P.E.'s Blog

the culture of generosity

03/12/2012 14:41:00

Thinking about the person of God as He exists within the culture of our churches. Isn't it odd how we stress our need for God and then do everything to prove that we don't really need Him? What does it mean to be satisfied with Him? Philippians 4:13 is about the completeness of God in my life - not that I can be anything I want to be or do anything I want to do because Christ empowers me. That can only be assumed when me heart and mind are fully enmeshed with the heart and mind of Christ. "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." The prerequisite is that we delight in God. Seek first the Kingdom and then the needs are added to you. Be satisfied in God alone and He will continue to satisfy and sustain you.

But this is not the God of our church culture in America. We are as consumer-minded in the American church as the rest of our culture is. We just think ourselves righteous in being that way because it is for God and church. But it ought not to be this way. When we in any facet of our minds think it is o.k. to short change God in order to fulfill our earthly responsibilities, we are compromising the very principles of the Kingdom we say we stand for. That is not being satisfied. That is wrangling for more to benefit ourselves and our comfortable living and then telling God to get by without us at least for a time. If that is not Christian consumerism, I don't know what is. And this principle certainly starts in me individually. But my family is an outgrowth of me and so is my church. The principle of generosity is one of many of God's principles that changes us all from the individual to the holistic community.

Know God

03/05/2012 16:59:00

How well can we understand a God who is un-dimensional, boundless, Spirit, eternal, infinite? Can we make any head way with such a one who seems so untouchable, so unknowable? To think that there is not a way to know our God is to believe in what is called Deism. It is a belief that God is God and while He put us into place, that was the extent of His interest with us. Deism is not a Biblical view of God though. While many people have clung to this notion to make sense of God, it does not fit well with the way that God has revealed Himself throughout human history.

Ah yes, revelation. Revelation is the way that God shows us corporately or individually who He is. And revelation speaks largely against the constructs of Deism. If God is showing us Himself and His own works and attributes, how detatched is He after all? The reality of the Bible states in repeated fashion that God is very much involved with my plan and history and loves me enought, in fact to send His one and only Son to die on my account. As transcendent or "beyond us" as He is, He is still imminent or intimate with us and says, "Cast your cares upon Me."

Our society will look for many ways to explain away the incomprehensiblity of God, but we must see that despite the vastness of His being, it is not logic or sensibility that will help us to know Him, it is pure hands, a clean heart and faith in His revelationary word.

Be God's
eric Eph. 2:10

awe

01/18/2012 12:34:00

I had opportunity to spend four days in the nation's capital this past week. At one point I was with a small group of young men and ladies and with my daughter Olivia as we explored the Smithsonian Museum of American History. We were amused to see the original Kermit the Frog and the costume of Cat Woman from the Adam West Batman T.V. series. But there was one room that we were really excited to walk into - the Star Spangled Banner exibit. We walked into a darkened alley of history and pictures and made our way to the back of the room which was almost totally dark. And when we turned the corner... Just Awesome.

There in front of us was not the 6 x 8 Flag we imagined but a flag the size of my house. Tattered and torn from the wore, this very flag inspired the one song that I think I may sing almost as much as I sing "Blessed Be Your Name" - which my children would tell you is a lot. This humungoid sewn piece of history filled me and the others with awe. What a treasure!

That room would never again catch me off guard and unaware. I would know what to expect if I were to go back to that museum any other time. Yet, as we have been focusing upon why God is worthy of our awe and worship, I think about the numerous occasions that God time and again has filled me with that breath-taking bewilderment. A remarkable number of traits and names and actions that I read about in His Word, in the testimonies of others or that I see first hand seem to be new and more wonderous each peek I take and each revelation that is bestowed upon me.

We live in an awesome country with beauty and history like no place on earth. But we serve a God that is far superior to anything this earth can conjure up, sew, set to lyrics or display. Our God is an AWESOME GOD!

GOOD GRIEF! CHRISTMAS MORNING ON SUNDAY

12/28/2011 12:48:00

i imagine that for some church-going people, having Christmas on Sunday morn brought some conflict to our hearts. All the tradition of Christmas and Christmas Eve and all the hustle and bustle around on the actual day - my goodness, who has time for church on a Christmas morning.

It just so happens every once in a while that our dearly beloved Christmas falls upon a Sunday as it did this year. I was given the privelege of preaching both the Christmas Eve homily and the Christmas morning sermon. Did I mention that I have 5 children? Christmas is a very special time for my brood. We have over the years packed a lot of family tradition into the weeks and days leading up to and including Christmas - maybe a bit more than some.

We do the typical carroling with the youth, Kelly's Country Store for candy and going to see "Santa" at the train and hobby shop - even though Santa isn't held in high regard by many in the house :) ; we turn the kids loose at the flea market to get their presents for people that are on their mind, usually a Saturday or two before Christmas. This is of course combined with a Milton's hotdog and some sweets rolls from the bakery. We build a yule log and usually decorate it for our "Remembrance Time"before Christmas Day presents.

And it is always fun to go home after Christmas Eve service to get the Daddy gifts - special things that I pick out for each of them related to the building of our relationships - anything that reminds them of Dad and things they can do with Dad. With all this stuff packed in, who has the time for Sunday service?

Well we would never actually state that would we? But boy oh boy, there is that part of us that knows what the real priority of Christmas is...

I was blessed by my kids and by my church family this Christmas morning. Kathryn and I had non-verbally agreed to highlight the Sunday service and push back the emphasis on gifts. While we all like to do the gift thing - both giving and getting - that was not the center of what we as a family would be about this year.

We got up and had Sunday morning Christmas breakfast together. With my schedule, this not typically a reality on Sunday. We went to church together - really enjoyed the time together with our church family and then went home.

Now of course our kids were anxious for the presents under the tree, but they remained patient. We had a wonderful time around the fire place and talked about the blessing and forgiveness of Christ's birth, life, death and resurrection as we used the yule log activity to center us as a family. And then it was time for a greatly anticiapated gift time. And it was probably the most peaceful and enjoyable gift time we have had as a family - because it wasn't central. It some very real way, Sunday service made God central and all the other traditions became peripheral.

For that reason, I will look for a Christmas morning service each and every year, Sunday or otherwise. Consider the culture of your Christmas. Prioritize the true God and He will make His Gift ever more astounding.

OUR TIMES ARE AMAZING

11/09/2011 17:04:00

TIME TICKS ON...

IT IS AMAZING, THIS LIFE OF OURS.

IT IS SO INTRICATE AND YET IN SO MANY WAYS, SO HAPHAZARD.

TIME BRINGS THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF EMOTION, SPIRITUAL AWARENESS, AND FRIENDSHIP.

WITH EACH EBB AND FLOW OF LIFE, WE MUST LOOK TO THE HEAVENS FOR OUR SOURCE OF STRENGTH AND SUPPORT.

WITH EACH EBB AND FLOW WE MUST DIRECT OUR ATTENTIONS INWARDLY TO SENSE WHAT IT IS THAT WE ARE TO LEARN AND WHAT IT IS THAT WE HAVE MISSED AND THEREFORE, MESSED UP

THIS IS NOT TO CHASTISE OURSELVES SO MUCH AS IT IS KEEP OUR BEARINGS CORRECTLY POINTED.

FOR TIME IS NOT OUR FATHER, BUT THER IS ONE WHO IS SOVEREIGN OVER TIME AND ALL ELSE. AND HE IS NOT THERE TO CHASTISE US BUT TO LOVE US AND TO DRAW US INTO RIGHT LIVING ACCORDING TO HIS NATURE AND CREATIVE EXPECTATION.

X2 UPDATE 2012

10/26/2011 13:49:00

THE YEAR OF 2011 IS DRAWING TO A CLOSE SOON. WE HAVE ENTERED THE FINAL QUARTER OF THE YEAR - AND WHAT A YEAR IT HAS BEEN. SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO SAY THAT TO MAKE YOURSELF BETTER; SOMETIMES YOU STATE THAT THINGS ARE GOOD WHEN THEY ARE JUST GETTING BY.

BUT THIS YEAR HAS BEEN AND CONTINUES TO BE SPECIAL. WE HAVE LEADERSHIP IN THE VOLUNTEER RANKS THAT ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD. WE HONESTLY HAVE NEVER HAD LEADERS SO DEVOTED AND CONSISTENT AS THIS. AND WE CONTINUE TO BUILD AND GROW OUR TEAM.

WE ALSO HAVE ABOUT AS MANY STUDENTS IN OUR THREE NIGHTS OF MINISTRY AS WE HAVE EVER HAD. WHILE THERE IS AN ON-GOING DISCUSSION OF WHETHER WE HAVE NOT ENOUGH MINISTRY OR TOO MUCH MINISTRY TO YOUTH IN THE COURSE OF THE WEEK, IT SEEMS THAT MOST YOUTH ARE BOTH AND ENJOYING THE BALANCE AND RECEIVING MUCH SPIRITUAL AND SOCIAL BENEFIT FROM THE WEEKLY SCHEDULE.

WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR MORE PARENTS TO PARTICIPATE AND WOULD LOVE FOR MORE AND MORE WORKERS. THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT WE ARE BEING BLESSED WITH NEW STUDENTS AND MORE STUDENTS WEEK TO WEEK DUE TO OUR ABILITY TO TRAIN AND DISCIPLE MORE STUDENTS.

GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME.

BE GOOD, BE GOD'S,

Do you know me? Do you love me? Do you live in my power?

07/06/2011 14:56:00

To truly know Christ is to fall in love with Him.

In following, to truly love Him means your life is different than it was before knowing Him. Let me righ off state that I am not here to suggest I know exactly how you are going to look more like Jesus. I think that to go down that line is to head straight into legalism. But to assume that you can know and love Jesus and not look anything or act anything like Him is too liberal a thought as well.

Philippians 1:6 states that the work going on is a progress and continues till we see Him face to face in Heaven.

But don't undermine the role of sanctification in our lives. We are to be growing into the very likeness of Christ (II Cor. 3:18). The question then comes down to whether or not we know Christ or want to know Him.

So... do you?

If you do, your life shows it. If I do, my life shows it.

Be God's,
eric

a simple word on meekness

05/04/2011 13:12:00

The concept of meekness is what, I believe, set David apart as the Man after God's own heart. No other word was used by Jesus to describe himself. It reflects a servant's attitude (Phil. 2) who is willing to forego any position to accomplish what the master desires. It is a relinquishing of position and rights and is a mandatory character trait if you are going to look for a life like the Master's. Forgiveness flows from meekness. And so does confidence, authority and power.

Be God's,
Be meek,

eric

Generations of Responsibility

03/09/2011 14:18:00

So often as parents we state that we have done as much as we can to bring our children up in the way that they should go. And so, when things go badly with the behavior of our children we feel we have an escape from the responsibility of what our children do. Somehow, the fact that we have tried so hard to bring our children to Christ and to walk in Christ allows us to feel unresponsible for what our children do. But does that make sense? Let's think this through as spiritual people. Does it make sense that the child or student who has been given to me to raise up and to disciple, is anything more than what I and my spouse have poured into him? Now I am not talking about a one time occurance - a simple slip into sin that takes place in all our lives. I am talking about a life of sin for a season. How does one come to that place where sin seems acceptable to us if it is not in some way show to us by our parents.

In my estimation, we are, as children, the sum total of what our parents pour into us. Yes, teachers, peers, and other outward sources like T.V. have their effect upon us, but only as much as our overseers, disciplers and guardians permit. Too often Christian parents throw up their hands in resignation to the concept that the world is too strong an opponent to overcome. When in reality it is time to realize that it is the world and the flesh that we as parents are foremost given the responsibility to protect our children from. To not win that war is to give up everything. We must see this as our highest goal to achieve. But it starts by taking a firm hold of the responsibility for the way our children act.

This doesn't mean that we now have a different person to point fingers at. And it doesn't at all mean that the children who err are not to have the consequences of such sin. This means that enough is enough. Christian parents can no longer wag their fingers and shake their heads at their children for being exactly what we taught them to be.

No you may have not shown them how to rebel against their teachers, but your gossiping mouth has left its mark. You may not have threatened someones life, but you show disrespect to your spouse. It matters not what our sin is, it is simply that we do sin; and to blow that off as though it isn't going to affect our kids is just plain lying to ourselves. The sin I see in my children, derives itself from my sin. I show them every day how to sin in one way or the other. The question is, do I show them how to be right before God? Do I disciple them? Do I teach them the consequences of sin in my life so that they will avoid sin in thier lives? Which do I do with more fervor? The answer to that will always show up in the way my children act in an on-going manner. Seize the Day. Can the Culture!

acts of contrition

03/01/2011 09:40:00

It is typical in today's world to defend your poor choices to the end or to blame them on all kinds of other people around you or to refuse to see that your sin was a sin at all. We have seen some wonderfully contrite hearts at X2 in recent days. God is greatly at work in the lives of some students who certainly did some bad choosing. It is not for us to get them to feel badly. For some who knew they were walking down a road that was not right and never spoke up, the responsibility hangs just as heavily. If we are going to be brothers and sisters in Christ then, helping to keep each other pure is as much our responsibility as it is theirs. If they refuse to listen that is different; but rarely do we want to look like that person who attempts to get in the way of other's sin. If we can learn anything from the lesson of Cain and Able, it is that we are to be our brother's keeper. We are to look out for the spiritual and physical welfare of our friends and family. It is crazy for someone to know that someone is walking head long into sin, not say or do anything and then be arrogant and self-righteous about it.

A broken and contrite heart the Lord will not despise or turn away. So far from what I can tell, God is pleased with the heart-felt repentance and sorrow over sin that has been expressed by some in our ministry. God's grace is sufficient to cover it all; if we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us.

Just one more way to be God's,

p.e.