Another lesson from my 2 year old.

What my 2 year old teaches me about my journey with Christ!

Every morning the same scene happens at our house. Christi and Terah leave early for school and work leaving Jordan and daddy at home alone for 2 hours. Sounds dangerous, for those that know us, you are correct!

The morning begins with 2 packages of oatmeal and then Thomas the Train. Then we move into job of getting Jordan ready for the day. This process could last 15 minutes or 1 hour depending upon his attentiveness and how controlled my ADD is! LOL!

Finally it is time for daddy to take his shower. I lock all the doors of the house assuring Jordan doesn’t leave while I am in the shower. I jump in the shower and this is where the lesson begins!

Each morning, as I take a shower Jordan is in the bathroom with me. Whether he is playing cars or just hanging out beside the shower, he is with his daddy. I really do not get why he does this. I mean, there is a Thomas the Train movie playing in his room and tons of toys to be played with. His sister is at school, so he even has her toys to himself. But what does he decide to do? You got it right!

He wants to be in his daddy’s presence more than he wants to be with all his toys.

As I was wrapping up the showering process this morning, this concept hit me right between the eyes. How many times are we more concerned with all the stuff in our lives than being in the presence of the Father. Although the “things” in our life can and should be for enjoyment, how many times do they take precedence over our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

May our attitudes reflect the attitudes of our Jesus in Philippians 2. May we be more concerned with the presence of the Father!

Thank you Jordan for teaching daddy a sobering lesson! I love you son.

We all have days like this!!!

I have had days that I felt like doing what this lineman did!!!!

He really loves us!

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…

He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

Is there anymore to say? Receive this today in your life journey with HIM being reminded of your worth and value through and in Jesus Christ.

A call worth sharing...

Saturday night I picked up the guitar and was about to spend some personal time playing...but my cell phone started to ring!?!?!

So I answer the phone and it was my daughter...she was crying! Oh man, did I run through an array of emotions in the first few seconds of the phone call. My daugther was crying and we were 2 1/2 hours from her...not a good feeling.

My daughter began sharing about some of the incidents that were happening around her. Someone had broken into their cabin and had stolen some money. As she continued to tell her story you could hear the frustration in her voice. As I continued to listen, I wanted to jump in the car and head down and rescue my daughter and find the one(s) responsible for her pain!!!!

But as a Youth Pastor, I have learned that I cannot rescue my students from their pain, we can only show them the way out. Although difficult, I swallowed hard and asked my daughter, "What are you going do?" Truly I had the answer in mind, but she needed to find her on way. In the depths of my soul, I knew she had the answer anyway.

She responds, "Dad, I want to go get revenge, but..." "But what, Terah?" "Well dad, I know that I can't! Jesus has told us to love our enemies and pray for those that persecute us."

Oh my, my heart jumped for JOY! I was so proud of her. She GETS IT! She understands the NARROW WAY. She understands life as an "ordinary radical!"

I reaffirmed my daughter and said it was her opportunity to be "light" to those around her. We closed the conversation in prayer and I hung up with a smile on my face!

I wrote the following in my journal later that night...

"If I make no other disciple, serve at no other church, or never again preach a message; you have made my journey worth it!"

Thank you for allowing me to share a part of my life with you in this blog!!!

Could the longing of COMMUNITY be pointing us towards the church of tomorrow?

Could a re-interest in the early church be a preparation for the church of tomorrow?

As I was sitting in staff yesterday, the following question came up; "Do you think it is easier to invite people to Sunday morning experience or to your home?" The overwhelming answer was "our homes." Every book you read, or at least I read, makes an inference on the point of belonging to a community. Whether the author is Francis Chan, Rob Bell, Chip Ingram, David Kinnaman, etc. the importance of community arises in each book.

But there is even a more powerful, inspiring, relevant book that speaks even more of the importance of the community! What book is that? The Bible! Check out the verses below:

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer...All the believers were together and had everything in common...They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:42, 44-47

So, why is there an increasing importance on the "smaller community?" Could it be that in the future the "smaller community" will only be what is available? Could persecution arise against the followers of Christ in such a way that causes the typical "big church" to close the doors sending the church underground? Will it be against the law to someday worship publicly our Jesus in the "larger church" setting? Could it be that the only way we will do "church" is the way God first designed church; in the smaller community?

We do not have answers to the questions above, but we do sense a calling back to the "home community."

But do not let this discourage you! Why? If and when persecution comes, the church always flourishes.

"Though beheaded, and crucified, and thrown to wild beasts, and chains, and fire, and all other kinds of torture, we do not give up our confession; but, the more such things happen, the more do others in larger numbers become faithful."

-- Justin Martyr

I'm a Pharisaical Elitist!!!

phar·i·sa·ical

Pronunciation: \-ˈsā-ə-kəl\

Function: adjective

Date: 1531

: marked by hypocritical censorious self-righteousness

On the last morning of the National Youth Ministry Conference, I was so pumped becasue Francis Chan was going to be the last speaker. I arrive early to the closing session. So early, in fact, there was noone in the auditoruim except for the sound guys and, you guessed it...Francis!

I made my way to the front and was waiting for him to finish his sound check. I knew when he walked down from the stage, he would come my way. Then I would get a chance to talk to him. As the sound check went on and on, God began to do something within my heart! He begin to speak a word in my heart...Pharisee...then elitist, then the two words combined; Pharisical Elitist!!!

What do you mean? As he contined to stir within my heart, God begin to show me that I was so interested in talking to Francis that I had missed the very doorman all week. God really begin to show me how I missed so many opportunitites all week long with the people that were working the conference. Not the ones that were part of Youth Specialities, but the ones that were hired to work at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Wow, the tears begin to flow as I walked the long walk back to the front doors. As I walked up to the door man, I stuck my hand out and said, "Hi, my name is John!" As I left, Rick, yes the doorman had a name, I asked him how I could pray with him! He responded with the comment of praying for his relationshiop with his ten year old son. Wow oh wow!

May we learn to live out the same attitude as Christ! Check it out in Philippians 2. Check it out below!

⁵Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
⁶Who, being in very nature^{a]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[a]} God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
⁷but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature^{b]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">[b]} of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

May we find peace in HIM and may others see it!

An outsider looking in...

Have you ever thought about what it feels like to come into Trinity Bible Church for the first time? Does an "outsider" even know what is going on??? After last night, I have more of an idea!

On Saturday night, I decided to go to my first Catholic Mass. Yes, you heard me right, my first Catholic Mass! Why? Because I had never been to one and second I wanted to know what it was all about! After talking to my friend Jason, a former Catholic, for some direction I was on my way to Catholic Mass.

As any good visitor for the first time, I walked around the room looking for a person to sit by. Eventually, I found a seat. Once seated I pulled out a Starburst candy and received a demeaning look and remark from the lady about eating candy at the service. How was I to know, all "good baptists" always have some candy in their pocket! LOL!

As the service started, I felt completely lost. You could tell that everyone knew what was about to happen and ready for the next series of events to occur. One time I was thought I had it all figured out, so I decided to sing along with them, only to find they had changed verses of songs.

After sitting through my first Catholic Mass, I have come to some conclusions:

1. The world of religions have their/our own set of rules that we play by.

2. Outsiders are expected to conform to the way we do things.

3. It is difficult to be a part of something that has its own set of expectations!

My challenge to us all is to rethink the way we live out our Christ-journey among outsiders, especially on Sunday mornings. Don't expect to think that everyone knows what is going on!

Love is REAL, when LIVED out!

Today as I was traveling back from running some errands in Fort Worth, I saw a guy like this one in a lane across from me. He was holding a sign that said "Hungry! Please Help." As I was sitting a lane across from him, I noticed cars wouldn't even get close to him; they stayed as far away as possible. Seriously there was an opening two car lengths long beside me.

As I was sitting thinking about this "homeless man", I begin to question what would Jesus do in situations like this one. I mean, really what would he do today if he was living out HIS Journey in the 21st Century.

First off, I believe he would have a car. Why? Because he would be a good steward of his time, and walking would take a long time, at least around this area. But, what would he do when he drove by the homeless?

Please respond and make comments to this blog...

The WORSHIP Industry...

Ponder this...

What I GAINED from someone STEALING my IPOD TOUCH!!!!

I know, what a weird title for a devotional, right? Let me explain...

Just recently, I came into the world of the IPOD Touch. What a cool tech tool/toy! Simply put, it is a IPHONE that you cannot talk on, but everything else an IPHONE does the IPOD TOUCH can do.

Anyway, just recently I had it stolen. I don’t know if you have ever had anything stolen from you, but this really bothered me. I mean, REALLY bothered. The moment I realized it was GONE, I quickly became irritated, franticly trying to figure out who had done such a thing. It is funny, the more I became frustrated, the smaller my world became, until this entirely consumed my morning. Seriously, who would steal from me.

But on Sunday, while I was preparing to take a shower, God began to speak to me about the entire STOLEN IPOD TOUCH. I begin to hear the following question in my heart;

“So, John, when are you going to let me in on this part of your life?”

‘Oh, right God! Why didn’t I think of you? You probably know where it is?”

Then I heard the following reply in my spirit...

“No John, this is much more about you than it is a STOLEN IPOD!”

“What? Come on God...how can it be about me?”

Later on, I found myself in Matthew 5: 43-44. This is what it says:

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor^[ and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies^[ and pray for those who persecute you,

Wow oh wow, here came the conviction. So, I took the advice of Jesus and begin to pray for this person. For the person that had stolen my IPOD TOUCH. To be honest, at first I didn’t want to at all. But as I continued to pray, my heart begin to soften towards the person that had stolen it. I began to look upon this person, whoever it is, with compassion. Maybe they needed the money. Maybe that are in trouble.

So what did the prayer look like? Something like this;

God, you know that I really liked the IPOD Touch, and you totally know who has it. Right now, I pray for that person. I pray that he/she may find you as they look at the iPOD touch. When they see the scriptures and the pictures, may you show them Your love. God I do not know why they needed to steal it, but they did. If they are in some type of money problem, may you straighten it out. God, forgive me for having a hard heart towards this person!

I know some of you reading this may think it is impossible, but remember the words of Paul as he is chained to the guard... “I can do all things through Christ...who strengthens me.”

A late add...

As I was sitting in our 2.42 Community last night, God begin to reveal more to me about this passage. And I want to leave you with this thought...

Maybe just maybe, this sermon on the mount is not a bunch of good ideas but a key to an inner peace of living a life of a Christ-follower! If we learn to have an inner peace in our journey, then and only then we will be able to reflect a truer image of the PRINCE of PEACE we serve!

Love you all!

John

We must attack back!!! JOIN THE FIGHT!

WAKE UP CHRIST-FOLLOWERS, there is a disease bombarding our culture that is killing innocence and will destroy homes later down the road. It is the spoon by spoon slow death approach of arsenic.

Check out the following data from www.bio-medicine.org

"A total of 429 students aged 13 and 14 from 17 urban and rural schools across were surveyed anonymously about if, how and how often they accessed sexually explicit media content on digital or satellite television, video and DVD and the Internet. Ninety per cent of males and 70 per cent of females reported accessing sexually explicit media content at least once. More than one-third of the boys reported viewing pornographic DVDs or videos “too many times to count”, compared to eight per cent of the girls surveyed.

A majority of the students, 74 per cent, reported viewing pornography on the Internet. Forty-one per cent saw it on video or DVD and 57 per cent reported seeing it on a specialty TV channel. Nine per cent of the tens reported they accessed pornography because someone over 18 had rented it; six per cent had rented it themselves and 20 per cent viewed it at a friend’s house."

We mustn't sit back and allow this to poison our culture. We must make a stand and fight against this bombardment of perversity. Even last night a man was arrested for holding a girl hostage for 18 years, kidnapping her when she was 11 years old. He even fathered 2 children with her. I bet, this perversion started with PORN.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 reminds us that it is "God's will for us to stay holy, so stay away from all sexual sin.

So are we doing everything we can to avoid it! There is one website/church that is attacking the PORN issue straight on. I would challenge anyone reading this that has a PORN addiction or a draw to porn, to visit XXXchurch.com

Are you willing to do all you can to stop this cancer from spreading in your own homes and families!

Let's not wait, let's attack!

What, you're a gas station!!!

Have you ever ran out of gas? I remember the first time I ran out of gas. It was in Greeley and I was at a red light about to turn into a gas station and then, “sputter, sputter.” I was completely out of gas.

Yesterday my beautiful wife ran out of gas at Sonic in Hudson Oaks. She was able to catch a ride with Alex Ainsworth (thank you Alex) just in time to meet another girl at Railhead for lunch. That left Jordan and I with the mission of taking gas to the empty minivan.

All we needed was someone to loan us a plastic gas container and then we would bring it back. We traveled to the first gas station and asked if we could borrow a gas container to fill up the car and they said, “No!” We traveled to the second gas station and the asked again. This time the lady behind the counter looked at what appeared to the be the manager of the store, then he said “No!” We made our final stop at a local gas station and asked again, only to be rejected the final time. We ended up having to buy a 2 gallon gas tank from the last “convenience” store and 2 gallons of gas for $20...WHAT A DEAL!

As I left the convenience store I was put out for several reasons. Here I was carrying a little boy asking 3 different gas stations to borrow a container where I could put gas in my wife’s car and it happened to be 120 degrees outside. I not only felt desperate, but I knew I had to look desperate too. I begin to get upset and angry at the gas stations, but then God hit me between the eyes.

Is that what we do sometimes as Christ-followers? We have exactly what people need in Jesus. They come to church or open up to us at our jobs and we just totally ignore what they are crying out for. All they need is a “gas container” to fill up because they ran out of gas. They have some need or hurt and they come seeking comfort/help/guidance, only to be rejected! And you know the saddest part about it. Once they are rejected by the “church” or “followers of Christ” they go and seek out hope/guidance/comfort through other avenues and it ends up costing them even greater.

Ladies and Gentlemen...

May we begin to live out the life that was modeled to us through Jesus Christ. May we begin to see the ones around us in and what their needs are. May we begin to offer hope ones that are seeking it. May our church/student ministry be a hospital for those that are hurting.

Waking up in the middle of the night...

Last night I woke up in the middle of the night.  One of those wake ups that startle you and you are wide awake, eyes wide open!  It is impossible to go back to sleep.  I used to turn the radio on and place it in my ear and listen to some ridiiculous talk show that woke me up even more.

But last night I did something different...

I asked God, "Okay God you have me, so what do you want me to hear?"  As I begin to listen to the loudness of the quiet night, God begin to share this..."

"John, I want your complete life, not compartmentalized life, but it in its entirety."  

So what does this look like?  It really didn't make sense to me until this morning.  While sitting beside one of my brothers in the ministry...God led me to Matthew 20:28.  Basically summed up that Jesus didn't come to be served but to serve others and give his life up...  You catch that...his life!  

His entire life!  

God forgive me for giving parts of my life to you, but not in entirety!  God I love you...

As I am about to speak to the students, pour yourself out through me!  May I feel and understand to give my LIFE up as you did Jesus!

I love you!

Is.  55

Are you serious, a life preserver?

How great is our God...hmmm, that would make a good song!  

Truly He is amazing.  In my Sabbath time today God sent me to Psalms 51: 1-2; "How mercy on me according to your unfailing love, according to your great compassions blot out my transgressions."  

Really, God, really???  Why do you do that?

We know that this Psalm was written after Nathan rebukes David for the adulterous affair with Bathsheba and the premeditated murder of Uriah.  Pretty intense sin, on the scale we use.  

But what does our God do???

When we choose to take our own path into the storm he warns us to stay away from.  When the intense temptation tosses us out of the boat into the raging waters (sin), what does God do?  He throws a life preserver.  If I were God I would send a few sharks first, and then what was left after 30 minutes I would pick up with a net.  But not our God, oh no!  

God you are awesome.  We know that there is consequences to our sin, but oh how GREAT you are in throwing a life preserver in our direction and allowing us to come back to the place of refuge we left!  

May we learn as a Student Ministry to have GRACE and MERCY as God exhibits in our daily life!

"All we do is throw life preservers!"

jb

The road goes on forever but the party has just begun...

I have to admit the first day at Camp Summit was the longest day I ever experienced.  As we traveled back to the church last night the common saying among our vehicle was..."Is it still Monday?"  In my head I was thinking it was at least Thursday and as we got back to the church Earl was packing his bags.  I asked him why, and he thought it was already Friday night!   

Seriously, the day was long...but oh was it good.  One of our prayers is that God would stretch us and break those that needed to be broken.  And guess what????  It is happening!  

Solomon tells us in Proverbs that...

"He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God."  

God we give you thanks for the chance to honor you this week!  May our lives be drastically changed forever!!!!

A few names...

Chris, Koby, Evan, Tiff, Aaron, Michael, Josh, Ricky, Lindsay, Ben, Bryan....may we never forget you!!!

The very first blog

boom its here...thetree@tbc