490 Times

The other night Ed (one of our ministers with CCF) spoke about forgiveness. We have a CCF blog which you can read by clicking on the link under "Blogs I Read." I was asked to write the post for this week and I thought I would share my thoughts on here too.

I love Peter. He reminds me of myself in so many ways. It seems that his intentions are good but he always ends up doing the opposite of what Jesus wants him to do. For instance, in the Garden of Gethsemane when the mob came to arrest Jesus, Peter took out a sword and cut off a guy's ear. His intentions were good, he wanted to protect his Lord but he was interfering in what was supposed to happen. There are numerous times when Peter just doesn't get it. Just like me.

In Matthew 18, Peter comes to Jesus with a question. "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Knowing Peter's history you can see that he is probably asking this question not to learn about forgiveness but to find out when he can cut someone out of his life. However, Jesus gave him the answer that I doubt Peter was looking for. He told Peter, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven." We might look at this and say, "OK I can forgive someone 490 times but after that I'm done with that person." I get this picture of someone walking around with a tally sheet, marking off each time they have to forgive someone. I'm sure Peter would have loved to get that answer but Peter understood what Jesus was saying. Jesus was using an exaggeration. Seventy times seven was basically like saying to infinity and beyond. We should always forgive. There is no limit on forgiveness like Peter and the Rabbis of the time were trying to rationalize.

God is always willing to forgive us when we are sorry. He forgives because He loves. There is no greater picture of this than the parable of The Prodigal Son. This spoiled brat was so greedy that he basically told his father that he wished he was dead. That way he could have all the money that was going to be left to him so he could do whatever he wanted. I can't imagine telling my mom that I wish she was dead just to get more money. That's what this son did. He went off, wasted the money and was to the point that he wanted to eat what the pigs ate. A Jewish boy wanting to eat with unclean pigs was just an absurd picture. He came to his senses and went home. While he was a long way off his father RAN to him. Not walked, power walked, or jogged. He ran to him like Armanti Edwards to the end zone. God runs to us when we want forgiveness. He knows our hearts and before we can even mutter the words "I'm sorry," He has His arms wrapped around us like the father in the parable.

God has forgiven us of so much, I know I am guilty of over 490 things against God but His forgiveness is still there. His mercies are new everyday. We should do the same. I know its not easy. When it comes to following Christ nothing is.

Disappointed with The Office and Prayer Requests

I was excited tonight because I thought the season finale of The Office, which I'm assuming is going to be amazing, was coming on but instead it was a repeat. I cried a little. Oh well, at least I get to enjoy this season a little longer.

On a more serious note, I could really use some prayer. Over the next two weekends I am helping lead small groups at two Disciple Now events. I love doing these weekends but I usually don't sleep much during the weekend and during the week I have to balance school and preparing Bible studies. Again, I love doing D-Nows and everything involved with them but I could use some prayer. Also, I have been a bit concerned with the funds for my South Africa trip coming up this summer. The money isn't coming in as fast as I would like but I know God will provide. I just like being in control and this is something that I do not have much control over. So if you could pray that I would just stop worrying and completely trust God to provide, I would really appreciate it.

Coached by Criticism

I recently saw an interview with a pastor who was being asked about criticism. He turned to a quote from Billy Graham which went something like this, "Turn your critics into coaches."

Coaches are people we listen to. Most of the time we respect them and their opinions. So how does that compare to critics? Aren't critics the opposite of what a coach should be? Well that just shows you how prideful we are, myself included. We get so offended every time someone says something negative to us that we don't take the time to consider if that critique is true. Lets look at it from the coach side of things, if a coach sees a player doing something wrong that could hurt the team, the coach is going to correct that. He isn't just going to say, "Good job Billy, keep it up." He's going to correct what ever we are doing wrong.

So whenever we face criticism, turn it into a coaching opportunity. Yes, I know there are people that are too critical out there and are always going to say negative things even if they are false. But we should take what these people say and search them for truth so that we can learn from our mistakes and move on.

Sex

So this week in my Appalnet account there were three advertisements regarding sex. One was Condom Bingo. I guess instead of the little see through plastic things, they use condoms to mark their boards. The prize for winning? More condoms and sex stuff. There was also another sex event but I forgot the name. But just to show you that I'm not making this stuff up here is the last headline I saw: Sex Talk And Blow Pops - 02/12. Here is the description of the event: "Come find out all your sexual health questions! FREE PIZZA AND BLOW POPS! Submit anonymous questions by boxes in health services & SRC or find us on face book."

Are you serious? I wonder why people have so many sexual health questions? Maybe its because we are handing out condoms like tic tacs and people are being bribed in with pizza and blow pops. I know this is a wild idea but maybe if people kept it in their pants STDs would not be so rampant. I guess it's rocket science when it comes to figuring out how not to get STDs.

A lot of people give Mark Driscoll a hard time because he talks about sex a lot. The Baptist Press stupidly and legalistically ripped him this week with an article saying that he is too vulgar. But with events like this on college campuses, I say keep talking about it! For so long the church has been silent about sex. The only words that are ever said about sex are: "Save it for marriage." That's it. If you can't talk about sex and learn about it the right way at church then we are going to learn about it from society.

I don't know if I agree with Driscoll, in saying that sex is another type of religion. I do believe, however, that it is a type of worship to the god of self. Sex is held in such high esteem to the world, like some denominations hold the gift of tongues. I've heard some people say that they don't feel like a true Christian because they have yet to speak in tongues. Which is not true. But in the worship of self, sex is like tongues. The world says you have not truly worshipped yourself and brought the most pleasure to yourself unless you have sex. That is the "gospel" the world is preaching at us and they are using condoms as "gospel tracts."

So my request to the Church is this: "Let's talk about sex, baby."

Why Does God Love Me?

This post is taken from Clayton King's Blog. The direct link to this post on his blog was not working so I copied and pasted it here. Read it. I think it hits on something that every one has dealt with and should deal with.

Why Does God Love Me?

"This simple question posed to me by my oldest son recently has left an impression on me. Even at the young age of 5 or 6, his brain and heart are wrestling with the same hard questions that grown-ups like you and I wrestle with.

Inspired by that question, I did some soul searching and some scripture searching. And I preached a message on my conclusion at Prestonwood this weekend in Dallas. Here is what I told them, and here is what I want tell you.

GOD DOES NOT LOVE ME BECAUSE I AM GOOD. HE LOVES ME BECAUSE HE IS GOD.

Everyone I have ever met who struggles with the love of God, particularly that God could ever love them, struggles with it precisely because they can’t understand how God could ever love them with all of their sins and wickedness, mistakes and regrets. And it is this thinking that cripples so many of us into depression and hopelessness.

If God’s love for any of us is based on how good we are, then we are eternally and forever doomed. And we do indeed feel this ominous sense of doom in our souls because each and every one of us knows, deep in our hearts, that we can never be good enough. It is no small wonder our nation, and the church, is filled with people who have no joy, no peace, and no hope. If we base these on our ability to be good, then we might as well quit trying.

God loves us because HE IS GOD. It is His nature to love, to care for, to show compassion toward, and to shower grace on His creation. He loves us out of His own goodness, not because of ours. And boy, am I glad.

The book of First John is the classic Christian text on the love of God. Over and over again, John tells us what love is, how we know when it happens, and how to recognize love. We love Him because He first loved us. He initiated the whole thing and all we can do is respond in worship and faith, saying, “THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU JESUS. I LOVE YOU!”

It is the love of God that makes me good. So the paradox is fantastic. If I try to make God love me by being good, then I frustrate myself and I never succeed, then I ultimately nosedive into self-pity or harsh legalism. But if I receive His love in Christ as an act of His character and goodness toward me, then and only then will I become good, because His love will transform me into a new man.

Quit trying to be good and be loved by God. Just say thanks, and worship Him for loving you. Then you will notice that goodness comes naturally, from the inside out, from a heart touched by The Lord."

The Michael Phelps Diet or should I say a bad case of the munchies

Remember the news reports about Michael Phelps' 12,000 calorie diet? It's ridiculous. Homeboy can put down some food. I had no clue how he did it. Until now.

Rejected Super Bowl Ad

I know I've been on an abortion trip lately but there has just been a lot going on lately concerning the issue. I found the following video on J.D. Greear's blog and thought it was worth sharing. This was a Super Bowl ad that was originally approved but was later rejected in fear of making some people mad.