Good Daily Reads

Generally, Christians commit or recommit themselves to a Bible reading program in the New Year. This year, I've been referred to a few excellent daily devotional readings, and wanted to pass them along, as I'd highly recommend them.

Solid Joys- This is a daily devotional app from John Piper & Desiring God Ministries. It's a great since, since it takes Piper's rather long discourses and breaks them up into short, daily tidbits. Each entry was not necessarily written as a devotional, but may have been a section taken from one of his books. The best part is that comes in an incredibly simple and convenient app (both for iPhone and Android).

Morning and Evening- I've wanted to read Charles Spurgeon's famous daily devotional for awhile, and the turn of the calendar was a great time to start. I've read few authors with such a way with words as "Chucky Spurg" and each entry- one for the morning, one for the evening- is packed with tidbits and truths that will lift your thoughts towards things above. I am reading this through a decently formatted $0.99 Kindle book.

Everyday Prayers- This work is a collection of prayers written by Scotty Smith, founding pastor of Christ Community Church in Tennessee. He simply journaled prayers for a year, not planning on writing a book. Therefore, his prayers come across as very authentic. They are practical, theological, humble, and relevant. Each prayer takes 1-2 minutes to read. Also nabbed this one via the Kindle store.

In the 2 weeks of 2013, these works have ministered to me. I hope they minister to you as well.

#YOLO...So now what?

If you're of young blood, you likely have seen the hashtag #YOLO. It's a simple acronym for "You Only Live Once", allegedly popularized by the rapper Drake (who apparently should not be confused with a male duck). Generally, this hashtag/phrase is applied as a reason that someone is doing something crazy, stupid, awesome, or meaningful. For example, someone may say/tweet/post "Spent all my Christmas money on McRibs. #YOLO." Got it? Let's break down what this simple phrase may tell us about ourselves and our beliefs.

On one hand, I totally and completely agree with #YOLO. Why, you ask? Because, in and of itself, the statement is true and biblical! As a matter of fact, each individual only lives once. The Bible teaches that we live and die once- "It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment." (Hebrews 9:27). "What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes..." (James 4:14). So it's good and healthy for us to realize that we only have one life, and we are not sure how long or short our lives will be.

On the other hand, I totally and completely disagree with how our culture applies #YOLO to daily life. In #YOLO, the truth that we only have one life to live is used as a constant reason to live however we want to live in the moment. Wanna be crazy? YOLO! Wanna be immoral? YOLO! Wanna be daring? YOLO! Our culture preaches "You only live once! Therefore, be your own king and do whatever feels great or whatever feels meaningful to you at any given moment."

You only live once, and that is demonstrably true. This simple truth, however, cannot tell you how to live, whom to follow, or what is truly meaningful. The fact that we only live once should not lead us toward irresponsible or irrational living. No, it should drive us to serious reflection on what truly matters, on the purpose of life, and on the God that created us, the God that loves us, and the God that will ask us to give an account for how we lived our one life.

Solomon contemplated and wrote much on the idea of #YOLO 3000 years before Drake, in the book of Ecclesiastes. And his conclusion?

"The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

A Word for Westboro

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Westboro Baptist Church has picketed the Newtown area in light of last week's horrific massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary. These yahoos (who should never be confused with real Baptists or a real church) seem to have the same motive of troubled killers: to make a name for themselves by defaming others in an attention-grabbing stunt.

Based on the few picket signs I could bear to read before nearing a vomitous reaction, the Westboro folks trumpet a clear line of reasoning; a horrible event happened to Newtown, and therefore, God must be judging the town (and America, by extension) for their sin. Sadly, it's a mistaken line of reasoning that many adhere to in a less heinous manner.

I wish Jesus addressed this issue directly somewhere. Oh wait, he did! Luke 13:1-3 recounts this unique encounter,

"There were some present at that very time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, 'Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?  No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.'"

Here, in this passage, we hear of an event where Pilate "mingled" the blood of some Galileans with that of their sacrifices. In short, he killed them unjustly, just like the Sandy Hook shootings. And yet Jesus asks his audience, "Did this happen because those victims were worse than the rest of you?! Was this God's brutal judgment?" In the words of Westboro's picket sign, did God send the shooter?

Jesus' words are clear and telling for horrible and unjust tragedies like this. "No, I tell you." This did not happen as judgment because the victims were worse than you, or worse than any other survivors. This happened to remind us to always repent, to stay right with God, and to continually check our hearts before the Lord, lest we perish apart from him.

Sorry, Westboro. According to Jesus, the shootings (and other such tragedies) were not God's retribution of hate, but his reminder of love.

Two Types of Worship Songs

Here's a quick little thought on two types of worship songs, both of which are necessary for your worship experience. (BTW, I'm talking about lyrical content and not minor chords, half-time, or reverb. Though I do enjoy a mean delay...)

First, there are songs that we sing primarily about God- who He is and what he has done. In these songs, we sing and recognize theological, doctrinal, and historical truths about God and Christianity. (Generally, hymns focus more deeply on such content.) It is helpful to note that these items are true regardless of our experience, feelings, or passion. I can always sing "Jesus paid it all / all to him I owe / sin had left a crimson stain / he washed it white as snow." This is always objectively true.

Second, there are songs that we sing about our experience, our thoughts, and our feelings about God. These are things that generally should be true of the Christian experience, but depending on the specific lyric they may or may not be at that moment. (Many more modern songs are focused in this direction.) "Falling on my knees in worship / Giving all I am to seek your face / Lord, all I am is Yours." In these songs, we sing about our subjective feelings and professions to God.

A few thoughts on these types of lyrical content in our worship songs. First of all, these aren't mutually exclusive. Some songs mix the two, as they sing deep theological truths and then sing about our experience (How Great Thou Art comes to mind...). Secondly, the Psalms display both focuses in their lyrics, sometimes in the same Psalm (Psalm 145 for example). Lastly, I'm not saying one song type is superior to the other. Just as in the Christian walk, our worship songs need to focus on theological truth AND the experience of that truth in our daily lives. Both are necessary for a healthy life, and therefore, both are necessary for a healthy worship style.

My Sermons from ONE28's Youth Retreat

I had the privilege to speak at ONE28 Ministry's recent summer retreat. (ONE28 is the youth ministry of Foothill Bible Church.) We had the chance to look at the theme "Nothing Compares" from 3 passages in Philippians. I have the audio of each message below, for your and my mom's enjoyment.

Audio (Click on the link to listen! CTRL + click to open in new tab)
Nothing Compares with Joyful Service- Philippians 1:19-26
Nothing Compares with Humble Community- Philippians 2:1-11
Nothing Compares with Knowing Jesus- Philippians 3:1-11

Scripture Passages
Philippians 1:19-26
Philippians 2:1-11
Philippians 3:1-11

Enjoy!

The Bible is a Big Deal

Notes from Sunday's Refuel study...

THE WORD OF GOD is SPOKEN by God.

Many times, we want God to “speak to us” and tell us something new and amazing about how to live our lives, or what purposes He has for us. We need to realize that he speaks to us daily through his Word, the Bible- as long as we open it.

- 2 Peter 1:20-21- “Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

- 2 Timothy 3:16- “All Scripture is breathed out by God…”

THE WORD OF GOD gives INSTRUCTION to live a new life.

Through his Word, God instructs us on truth about himself, the world, and ourselves. Through his word, God gives us power to live a new life that pleases Him.

- 2 Timothy 3:16-17- “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

- Hebrews 4:12-13- “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

“Dusty Bibles lead to dirty lives.” (Howard Hendricks)

“This book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book.” (John Owen)

There are ETERNAL REWARDS for following God’s Word.

Psalm 19:7-11- “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.”

God's Notifications

If you're anything like me, you have a love/hate relationship with notifications. You know what I'm talking about. The red number in the corner of your Facebook page; the blinking LED light on your phone; the bold number in your email inbox. When I see these notifications, I have to click on them. I hate seeing unread emails or unchecked social media notifications, and I therefore compulsively check these things to make sure I receive all the notifications.


My (somewhat pathetic) eagerness in this area led me to question my heart recently. How eager am I to check the invitations, alerts, and notifications that God is giving me? When I see the blinking LED light indicating a new tweet or text message, I immediately check it. Yet, how often does God reach out to my heart through his Spirit or his Word with an alert, a notification, a conviction or message? And how often do I delay in responding to his message? Do I check God's communication with me as eagerly and passionately as I check my smartphone? Or do I ignore God and pay him little attention?


Read the verses below. They (along with the rest of Scripture) clearly show that God reaches out to us, to get our attention and call us into relationship with himself. Be honest with yourself. Like those who rejected God in the verses below, do we "resist the Holy Spirit" and pay God "no attention" because we are "not willing"? Or do we eagerly wait for God's alerts and notifications in our lives?


Acts 7:51- “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you."


Luke 13:34- "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!"


Matthew 22:4-6- "Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them."