The Moral of the Story is...

   “And the moral of the story is…” How many times have we heard this saying as children? There are so many books and movies just made to teach us right from wrong. But, those movies and books do not always do such a great job. I mean one only has to look at the world right now to see that people do not seem to have great morals. That is why the Maytown Church of God decided to present our Vacation Bible School as: “The Moral of the Story is…” from the 26th-30th of July (6:30-8:30 pm, ages 3-10).

   Throughout the week we have scripts at the beginning that introduce a story well known to children; and then we connect it with a story in the Bible that has the same moral. During these scripts one thing that is said a lot is “that’s not how the story works.” The characters in the stories want people to just fix their problems for them; but that’s not how the story, or how life, works.

   God is not our “fairy godmother.” When “wolves” or problems come along in life we need to know that they come for a reason. God does not just take our problems away because he wants us to learn from them. He is asking us “do you trust me?” Another moral in the week is that we need to be willing to come alongside others and help them out of their “tower” or comfort zone. Finally we need to be brave enough to tell others about the sacrifices Jesus made for us. And, we need to show his love to others. We should not hurt others, or even people who hurt us, because that is not love. It also gets us “lost in hatred and revenge.” We need to be willing to sacrifice ourselves with “an act of true love” to save others, just like Christ did. We will mess up, because we are human, but that’s where forgiveness comes into play. God will forgive us; just like we should forgive others.

   While I was planning for this VBS, it got me thinking about stories. Ultimately each of us has our own story to tell. No two stories are alike. Each story has its own moral; and the moral can change from time to time. But, each of our stories are just a chapter in His story.

   So what is God trying to teach you right now? Are you teaching others good morals? Do you trust God through all of your problems?

   1 Corinthians 15:33, 2 Timothy 2:15, Proverbs 22:6, Proverbs 3:5-6

"Getting to Know You"

   I once had a friend of mine ask me this question: “why are your writings so uplifting but you aren’t?”  I was really insulted at first. But, then I realized she kind of did have a point. On the outside, and in person, I don’t seem like a happy person. In fact, I rarely smile and there’s a reason for that. But, in order to know that reason, people need to get to know me. So my question for that friend would have been: do you know me?

   At that time my friendship with that girl was brand new. I was also trying to be more optimistic at that point in my life, because I realized that I should be joyful no matter what (but that’s a blog for another time). So her saying that was a major blow to my motivation. Anyhow, I got over it, and I started thinking about how people don’t know the real me. My writing is literally me writing down my thoughts, feelings, and ideas. When I write a part of me goes into whatever I’m writing. So, when you read my writings you are getting to know the real me, and my thoughts.

   The problem with this is that I am always changing. There’s a quote I’ve heard that goes something like this “every time you meet someone, whether you know them already or not, you are meeting a new person; because people have gotten new experiences, feelings, and ideas since the last time you met” (that's not the exact quote but I know that someone said something like that at some point in time :D So I may have different feelings or ideas about something that I wrote a year ago. People are always changing.

   There is good news though: God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We can look at the Bible and know that that is the same God we get today.

   My challenge for you this week is for you to actually get to know people. Ask them questions, and have them ask you questions (however, if they are not open to it, don’t press). Who knows, you may just learn something you didn’t know. Or, better yet, have a long lasting relationship with someone. Also I want you to look at the Bible and dig deeper in it to find out more about God. He wants to have a relationship with you. 

   1 Corinthians 2:11, Proverbs 8:17

The Journey We All Take

   “To the glistening eastern sea, I give you Queen Lucy the Valiant. To the great western woods, King  Edmund the Just. To the radiant southern sun, Queen Susan the Gentle. And to the clear northern skies, I give you King Peter the Magnificent. Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia” (C.S. Lewis). This is a quote from The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe.  It both ended and began a journey for the Pevensie children. I am sure many of you are familiar with this series. There are many lessons in these books; however, I want to focus on the characters in these books. Mainly the Pevensie children; because I’m sure you can relate to one, if not all, of these characters. Each character has good and bad qualities they gain on their journey.

   Peter: the Magnificent and filled with pride. While Peter did have his moments where he was a good King and followed Aslan, he also failed many times. Peter’s tragic flaw is he is too proud. Now, in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe he was not too proud. But, in Prince Caspian his pride came out. In the movie, Peter makes a plan and expects people to follow that plan. He does not believe that Aslan is coming; therefore, he takes matters into his own hands. And, he pays for it. He loses many men in that battle. Another issue is Peter just doesn’t seem to have faith that Aslan is there to help him. He doesn’t believe Lucy when she says she saw Aslan. And, that’s where his trouble begins. In the end Peter learns his lesson and trusts Aslan to fight the war for him. Proverbs 16:18.

   Susan: the Gentle and the logical. Susan has her moments when she steps out in faith, but she also tends to take the logical path. I’m not saying that being logical is bad. In fact many logical people make the world go round. What I am saying is that when we always think logically we miss out on amazing opportunities. Logical people tend to live in their comfort zones. And, yes, I’m guilty of this too. Sometimes I think way too logically when I should just trust God that everything will work out. Susan tries to take matters into her own hands, rather than trusting God. That is the danger of being logical at times. We need to get outside ourselves and let our light shine for God. Proverbs 3:5.

   Edmund: the Just and the traitor. Edmund’s tragic flaw comes out rather early in the Chronicles of Narnia. He betrays his friends, family, and God. Edmund fell into temptation. He put his selfish desires above the needs of others. And, he paid for it dearly. However, Edmund also learned his lesson and asked for forgiveness. That’s the great thing: when we fail, God will forgive us. All we need to do is ask. Failure also leads to us learning. Edmund became wiser because he failed. That’s why he is called Edmund the Just. 1 John 1:9.

   Lucy: the Valiant and the one with the low self-confidence. Lucy’s tragic flaw is she falls into peer pressure; and she is unsure of herself. In Prince Caspian Lucy knows that she saw Aslan, but she does not follow her instinct. She is the youngest of the siblings and she feels like she needs to follow the crowd. Lucy needed to find her voice. She needed to speak up for her beliefs, rather than sit back. Also in the movie The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Lucy does not think she is beautiful. She was using the world’s standard of beauty and not God’s. Lucy did not have God-esteem. She did not see how she looked in God’s eyes. That is all that matters. I feel like we sometimes forget this when we look at the world’s standards. 2 Corinthians 3:5.

   All of these characters succeeded and failed in one way or another. Just like we all fail and succeed. The best part about this is that God uses us in his story no matter what. He knows we fail, but he uses those failures to bring about His perfect plan and story. That is why we know that our weaknesses bring about God’s strength. We can trust Him no matter what. So no matter when you fail or whatever you feel your flaw is, remember that God uses those to teach us. 2 Corinthians 12:9.

America: A Nation Under God

   So many times around patriotic holidays we think about what it means to be America. I am especially doing it this year because that is what I explored in my U.S. History class with Dr. Spanjer. His question to us is what does it mean to be American? We explored that question the rest of the semester because the idea of what it means to be American has changed over the years. At one point to be American meant that you worshiped God; or you were religious.

   In another class we had to read the book Wrestling With The Questions by Gregory C. Higgins. He looks at a theologian named John Cobb Jr. Cobb talks about his idea of Pluralism. This means that we need to “reject the truth of other religions,” assume that other religions are describing the same experiences, and that we need to stop referring to Christ and call him “the ultimate” or other words like that. Basically we need to worship a general God. I am all for accepting other peoples’ differences and beliefs; but, if we let go of Christ then who are we?

   I really do not like the idea that we all worship a general God. Honestly we know that other people are worshiping false gods. If we accept Cobb’s idea then we give up what it means to be a Christian in the first place! We need to let the world know that Christ is the ONLY way to heaven. If we begin to call him “the ultimate” then we lose everything it means to be Christian.

   So, now we’ll go back to America. Many of the founding fathers believed that without religion, which Christianity was the main religion at the time, the Republic would fail (Check the URL at the bottom for some examples of founding fathers who believed this). We cannot move away from being a nation under God or government will fail.
   So my question for you is: is our government failing? That is up to you to decide. If it is what are you going to do about it? Will you get out there and tell people about Christ so that we can be a Nation Under God?

http://www.wallbuilders.com/libissuesarticles.asp?id=63

Leaving The Mountaintop

   “What do you think of Camp Yolijwa now you’re here, don’t you think you’d like to come another year, talk about it don’t be still, church of God up in the hills, Camp Yolijwa Doubling Gap PA.” That is a song I have sung every year for fourteen years now; because we sing it every year at Camp Yolijwa. Every year I went there I learned something new and got closer to God. Camp can be a great thing, but there were times I never wanted to leave the camp in the mountains.

   See camp is a place that prepares us to go into the world and spread the gospel. It also helps us in our Christian walk. That is why I never wanted to leave the mountain and face the real world; because the real world is not filled with Christians who are trying to build you up (or the awesome food you get at camp :). But, when I felt like I did not want to leave, I was forgetting one big thing. Camp prepares you for the world and calls you to live out the Great Commission.

   This got me thinking about Elijah. He thought that he was the only one left who still worshipped God. And, on top of that, he was also being hunted by the queen who wanted to kill him. Elijah went to the mountain top to be with God, but God told him that his work was not done yet. Elijah had to leave the mountain as well as everyone else who comes to camp for a week. I mean what good is it being one of the few who know about something that can save everyone in the world if you do not share it? I am not saying that God needs our help to share the gospel, but God does let us be a part of His story. Why wouldn’t we want to spread this news no matter the cost?

   There are lives out there that are lost and at times it can be difficult to leave our mountain. Whether that mountain be our comfort zone, our church, our home, or whatever it is. But, in the end, will you say to yourself “I’m so glad that I lived a comfortable life and now I can die and go to heaven?” Or, will you say “I’m so glad that I did all I could for others and lived a life helping God with His story?”

   1 Kings 19:1-18

The Power, And Responsibility, of The Father

   So tomorrow is Father’s Day; and that got me thinking about all the dads that I know. But, what is a father?

   When thinking about this I thought about the movie The Game Plan. For those of you who do not know, The Game Plan is a movie about a star football player who just realizes that he has an eight year old daughter. The rest of the movie focuses on their relationship. One quote from that movie is “I would not underestimate the power of the father.”

So, what is the father’s power? The father does have a lot of power, especially if we look at the Bible. But as one of my favorite superheroes says: “with great power comes great responsibility.”

   I’m going to bring up a verse that some people have problems with Ephesians 5:22-33. This is the passage that talks about wives submitting to their husbands. Most people read just the 22nd verse, but if you do not look at the verse in context you miss out on so much more. Especially if you read verse 25 which says “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” So the husband has responsibility to care for his wife and love her (which also means compromising, hint hint guys). He will have to answer to God for what he has done, and what he told others to do, throughout his life. He is in charge of the household but if he leads his family down the wrong path he will have to answer to God for that.

   Like I said fathers have a lot of responsibility that comes with their power. They are held doubly accountable. They must answer to their wives, family, bosses, and God. I do not know about you but that seems intimidating to me. I know that fathers get a lot of hack, but usually they are doing the best they can. So, obviously fathers are human. They are going to fail at times. But, that is why we have a heavenly father. He will never fail us and is there for all of us.

   Happy Father’s Day to all you fathers out there. Hope you have a great one.

   Ephesians 6:4 and Hebrews 12:7

I Don't Like Your Attitude

   ATTITUDE: it’s a little thing that makes a big difference. That was on a poster that I used to see every day in my sixth grade classroom. Since then, I have heard that phrase used many times. I never quite got the grasp of it though. I mean how can your attitude affect you and others so much? It was not until a little later that I understood why attitude is such a big deal.

   There’s a quote by Jack Sparrow in The Pirates of the Caribbean movies that goes like this “The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem. Do you understand?” That quote really helped me understand what that poster meant. I will be put through many trials in life; and there will be some things that I cannot change. However, I can change how I feel about the problem. I decide if I will go to work with a good attitude or a bad one. No one else can make that decision for me. Now, I can be affected by other peoples’ attitudes. But even then it is still my choice whether or not I let how others feel, or what they do to me, bug me.
   So, what is your attitude going to be when you are going through a hard time? Are you going to let other people and events dictate how you feel?
   Philippians 2:14-15