I just purchased 50 tickets to Hillsong United on April 15th. I’m really excited to bring 50 people from New Life Church for an amazing night of worship at Christian Faith Center. I’m also excited to see some of my mates from Australia!
Tim, this blog is for you!
Okay, its been a whopping 7 months from my last blog. Sam you are so right, I blog way to much.
Right now I’m watching Bear Grylls (Man vs. Wild) and thinking about updating my blog. Pastory Troy has a new blog. I need to figure out how to put links to other blogs. Think I’ll look into that.
Nat just put Caleb down to bed. Today we took Caleb to the doctor and found out that he has a double ear infection. Poor guy.
Bear just ate a bettle larva.
Off to figure out my blog…
Today I am not happy with myself. I ran into a friend at Starbucks this morning and missed my chance to bless him with no strings attached. You know, one of those just because moments. For some reason his credit card wasn’t going through, so instead of offering to pay, like Pastor Troy has been preaching about, I just stood there in wonderment anticipating my drink and thinking about the pressing appointment on my mind.
As a Christian it frustrates me when people misunderstand the message of Jesus, and yet, sometimes this miscommunication comes directly from me. We are cultures apart it seems, and it frustrates me. God, in His sovereignty, has given me a practical way to influence others through Pastor Troy’s message, and I didn’t even make an attempt. I believe this may be one of the great misunderstandings in the church. God speaks to us through the Spoken Word, and for some reason it never settles.
Living in another country has taught me a lot about not understanding a culture at the onset. Like why they drive on the other side of the road; why they pronounce words differently; or why they have a tea time in the middle of a sports game. At first I just didn’t get it, but after following these ways for a while it just became the norm. I wonder if at times we [the church] are the foreigners to the things of God. He may drive on the wrong side of the road. The words He uses don’t sound the same or the ways in which He uses they are different. And His tea time we just don’t get. What a sad misunderstanding this may be. Sure, I get fumed with other people missing the mark, but how does God feel when I screw the pooch? Am I cultures apart from God or did I just have an off day?
Pastor Troy spoke on the issue of biterness over the weekend. An interesting topic I must say because it impacts us all to some degree. It made me think about my relationships with those around me currently and those who used be in my world. So, how do I really handle forgiveness?
Troy’s challenge focused more on forgiving people without the expectation of anything in return. True, forgiving to get something back is much easier. Like not having a memory that looses constant pain for instance. That would be nice.
I wonder how God handles forgiveness? Knowing full well that those He forgives will spurn hatred, malice and the most absolute meaning of abhorrence back in His face. Love is given and love is rejected, and yet God handles the pain. But maybe that is what real forgiveness is: a continuous act to overlook an offence that expects nothing in return.
I hope that I can always live like that…
Caleb and I had a good time this morning. I think it was because he wasn’t hungry anymore. Here’s the result:
Setting our kids up for success has to be one of the greatest honors that I can think of as a parent. And as a father, pointing my son towards Jesus, even at the young age of eleven months, carries for me a great deal of satisfied pride. On Sunday afternoon Nat (my wife) and I, along with family and friends, dedicated our son Caleb to God. It has long been a dream of mine that my children would know the God of the bible. That they would serve God. That they would love God’s house. That they would love Jesus.
Caleb’s life began a bit rocky (some of his back story highlights him being born 10 weeks premature, weighing a lofty 1lbs 12oz), so having his dedication has become for me a very sacred thing becasue we almost lost him. And it also helps me to remember how thankful I am towards God’s grace. He has given me the dreams of my heart even when I don’t feel like I deserve them. And He as given Caleb a chance to live for Him.
Thank you God.
Gotta love the Japanese…
I guess my indiganation comes from the powers that be on America’s highly watched American Idol. Here is my question: Why does the name “Jesus” cause so much pursuit for political correctness? What is it about presenting the message of Jesus as a truth, or even possible truth, that frustrates people?
Here is the back story that framed my mood. Over the past two weeks two songs have been presented that highlight the persona and divinity of Christ. One in a satirical manner (I’m all about having fun so don’t get me wrong here). One in a manner to extol. However, the powers that be decided to change the lyrics in the song that presented Jesus as one worthy of praise, while ignoring the other song completely. They replaced the word “Jesus” with the word “Comfort.”
I ask again: Why does there mention of Jesus throw people into such a political nightmare? I remember reading a quote that said “some people stumble over the truth every day, only to pick themselves back up, dust themselves off, and continue like nothing ever happened.”
The name Buddha, Brahma or even Batman wouldn’t cause such alarm. Maybe it’s just me but it left a disappointment about me. If truth is really that freeing. If the truth will always stand. Why is it rejected?
A friend of mine (David Miles) showed me this interesting music parody. It reminds me of the famous 1980’s Spinal Tap movie; mixed with the humor of Ben Stiller and the topped off with the informative nature of Tom Brokaw. As a musician I have great appreciation for this piece. By-the-way his guitar is filled with milk. Thanks David.
Yesterday I went to Safeway for some random groceries, when a hunger for green grapes seized me. My disappointment was later realized after discovering that my coveted green grapes where either bruised a little or bruised a lot, giving them a greenish brown hue. Maybe I should have tried one just to make sure, but the look turned my desire a bit sour.
Handling grapes is a messy business. Check out what I mean. What happens at the end is worth watching.
The Holland Blog 