So, I ran across this x-ray of my ankle [post-surgery] and I thought that I would share it with all of you.
I have a visit with my surgeon tomorrow, so I am hoping for good news.
Hope everyone has a great day!
josh
July 31, 2008
July 30, 2008
“The Divine Conspiracy”
Dallas Willard is one of my favorite authors. My favorite book of his to date is “The Divine Conspiracy,” which focuses on Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount.” Here is a excerpt that really challenged me:
“Anyone who is not a continual student of Jesus, and who nevertheless reads the great promises of the Bible as if they were for him or her, is like someone trying to cash a check on another person’s account. At best, it succeeds only sporadically. The effect of such continuous study under Jesus would naturally be that we learn how to do everything we do “in the name of the Lord Jesus”; that is, on his behalf or in his place; that is once again, as if he himself were doing it.”
This made me ask myself a couple questions.
Am I a student of Jesus? Am I learning to live and move in the world from him?
Do I do everything “in the name of the Lord Jesus”? Are my actions, thoughts, and words reflective of his?
I’d love to hear from you.
josh
July 29, 2008
How are you spending God’s investment?
This morning, I read a verse that I have read many times in my life, but it seemed to challenge me in a fresh way. The verse is 1 Peter 4.10:
“10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” {TNIV]
What challenged me was the assumption this verse makes. The writer says, “whatever gift,” the assumption being that every person has been entrusted with a gift of some sort.
Isn’t it mind-blowing to know that God has that kind of confidence in us? That he would invest in us and trust us to use what he has given us?
And “whatever” we’ve been given is to be used to serve other people. Not to serve ourselves or our egos. In this light, I have to ask myself, “Who is benefiting from what God has invested in me?” And to God there are no insignificant gifts or people. They are strategically disbursed to advance his Kingdom and make this world a more hopeful place.
So, what has God entrusted to you?
How are you spending God’s investment in your life?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
josh
July 28, 2008
Sunday Recap…
Yesterday at MCC we continued our summer series, “Bible Stories for Grown-ups” by talking about the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These three young Jewish boys had been taken from their homes, families and culture, and sent to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar to be taught and trained in the customs of Babylon.
Daniel chapter 3 tells their story. You can read it here.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to compromise their faith in God even in the face of king Nebuchadnezzar’s threats toward them. They did not bow to the golden statue, because they had already bowed to God.
Here are a few take a way’s from the teaching yesterday:
It’s easy to have faith when nothing is on the line. True faith is how you and I respond when all the chips are down.
“There is never a reason to violate the principles of God in order to maintain the blessings of God” [Andy Stanley]
There is always more on the line than we could possibly imagine. People are watching our response to difficult situations. A spouse, a child, a co-worker, a neighbor, someone is watching to see if there is anything to this “God-thing,” if it has any impact on our lives.
Our decisions in moments like these are not made in the moment, they are made ahead of time. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego made their decision to be faithful to their God way before Nebuchadnezzar and the golden statue came into the picture.
We are all going to face moments like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced. The question is how will we prepare ourselves now? What decisions are we making now so we are ready for the difficult moments ahead?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
josh
July 27, 2008
Sunday Morning
I am sitting in my office at about 8:20am [regardless of what crazy time the post says that I wrote this!] anticipating what the day will bring. I am staring down the barrel of a full day with two worship services, and Elders meeting, and our VBS celebration tonight. I know by the end of this day I will be exhausted.
At the same time, however, I am approaching this day with a hopeful heart. I am trusting God to do more today in me and through me than I could ever imagine. I am praying that he challenges and changes me today through our time of worship together.
How do you approach worship? Are you anticipating hearing from God, or are you simply attending a service.
Have a great Sunday.
josh
July 25, 2008
Friday!
Yesterday I mentioned that I used to love the 1960’s Batman series. Even though the old, campy Batman show doesn’t do much for me anymore, Batman is still my all-time favorite super hero (I think it’s the fact that he is an ordinary guy with no super powers).
So, as you can imagine, I have really been looking forward to the release of the new “Dark Knight” movie…which we are going to try to watch today. Not sure how it will work out with the whole broken ankle thing, but we’re going to give it a shot.
So, who is your favorite super hero, and why?
July 24, 2008
Duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh na BATMAN!
When I was a kid I loved the re-runs of the1960’s “Batman” show. I was always on the edge of my seat at the end of every episode when, once again, the Caped Crusader and Boy Wonder had fallen into the villain’s trap. Would they escape to fight crime another day? “Tune in tomorrow, same Bat time, same Bat channel.”
The suspense would almost drive me crazy. Twenty years later, the old Batman show is not as entertaining. Actually, it seems a bit silly. I guess I’ve outgrown it.
Last Sunday we began a series at MCC called “Bible Stories for Grown-Ups.” Our goal for this series is to take a fresh look at some of the Bible stories we all grew up with.
Why do we want to do that, you ask?
Because, as we grow up, we tend to look at the stories in the Bible as bedtime stories for kids. They are fun and they contain a good moral/lesson at the end. But for many of us, we have out grown the influence and impact of these stories. That is why it is so important for us to re-examine some of our favorite Bible stories, so that they can speak to us today in a relevant, fresh way.
So, two questions today:
1] What was your favorite show growing up?
2] What was your favorite Bible story growing up?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
josh
July 23, 2008
the long awaited photos…
WARNING: If you have a weak stomach, you may want to avoid the following post! Below are the pictures of my foot/ankle that i promised you all. When I first saw it, I thought it looked like something out of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
What do you think?
Enjoy.
July 22, 2008
welcome home mission team, welcome home…
Today is the day that our mission team arrives home from the Dominican Republic. I am so proud of our team who sacrificed and worked so hard to prepare for a trip where they sacrificed more, and worked even harder.
Their dedication and willingness to be inconvenienced for the sake of the gospel challenges me. In my life, I need to be willing to be inconvenienced to see the message of Jesus expand and change lives.
If you would like to read up a bit, see some pictures, or watch videos of the trip, check out the official MCC Mission Team blog.
Have a great day!
josh
July 21, 2008
Sunday Recap…
Yesterday at MCC we finally kicked off our summer series “Bible Stories for Grown-Ups”. For those of you who were there, you know that saying we “kicked it off” is a bit funny since I have a broken ankle, and I have not been kicking anything lately [except myself].
We began the series by talking about the story of David and Goliath, found in 1 Samuel 17. The big idea we took away was that, at some point in our lives, we are all going to have a giant/giants to face. They will be bigger than us. They will inspire fear in us. But, left unchallenged, these giants can ruin our lives.
We made two observations about courage:
1] Courage is not the absence of fear. Actually, fear is an opportunity to be courageous. People of courage move forward in spite of fear, not is absence of fear.
2] Courage is built on trust. We can be courageous because our hope and strength is not in our abilities, but in God. Like David said to Goliath, “The battle is the Lord’s.”
So, here’s today’s question: What giants have you identified in your life? What would a courageous person do with your giants?
