Saturday, May 16, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Ok so I'm challenged
My wife went back to work for the next 6 weeks...what does this mean? It means that I am primary care-giver for two boys and I am drowning. I have not been able to write on my blog in a couple of weeks. I thought my mom was coming and then she got sick and had to cancel. Oh no! These boys are a handful. I am not a pig but women seem to be designed with INCREDIBLE SKILLS that I may not posess. Ok so I'm whining. Feel sorry for me anyway! I am going to celebrate mother's day from a whole new vantage point this year!
Mr. Mom
Mr. Mom
Monday, April 13, 2009
I love my church
This weekend I witnessed a beautiful thing as our people prayed, invited, celebrated, and served thier hearts out. This church is so resiliant. We have been through so much and still come out stronger and more passionate. More and more people coming to Christ each week, stories of people growing in Christ, and morale high like when we first started the church. What a great time to be Pastor at NCC. I love my church.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
"Heaven-the church's best kept secret"
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." But we know these things because God has revealed them to us by his Spirit, and his Spirit searches out everything and shows us even God's deep secrets.” I Cor. 2:9-10
My family and I go to a restraunt in Vegas that is connnected to a casino. The restraunt is not really there to make money but to serve the customers who gamble in the casino (where the real money is). What many do not know is they have this patio that is perfect for breakfast. AND there is a starbucks right next to the patio! The breakfast plates are big enough for the three of us to share. Nobody is ever really there at breakfast so Sam can run around and play on the patio while shell and I relax and linger long over breakfast. It is one of the best kept secrets in Vegas. Where is it? I’m not tellin”.
Did you know that Heaven is also one of the best kept secrets? But it is the church that's not telling. While heaven is mentioned often, it is rarely discussed. It is even even more seldom described. Why? I do not know. Maybe Satan has a strategy to keep us from knowing the amazing wonders so we will anchor ourselves in the pleasures of sin here rather than longing for the mind-blowing experiences that God hasplanned and prepared for us in the new heaven and new earth.
“Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy;” Is. 60:5
Did you hear that? Heaven will make our faces radiant and our hearts swell and throb with Joy. I can’t wait! I will be everything we have ever desired and much, much more!
This Easter Sunday we take a provacative look at your next life. It has been the best kept secrets but I’m tellin’.
Come hear things you may have never heard before. Let the anticipation of heaven begin in your heart.
My family and I go to a restraunt in Vegas that is connnected to a casino. The restraunt is not really there to make money but to serve the customers who gamble in the casino (where the real money is). What many do not know is they have this patio that is perfect for breakfast. AND there is a starbucks right next to the patio! The breakfast plates are big enough for the three of us to share. Nobody is ever really there at breakfast so Sam can run around and play on the patio while shell and I relax and linger long over breakfast. It is one of the best kept secrets in Vegas. Where is it? I’m not tellin”.
Did you know that Heaven is also one of the best kept secrets? But it is the church that's not telling. While heaven is mentioned often, it is rarely discussed. It is even even more seldom described. Why? I do not know. Maybe Satan has a strategy to keep us from knowing the amazing wonders so we will anchor ourselves in the pleasures of sin here rather than longing for the mind-blowing experiences that God hasplanned and prepared for us in the new heaven and new earth.
“Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy;” Is. 60:5
Did you hear that? Heaven will make our faces radiant and our hearts swell and throb with Joy. I can’t wait! I will be everything we have ever desired and much, much more!
This Easter Sunday we take a provacative look at your next life. It has been the best kept secrets but I’m tellin’.
Come hear things you may have never heard before. Let the anticipation of heaven begin in your heart.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Hell helps me...
Jesus spoke of heaven as a real place. "I go and prepare a place for you" (John 14:3).
Jesus also spoke of hell as a real place. In fact, he spoke of hell more than any other teacher or prophet in the Bible. He told the story about the unrepentant rich man who wanted a drop of water to cool his tongue and asked that his brothers be warned "lest they also come to this place of torment" (Luke 16:28). He wanted us to know about hell.
Jesus' teaching about the reality of hell helps me:
1) To reflect about the authenticity of my own faith.
2) It provides additional motive for me to share my faith.
3) It reminds me that in the end all injustice will be dealt with.
It may be difficult to "feel" that the neighbor across the street (who is "such a nice guy") is really destined to a Christless eternity - but so it is - unless there is real genuine repentance and a clear embracing of Jesus Christ. (John 3:36; Romans 5:9; 1 John 5:12). Friends - are you warning of the wrath to come? There is a bridge out down the road. Are you keeping quiet?
Jesus also spoke of hell as a real place. In fact, he spoke of hell more than any other teacher or prophet in the Bible. He told the story about the unrepentant rich man who wanted a drop of water to cool his tongue and asked that his brothers be warned "lest they also come to this place of torment" (Luke 16:28). He wanted us to know about hell.
Jesus' teaching about the reality of hell helps me:
1) To reflect about the authenticity of my own faith.
2) It provides additional motive for me to share my faith.
3) It reminds me that in the end all injustice will be dealt with.
It may be difficult to "feel" that the neighbor across the street (who is "such a nice guy") is really destined to a Christless eternity - but so it is - unless there is real genuine repentance and a clear embracing of Jesus Christ. (John 3:36; Romans 5:9; 1 John 5:12). Friends - are you warning of the wrath to come? There is a bridge out down the road. Are you keeping quiet?
Monday, March 30, 2009
CAN A GOOD GOD JUSTIFY HELL?
I read this today and found it helpful...
We know God is good, kind, patient, longsuffering, always willing to forgive. He is love personified, magnified, and exemplified (1 John 4:16). But God is also just, infinitely holy, and perfectly righteous. The Scriptures picture Jesus as both the Lamb of God (John 1:29) and the Lion of Judah (Rev. 5:5). Like a lamb, He is meek, gentle, a holy sacrifice for the sin of those who confess Him. Like a lion, His claws can tear the unrepentant to pieces.
It is this picture that reveals a first answer to the problem of hell: God's character demands it. While God's love, mercy, and grace are demonstrated in the atonement of Christ, other attributes demand equal authority and actually justify hell. What are these attributes?
Righteousness/Holiness. That God is righteous and holy means He always acts in accordance with those things He deems just and lawful. He cannot do anything less than what is right. God's great plan is ultimately to bring the universe back to perfect righteousness—back into harmony with His character. There are only two ways He can do that. One is by providing a way for sinners to return to righteousness—through the death, Resurrection, and power of Jesus Christ. In Christ He makes us new creatures (2 Cor. 5:17).
But what about those who do not seek righteousness, who desire darkness over light? There is a second option. God will confine such people in a place where they cannot affect or harm those who seek righteousness. That is hell.
Justice. The justice of God functions as a logical complement to His righteousness. His righteousness demands that He make things right. His justice demands that something be done about sin. Again, to bring about perfect justice for all the wrongs in the universe, God offers two options: to make payment for them Himself through the death of Jesus; or to require payment by the sinner. God cannot wink at sin, overlook it, or allow it to persist (Habakkuk 1:13; Psalm 5:4–6)
Omniscience. God's omniscience enables Him to know everything that is, was, shall be, and could be (Psalm 139; Isaiah 46:10). How does this attribute require a hell? An omniscient God must eliminate evil from His knowledge. One way is to forgive that evil and choose to forget it forever.14 God can actually "blot out" or eradicate His own knowledge on such an issue.
But what of those whom He has not forgiven because they have not accepted His forgiveness in Christ? God's only other option is to gather all the evil into one place and render it dead—separated from Him forever. That is hell. While God may be conscious of the evil in that place, He does not have to have contact with it or look on it ever again.
Love/Wrath. These two aspects of God's nature are linked together in the doctrine of hell. His love requires a hell because He must protect those He loves from the defilement of His enemies. His wrath calls for vengeance—that His enemies be punished for injuring, hating, and rejecting Him.
Nearly any aspect of God's character can be used to explain both heaven and hell. We have to take God and what His Word says about Him on His terms, not ours. Those who accept His grace and love but balk at the idea of justice or perfect holiness are guilty of folly.
By Mark R. Littleton—Discipleship Journal
We know God is good, kind, patient, longsuffering, always willing to forgive. He is love personified, magnified, and exemplified (1 John 4:16). But God is also just, infinitely holy, and perfectly righteous. The Scriptures picture Jesus as both the Lamb of God (John 1:29) and the Lion of Judah (Rev. 5:5). Like a lamb, He is meek, gentle, a holy sacrifice for the sin of those who confess Him. Like a lion, His claws can tear the unrepentant to pieces.
It is this picture that reveals a first answer to the problem of hell: God's character demands it. While God's love, mercy, and grace are demonstrated in the atonement of Christ, other attributes demand equal authority and actually justify hell. What are these attributes?
Righteousness/Holiness. That God is righteous and holy means He always acts in accordance with those things He deems just and lawful. He cannot do anything less than what is right. God's great plan is ultimately to bring the universe back to perfect righteousness—back into harmony with His character. There are only two ways He can do that. One is by providing a way for sinners to return to righteousness—through the death, Resurrection, and power of Jesus Christ. In Christ He makes us new creatures (2 Cor. 5:17).
But what about those who do not seek righteousness, who desire darkness over light? There is a second option. God will confine such people in a place where they cannot affect or harm those who seek righteousness. That is hell.
Justice. The justice of God functions as a logical complement to His righteousness. His righteousness demands that He make things right. His justice demands that something be done about sin. Again, to bring about perfect justice for all the wrongs in the universe, God offers two options: to make payment for them Himself through the death of Jesus; or to require payment by the sinner. God cannot wink at sin, overlook it, or allow it to persist (Habakkuk 1:13; Psalm 5:4–6)
Omniscience. God's omniscience enables Him to know everything that is, was, shall be, and could be (Psalm 139; Isaiah 46:10). How does this attribute require a hell? An omniscient God must eliminate evil from His knowledge. One way is to forgive that evil and choose to forget it forever.14 God can actually "blot out" or eradicate His own knowledge on such an issue.
But what of those whom He has not forgiven because they have not accepted His forgiveness in Christ? God's only other option is to gather all the evil into one place and render it dead—separated from Him forever. That is hell. While God may be conscious of the evil in that place, He does not have to have contact with it or look on it ever again.
Love/Wrath. These two aspects of God's nature are linked together in the doctrine of hell. His love requires a hell because He must protect those He loves from the defilement of His enemies. His wrath calls for vengeance—that His enemies be punished for injuring, hating, and rejecting Him.
Nearly any aspect of God's character can be used to explain both heaven and hell. We have to take God and what His Word says about Him on His terms, not ours. Those who accept His grace and love but balk at the idea of justice or perfect holiness are guilty of folly.
By Mark R. Littleton—Discipleship Journal
Friday, March 27, 2009
Get Your Reward
God will reward those who serve Him. Below are three scriptures that have formed my beliefs about eternal reward. God evaluates the quality of our work, the motive behind it, and whether or not it is pleasing to him.
(A person’s) work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. 1 Corinthians 3:13-15
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. 1 Corinthians 4:5
So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:9-10
Reflection:
How does your belief about eternity affect the way you live today?
If you died today and stood at the judgment seat of Christ, when your works and motives are revealed, would you feel good about your life? Why or why not?
Since you still have an opportunity to change, what is God showing you to do differently?
Live for Him today!
(A person’s) work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. 1 Corinthians 3:13-15
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. 1 Corinthians 4:5
So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:9-10
Reflection:
How does your belief about eternity affect the way you live today?
If you died today and stood at the judgment seat of Christ, when your works and motives are revealed, would you feel good about your life? Why or why not?
Since you still have an opportunity to change, what is God showing you to do differently?
Live for Him today!
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