Author: pastorjonathan

Christian,Husband, Dad, Pastor, Mentor, Volunteer.

“Chazown” By Craig Groeschel (a Review)

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I like the book Chazown by Craig Groeschel.  In my estimation the book is written primarily for Christians who are hoping to develop self-discipline in their lives.  Groeschel has an engaging style that is reminiscent of Andy Stanley.  The premise of Chazown is similar to that of Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven® Life, though Chazown by nature comes off as more of a Christian insider book.  There are also a few places in the book where the author takes on a voice similar to Henry Blackaby in Experiencing God and asks the reader to see where God has been working.

Though I am a fan, I do have a major reservation about the book.  The message of self-discipline is one that is deeply needed, especially in our culture and it is biblical.  However, I’m afraid that an emphasis on self-discipline apart from an adequate portrait of Christ can lead to a works based righteousness view of sanctification.   I don’t think that was the author’s intent.  Again, I sense that the book was written for Christian “insiders” and so a lot was perhaps taken for granted.

Overall I thought the book was great.  The website that accompanies the book is great and the book is one of the best I have ever read on how to practically develop self-discipline in crucial areas of your life.  I highly recommend this book for believers who are looking to develop godly habits in their lives. The retail price of Chazown is $14.99 (Paperback), and is available around the web in places like Amazon.com for $10.19. I gave it four stars.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group as part of their Blogging for Books Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

(Lk. 24:27) why was the Bible written

On By pastorjonathanIn DevotionalLeave a comment

Is the Bible about how to live or about the one who lived for you? Is it about a list of rules to obey or about the only one who was ever perfectly obedient to God? Is it a guide book on how to live in a fallen world or a news cast containing the good news that Jesus has come to save us from our sins?

You see that’s what is at stake here! How will you view the scriptures? Is it about what God has done or what you must do!

Don’t you see? It is about what God has done! The gospel, the good news of the kingdom of Heaven, is about what Christ has done for us. He has taken our sin. He has born our transgressions. He has suffered the wrath of God in our place and he has risen from the grave.

Now we must hear. We must understand. We cannot miss the message. We simply turn to Him. We look to Him who bore our iniquity and shame. We must embrace Him. We must surrender. We must turn to trust in Him. We must walk in Grace.

Father,

Thank you for saving me. Thank you that I am counted righteous by the work of Christ. Thank you that your Bible is the message of what you have done for me in Christ. I will live in your grace.

Heads up to those of you following along.

I’ll be back Monday in another book of the Bible. I’ll be taking a slightly different approach. I’ll read each day until something strikes me. I may read only a few verses from the previous day or I may read a few chapters. Each post will be around 150 to 300 word meditation with a brief prayer. I’ll also post references to 3 passages of scripture that I’m praying through that day. I read one passage in the morning, one at noon, and one in the evening. I’ll post the references. Feel free to look them up and pray along.

If you haven’t caught on yet I do not post devotional thoughts on Sundays or Thursdays. I’m still in the word, but I choose to reflect on the Sunday message my pastor preaches and the Wednesday night message that I deliver.

“he was looking for the kingdom of God” (Lk. 23:51)

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Have you ever been desperate to see God move?  Have you ever looked around and realized that apart from God doing something, it’s hopeless? Have you ever hoped beyond hope that God would move in a significant way in your lifetime?

Joseph did.  He was looking for the kingdom of God.  Then one day on the worst day in history Joseph did something that put him right in the middle of seeing the kingdom of God come together.

You see He put the body of Jesus in his tomb.  When it looked like all was lost he did the right thing.  He provided a burial for the peasant that everyone had thought was the Messiah.  He gave his tomb to Jesus.

Even on a terrible day, Joseph was prepared to be busy doing something.  He was going to take care of the body of this peasant and put him in his own tomb.  Joseph was a man of action.

I guess that looking really involves doing.  Looking for the kingdom of God isn’t sitting on the sidelines hoping to see a miracle or something.  That was what Herod was doing and he wasn’t looking for the kingdom of God.  He just wanted a show.

Joseph was looking and as he was looking he was doing.  His action put him in the middle of the kingdom of God.

Father,

I am seeking to follow you today.  I don’t want to be a spectator.  help me to do even small and menial tasks as unto you today.  Thank you for my salvation that was accomplished on the cross.  Use me to tell others about you today.

“Nevertheless, Not My Will, But Yours, Be Done” (LK 22:42)

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional1 Comment

Have you ever prayed and received an answer to prayer that stretched you?  An answer that took you down a difficult road?  Have you ever prayed that the impending storm wouldn’t come, but in God’s providence He allowed the storm anyway?

Jesus did.  Jesus prayed and asked that the cup be taken from Him and it wasn’t.  He drank the whole thing to the very last drop.  He took on the very wrath of God on the cross.

Three things jump to mind here from this verse.  One, Jesus knows what it is like to pray and receive a different answer than you want.  Two, Jesus was perfectly obedient to God even though obedience meant the cross.  Three, it was obedience that ultimately drove Him to the cross.

Father,

Today I realize more than ever that prayer isn’t about getting You to do what I want, but its about getting me to do what you want.  Today I embrace your plan for me and ask for the courage to follow you wherever you will lead me.  Today I look to Jesus the Author and Perfecter of my faith who was obedient where I was disobedient.

By Your Endurance You Will Gain Your Lives.(LK 21:19)

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Be patient.  Sometimes patience is really hard to grasp.  I like the word “endurance” used here.  Endurance is the key to gaining your life.  Endurance or patience is the key because it holds on to the promise that Christ will do all that He said He would do.  Endurance is faith when the chips are down and the persecution is hot.  Endurance is holding on with the knowledge that Christ is returning and all will be as it should be.  Endurance is facing war, famine, persecution, and tragedy knowing that even in the face of grief… It is not finished.

Those who are not patient will lose their lives.  They will play their hand on the here and now looking for benefits, though they only be temporary.  They will spend their time, their talents, and their money on the immediate.  When something doesn’t pan out they will keep looking.  They give up easy on the right way and pursue dead ends because initially they look like they will pay off with big returns.

“Hold on,” He says. “Hold on, it will be a bumpy ride. Many things will happen, but they won’t be the end.  It will take a while.  My timing is not your timing.”

I guess that is really the key.  His timing is perfect, mine is comfortable.  I like knowing how things will work out.  I would like to know how the next ten years of my life will go.  The truth is I may not have 10 years to spend.  I should trust Christ now.  Even when it looks like the world is against me, I should trust Him and know that His timing is perfect.  You see patience is the ultimate statement that life isn’t all about me.

Father,

Thank you for your Word that is truth.  I continue to be amazed at how you speak to me through your Word.  Today I am waiting on you.  I am working in your Timing.

Servant Leadership: When is The Right Time to Delegate?

On By pastorjonathanIn leadershipLeave a comment

The book of Exodus contains a conversation between Moses and his father-in-law Jethro about one of the most important aspects of leadership, delegation.  Jethro challenges Moses to relieve the burden of being the sole judge for the whole nation. He counsels him to establish laws and appoint trustworthy men to handle the smaller issues of justice.  Jethro claims that if Moses will make these small changes, “God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace” (Ex. 18.23).

Likewise, in the New Testament book of Acts Luke records the history of the office of deacon.  Deacons were selected from among the people to meet an urgent need that was taking the Apostles away from their main duties. Luke records the twelve as saying, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty” (Acts 6:2-3).

Delegation is one of the most important aspects of servant leadership.  Through delegation leaders are able to focus clearly on the greater needs of the organization or ministry they serve.  Delegation also charges leaders to responsibly recognize the gifts of others in the organization and empower them to accomplish larger tasks. Generally, as a result of good delegation, organizations are able to grow and leadership is multiplied. 

WHEN IS IT TIME TO DELGATE?

Knowing when to delegate can be an arduous task.  Leaders may feel that the tasks they accomplish quite readily or even with great agitation will suffer under the oversight of someone else.  Some leaders may sense a loss of control by handing responsibilities of a given task over to another individual, even if that individual is a subordinate.  However, the risk of not delegating at the right time is even greater.  Leaders who delegate well are helping their organization in a long term capacity.  Leaders who do not delegate tend to have only a short-term view in mind.

Leaders who do not delegate efficiently are hampering the growth of their organization. Delegation enlarges an organization’s leadership pool.  Therefore, an organization will never grow larger than its leader’s ability to delegate. Oswald Sanders writes in his book Spiritual Leadership, “A one person office can never grow larger than the load one person can carry.”[2]

Both in the case of Moses and the twelve leading disciples the time to delegate came when they could no longer move forward doing what they had been doing.  The time to delegate presented itself in the midst of crisis.  On occasion, a leader will find that he has taken on more tasks than he has time to adequately manage.  When this occurs something inevitably is let go.[3] While a leader may get by with this for a season, after a while, burning the candle at both ends generally leads to burnout and is unhealthy both for the leader and the organization he serves.

When a leader finds that she has too many tasks on her plate for one person to accomplish she should scrutinize her schedule.  Henry Blackaby and Richard Blackaby write in their book Spiritual Leadership, “The key to successful leadership is not creating more time in one’s life or packing more activities into one’s day, but staying on God’s agenda.”[4] Sometimes a leader will need to say no to items that others would like to place on her agenda. Henry Blackaby and Richard Blackaby go on to state, “Great leaders don’t allow their busy lives or their vast responsibilities to overwhelm them.  Rather, they become the masters of their schedules through determined and conscience effort.”[5]

When is the right time to delegate?  All the time.  Stay tuned for more on delegation tomorrow.

How about you?  Are you good at delegation? What is the hardest part of delegation for you?

[2] Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership (Chicago:  Moody Press, 1994), 138.

[3] Ibid., 140.

[4] Henry Blackaby and Richard Blackaby, Spiritual Leadership (Nashville: B & H, 2001), 200.

[5] Ibid., 201.

“Whose Likeness and Inscription Does it Have?” (Lk. 20:24)

On By pastorjonathanIn DevotionalLeave a comment

“Render to Ceasar the things that are Ceasar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Lk. 20:25).  Do you see the real value of these statements?  Jesus is talking about more than taxes.  He is talking about more than government.  Jesus is talking about you!  You see… you were made in the image of God!  Whose likeness and inscription are written on you?… God’s!

Think about it.  You are made in the image of God.  I think God looks at you like I look at my children.  While I love them and value them for who they are, I also see a little bit of me in them.  When God looks at you He sees you as different than the animals.  He sees His image in you!

Yet somehow we have also marred His image in us.  We have rebelled against Him.  We have each turned to our own way.  We have worshiped things that we were not made to worship.  We have made ourselves out to be gods rather than beings created in the image of God.

Yet now here Christ.  The ultimate image of God because He is God now says, “Give back to God the things that are His.”  And we stand stained, corrupted, and defiled.  Would God even want us back?  We have taken his image and spoiled it in our rebellion.  Can we even be restored?… The answer is Yes!  For Jesus Himself was headed to the cross for our sake.  The ultimate image of God, the word of God, taking on our sin, suffering God’s wrath, clothing us in His righteousness, rising from the dead and now standing at the right hand of the father interceding on our behalf.  So then he says, “Give to God the things that are God’s.”

Father,

I am reminded again today that I am twice yours.  Once by creation in Adam and second by redemption in Christ.  I have nothing to offer you, other than what you have created me to do.  Today I give you glory and seek to live my life in such a way as to point all other to you.  Thank you for the glorious good news of the gospel, that you still take rebels and turn them into worshipers.

Why Are There So Many Versions of the Bible?

On By pastorjonathanIn Ministry2 Comments

I have been asked recently and am often asked why there are so many versions of the Bible.  I thought I would just throw up a blog post here for everyone to see and get my perspective on the matter.  The answer is really two fold.

1. There are many versions of the Bible because it is a translated book.

The Bible was written in Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic.  Most of us are unfamiliar with these languages and therefore need a translator of some sort. (By the way this is why often times you hear different “versions” of the Bible referred to as “translations”).  It would be rather weird and expensive for us to get a translator every time we sat down to read or hear the Bible.

So we have “translations” or “versions” of the Bible.  Someone somewhere (usually several scholars working together) produced a “translation” of the Bible into English. Generally speaking they all say the same thing.  However, translation is a tricky business.  Words are not always equal and sometimes translators struggle to put a Greek or Hebrew thought into coherent English and some choose some words over others.

Then you also have to account for the audience for whom you will be translating.  I sometimes have to “translate” what I am saying in English to my less articulate 5-year-old.  When it comes to the Bible, translation theory also plays a big part.  Are translators going for a “word for word” translation or a “thought for thought” translation… in other words which has more importance, the actual words of the Bible or the thoughts/ message, or both?

So in large part we have several “versions” or “translations” of the Bible because translators are going for different things. The New American Standard (NASB)  folks are going for a more conservative “word for word.” The New International Version (NIV) folks are going for a “thought for thought” kind of translation.  Then there are versions like The Message and the New Living (NLT) that are more like “paraphrases.” A paraphrase is like a retelling in simpler language.  Like when I retell my thoughts to my daughter in a way that she will understand them.

2. Translations are Copyrighted.

The second reason that there are so many versions of the Bible is quite simply publishing companies copyright their translations.  Rightly or wrongly whoever produces a translation of the Bible owns rights to that translation and can control how it is printed and used.  Rather than pay money to use another publishing company’s translation or jump through the hoops of securing rights to use another companies translation on a project, many have assembled a team of scholars and developed their own translation.  For example The Message (Nav Press), The New Living Translation (Tyndale) and the New Century Version (Thomas Nelson) though different versions of the Bible are all geared toward the same type audience.

The fact that their are a variety of translations of the Bible isn’t really a bad thing.  In fact it can be helpful to read two or three translations of a passage to get a good grasp on the meaning of a difficult passage of scripture.  I hope this helps.

Personally I use the English Standard Version (ESV) the most, but I do have copies of several other translations as well.

because “They Supposed That The Kingdom of God Was to Appear Immediately” (Lk. 19:11)

On By pastorjonathanIn DevotionalLeave a comment

He had just proclaimed in Zacchaeus’ house that he had come to “seek and save that which was lost.”  To their minds they couldn’t fathom what would be more lost than the city of Jerusalem under Roman rule.  Some had already sought to make Him the king by force.  But they didn’t understand the full magnitude of what Jesus had come to do.  They were looking to be saved from Rome, never did they imagine that He had come to save them from an even greater enemy.

I wonder if sometimes we might ever underestimate what Jesus is really up to in our lives? We have plans and ideas about how things should play out.  We have taken the liberty and written out all the plays that God should make.  We even take the time to find the verses that support our theories.  Yet in the midst of it we forget one thing: He is God and we are not. We don’t see the big picture.  We don’t have full knowledge of how things will play out. We don’t understand the full ramification of our own actions, how then could we fully fathom the mind of God.

They would have stopped Easter from ever happening in order to have a temporal king. They would have been free from Rome, but dead in their sins.  They would have national hero, but the world would be lost forever.

How many times along the road to the cross would he have been stopped if he listened to those around Him?  Have you ever Praised God that He didn’t listen to our foolish plans or ideas? His are always better, even if their is a bit of pain in the mix.  Have you ever thought that God provides for us exactly what we need in Jesus Christ, and this is often more than we have the foresight to want?

Father,

I thank you today for your patience with me.  Like those around Jesus at this time, I often try to fit you into my understanding of things.  I have ideas on how things should play out, but I am reminded today that your ways are greater and your plans are better.  I am following you today.

 

Review: The Grad’s Guide to Surviving Stressful Times

On By pastorjonathanIn booksLeave a comment

I greatly enjoyed reading The Grad’s Guide to Surviving Stressful Times ! Initially I thought it would just be another corny book aimed at recent or soon to be high school graduates full of useless information and cheesy antidotes.  I was pleasantly surprised to find a great book of substance. Though I do think the publishers should rework the cover. (Some people still do judge a book that way you know).

In Surviving Stressful Times the authors take the reader through a survey of Daniel the prophets life, offering tidbits of wisdom and guidance all along the way.  The book is geared towards graduates, but the theme lends itself to a great series for older teens and young adults.  I really liked the authors writing style.  The book was easy to read, yet full of Biblical principles and truth.

With that being said, the authors did take a little more liberty with the contextualization of the story that I was comfortable with. While at times they did an excellent job of explaining the original cultural context by comparing and contrasting current teen culture, as the book progressed they became more sloppy about providing background and went straight for application which can be misleading.

Overall I thought it was an incredibly well written book and will recommend it to several young adults in my life. The retail price is $14.99 (hardcover), and is available around the web in places like  Amazon.com for prices as low as $11.24. I gave it FOUR stars

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NavPress as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”