Jewelry Box

So here is the latest thing I am working on, I am just starting my thinking about it. Here is the gist, but it is still a work in progress. The normal item would be a jewelry box. Have you ever noticed that when you find the right person we are like a jewelry box. I was chatting with my sister tonight about her life and all, and she said something that caught my attention which turned into this.

When we love someone, we open ourselves up. However, when that is the right person, when we open ourselves up including our hearts our hearts should sing. It's just like those jewelry boxes that girls had when they were younger. They opened it and there would be a ballerina and music. We need to be like that jewelry box.

Maybe not necessarily for a girl or a guy, but are we opening our hearts to Jesus? Are we allowing our hearts to sing when we talk about him? It is so easy to do this for a significant other, but why can't we always do this for Jesus? Every time that Jesus talks about us, I can imagine he has a skip in his step, his smile and face glistens with glee, and his heart sings.

We need to be more like an old school jewelry box. Every time we talk about Jesus, we need to let our heart sing our love for him. Maybe your jewelry box is broken, on mute, and maybe it's at 100%, then it just matters what song is playing. If your jewelry box/heart is broken, let God fix it. Let him take those healing hands, and make your life worth something. Let him repair your jewelry box and let it sing loudly. Maybe you are struggling and yours is on mute. I encourage you to push the mute button again, turn the volume up. Jesus never puts us on mute, and though we often do not treat him like we should his heart still sings for us. Let your heart sing... LOUD!!!

Jack-O-Lanterns

Jack-O-Lanterns are every where now. Halloween is getting closer. I always liked seeing carved pumpkins. What do you think of when you think of pumpkins? Maybe pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin waffles, pumpkin chili, maybe even fall. DO you think about carving pumpkins?

Did you know that carving pumpkins have a spiritual significance as well? Well they do! I will explain. First in order to carve a pumpkin you must cut a whole in the top. Then you grab all the nasty stuff on in the inside and throw it away. You then carve out shapes or designs into the pumpkin. When you are done you put a light inside so it shines bright.

We need to do the same things at times in our lives. We guilt built up with sin and full of nasty things. We need to have a Spring Cleaning, but in this case let's have a Fall Cleaning. We need to allow God to cut a whole in us and take out all the nasty sins and bad choices that we have made. We need him to chisel out the bad parts of us, and make us a new entity. When you carve a pumpkin it no longer is an ordinary pumpkin, it is now something new.

When we allow Jesus to cleanse us we become a new entity. We become closer to being whole. When Jesus cleanses us and we ask for forgiveness, Jesus not only does it, but he inserts a light into a life, so we can shine bright and how others who Jesus is. We are so much like a Jack-O-Lantern.

Create in yourself a new heart. Ask God for a new heart. As he is cleaning out all of our sin, he will renew you.

Psalm 51:10 says "Create in me a new heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."

When we draw near to God he will cleanse us. Hebrews 10:22 says "let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water." We have all sinned and all fall short before God, but God will sprinkle his love on us, and forgives us.

Clean your mind as well. This is a difficult thing but while God is gutting our sin and reaching into us and cleaning us, let Him clean your mind as well.

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2

The nasty part inside the pumpkin is something that we can all relate to. That is our sin and our bad decisions. Yes, some of them are simply mistakes, but God will forgive you. Have you ever noticed that a pumpkin can be pretty heavy? However after it is cleansed it is so much lighter! The same goes for us. Hebrews 12:1b says "let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up." Don't let the sin and those bad choices hold you back any longer. God has forgiven you. Strip them off and let your life be lighter. God doesn't just cleanse us of our sin, but if you allow Him, he will cleanse so much more. He will cleanse our attitudes. "Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you." Ephesians 4:31-32.

The last thing you do for a carved pumpkin is fill it with a source of light. Jesus will fill you with light as well. He will fill you love, he will fill you with happiness, and joy. So much light will come from you that others who are in the dark will have their path become brighter. Be that light for others! "For you have rescued me from death; you have kept my feet from slipping. So now I can walk in your presence, O God, in your life-giving light." Psalm 56:13

You up for a little fall cleaning? You ready to be cut open and and cleaned out and made new with the ability to shine so bright with God's love? You ready to show the world that you are a Jack-O-Lantern?

Majoring in Majors vs. Majoring in Minors

So I am doing some research into the Pharisees for a paper that I have to write for my New Testament class. I came upon some terminology that just hit the spot for me. I have always believed this existed, but I had no name for this phenomenon. According to lastdays.org they call it "Majoring in Majors vs. Majoring Minors"

What is this exactly? Well the best way to explain this is by an example. Tony Campolo said this to Fundamentalist concerning 3rd world famine victims: "They're starving, and you don't give a damn. And what's worse, you are more upset that I just said 'damn' than that these people are starving." Now I know this is a Youth Page, and I my example involved swearing, and I am not condoning swearing, but do see what this example means?

It means caring about the larger issue at hand or the smaller issue at hand.

The Pharisees were all about Majoring in Minors while Jesus was Majoring in Majors. Jesus didn't care about the little things, like healing on the Sabbath, eating with Tax Collectors, cleansing the sick which in those times made you unclean yourself. Jesus saw the bigger issue at hand. He healed a withered arm (Mark 3:1-5) even though it went against laws of that time. He saw the bigger issue. Jesus ate a meal with Levi who later would be known as Matthew (the same guy who wrote Matthew) and through this meeting Levi was converted to Christianity. What was the Pharisees reaction? They couldn't believe Jesus would eat with tax collectors and sinners. Jesus saw the bigger issue with reaching out to those who need it. Do sick people or healthy people need a doctor? Not the healthy. Same goes for Christians and non-Christians. But did the Pharisee's rejoice because of Levi's changed life? Did they ask Jesus, "What are you teaching that has such a wonderful effect on these people?" No, they were grossed out that he would even associate with such people (Mark 2:16).

Are we going to major in the majors or the minors? Its your pick! I am sure glad Jesus majored in the majors because without that Jesus would never had died on that cross for me and you. Nor would he have eaten with me, because I am a sinner. However, Jesus walks with me everyday and doesn't care that people see me with him, because he cares about the big picture.

So often we get caught up in the small picture that we are blinded of the big picture. I will tell anyone this. I am over 21 so I am allowed to go to bars, I go to bars and I talk to random people because I love it. I explain that I am a Youth Pastor and they are amazed that I am there. Most of the time we start talking about God. I meet them where they are. I do not ask them to go out of their comfort zone because chances are they never will, so I go to them. If I majored in minors, I would not go to the bars. However, I see the bigger picture. I see that the bar is just a place, its about talking to them about God and reaching out to those who do not know him.

What other ways do we major in minors?

It's in your court, what side are you gonna be on?

Shame

In Seminary, we have focused a lot with shame and honor. This week's reading is on Mark and we are talking about the Messianic Secret. Basically, this is the fact that Jesus kept his true identity secret for the most part. Why would he want to do this? I mean he is Jesus.

Here are some thing to think about though. When you were associated with a title of Messiah you were of high honor. In fact, anyone around you was also associated with that honor. If Jesus went around telling people who he was others would be honored, but that was not what Jesus wanted. This is sweet. Ready? Jesus redesigned what it meant to be honored and shamed. Jesus spent time with those who were shamed. Those who had not an ounce of honor. The lepers, the sick, the dead, the possessed, the poor, and he loved them, and he re-defined what honor was. Honor was no longer how much property, money, or friends you had, it was about being shamed. This can be seen all through Mark. Jesus died the most shameful death that there was, to prove this point. In that time, Jesus should have been shamed, but among Christian eyes he was honored, and still is. Honor is not something you possess because you have money, or a big house, or a big car, honor is something you possess when care for the lost, and the least. It is about caring for those that are considered shameful. It is about putting yourself with those that are shamed.

The great thing is Jesus did this for us, we are shameful people yet Jesus was associated with our ancestors. He cares and loves us.

Jesus didn't want people to tell others who he was when they were healed because he didn't want people thinking he should be honored because he was the Son of God, but because he wanted to show us how wrong we are. We put our honor in all these material things, but REAL honor does not work that way. Real honor is about being shamed, and not caring. It's about not being the coolest person in the world, the best youth minister in the world, etc. It's humility, it's serving others, especially those that the world says that are shamed. My name has no honor to it, it has no money to it, but Jesus' name did, but he chose to not be recognized by those terms. I will put it in words of my Professor Dr. David Watson "the one who is regarded favorably in God's eyes will necessarily be regarded unfavorably, and thus dishonorably, in the eyes of the wider public." This is why Jesus says we are to take up our crosses and follow me. We must understand shame before we can live like Jesus. Shame = A Good Thing! What we see as shame, Jesus sees as a good thing.

Just a thought!

Youth Hallroom

So I finally finished decorating the youth Hall Room, and I wanted to let you all see it. It is a fun atmosphere.
The top picture is with the black lights on looking down the hall. As you can tell you cannot see too much.
The second picture is of our Youth Calendar in the Black Lights.
The third picture down is a pic of the room without the blacklight. So basically when there is light this is what you see.
Lastly, the picture is of our Youth Doorway.
Creepy yet fun. Thats what Halloween is all about @ the haven.

Enjoy!

Tomorrow Starts an Exciting Week!

Tomorrow is almost here.

I cannot believe it.

I decorated the hallway of the youth room last week to get it ready for the month of October and Halloween.

Tomorrow starts Confirmation at 9:30 and regular the haven at 6 PM. I am pumped. Our new series is called "Practical Atheist." The first week we are talking about Lukewarm Christianity.

Practical Atheism is believing in a God, but living like one does not exist.

Curious? That's ok, come check us out. It's gonna be a good one.

The games on Sunday are going to be amazing as well. I will give you a hint. It involves, a skull, and some feet, but not yours!!! wahahahahahaha

Fire Alarm

SO today in the office was an exciting one. I have been decorating for Halloween downstairs in the youth hallway, and I went out and bought a Fog Machine. I was so excited. I was trying to make the hallway haunted. I asked around and made sure it was okay first, and I had the go-ahead. After it warmed up, I pressed go. I then went to work decorating by using spiderwebs when all of the sudden the church fire alarms went off. I immediately opened the outside door, and go to run up stairs having to open all the doors because they all shut when the alarms went off, and I found all the staff upstairs, looking at me. I was shocked to think they automatically blamed me. hahah

Needless to say, we had an enjoyable day in the office. Want a good work experience, you should see us at Northwest. CRAZY!!!

It makes me think. DO we have fire alarms in our lives? I mean when things get heated, when our lives feel like they are melting away, do we have a fire alarm. DO we have something that warns us? We all have our meltdowns, but melting is not possible without the heat (in this instance a fire). Do we have friends, that keep us liable? Friends that will cool us down when things get heated? I encourage you to find a friend that can be a fire extinguisher in your life, and will never bail in the heat of it all. If you don't know where to begin, I suggest looking to Jesus. He is a great friend, and he would be one heck of a fire extinguisher.

Just a thought

Anxiety

So often in our lives we get so caught up with what is going to happen next that we get so anxious we no longer are thinking clearly.

I don't know about you, but I used to be so anxious I couldn't sleep at night. I would lay in bed for hours waiting for myself to fall asleep. I was finally put on a medicine to help me, but it slowed me down, and I didn't like that. There had to be another way.

For me, it was God. I realized when you fully rely on God all will fall into place. Maybe not how we planned or imagined it, but it will fall into place exactly how it was meant to.

When we are anxious not only do our thoughts get all jumbled and mixed up, we put our whole body into a great deal of stress.

This Video clip is an example of what happens when anxiety takes over!

I hope you all enjoy this, and remember, when God is in control, and I mean complete control, we will find a life that is not full of anxiety, but one that is more relaxed, and one that we can focus on the good around us, not the bad.

God Bless,

Life Goes On!!!

Failures, Break-Ups, Deaths, all these things happen around us all the time. Maybe it is a family member, ourselves, or even friends.

I know for me, I saw my life as over when my girlfriend and I broke up. I was devastated. Why would God be doing this to me. All the happiness drained from my face and from my heart. Then the realization came to me. Through all of our failures, through all of our break-ups, through all the deaths we are apart of, we decide how we handle these situations. We can either sit back and mourn about our lives, or we can rejoice and start anew and live life to the fullest.

Through Gods' Grace you can take the bad and make it GREAT! Trust me, I know.

When we feel that our world is tumbling down around us, when we feel that our lives are over, and there is nothing worth living for, remember this. YOU ARE WRONG! There is a God who loves you with all His heart and because of Him we have something worth living for.

Life

Goes

On

!!!