It Makes You Think...

So the other day I was writing an essay for school.  My scenario was laid out as such:

"You are the new pastor at a growing church, and a significant group in the church invites you to go to a blockade of a local abortion clinic.  It is against the law to physically stop someone from entering the building.  Would you be a part of this blockade, given the fact you may be arrested.  Why or why not?"

I was pretty excited to write this essay because I knew where I was on this subject, so I started looking for bible verses to support my argument against abortion and couldn't wait to explain why I would not be a part of the blockade.  As I searched online, I noticed a repetition of verses throughout Psalms and Proverbs.  I was on a roll with the essay, when I thought it might be a good idea to check the other side of the spectrum, so I typed in "Bible Verses that support abortion."  There, I stumbled upon an atheists' forum.  Most posts were as expected, people taking anti-abortion verses and calling Christians a stubborn, hypocritical group, until I found one post, and truthfully, this guy had a much better argument than most christian forums did. That's when I got completely off track.

Let me explain.  This got me thinking...

On this forum, the man was explaining how not only on the subject of abortion, but in many other subjects, Christians are quick to throw any bible verse that makes sense to support their argument.  Though the verse may make sense on its own, when surrounded by the rest of the scripture, or looking at whom the scripture was intended for and when it was written, or whatever the case, it no longer applied to the subject.  It blew me away.  He then pulled other scripture to prove his point, talking of how David wanted his enemies children to die.  Though this was an emotional conversation David was having, the verse on its own is clear.  It pretty much says to let our enemies' children be put to death, but when surrounded by everything else, it was clearly a conversation.

Crazy right?

Now, obviously this guy was also reaching way out in left field to prove his point, but it really got me thinking; so much to the point that I erased my entire essay!

I say all this to bring up a not-so-brougt-up point.  As Christ followers, we owe it to our Heavenly Father to get to know this book called the Bible.  And I mean really get to know it.  Know it to the point where we can quote scripture and stand confidently behind the fact that we aren't altering God's will and purpose for however the scripture was intended.  I for one believe God's Word was as relevant then as it is now, and as it will continue to be.  I want us to challenge ourselves and make sure we're representing God's word as it was intended to be, and not pull bible verses out of a bag to prove a point and sound like we know what we are talking about.  How cool would it be to use a verse to support an argument and have it be right on!  So right on in fact, that whoever was in the argument against you couldn't say anything other than God's Word was right on.  That seems like a pretty sweet scenario :)

Let's make it happen

Good to Be Home

So a lot has happened in the last few months.  It seems like God has pulled Mel and I in a billion different directions, all to say that we've been doing everything in our power to make Him happy.

Life in Oklahoma wasn't bad at all.  We didn't come back because we did anything wrong, made any poor moral decisions or anything like that, it was through daily prayer that we realized starting a family in Oklahoma was not something we felt like God was asking us to do.  It's not even the fact we didn't want to start a family in Oklahoma in particular, but that we wanted to start a family with our extended families who we love near to invest time in our future child's life, whenever that may be :]  Our prayers go out to New Community Church every day.  We know we left abruptly, but we are confident that God will move in that place whether we are there or not.  What NCC is doing is amazing... especially in the lives of the youth and the leaders there!  We love you guys!

Speaking of family, we have been welcomed back with open arms at IHC.  I recently was hired as the Associate Junior High Director, and Mel and I are SO SO excited to be a part of the IHSM family.  God's opened doors to start school at Vanguard University in September and am receiving encouragement from everyone along the way.  Dave and Carol Steck have shown Mel and I just how much they love us and that, like family, they are going to be there for us along the way... Its so cool.  Yes, it'll get tough, but God's bigger than full schedules, money, and where you live :)

I live a life to please God, and like it says in Philippians, "I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death... If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me."

Fruitful labor is a big reality in my future, but to have fruitful labor while being a part of the IHSM team, having family around, and a wife that loves me... I figure God will get me through it :)