One Thing to Think About in 2010

If there is ever a time of year where there are many things to think about, it is most definitely right now. Even before the happenings of 2009 have finished bouncing around in our brain, 2010 is here with its own plethora of things to ponder. People are asking, “What am I going to resolve to do in the New Year?” Businesses are planning, “How are we going to use our money in 2010?” Seniors in high school are wondering, “What is it going to be like when I graduate and begin a whole new stage of my life?” Truly, there is plenty to think about.

But in the midst of “many things” at the beginning of 2010, there is “one thing” that we should commit to thinking about before anything else. Check out what David said thousands of years ago:

“One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.”
Psalm 27:4

If anybody had many things to think about, it was David. Before he was king, he had to plan how he was going to avoid Saul, the first King of Israel whose mission in life was to make sure David was not alive to become the second King of Israel. After David survived that and became king, he had to think not only for himself, but for a whole nation! But in the middle of all of that, the one thing David wanted was to be with the Lord and behold the beauty of the Lord.

Everyone has many “things” to think about as the New Year gets rolling, but are you committed to seeking the “one thing” like David was? Before anything else, is your heart set of loving God more and getting a greater focus on his beauty in 2010? Will this priority show itself when you are fighting for time to spend with the Lord even when life gets busy with school, church, activities, and other events?

Do not let the one thing that is most important get buried and drowned under the many things that 2010 will bring.

This blog was also posted at ChurchForHighSchoolers.com – the new website of True North.

Musings on Matthew

On Monday, True North finished going through the book of Matthew on Scripture of the Day. As we began this journey through the first gospel, I was preparing to preach a sermon in which the main idea was “Christianity it all about Christ.” With this thought central of my mind, I longed more than ever to sit at the feet of Christ by reading about his life and found myself hungry each day for another bite of Matthew.

The feast on Matthew may be over now, but the digestion is only beginning. This morning, I wanted to take some time and capture in writing some of my thoughts from the past month of SOTD before they fly away.

Perhaps the main idea that stood out to me from taking a close look at Christ in Scripture was this: reading about Jesus life THEN should strengthen my faith NOW.

Matthew reveals two major responses to Jesus: faith and unbelief. The main personifications of unbelief are the Pharisees–so caught up in their system of works righteousness and spiritual pride that they fail to see the Messiah. The disciples also display flashes of unbelief in moments of doubt, fear, or misunderstanding.

On the other hand, examples of faith appear all over this book, from the Magi who travel the world to see Christ to the little old lady who pushes through the crowd to just touch the edge of Jesus’ robe to Peter when he confidently proclaims Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” More than examples, faith is also central to the teaching of Jesus.

So the question I must ask myself after reading through Matthew–which is the same question anyone who encounters Jesus in Scripture must ask–is, “What is my response: unbelief or faith?” Even more precisely, how will my faith be strengthened because of what I have learned about Jesus?

Two specific things stood out to me in response to this question. The first is an increased commitment and fervor to wage the war against sin. Jesus described this fight in the most radical terms (gouging out your eyes and taking up your cross.) Do I view my fight against sin this way? And after seeing Jesus revealed in the Word, am I so enraptured with him that I will gladly sacrifice anything to be with him?

The second proper response is prayer. Jesus makes it clear that faith and prayer go together. Not only should faith drive me to spend more time in prayer, it should affect the way I pray. Faith (as opposed to doubting) describes proper prayer; these kind of prayers will be confident and fervent.

I am grateful for God’s Word and how it reveals God’s Son! Join us as we read through John on Scripture of the Day!

Chariots of Fire: A Tale of Two Men

I don’t know how it happens, but whenever I run, I hear music. A steady beat from a piano and synthesized percussion builds into a beautiful melody. Nowhere can I run and avoid this occurrence, but it is heightened when I run at the beach. For the life of me, I cannot figure out who is following me and playing the theme from Chariots of Fire every time I run.

Or maybe it is just playing in my head.

I am sure I am not alone in my experience, because it seems that whenever you see someone running (especially in slow motion) someone will invariably start humming the tune. However, while everyone knows the song, not many know the movie…or the story it tells.

Chariots of Fire tells the story of a group of youth British athletes as they prepare for the 1924 Olympic Games while giving particular attention to two of them: Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell. After the famous opening scene, we first meet Abrahams, a young Jewish man entering a fine English university with a chip on his shoulder. He sees the whole world as against him, and he is out to win (or as he puts it, “Run them off their feet.”)

In contrast to Abrahams, Eric Liddell is introduced. Instead of being out to prove himself when he runs, Liddell runs because he believes God has given him the ability to do it, and “when runs, he feels God’s pleasure.” Above everything else (including running), he commits himself to his God.

Through the telling of the story of the Olympic games we see two very different men. The desire to win consumes Abrahams. Every loss destroys his confidence and fear racks his mind as he prepares for the final race. On the other hand, Liddell faces a different predicament. When the preliminary heats for the 100 meters are scheduled for a Sunday, Liddell chooses to honor his conviction to not run on the Sabbath. Even when he is placed before the Prince of Wales, he will not compromise.

Both Liddell and Abrahams end up winning gold medals (Abrahams in the 100m; Liddell in the 400m). But contrast appears yet again in victory. Abrahams’ victory seems to be a joyless occasion, and he shuns his teammates for a drunken conversation with his trainer. In Liddell’s victory, we see joy, a reunion with his family, and the satisfaction of knowing that he honored his God.

The movie provides so much more than a powerful melody that runs through my mind, it also encourages me. Worldly success is not the goal of this life; bringing glory to God is. And only when we live our lives for his pleasure will we experience true pleasure ourselves.

Do I Have to Read My Bible?

In response to this question, I would say, “No, but yes, yes, and yes!” (In case you didn’t catch it, that was a triple “yes.”)

Is reading the Bible necessary for growth as a Christian? Yes! This question would be the equivalent of asking, “Does a baby need food to grow?” Like a baby needs milk to grow, a Christian needs God’s Word to mature. (1 Peter 2:2)

Is reading the Bible something a Christian is commanded to do? Yes! While the Bible does not say “read your Bible” in as many words, it does say things like “crave pure spiritual milk” (1 Pet 2:2) and “let the word of Christ dwell in your richly” (Col 3:16). These commands are more at the level of desires, so if a Christian is obedient to long for God’s Word (and has access to it in his/her language the ability to read), he/she should read the Bible.

Finally, will a born again Christian have such an unquenchable thirst for and delight Scripture that they are compelled to read it? Absolutely yes! A Christian should not view reading the Bible as a “got-to” but a “get-to.” Once a redeemed soul has “tasted that God is good,” (1 Pet. 2:3), that taste should create such an uncontrollable craving for his word, that this person HAS to read it.

Is reading the Bible a requirement for salvation? Absolutely not. Salvation does not rest upon whether one checks the box of Bible reading off; it rests upon Jesus Christ. Also, reading your Bible is not a legalistic obligation. The act of sitting down with your Bible and reading it does not somehow earn you righteousness or favor with God.

Let’s sum it up. Do you have to read your Bible to be a Christian? No. But as a Christian, do you have to read the Bible because you need it, God wants you to, and you want to because you have tasted that God is good? Yes, yes, and YES!

Psalm 119 True North United Tonight!

At True North we’ve been going through Psalms on Scripture of the Day. Today’s Psalm is Psalm 119.

So one day at True North Headquarters we debated what to do with this chapter. Should we break it up over a few days and go through it slowly? Should we just hope that the students eat up all 176 verses on their own?

Obvious answer: no to all of the above options. Instead, let’s get all the people of True North in one room and read the whole thing together.

So that is what we are going to do tonight at True North United. We will eat, we will hang out, and we will sing worship songs, but the main course of the evening is a feast on the longest chapter in the Bible.

Last night and this morning (partly after reading this article), I was remembering some of my main desires before going into youth ministry. I wanted students to be excited about the gospel and excited about God’s Word.

I pray that tonight bears much fruit towards that second end. My desire is that the students of True North would be students of the book, and that every day they would cry out, “Oh, how I love your law; it is my meditation all the day!”

Game Day

Across the country this morning, hundreds of college football players are waking up with one thought on their mind:

“It’s game day.”

With the agony of intense physical effort and the straining of the strategizing mind, these young men and their coaches have spent the entire week getting ready for today’s game. They have watched films of the opponents. The coaches have crafted a game plan. The players have run through the plays countless times. The whole week has been leading up to today–this is what they live for!

As these young players go through the morning of game day, I doubt any of them are thinking thoughts like, “Why does this game have to take up my whole day?” or “Couldn’t I be doing something else with my weekend?” Rather, these students would give up anything else to be doing what they are doing.

Like football players, I have the pleasure of working on the weekends. Just like them, I spend the whole week getting ready for Saturday and Sunday. And I cannot help but think that I am more privileged than them.

Don’t get me wrong, I love college football. Just from looking at the scoreboard on my computer screen or flipping on my TV, I love feeling that excitement of competition. If my team is playing, their game will be a thought in my head the whole day.

Even so, I think I’ve got it better than those players and coaches. Sure, what they are doing must be incredibly fun and exciting, but can it honestly compare to the excitement of doing the ministry of teaching and talking to students about the Lord? I’m sure it must be fun to watch film and strategize all week for the big game, but isn’t spending the week studying God’s Word sweeter?

Every Saturday, watching football teams from across the country take the field helps me put my job into perspective. I can only imagine how fun it would be to be a part of that, but I would never trade my job for it. Like those players get amped for the big game, I anticipate getting to do the work of the ministry on Saturdays and Sundays at True North.

That is why when I wake up on Saturday and Sunday, I smile and say to myself,

“It’s game day.”

A New Beginning

It was once said that “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” I’ve had the joy of experiencing both of those over the past couple months. College, and life as I have known it, ended last month when I graduated college.

But that ending has quickly become a new beginning.

Almost a month ago, I started my new job as Assistant High School Pastor at Compass Bible Church in Aliso Viejo, CA, and it is awesome. I’m quickly learning how busy full-time ministry is, but I cannot imagine anything else I would rather be doing!

Here is a little bit of what I have been doing lately.

I have already been able to preach in True North (the high school group) for two weekends since coming on staff. You can listen to the sermons here:

http://www.compasschurch.org/hs/sermons/

I have also been feverishly preparing for Revival ‘09, which is our summer camp! I’m praying for and expecting God to do great things in the hearts of the students as Pastor Mike brings it from the book of Daniel each night. And I’m also thinking it will be one of the most fun weeks of my life. I made a promo video with some of the students. You can watch that here:

http://www.revival09.com

Who Do You Trust?

Contemplate how incredibly bad a real epidemic disease would be.

I imagine it would begin with rumors and fear. You would begin to hear about the disease–where it is, how it is affecting people, how fast it is traveling, etc. While it may seem distant at first, the questions would begin to creep into your mind. Will it spread to where I live? Will people I know or interact with get sick?

Then, if the disease should spread to your area in a true and deadly epidemic fashion, I can only imagine how bad the terror could become. And more than that there would be an incredible internal conflict within each individual between fear and care. As loved ones began to get sick and even die, how would people decide whether to stay and care for them or to flee and avoid the contagious disease? The paranoia would be unreal.

That brings us to the swine flu–the current “epidemic” that is making headlines in our world today. How do we as Christians respond to the possibility of an epidemic? In the face of something so potentially scary, do we respond with worry or peace?

It’s easy to base our trust and peace merely on rational thinking. We tell ourselves, “The swine flu is not that big of a deal. People in America aren’t really dying from it. The statistics aren’t really worse than the regular flu, which kills thousands every year. Honestly, this whole thing is overblown.”

Personally, I would generally agree with those statements. It sounds like this swine flu thing is a bit over-hyped. However, I’ve been really challenged about the basis of my lack of anxiety. Am I not anxious because of rational thinking, or is there also an underlying foundational trust in a sovereign God?

Let’s face it. Someday we all might face something that we cannot reason away by saying, “It’s not that big of a deal.” Where will our trust be then?

Will it be in some comforting statistic we got from FOX News?

Or will it be in the God described in this Psalm?

1 The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty;
the LORD is robed in majesty
and is armed with strength.
The world is firmly established;
it cannot be moved.

2 Your throne was established long ago;
you are from all eternity.

3 The seas have lifted up, O LORD,
the seas have lifted up their voice;
the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.

4 Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,
mightier than the breakers of the sea—
the LORD on high is mighty.

5 Your statutes stand firm;
holiness adorns your house
for endless days, O LORD.

*P.S. I just wanted to be clear that by saying the swine flu is “over-hyped” I am not trying to negate or minimize the real people who are really suffering and dying from this disease. It is a serious thing that deserves our prayers and concern.

Good, Gracious, and Faithful (and McDonald’s)

This year my Resident Director (Ona) and myself have developped a habit of eating breakfast at McDonald’s. (Sidebar. The Southern Style Chicken Biscuit is one of the most delectable things you have ever had for breakfast. Wash it down with a small parfait, and wow, your day is off to a good start. End Sidebar.) This morning, we ate there and reflected over the last four years. We tried to name every guy from every wing I’d ever lived on (and came pretty close, too!) We also discussed the future a bit by working through the dorm staff for next year.

When we got back to the dorm, I sat down with my Bible and journals. While looking at journal entries from the past couple Aprils, great memories began to fill my mind from all four years of college. Fun times. Spiritual lessons. Ministry opportunities. Relationships. Hard times. Tough lessons. All these things flooded my thoughts, and as they did I was just overwhelmed. Here were a few conclusions:

-I am very thankful for God’s goodness, grace, and faithfulness over the past four years. As I look back over the last four years, I’m really speechless. The Lord has been very kind to me even though I do not deserve it. He has blessed my time at TMC more than I could have imagined.

-More than just being thankful that God has demonstrated goodness, grace, and faithfulness to me over the last four years, I need to worship God because he is eternally good, gracious, and faithful! As is true in all areas of life, we should never just be thankful for what gives us, but also we should worship God becaue of his characteristics that have been displayed. He does not just do good things–he is good.

-As I look forward to the future, I should expect God to continue to be good, gracious, and faithful–even if all my plans for the future collapse tomorrow. God’s faithfulness is faith inspiring. Not only should it give me peace about the future; it should also inspire radical acts of faith.

McDonald’s and meditation…not a bad way to start the day.

Earth Day: Remember Your Creator

Today is Earth Day.

Disney is coming out with a nature documentary from Planet Earth footage called “Earth.” It looks pretty sweet, it’s narrated by James Earl Jones, and it apparently contains no evolutionary material.

The cafeteria run by Bon Appetit here at The Master’s College celebrated by serving some kind of environmentally friendly lunch. I opted out of that and used an In-N-Out gift card instead.

But all of that is neither here nor there. The point is this: On this Earth Day in 2009, how many people will acutally think about, give thanks to, and worship the One who created this planet?

Don’t let Earth Day go by without giving glory to the Creator!