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| It's not too often that I actually take the time to make an entry on this doo dad! It seems more and more infrequent. What DOES amaze me is the fact that I do check the posts of my 150+ friends on MySpace.com every couple of days. And you know what I've discovered? They are VERY consistent in making posts. Posts of all varieties. Posts like, "check out my kool new pics" or some of the latest myspace forwards on love, life, and not having the boogeyman catch you unless you repost it. Important things like that. And then, every once in a GREAT while you'll see something of substance. But the common thread is this - my friends are always posting. Often. Sometimes two or three times a day. Now - here's where the question comes in:
What SPACE is the most IMPORTANT space? What I mean is, if we're that consistent with MySpace, how consistent are we to get into HisSpace? God'sSpace? What I've seen in Christianity is that we're always talking about the difficulty in making time for God on a consistent basis. Funny, isn't it? We can BLOG with our friends several times a day, but we can't BLOG with our God daily? Is it funny, or is it sad? Is it sad that God sent us a love letter so important He sent His Son to earth to deliver it, and all we can muster is a token 30 second prayer and reading a verse or two. We thank God for our stuff, sometimes our food, and we think we've done something spiritual. I think it's ridiculous!!!
And the truth of the matter is that I'm guilty of it, too. Being so busy that I neglect my time with the Lord. So...again, let me pose the question. What SPACE is the most IMPORTANT space? Because often times love is spelled T-I-M-E. Where are you spending yours? How?
Let's make this practical. Try this this week. Log the time you spend on the internet, blogging, Instant Messaging, etc. Then log the time you spend in the Word, and prayer, and worship, etc. Then evaluate where you're spending your time. What SPACE is the most IMPORTANT space? Make it His Space!
Your Friend and Fan,
Pastor Adam | | |
| Okay, so it's been like a BAGILLION years since I've last posted ANYTHING!!! So here I am to post once again "THOUGHTS FROM MY INSANITY"
So I was reading Acts today, chapter 14 to be exact. It was pretty cool. But then I read some words from Paul that kinda made me twinge a little. I tried to skip over them, but then I had to come back to them. I'm not even entirely sure I understand what he was talking about, but they still made me stop and "selah" (pause).
Check this out - Paul says in Acts 14:22b, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God."
Hold on. Rewind that. Did I just read that right? Can someone grab me a better prescription of glasses? Wait, I don't wear glasses, so that HAS to say what I think it says. We MUST go through MANY hardships to enter the kingdom of God. Yeah, he really said that.
Well, maybe I'm confusing the context in which this was spoken. Okay, let's look at what the first part of that verse says. "Paul returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith." Oh, so he was encouraging and strengthening the disciples' faith. WITH THAT STATEMENT? HELLO?!? I'm sorry, but if I was going to give a speech intended to strengthen and encourage, I'm NOT goign to say, "It's time to suffer!!! Woo hoo!!!" I mean, I'm thinking - what good is THAT going to do to encourage and strengthen the people?
Yet...that's exactly what he said. And here's the funny thing. If you read on you see that it caused leadership to step to the forefront of those churches. People joined up! Stepped up!
Great...but...why?
If you ask me...it's because the price to follow Christ was high - really high. It was spelled out in plain vanilla - "This will cost you. It will not be easy. It means something. It's worth something because it demands something. And the prize is great if you pay the price." So, yes, there will be many hardships on the way to Heaven. But the prices you pay show the magnitude of the reward! It's worth something, because it costs something. Draw strength and encouragement from that!
Till Next Time!!!
"PA" | | |
| i'm currently reading joshua harris' book "not even a hint: guarding your heart against lust" and i just came across this little story i felt was soo good i had to share it.
this is the true story of raynald III, a duke who lived during the fourteenth century. "his sad life illustrates how giving into our lustful desires- the very thing we equate with freedom- actually robs us of freedom and true joy.
raynald iii had lived a life of indulgence and was extremely oveweight. in fact, he was commonly called by his latin nickname, crassus, which means 'fat'.
after a violent quarrel, raynald's younger brother, edward, led a successful revolt against him. edward captured raynald but did not kill him. instead he built a room around him in the niewkerk castle and promised him he could regain his freedom as soon as he was able to leave the room.
this wouldn't have been difficult for most people since the room had several windows and a door of near-normal size, and none was locked or barred. the problem was raynald's size. to regain his freedom, he needed to lose weight. but edward knew his older brother, and each day he sent him a variety of delicious foods. instead of dieting his way to freedom, raynald grew fatter. he stayed in the room for ten years, till his brother died in battle. but by then his health was so ruined that he died within a year- a prisoner of his own appetite.
many men and women today are prisoners to their appetite for lust. like raynald, they look free, maybe even happy. they're doing what they want. they're doing what feels good. but the sad truth is that every bite of lust's delicacies only makes them more of a prisoner. when we indulge in a life of sin and do whatever feels good, we're not free. we're slaves to our sin." | | |
| YO!!!! Last night was off the chain! To my gang at Sudden Impact, thank you SO much for the surprise party after service! That was incredible! And how you got me out of small groups, very creative!!! Yesterday was by and far one of the best birthdays I've ever had, and I spent it with the most incredible crew of teenagers on the face of planet earth!!! Thank you Jesus that you've called me to work with teenagers!!
That's all I wanted to say today- so rock on Sudden Impact!!!
I'll leave you all with this quote from my devotional I'm going through right now.
"Why are you doing this job, again? It is a love. It is a deep abiding love for teenagers that God placed there long before you became a youth minister. God put it there sometime when you were a teenager, when you were so self-absorbed that you didn't know it was being installed. Now it grows. It beats like your heart. It lives and breathes inside of you so...you will hear it. You will see that one kid who sat in the back of the room and didn't participate. You will hear that one kid who keeps doing an impression of his alcoholic father. You will catch that glance that says, "I need to talk to someone." And you will smell the coffee and the donuts as you sit across from that lost soul who can't figure out where her life is going or why people treat her the way they do or why mom said that or why that boy laughs to his friends when she passes him by in the hall. And you will understand. And you will listen. And you will comfort and you will advise. And you will do all of these things out of the earshot and eyesight of your biggest detractors. Because you are not in this job for them. You are in this job for the kid who sits across the table from you and pours herself out. And you will help her get through."
That's why I do it. For you! | | |
| Hey gang! I just realized that I never re-posted with the results of the lil' survey I did on Authentic Worship, so here ya go!
Enjoy!
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well to have authenic worship all the "stuff" that we are attempting to portray must be absent. We must be singing to A single being. Not to those around us. And we must be in unity with God... But worship is not just songs and raised hands... it's a life style where what you do is a sacrifice dedicated to your maker...
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fo real fo real! ha ha. authentic. no fakeness. doin it for real! =] love authenticness of the worship.
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When I looked up the word authentic in the dictionary, this is what I got. "Having a claimed and verifiable origin or authorship; not counterfeit or copied" I focused more on the "counterfeit or copied" part. Basically if you are an authentic worshipper, you are worshipping God the way he created you to worship him. He has given everyone their own gifts, talents, and own tongues in which to pray to him. When we use our own specific talents, whether singing, dancing, art, playing drums, praying, or whatever, we are authentically worshipping him.
Honestly, I think it is better that way anyway... be original. Worship God in your way. God may like us to worship him together, but he never said we have to worship him all exactly the same. How boring would that be? So why try to copy what the person next to you is doing when you can worship him in your own, unique, more intimate way.
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well personally i think authentic worshiper means.. some one who worships the glorious wonders of God and not just worshiping to fit in with others!
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In my opinion. . . an authentic worshipper is one that aknowledges God's presence in everything not just when you are singing or at church etc. . . but in everything you do. Always looking for ways to please Him and show others His love. Too many people, including Christians, are so selfish . . . and in a society like ours its hard not to be, but the more you get to know God and truly fall in love with Him the easier it becomes to truly worship Him!!
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to me an authentic worshipper is one who is able to shut themselves in with God and not worry about how others are worshipping--being free to worship in your own personal way between you and your holy God and being able to shut out the cares and thoughts of this world | | |
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