Who is Perfect?

   When I say the word “religion” what do you think of? You may think of worshiping a god or gods. You may think of sacrifices. You may even think I don’t believe in god.

   Well, I do not know much about other religions out there, though I am doing some research. But, I do know that there are people out there who believe in multiple gods. Or, they may even think they are a god. Well I want to point out some things to those people. I’m going to do this by focusing on religion/stories I know well: Greek Mythology.

   The way the universe began was kind of freaky in Greek Mythology. But, that’s not what I am focusing on. I’m going to fast forward to the Greek gods and their areas of interest.

   First up is the king of all the gods in Greek Mythology: Zeus. Zeus is the lord of the sky. There are times when he could be a pretty good guy. Like when he was judging certain cases, looked out for homeless people, and made sure mortal rulers didn’t abuse their positions. But, all in all Zeus was not the best example. He had many affairs, did things that would benefit him not others, and loved to get revenge. Zeus was far from perfect.

   Next is Hera. She was the queen of the gods. She was faithful to her husband, protected married women, and was a patron of childbirth. But, Hera also was extremely jealous (she killed many of her husband’s girlfriends), had an attitude problem, tried to upstage her husband (she led a revolt against him), and threw her own child off a mountain. Hera was also far from perfect.

   Finally, I am going to tell you about an unknown god in Greek Mythology. This god created heaven and earth. This god is a jealous god. He chose a specific group to bless the human race. But, that group did not remain pure and fell away from him. So, this god sent his only son down to earth to become a human. This god’s son was blameless and pure. His son became the perfect sacrifice in order to mend the relationship between god and man. Now all men can choose to accept this god’s son into their hearts and have eternal life.

   Obviously, this unknown god I am talking about is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Paul makes reference to him in Acts 17. See, every other “god” or, “gods” is imperfect in some ways. These fake gods require humans to do things for them. These gods get more power from humans. In fact, if humans didn’t worship these gods then they wouldn’t exist, except maybe in stories like Greek Mythology.

   However, even if no one worshiped God he would still exist. He is perfect, all knowing, loving, judging, and so much more. This is the message we need to remember and spread. So many people are out there worshiping gods who do not hear them, or care about them. We need to help others know the truth.

   So, do you believe that God is perfect? Do you know that he is the only God? Do you know that God cares for you? Are you spreading the gospel to others and telling them that God cares for them?

   Matthew 5:48, Romans 5:8, Isaiah 44:6, 1 John 5:21

Christmas From the Perspective of a Child

   Last Christmas Eve I sat in the back of my church watching all the people walk in. it was dark except for the Christmas lights up front and the light from the candles around the church. Before the service started I was reading, but then I looked up. I saw one of my preschoolers. She looked at me shyly, put one hand up to her mouth, and the other hand quickly grabbed for her mother’s hand. Her mom said, “look it’s Miss Scheuing. Are you going to say hi?” Quickly the little girl looked up at me and said “hi.” I smiled at her and said “hi, Merry Christmas.” Her family then sat in the pew diagonally in front of me.

   The service then began. During the service the little girl kept looking back at me. She also looked around the church. Finally I saw her staring at the manger. Her eyes seemed to be filled with wonder and excitement. I heard her ask her mom: “where is the baby Jesus?” Her mom explained that Jesus was coming the next day.

   I couldn’t help but smile at her childlike wonder. Here was a child not asking about when Santa was coming; but asking when Jesus was coming. I marveled at the innocence and wonder this child had on Christmas Eve. And then I wondered, when did I lose that innocence and wonder?

   I don’t know about you but I feel like sometimes we take the Christmas season and story for granted. We forget to have Childlike wonder toward a story that is the reason why we are saved. I feel like it is a sad fact that people forget the reason for the season; and how important it is that Jesus came. Because, without the manger and Jesus’ birth there would be no cross, without the cross there would be no tomb, without the tomb there would be no resurrection, without the resurrection there would be no salvation, and without salvation there would be no need for the second coming of Christ.

   We need to look at the Christmas story with wonder because it began the climax to the greatest story in history.

   So, how have you been viewing the story of Jesus’ birth? Do you still have childlike wonder when it comes to stories in the Bible?

   Matthew 18:3, Isaiah 9:6, Luke 2:7

Balancing Opposites

   What do all of these things have in common: sadness and happiness, brave and scared, and good and bad? If you said they are opposites you are correct. The neat thing about opposites is that you need to have both in order to appreciate the other.

   Let me give you an example. Let’s say I was at the park and that I was learning how to ride my bike. My parent is holding onto the bike for a while but then they let go. I balance for ten feet and then fall and scrape my knee. I just went from being joyful to being sad. But, after my parents clean up my cut, I get back on my bike. My parent holds the bike for a little and then lets go again. This time I stay up on the bike. Now I am happy because I have overcome the scrape. I know how to ride a bike; and it would not have felt as good without the struggle.

   Opposites can be annoying but they do help us appreciate everything in life. Some people wonder why there are so many bad things happening in the world if God is so good. The answer is sin. Sin has entered the world and a lot of bad things happen. People get hurt, lose their homes, lose money, etc. But, out of the ashes of those bad things, good happens. When we overcome struggles we appreciate all the blessings we have in life.

   It also makes me think about the saying that opposites attract. That’s why we all have different personalities; because, it would be a very boring world if everyone acted the exact same way. And, when you think about couples, there is usually one person who is more outgoing than the other and that is okay.

   My final thought about opposites comes from Bambi 2. There is a song in the movie called There is Life. The song goes something like this: “After the rain, the sun reappear, there is life, after the pain, the joy will still be here, there is life, for it’s out of the darkness, that we learn to see, and out of the silence, that songs come to be.”

   So, are you ever tempted to focus on all of the bad in the world instead of the good? Are you thankful for all of the struggles in life because they help you appreciate the good?

   John 16:33, Revelation 21:4, Psalm 18:2

Living Every Day as if it is Your Last

   “I’ll get to it tomorrow.” “I have a few days to get that done.” “I can’t make it home for the holidays.” “I will tell them thank you and I love them some other time.” These are things I hear a lot of people say nowadays. We all think we have all the time in the world. Young people are willing to wait to do things because they think they have more time to live. But, is that really true?

   Psalm 139:16 says: “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every on of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” Before we were ever born God knew what would happen in our lives. He knew every possible event that would occur in our lives. He knows when we will graduate, when we will get married, and…when we will die.

   See, sometimes people do not get a chance at tomorrow. On December 19, 2016 a Lancaster Bible College Charger went home to be with the Lord. Alyssa Bowen was killed in an accident that morning. While I did not know Alyssa personally, I know that a lot of lives were touched by her. In times like this people may wonder why God would let something like this happen. I honestly do not know, but God does know. And, it can be a good lesson for us.

   We really do not know how many days we have left on this earth. As we get older we know that our time on this earth is drawing to a close. But, even if we are young our lives can be taken away in the blink of an eye. A good friend of mine once said at the end of every email “live every day as if it is your last.”

   So, my challenge to all of you is to remember that we never know when we will be called home to be with the Lord. When you have the chance to do something nice for someone you love, will you do it even if you don’t feel like doing it? If you get the chance to do something fun, or out of your comfort zone will you do it? Will you work hard to reflect God’s glory every day you have breath on this earth?

   Psalm 139:16, Job 14:5, Ecclesiastes 3

   P.S. If you could all be praying for the Bowen family and those who knew her it would be appreciated.

Is God Really at Work in Your Life?

   Over the last year I have gone on a journey. Throughout this whole journey God has been with me, and I am so thankful. As stated in previous blogs, every year was a question as to whether or not I would play soccer. The only years I was sure I would play was my sophomore year and my senior year. This is the story of why I was sure about my senior year.
   My Junior year of soccer I really did not want to be there, but it had been clear that God had called me to play. There were a lot of issues that year because I did not want to be there, but the team needed me. After three quarters of the season my outlook on soccer began to change. I started to actually want to be there. At the end of the season I had decided that I really wanted to play soccer one final year. But, that presented some problems.
   When I had my meeting with the coach she was overjoyed that I wanted to play. Before I could play I had to talk with my supervisor for education because I was to be student teaching that semester. In the Spring I went to my professor and she said “if this is what you really want we can make it work.” She wanted me to think about it, and pray about it. I told her I would think about it for a week. Some issues arose during that week but I made a promise and I told her I wanted to play. My professor, coach, and I had a meeting. During that meeting we decided that the best option for me was to do my first student teaching placement while everyone else who was student teaching would be doing their second placement. I agreed that it would be difficult for me to focus on student teaching and soccer at the same time. Then the placement professor got working on my placements.
   When soccer finally rolled around I had to miss two days of preseason because I was in student teaching orientation. My professor explained my situation to the other student teachers. Then she reminded me that I would need to prepare my heart for what was to come. I’m not going to lie, it was hard at first. My whole college experience had led up to this point and I was sitting on the sidelines while other people were teaching. But, I now know that if I would have been student teaching and playing soccer at the same time I would not have been able to do my best in either of those activities.
   I went on playing soccer, getting to know my teammates, and improving my goalie skills. Then I found out from a former employer that the cooperating teacher I was supposed to have first got cancer. I started to get worried a little but the whole experience had taught me that I need to trust God. I told my professor and he contacted the school. I did not know it, but my third grade teacher had contacted the principal and said she would be willing to take me on as her student teacher. I was so excited and thankful when I found this out. I started jumping up and down.
   And, the rest is pretty much history. My soccer team had an overall record of 16-7. I have now completed my first placement as a student teacher. I graduated yesterday. Through this whole experience I have seen God at work in my life.
   So, if any of you may be doubting that God has a plan for your life hopefully this story encourages you. I implore you to think about what has been happening in your life. How have you seen God at work? If you do not see him at work directly, are you willing to trust him anyhow?

   Proverbs 3:5-6, Proverbs 16:9, Romans 8:28

Church Wars

A long time ago in a land far far away the Roman Empire took over Israel. There is unrest in the Empire and the Jews are waiting for the promised Messiah.

In a stunning move God sent his only Son down to be that Messiah. Jesus died on the cross, was laid in a tomb, and rose after three days.

The followers of Jesus became the Church. The Church knew that Jesus said he would be coming back for them. So the Church began to spread the gospel; and the people of the Church had no problems dealing with one another as they had church services and spread the gospel...

   Ha! That's not what the Bible says. And, that is not how things are today.

   There are many churches out there and they all have their own traditions, styles, and set up. But, there are at least two things every church has in common. 1. The church believes that Jesus came to die for our sins (at least all churches should believe that). And 2. Every church has problems that will arise.

   I have been to many different churches. Some of them I am able to see some problems while I am there. A few churches I have been to are more conservative in their style. They sing hymns, are set in their traditions, and are devout believers. But, some of the churches are starting to move into more of a contemporary style of music. I noticed, at those churches, that some of the people do not like that.

   And, thus Church Wars begins. Many people in the younger generation like to sing the contemporary songs. I too enjoy contemporary praise and worship songs; but I appreciate the message behind the hymns.

   Some people in those conservative churches may say I am a rebel because I want newer songs. But, I respect the choices those churches make to sing hymns. Now, you know how the Bible says to take the log out of your eye before you take the splinter out of someone else’s eye? Yeah, well one of those conservative churches played a contemporary song that most people did not know. And, the result was that some people didn’t even listen to the song! They just sat there, didn’t look at the lyrics on the screen, and talked with one another.

   Different people are reached in different ways. I cannot tell you how many times I have been reached by a song that I didn’t like the style of music that much, but the lyrics touched me. We need to stop focusing on the differences we have in styles and traditions; and start focusing on being a united front for Christ.

   If the Church does not change their tactics then we will not reach as many people. We don’t have to change the message (Jesus Christ is Lord); we just need to change how the message is delivered. There are so many new venues we can use to reach others. Powerful movies have been created by Christians to spread the gospel. Rap songs, rock songs, books, radio stations, and so many more things have been created in order to spread the gospel. We need to use this ways to reach others; and not scoff at people who are different from us. God loves everyone; and he wants everyone to be saved.

   So, have you become part of the problem in the church? Are you focusing too much on how things in your church are not your style? Have you tried to see the value in the way that others are spreading the gospel?

   1 Corinthians 12, Matthew 28:19, Matthew 7:5

When Did it Become About Me, Instead of We?

When did it become about the me,

Instead of the we?

When did Christians become hypocrites?

And people who love glitz?

Why do we have people in church?

Who are sitting there like they are on a perch?

Why do people just go through the motions?

Instead of spreading the gospel across oceans?

When did it become less action

And more of I want satisfaction?

We weren’t promised a perfect life,

So when things don’t go right why do we feel so much strife?

Why can’t we remember the reason we are here?

Or do we forget because of fear?

We choose to disobey,

And cause disarray.

But when life gets hard,

We choose to cry out to God cuz we drew the wrong card.

God isn’t a genie,

But when we treat him like one and don’t get what we want we call him a meany.

God has never changed,

It is us who have made the world and our lives estranged.

He is the truth,

There’s no need to go lookin for proof.

God chose to love,

Instead of lookin at us like we were something to be disposed of.

We deserve death,

But instead God gave each of us breath.

So what are we gonna do with the life he gave?

Will we live for ourselves till we go to the grave?

I’m tired of just sitting back,

While other people live in a shack.

We were meant to be God’s hands and feet,

It don’t matter if you are a garbage man or an athlete.

Cuz he lets us be a part of his story,

Ain’t it great to reflect his glory?

So isn’t it about time the me,
Became we?
John 13:34, John 3:16, Romans 12:2