Sometimes I Just Want to Close My Eyes

I was driving down the road the other day to a large department store in Central, and I always pass this one church that tends to have very harsh signs. One sign said, "No Halloween here we love Jesus not Satan!" another said "We won't be watching the superbowl tonight! We're having church!"

Both of these events could have been used to bring people into the church. How about you have a superbowl party watch the game and invite people? Can't you have church while watching the game? Has church really been categorized by preaching from the pulpit and hymn singing only? How said is this?!

At any rate, from time to time I catch things on the sign where I just want to close my eyes. However, as you will see in the photos below there are times when it is obvious that a Church is being mislead and desperately needs to encounter Jesus before they decide to preach His Gospel.



I'm not advocating Calvinism. As a matter of fact, I would never preach five point Calvinist theology. However, I love my brothers and sisters who are Calvinist... because I know that they are first Christian. What I would like to point out is that it is important that when the rubber meets the road we are united as the body of Christ in ministry.

For a good laugh, a scratch on the head, or possibly an immediate rise in blood pressure please scroll down and to read the other side of the sign.
"If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. " Mark 3:25

What do you think?

Future Posts

It's been a while since I really sat down and posted. Within the next few weeks I hope to have a few more topics. Soon to come:

"Passionate for the Christ"
"Called by God"
"Setting an Example: The importance of Integrity"

Questions

I've always been very competitive. It seems like even when I was a child I always wanted to either win the race or steal a base. I always wanted to win, and I never wanted to wait to do it.

People have asked me for advice and I use to try to give them the answers. “Oh, you should do blah blah blah and everything will work out.” Then I find out there is more to the picture and my advice was about as effective as the Clemson offensive line against Virginia Tech. I had to learn to see the whole picture. I had to learn to analyze situations and assess it according to Scripture rather than by my own rational.

I have had to learn to sometimes say, “I’m not sure what the right answer is.” To be honest, sometimes there is no right answer… sometimes there is no answer at all. My dad and I have this saying, “Don’t bother to ask a question that you know there isn’t an answer to.”

Kids always ask great questions:

Q: Why is the world round?

A: God likes tether balls and wanted one of His own.

Q: Why did God make the sky blue?

A: Because He knew one day the Tar Heels would be the same color and He likes them.

Then they ask harder questions:

Q: Why do people get cancer?

Q: Why are there children in Africa with AIDS?

Q: Why don’t they have clean water in Zimbabwe?

These are all questions with an answer. We live in a fallen world. We live in a world that has been corrupted by sin. When sin entered the Garden of Eden things would never be the same again. Since that day the world has experienced violence, famines, natural disasters, and separation from God.

Q: What is the solution?

A: Christ Jesus.

It is only through Christ that the world may be reconciled with its Creator.

The time has come to stop asking why… and start asking… how?

How can I help children with AIDS in Africa?

How can I provide clean water in Zimbabwe?

How can you help?

What will you do?

Why are you waiting?

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Here are a few links to provide answers:
http://www.worldvision.org/get_involved.nsf/child/hope_home
http://www.umcsc.org/africa/africainitiative.html

Quality Time with Family

Yes, my parents have a 360. No, I do not have one. Yes they have Halo 3. No, I don't have it. Yes, I am visiting them often.

SYATP

Yesterday, September 26, wasn't about the new release of Halo 3, or about the coldest morning since last winter, it was See You at the Pole. Now I realize that there are some of you that are reading this that were asleep at 7am. However, there were approximately 100 local high school students that rolled out of bed an hour early to stand at their flag pole and pray.

It was good to see the youth gathering together unified as the body of Christ. There were no adults leading the prayer. No youth pastors that were leading the songs. Everything was done by the student body.

It is exciting to see that there are so many youth that are willing to make a sacrifice for God. It might only be an hour of sleep, but it was an hour of warm, cozy sleep. These students went from their warm bed to a cold air and dew soaked grass to pray for their schools as a united student body... as a united part of the body of Christ.

Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young,
but set an example for believers in speech,
in life,
in love,
and in purity.
-1 Timothy 4:12

Water

I'm not sure what it is, but recently I have this desire to go and enjoy a lake, river, or even a small pond.

As I've reflected, I think back to the times when Christ went away to have time alone near the water. In Mark, Jesus teaches by the lake, and is even found sleeping while in a boat. There is something about the peace that comes with being on the water. It's like... you are standing on the edge of adventure.

What is on the other side?

Will I make it to the other side?

What will it be like once I get in the water?

I find myself asking these questions in my day to day living. Where will God lead me in ministry? What does the next semester of ministry hold? What does the next week hold!? I'm not sure, but I know that it won't be a boring journey. As a matter of fact, I know it will be exciting. My prayer is that God will teach me while I am pursuing His vision, that He will guide me, and that I will be successful reaching the other side.

Convicted

It was a night at Sonic with some friends. We'd just left the Junior/Senior banquet and were searching for ice cream. So there we are... a group of about six sitting on the benches outside of Sonic with our floats, tots, and shakes... dressed to kill.

As always, someone drives into the parking lot going way too fast when they scrape the bottom of their car on the speed bump. We all laughed. (1) Because it was funny, and (2) I've done it before. As the car came around the drive through, I noticed that a piece of the weather stripping under the car had been pried loose under the front bumper. As I took a closer look, I noticed that it was actually dragging on the road. I asked a friend, "Do you think I should tell them?" After all, (not that I look down on women drivers) but it was a car full of girls. And, in my experience, most girls aren't car literate (as a matter of fact most guys only act like they are). And, with as loud as I know a group of girls can get... I was wondering if they would even hear the scrapping of the plastic before it came loose and hit another car or got caught in their tire.

As this car of girls is sitting at a red light in Clemson, I am wondering, "Should I run into the intersection to tell these girls (who will probably laugh at me.. or even mace me) that they have a four foot piece of plastic dragging under their car?" Comments began being made by my friends "They'll be fine", "It's no big deal", and I began to reason that they were right. But one comment stood out:

"If God is telling you to tell them, then you better do it. Otherwise, you'll think about it all night because you ignored it."

That's all it took. I ran across the parking lot, signaled them to roll down their window, the light turned green, I only had a moment, but I got it out "You've knocked a piece loose on the bottom of your car!!" They looked at me like I was crazy. After all, I was in the middle of a street, holding up traffic on a Friday night in Clemson, and to top it all off... I'm wearing a suit at the Sonic drive-in.

It doesn't matter how silly I looked or felt. I slept great that night. I knew that even though it was something small, I had done what God expected me to do. I mean, if I had knocked a part loose on my car I would hope that someone would tell me. I only did what I would expect of someone else, but that's what we're suppose to do. There are times when I have ignored that voice that says "Go," and I have wrestled with God for that decision for sleepless, agonizing hours of asking "What if?"

Don't ignore God. When we speak to Him, He listens. Now it's our turn. Listen. Respond.