Make Every Effort

I just posted this to Saddleback's Internet Campus Blog.

Occasionally I like listen to sermons by pastors at other churches and recently I heard a sermon based on 2 Peter 1:5-8. After hearing the sermon I decided to go read the whole passage for myself. After reading it I felt that I should share it with you.

 

2 Peter 1:3-11 states: "3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to 3 his own glory and excellence, 4 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, 5 and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities 6 are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, 7 be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (ESV)

 

As I read this I noticed the progression starting in vs. 5 where Peter states "Make every effort to" and then goes on to list out things that we should be striving for. If you will notice he starts with faith, which is where we all begin. Then he ends in vs. 8 stating that we will grow and be effective in our faith if we continue to do these things. So what are they?

 

1. Faith

2. Virtue

3. Knowledge

4. Self-control

5. Steadfastness

6. Godliness

7. Brotherly affection

8. Love

 

If you are anything like me you like to have specific things you can strive for. In this passage (and list) we are given specifics to strive after. So next time you are looking for something to work on try applying yourself to these standards and see which area you need to work on. However please know that these are not things you attain once and then forgotten about. You need to constantly be striving for them. 

 

If you would like more information on growing spiritually check out the Spiritual Growth Center. 

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Unplug

I just posted this to Saddleback's Internet Campus blog and wanted to share with you.  Sometime during the past few weeks I came across the image below and I wanted to share the concept it relates. It is the focus of a webpage (http://analogsunday.com/). There actually isn't much to the webpage. Just the title and a short description about the goal of Analog Sunday. In our modern world we do not unplug very often, we are constantly connected to the entire world. Constantly being connected has an impact on our souls. It does not allow time for reflection or for God to speak. We are always on the go because we constantly need to respond to what is happening. We are not allowed the freedom to get lost on a Saturday or just spend time with our closest friends without the possibility of being interrupted. Because of our constant connection people assume they should be able to get a hold of us at any moment. In our overly connected society we do not experience the freedom to breathe. We are not allowed the opportunity to drink deeply from the fountain of life, Jesus Christ. If you have read some of my other posts you will know I am in favor of you getting away or slowing down. I want you to hear something and hear me loud and clear. You are free to get space and unplug. You can remove yourself from the technological society occasionally. Now this doesn't give you the freedom to ditch your commitments but you can start to build this into your life. Build in a time of intentional disconnection. Now may you experience the freedom of disconnection. May it be a time where Christ encounters you in a new way. May it be a place where you experience refreshment.  If you would like more information on growing spiritually check out the Spiritual Growth Center.

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Ash Wednesday

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend an Ash Wednesday service at a Lutheran Church. I think this was the first time I had ever been to an Ash Wednesday service. These types of services are something people in the low-church (Non-Liturgical) denominations often miss out on. To prepare for the period of Lent the service focused on the ash that was placed on our foreheads, for we are dust and to dust we shall return, but it does not end there. At the end of Lent we will celebrate the resurrection of Christ and with him our future resurrection. While we are dust that is not the final story about us. There is one statement I wanted to share with you that the pastor said. He said "Who you follow will dictate how you follow." This statement is very profound. When we have an accurate picture of who Jesus is we can follow him accurately. During this period of Lent you might want to take sometime and focus on who Jesus is. Let's be honest here, Jesus is the point of Lent, not us giving things up or doing additional things. Jesus is the focus. I hope as you focus on Jesus you will have a more accurate picture of who he is.

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Flee

I found this video today and I thought it portrayed a very important concept well. I am going to read into this film possibly beyond what the director, producer, writer, or anyone else that worked on the film intended (but that is the beauty of the postmodern interpretation of art; you get to add your own interpretation). In this film the young man is fleeing from the man in black. He doesn't try to resist him. When he realizes something is up he takes off. This is something we need to do with temptation. The Bible calls us to flee certain temptation, not resist them head on. We are called to flee from sexual immorality, idolatry, love of money, and evil desires of our youth. So often in life we attempt to resist temptation instead of fleeing from it. We need to flee from those temptations. We are however called to resist the Devil. As you think about this video and this concept use it as an example to follow in life. Do not be afraid to flee, it is what God called us to.

 

<object width="400" height="225"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7152063&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7152063&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="225"></embed></object><p><a href="">Nocturne</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/laforet">Vincent Laforet</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

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Flee

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Preparing for Success

I just posted this to the Internet Campus blog for Saddleback. 

This week I spent time learning from Peter Scazzero in a large class setting at Radicalis (the Latin term for Roots), a conference we had at Saddleback. Peter is known for writing Emotionally Healthy Spirituality. On the first day he shared with us about setting up Daily Offices. A Daily Office is something monks do throughout the day to call them to prayer. For several years Peter has practiced these in his life and they have had a tremendous impact on his relationship with Christ. Peter encouraged us to add these to our lives as well so that our relationship with Christ might flourish. He suggested we practice three Daily Offices. To do that we would stop, pray and reflect on God three times a day. If you are like me your first thought probably was "How on earth am I supposed to remember to do that three times a day?" As I thought about it I realized something, I needed something to help me succeed at this. I needed something to remind me to practice the Daily Office at the right time. So I decided I would set three alarms on my phone to remind me each day to stop, pray and reflect on God. Each day at 8AM, 12PM and 7PM my phone reminds me to practice my Daily Office.

If there is one thing I have noticed in life it is you can help yourself succeed or fail (Why do you think musicians and athletes practice so much? They want to succeed). In life we need to prepare ourselves for success not failure. And that is what I want to encourage you to do. If you want to pray more find ways to remind yourself, whether it be your phone, Outlook on your computer, or note cards. If you want to know more Scripture then write it everywhere or read your bible more, maybe both. If you want to overcome an addiction get help, don't try to do it on your own. If you want to spend more time playing with your kids get rid of Cable or Satellite Television. I don't know what you want to accomplish in your life but I know with God and wisdom you can succeed. When we combine God's help and wisdom we can succeed at a lot. Setting ourselves up for success is a way of exercising wisdom.

Now may you find power in God and wisdom to overcome or succeed at the task before you. If you want additional tips or help for succeeding at your relationship with Christ check out the Spiritual Growth page.

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A Different Perspective

It isn't very often that people in America get a chance to see pollution that is found in other countries around the world. I found this picture of pollution going on in China, more can be found at here. The amount of pollution is scary. Use this as an opportunity to be thankful that our country does at times regulate what we produce. 

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Slow Down

This is a blog I wrote for the Saddleback Internet Campus Blog (http://saddleback.com/blogs/internetcampus/). So I decided I'd share it with you too.

Slow Down! If you've ever been pulled over for speeding, these are the words you dread. You’ve been caught and you know it. You just hope he wasn’t paying attention to exactly HOW FAST you were going, or maybe he’ll be nice and let you off with this simple warning… Maybe.

In life there is seldom someone telling you to slow down until it's too late. You fill your life till it doesn’t have any space. You are constantly on the go. If you are like me you like the fact that you are constantly busy. You don’t know what to do when you have free time. It is weird to not have anything to do. So when I tell you what I am about to tell you I am also telling myself. Remember how I said we don’t have anyone to tell us to slow down. Guess what? Now you do. SLOW DOWN!!!

When we look at the life of Jesus we will notice he always moved at a deliberate pace that rarely involved rushing to something. He didn’t even rush to save Lazarus from death. I for one think he knew what he was doing. Do you? If Jesus is our example, maybe we should follow his lead.

We need to slow down.

This is a simple habit we can develop that will aid us greatly in the end.. If we put this habit into practice we will be less stressed out, we will have deeper relationship, we will have greater patience, we will see what really matters, and most importantly we will have a better relationship with God.

I know all the practical people out there are thinking “What does this look like or require of me?” It is simple really. Next time you are at the grocery store go to the longest line, not the shortest. Next time you schedule something give yourself more than 15 minutes to get there, i.e. don’t have back to back appointments. Next time you find yourself with an opening in your calendar, use it to relax, whatever that looks like for you (and if you don’t know what that looks like, figure it out). Next time you are sitting in traffic don’t change lanes, just sit there. Next time you are looking for something to do with a loved one go to the park watch the clouds. Next time you find yourself with a day off commit to spending some of that time with God reading your Bible or talking with him (i.e. praying).

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