worth". You see the problem is, something's worth is determined by what the buyer is willing to pay for it. If no one will pay $300 for my card, it isn't really worth $300.
Because of my job, I spend a lot of time around teenagers. As the girl's volleyball coach, much of that time is with teenage girls. I have come to see how little a lot of girls think they are worth. (I do see this in the boys too, but not to the same extent.) It pains me whenever I hear a girl talking about how worthless she is or how ugly she is. It makes me want to ask them, "Do you know how much you are really worth? You are worth what someone is willing to pay for you and you have already been bought. You were purchased by God and He paid the ultimate price. He paid His Son's life for you." We have all been purchased by God at the ultimate price. God thought that each one of us was worth the life of His only begotten Son. That means God thinks we have great value. We need to start viewing ourselves and others as God does, as people of ultimate worth.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Beggar's Invitation
I have been thinking about how we Christians react to the "sinners" that live among us. All too often we react in very negative ways. We really aren't any different than the Pharisees that drug the woman out into the streets to stone because she was caught in the act of adultery. I have been thinking about how we should treat them. I figured we should take our cues from Jesus.
So let's look at how Jesus reacted to the sinners he came in contact with. Consider the woman I mentioned above. The Pharisees, and much of the crowd, already had the stones in their hands, when they asked what Jesus thought they should do. His answer? "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." His point? We are all guilty of sin. If we are going to accuse one person of sinning, we have to hold everyone accountable for their sins.
You see, Jesus came to change the way we think about sin and righteousness. Without Jesus there is only the law. The law can point out your guilt, but it can do nothing to save you from it. Jesus came, not to condemn, but to save. Unlike the law, He can redeem us from our sins. Our job is to be His ambassadors not to enforce the law. Enforcing the law is God's job, so let's let Him worry about that. Our job is to lead the sinner to Jesus and that is much easier to do in love than with stones in our hands. If the church doesn't have room for sinners where should they go? Does that mean we should lower our standards? No. Jesus led a blameless life and He did tell the woman to, "...go and sin no more." but his first reaction was always to love first. If we are to truly be Christians, literally little Christs, we must act like Him. Our first reaction should always be to love first.
I have been writing this blog for several months now and felt it was time to expound on the name, Beggar's Invitation. We are all sinners. We have have fallen short of the glory of God. We as Christians are no more than beggars who have been shown where to find bread and our job is to tell the other beggars where to go to find the bread. Our job isn't to point out the faults of others, remember we are all in the same boat. We are all beggars, we just know where the bread is. So go out and find other beggars and invite them to join us in the feast at Jesus' table. Go extend a Beggar's Invitation.
So let's look at how Jesus reacted to the sinners he came in contact with. Consider the woman I mentioned above. The Pharisees, and much of the crowd, already had the stones in their hands, when they asked what Jesus thought they should do. His answer? "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." His point? We are all guilty of sin. If we are going to accuse one person of sinning, we have to hold everyone accountable for their sins.
You see, Jesus came to change the way we think about sin and righteousness. Without Jesus there is only the law. The law can point out your guilt, but it can do nothing to save you from it. Jesus came, not to condemn, but to save. Unlike the law, He can redeem us from our sins. Our job is to be His ambassadors not to enforce the law. Enforcing the law is God's job, so let's let Him worry about that. Our job is to lead the sinner to Jesus and that is much easier to do in love than with stones in our hands. If the church doesn't have room for sinners where should they go? Does that mean we should lower our standards? No. Jesus led a blameless life and He did tell the woman to, "...go and sin no more." but his first reaction was always to love first. If we are to truly be Christians, literally little Christs, we must act like Him. Our first reaction should always be to love first.
I have been writing this blog for several months now and felt it was time to expound on the name, Beggar's Invitation. We are all sinners. We have have fallen short of the glory of God. We as Christians are no more than beggars who have been shown where to find bread and our job is to tell the other beggars where to go to find the bread. Our job isn't to point out the faults of others, remember we are all in the same boat. We are all beggars, we just know where the bread is. So go out and find other beggars and invite them to join us in the feast at Jesus' table. Go extend a Beggar's Invitation.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Audience of One
My favorite part of a worship service is the music. It really doesn't matter what kind. It can be classical or contemporary, instrumental or vocal, fast or slow. I am able to lose myself in the music and fully focus on God.
We are called to worship God in spirit and in truth. I think that means we need to find what it is that allows us to fully focus on God, be it music, prayer, scripture. For some reason we tend to have trouble completely letting ourselves go and fully worshiping God. I think part of the problem lies in the way we perceive a church service. The way most churches are laid out causes us to view those in the front on stage as performers and the congregation as the audience. This couldn't be farther from the truth. There is an audience but we aren't it. The audience consists of a sole being, God. Every person has an audience of One. The musicians, preachers, and congregation are all performing solely for Him. We may be joined in corporate worship, but each person has the full attention of an audience of One. Find out what it is that allows you to focus on the Almighty and forget about those around you and play to your audience of One.
I came across this video a while ago and it speaks to some of the problems people have with worship. It is definitely done in fun but also contains a lot of truth. I also have to say that the seed that this grew out of was planted by my Pastor, John Pinson.
We are called to worship God in spirit and in truth. I think that means we need to find what it is that allows us to fully focus on God, be it music, prayer, scripture. For some reason we tend to have trouble completely letting ourselves go and fully worshiping God. I think part of the problem lies in the way we perceive a church service. The way most churches are laid out causes us to view those in the front on stage as performers and the congregation as the audience. This couldn't be farther from the truth. There is an audience but we aren't it. The audience consists of a sole being, God. Every person has an audience of One. The musicians, preachers, and congregation are all performing solely for Him. We may be joined in corporate worship, but each person has the full attention of an audience of One. Find out what it is that allows you to focus on the Almighty and forget about those around you and play to your audience of One.
I came across this video a while ago and it speaks to some of the problems people have with worship. It is definitely done in fun but also contains a lot of truth. I also have to say that the seed that this grew out of was planted by my Pastor, John Pinson.
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