Category: spiritual disciplines

Our Favorite Sins by Todd Hunter (A Review)

On By pastorjonathanIn books, discipleship, Ministry, spiritual disciplinesLeave a comment

Have you ever wrestled with a sin issue? You knew that you had to change, but change seemed impossible. Or maybe you’ve been attending a bible study or even church service and while you feel educated at the end of the event you know somehow that transformation doesn’t just come with education. Something more needs to happen.  Then this book is for you.

In his book, Our Favorite Sins, Todd Hunter undertakes the topic of fighting sin and does it in an ancient, yet relevant way. I think he is on to something. Many of us in the mainline protestant churches have been quick to dismiss many of the traditional church seasons and disciplines simply because we’ve considered them to be the “Catholic” thing, without giving much thought to the actual benefits of say fasting or praying the hours.  It’s a great book and well worth a read and I think it will help anyone who is seriously interested in dealing with the sin in their lives.

I really enjoyed reading Our Favorite Sins. I had the pleasure of reading it on my Kindle Touch and found myself unable to put it down.  I highly recommend it to anyone interested in growing in a relationship with Christ.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson as part of the BookSneeze 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.”

Read the New Testament in 90 Days!

On By pastorjonathanIn blogging, Ministry, spiritual disciplines4 Comments

I’ve been inspired by my friend and pastor Chris Aiken to read through the New Testament during the first 90 days of 2012.  We will be reading three chapters of Scripture a day and posting our comments on our respective blogs. I will be posting over at NewTestament90.wordpress.com instead of here in order to appeal to different audiences. That being said, feel free to cruise on over and subscribe to follow at NewTestment90.wordpress.com if you are interested.   Chris will be posting on his blog over at chrisaiken.wordpress.com.  I’ll be limiting my posts to 300 words or less to ensure that each day’s posting is brief. Jump in, comment about the scripture passage, questions, etc. Feel free to join in with the challenge even if you don’t come from a Christian background.  Honest skeptics and people from other faith perspectives are welcome. I will be writing from a Christian background.  However, I will instill a stipulation that all comments should be in good taste (you have the right to disagree with my opinion or another commentator, however you are expected to express your views in polite terms… more on this later).

If you plan on joining in and blogging along (and I hope you will), please be sure to comment below and I’ll include a link to your blog on the side bar over at newtestament90.wordpress.com.  Please be patient over the next few days as I get everything established there.

I’ll be publishing my first comments later tonight on John 1-3 and should be caught up by Tuesday morning January 3rd.

Intercessors Arise by Debbie Przybylski (Review)

On By pastorjonathanIn books, Prayer, spiritual disciplinesLeave a comment

Intercessors Arise: Personal Prayer That Changes the World By Debbie Przybylski was an engaging and challenging book.  That said, I still have mixed thoughts about the book.  On the one hand I was challenged and motivated towards prayer like I never have been before.  I really appreciated most of what the author had to say in leading the reader towards a deeper prayer life.  On the other hand, the author and I part ways on a few theological elements of prayer.  The sentence that probably best summarizes our differing theologies would be… “It’s time to release God on earth through our prayers” (pg 15).  My understanding is that God is already actively at work and we should join what He is doing by engaging in prayer.  Perhaps it is just a subtle difference (as the author really puts God forward as the initiator through most of the book), but it is one that made me uncomfortable giving a full and complete endorsement of the book.

Beyond the subtle difference, the book is full of great wisdom and insights on becoming a prayer warrior.  Indeed as I shared in the first paragraph, God used this book to stir in me a passion for Him through prayer that I have not felt in a long time.  I often found myself on my knees crying out for God to move.

The book is very practical and application oriented. I would highly recommend it to discerning readers, maybe not so much for new or immature believers.  The retail price is $12.99 (Paperback), and is available at a discount at  Amazon.com for $11.04. I gave it four stars

If you are looking for other great resources on prayer I have found that Grudem’s Systematic Theology has several good chapters on prayer, also John Piper’s Desiring God has a great chapter on Prayer.  If you are looking for a great beginners resource on prayer check out R. C. Sproul’s The Prayer of the Lord.  I wrote a review for it a few weeks back you can find it here.

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.”

Problems in Paridise (Ecclesiastes 3)

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional, spiritual disciplinesLeave a comment

Ok here is the drill. I’ve been keeping up with chris aiken’s blog. He posts his devotional thoughts in real time via his daily blog post. So somewhere between 6-7am you can catch his thoughts.

I wish I functioned like Chris does in the mornings. I post earlier in the morning before I go to bed (it’s around 12:30 as I write this). There is a lot more to it than that, but it should explain why I post earlier than my good friend and pastor Chris Aiken.

Everything has it’s time
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-15)

This is a sobering reality in the world in which we live. God has a plan and a purpose for everything. This makes God a little difficult to understand when we are hurting in the short term. We wonder at how God can take the bad things, even evil things and use them for our good (Genesis 50:20). We wonder, “how can God cause anything good to come out of this?”

Quite frankly that’s how this week started for me. Sunday from sun-up to sun-down I was dealing with the darker shades of life. Many of the situations were well beyond my control.

Solomon’s advice here is to not let what “we cannot know destroy what we can enjoy” (Tommy Nelson). God is good and ultimately what He decrees will prevail, even through short term pain (Ecclesiastes 3:14).

There is a time for everything and God is good. Ultimately his goodness will shine through, even on the darkest days.

Application:
How do you handle it when bad things happen? Are you quick to blame others for your circumstances?

What are your thoughts on Ecclesiastes 3?

Who defines good? (ecclesiastes 2)

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional, spiritual disciplinesLeave a comment

Chapter two starts out with Solomon’s practical experiments in the pursuit of pleasure (2:3). In the end it didn’t provide him with lasting satisfaction (2:11).

Solomon then sets his sights on wisdom. However, Solomon can’t escape the fatal statistic that ultimately is the leveler of all men: everyone dies! Wisdom in this life Has the same problem that riches, pleasure, knowledge, and a hard days work have… They have no merit or worth beyond the door of death.

Solomon stumbles on to a sobering reality… There is no getting ahead in life when you are racing to your death. We all ultimately have the same destination.

Often we judge ourselves compared to how others are doing. We imagine we are living well if we are living better than others (morally, in the way we handle money, etc.) We might be able to draw a small measure of pleasure from the fact that we are “ahead” in life. Yet when we consider the end or destination, these things really matter very little. It’s at this point that Solomon begins to point to a greater purpose in trusting God (Ecclesiastes 2:24). Though we live in a temporal and fallen world, God has not removed all pleasure. The base line for judging our lives and determining our purpose isn’t what others are doing… It comes from “the hand of God” (Ecclesiastes 2:24). We also know that the standard of goodness isn’t what I call good, but what is good in God’s sight (Ecclesiastes 2:26).

Application: Who defined “good” & “right” for you? Are you looking at others to determine where you are in life or are you truly looking to God for guidance and wisdom on what is good?

What are your thoughts on Ecclesiastes 2?

Grasping for Air

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional, spiritual disciplinesLeave a comment

Wow this chapter is really depressing. I’d like to see Joel Olsteen preach on this one. I was in a good mood until Solomon reminded me that nothing changes (1:10), Generations come and go (1:4), and work is pointless (1:3).

I get it. I cut the grass last week and now I have to do it again. I help pick up toys I never play with. I wash my clothes only to find them dirty and in need of washing again. I eat a meal only to realize I’m hungry again and need another meal. Taken like this it is easy to understand that the meaning of life cannot be found in the simple mundane facts of out existence. The truth is I’m not the first person to exist and if the Lord should tarry I won’t be among the last.

So what’s the point?

That’s it exactly! That is the question that Solomon is asking. Why are we here? What is our purpose? How should we live our lives in order to live them to the fullest (all 3 the same question asked in different ways)

Application: grasping for air… what are you living for? Some things in life we must do to live, but they are not our purpose. A friend of mine used to always say, “do you live to eat? Or eat to live?” I’m a big guy and the point was obvious.

If we are not careful we can mistake the gifts of life for our purpose.

What are your thoughts on Ecclesiastes 1?

Sound Doctrine Produces Godly Living (Titus 2)

On By pastorjonathanIn Devotional, Ministry, spiritual disciplines, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I’m trying something new.  My pastor posts a daily devotional thoughts most every day on the passages of scripture he is reading.  I follow along by reading the same passage in the morning and some time later catching up with his thoughts.  Today is the second day in Titus. I don’t know what aspects of the passage he is going to flesh out.  Hopefully this will be complimentary to his blog post.

Sound Doctrine Produces Godly Living

Truth about God is called doctrine.  Sound doctrine is having true truth about God.  False doctrine is when some one says, “This is true about God” and it isn’t.  Like when some people in Crete said you had to be circumcised in order to be a follower of Jesus (Titus 1:10).  That was a lie and it didn’t lead people closer to God, it actually separated them from God (Titus 1:16). Sound doctrine however causes us to grow in godliness.

So how do you apply sound doctrine to your life?

Submit to authority (Titus 2:2,15; 3:1) – I know it sounds weird to submit.  Saying the very word submit brings back memories of playing “mercy” (you may have called it “uncle”) and watching wrestling on TV. Submission, however, is really less about being defeated by someone and more about accepting authority.  Submission to godly authority actually protects us from error and helps us to grow in our relationship with Christ.  Being under authority is actually a gift from God and we need to be thankful for our pastors and teachers.

As an adult it is easy to see why children really need to submit to their parents.  When I discipline my daughter I remind her that God has given her great parents to protect her and guide her as she grows up.  The authorities that God has placed in our life have come to bless us and help us grow in godliness.

Learn from those who have gone before (Titus 1:4-5). Older women are to teach the younger women.  There is great value in learning from someone who has been where you are and walked with God through it.  We don’t have to blaze the trail anew each time we come to a junction in life where we have never tread.  It is great to get godly advice and leadership from people who walk close to the Lord and have tread the path before us.

The Grace of God (Titus 1:11-14).  God’s grace has a way of transforming us.  The power to overcome sin and temptation in our lives flows from the overwhelming nature of God to secure our salvation and draw us near to Himself.  We have been considered righteous because of what Christ has done, not a work of our hands.  Yet, now what motivates us to give ourselves wholly to Him is that he has given so much for us.  We give our all now, not because we could even begin to repay him by our deeds, but because He satisfies.  What we have in Christ is so much better than the short-lived pleasures that this world has to offer.  We desire for others to know Him and celebrate His goodness.

Application: Sound Doctrine Produces Godly Living… What are you doing to actively live out Truth about God in your life?  Who do you submit yourself too? Who are you learning from?  How has the grace of God transformed how you live?

What is the hardest part about submitting to others?

What were your thoughts on Titus 2?

If you liked this post, you may like these as well:

When Church People Do Bad Things

When Church hurts

7 Steps of a Unified Group

God Cannot Lie, but People Can (Titus 1)

A Student’s Unspoken Plea

On By pastorjonathanIn spiritual disciplines, student ministryLeave a comment

This is a you tube version of a video we showed the students tonight.

The Newest Song on My Ipod

A Satire on Youth Ministry

Jesus Story Book Bible

On By pastorjonathanIn books, Devotional, discipleship, Family, parenting, spiritual disciplines1 Comment

I finally found an Easter gift for my children.  The video below is from the Jesus Storybook Bible.  I ordered the Jesus Storybook Bible Deluxe Edition from Amazon.com ($16.49) and it should be in our home by the time this is posted.  After we have had a chance to read it through and evaluate it, I’ll post a review.  In the mean time check out the video below concerning the resurrection of Jesus and take time to show it to your kids and talk about the meaning of the resurrection of Jesus.

I was turned on to this resource from reading the blog of an old college friend Tim Brister, you can view his blog at http://www.timmybrister.com

Easter Book Club (50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die)

On By pastorjonathanIn blogging, books, Devotional, discipleship, spiritual disciplinesLeave a comment

I want to invite you to read a book with me and take a deeper look at why Jesus came to die.  Over the course of 50 days I will be reading a 127 page book (not exactly an overwhelming task).  In the process I will be blogging my response to what I have read each day and posting it here.  You are invited to participate.  Read along in the book, read my comments and share some of your own.

We will be starting on Easter Sunday.  Below is the scoop on the book, why I chose Easter, where you can get a copy of the book, and the schedule so we can read along together.

A few years ago John Piper wrote a book entitled, Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die.  Each chapter is approximately 2 pages in length and covers one of the fifty reasons.  I must warn you that though the chapters are brief, they are not always easy to process.  I have found in the past that reading one brief two-page chapter a day helps me to process the content of each chapter before moving to the next.

Easter is the time where we celebrate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and Pentecost is the time we celebrate when the Holy Spirit came and empowered the followers of Jesus to bear witness to his death, burial and resurrection.  Coincidentally (or not so coincidentally) there are 50 days between Easter and Pentecost.  This provides a great time to read Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die and meditate on the reasons Christ’s death (and resurrection) were necessary.

I will read a chapter a day according to the schedule and posting my response here on this blog.  I want to invite you along on the journey and share your thoughts here as well.  You will need to obtain your own copy of the book.

The following is a PDF of my schedule for reading: 50 Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die – Reading Guide.