Jesus and the internet

I am once again shocked at the callousness of my heart. During my prayer time this morning God was merciful enough to once again reveal to me in a new way, the idols I bow down to daily. He did it with a simple question. Would you be more upset if your internet went down for three days or if you left your Bible at church and could not read it for three days? The answer reveals what I have more affection for. The truth is, being without the internet would bother and has bothered me more. I can remember at times being so angry as to want to shout profanities because my access to the internet was not functioning. Yet I can go days without reading my Bible and sometimes not even realize it. This reveals what I love more. I check email and facebook all day long but rarely remember what I read in God's word that morning. I have "exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things." (Rom 1:23) I have "exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served creature rather than Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen" (Rom 1:25) I recently found myself more aghast at the Braves cutting a pitcher than at the sin and idolatry I have allowed and desired in the life that God has given me. Where is my love for Christ? Tied up in the internet and sports and a great many other trivial things. "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other." Matthew 6:24
DAW

What a Wife!

As I am nearing the end of this semester one word comes to mind. Fatigue. I don't think I even fully realize how exhausted I am yet. For weeks now I have been simply pushing myself to finish the things that needed to be accomplished. But with this post I want to say with all I have "Thank You" to my wife. She has been unbelievably supportive and understanding as the demands of school have limited our already little time together. Thank you baby for loving me through this and being so understanding as the demands of school have seemingly torn me away. I love you dearly and look forward to much more time together. You are an amazing woman that I can't believe I get to be with everyday. It is always a thrill to look beside me and see your stunning beauty. But nothing can compare to the beauty that God is working in you. This is one magnificent journey we are on and I love to see Him at work in and through you. You are the best wife a man could ask for. I love you dearly! Proverbs 31:10-12
DAW

Fasting

Is your heart longing for something more today? Do you feel an unsettling or a restlessness? Are their some unexplained anxieties on your heart? Or are their some perfectly explainable anxieties? Is there some sort of suffering that is causing heartache? I know for myself that the answer to all these questions is a resounding yes. There seems to be a longing within me for something deeper and something eternally satisfying. I have come to the wells of the world only to find them drying out very quickly. I have been looking to many things recently to act as my "functional savior." That is, I long for something to satisfy me and leave me satisfied only to walk away and five minutes later feel the pain of hunger once again. This is true especially of food. I love food even to the point that I find happiness in it and long for it not for its practical function but for its comfort. The same can be said of every human on the planet though the object may differ. For example your "functional savior" could be television, sports, shopping, cars, movies, entertainment, or even yourself. But we all struggle with, when we are hurting, looking to the things of this world to satisfy the ache. While reading this morning the Holy Spirit impressed upon me that when I find myself longing for something to act as a functional savior I must abandon it and seek my true Savior. The best way to do this is by fasting. In Matthew 4:1-4 Jesus is led to the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to endure a time of testing and tempting by Satan. (Notice He was led there by God! vs 1) But before the tempting began He spent forty days fasting. He spent forty days abandoning anything that would stray His heart from His Father. Then when the enemy came He was ready. Was He pain free? NO! the Bible explicitly says He was hungry. He had not eaten in forty days. That had to physically hurt. The first thing Satan tempted Him with was food. He told him to just turn the stones to bread. That was small change to God. It was nothing. Yet Jesus would not do it. Why not? "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." What was Jesus saying? God was his sustainer not food. Jesus knew that it was the very words of God that gave Him life. The is echoed in the confession of Peter to Jesus "Where else will we go Lord for you have the words of life." This should be our confession to God. If there is something in your life that has captivated your attention more than Jesus then fast. Fast from that object whatever it may be. If it's food then fast from food. Tv then fast. Shopping then fast. Spend time away from whatever is controlling you and spend that time when the one who sustains you, and you will know what Jesus meant when he quoted, "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word the comes from the mouth of the Lord." Jesus' words bring life. Let us draw near to our God and read the words life as He speaks to us through the Bible.

Hope and Change, God in politics

We have just finished the inauguration of new president of the United States and there are many who think it will be the beginning of a new era or the beginning of the end. I find it rather comical on one hand that we place so much in the hands of one man and yet painfully brokenhearted on the other that we have lost sight of God as Sovereign. Psalm 24:1 reads "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein." There is no doubt that God has given certain authority to men but only in so far as they accomplish His will. (Romans 13:1) There are many whose whole life is politics. That is their joy (or depression) and life spring forth from what happens in Washington. There are those who look to government to be their "savior." There are those who would just as soon the government would stay out of their life so that they may accomplish what they desire. All of these positions have a root flaw. They are placing their hope in something or someone other than Christ. For many, they place their hope in the government to rescue them. For others, they place their hope in themselves and the American people to rescue them. The fundamental truth here is that it is not government nor ourselves that is in control and can offer hope and change. Only Christ. Christ offers hope not from tribulation or recessions but in Himself. "He Himself is our peace." Ephesians 2:14. The hope we have is an eternal joy in the Person of Christ that leads to our changing to be more like Him that HE would be glorified. The more we know of the God that rules and owns this world the more joy we find. When we are satisfied with drinking from the fountain of God then He will no doubt be glorified(be made known for who He really is). That is our hope. Christ Jesus and no other. Do not be sucked into the political game and hateful speech that fills the airwaves between the parties, but rather be filled with the Spirit. Know that God is sovereign and all things happen by either His ordaining or allowance. Do not put your hope in any earthly thing (including yourself) for this is idolatry. Rather set your minds on the Word of God and know Him. For there we find our hope. There we find change. Not freedom from tribulation but eternal joy that is springing up from the fountain of God who is Jesus Christ.
DAW