Dancing with Jesus in the Storm

   There is a quote that I have used in other blogs that goes like this: “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass it’s about learning how to dance in the rain.” Many times people want all of their troubles to go away. Any time we have problems we think “God is horrible.” But, when things are good we say “we are blessed.” Or, we don’t give any praise to God.

   Many people have problems when they face the storms and rollercoasters in life. That is because those people do not know the secret of how to deal with those problems. In order for you to discover what that secret is I’m going to take you through a lesson I taught to my students during student teaching.

   Close your eyes and, if possible, play this music on this link (if you cannot play the music then just read on). When you heard the music you may have pictured a calm ocean. A gentle breeze blows across your face. How do you feel? You probably feel peace, calmness, or tranquility.

   Now, play the music on this link (once again if you cannot play the music just read on). What did you picture when you heard this music, or how did you feel? You may have pictured a person heading off to war. You may have felt pumped up or angry. But, you probably did not feel peace.

   Believe it or not, I actually felt peace more during the second song. That song is what played before every single one of my soccer home games. We would walk out to that song and it would get me in the zone. That song reminded me that, even though I was nervous for the game, I knew what I was doing. I had prepared for this by practicing my goalkeeping skills. Thus, I felt peace.

   And yet, as I have stated before, goalkeeping is a stressful position. How then could I have felt peace? I felt peace because I was prepared and I knew that no matter what happened God was with me. I was in the middle of a place where there was a lot of pressure but I felt peace.

   When problems come in life we need to remember to keep our eyes fixed on God. We cannot focus on the problem and say “God is horrible.” We need to trust in God because he can use all of these things for good. He has a plan. We can know that everything happens for a reason. That reason may be to help us grow, to help us trust in God, or to reach someone else for Christ. But, whatever the reason may be, it is vital for us to learn to dance with Jesus during the storm.

   So, when trials come in life do you trust in God or turn on him? Do you know that peace is not found in the calm times in life but in the storms when we trust in God? Are you working on improving your relationship with God so you can have peace when problems come?

   Philippians 4:6, Proverbs 3:5-6, Romans 8:28

Greek Mythology and the Unknown God

   For those of you who do not know I like learning new things. One topic that has always interested me, other than God and the Bible, is Greek Mythology. I don’t believe any of the stories are true, though some of them may be based off of true stories. I like to read the stories because most of them are entertaining. Some of them can get a little strange and creepy; but throughout my study I discovered there are a lot of similarities between Greek Mythology stories and the Bible.

   In the Bible the first human, Adam, is created out of dust of the ground. And then God breaths the breath of life into him (Genesis 2:7). In Greek Mythology a Titan named Prometheus was at a river and created humans out of wet clay, or the ground. Some stories say the Prometheus then breathed the breath of life into the humans.

   The final example, which I am going to give you, of how the Bible and Greek Mythology are similar is the fall of man. In the Bible a serpent (Satan) goes to Eve and tempts her to eat of the fruit of the tree of life (Genesis 3). He tells her that if she does eat of the fruit she will be like God, who has knowledge of right and wrong. Then Eve eats of the tree and so does Adam. Sin enters the world and now God must be separate from man. Adam and Eve are forced to leave the Garden of Eden. However, even in this time of failure, there is still hope. In Genesis 3:15 God says to the serpent (Satan) “I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head and you will strike his heel.” This is alluding to the coming of Jesus. Satan may have the upper hand now; and will tempt humans, or strike their heel. But, some day an offspring of Eve will strike the head of Satan. That offspring is Jesus. And, that is where our hope is.

   In Greek Mythology the story of the fall of man is very similar. There was a Titan named Epimetheus who was not too smart. His brother, Prometheus got on Zeus’ (the king of the gods) bad side. Prometheus warned his brother not to accept any gifts from the gods because of this. Epimetheus did okay for a while. But, one day the gods created a woman named Pandora. She became Epimetheus’ wife. The gods offered the couple a wedding present. The present was a box, which the gods told the couple that they must never open it. But, Pandora was created to be curious. So, you guessed it, Pandora opened the box. When she did all of these evil spirts came out and spread across the world. But, one good spirit stayed in the box. That spirit was hope. No matter how bad things got humans still were able to hope that things would get better.

   Now, you may be wondering why I am telling you the similarities between the Bible and Greek stories. It is to either teach, or remind, you about a lesson Paul has already taught everyone. Nowadays not many people, if any, believe in the Greek gods. But, in Bible times there were people who did worship them. Paul went to Athens (where they worshiped many idols, probably Greek gods) and began preaching about the gospel. Some philosophers heard Paul and brought him to the high council where he told them about God. He said they had been worshiping this unknown god. Paul said he knew who the God was. “He is the God who made the world and everything in it.” Paul introduced the gospel to these people in a way they would understand. And, there were some who became believers that day (Acts 17:16-34).

   This is an important lesson for us. We may try to reach non-believers but we may not know anything about them or their religions. Paul did his research before he preached to them. He knew what these people believed in and then found the best way to relate the gospel to them. Isn’t that what we should be doing today? We need to care, and learn about others before we can truly create a relationship and reach them. That may mean we need to research other religions and find commonalities between their religion and the Bible.

   So, are you learning new things every day in order to grow and spread the gospel? Are you reaching out to others and getting to know them?

   Psalm 96:3, 2 Timothy 3:16, Matthew 28:19

Lessons From Footloose at Donegal High School

   Last night I enjoyed watching Donegal High School’s performance of Footloose. The cast and crew did a great job and while watching it I realized there are a lot of lessons we can learn from this show.

   The whole story is basically about people going against the church/the town council’s law that rock and roll and dancing is forbidden. This seems really bad, but is it? I’ve said time and time again that anything can be used to glorify God. Dancing and music can be used to glorify God. Now, some people do not glorify God through dancing and music. But, that does not change the fact that these things can be used to glorify God. Just look at Sight and Sound or Christian Music.

   Also the church in this story, mainly Reverend Shaw Moore, took it upon themselves to make rules that are not God’s rules. Those rules were not found in the Bible. It does not say “thou shalt not dance” in the Bible. Now, I’m all for rules of prevention like Eve saying they could not touch the tree, even though God only said you may not eat of the tree. But, that does not mean that dance should be eliminated completely. Dance and music is a good way to relieve stress and express yourself. The reverend just could not see that part of it though. And he had a fairly good reason why he did not like dancing but you will have to see the musical to find that out.

   Finally, in this performance, the church is painted as judgmental and it is true that sometimes we are judgmental. But, that is all society sees about the church. They think that we are judgmental hypocrites. The only way to get past that is to be kind to others. I’m not saying that we should not keep others accountable. But, we need to take a hard look at ourselves before we say to someone else you should not be doing that. We cannot think we are perfect because we are not. Thankfully we have a savior who is perfect, who can take away our sins. That’s what we need to focus on.

   So, do you realize that everything can be used to glorify God? Are you ever tempted to make rules that are not God’s rules? Are you quick to judge others before you check yourself?

   1 Corinthians 10:31, Matthew 7:1-5, Galatians 6:1-5

   Shout out to those in the Donegal High School performance of Footloose (especially Dr. Frisbee, Elsa, and Ten ;). There is one more performance Sunday March 12 at 2 pm. I encourage those of you who can make it to come out.

You Could be a Hero

   “No one sits with him, he doesn’t fit in, But we feel like we do when we make fun of him, Cause you want to belong, do you go along? Cause his pain is the price paid for you to belong, It’s not like you hate him or want him to die, But maybe he goes home and thinks suicide.” These are lyrics to Superchick’s song Hero (Link).

   Since 1999 the suicide rate has increased in the United States. And we wonder why this is? Well, if one thinks about it, it isn’t that difficult to see why. We live in a very individualistic culture. It has become every man for himself. But, is that how it should be?

   Let’s go to the authority on everything: the Word of God. Philippians 2:4 says “let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” John 13:34-35 says “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” There are many more verses I could point out in order to prove that God wants us to help each other, but I will not go into that right now.

   Instead I am going to leave off with a quick story. Once when I was very young, like in high school, I went to a camp with my family. There was a new family there with a boy my age. He kept asking to hang out with me. But I did not want to be his girlfriend, which was kind of what he was insinuating. I asked my brother to stay with me at all times. My brother and this guy actually ended up being pretty good friends. At the end of the week this guy asked to get a picture with me using his phone. I had my brother get in the picture with me. I could have handled the situation much better because I avoided this guy rather than hearing him out. Later I found out from a friend that he tried to commit suicide around Christmas.

   I could have done something. I could have followed Philippians 2:4 and John 13:34-35. I could have looked out for this guy and been a friend to him, but I didn’t and I wasn’t. I believe that that situation happened for a reason. I could have done things differently, but then I would not have learned a valuable lesson. I would not have learned that every day choices I make impact others whether I know it or not. I would not have learned that I can be a “hero” to others.

   So, do you love others no matter who they are? Are you following God’s word? Are you thinking about the choices you make every day? Are you a hero?

   1 John 4:19-21, Philippians 2:4, John 13:34

   Suicide Facts: http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2016/04/daily-chart-20

The Justice of Judgement Vs. The Gift of Grace

   Imagine you enter a courtroom. At first you wonder why you are here. You go to sit down in one of the chairs but the bailiff comes and puts you on the stand. You wonder why he would take you there and tell him you have done nothing wrong. The judge comes in and, after you are sworn in, he asks you “why should you be set free?” You say you “haven’t done anything wrong.” But, the judge asks you again “why should you be set free?”

   You rub your head and figure you should play along. You begin to list off some of your accomplishments. Some of those may be you volunteered many places, you gave money to charities, you were kind to animals, and so on. The judge says “so you should be set free because you did those things?” You nod your head and say “yes.”

   The judge then asks you “why shouldn’t you be set free?” You shrug your shoulders because you cannot think of anything. The judge then lists off your short comings. Those may be you lied many times, gossiped, stole something, or many other things. Then he asks you “should you be let go for doing these things?” You do not answer. The judge asks you to wait and the bailiff takes you off the stand.

   Another man comes in the room. The bailiff puts him on the stand; and, after being sworn in, the judge asks the man “why should you be set free?” The man replies “I should not be set free.” The judge says “why shouldn’t you be set free?” The man looks down “I am a sinner. I am a liar, thief, and a murderer. I do not deserve life.” You wonder what is going to happen to this man. The judge looks at a list that was on his podium. Suddenly the man on the stand burns bright and his suit turns white. The judge says to the man “you have been set free because you have been washed clean by the blood of the lamb.” The man is taken off the stand.

   The bailiff takes you back up to the stand. Then the judge asks you “now, do you deserve to be set free?”
   Many people have the idea that if they do more good than bad they will get into heaven. Meanwhile, in the Bible it clearly states that there is only one way to heaven. And, that is through knowing Jesus Christ as your personal savior. If you do not know him one day you will be at the throne of judgement. Then it doesn't matter how much good you have done because God is holy and blameless; and anyone that is not blameless (in other words those who have sinned) will not be in heaven unless they have put their faith in Jesus Christ. 

   So, what would you have said at the beginning of this story when the judge asked you: “why do you deserve to be set free?” Would you have figured out any reason why you should not have been set free? Are you focused too much on what you, or others, have done wrong rather than the grace by which we are all set free? Do you know if you are washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ?

   Isaiah 1:18, Isaiah 53:5, Matthew 7:21-23, John 3:16