Mountains of Bloomsburg Part 4: Helping Ubel

   Ahda, Kaine, Abek, and you continue walking through the mountains. The terrain has gotten rougher and you are running out of supplies. You begin to wonder if this trip is truly worth it. 
   As you walk you think about the conversation you had with the tree and then with Ahda. He told you that Gottes created everything and provides much for us. But Ubel, who was once an Engel, turned on Gottes. Now Ubel tries to defeat Gottes through the people that Gottes created. That's the reason why no one goes into the mountains, because Ubel's dominion is there.
   Ahda suddenly stops, "we should probably get some rest for the night." You, and the rest of the crew, lay down. You try to sleep but can't. You realize that you can no longer put any of these men in danger, but you must get home. You quietly grab your pack and continue on. 
   You turn a corner after walking a while and see a rushing, river of lava. There is a stone bridge that goes across the lava river. Against your better judgement you walk across the bridge till you reach the other side; but you don't step off the bridge because you see someone move on the other side.
   "Come out!" You yell. A golden creature comes around the mountain. It had the feet of a cow but stood up like a man. Its torso and head looked like a man as well, "hello." The creature said. "Who are you?" "My name is Ubel." Realization comes to your face. This is the creature that turned on Gottes. It is also the creature that could help you get home.
   Ubel smiles, "I am not what you were expecting?" You shake your head. The bull legs are a little odd but he was beautiful. "Why have you come here?" "I need to get home." Ubel nods, "I see, and Gottes did not answer your request." Again you shake your head. "Well I would love to help you. See, I'm not like Gottes who does not answer requests I like to help others."
   Your heart starts pounding. You realize that you could be going home now, but you also have a knot in your stomach. You know something is not right but you want what you want. "Will you send me home now?" "Friend, I would love to do that but I cannot." "Why not?" You say as your hope begins to fade. "My power is very limited here and I do not like to use it if I do not have to. But, if you could do something for me in return then perhaps I could help you." 
   You know that you could turn back now. You could go back to Ahda and then back to the village. But instead you say, "what do you want?" "Bring Ahda to me. I wish to talk with him about how things are going in the village. Perhaps I can help him as well." Now you are confused, "you want me to get Ahda so you can help the village?" "Yes, I want to be able to help Ahda gain understanding. I am contained to this area of the mountains. I have so few people to talk to and help. But if Ahda comes, and sees how helpful I can be, then I may have a friend to talk to and share knowledge with."
   You think about the deal. That's not so bad; Ubel is trying to be helpful. You wonder why people say that Ubel is so bad. He seems to want to give people what they want. Then you remember the tree's words about how Ubel is evil. You look back at Ubel and suddenly see a bull with matted, black hair standing up. His eyes are red and his nostrils are flaring. You rub your eyes and open them again. Ubel had changed back to the gold bull man.
   "You just want to share knowledge with Ahda?" Ubel nods. "Fine, I will bring him to you," you say. Then you turn around and head back to camp. You hope you made the right choice.
   If you could get whatever you desired by helping Ubel would you choose to follow him? Are you ever tricked by something that seems good but is actually bad? How can you remember to follow God no matter what?  

   Proverbs 14:12, Proverbs 16:9, Isaiah 30:21

Demon: When You Don't Have a Choice

   If you saw this title, and image, what would you think of the book? We are told not to judge a book by its cover yet we seem to do it all the time. Let me tell you a little bit about this book and lessons I have learned from it.
   The whole story is about a demon who tells his story to an editor. This editor really wants to be a writer but none of his books did well. In the end this editor realizes how much we take for granted. We can have a relationship with God! Can demons have a relationship with God? No, they are trapped in a place without God.
   Humans have a choice. We can choose whether we will walk with God or not. Meanwhile demons chose once and they are now stuck with their choice. Some of us may say: "Well I'm a good person, I don't need God."
   Ha, this book throws that idea out the window. If we choose to do this life on our own then we will be judged by our actions. If we even had one sin, either by commission or omission, then we cannot be with God.  He cannot be with anything that is not pure or unholy. We would end up being like the demons that chose to follow Lucifer.
   God is gracious toward us. We get chance after chance to choose his way. We get chance after chance to choose to follow him. Meanwhile demons don't. How can we be so ungrateful or prideful to think that we can get to heaven on our own when the demons don't get a second chance? If we choose to do this on our own we will go to Hell just like the demons.
   I encourage you to check out this book. It gives you a new perspective on God, demons, and people from the Bible.
   So, have you chosen to walk through this life with God? If you haven't, will you choose to walk with him today? 

   Romans 3:10 and Proverbs 3:5-6
   Image found here.  

Making Mistakes

   One day I was out watching my students at recess. I saw one child playing on a piece of playground equipment. This child is very strong and outgoing. He had gotten himself up on top of a pole. He then grabbed another pole and was trying to get across to this other pole to the point where his body was horizontal across these two poles.
   Now, with today's standards many parents would probably be saying "you need to stop him, that is dangerous." I thought about stopping him but I knew he would learn a lesson no matter what happened. He did make it across to the other pole and then he celebrated. He worked hard to get where he wanted to go and was rewarded because he made it.
   I know there are parents out there who want to protect their kids. I'm not saying that some protection is wrong. What I am saying is what I say to my students, "you need to try. If you try your best and you mess up will Miss Scheuing be upset?" The students always say, "no." My students know that they learn by making mistakes.
   I think that we have forgotten that in this day and age. We are so afraid to mess up that we stay inside our comfort zone. We end up missing opportunities because we choose to not do new things. My students would not be rewarded with the ability to read if they did not try something new. My players would not have the skills they have today if they did not join a new team or try a new drill. I would not be rewarded with all the gifts and opportunities God has given me if I stopped trying new things.
   Making mistakes is okay. It may not be fun, but if you make a mistake you are more likely to try something new next time. Above all else, when you make a mistake remember, "there was only one perfect man and he walked on water. Can you do that?"
   So will you choose to step outside your comfort zone to gain new opportunities and grow? Will you guide and encourage others to step outside their comfort zones? How can you step outside your comfort zone today?

   Joshua 1:9, 2 Peter 3:18, Romans 5:2-6

   Image found here.

Submitting and Resisting

   Have you ever felt like you were at war with yourself? You wanted to do something but you knew it was wrong or something told you, you shouldn't do it? That may be your conscious telling you not to do something because you know it's wrong. But, who or what is telling you to do the wrong thing?

   You may picture an angel on one shoulder and the devil on another shoulder. Let me give you another example. In The Lord of the Rings series there is a character named Gollum. This character has a very interesting story and may have what some people would call Dissociative Identity Disorder. In other words it seems like he has two personalities. One of them is Gollum, who is obsessed with the ring. The other is Smeagol, who is a hobbit from the Shire.

   In a particular clip from the movie Gollum is having an argument with Smeagol. Check out the clip here then continue to read the blog.

   In the clip Gollum is having problems because part of his personality is bringing him down. While is is true that Gollum probably wouldn't be there at that point without the ring, Smeagol is tired of being told what to do. He is tired of being reminded of all the wrong things he has done. He tells the Gollum part of him to leave and never come back.

   James 4:7 says: "submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." While we may not have two personalities like Gollum does, we do all have times where we feel like there are two voices telling us what to do. At that point we have a choice. If we choose the Devil, we may feel happiness on earth but will we actually have true, permanent happiness? More than likely we will not.

   If we choose to follow God we may not be happy when we are on earth but we know that our heavenly Father is looking down and smiling. Life on earth sure isn't easy but we aren't here to live life to the fullest for ourselves. We are here to reflect God's glory, worship him, and tell others about him. If we chose the Devil then we turn our backs on God. In turn, he will turn his back on us when we get to heaven.

   Please do not misunderstand me here; I am not saying that God doesn't love you if you make a wrong choice. He still loves you, but when judgement day comes will you be able to say with confidence that you are going to heaven? Matthew 7:21-23 talks about how a lot of people call Jesus Lord but only those who do the will of the Father will enter heaven. We have a choice whether or not we will believe in Christ and follow him or not.

   So, will you resist the Devil? Will you lean on God through the good and the bad? Will you choose to accept Christ as your Lord and Savior?

   James 4:7, Matthew 7:21-23, Proverbs 3:5-6, 1 Corinthians 10:31

Don't Focus Too Much on the Past

   The past is important. The past can help us learn from our mistakes. The past also shapes us into who we are. However, if we focus too much on our past is that a good thing?
   In Genesis 19 we find the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Two angels come to the city and Lot, Abraham's nephew, invites them to his home. Some very odd events happen but in the end the angels tell Lot and his family to leave because God is going to destroy the cities. Lot is hesitant at first so the angels grab his hand and his family's hands and take them out of the city. The angels tell Lot and his family to flee to the mountains and don't look back. Lot asks to just go to a near town named Zoar. The angels agree to this because of the Lord's mercy. Then God destroys the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Unfortunately Lot's wife looks back at the cities. Because of that she is turned into a pillar of salt.
   What was going through Lot's wife's head? We don't know. But, I have a guess. She might have been thinking: "I really miss my home. I worked so hard to get the decor just right. And, I miss my friends. Why would God destroy my friends and my home? Why can't we go back? I had such good times there. Doesn't God care about that? Maybe if I could get one last glimpse of my home that would suffice." Then she looks back and BAM! She turns into a pillar of salt.
   Many of us probably wonder why she looked back when she was told not to. But we forget, she probably wasn't just looking back because she was curious. She was looking back at her home, her friends, her past...
   We may be tempted to think we would never do such a thing. But, in a way, some of us have. Have you ever reflected back on your life and thought "wow I had some good times then and there. I wish I could go back." When you do that you are doing what Lot's wife is doing. You are focusing too much on the past. Now, I'm not saying that you should not reflect. Reflecting is good and important. Reflecting helps us learn from mistakes. But if we focus too much on the past to the point where we are not moving forward that's a problem.
   Philippians 3:13-14 says "Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." I love the way Paul uses a word picture to get his point across. If you are running a race and you look back too long what will happen? That's right, you will crash and burn. We are to look forward to our goal. What's our goal? Our goal is heaven. If we are focused on heaven then we will do what we are called to do. If we are focused on heaven we will follow what God wants us to do each day.
   So, are you focused too much on the past? What can you do to focus on your heavenly goal today? How can you follow God in your life every day?

Image from here.

To the New LBC WSO Goalie; and All Other Soccer Players

   Soccer players have a hard life. Whether they are in middle school, high school, college, or even pro they have challenges. Those challenges may be family, friends, life, school, certain aspects of soccer, or something else. However, soccer players need to push past all of those problems and just play the game to the best of their ability. I do not know what is going on in your life right now; therefore, I cannot give you advice about that (unless I already wrote a blog about it). But, I can give you some advice about soccer.

   The first piece of advice is: never assume. Don’t assume you will be starting, don’t assume you know what to do and when to do it, and don’t assume you can’t do it. The biggest part of soccer that many players do not think about is the mental aspect. We come to soccer with all of these problems; and if you do not push past them you will not play your best. You are your own worst enemy. Most players cannot find the happy medium where they know they are good but they do not brag about it. You can NEVER assume you are that good or you are not that good, because as soon as you do another player will come along and beat you.

   The second piece of advice goes along with the first: you need to know that effort always beats skill. There are players out there who have natural abilities for soccer. It is great if you have those abilities. The problem is a lot of players who have those abilities just rely on them. If you are just sitting on the couch thinking that your natural ability will get you that starting position, you are in for a rude awakening. There are players out there, who do not have the natural ability, who are working their butts off in order to be better and to even beat you out for your position. If you want to keep your position you need to work hard too. You need to lead by example. You need to push yourself to be your best.

   The third piece of advice is: learn from your mistakes. I know this better than anyone because I am a goalie. Goalies make the most obvious mistakes on the field because, if they make a mistake, it gets noticed by everyone. I tell my players and keepers that I coach to have a goalie mind. They need to think about their mistakes for 10 seconds during games and practices then let it go. After the game or practice they can go back and think about what they did wrong. However, you cannot just think about what you did wrong. You also need to think about how you can fix it. If you do not reflect on how you can change you will not grow. This is what separates the good players from the great players. Great players don’t dwell on their mistakes. They think about them, figure out what they did wrong, think about how to fix them, and they fix it.

   The final piece of advice is probably the one that hits closest to home for me: never take it for granted. For so many years I have played soccer. I had natural ability but I worked hard to get better. However, I had other circumstances that almost made me decide not to play soccer during college. I can say that I am so thankful that I decided to play. If I did not I would not have met so many amazing people, impacted others whom I did not even know, and I would not have grown as much as I did. However, during my soccer years I think I took that time for granted. Don’t get me wrong playing soccer and having 19 credits was hard, and sometimes I wished my load was a little lighter. But, it was so worth it just to get to have those 4 years on LBC Women’s Soccer Team. Please, if you are playing soccer at this point, remember that it is a gift. Sure, you will have times where you wonder if it is worth it. But, when you look back I know there will be times where you had a great time and you realized you were growing.

   So, will you choose to have a proper mental outlook on soccer? Will you work hard to be better and grow? Will you learn from your mistakes and not dwell on them? Will you enjoy your time you have to play soccer?

   Ecclesiastes 7:1-14, Colossians 3:23-24, Proverbs 24:16

The False Prophet and the Talking Donkey

   Imagine you are back in Bible times. You are riding your donkey down a dirt path with some important men. Then suddenly your donkey starts acting up. You begin to fall behind. It is important that you keep up with your group. So, you get off your donkey and start beating it. Suddenly the donkey begins to talk to you. What would you do?

   If you haven’t guessed by now this is the story of Balaam. For those of you who do not know Balaam he was a diviner, he was called an oracle (Numbers 22-24). Balaam knew the word, but he chose to turn his back on it.

   The full story of Balaam is that he was asked by the king of Moab to curse the Israelites; and, in return, Balaam would get money. The king sent men to come get Balaam and Balaam invited the men to stay for the night, which was his first mistake. Balaam sought God’s counsel and God told Balaam not to curse the Israelites and to only do what he told him to do. Then God told Balaam to go to the Moabite king. So Balaam got on his donkey and followed the men. Balaam’s sin happens here. He wanted to curse the Israelites so that he would get money. That’s why God sent the angel to stop him and then the donkey talked. Then there is a lot of back and forth where the Moabite king asks Balaam to curse Israel but Balaam can only say what God tells him to say, which is only blessings on Israel.

   That is the end of Balaam’s story in Numbers, but that is not the last time he is referenced to. See, Balaam was a false prophet. He may have only said what God told him to say at the time; but looking in later passages we can see that he also told the Moabite king how to get God to curse Israel. He told the Moabite king to start influencing the Israelites by introducing other gods and enticing the Israelites with sexual immorality. In Numbers 31 we can see the influence Balaam had when the Israelite men go to war against Midian. The men spare all of the women (v. 15/16). They did this because they wanted the women for themselves. Even in Revelation we see Balaam mentioned in chapter 2. A church started to follow the teachings of Balaam, which means they were eating things sacrificed to idols and committing acts of immorality (v. 14).

   Balaam’s sin was a sin of the heart, which means that mostly only God could see it. He was so greedy that he was willing to turn his back on God and everything he knew about the truth. There are many people in this world who are a lot like Balaam. They know the truth; but they manipulate the truth in order to get what they want. That is why it is vital for Christians to know the word. If we do not then we could be influenced by a false prophet.

   We also need to look at ourselves in the mirror and ask ourselves are we committing any sins of the heart. We know exactly what sin is, it is anything that goes against God. If we are doing anything, or causing anyone else to stumble, then we are just as bad as Balaam.

   So, are you being swayed by any false prophets? Are you causing others to sin because you may be a false prophet, inadvertently? Are you sinning, but you are not willing to change your ways? What can you do in order to stop sinning?

   1 John 4:1-6, Hebrews 10:26, Romans 6:1-23

A Tale of Two Disciples

   Twelve. It is a very important number in the Bible. There were twelve tribes of Israel, the high priest’s breastplate had twelve precious stones embedded in them, there are twelve Minor Prophets in the Old Testament, and there will be twelve gates in New Jerusalem. Twelve is a number of completeness in the Bible. That’s why Jesus chose twelve disciples. Jesus loved all of the disciples; but there were two in particular that were tested at the end of Jesus’ lifetime on earth.

   Peter was outspoken, a great leader, and most importantly he knew Jesus was the son of God. But, Peter was far from perfect. He was rash, took his eye off Jesus, and denied Jesus three times.

   Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve. He was a participated in the miracles that the disciples did and did just as much as the other disciples. But, all Judas is remembered for is his betrayal of Jesus.

   Both of these disciples had something in common: they both betrayed Jesus. Peter denied that he knew Christ three times. And, Judas turned Jesus in for thirty pieces of silver. Both of them failed and sinned against Christ. But, Christ loved both of them anyhow.

   So, what is the difference between these two disciples? The difference is clay and wax. What does clay and wax have to do with disciples? I’m glad you asked. The difference is heat. Under pressure both of these disciples cracked and gave into sin. But, the difference is after the pressure what they did.

   Judas wanted Jesus to set up an earthly kingdom. He wanted Jesus to take down the Roman Empire. That way he would become a leader in this earthly kingdom. Judas couldn’t see past the now. That is why, when he found out that Jesus wasn’t planning to take down the Empire, he betrayed Jesus. After he did it he felt bad. He had betrayed his master. He could not bear what he had done so he hardened his heart. Rather than running to Jesus he ran away from him. Judas was put under the fire of sin. Judas is like clay. When put under fire Judas’ heart hardened. That is why he killed himself. He would not repent of what he did.

   Peter, on the other hand, knew that Jesus was the Son of God. He knew that the kingdom Jesus said he would rule would happen in the future. I am sure Peter wasn’t quite expecting that kingdom to come about the way it did; but it was much better than what he would have planned. Anyhow, Peter said he did not know Jesus three times. But, unlike Judas, Peter had a heart of wax. When Peter was put under the pressure of sin his heart melted. Rather than running from Jesus he ran to Jesus. He asked Jesus to forgive him. And, that is what made him different from Judas.

   Both of these disciples are known well by Christians all around the world; but they are known for completely different reasons. Both of these men sinned, but the difference is where they ran after the sin.

   So, are you a Judas or a Peter? When you are put under the pressure of sin do you become clay or wax? Do you believe that Jesus will set up his eternal kingdom and that the things of this earth are just temporary?

   Luke 22, Matthew 27:1-10, John 21:15-17, Acts 3:19

Who Are You Doing It For?

   Some of you may have heard that I decided to play soccer at Lancaster Bible College again this year. This will be my last season with the team, but that’s neither here nor there. The reason I am telling you this is because of something that happened to me over the years I have played soccer at LBC: I changed.

   In 2013 I began my soccer career at LBC. I was so nervous because the previous goalie was really good and I was starting that season cold turkey. I kept putting so much pressure on myself that I was beginning to have emotional issues. So a really good friend of mine, who I carpooled with, talked with me about what was going on. I told her I felt like anything I did wasn’t good enough because I didn’t do it like the previous goalie, I did one little thing wrong, or because no one was telling me what was right or wrong. She asked me a question that forever changed my life.

   “Who are you doing it for?” she said. I didn’t quite understand her at first so she then said: “who are you playing soccer for?” I kind of had to think about that because I was doing it for a lot of reasons. But, if you know my soccer story, you know it was a rough journey in order for me to decide if I was going to play soccer or not. In the end, I ultimately played because I felt that God was calling me to play. My friend knew the story and said “you decided to play soccer because God called you to. So when you feel like you are not good enough remember that you are always good enough for God.”

   I can’t say I didn’t feel the pressure to do well for my team and others during the season. Or, that I didn’t stress over every little thing that I did wrong. But, that conversation helped me remember that everything I do is ultimately for God. Yeah I will mess up, a lot. But, God doesn’t care. He loves me just the way I am.

   Today in the goal I am a lot more confident in myself. I do mess up, but I think about my mistake for five seconds then let it go. I can’t go back and change what I did; but I can go forward and do better then. And I remember that “If our (my) God is for us (me), then who could ever stop us (me)?” (Our God, Chris Tomlin)

   So, when you do things who are you doing them for? Are you putting too much pressure on yourself? Do you sometimes forget that God loves you just as you are?

   Colossians 3:23, Romans 8:31, 1 Corinthians 10:31