Good News

Well, I think I have told most people by now, but I am going to be a dad come February. I'm so excited for that change that is coming. I'm not sure if you're ever totally ready, but I feel pretty ready.

I inserted  picture to the right... I think he/she looks like me!

Faith = Seeing?

I have been wrestling with the passage that I am teaching on this weekend. I am teaching out of Hebrews 11:1 and finishing our series on Childlike Faith (called Wide Eyed Wonder). The passage in Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. As I looked at the meaning of the words 'sure' and 'certain' in the Greek, I was even more confused...

The KJV translation of passage is "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (by the way, I don't usually side with the KJV translation, but in this case I think might have gotten it). See, they translated faith as evidence. At first that doesn't make any sense, in fact, it seems like circular reasoning. But then I ran across this C.S. Lewis quote... I think he nailed what this passage means and is getting at. 

Lewis (in The Weight of Glory) wrote, "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." In this sense, faith is evidence. It is seeing. It is seeing God's invisible attributes through the things that he has made (Rm 1:20).  Faith doesn't create something in and of itself, it sees what is really there... lying almost eerily just beneath the surface - waiting and wanting to be exposed. 

They Like Jesus 2

As a college staff we are continuing to go through the book, They Like Jesus But Not the Church. As previously posted, I highly recommend the book. This week we read a chapter where Dan Kimball interviews people and asks them what they think about Jesus. Some of the adjectives they used to describe him were: powerful, good teacher, moral, loving, beautiful, etc. I read the comments that most of these people made and I thought that I could easily be listening to someone who was a follower (and a strong follower at that) of Jesus Christ. Yet, non of the people professed to be Christians. 

I have to ask the question... why not? If Jesus is that captivating to people, why aren't they followers? I think that the people Kimball chose to interview represent a pretty accurate view of people's perceptions of Jesus. I hear many of the same responses when out am out on the local campuses. So the question ruminates in me. Honestly, I don't have an answer. I know that Kimball's conclusion is that they are turned off by the church. I'm not sure that I buy that as the sole reason... especially since most of their conclusions about church seem to be drawn from television evangelists. This is a question that I will be thinking about for a while.

One of the reasons that come to mind is that it is easy to look upon someone or something and find it attractive or beautiful, yet not be willing to pay the price to have the thing. I think that people realize the beauty of Jesus, yet they also recognize (maybe more fully) what it demands to follow him. I think its the same thing that happened to the rich young man (Luke 18). He had seen the glory of Jesus, yet he was unwilling to forsake all to follow. 

Whatever the reason, I am once again encouraged that people are far more open to Jesus than I give them credit for.

They Like Jesus...

I am currently reading the book "They Like Jesus, But Not the Church" by Dan Kimball with our college ministry staff. It is a phenomenal book. I highly recommend it to anyone working in Christian ministry or anyone who has been a Christian for a while. It has been so challenging to me, and it has pointed out some areas in my life that I really want to change and grow in. It has forced me to see the way that I have become part of the Christian bubble. I spend most of my time on the church campus, hanging out with Christians, ministering to Christians. This book is really inspiring me look at my schedule and in a very practical way find times that I can intentionally be away from the office.

It has been so encouraging to see the way that people outside the church view Jesus. In fact this is very consistent with what I have seen at CSUSM and Palomar. Every Wednesday I go to palomar and talk to people about fauth, they are very willing to talk about Jesus, they are very interested in who he is and open to those discussions. I am excited to pursue that further next fall!

American Idol

I play basketball on Wednesday nights with a bunch of guys from the college group. Usually when I get home I can't fall asleep for a while because my adrenaline is still going strong. Last night I decided to watch the finale of American Idol that I tivo'd. I watched the 2 hour program in 20 mins literally... oh the glory of TIVO. But there was one catch. It got to the end of the show where Ryan Seacrest was going to announce the winner. He said, "And the winner of American Idol 2008 is..." and my TIVO cut out. I guess the show went a little bit long last night. Classic!

Louie on Laminin - Awesome!

A friend of mine sent me a link to this video... it's awesome. Take the 10 mins and check it out.

Filtered Living

This week I am going to teach on Colossians 3:15-17. I'm so excited about it because I think it answers a lot of questions that college students (and just people in general) have. I can't tell you ho many people I have talked to who really truly want to know what God's will is for their life. I think this passage helps us answer that question. Here is Paul's advice - it's threefold and then the result follows.
(1). Let the peace of God rule in your heart
(2). Let the word of God dwell in you richly
(3). Be thankful

Those are the three commands that Paul gives. now, I understand that these still leave much potential ambiguity when it comes to decision making, but I am starting to fully believe that is the way God designed it and exactly the way he wants. See, this ambiguity forces us to stay constantly connected to the vine.

The result that follows is... do whatever you want! If you let the peace of Christ rule in your heart, dwell richly in the word, and are thankful... do whatever you want and give thanks a glory to God. What a freeing message. I'm stoked to teach it this weekend.