Firm Foundations

S- Proverbs 10:25 When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation.

O- With God we have a resource to get through tough times.

A- I'm so thankful to have God to come to when tough times in life come. It's such a comforting thing to know that I can spend time with Him and be refreshed by His love when tough times come in life. I don't know how I would get through life without HIm.

P- God, thank you for all you do for me. Thank you for being my firm foundation in the midst of the storms that come in my life.

Last night we had a Student Minsitries Night of Worship. It was great to see students worshipping. Our theme was repentance. It was a great time of examining our hearts and asking God to change us.

1 Corinthians 11:27-28 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup.

It was a good time. Thanks Sam, Jeff and Luke for leading worship.

Christian Realism, Which One Are You?

I was reading Scot McKnight's blog this morning and was intrigued by an book that he's blogging about. The ideas are what is Christ's view of the culture we live in? Here are the 5 ideas that are presented.

1. Christ against culture: the classic Anabaptist view.
Christ is opposed to the cultural expressions of this world and calls
his followers to another way.

2. Christ above culture: culture is providential; Christ arrives to lift that culture. He points to some in Thomas Aquinas.

3. Christ in paradox with culture: we are called to follow
Christ and dwell in a non-Christian culture. We are citizens of two
worlds. Niebuhr nuances Luther in this view. Another one is Reinhold
Niebuhr, H. Richard’s brother.

4. Christ transforming culture: God calls us to redeem the
world by a missional life. Calvin, English Puritans, Abraham Kuyper (do
I hear Bob Robinson saying “Finally!”?). The work is conversion and
cumulative, constructing institutions, and conquering existing
institutions.

5. Christ of culture: when Christians begin to see the
culture in which they live to be more or less Christian or see a “happy
reinforcement” of Christian values by culture.

So, where do you stand? I'm caught in between #3 and #4. If you want to read more click here.

Tuning In

S- Proverbs 4:20-23 - My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don't lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.

O- Son, listen to me please. Listen to the advice I give, let it dig deep into your heart because these words are meant to help you not hurt you.

A- Remember back in Jr. High and High School when you got lectures from you parents? Remember how most of the time we just flipped a switch in our brain that just tuned them out? The crazy thing is that our parents only lectured us and gave us advice because they loved us so much and they wanted the best for us. They wanted our lives to produce life and be healthy, they didn't want us to struggle. I compare that to my life follow Christ now. The Bible has been given to us as a lecture of sorts. A guideline to how to live life better. How often do we tune God's words out? How often do we not listen to Him and do our own thing anyways? It would be amazing if I did everything that God wanted and advised me to do, I think I just need to make the effort of tuning in.

P- God, I know you have great advice and encouragement for me. Keep speaking to me and I'll keep trying to tune into your plan.Tu

Twitter

Ok, so it's late and I can't sleep. What happens when it's late and I can't sleep, I sign up for silly things like twitter. With that said, if you have a twitter account add me if you don't and it's late, you're bored and have nothing to do like me, sign up for twitter and add me. My twitter site is www.twitter/stevegold.

Now I'm going to sleep before I sign up for any other silly accounts.

Thankful For What We Have

This was the sight of a house burning down close to my parents house on Sunday night. It made me think about how quickly a disaster can happen and how we need to be thankful for what we have and to invest in things that eternal, not material.

It's What's Inside That Matters

S- Matthew 23:26 "First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too."

O- Jesus is telling the Pharisees to make sure the inside of their heart is clean, and their actions will follow.

A- I think that one of the hardest concepts to get past in Christianity is the fact that the rules and laws that are set in the Bible aren't just there to be rules or laws to make us look good. They are there to encourage a standard of life that will one, be honoring to God and two will be an outward sign of the inward change that God has done in our lives. That's why just following a bunch of rules to be a Christian doesn't work. What's the purpose behind those rules? Why do we do that? What difference does it make? The reality is that instead of focusing on what rules we're following so we can look like Christians, let's focus on why we're struggling to work on those issues that lay in our heart. Let's focus on why that rule is there and how we can be more honoring to God by doing it. What's going on inside is more important than what's going on outside.

P- God help me to focus on what's inside my heart, not the outside appearance.