Why This Blog Isn't Enough

Get on Twitter, get on Facebook, get on any other social media and search your favorite pastor or Christian- cause group and you can keep up with all the activities they are putting on or where they are going.

Search any “churchy” topic in Google, and in .00049319819 seconds you will have a page full of blog sites run by Christ-followers giving their say on the subject matter.

There’s no doubt that now, more than ever, Christian’s are overloaded with online resource sites, blogs, video sermons, podcasts and whatever evangeli-fad is going to pop up next.

(Yes, I am including this site in this blog-phenomenon)

((Oh, the ironing))

(((Wasn’t that punny?!)))

But these things aren’t enough.

This blog isn’t enough.

This semester at A&M I have been meeting up with a group of guys to go over the book of 2 Timothy.

2 Timothy is a letter to Timothy (shocker) from Paul in which these guys clearly have an intense discipleship-relationship:

“I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers nights and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy.” – 2 Timothy 1:3-4

In chapter 2, Paul even calls Timothy his “child”.

“You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus” 2 Timothy 2:1

Let’s just cut to the chase.

You aren’t getting the community you need from your podcasts.

You aren’t being “led” by the pastors you follow on Twitter.

As Disciples of Christ, we are called to make disciples.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

-Matthew 28:19-20

We are so blessed to live in an age of technology where we can get our hands on eBooks, podcasts, video-sermons, and blog posts.

But you are never going to get the Paul-Timothy relationship, discipleship and growth from a screen or an audio-track. I realize now, I was beginning to be trapped in this mindset myself.

The Internet is great for the transfer of information, but don’t let the transfer stop there.

Engage people.

They’re closer that you think.

Anchor

What shall I say when the anchor seems to give way?

What shall I feel when I crumble under the bend and the sway?

Where is my hope found?

What will I say when I don’t cross the finish line?

What will I say when I don’t even start?

Where is my rest?

You are my anchor.

You are my hope.

You will finish what you start here.

If my joy is fleeting, it is not found in You.

For nothing of yours ever fades.

If my hope is secure, I know it is found in You.

For everything of yours, you deliver.

This is what I’ll say under the bend and sway:

My God is the same day after day.

Eternal, is my God.

Deep, is the anchor that holds me.

I’m not going anywhere.

Shake 'Em Up

I might be the only one who remembers these, but here goes nothing.

As a kid, I remember going to Burger King and being so excited to get what they called “Shake ‘em up fries”. 

Now just imagine you receive your grease-bag of fries and you frantically search for a crucial ingredient.

Your heart skips a beat because you think they forgot it, but then you see it:

The packet.

A little packet of cheesy, mass-produced…well, whatever that stuff actually was.

You empty your bag of burger content and toss the fries in along with a heavy dose of the shake ‘em up dust, close the top and shake your way into the fast-food dream kingdom.

I will admit I thoroughly enjoyed these fries while they lasted. And if you’re reading this and happen to work for Burger King, I would definitely buy them again!

Now I honestly don’t know how this thought occurred in my mind, but it happened a couple weeks ago when I was thinking about God’s goodness and being gospel-centered.

We often treat Jesus, like some optional packet of fry-enhancing dust.

Paul tells us in Corinthians, we are “bought with a price” (1Cor. 7:23)

Ok, so remove Christianity and all things gospel and imagine you buy a CD.

You want the new Beyoncé album, cause it has “yo new jam” on it and so you put in your hoop earrings in and pop the disc in and it starts playing college business calculus lectures.

That’s not what you bought it for.

It’s not like the CD has the right to change its content.

The CD didn’t buy itself.

The CD didn’t make itself.

You didn’t create yourself.

God has purchased us, with blood.

No paper contracts, just nails.

He knew that we would sometimes play the wrong tunes and serve the wrong purpose but he still bought us.

Therefore, we owe our lives to him.

If you understand the Gospel, you understand how critical it is to realize you are not your own.

“Adding Jesus”, to your daily life isn’t a choice if you have a relationship with Christ.

He’s not a bag of flavor-dust; He is King.

He’s not an add-on: He’s IT.

Our lives are not to be “Jesus-involved”; they are to be “Christ-centered”.

"Manhood Restored: How the Gospel Makes Men Whole" by Dr. Eric Mason

Are you a man?

READ THIS BOOK.

Dr. Eric Mason, founder and leader of Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, blasts open the Gospel and its effects on manhood in his new book,

Manhood Restored: How the Gospel Makes Men Whole

Eric Mason brings it all to the table in Manhood Restored.

Dr. Mason explains the Gospel through the lens of manhood; Starting with a broken mankind and ending with practical steps to live with a restored view of manhood in wait of our Ultimate Restorer.

CHAPTERS:

·      The Life and Death of Manhood

·      The Impact of Daddy Deprivation

·      The Restorer of Manhood

·      Restored Worldview

·      Restored Sexuality

·      Restored Vision

·      Restored Family

·      Restored Church

Mason exposes the cultural causes of our distorted view of what it means to be a man in our present day, and writes in a very “real” and “uncensored” way, dipping into subjects like absent fathers and pornography. For the older men it will encourage you to lead your families to Christ, and for the younger men it will encourage you to become more mature as a Christian man. For all men, it will  uncover some of your biggest struggles and deliver the beautiful message of restoration that is found through Jesus.

WHO SHOULD READ IT?

You may be an older guy reading this and thinking:

“I’ve already become a man. I am still holding on to my faith. What more is there?”

You may be a younger guy reading this and thinking:

“I am too young to get anything out of reading a book like that”

The beauty of this book is that it engages all men at a practical level.

Although Dr. Mason is a very educated man, you don’t need to take online seminary classes to decipher his book.

As a 19 year old college student, some of my friends and I went through this book together and it led to some great insights about where we have come in our lives and where we hope to move and grow in the coming years.

So if you’re a man, who is looking for a book tailored to men, infused with culture and practical steps you can take to seek the Lord, read

Manhood Restored: How the Gospel Makes Men Whole

Where can you get it?

http://www.amazon.com/Manhood-Restored-Gospel-Makes-Whole/dp/1433679949

Want a little preview of Dr. Eric Mason?

Dr. Eric Mason- “Breaking Free From Strongholds”

http://marshill.com/media/best-sermon-ever/breaking-free-from-strongholds

2013

The last day of 2013.

A year where I fought to make myself clean.
All the while, Jesus was there holding a sign saying "Lean on ME"


He whispered, "I am your stronghold"
I thought I could do it on my own though.


He screamed, "I PAID IT FOR YOU!"
As I thought it was all about what more I could do.


When I fell, He pulled me up with his mighty hand.
But there was no feeling of redemption for this man.


Until one day He opened my eyes.


The things I once held onto just could't suffice!
The things that once held me captive were finally thrown into the light.


Now I know what I'm up against.


Sin can only entertain for awhile.


That's why when the ball drops this eve, I'm not going to be able to help but smile.

Because this year, time and time again, my God came to the rescue.
Better than any emergency number you could dial.

With God's power and sovereignty, there is no fear.

So go ahead.
Start the countdown.

His promises are good.



Bring on the New Year.















image: wantickets.com

Bitter Grounds

One step forward.

Two steps back.

Communication is what we lack.

Not conformity, not a new tolerance.

Not some hipster or business executive stance.

The cultural song may sing “be different; embrace who you are”

But when the band starts to play, the music is replaced with argument.

We follow the cultural choreography.

We bend and sway under accusations of intolerance and then for the appearance of being “tolerant” or “loving towards differences”, we slow dance with the mainstream belief.

But what does it mean to love someone, really?

Do we continue to pat them on the back while they head down the road to eternal separation with the Eternal Light?

AKA- Hell.

Or do we love people enough that we TEACH Christ-followers how to engage culture in such a way where we are saving people instead of just commenting on their Facebook page?

You can Instagram your Bible verse and a coffee mug in that perfect position,

Or you could position that Bible and that coffee in the middle of a conversation with a lost soul.

And let the coffee be the only thing that’s bitter between you.

Love people.

But Love them enough to correct them when they stray.