The Results

When I was in elementary school, our school would participate in a track meet with several other Christian schools. My favorite event was the softball throw…I know that's not a real track event. We were too young to do the shot-put so we did this instead. I was never good at the sprints because I was incredibly slow, so the softball throw was my redemption for all the races that I was terrible at. I was always pretty good, but I usually finished somewhere between 2^nd place and 4^th place. When I got to 6^th grade I knew that this would be my last year of competing in the softball throw, so in the weeks leading up to the track meet I threw hundreds of softballs. I worked on getting a good run before the throw, picking the correct trajectory, and using my whole body to generate as much power as humanly possible to throw that ball. My first throw of three at the track meet was perfect. I was one of the first ones to throw, so I had to sit there and watch all of the other competitors make their attempt before I found out that I had finally taken first place. It was the crowning achievement of my life at that point. I was the softball throw king.

As stupid as that story was, it illustrates perfectly what these verses are saying. Results are not coincidental. If I hadn't put in the extra work, I would have probably finished in the same position that I always did. Somebody once said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. In the same way when we fail to grow spiritually, we fall into the same temptations and sins that we always fall into. When you are spiritually fit, temptation can only do so much. When you choose to ignore the reality of God and his love for us, the results are disastrous. Check out these verses.

Romans 1:24-32

 ²⁴Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

 ²⁶Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

 ²⁸Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³²Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

In verse 24 when Paul says therefore, he's referring to previous verses which I covered in my blog yesterday. Let me summarize. As a result of man's selfishness, idolatry, and failure to recognize who God really is, you are now being controlled by sexual sin. Sexual sin usually comes from two different places. For men, self-gratification or the need to feel good is the motivation for sexual sin, while for women, sexual sin is usually the result of an attempt to fill a void of love in their life. Ultimately, however, both of these areas originate from the same place. Selfishness and this "love void" come from a failure to acknowledge who God is and what he is capable of. Selfishness as I mentioned in the previous blog is one of those things that really blinds us to God's existence. We want what we want so badly that we are willing to turn a blind eye to the truth. If God does not exist, what is the point of serving others? If God isn't real, why would we do anything other than what makes us feel good. In the same way, ignoring God's existence leads to a love void. That void is where God's rightful place is in our lives. Trying to fill that void with romantic relationships will never work.

Sexual sin is no stranger to the church. It is one of the most challenging things to overcome as a new believer and one of the easiest ways to stumble for a mature Christian. It is one of the most challenging sins to conquer because it originates from the very essence of who we are as sinners: selfish and needy. The only way to fight sexual sin is to cultivate a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Doing this blog has been a challenge for me because it takes about 1.5 – 2 hours per entry. I hate to disappoint anybody that expected differently, but that is more time than I'm used to spending on personal study every day. I've noticed however that since I've chosen to spend more time in His Word, I've been more receptive to His voice. When we take time to develop that relationship with Jesus, temptation doesn't have the power in our lives that it does when our relationship ends in a just a simple knowledge of God. And as Paul says in verse 29, this sexual sin is just a gateway to a list of other sins. He says, "although they KNOW God's righteous decree" along with the results of their sin, they not only continue to do them but encourage others to participate in their sin. Don't be ignorant to think that you can successfully be a half-hearted Christian. Either you are in all the way, or eventually you will fall into the trap of sin. Take time to pray, to study the Word, and to worship. Then you can safeguard yourself against temptation and ultimately sin.

God Is Obvious

It’s been a while since I last blogged.  Over the weekend we’ve been looking at houses and it has been a whirlwind and a rollercoaster all at the same time. (and I don’t like rollercoasters)  I can’t think of anything in my life that can be so exciting for one moment and completely discouraging the next.  I can’t imagine going through this process without a confidence that God is not only real, but also has our best interest at heart.  Without that confidence, I would be a wreck right now.  God’s hand on our lives has been so evident over the years that anybody with a brain could see and know that God is real.  


Paul in these verses takes it a step further.  He states that anyone who is a witness to creation can know that God is real and is without excuse.  Here’s what he says.

Romans 1:18-23

¹⁸The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

 ²¹For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²²Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ²³and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

The message of Jesus Christ is hope, but in order to really appreciate the hope and joy that the message of the gospel offers, we need to understand the alternative to surrendering our hearts to Christ.  God’s hostility towards sin doesn’t come from an emotional response to our disobedience.  His nature doesn’t allow for a tolerance of sin.  Paul is pointing out the problem with idolatry.  When we attribute things of God to men or things, we are being ignorant. 


Christians fall into this trap too.  When we receive a blessing of any kind, we give credit to ourselves, other people, and even luck or coincidence.  When I was first starting college, I had a bill from my school that was $1,800.  I had $1,400 saved and had no way of coming up with the extra cash.  I received a letter in the mail two weeks before school started that the scholarship I was receiving was increased by $500.  I’m ashamed to admit that my first response was to consider that development good fortune rather than recognizing God’s provision.  Now I look back and so clearly see that God met my need. 


It’s easy to say God is sovereign but to really believe that fact to the point where it changes your life can be difficult.  It’s really our selfishness that blinds us to the reality of who God is.  When we choose to put ourselves first and choose a life of sin over what God has for us, we blind ourselves to the work of God in our lives.  Frankly, to give credit that is due God to anyone else is idolatry. 


If we take the focus off ourselves, we will be able to see the evidence of God in our lives and the world around us.  Let’s give God the credit he deserves.  Look for ways that God has touched your life and acknowledge them publicly.  

Ashamed

Sometimes I dread going to get a haircut.  It has nothing to do with how my hair turns out.  In fact my hair is pretty simple to cut. When you work as hard as I do to make my hair look messy, sometimes a bad haircut helps.  No, the dread comes from the conversation that will more than likely take place with the hair stylist.  Let me summarize what this conversation usually looks like:




            
            Stylist: So, what do you do for a living?


            Me: I’m a youth pastor, how about you?


            Stylist: I’m a hair stylist, that’s why I’m cutting your hair.


            Me: Oh, yeah, that makes sense?


            Stylist: So how do you like being a youth pastor?

Me: I love it! I love working in the church, and working with teens, and serving God.

Stylist: Oh, that’s nice.  Let me tell you all of my hang-ups and my bitterness toward God and the church.  Then you can try to defend what you believe at the risk of making me angry and taking a chunk out of hair out of the top of your head with my scissors. 

Obviously that is a bit of an exaggeration, but as Christians, sharing our faith can be really tough.  As I read these verses in Romans, it caused me to ask myself the question: “If God’s grace is so great, why are we so embarrassed to tell people about it?”
Here’s what Paul says

Romans 1:14-17

¹⁴I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. ¹⁵That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.

 ¹⁶I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. ¹⁷For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

Why is Paul so brazen and unashamed in his sharing of the gospel?  I came to the conclusion that he is unashamed because he really understands what the gospel is…the power of God for the Salvation of everyone who believes.


Let me explain what I mean.  Because we are all people with issues and baggage in our lives, we naturally tend to consider our baggage as part of our faith.  In reality, however, the two are unrelated entities that happen to coexist in our lives.  For example, you could have experienced God’s saving grace, but because you still struggle with sin, you feel unqualified to talk about your faith.  God’s grace is no less sufficient, but because of what comes with the package of Salvation in your own life, you feel like God’s grace somehow is less credible.  Another reason for the shame we exhibit is that the unsaved world has major hang-ups with the church. Frankly, they have good cause to view the church in the way they do.  Even though the church was established by Christ himself, it is made up of humans, who constantly find a way to stain our image.


If we are going to be eager and unashamed as Paul was, we need to give up the idea of defending the history of the Christian church and the politics of today’s church and instead preach the gospel.  I think of all the missed opportunities to share my faith over the years, and all the people that I could have reached with the gospel, and I only wish that I could have gotten over my baggage and shared my faith.  I’ve resolved this weekend to write a message to two different people from my past and really share my heart and my faith with them.  Pray that they will receive Christ as a result.


There are plenty of things that I’m ashamed about.  I’m ashamed of many of the things I’ve said, done, or been associated with, but there is no place for shame in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Would you resolve with me to be bold in sharing the hope of Jesus Christ with a world who desperately needs some good news?

Long Distance Relationship

A “long distance relationship” has become a fairly common pop-culture reference these days.  In fact I even saw a preview for a movie about a long distance relationship the other day.  Usually the social commentary on long distance relationships is that they rarely work.  There are several reasons why they usually don’t pan out, but on TV and in movies those relationships usually fail because one of the individuals in the relationship is tempted by someone else who doesn’t live halfway across the country. 


I’ve never personally attempted a long distance relationship, but after a few weeks of dating my wife Laura, she went up to her summer job at Lake Geneva Camp for 4 weeks and I was left in Minneapolis. Those weeks were brutal for a couple who was just falling in love and just wanted to be together all the time.  We spent hours on the phone every night; Laura came home twice in those 4 weeks, and I went out there to see here twice.  I can’t imagine trying to make that work for a long period of time.  Paul realized that spiritual mentorship from a distance was a challenge as well…especially since they didn’t have phones or internet back then.

Romans 1:7-13

 ⁷To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:
      Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

 ⁸First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. ⁹God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you ¹⁰in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you.

 ¹¹I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— ¹²that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. ¹³I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.

Before we get into my thoughts, it is important to note what was going on in the Roman Church.  Most scholars date the book of Romans around 55 A.D.  That means that the church of Jesus Christ was only about 20 years old, and the movement of Christianity didn’t start in Rome.  It started in Jerusalem.  Therefore, the vast majority of Christian leadership at that time resided in Jerusalem.  In addition to that, the Roman church had gone through some major changes.  The original Roman church was most likely started by Jews who came to know Christ during the day of Pentecost, thus the church was primarily Jewish.  Under the reign of Emperor Claudius, Jews were banished from the city of Rome for a short time in 49 A.D.  The church continued to grow and flourish and when the Jews came back several years later, the Roman church was now primarily composed of Gentiles.  That meant that in a movement that was less than 25 years old, this church had much younger than average leadership.  They were doing well, but Paul realized the need for a mature Christian with God’s heart to step in and guide the Roman church through this process. 


One of the hardest things for me to do as a youth pastor is to watch students who graduate my youth ministry go away to college.  I know the temptations that they will face when their system of accountability is no longer in place.  When one of them chooses to walk away from their faith, it really hurts.  I feel like I have failed to give them the tools that they need to stand strong against temptation and I spend a lot of time in prayer for those students.  On the flip side, it’s so exciting to see students that I’ve invested in choose to honor God with their lives.  I’m so proud to be a part of their spiritual development.


Paul said he wanted to be in Rome in person to impart spiritual gifts into them and help make their faith strong.  I thank God for the spiritual leaders in my life that invested in me and helped my faith become strong.  There are 4 individuals that come to mind that really helped me through Jr. High and High School.  Phil Burton taught me what it really meant to have a deep relationship with Jesus Christ.  Ryan Stelly taught me how to pray and what it meant to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  Andy Britz mentored me and showed me how to minister.  Dan Keinanen showed me what it meant to love the Word and how a high schooler could make an impact for Christ.  These 4 men along with others were vitally important in my development as a teenager and they are a big part of the reason why I’m a pastor today. 


If you don’t have someone who is a spiritual mentor in your life, you need to find somebody.  Paul said in verse 13 that he wanted to visit, in order that the Roman church would experience a harvest.  That is what mature leadership brings to our lives.  If you want to see your relationship with Jesus Christ flourish, find a mature Christian to impart Spiritual gifts into your life.  Then you will grow strong in your faith. 


If you want to add a comment, share something about the mentors that you have had over the years and write them an email or a facebook message thanking them for the investment they made.  

Authority Comes from Calling

As embarrassing as this is to admit, I regularly go through struggles relating to my calling to full time ministry. In one of these crisis moments this morning, I desperately needed some reassurance and some direction from the Holy Spirit. So I poured out my heart to God this morning. Maybe this comes naturally to you but for me it’s hard. I’m not by nature an overtly emotional guy…dramatic maybe, but not emotional. I won’t get into all the details of what I prayed this morning, but it was one of those God moments where you just get overwhelmed by his presence. Even typing this now, makes me emotional. After a lengthy “snot on the floor” session as Pastor James calls them, I picked up a Bible with no idea where to start. I had no desire to read the Old Testament today, so I started in Matthew and flipped through the pages until God stopped me on Romans. It was exactly what I needed this morning. After I finished reading, I walked over to my house to regain control of my emotions and grab a Diet Dew out of the fridge. My wife’s Bible was sitting on the kitchen table open to Romans chapter 1. That was more than enough confirmation for me that that was what God wanted me to hear. Cue the waterworks…again. As I read exactly what I needed this morning, I decided that I wanted to blog through this entire book. My hope is to be transparent through this blog and I wanted to do it publicly, so I would have some accountability. My plan is to take a couple verses at a time and work my way through this book that is frankly way over my head, study it, and write a personal commentary. I have no idea if anyone will read this and frankly I don’t care, but if you do I welcome your comments and I hope that this can bring some encouragement to someone out there.

Let’s get started.

Romans 1:1-6

1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

Being called is one thing. We’re all called to fulfill the great commission. We’re all called to live like Christ. Being set apart however is something special. Paul is identifying himself as the author here, but it’s not just a formal greeting. He’s making a point here to establish his authority in Christ because of the special calling that God has placed on his life.

I needed to be reminded that God created me to fulfill a purpose. He not only called me to serve him, but established a blueprint for my life as part of his plan to reveal the gospel to the world. Discouragement happens when we determine our value based on something other than our status as children of God. Though I can play off the “arrogant” personality very well, I have huge insecurities. I hate it when people don’t like me, and my feelings toward myself are often reflective of how I am received by others. Paul derived his authority and value in the fact that God had appointed him to be an apostle for the gospel of Christ. I’m sure there were times of discouragement and depression in his life. Nobody is throwing rocks at me and I get discouraged.

Pastoral ministry is hard, and sometimes I feel like I have no business doing it. There have been several times this summer where I’ve really wondered, “What I’m doing here?” What God spoke clearly to me this morning is that he has called me to what I do and nothing can detract from that calling. Verse 6 spoke into my heart as I read it, and I hope it speaks into yours as well: You also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. I’m making a point to really seek the heart of God for these next couple weeks and really hear from him.

If you’ve made it through this incredibly long blog, I’d ask that you pray with me for direction. Our community really needs a move of God and I’m asking Him to start one in the Middle Schools and High Schools in our area. Pray that God would give me favor with the school leadership. Pray for the team of leaders that work with me, because I will be asking a lot of them in these next couple months. Pray for our students, that God would began to raise up in their hearts a desire to see the lost won and for their hearts to fall deeply in love with Jesus Christ.