What's been eating your lunch?

We've been running at our usual pace lately. Photo shoots, weddings and client meetings have filled the calendar over the last several months. So much so, that we can count our days off on one hand. It’s in seasons of intense busyness like this that stuff falls through the cracks. We lose sight of certain things and allow important tasks to slip by because there are so many urgent tasks right in front of us.

"If I then, your Lord and Teacher," Jesus said, "have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them."

Over the last few days I've been reading through John 13. While I’m aware of the ultimate picture of humility in Christ, I need to be reminded regularly of our call to emulate Christ in serving and loving others. Serving and loving others are about as basic as it gets for a believer, yet remain among the hardest things we’re called to do at times. It's something Jesus did constantly, and something I fail to do pretty much constantly.

"Knowing what one ought to do," Constable said, "and actually doing it, are frequently two different things. Jesus promised God's favor (blessing) on those who practice humble service, not on those who simply realize that they should be humble." If that's not a slap in the face, I don't know what is. That thought hit me like a truck recently. Knowledge isn't my problem 99.9% of the time, obedience is.

I want to be God's man. I desire faithfulness to Christ and God's word, but find it hard more often that I’d like to admit. That's where I need my community guys in my corner, encouraging and pushing me towards not just storing up knowledge but doing something with what I learn. From this text I see that Jesus served and called me to do likewise.

The very first person my abiding with Christ should impact is my wife. And that’s where I have to step up my game. Cleaning around the house, and meeting needs isn't enough. I have to grow in being intentional about how I serve her. I have to stop letting the game come to me and move boldly into the fray.

That’s what’s been eating my lunch of late, what about you? What’s eating your lunch and how do you plan to tackle it in 2017?  

Bible Reading Plans for 2017

As we start a new year, it’s time to begin planning and deciding all manner of things. You’re setting goals, deciding where you’ll go, what you’ll read and the personal projects you’d like to work on. At least those are the things I’m in the middle of deciding. Amidst all these decisions, sits the most important one of all—how will I spend time in God’s word each day?

“I am the vine;” Jesus said, “you are the branches. Whoever abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” This verse is one of the most quoted verses of scripture. In fact, it’s one you need to memorize. There are countless occasions when it comes in handy. Chief among them is your need to be reminded of how important it is to remain connected to Jesus. We can’t do anything apart from Him.

One of the most important steps to abiding with Christ, is to be in His word daily. You know this, and so do I, yet far too often we fall down on the job. Often this happens because we lack a plan. Here are a handful of ways you can avoid this pitfall and read God’s word this year.   

The Bible Project - This may be the most intriguing bible reading plan I’ve seen. Not only does this plan get you to reading God’s word, but includes videos to help you grasp it as well.  

Join The Journey - The Journey is an excellent way to ensure you’re in God’s word every weekday. Every morning you’ll receive an email containing scripture to read and a companion devotional. The Journey walked through the gospels this past year and will be reading through the Psalms and Proverbs in 2017.  

ESV Bible Plans - ESV offers twelve reading plans in a variety of formats. They also produce a podcast, that will allow you to listen to the Bible.  

Bible.com - Bible.com, is an immensly helpful resource, including a great Bible app. They offer a wide range of reading plans, but you’ll need to use their website or app to access them.

Ligonier Bible Plans - Ligonier offers a thorough collection of Bible reading plans, that has something for everyone.

The Change Your Mind Plan - This is an awesome idea and exactly what it sounds like. This super easy plan has four steps: (1) Pick a book of the Bible, (2) Read it all the way through, (3) Repeat step #2 twenty two times, (4) Repeat for all books of the Bible.  

I will be reading Join The Journey as my daily Bible intake this year. I did this last year, as we read through the gospels at a nice slow pace. It offered time for me to spend a year sitting in the story of Christ, and reflecting on just how remarkable it is. I look forward to seeing what the Lord does as I trek through the Psalms & Proverbs this year.  

Regardless of the plan you choose, the important thing is that you spending time in God’s word. I pray that the Lord moves greatly in your life this year as you spend time with in His word.

What is your plan for reading God’s word this year?

4 Great 2016 Advent Guides

We are two weeks removed from Thanksgiving. I’m sure each of us has undertaken the hunt for the perfect Christmas tree, and come home victorious. Whether you braved the ice and the snow, galavanting all over a tree farm or climbed the heights of the attic stairs to retrieve a box tree, your mission to decorate and prepare your home for the most cheerful of seasons is complete. But, what about your heart? We spend so much time, money and energy on every aspect of the Christmas season, but how often do we pause to reflect on exactly why this time of year is different from the other eleven months?

One of the most popular and oft sung songs this time of year is Joy To The World. Written by Isaac Watts in 1719 few hymns fill our hearts with such exuberance as this one.

Joy to the world! The Lord is come.
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart
Prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing

Closing our eyes, we can picture Christ’s coming. What a wondrous sight to behold! We sing of joy entering the world in Christ, and indeed it has. But that’s not entirely what Watts had in view when he pinned this classic. Watts had not just the first advent of Christ in mind, but His second as well. Reflect on Christ’s first coming is imperative before we can ever be ready for His second. Watt’s hymn serves as an admonition to do just that.

“Let every heart,” Watts says, “Prepare Him room.” Below I’ve collected four advent guides to help you do just that. You’ll find a guide for men, one for women, one for families and one for everyone. It doesn’t matter much which of the guides below you grab, but it does matter a great deal if you’ve prepared room in your heart for Christ. Throw open the doors and welcome Him in. In Christ God made provision for you and for me. That is after all what Christmas is all about.

Advent 2016: Christ Was Born For This via He Reads Truth

Advent 2016: Christ Was Born For This via She Reads Truth

Seeds of Christmas: A 2016 Family Advent Guide via Watermark Community Church

The Dawning of Indestructible Joy via Desiring God

Thanksgiving 2016

The Pilgrims and Indians held their now famous feast almost 400 years ago. As settlers in a world wholly different from their own, they faced hardship at every turn. If not for the providence of God their grand adventure would have ended in tragedy. Of the 100 or so who disembarked the Mayflower a year previous only 50 survived the harsh New England winter. One can only imagine the tears they shed and the despair they felt. These Christian Pilgrims had to be questioning the decisions they’d made and the God who had led them this far. 

Fleeing religious persecution, these brave souls sailed to the New World with the idea of building a settlement on Christian principles. Their biggest dream was to live all of their lives to the glory of God and for every aspect of it to be ruled and directed by the principles they found in God’s word. Talk about a lofty aspiration. The Pilgrims no doubt believed the Lord would honor and bless their plans. One year in and it certainly didn’t look like it. 

Then one day an Indian named Squanto walked into their camp, speaking perfect English. The story of how Squanto changed the fortunes of the Plymouth settlement is fascinating. It is a tale and testament to God’s sovereign care and provision for His people.

The temptation when we read stories like these is to view the plot and characters as wholly different from ourselves. We aggrandize the players and put them on a pedestal, when they and their story aren’t that markedly different. Time and space may separate us, but we find ourselves within the same unfolding story of God’s grace and in the same position of dependence upon Him. The Pilgrims recognized this and hit pause for a few days to stop and thank the Lord for His provision and care.  As we eat turkey, watch football and gather with family and friends today, let us do likewise. 

We have so much to be thankful for. Let us look to the Giver with a grateful heart and genuinely say, “Thank you.” Thank you not only for the daily provision of bread but for the ultimate provision of His Son that we may have life eternal.      

Rome Persecuted Early Christians & We Have To Learn From Them

Listening to Tommy Nelson teach Church History in the last two weeks, caused a minor crisis of faith in me. It brought all manner of questions and emotions bubbling to the surface. Like so many of the things we see, a quick look at the history of Christianity will make you throw up your hands and ask the Lord what's He's up to.

To begin working through some of these questions, I've started reading Bruce Shelly's Church History In Plain Language. Five chapters in, and helpful nuggets about the history of Christ's church are jumping off the page. Like most stories, this one starts with the beginning—the early church. After a very brief retelling of the life and ministry of Christ, Shelley picks up the trail of the rag tag group entrusted with carrying forth the good news of the gospel to the whole world. "They knew," Shelley said, "man had been redeemed and they could not keep to themselves the tidings of salvation."

This young movement of God upon the earth exploded on to the scene. It spread like nothing ever seen before or since. The burning conviction of early Christians and their remarkable love were not the only means the Lord used to spread the story of Calvary however. He also used the persecution of the church to publicize the Christian faith. "The blood of the martyrs," Tertullian said, "is the seed of the church."

Why did Rome persecute Christians in the first place? And what can we learn from these early Christians that might aide us in our time?

The distinctive lifestyle of early Christians not only set them apart from the crowds, but quickly made them a target.

"The Christians," Bruce Shelly said, "on the other hand, were always talking about their Jesus. They were out to make Christians of the entire population of the empire, and the rapidity of their spread showed that this was no idle dream. Not only did they, like the Jews, refuse to worship the emperor as a living god, but they were doing their utmost to convince every subject of the emperor to join them in their refusal." I love the simple and clear picture of the first thing that marked early Christians, they, "were always talking about their Jesus." It conjures to the mind an image of believers striking up spiritual conversations and sharing the good news of the gospel with such regularity that it appeared to be all they ever talked about. They were filled with such zeal for Christ that they were on a mission to see everyone converted to faith in Christ.

"Simply by living according to the teachings of Jesus," Shelley said, "the Christian was a constant unspoken condemnation of the pagan way of life. It was not that the Christian went about criticizing and condemning and disapproving, nor was he consciously self-righteous and superior. It was simply that the Christian ethic in itself was a criticism of pagan life." When you do the right thing, not everyone is going to like it. It's true today, and it most certainly was true for the early church. By refusing to do things contrary to the teachings of Christ, the early church was hated, ridiculed and despised by many. "Conformity," Shelley points out, "not distinctiveness, is the way to a trouble-free life." Early Christians were unwilling to go along to get along. They knew that faithfulness to Christ was greater and more valuable than avoiding difficulties.

"The early Christian," Shelley said, "was almost bound to divorce himself from the social and economic life of his time if he wanted to be true to his Lord. This meant that everywhere the Christian turned, his life and faith were on display because the gospel introduced a revolutionary new attitude toward human life." Christian views on a host of issues marked them as different from everyone else because they didn't just talk about their views, they lived by them. No matter what it cost these early Christians, they held to their values, principles and the truth. Their faith influenced their day to day lives and put it on display for the world to see.

To recap, the early church was persecuted and maligned by society for always talking about Christ and living distinct lives driven by conviction and faith. Does this sound like church you know? Does it sound like you and I? How are we doing if compare ourselves against the example of the early church?

I've got a lot of work to do personally. My speech isn't seasoned with the good news of the gospel near enough and my life by and large looks similar to everyone else's. But I'm working on it. I'm taking these things in to the presence of the Lord in prayer and asking Him to create this in me by the power of the Holy Spirit. And I'm praying the same for you as well.