Hey Sell Outs, Kevin Rodgers here (again).
Wednesday, during our guys bible study at Ryan and Kealy's place we got into a discussion about marriage and sex. I won't go into details, but Ryan mentioned something that I later elaborated on that I thought was really cool.
We think of God as a trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All separate, but at the same time, all one and the same. I think the same should be said about marriage. The husband, the wife, and God. All separate, but all joined as one.
A long time ago, when Pastor Randy was leading the Monday night group, he was talking about marriage one night. He said you should always marry someone for their Godliness. I think this is what he was talking about. Marriage shouldn't be just a union of man and wife, but a godly man and a godly woman joined under God and through God, joining the three as one, a trinity of love.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
12 Instructions for being SOLD OUT!!
Hey guys, while reading Matthew 10 I wrote down 12 instructions from Jesus to his disciples as he sent them out into the world to preach the truth to all who would listen, so here they are.
1. Seek the lost (Matt 10:6)
2. Heal the sick (Matt 10:8)
3. Leave material values and worldly possessions behind (Matt 10:9)
4. Stay with worthy people(Matt 10:11)
5. Be careful of men (Matt 10:17)
6. Stand firm in Christ (Matt 10:22)
7. Never stop preaching the word (Matt 10:23)
8. Remember your place under God (Matt 10:24)
9. Don't be afraid of men (Matt 10:26)
10. Fear the Lord (Matt 10:28)
11. Always acknowledge God (Matt 10:32)
12. Pick up your cross and follow him (Matt 10:38)
These instructions were given to Christ's followers as he released them to the world to show his kindness, compassion, and love to all around them. These instructions were given years and years ago, but they still apply to us today. Everything we need to be completely Sold Out to him, like the ultimate sell outs of the bible!!
In Christ,
Courtney
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Fully divine, yet fully human
Hey Sell Outs, Kevin Rodgers here.
Ryan said something on Monday that I thought was awesome. He was talking about how we usually don't think about how Jesus, the son of God, though fully divine, was still fully human. He got tired, got hungry, got tempted by sin, and, of course, got hurt.
Jesus, at the last supper said "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God." (Luke 22:15-16) and "Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."(Luke 22:17-18). If he were just fully divine, he would have said "Here, I bless you with this food, eat, drink, and be merry." Instead he's saying "I EAGERLY want to SHARE this meal WITH YOU." Well, doesn't he still eagerly desire to spend time with us? He may not be able to sit down and chill with us at Starbucks for a mocha, but he's always there, EAGERLY desiring for us to quiet down our lives and focus on the wisdom he gives and how we can use it to grow closer to him. So do it.
Ryan said something on Monday that I thought was awesome. He was talking about how we usually don't think about how Jesus, the son of God, though fully divine, was still fully human. He got tired, got hungry, got tempted by sin, and, of course, got hurt.
Jesus, at the last supper said "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God." (Luke 22:15-16) and "Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."(Luke 22:17-18). If he were just fully divine, he would have said "Here, I bless you with this food, eat, drink, and be merry." Instead he's saying "I EAGERLY want to SHARE this meal WITH YOU." Well, doesn't he still eagerly desire to spend time with us? He may not be able to sit down and chill with us at Starbucks for a mocha, but he's always there, EAGERLY desiring for us to quiet down our lives and focus on the wisdom he gives and how we can use it to grow closer to him. So do it.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
in light of eternity....
so. here i am. posting a blog. oh, this is lindy by the way. and i'm not just posting because ryan asked me to :)...i've been thinking that i need to post this blog soon anyways.
so what God has really been driving home for me lately, starting even since jared died last february, is having an eternal mind set. it's like God's put toby mac's song loose my soul on repeat in my brain and it's been my sound track for life these last few weeks. and i actually LOVE it. :) especially this chunk...."Father God i am clay in your hands. help me to stay that way through all life's demands...i don't wanna gain the whole world and loose my soul."
when we try to grasp how tiny our lives here are on earth in the spectrum of eternity...it seems that we can basically take anything. how do our 100 (to be generous) measly years here on earth compare to the billions of trillions of melleniums of centuries of decades that we will spend in Heaven in the arms of Jesus with those we love most?
suddenly, we can handle the prospect of living our entire lifes as a missionary way easier! the idea of living in a strange, third world country away from those we love, eating weird foods, and using squaty potties the rest of our lifes isn't so scary. i mean we have all of ETERNITY to spend with most of the people we were away from (and then some) and to eat any kind of food we want, and if there will be no more squaty potties then why not? PLUS if we can reep rewards from our sacrifices on earth AND in Heaven? shoot, sign me up! skipping a few shopping sprees that we didn't need anyways isn't so intense...you can't take your mall bags with you anyways. hurt feelings and arguments fade faster and easier....i mean will we really remember them in Heaven anyways? we can handle the loss of a love one that much easier if we remember that they will meet up with us in Heaven. pain and sickness that we go through takes less of a toll on our attitude when we realize that our ETERNAL bodies will be perfect. even the nerd that talegates us and then cuts us off is less frustrating, because we won't be dealing with that. :)
even before ryan talked about this a few mondays ago, i've been really thinking and trying to make this a part of my life. when we have an eternal perspective, everything changes, or at least it should. the way we spend our time changes. the way we use our money changes. how much time we envest into service changes. the focus of our relationships change. the way we make small and little choices changes. our entire lifes change. the way we think, react, envest and spend like will be completely changed. if we let it, this an eternal mindset can completely turn our world upside down. and i believe that the eternal focus that Jesus lived out was one of the major keys to his ministry. and HE's the only man who lived just 33 years and yet 2,000 years later...his revolution still is alive and well. but it's up to us to keep it that way.
so what God has really been driving home for me lately, starting even since jared died last february, is having an eternal mind set. it's like God's put toby mac's song loose my soul on repeat in my brain and it's been my sound track for life these last few weeks. and i actually LOVE it. :) especially this chunk...."Father God i am clay in your hands. help me to stay that way through all life's demands...i don't wanna gain the whole world and loose my soul."
when we try to grasp how tiny our lives here are on earth in the spectrum of eternity...it seems that we can basically take anything. how do our 100 (to be generous) measly years here on earth compare to the billions of trillions of melleniums of centuries of decades that we will spend in Heaven in the arms of Jesus with those we love most?
suddenly, we can handle the prospect of living our entire lifes as a missionary way easier! the idea of living in a strange, third world country away from those we love, eating weird foods, and using squaty potties the rest of our lifes isn't so scary. i mean we have all of ETERNITY to spend with most of the people we were away from (and then some) and to eat any kind of food we want, and if there will be no more squaty potties then why not? PLUS if we can reep rewards from our sacrifices on earth AND in Heaven? shoot, sign me up! skipping a few shopping sprees that we didn't need anyways isn't so intense...you can't take your mall bags with you anyways. hurt feelings and arguments fade faster and easier....i mean will we really remember them in Heaven anyways? we can handle the loss of a love one that much easier if we remember that they will meet up with us in Heaven. pain and sickness that we go through takes less of a toll on our attitude when we realize that our ETERNAL bodies will be perfect. even the nerd that talegates us and then cuts us off is less frustrating, because we won't be dealing with that. :)
even before ryan talked about this a few mondays ago, i've been really thinking and trying to make this a part of my life. when we have an eternal perspective, everything changes, or at least it should. the way we spend our time changes. the way we use our money changes. how much time we envest into service changes. the focus of our relationships change. the way we make small and little choices changes. our entire lifes change. the way we think, react, envest and spend like will be completely changed. if we let it, this an eternal mindset can completely turn our world upside down. and i believe that the eternal focus that Jesus lived out was one of the major keys to his ministry. and HE's the only man who lived just 33 years and yet 2,000 years later...his revolution still is alive and well. but it's up to us to keep it that way.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Jer. 29:10-14 -- A quick look
Hey guys, quick thought about a well-known verse and its context.
Today I was reading Jeremiah 29, home of the famous verse 11 ("For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.")
To my surprise, I had not read that verse in its context before (or at least did not recall doing so). It’s pretty amazing on its own and even better when you read what’s around it. Ultimately, the passage (especially verses 10 through 14) is about persistence and faith that God has a perfect master plan, even if we don’t see it. By the way, this is from a letter written by Jeremiah to those who had been exiled to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. Check it out:
10 This is what the LORD says: "You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. 11 For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you," says the LORD. "I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land."
-Jer. 29:10-14, NLT
To me, the cool part of this passage is in verses 12 and 13, where God tells us that when we pray, He listens. And if we look for him (wholeheartedly, of course), we WILL find Him. Sometimes we might feel like He is distant or that we are not able to reach God, but this passage says He’s right there.
This concept can be applied to anything or any situation we encounter. It’s pretty cool that we have a God that listens to us and looks out for us.
Hope to see you tonight at Sold Out.
-Lee
Today I was reading Jeremiah 29, home of the famous verse 11 ("For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.")
To my surprise, I had not read that verse in its context before (or at least did not recall doing so). It’s pretty amazing on its own and even better when you read what’s around it. Ultimately, the passage (especially verses 10 through 14) is about persistence and faith that God has a perfect master plan, even if we don’t see it. By the way, this is from a letter written by Jeremiah to those who had been exiled to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. Check it out:
10 This is what the LORD says: "You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. 11 For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. 14 I will be found by you," says the LORD. "I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land."
-Jer. 29:10-14, NLT
To me, the cool part of this passage is in verses 12 and 13, where God tells us that when we pray, He listens. And if we look for him (wholeheartedly, of course), we WILL find Him. Sometimes we might feel like He is distant or that we are not able to reach God, but this passage says He’s right there.
This concept can be applied to anything or any situation we encounter. It’s pretty cool that we have a God that listens to us and looks out for us.
Hope to see you tonight at Sold Out.
-Lee
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The Impact of Music
Lee here... What's up Sell Outs?
I'm a firm believer that music has a way of speaking to me in ways that other things cannot. God gave music to us as a gift. Have you ever experienced a song that really hits home with you? I heard David Crowder say once that worship music allows us to articulate our faith. There are some times when the best way to explain why we do what we do as Christians is through a song.
Anyways, all of that leads me to this -- Last night there were two songs that came to mind that re-emphasized what God was teaching us through Ryan.
Ryan talked about how we often experience the desire to clean ourselves up before approaching God. Let's be honest here. That will never happen. Satan tries to get us to believe that we need to clean ourselves up before we go to God so then he can clean us more. Isn't God able to clean us up entirely, to take us in our imperfections and make us pure and whole again? The song that came to mind in regards to this is called "Come Ye Sinners." One verse touches directly on this idea:
"Come, ye weary, heavy-laden
Lost and ruined by the fall
If you tarry 'til you're better
You will never come at all"
God desires us to approach Him where we are at, sin and all. If we try to "clean" ourselves before doing that, we'll never go to God at all. We are essentially creating a standard of perfection, or at least improvement, that we will never reach on our own. Therefore, we never get to the point where we feel we're ready to approach God. It's all about allowing the Lord to carry our burdens. If we tarry (wait or delay), it's likely we will never even approach God to allow Him to work on us.
The other song touched on the idea of hiding in the strength of the Lord. Ryan termed it hiding in His robe. Some may think this is weakness -- hiding from the dangers that we encounter. However, there is no other source of strength that can empower us more than if we hide and dwell in God's presence.
When we had our quiet time last night, the song "In Your Presence" really captured that concept for me. These lyrics are really powerful:
"In Your presence, that's where I am strong
In Your presence, O Lord my God
In Your presence, that's where I belong
Seeking Your face, touching Your grace
In the cleft of the Rock
In Your presence O God
I want to go where the rivers cannot overflow me
Where my feet are on the rock
I want to hide where the blazing fire cannot burn me
In Your presence O God"
If we are in Christ's robe, in His presence, the fires and rivers we encounter cannot harm us.
These two songs emphasized that all we need to do (and all God wants for us to do) is run to Him wherever we are at and hide in his presence. He is a conqueror and we gain strength in His presence. After all, we are His children (you are a child of the King!), and one of the highest priorities for a father is to protect his children.
-Lee Clarkson
I'm a firm believer that music has a way of speaking to me in ways that other things cannot. God gave music to us as a gift. Have you ever experienced a song that really hits home with you? I heard David Crowder say once that worship music allows us to articulate our faith. There are some times when the best way to explain why we do what we do as Christians is through a song.
Anyways, all of that leads me to this -- Last night there were two songs that came to mind that re-emphasized what God was teaching us through Ryan.
Ryan talked about how we often experience the desire to clean ourselves up before approaching God. Let's be honest here. That will never happen. Satan tries to get us to believe that we need to clean ourselves up before we go to God so then he can clean us more. Isn't God able to clean us up entirely, to take us in our imperfections and make us pure and whole again? The song that came to mind in regards to this is called "Come Ye Sinners." One verse touches directly on this idea:
"Come, ye weary, heavy-laden
Lost and ruined by the fall
If you tarry 'til you're better
You will never come at all"
God desires us to approach Him where we are at, sin and all. If we try to "clean" ourselves before doing that, we'll never go to God at all. We are essentially creating a standard of perfection, or at least improvement, that we will never reach on our own. Therefore, we never get to the point where we feel we're ready to approach God. It's all about allowing the Lord to carry our burdens. If we tarry (wait or delay), it's likely we will never even approach God to allow Him to work on us.
The other song touched on the idea of hiding in the strength of the Lord. Ryan termed it hiding in His robe. Some may think this is weakness -- hiding from the dangers that we encounter. However, there is no other source of strength that can empower us more than if we hide and dwell in God's presence.
When we had our quiet time last night, the song "In Your Presence" really captured that concept for me. These lyrics are really powerful:
"In Your presence, that's where I am strong
In Your presence, O Lord my God
In Your presence, that's where I belong
Seeking Your face, touching Your grace
In the cleft of the Rock
In Your presence O God
I want to go where the rivers cannot overflow me
Where my feet are on the rock
I want to hide where the blazing fire cannot burn me
In Your presence O God"
If we are in Christ's robe, in His presence, the fires and rivers we encounter cannot harm us.
These two songs emphasized that all we need to do (and all God wants for us to do) is run to Him wherever we are at and hide in his presence. He is a conqueror and we gain strength in His presence. After all, we are His children (you are a child of the King!), and one of the highest priorities for a father is to protect his children.
-Lee Clarkson
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Pumpkin Painting Party!!!
Here's a look into the fun girl's night on Friday painting pumpkins and making pizzas!
Keep an eye out for more girl's events later this fall!!! See you at the SuperHero Film Festival!
Keep an eye out for more girl's events later this fall!!! See you at the SuperHero Film Festival!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Faith gives us "Undeserved privilege"
1) Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
2) Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
-Romans 5: 1-2 NLT (emphasis added)
I read these two verses the other night and was struck by verse two. "Undeserved privilege." It sums up a very basic idea of Christianity in that we don't deserve to be saved (think Romans 3:23). Yet, God loves us anyway. Amazing. And, Christ died for us anyway. Wow.
To me, this is a reminder that a relationship with God is an opportunity we have been given by Him -- because He WANTS it, not because of anything I've done. This isn't meant to be a negative, where we focus on our sinful nature and tendency to screw up that relationship. We're going to sin. If the Holy Spirit is in us, however, we will have the desire to steer away from sin as much as possible.
Bottom line -- this is a hope verse. God is patient with us. We have the opportunity to pick ourselves up after stumbling (with His help, of course) and "confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory."
-Lee Clarkson
2) Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
-Romans 5: 1-2 NLT (emphasis added)
I read these two verses the other night and was struck by verse two. "Undeserved privilege." It sums up a very basic idea of Christianity in that we don't deserve to be saved (think Romans 3:23). Yet, God loves us anyway. Amazing. And, Christ died for us anyway. Wow.
To me, this is a reminder that a relationship with God is an opportunity we have been given by Him -- because He WANTS it, not because of anything I've done. This isn't meant to be a negative, where we focus on our sinful nature and tendency to screw up that relationship. We're going to sin. If the Holy Spirit is in us, however, we will have the desire to steer away from sin as much as possible.
Bottom line -- this is a hope verse. God is patient with us. We have the opportunity to pick ourselves up after stumbling (with His help, of course) and "confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory."
-Lee Clarkson
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