Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Good Doctrine: The Best Thing for a Teenager


There are hundreds of strategies and ploy's to capture the heart and mind of the teenager and cultivate a disciple of Jesus Christ... but there is none that compare to the best strategy of all: teach them the Bible.

Time and time again I see the main distinguishing characteristic of a person who not only claims to be a Christian but also lives it out is that he or she is reading the Bible consistently and intentionally.

"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." - Joshua 1:8

Even more importantly I see the connection between accurately understanding Scripture with maturity and obedience in life. It is so crucial for us to have the discipline to consistently be in the Bible and to have the tools and know-how to be able to read a particular passage and understand what the author's intended meaning is!

"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." - 2 Timothy 3:16-17
The inspiration and inerrancy of God's Word is the root of our growth and maturity in Christ. Verse 17 begins with "that" which indicates the purpose or result of what was said in verse 16. The result of the fact that the Bible is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness is this: the Christian will be competent and equipped for every good work. What an amazing promise and hope that we have as God's children!

Two Kinds of Professionalism: Good and Bad

Although it is good and God-honoring to be professional in all that we do, there is an inherent danger that lurks just around the corner in our ministries. To get straight to the point, I think the imminent danger is the neglect of the spiritual. When we are focused on administration, logistics, to do lists, efficiency, budgets, advertisements, etc., it is easy to forget about WHY we are doing these things in the first place. That entire list is comprised of means: means to an end. What is the end of all those things? Ultimately, it should be the glory of God. If that isn't our end, then we should rethink what we are doing and why.

There is, however, a good type of professionalism. This is the mindset that I think is better labeled by the word "excellence." When we perform our jobs with excellence, or serve in the church with excellence, or lead our families with excellence, or study and memorize God's Word with excellence God is praised and glorified in us! And that becomes an open door to reach those around us for Christ.

May we do everything with excellence for the glory of God! And God keep us and guard us from cold professionalism in our ministries!

Saturday, September 01, 2007

Being Christian in Gadgetopia...

I am now a proud owner of a ipod nano... and my prayer is that I use this little device for the Glory of God!

You might have just asked yourself, "How can you use a nano for the Glory of God?!"

Here is my strategy:

1. Use the Nike+ application to help me get back into shape... which is definitely a part of glorifying God with our bodies!
2. While I run, I will listen to God-honoring music, scripture and sermons that I can get online (including guys like Jim Andrews, John Piper, etc.)
3. All the while be completely willing to give this little device up...Apple really knows what it's doing with these things... amazing stuff... but in no way necessary for my contentment or for my godliness


What a good practice to ask ourselves, "How can I glorify God with ______?"

May we use this criteria for all of our decision making!