From the moment of birth to our passing on, learning rarely changes.
Babies are notorious for testing things out by sticking them in their mouth because at that age everything is learned about and discovered by placing in their mouth. The good things didn't taste bad and the bad things did. The good things didn't hurt and the bad things did.
Toddlers then begin to discover and journey through life judging good and bad by pain. If something hurts, then they probably shouldn't try that again. If it doesn't hurt than it was safe and therefore should definitely be re-done.
Little Kids then begin to do a combo of; pain and/or discipline to tell them if something is good or bad. If they get yelled at then its probably not a smart idea but they are usually willing to try again later when that person is not looking.
Tweens and Teens begin to then discover the good and bad of life based around pain both physically and this weird new thing called emotional pain. If it hurts physically its not a good idea (they learned that years ago) but now if it hurts on the inside it is terrible and is even worse than the pain on the outside.
And this is where a Parents/Leaders/Youth Pastors and others come in, we can and should help teenagers to discover life in spite and in the midst of pain whether it be emotional or physical pain. We need to help them navigate the torrents of life to avoid the most pain but to realize sometimes pain happens. To discover Jesus who bore ultimate pain so we could have life. Teenagers will almost always revert back to trying things out on their own rather than listen to advice, its almost as if they trust their own experiences the most.
Thus, I believe that learning rarely changes, we often go through our whole life doing trial and error. Teenagers are still doing this method and often I find myself doing this method. I look up to the older generation and while they have it almost figured out they are still doing many things based on trial and error.
There is a lot to learn in just a few short years of life as a teenager and often it is learned through trial and error. But one thing I learned as a teenager and I hope to share with my teens is that Jesus loves you in spite of the errors! He loves you regardless and wants a relationship with you that will withstand time! I learned pain comes and goes and the only source of unlimited strength is in Jesus!
Hallelujah!
Mark
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Be Challenged
I got the opportunity to speak at the main church service yesterday and I loved it. At the beginning I mentioned how as a pastor I want to see people become more dependent on God and grow closer to God.
I said, "If you want to be challenged- Repeat after me, 'I Want To Be Challenged'" The response was evident that most people want to be challenged or at least fake that they want to be challenged. As an optimist I will assume the first one.
How do you get challenged?
1. Look For God- God is naturally going to challenge you if you begin to listen to his voice and find where he wants you to move.
2. Get plugged in- get more involved with ministry in your church, find an arena that pushes you to work at something.
3. Grab Take-aways- Listen for at least one thing in a sermon or podcast that you can apply to your life.
4. Read- The Bible, Books, Blogs, anything that is written towards and for challenging Christians. I am reading a book right now called "Jesus Loves You This I know" and its all about a couple of pastors literally living at Jesus' lifestyle. Dining with sinners, speaking with prostitutes, helping the poor, etc.
Those are 4 but there are also other ways in which you can stay challenged! Become more dependent on God, become closer to God and we can never stop learning and never stop growing!
I said, "If you want to be challenged- Repeat after me, 'I Want To Be Challenged'" The response was evident that most people want to be challenged or at least fake that they want to be challenged. As an optimist I will assume the first one.
How do you get challenged?
1. Look For God- God is naturally going to challenge you if you begin to listen to his voice and find where he wants you to move.
2. Get plugged in- get more involved with ministry in your church, find an arena that pushes you to work at something.
3. Grab Take-aways- Listen for at least one thing in a sermon or podcast that you can apply to your life.
4. Read- The Bible, Books, Blogs, anything that is written towards and for challenging Christians. I am reading a book right now called "Jesus Loves You This I know" and its all about a couple of pastors literally living at Jesus' lifestyle. Dining with sinners, speaking with prostitutes, helping the poor, etc.
Those are 4 but there are also other ways in which you can stay challenged! Become more dependent on God, become closer to God and we can never stop learning and never stop growing!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Running at God
One thing I have been struggling with is this idea of running at God. Most of the time in church and from Christians you hear the idea of walking with God, and hand in hand you are walking through life. Which is fine in some aspects but is lacking in others.
This idea, of running at God, hit me when I was reading Genesis 32 when Jacob wrestled with God all night. He wouldn't let go until he got blessed by God. He wanted so much for God to gain God's blessing.
Jacob was a scoundrel, he was a liar and a cheat. But when he wanted something he went for it, and not all his methods were ideal, you can't say the man didn't pursue what he wanted. Its debated at what point did Jacob begin his pursuit of God and his running at God but I think the switch happened after he left his homeland and began a new life with his Uncle Laban. He begin to run at God, not with God, not from God, but at God.
I was thinking to myself, what am I missing, I am so used to waiting for God's plan in my life. Waiting to see what God says to me, praying for God's guidance, which mind you are wonderful things and should be part of your life. But here is Jacob who gets God's blessing even those his tactics for receiving it weren't considered ideal and borderline Christian.
Sometimes waiting for God is the best thing to do but often we need to be seeking God, pursuing God, running at God to be able to receive his blessing.
Do you think God was upset that Jacob wrestled with Him all night? I doubt it I bet God was smiling the whole time because he knew that Jacob was so hungry for God and for God's blessing that he wouldn't let go and wouldn't give up.
One of the closest things you can do is wrestle another person, and I believe God loves it when you are so close to him that you are wrestling over His blessing.
Jacob was hungry for God and the things of God, I desire to be too, and I hope and pray you also are that hungry for what God is doing in your life and in the world. Run at God.
-Mark
This idea, of running at God, hit me when I was reading Genesis 32 when Jacob wrestled with God all night. He wouldn't let go until he got blessed by God. He wanted so much for God to gain God's blessing.
Jacob was a scoundrel, he was a liar and a cheat. But when he wanted something he went for it, and not all his methods were ideal, you can't say the man didn't pursue what he wanted. Its debated at what point did Jacob begin his pursuit of God and his running at God but I think the switch happened after he left his homeland and began a new life with his Uncle Laban. He begin to run at God, not with God, not from God, but at God.
I was thinking to myself, what am I missing, I am so used to waiting for God's plan in my life. Waiting to see what God says to me, praying for God's guidance, which mind you are wonderful things and should be part of your life. But here is Jacob who gets God's blessing even those his tactics for receiving it weren't considered ideal and borderline Christian.
Sometimes waiting for God is the best thing to do but often we need to be seeking God, pursuing God, running at God to be able to receive his blessing.
Do you think God was upset that Jacob wrestled with Him all night? I doubt it I bet God was smiling the whole time because he knew that Jacob was so hungry for God and for God's blessing that he wouldn't let go and wouldn't give up.
One of the closest things you can do is wrestle another person, and I believe God loves it when you are so close to him that you are wrestling over His blessing.
Jacob was hungry for God and the things of God, I desire to be too, and I hope and pray you also are that hungry for what God is doing in your life and in the world. Run at God.
-Mark
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Our Hidden Secret
Christians act like they have this hidden secret they don't want anyone to know about. Its not just the fact of knowing Jesus or even letting people know about Jesus, that blog and book and article and blah blah blah has been picked clean.
I am talking about the confidence or the way we act around people that don't know we are a Christian.
For example, when meeting a new person a Christian is highly likely to act completely unconfident and a little timid because they act like they have this hidden secret that if the person only knew about them they would immediately not like them as much or judge them.
We meet people and are hoping we can really get to know them before we accidentally let it slip that we have a savior that died for our sins. They may think I am weird or I am crazy or that I have a crutch!!
Some of the most confident Christians when meeting a new person have this timidness of "oh I hope they don't find out too quickly I love God."
I don't think this is a trait that is particular to only youth because I know plenty of adults that act the same way. However, I would say its stronger among youth but that may be due to the fact that the peer influence and relationships are also stronger for youth.
Christians all over the america and I am sure even the world act like this. I tend to notice when I am doing it too.
Why? Is it because we want to be accepted as a person before they know we have a closet obsession? Is it like the hidden passion people that are obsessed with something so much so that they don't want people to know right off the bat? Its like the 25 year old that still collects pokemon cards or plays pokemon on his gameboy...they don't want people to know that about them right of the bat, they want to be accepted first and then maybe they might let it gradually flow into conversation that they secretly dream about catching them all.
But thats not the way it should be, we have a tendency to be Peter in the Bible and deny Jesus so we aren't put in the same boat as the radicals or the crazies or even the goody two-shoes. But yet, something happened to Peter in Acts, when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he began to not only announce, without being ashamed, Jesus but to heal people not only of physical issues but of emotional pain and a spiritual hunger.
As Christians we need to learn to be confident in Jesus not scared we might be looked at differently...
How? It starts with knowing who we are in Christ and knowing who we are becoming in Christ. We need to know that God is working in us and through us and in that knowledge we can proudly exclaim the joy that Jesus has brought us.
Its not a confidence that pushes people away or that stands on the street corner and yells at people. Its a confidence that is brought forth in love for others. Its a confidence that is brought forth in a way because we know that we needed a Savior, we needed grace, we needed unconditional love, we needed Jesus. It is brought forth in knowing there are millions of people destined to spend an eternity away from love and away from hope a place where there is only utter despair and yet we are scared to even mention we know how to spend eternity in paradise?
When Jesus becomes so much a part of your life, he pours out of you, it no longer is a conversation that goes, "so you go to church?"--- "yeah on sundays, so how about them mariners?"
It becomes a conversation of "so you go to church?"---"its not about church for me its about what Jesus has done through me and in the church."---- "what do you mean?"----"there is so much pain in the world but so much joy in Jesus. You should come check it out."
This is something I have been thinking about for awhile and something I am still working through myself.
I hope it encourages you to be bold for the Spirit of God is living inside of you.
-Mark
I am talking about the confidence or the way we act around people that don't know we are a Christian.
For example, when meeting a new person a Christian is highly likely to act completely unconfident and a little timid because they act like they have this hidden secret that if the person only knew about them they would immediately not like them as much or judge them.
We meet people and are hoping we can really get to know them before we accidentally let it slip that we have a savior that died for our sins. They may think I am weird or I am crazy or that I have a crutch!!
Some of the most confident Christians when meeting a new person have this timidness of "oh I hope they don't find out too quickly I love God."
I don't think this is a trait that is particular to only youth because I know plenty of adults that act the same way. However, I would say its stronger among youth but that may be due to the fact that the peer influence and relationships are also stronger for youth.
Christians all over the america and I am sure even the world act like this. I tend to notice when I am doing it too.
Why? Is it because we want to be accepted as a person before they know we have a closet obsession? Is it like the hidden passion people that are obsessed with something so much so that they don't want people to know right off the bat? Its like the 25 year old that still collects pokemon cards or plays pokemon on his gameboy...they don't want people to know that about them right of the bat, they want to be accepted first and then maybe they might let it gradually flow into conversation that they secretly dream about catching them all.
But thats not the way it should be, we have a tendency to be Peter in the Bible and deny Jesus so we aren't put in the same boat as the radicals or the crazies or even the goody two-shoes. But yet, something happened to Peter in Acts, when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he began to not only announce, without being ashamed, Jesus but to heal people not only of physical issues but of emotional pain and a spiritual hunger.
As Christians we need to learn to be confident in Jesus not scared we might be looked at differently...
How? It starts with knowing who we are in Christ and knowing who we are becoming in Christ. We need to know that God is working in us and through us and in that knowledge we can proudly exclaim the joy that Jesus has brought us.
Its not a confidence that pushes people away or that stands on the street corner and yells at people. Its a confidence that is brought forth in love for others. Its a confidence that is brought forth in a way because we know that we needed a Savior, we needed grace, we needed unconditional love, we needed Jesus. It is brought forth in knowing there are millions of people destined to spend an eternity away from love and away from hope a place where there is only utter despair and yet we are scared to even mention we know how to spend eternity in paradise?
When Jesus becomes so much a part of your life, he pours out of you, it no longer is a conversation that goes, "so you go to church?"--- "yeah on sundays, so how about them mariners?"
It becomes a conversation of "so you go to church?"---"its not about church for me its about what Jesus has done through me and in the church."---- "what do you mean?"----"there is so much pain in the world but so much joy in Jesus. You should come check it out."
This is something I have been thinking about for awhile and something I am still working through myself.
I hope it encourages you to be bold for the Spirit of God is living inside of you.
-Mark
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
God's Love
God's love is one of those things thats hard for people to grasp. Many people wonder if God existed why would he let bad things happen? Or they wonder if God wants us to love him why doesn't he just tell us to love him? or make us love him? or show himself so we can believe and then in turn love him?
Those are some deep theological questions that many theologians still debate today. I am not saying I have the answer to all these questions but I do know that God wants us to choose to love him and others. God doesn't want to force us into loving him or pop up in the sky one day and boldly tell the entire world of his existence (he has given us many other ways of knowing he exists and shown himself to us in many other ways).
I am sure the analogy is much stronger if you have a child but since I don't I will give from my own experience. My wife and I recently got a puppy and we love the dog to death. He is awesome and fun and amazing to be around. Why did we get a puppy though? Why does anyone get a puppy? Most people just want puppies so they can have something that loves them and shows them affection, cuddles with them on the couch, hangs out with them, goes hunting with them, whatever. They purchase a friend/companion/son/daughter, but yet the puppy doesn't always do the right thing, sometimes he pees in the house or he chews up something he shouldn't, and he gets into trouble. The puppy is not perfect but yet we still love him.
However, if we were to use the logic of the above questions on the puppy analogy, why does God let bad things happen? Why does bad things happen to our puppy? Most of the time we try to prevent the bad things from happening to our dog but he often creates them or others create them, etc. Its a pattern of events that we can't control. If God began to keep bad things from happening that would create a world in which only good could happen thus destroying all semblance of free-will and the choice of good vs bad.
Why doesn't he force us to love him? Or make us love him? etc. That's like saying to us proud puppy owners why we didn't just go out and by a teddy bear. That teddy bear is never going to make a mistake and it is always going to cuddle with us when we want it to. It can hang out with us in the car or at home. It seemingly perfect but yet its a relationship in which is forced and not real because they teddy has no choice in the matter. The ones that willingly choose to love us like the puppy or friends or significant others mean the most to us because those are the ones that love us for who we are and in spite of our faults.
God does love you and wants you to love him back. Its your choice and your chance. He could pop up in a cloud and in a way force you to love him but he doesn't want that and I am sure you don't either. Its your choice.
Have a good Holiday season!
Mark
Those are some deep theological questions that many theologians still debate today. I am not saying I have the answer to all these questions but I do know that God wants us to choose to love him and others. God doesn't want to force us into loving him or pop up in the sky one day and boldly tell the entire world of his existence (he has given us many other ways of knowing he exists and shown himself to us in many other ways).
I am sure the analogy is much stronger if you have a child but since I don't I will give from my own experience. My wife and I recently got a puppy and we love the dog to death. He is awesome and fun and amazing to be around. Why did we get a puppy though? Why does anyone get a puppy? Most people just want puppies so they can have something that loves them and shows them affection, cuddles with them on the couch, hangs out with them, goes hunting with them, whatever. They purchase a friend/companion/son/daughter, but yet the puppy doesn't always do the right thing, sometimes he pees in the house or he chews up something he shouldn't, and he gets into trouble. The puppy is not perfect but yet we still love him.
However, if we were to use the logic of the above questions on the puppy analogy, why does God let bad things happen? Why does bad things happen to our puppy? Most of the time we try to prevent the bad things from happening to our dog but he often creates them or others create them, etc. Its a pattern of events that we can't control. If God began to keep bad things from happening that would create a world in which only good could happen thus destroying all semblance of free-will and the choice of good vs bad.
Why doesn't he force us to love him? Or make us love him? etc. That's like saying to us proud puppy owners why we didn't just go out and by a teddy bear. That teddy bear is never going to make a mistake and it is always going to cuddle with us when we want it to. It can hang out with us in the car or at home. It seemingly perfect but yet its a relationship in which is forced and not real because they teddy has no choice in the matter. The ones that willingly choose to love us like the puppy or friends or significant others mean the most to us because those are the ones that love us for who we are and in spite of our faults.
God does love you and wants you to love him back. Its your choice and your chance. He could pop up in a cloud and in a way force you to love him but he doesn't want that and I am sure you don't either. Its your choice.
Have a good Holiday season!
Mark
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Traditions
It doesn't matter what age you are or what stage you are at in life, everyone has traditions and most people want to hold onto their traditions and not give them up. Christmas reminds us of traditions because every year we pull out our favorite holiday traditions and we follow them by the book. Whether it is putting up the tree in a certain way on a certain day, or opening your presents in a certain order, or even just having certain family members come over on Christmas. Traditions mean something to us because they are personal and they are sentimental.
Everyone has different traditions and different ways they like to do things. Your tradition may seem silly to someone else but it works the other way around because you wouldn't trade your tradition for theirs.
However, we need to remember traditions mean nothing to outsiders! People that aren't part of your tradition don't care about your traditions, they don't mean anything to them and regardless of how much you want them to like your traditions, they just don't seem to care.
This is what we have run into in our youth group and a little in our church. We are called by Jesus to bring in the outsiders but instead of getting rid of the traditions that are only sentimental traditions we hope that the outsiders somehow attach themselves with our traditions. And I am not talking about taboo traditions like Jesus is God or Salvation is through Jesus, not those type of traditions because those obviously we can't let go of. I am talking about traditions like, "we always go to this place for camp!" or "we have to sing this song on christmas eve" or "I always sit in this spot."
Those are the types of traditions that we need to wary of, they are not always bad but they mean nothing to outsiders. They aren't concerned with what camp we go to or what song we sing or what spot they sit in, what they want to know is how Jesus can change their life and we can't let our traditions get in the way of Jesus!
Sometimes we need to do whats best to win the lost, do whats best to train those won, and do whats best to send the trained into the world; which means our traditions aren't always the best way of accomplishing that, and therefore we need to throw off those things that can entangle us and put on Jesus who should be our main goal and our main purpose in everything we do.
Merry Christmas!
Mark
Everyone has different traditions and different ways they like to do things. Your tradition may seem silly to someone else but it works the other way around because you wouldn't trade your tradition for theirs.
However, we need to remember traditions mean nothing to outsiders! People that aren't part of your tradition don't care about your traditions, they don't mean anything to them and regardless of how much you want them to like your traditions, they just don't seem to care.
This is what we have run into in our youth group and a little in our church. We are called by Jesus to bring in the outsiders but instead of getting rid of the traditions that are only sentimental traditions we hope that the outsiders somehow attach themselves with our traditions. And I am not talking about taboo traditions like Jesus is God or Salvation is through Jesus, not those type of traditions because those obviously we can't let go of. I am talking about traditions like, "we always go to this place for camp!" or "we have to sing this song on christmas eve" or "I always sit in this spot."
Those are the types of traditions that we need to wary of, they are not always bad but they mean nothing to outsiders. They aren't concerned with what camp we go to or what song we sing or what spot they sit in, what they want to know is how Jesus can change their life and we can't let our traditions get in the way of Jesus!
Sometimes we need to do whats best to win the lost, do whats best to train those won, and do whats best to send the trained into the world; which means our traditions aren't always the best way of accomplishing that, and therefore we need to throw off those things that can entangle us and put on Jesus who should be our main goal and our main purpose in everything we do.
Merry Christmas!
Mark
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