The Merrills are truly one of the friendliest couples I have ever met and are excellent at what they do. What I love most about staying in a bed and breakfast is the awkward, spontaneous conversation that you have with random people who you have never met and will never see again. I mean it is quite humorous to wake up, roll out of bed, and come to the breakfast table with complete strangers. Some people might even feel a little sick at their stomach just thinking about the awkwardness of this setting, but I believe this is a situation we should place ourselves in more often. In fact, I would say that as believers we should be on the lookout for times of unplanned conversation with people that we don't even know. How else will we ever learn about people enough to reach them with the good news of the gospel? The more I think about it the more I'm amazed at how isolated my life as a minister really is from the world. I mean sure I go to Starbucks and Panara a lot but typically I find myself, even in those settings, surrounded by a normal circle of friends. I believe that I can learn a lot from my new friends Larry and Nancy, people who truly just love other people.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Destination #2: Asheville, NC
Until I get some pictures posted I am going to avoid giving bland details about our every move, but I do want to give you the highlights. Our Asheville highlight may seem a bit unexpected--it was not the beautiful landscape of the Great Smokey Mountains reaching as far as the eye could see, or the splendor of the Biltmore estate; nor was it the incredible dinner we had at The Early Girl Eatery. Instead the highlight of our time in Asheville was the time spent with the owners of our little B & B, Larry and Nancy Merrill.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Destination #1: Chattanooga, Tennessee
On Saturday afternoon Kathryn and I arrived in the great city of Chattanooga, TN. If you have never been to Chattanooga there's a lot to do there including visiting the Tennessee Aquarium, taking a stroll across the pedestrian bridge, hearing some music from locals on the street, or eating at one of many amazing restaurants in the city. What I find most appealing about the city is its walkability. I don't know if that is a real word, but I love a city that's easy to navigate on foot. Usually cities like these have an assortment of family-friendly parks to hang out in and Chattanooga has no shortage--in fact, the main downtown area is a park.
This trip to Chattanooga, we really only stayed for one night and didn't do a whole lot in the city. Saturday night we ate at The Blue Plate, which rocks face, and then went hand-in-hand to the art district. After a short walk we headed back to our B & B for a night of Harry Potter watching. Sunday morning, we ate breakfast and went to Brainerd Baptist Church. I was quite encouraged to find Brainerd Baptist a place of friendly people and Christ-centered worship. Well, that pretty much sums up our time in Tennessee.... off to North Carolina we go.
Vacation! Woo-Hoo!
I realize that it has been nearly two months since I last posted anything on the blogosphere, and I just want to make it known that I have made a resolution to put away my laziness and begin to write again. My goal is to post at least 2-3 entries every week. Anyway, enough about me and my laziness, let's move on to better things...like me and my vacation.
This week Kathryn and I have taken off on a spontaneous trip around the southeast as we celebrate our 4th year of marriage. We have made stops in Chattanooga, Tennessee and Asheville, North Carolina, and tomorrow we are heading to Charleston, South Carolina. Over the next few days I am going to write about my favorite parts of our vacation. Hope you enjoy!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Precious in the eyes of God
I have recently been asking myself, "Do I really love and cherish Jesus Christ?" I have to ask this question because I know the selfish and sinful thoughts that flow through my mind and, truth is, many days I love myself more than I love Jesus. The Christian life is a fight between our flesh and the Spirit, a fight for love. God's Word constantly pleads with us to die to ourselves (though we are our first love) and live in Christ. If we are to fully die to ourselves, it will be because of the love that we have for Jesus. We must see him as a treasure (Matthew 13:44). I want to encourage Christians who are struggling in this fight for love by looking at two quotes found in 1 Peter 2:4-6. In this passage Peter writes, "As you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious..." and then he quotes from Isaiah in verse 6 which says,"Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." The two points I want to make are based on the description of Jesus being called "chosen and precious" in the eyes of God.
1. We must see Christ as precious if we are ever to treasure Him.
Precious is a word that people use to describe something or someone that they treasure. I use this word to describe my wife because I cherish and love her deeply. This is precisely why God calls Jesus precious; he cherishes him deeply and sees him as a treasure. While preaching on the passage from 1 Peter, John Piper said, "If the English language would allow I would use precious as a verb to describe my feelings for Christ." What he was saying is that seeing Christ as precious is the same thing as treasuring him. What would our lives look like if we truly saw Christ as our treasure? Let us be reminded that is how God sees him.
2. We must see ourselves in Christ as precious if we are ever to see that we are His treasure.
The second point that we need to see is that though God sees Christ as precious, he crushed him for the sins of his people. Think about it this way--even though Jesus is infinitely precious and treasured in the eyes of his Father, he punished him on our behalf. If we understand this reality it will have a massive impact on our lives. Why? If Christ was given on our behalf then God must really treasure His people! Whenever an OT reference is used in the New Testament it is always profitable to know where it comes from. In most Bibles you will find a footnote at the bottom of the page that will lead you to the OT passage. I'm saying this because Isaiah 28:16 (which is found in 1 Peter 2:6) uses the Hebrew word iqrth for what we have translated as "precious". Isaiah 43:4 also uses the same Hebrew word translated the same way. What is interesting about this word is that it is used in Isaiah 28 to describe Jesus, but in Isaiah 43 the word is used to describe God's people. Isn't it amazing that God would describe his Son and his people in the same way? We are precious in the eyes of God because of the life, death, and resurrection of our precious Savior.
Let these words from 1 Peter 2:9-10 encourage all believers as we celebrate the position that we have in Christ:
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people, once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."
1. We must see Christ as precious if we are ever to treasure Him.
Precious is a word that people use to describe something or someone that they treasure. I use this word to describe my wife because I cherish and love her deeply. This is precisely why God calls Jesus precious; he cherishes him deeply and sees him as a treasure. While preaching on the passage from 1 Peter, John Piper said, "If the English language would allow I would use precious as a verb to describe my feelings for Christ." What he was saying is that seeing Christ as precious is the same thing as treasuring him. What would our lives look like if we truly saw Christ as our treasure? Let us be reminded that is how God sees him.
2. We must see ourselves in Christ as precious if we are ever to see that we are His treasure.
The second point that we need to see is that though God sees Christ as precious, he crushed him for the sins of his people. Think about it this way--even though Jesus is infinitely precious and treasured in the eyes of his Father, he punished him on our behalf. If we understand this reality it will have a massive impact on our lives. Why? If Christ was given on our behalf then God must really treasure His people! Whenever an OT reference is used in the New Testament it is always profitable to know where it comes from. In most Bibles you will find a footnote at the bottom of the page that will lead you to the OT passage. I'm saying this because Isaiah 28:16 (which is found in 1 Peter 2:6) uses the Hebrew word iqrth for what we have translated as "precious". Isaiah 43:4 also uses the same Hebrew word translated the same way. What is interesting about this word is that it is used in Isaiah 28 to describe Jesus, but in Isaiah 43 the word is used to describe God's people. Isn't it amazing that God would describe his Son and his people in the same way? We are precious in the eyes of God because of the life, death, and resurrection of our precious Savior.
Let these words from 1 Peter 2:9-10 encourage all believers as we celebrate the position that we have in Christ:
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people, once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Model Students
This week I am in New Orleans with Jeremy Burrage for a week long class in Missions. Here is a great example of Jeremy and I as we soak up the knowledge of our professor. Man, we are like two sponges.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
You Must Be Perfect as Your Heavenly Father is Perfect
Over the past few months I have been teaching through The Sermon on the Mount with my youth group. The more that I have studied the teachings of Christ the more I am blown away by Him. A prime example of this is found in Matthew 5:20 when Christ says, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” The modern reader, with his inadequate knowledge of the scribes' and Pharisees' lifestyle, can overlook the significance of this statement. These guys' entire lives centered around righteous living. They were some of the most respected religious authorities in Judaism. To your “average Joe” seated on the mount that day, the possibility of entering the kingdom of heaven with a righteousness that exceeded that of the scribes and Pharisees would have seemed impossible. Guess what--that's because it was. Jesus later says to His followers, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48) News Flash: last time I checked, being perfect was not something that I excelled at. Can’t you hear the chatter among the people? "Who does this guy think he is? Perfect? Well, if that is the requirement then I guess we are all out." This would be the worst news known to mankind if that was the end of the story. Here is the good news, the rest of the story: Jesus, the guy speaking--yeah, he is perfect. Perfect attitude. Perfect motives. Perfect love for the Father. Perfect love for people. Without blemish. Jesus Christ, through his life, death, and resurrection, has made a way for fallen, sinful man to be made perfect through Him. It is possible for us to be perfect, but only through the imparted righteousness of Jesus Christ who was “made to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Praise God for the Gospel!
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