Chinook-ered

I love the weather! Did you know that? But what I love more is knowing God created it. Last night was an amazing display of God's creation of weather. Some areas of Denver reported 80-90mph winds from this phenomenon called a Chinook wind. This is a common feature for us on the leeward side of the Rockies. What always comes to mind when I observe wind of this magnitude is how God managed to evaporate the waters of the Great Flood. In Genesis 8:1, "...God caused a wind to pass over the earth"(emphasis mine). God didn't have to bring on a wind at all to dry up the water. He could have just made the flood disappear in an instant but He didn't. He created that wind that began the evaporation process. This was and is His world and He has a specific purpose for all elements created. Also, in Genesis 8:2 "...the fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky were closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained"(again, emphasis mine). When I see such actions by God such as Him closing the fountains of the deep and floodgates and Him restraining the rain from falling then I know, without a doubt, that He created all the weather patterns and elements that exist. I've never viewed weather forecasting as a challenge to see if I could "out guess" God, but rather as a challenge to understand His beautiful creation better. He is the One who has put all in motion with a loving purpose. All Laws of Science (Laws of God) are His and for us to try to understand, if we want to, but they are definitely here for us to enjoy.

A Little 'Quizalinko'

So I've been thinkin'. If the temperature inside a refrigerator is warmer than the garage it is being stored in, then is a refrigerator still called a refrigerator? Hmmm. Think about that one tonight when it gets well below freezing tomorrow.

Run Like The Wind

"Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love
and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." 2 Timothy 2:22

Yesterday's Leadership class was fantastic. We covered 12 facts that cannot fail when in a leadership position. One in particular that I wanted to highlight was practicing self-control.

Nothing gets my goat more than to see this world deliberately pinpoint our society with lustful marketing tactics. Since I was part of the world for the first 19 years of my life, I did not have my guard up when it came to fleshly temptations. Yes, I was affected by my poor choices in life and those poor choices resulted in consequences that, in some cases, had residual outcomes.
From what I can gather, thus far, in my minimal amount of Greek is that the words flee and pursue are present active imperative verbs (Wow, look at Jon using those 50 cent words!). What I believe Paul is trying to get across is that this is what you MUST do (commands). I also believe that most of us in the church have a grasp of pursuing righteousness, faith, love and peace. Where some tend to fail though is in understanding how and when to flee. In practicing self-control, some believe we need to stand face to face with temptation in hopes that our faith will persevere and we will survive the test. And if this trial does not go in God's favor, we may go through a period of remorse, followed by a reevaluation of our faith accompanied with prayer and then back to the battlefield against temptation, face to face. Is this a practice of self-control? No, this is a result of what's called desensitization. Basically, the more we purposely face the same temptation the more we come back to it. We begin rationalizing what God's word says.

What fleeing is is self-control. Fleeing a situation does not make someone a coward. Fleeing a enticing situation makes you wise and pleases God. Recognizing your weaknesses and not allowing Satan to even get close to that weakness is another area of righteousness. Yesterday we also learned in class we should only focus 5% of our time to our weaknesses. Those weaknesses may always be there but if we can focus on our strengths and fortify them through devotion to God's will, we develop a stronger defense. Don't forget, God will always provide a way out of temptation (1 Cor. 10:13) even if it means putting our track shoes on.

Pearl Harbor Memorial (late)

Regrettably, I forgot to post on Dec. 7th. Our country's 67th anniversary of the attacks on Pearl Harbor. I've always loved the lyrics to the song "What Did He Die For?" by Twila Paris

He was twenty-one in 1944
He was hope and he was courage on a lonely shore
Sent there by a mother with love beyond her tears
Just a young American who chose to rise above his fears
And as I watch him struggle up that hill
Without a thought of turning back
I cannot help but wonder

What did he die for?
When he died for you and me
Made the sacrifice
So that we could all be free
I believe we will answer each to heaven
For the way we spend a priceless liberty
Look inside and ask the question

What did he die for?
When he died for me

To the darkest day in A.D. 33
Came the mercy and compassion of eternity
Sent there by a Father with love beyond His tears
Blameless One, the only Son
to bear the guilt of all these years
And as I watch Him struggle up that hill
Without a thought of turning back
I cannot help but wonder

What did He die for?
When He died for you and me
Made the sacrifice
So that we could all be free
I believe we will answer each to heaven
For the way we spend a priceless liberty
Look inside and ask the question

What did he die for?
He died for freedom
He died for love
And all the things we do not pay Him back
Could never be enough
What did He die for?
When He died for you and me
Made the sacrifice

So that we could all be free
I believe we will answer each to heaven
For the way we spend a priceless liberty
Look inside and ask the question
What did he die for?
When He died for me

Apt to ...COOK?

No, this picture has not been doctored in any way, shape or form. What you are observing is an eldership in work! This morning at the Bear Valley church of Christ many deacons and preachers were treated to the second monthly breakfast meeting hosted by these fine men. Harry Denewiler (not pictured), Mark Hanstein, Clint Stephens, Brian Wilkie, and Maynard Woolley should be applauded for their active service for God's kingdom. In my 21 years of being a Christian, never before have I seen an eldership take their role as shepherds as seriously as these men have (I'm talkin' 10 congregations or so). Did you know these men meet every other Thursday night to discuss church business for usually a minimum of 3 hours? That also means their families are making a sacrifice in order for the congregation to be properly watched. Is that all they do? By all means, no. Just watch these men if you get the chance. Daily they are submitting themselves to God's will. See them as they care for the spiritually and physically ill. Watch as they strive to meet and welcome every visitor that passes through the doors. Biblical truths are being taught in every aspect of education and worship here. And so on and so forth.
If you get the opportunity, thank these humble men and their families for their love and dedication to God's will (1 Peter 5:1-5). Oh, and if you haven't already, pray for them daily.

Oak of Righteousness

Have you ever taken part in a school play as an elementary student? Did you want the role as the hero or heroine? Maybe you yearned to be the villain who had the leading role? Instead, you were given the 'leftovers' of the pond frog or meadowlark with a screeching part that lasted a whole 4 seconds. Or were you given the dreaded oak tree in the corner that your mother was so proud of? If you still hold in bad feelings towards that drama teacher who made you feel like the Arbor Day poster child, hear this: You just happened to have represented one of the greatest symbols of strength according to God's word.
In Isaiah 61:1-3, the prophet is writing of the Messiah and His coming to deliver those who have been captive, to mend the brokenhearted, and to bring good news to the afflicted. The Lord deliberately distributed His Word in order for us to saturate ourselves daily in the knowledge of Him (2 Peter 3:18). As an oak of righteousness, we need to follow 3 basic principles during the duration of our lives.
An oak tree needs to maintain proper nutrition for survival. The average mature tree will use up to 50 gallons of water a day. Just as a tree relies on its root system for intake of this moisture, we must daily ingest God's Word as if our life depends upon it. And guess what? It does! This 50 gallons of water is taken in just for daily survival. We're not even talking about how to fend off fires, beetles, and deliberate cuttings. You see, unlike the oak, we make a conscious decision if we're wanting to remain strong and upright for the Lord. We must take the initiative to feed our minds with the Bread of Life for proper defense and to be ready in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2).
Another great quality about the oak tree to emulate is its yearly (continuous) production of seed (acorns). Though it may take 20-25 years before it begins producing acorns, a mature and healthy oak tree is always increasing its yearly production of seed. As mature Christians, we should follow the model and strive to increase our delivering of God's Word (seed) to a lost world (Matthew 28:19-20). The typical oak can produce 10,000 acorns in the span of its lifetime, but only one will develop into a tree on average. Why the dismal ratio of acorns produced to trees developed, I don't know. But this is for sure, as we take notice of the apostles, evangelists, disciples, children of God in the Scriptures, we don't see them declining in delivering God's message because someone rejects the message (seed). Instead, they press on until their life is over. So, too, is the oak tree. Its production never declines (it may slow down when it reaches 100, but never declines) in yearly production as long as it maintains maturity!
Finally, as an oak of righteousness, we need to recognize that our steadfastness for the Lord during the length of our stay here on earth is because of our Savior. We shall glorify God through proper righteous living and praising Him(Psalm 63:3). We need to do our job as children of God. The life of an oak tree is remarkable when studied about, but the oak tree is just being...an oak tree. That's what an oak tree is and does. So must we be as obedient followers of Jesus. We need to be Christians acting like...Christians. That's what Christians are and do.