BJ Not BK

School is back in session, college football begins this weekend, the leaves are turning, and fall is in the air.  I love this time of year.

Friday is for photos.

1.  This one was taken quite some time ago.  Recently I was contacted by schmap.com stating that my picture had been shortlisted for publication.  I found out that my picture was selected and has been published!

I will try and update this post with the link when I get a chance.  Pretty cool stuff.

2.  Big, big news.  M and I found out last Friday that we are expecting baby #3!!!!  We are at 5 weeks.  So far so good.

3.  The land that time forgot - with another baby on the way that means that our small SUV is no longer adequate as it only holds the 4 of us.  This past week has been a quest for M to find a vehicle that she both likes and that will work for our expanding family.  Have you ever noticed that there is no such thing as a "short trip' to the car dealer?  If you go, plan on spending at least 1.2 years of your life as there is no simple way to look at or purchase a car.

4.  Our carbon footprint might be expanding.  Of course there are very few vehicles that can carry a double stroller and hold 3 infant car seats.  What is on our shortlist?  The mini-van or as a pastor once referred to as his castration vehicle or the Yukon Denali XL.  Annual oil consumption?  26.3 barrels per year. 

  photo take from fueleconomy.gov

5.  By the numbers - 162 - that's what the scale read this morning, down from 200!  38lbs.  If anyone is really, no sarcasm, interested in the how behind it email me at bjnotbk@gmail.com.  55 - that's the max number of pushups I can do as I haven't been able to get past week 5 of the 100 pushup challenge.  6.2 that's the number of miles in a 10k.  M and I are running the Nike Human Race this Sunday evening.  

6.  What are you listening to these days?  Me?  Schaeffer bable as he is trying to say his first words, Lily talk non-stop which I absolutely love, car talk, baby talk, all of which is music to my ears.  I love being a husband and a dad.

7.  What are you reading?  I have been going through the book of Proverbs studying the word "heart".  

8.  Weekend plans?  Tonight we are going to a cookout, tomorrow we are headed for a hike/swim, and Sunday we gather for corporate worship.  I love my church and my church family!

9.  I am happy to say I didn't watch a single night of the DNC.

10.  Thanks everyone for reading bjnotbk this week.  My prayer is that you will be entertained and encouraged or challenged each time you stop by.  I am also praying for you, my readers, that is, so be encouraged in knowing that no matter what someone, somewhere is praying for you.  Now go read your Bible, love your family, lover your neighbor, get outside, and love Jesus!   

 Another week gone by and another week away from the Steeple Community.  Where has all the time gone?  I wake up, I go to work, I go 100 miles an hour and the next thing I know I am going to bed.

It's Friday and that means photos, and lot's of them.

Last Saturday our Bible Fellowship class went to the 1982 World's Fair Park to play.  Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure/displeasure.

1.  Me and little man

2.  The three amigos

3.  This one I call, "The eyes have it"

If you like great photography make sure to visit Steve Mckoy's Friday photos here [link] and Joe Thorn's here [link].

Want to see your photo published here?  Submit all family friendly photos to bjnotbk@gmail.com for consideration.  Please note that I reserve the right to publish or not publish any submission.

4. Not sure if you have seen the Olympic coverage this morning?  I was awarded the gold medal in blogging but I threw it down in disgust as I clearly should have been awarded the platinum medal or at least the copper medal.  Have you seen how much copper is selling for these days?

5. "Don't worry...it's not hot."  That was a great one Joe.

6. What are you reading?  Me?  I begin one of my classes on Monday and I am totally stoked.  I have three books to go through.  Spurgeon's Lectures to my students, Reformed Pastors by Baxter, and another I can't remember right now.

7. What are you listening to?  Every time I get in my car someone has turned the radio station to the hardcore rap station and the tank is empty....who could that be?

8.  Weekend plans anyone?  M and I have a baby sitter and reservations at Nama sushi bar.  Anyone out there a fan of sushi?  I love it and I have heard that Nama is the best in town.   

9.  Thanks everyone for reading bjnotbk this week.  My prayer is that you will be entertained and encouraged or challenged each time you stop by.  I am also praying for you, my readers, that is, so be encouraged in knowing that no matter what someone, somewhere is praying for you.  Now go read your Bible, love your family, lover your neighbor, get outside, and love Jesus!   

This week can be summed up with two words.....done.

Thank goodness it's Friday.

and that means....take our souped up ambulance, participate in a cross country race against the clock, the police, and a host of other zany characters to see who can make it to the finish.....O wait, that's Cannonball Run...never mind.

You know that Friday is for photos.

1. I went to lunch with a couple of my bros the other day and when we came out this beauty was sitting in the parking lot.

I absolutely love convertibles.  I have personally owned three myself so you can imagine the joy I had in seeing this beauty with the top down, which by the way is the only way to drive a convertible.  I can't stand seeing someone in a convertible with the top up.

2.  Monday M had the great idea that when I got home we could eat supper, load up the bikes, and head down to the greenway...so we did and had a blast.

3. At the end of the greenway there is a small splash pad.

The water felt incredible after our long bike ride and we ended up playing for an extra hour or so.

If you like great photography make sure to visit Steve Mckoy's Friday photos here [link] and Joe Thorn's here [link].

Want to see your photo published here?  Submit all family friendly photos to bjnotbk@gmail.com for consideration.  Please note that I reserve the right to publish or not publish any submission.

4. 08.08.08 Happy birthday M!!!!  I love you very much.

5. 08.08.08 means the second biggest event begins today, 1st being M's birthday, the opening of the 2008 Summer Olympics.  I have stated in several others posts that I would not watch but I have to.  I apologize.

6. What are you reading these days?  I just started the book of Romans...what an easy read :-) (can you smell the sarcasm?)

7.  What are you listening to?  I created a great playlist this week of sermons on teaching and preaching and church planting.  Pretty cool stuff.  This is what I learned.

 A.  Approach the Bible with humility.  I am not in authority over the text.  The Bible is God's word, written by men, inspired by His Holy Spirit and it has authority over me.  I should come to scripture with humility not to seek information but to seek transformation.

B.  Receive God's word myself before trying to take and teach to others.

C. Use emotion, passion, and movement in my presentation...I think I already do this, not as a show but as a means to convey the very truth you have personally received.

D. Paint powerful images. Spurgeon once commented that many preachers preach on heaven and hell...his goal was to take people to heaven or hell with his imagery.

E. Connect everything back to Jesus.  Seems simple but if not done all teaching will be nothing more than legalism and morality teaching.  Preaching and God's law should point out our inability to keep the law, resulting in our need for a savior, always pointing back to Jesus and the cross.

8. I have some great news to share here on bjnotbk....I found out yesterday that I was accepted to seminary, tattoos and all, as I pursue a Master's in Divinity degree with the goal of a preaching ministry sometime in the future.

9. Weekend plans anyone?  Tonight me and M dance the tango as we have a baby sitter and it is her birthday.  We will paint the town pink or maybe one of the 82 colors J Crew has for tan...like putty or stone or ... Saturday we are off to the Park with our Sunday School class for a day of food, fellowship, and fun, the three F's of any good get together.

10.  Thanks everyone for reading bjnotbk this week.  My prayer is that you will be entertained and encouraged or challenged each time you stop by.  I am also praying for you, my readers, that is, so be encouraged in knowing that no matter what someone, somewhere is praying for you.  Now go read your Bible, love your family, lover your neighbor, get outside, and love Jesus!   

 Here are your weekly Church Steeple Pictures.  I see Jesus as God reaching down to man, the steeple as man lifting up the cross to the community and reaching up to God.

OK, so there isn't really a "steeple" so to speak, see the cross at the top, but I like this church anyway and since this is my blog I chose to post the pictures.  I do like the red doors which to me symbolize the blood of Jesus that each of us must enter under - in order to be forgiven - and enter into the presence of Almighty God.  Only through Jesus can we be justified, only through His propitiation for our sins can we be forgiven.  

Want to see your steeple photo published here?  Submit all church steeple photos to bjnotbk@gmail.com for consideration.  Please note that I reserve the right to publish or not publish any submission.   

Yesterday I received a wonderful present in the mail.  No, it wasn't my publishers' clearing house entry form, still waiting for that one, it was a gift from Fluffy Cow.  I found out through some of my agents on the street that Fluffy is an artist making her very own stamps which she hand paints.  Yesterday I received my very own, personalize, Fluffy Cow, Koi fish.

Today at 2:00 EST we will conduct an induction ceremony where we will introduce the Koi into the bjnotbk Museum of Art.  Appetizers comprised of small hot dogs in ketchup, pigs in a blanket, and 7 layer dip along with drinks will be served shortly after the ceremony in banquet room G.

Fluffy's personal signature on the back, proof of authenticity.

Thank you Fluffy!

1 John 2:12-17 

12I am writing to you, little children,
   because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.
13I am writing to you, fathers,
   because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
   because you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, children,
   because you know the Father.
14I write to you, fathers,
   because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
   because you are strong,
   and the word of God abides in you,
   and you have overcome the evil one.

Have you ever been embarrassed over an email you sent out by mistake?  Maybe you sent it to the wrong "Terry" or copied someone who should have never been copied?  Maybe you responded in anger, Jerry McGuire style only to wish you had never sent it as soon as you hit the enter key?

John's doesn't write the letter as a list of suggestions for us to consider, he writes the letter in reaction to reports he has heard about the church, and what he has seen believers doing in their lives.  The letter up to this point tells us that we are liars, that we have called God a liar, that we are not from God, that we are blind, deceived, that we couldn't find our way out of a paper bag, and that our mom dresses us funny.  To say the least this letter has not been filled with pleasantries, niceties, and terms of endearment and encouragement. 

And unlike our emails that went to a co-worker by mistake, a work group by mistake the damage for the most part was isolated at least within a certain group of people.  John's letter is to "The Church", to billions and billions of men and women past, present, and future and once this letter was sent there was no retrieving it. 

Now John realizes that there are indeed men and women who read their Bibles, who pray, who serve, who truly follow Jesus, who love Jesus, and who are great ambassadors for His kingdom and John is sensitive that there is the capacity for some of those who read this letter to be grieved by it, to question, to feel guilty even though they are at no fault.  So beginning in chapter 2:12-14 John acknowledges those in the church who are faithful to Jesus, those who know the eternal God, those who are living for Jesus, and those young men whom the word of God lives in and who are strong in Jesus.

John covers the gambit of age groups, children, young men, and fathers and he lets them know that he knows that they are forgiven, their theology is correct, they are strong in Jesus, and they have overcome the evil one and he does this right before he hits the church square between the eyes with his sternest command yet.

2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

 Every time the word is read silently, taught openly, preached and proclaimed loudly it is meant to reveal the glory of God to man, it is to take the glory of God as bright as the sun and shine it into our hearts, our dark hearts exposing the things deep deep inside.  Hebrews 4:12 12 says "the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."  And so the goal of scripture is to live within us, to be active within us, to cut away the dark parts of our hearts, to judge the dark parts of our hearts, to show us our sins, to show us where we have sinned in word, thought, deed, or inaction, to bring us the gift of repentance and to repentance so that we will be changed, going in a new direction, the right direction.

We are commanded to "not love the world" which means we should begin stockpiling canned goods, ramen noodles, powdered milk, and 55 gallon barrels of gasoline as we build our compounds upon 529 acres of fenced in farmland right?  Doesn't this scripture reinforce the need to isolate ourselves from the world, to withdraw from the world to keep from being contaminated and our children from being contaminated by the world?  How does this jive, "not to love the world" with John 3:16 that says that "God so loved the world"?  Isn't this a contradiction?  Does it mean that we are to hate the world and only God is to love the world?

1. Don't start on that compound just yet and please...step away from the ramen noodles.
2. No
3. No
4. No

The Greek used in John 3:16 is ton kosmon and refers to the whole cosmos of men, including Gentiles, the whole human race while the Greek used in  1 John 2:15 is Kosmos which refers to an ordered system. "Here it is the ordered system of which Satan is the head, his fallen angels and demons are his emissaries, and the unsaved of the human race are his subjects, together with those purposes, pursuits, pleasures, practices, and places where God is not wanted. Much in this world-system is religious, cultured, refined, and intellectual. But it is anti-God and anti-Christ".  (Wuest, Kenneth S.: Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English Reader. Grand Rapids : Eerdmans, 1997, c1984, S. 1 Jn 2:15)

This verse could literally be translated as "stop loving the world" or "don't have the habit of loving the world" and "stop loving the things in the world" or "don't have the habit of loving stuff".

In the movie, The Bounty, staring Anthony Hopkins and Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins plays Lieutenant William Bligh a British Naval Captain commissioned by the King to pick up breadfruit plants in Tahiti in the hopes of growing them and taking them to the West Indies where they will be cheap food for slaves.  All is well until the ship arrives in Tahiti, a paradise on earth for most of the ships crew.  The king of Tahiti agrees to grow breadfruit for the crew and for months the men lounge around the island, swimming, sunbathing, mingling in with the women, learning the language, and eventually falling in love with the culture.  The crew, whose home is England and whose loyalties should reside with the King have now come to dread the day they must leave Tahiti, must leave the very world they have fallen in love with.  Eventually the men, lead by Fletcher Christian (Mel Gibson) rebel against Mr. Bligh, mutiny, and take command of the ship never to return to their home or to their King.

God's command isn't for us to stop loving people, (see 1 John 2:10) or for us to remove ourselves from the company of people. 

Point #1 - God wants us to stop loving this world, it's system, and the things in this world.

You and I don't have the capacity to love two things that are so diametrically opposed such as God the ways of this world (Matthew 6:24).  If we choose this world scripture makes it very clear that "the Father is no in" us.  If we don't remove ourselves, isolate ourselves, how can we guard ourselves from such love?  Isn't it easy for us to fall in love with our own paradise here on earth?  Isn't it easy for us to be lulled into a false sense of home?  And what does John mean by do not love the things of this world?  Does he mean T.V.?  Liberal news programming?  Twinkies?  

Point #2 - God gives us clear indicators of what things to avoid.

16For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. 

1. desires of the flesh
2. desires of the eyes
3. pride in our possession

These are what we are to guard our hearts against while we are living here on earth as we are ambassadors of the Kingdom of God.   You and I have the capacity to forget our King and our kingdom.  Our loyalties can change if we don't guard ourselves and we too can mutiny.

Point #3 - Everything and everyone apart from Jesus is temporary.

17And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Materialism, money, food, desires of the flesh, of the eyes, the possessions that posses us give us only temporary joy and are void in and of themselves of life, do not have the ability to give life, sustain life and are temporal in that they quickly lose their luster as well as will one day be judged, condemned, and consumed by the presence of Jesus.

Jesus is returning.  He is coming back and upon His return He will gather everyone who is in Him to Himself.  Jesus will judge everyone who is not of Him, condemn those apart from Him to an eternity of separation from Him in Hell.

The good news is that none of us have to endure this.  The good news is that Jesus died on the cross for the sins of everyone past, present, and future and that by believing in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and by calling on the name of Jesus you will be saved.  Jesus will renounce your citizenship here on Earth and welcome you into His eternal kingdom.  You will no longer be a subject of Satan but a subject of the King, Lord Jesus and upon His return you will be given your new glorious body, Philippians 3:20-22, to live in His new heaven and new Earth.

Stop loving the world system and the things in the world.  Start loving people and loving God and using stuff to love people and to love God for everything apart from God is already passing away and in the end only that which is of God will remain.

Today is Friday and that means...the week in weird brought to you by my mother who decided to have a baby 36 years ago.  Thanks Mom!

Friday is for photos so here goes.

1.  You always see me plug Joe Thorn's photos [link] and Steve Mckoy [link] so here are some of my very favorite.

Joe Thorn

Steve Mckoy

3. Finally a couple of my own photos

If you like great photography make sure to visit Steve Mckoy's Friday photos here [link] and Joe Thorn's here [link].

Want to see your photo published here?  Submit all family friendly photos to bjnotbk@gmail.com for consideration.  Please note that I reserve the right to publish or not publish any submission.

4.  By the numbers - 

55 - that's the number of consecutive pushups i just did.  I am working my way through the 100 push-up challenge [link].  Give it a try, it's free.

36 - that's the number of lbs I have lost since March.  For most of my life I have tried to lose weight by changing diet, exercising, etc. with limited or zero success.  A friend of mine turned me onto Setting Captives Free [link] which is a free online Bible study/ministry that helps you get free of food and focus on Jesus.  The study is comprised of three components: 1. 60 day, daily Bible Study, 2. Accountability - each person enrolled is assigned an accountability mentor, and 3. daily disciplined eating.  The world tells us that in order to lose weight we need to focus on food while the Bible tells us to focus on Jesus.  I found that I was eating when I was bored, when I was stressed, tired, happy, whatever the case I kept turning to food and in the end this study revealed to me that I was falsely worshiping food over God and that instead of turning to food I needed to turn to God.  My life has been changed forever by this powerful study!!! 

From 36 to 32 - since losing 36lbs my waist has shrunk from a 36 to a 32.

5.  What are you reading?  I love Wired Magazine [link].  Anyone else out there a fan?  I have been studying 1 John a lot lately, reading my daily dose of blogs, Steeple, Joe, Drudge, as well as slowly plowing my way through a couple of books.

6. Ideas - Right now I am working on two new sites that I hope to launch within the next 180 days of so.  One will be men specific and the other will be geared for women.  I am very excited about these projects as they will be Christ focused specifically to meet the needs of men and women.  Look for more updates here on the Week in Weird.

7.  What are you listening to?  My Ipod has close to 5500 songs on it which is cool but is sometimes hard to manage let alone find the songs you want or decided on what to listen to.  I created a playlist the other day for July and August for when I run outside and here are a couple of my favorites:

John Mayer - Gravity

Lenny Kravitz - Are you gonna go my way?

8.  Time?  Who has any these days? 

9.  Weekend plans anyone?  Tonight it is just me and the kids as M gets a well deserved break for a laddies night.  We might ride bikes, we might go to a playground, who knows?  The possibilities are endless.

10.  If you see Napalm give him a hug and a word of encouragement.  I haven't heard him this low since word broke that agent orange was being outlawed.

11.   Thanks everyone for reading bjnotbk this week.  My prayer is that you will be entertained and encouraged or challenged each time you stop by.  I am also praying for you, my readers, that is, so be encouraged in knowing that no matter what someone, somewhere is praying for you.  Now go read your Bible, love your family, lover your neighbor, get outside, and love Jesus!   

According to an April 2008 news article in the Knoxville News Sentinel [link] baptisms are down for the third year in a row within Southern Baptist Churches (5.5 percent) while total membership has dropped by nearly 40,000 people.  In 1950 Southern Baptist Churches baptized one person for every 19 members while in 2007 that number dropped to 1 baptism for every 47 members.  What's happening to our churches?  

Has the gospel lost it's power?  Lost the power to save people, to change people's lives?  No, the gospel is still the greatest news ever given to man that Jesus who is God "died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared" 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 and the gospel has nor never will lose the power to save people Romans 1:16 "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes."

Could it be that our methods are outdated?  Our buildings need a face lift?  Our programs need re-tooling?   Our music needs to be louder?  Are we now competing with the culture for time and attention as people shift their priorities and work around their busy schedules?  I am sure we could revisit our programs.  We could look at how to present the unchanging text, the gospel, to an ever changing culture.  We could create strategy based on the demographics surrounding the church and cater specifically to them, that might help.  We could offer programs to address various needs within the community.  We could give our building a face lift, a new touch of color, we could even get an electric guitar or not.  I think each generation has it's own distinct challenges on how to present the Bible in the context of the time period in which they live.  And we could spend time and money and resources making changes, buying literature, paint, Gibson guitars, and pictures but before we do that, before we take off in a new direction, before we go there I just want to step back for a moment.

Earl Weaver, former manager of the Baltimore Orioles once jokingly said, “The key to winning baseball games is pitching, fundamentals, and three run homers.”

Ted Williams, the great baseball player once said, "Whenever I went into a slump, I went back to fundamentals. Wait on the ball, be quick, use a light bat and choke up."

No matter what sport you talk about whenever a team is in a slump, in decline, or not where they need to be they often go back to the fundamentals of the sport, they re-look at the basic principles, moves, and strategies that must be mastered before doing anything else.  

And so with the time we have here I want us to go back for a moment and look at the basics of our faith, to get back to the fundamentals found in our Bible, to be encouraged in Jesus, to be reminded again of what is at the heart of everything we do so that we will be on track and focused on that which truly matters. 

Psalm 119:18 says "Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law."

Let's pray and then we will get right to work.

Father God, I don't want to come to you with any fancy words, any agenda.  I want desperately to know you more, to love you more, to see you Jesus as you are high and lifted up.  Open our eyes Lord that we may behold wondrous things out of your law. Holy Spirit I ask that you fill us, refresh us, encourage us and open our eyes for your glory and our benefit.  Amen

Turn in your Bibles with me please to Mark 12:28.  We are going to begin with Mark, chapter 12 verse 28 and read through to verse 34.

Mark 12:28-34

²⁸ And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.  ³² And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. ³³ And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions."

In the gospel of Mark Jesus is at the end of His ministry and what a ministry it is!  He has done many many great things in the lives of those He has touched. 

Mark Chapter 1 - goes into the desert for 40 days, is tempted, does not sin, calls His first disciples, heals many many people
Chapter 2 - Heals a paralytic by telling him that his sins are forgiven (which is much better than a co-pay!), tells the religious folk that He came to hang out with sick people/sinners and heals a man on the Sabbath
Chapter 4 - teaches in parables, calms the storm
Chapter 5 - commands demons, raises Jarius' daughter from the dead
Chapter 6 - Jesus feeds 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish
Chapter 8 - Jesus foretells of His death and resurrection
Chapter 11 - we see the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on the back of a colt in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9 and He cleanses the temple

Jesus has healed the sick, He has raised the dead, He has taught and preached about the kingdom of God and without question Jesus has proclaimed over and over again and again that He alone is God.  In doing so Jesus had many enemies, many who hated Him, and many who plotted to have Him arrested, tried, and put to death.

And so in chapter 12 we see that Jesus' enemies have sent their best and brightest to pick a fight.  These guys really know their stuff and you can see them coming from a mile away, sort of like the guys in white shirts and ties on bikes and they have a verse for everything.  They didn't go to Jesus to learn, to see Him, they went hoping to trick Jesus into saying something offensive, to see if they can get Jesus to say something against the government or to blaspheme God.

So they ask Him about taxes and the resurrection and aren't really making any headway mostly because Jesus is God and they are idiots and then one of the scribes who has been on the fringe listening in asks a great question.

It's kind of like he has been sitting at the kid table listening in on the discussion and finally he gets his chance to ask Jesus a question.

²⁸ And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.

Knowing who God is
Loving God
Loving people

These are the fundamentals of the faith.  These verses are the wind sprints, the tire drills, the bleacher steps, the roadwork, the basics if you will of our faith and I think it does us well to revisit these from time to time to make sure we are on track and focused on what really matters .

Basic Fundamental #1 - Knowing who God is 

 ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

"Listen up!" Jesus is saying.  Everything begins and ends with God.  You can't be a church, can't be a Christian, can't be effective in your community, can't reach people for Jesus, can't be saved, unless you know who God is.  

There is one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all Ephesians 4:6 and that God is united as one in God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  We are commanded in Exodus 20:3 to have no other gods before God. 

It is God alone who is worthy of all glory and honor and praise nothing or no one else.
It is God alone who is holy and righteous.
It is God alone who is good.
It is God alone where we find our hope and our rest as David says in Psalm 62.

When we know intimately who God is, when we see Him in all His glory, high and lifted up, when we realize that He alone is God, He alone is creator, He alone is our sustainer and He alone is our salvation then everything else is put in it's proper perspective, everything else falls into place, everything else begins to make sense.

It's not just enough though to know God, to know about God, to know a couple of songs, to know a couple of verses, to have a Bible, to know someone who once went to a church.

James 2:9 says that even the demons believe that God is one and shudder but merely knowing about God, having a head knowledge is not enough.   Jesus said you gotta love God with everything you got!

Basic Fundamental #2 - Loving God

you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

Each of us are created with the sole purpose to worship and enjoy God forever.  The question is never will we worship but who or what will we worship.  Jesus tells us that the greatest command is to love, agapao, the cherish, to be content with, to hold dear only Him to be satisfied with nothing else!  Yet you and I have the propensity to turn anything into an idol, to worship many other things and people in place of God.

We do it with food, sex, money, pets, material items and the list goes on and on and on.

What sits on the seat of your heart?  What do you spend most of your time thinking about?  Where does all your efforts, time, attention, skill diverted to?

We have to love God...with all of our heart - give Him your undivided attention. With all our mind - fill you things with the things of God.  Study His word, be in prayer, listen to good sermons and with all our strength - make every effort you can to love God.  Everything will conspire against us to take us away from God to distract us and we have to use every muscle in our bodies, every once of energy we have to fight against any impulse away from God and to make time for God, to love God.

Secular humanist and evolutionary biologist will tell you that we are products of chance, the result of random processes, animals who have risen from the primordial soup.  Happiness, anger, and even love don't exist as they are merely chemicals secreted and synapses firing within our brains.

Yet in Genesis 1:26 God says "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." You and I are not here by chance and we are not products of random, uncoordinated processes we are created by the hands of the Father, in the likeness of the Trinity, with inherent dignity, value, and worth.  We are image bearers of God.

Basic Fundamental #3 - Loving People

The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

1 John 4:16 say that "God is love" Out of His infinite love God has created everything around us, everything for us, and everything for His glory.  As men and women created in the image of God, with the attributes out of God we are to represent God here on earth and to bear His image here on earth and the second greatest commandment we are given is to love people.

Not a touchy feely, creepy you have something I need or want or I can use you to get my way kind of love.  That's not what Jesus is talking about.  What Jesus is commanding us to do is to see people as He sees them, to love them like He loves them.  John 3:16 says that "God so loved the world that He gave his only Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." Is Jesus commanding us to die for others?  Maybe?  But I do think He is asking us to die to ourself, to die to our preconceived notions about people based on the way they look, the way they dress, the way they talk, where they are from, or how they vote.  I do think the commandment is pointing us to give of ourselves to other people by being their friends, by helping meet their needs, and by loving them as Jesus loves them.

As the church aren't we the body of Christ until He returns?  Does this mean we have to love people who don't love Jesus?  Yes.  Aren't they the enemies?  No!  

As the church I think we get too easily sidetracked by political and personal issues.  The country is divided between red states and blue states and sometimes we see this as a good vs. evil.  As men and women of God we are called by Jesus to be in the world and not of the world and we are called to fight for truth and to stand up for what is right so I am not advocating that we abdicate this responsibility.  Yet as the body of Christ what is it we should be known for?  Our political stances?  Our voting record?  What we oppose?

David Kinnaman, in his book Unchristian, notes the perceptions that young people in America have about the church and Christians.  In national surveys the results were almost always the same...young people view the church and Christians as anti-homosexual, judgmental, hypocritical, and too political.      

What does it matter what others think?  The reality is that there is an entire generation of people who are growing up outside of the church, away from God, and who are turning away from the things of God because they are completely turned off by the people of God.

We are not a political party!  We are jars of clay with treasure inside, the treasure of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We have the greatest news the world has ever heard.  God made us, God loves us and it is God's gift of His Son Jesus who died on the cross for our sins who saves us.

I don't care what other people think about me, what they say, how they react to me, but I do care what they think about Jesus.  What they say about Jesus and how they react to Jesus.  Do people see Jesus when they see you?  Me?  Our Church? 

You and I are to love and to be known for our love because it is the love of Jesus ministering to a dying world, reaching out to a lonely world that is desperately searching for love.   Let's get back to the basics of loving people like Jesus loves people.  Let's be generous with everything we have, let's give abundantly of our stuff and our time.  Be big tippers when you eat out.  Be courteous to others.  Be about making friends with people completely different than yourself.  Be missional in your neighborhoods and be Jesus to everyone around you.

 Maybe, just maybe we need to refocus on what truly matters:

Knowing God, Loving God, and Loving People.