Danger: Post Youth Group

This morning on the way to work, I heard a story on Moody Radio that really got my attention.  It got me listening because it talked about a study that attempted (and succeeded greatly) in answering a question that on my heart a lot.  Some people at Eastlake Baptist know that the current spiritual growth of the youth is not my only concern because I am deeply concerned with their spiritual growth after they finish high school.  Several of you have heard me talk about it before.  The truth is that a huge amount of people leave the church after high school, and church congregations are dumbfounded.
The reason is easy to see if you are in the right place to see it.  It's the youth groups!  For most people in the church, the one criteria for a successful youth group is numbers.  If they see a lot of kids in there, they think everything must be going great.  The kids are in church and having fun.  What could be wrong?  A lot.  This single standard of measure has caused many well-meaning volunteers and paid ministers to strive for that one thing, and the way to get a lot of kids somewhere is easy.  Entertain them.  So, that's what they do.  They play games.  They watch movies.  They go to amusement parks.  None of these things are bad to do from time to time, but these youth groups start doing them all the time.  You can see the problem, right?
This study went around to college campuses, found former youth group members now involved in things like secular student organizations.  When some might think that they would find a lot of little Richard Dawkinses, lured away from Christianity because of arguments given in favor of evolution, that was not the case for the majority.  The problem for most of the former youth groupers, including Phil, who was the president of his youth group, started in the youth group, with their leaders seeking to entertain them rather than taking the Bible seriously and challenging them with it.  Kids are a lot smarter than many adults give them credit for.  They can see when you really believe something, and they respect it.
This is where it comes to the parents.  Even though the kids will grow with leaders who focus on the Scripture, most will not beg you to go to that kind of group, especially not the younger ones.  Parents must realize that their are a lot of other pulls of them.  I hear excuses like, "I don't know anyone."  Well, you will if you go, just like school.  "It's boring."  They just don't have ears to hear yet.  Give it time.  There are many more, but you get the point.  This is their spiritual health and walk with God on the line; their entertainment, popularity, and comfort and come second.  You have to be the parent, know it is for their good, and bring them, "kicking and screaming" if necessary, though hopefully not literally.
My concern over this has brought me to the conclusion, many years ago, that The Forge at Eastlake and the youth groups I have lead previous to it, need to be focused solely on God and His Word.  We will play some games and have some fun, but the focus will never be on that.
My desire is that this will be an encouragement to the youth that have been going to their youth groups and the parents who have been bringing them as well as an encouragement to those have been gone for a while for whatever reason to come on back.  We've missed you.

Sitcom Workouts

This may be the first time on this blog that I have written about a topic that, on the surface, has nothing to do with God, but as the creator of this world, everything really comes back to Him.

Working out is something we all wish we did, but sometimes it is just a pain to get yourself in the habit of doing it.  Once the habit is formed, believe me, it only takes minimal effort to stick with.  Courtney just recently got me on a recent craze that really makes getting into working out a lot easier.  They’re called “TV Workouts” or “Sitcom Workouts” usually titled with whatever show you are using first i.e. “Big Bang Theory Workout.”

There are a number of these out on the internet already made, and you can completely customize them.  Plus, if it isn’t already out there, even a complete workout novice can make their own from an example for a show they are familiar with.

Instead of describing them, I will just give you two that I have made.  The first is a Big Bang Theory Workout that I modified from several I found online, and the second a Frasier Workout that I made on my own.

Big Bang Theory Workout

Sheldon says, “Bazinga”                                                   
– 20 Squats

Anyone eats food                                                 
– 10 Burpees

Someone knocks on a door
– 20 Crunches

Sheldon gives a fact
– 10 Jump Squats

Sheldon fails socially
– 20 Jumping Jacks

Howard’s mother yells
– 30 Crunches

Sheldon is made fun of
– 20 Squats

Howard hits on a girl/mommy issues
– 20 Mountain Climbers

Raj & Howard argue/gay
– 20 Sit-ups

Amie says something lesbo
– 15 Squats

Anyone mentions Texas
– 20 Jump Squats

Anyone drinks
– 15 Fire Hydrants (each leg)

Raj can’t talk/whispers to Howard
– 10 Butt Busters (each leg)

Anyone says, “Coitus” or “Star Trek”
– 20 Mountain Climbers

Leonard longs for/fights with Penny
– 50 Bicycle Crunches

Howard mentions his Jewish ancestry
– 20 Push-ups

“The Stairs” are shown
– 20 Crunches

University is shown
– 20 Push-ups

Comic book store is shown
– 10 Lunges (each leg)

Cheese Cake Factory is shown
– 20 Calf Raises

Frasier Workout

Frasier says, “I’m listening”
- 20 Mountain Climbers

Niles creeps on Daphne
- 20 Sit-ups

Frasier offers a sherry
- 20 Squats

Martin is sitting in his chair
- 20 Jumping Jacks

Frasier hangs up with a caller
- 20 Jumping Jacks

Anyone eats or drinks
- 10 Burpees

Someone says, “Eddie”
- 30 Crunches

Eddie breaks the rules
- 10 Jump Squats

Bulldog barks
- 20 Push-ups

Daphne mentions England/Manchester
- 50 Bicycle Crunches

Someone rings/knocks on a door
- 20 Crunches

Frasier mentions Harvard
- 20 Jump Squats

Roz talks about sex/her baby
- 10 Butt Busters (each leg)

Martin does/talks about exercises
- 20 Push-ups

Someone mentions Martin being shot
- 20 Mountain Climbers

Frasier & Niles argue/fight
- 10 Squats

Frasier yells
- 20 Jumping Jacks

Frasier apologizes
- 15 Fire Hydrants (each leg)

Nirvosa (coffee shop) is shown
- 10 Lunges (each leg)

Radio Station is shown
- 20 Pushups

Courtney and I have had a lot of fun doing them together, and I am really happy about it because being in shape is something I feel very strongly honors God.  Once you become a believer in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to live within you as a guide and helper.  Your body literally becomes a temple for the God of the universe, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?  You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.  So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  That is why the church is not a building, it is the people.  We are put in charge of taking care of that temple.  That means eating right is not only a good habit, it is a spiritual act of worship… a sacrifice on the altar so to speak.  Sacrifice is difficult, and the area of food is an idol to many believers.  I challenge you not to let yourself fall into that trap.

You are more than welcome to use mine, modify them, etc.  I hope they help you get into the kind of shape your desire and that honors God.

If Only

In our Sunday night Lifegroup, we are talking about other religions and cults.  It is a very interesting look at what others believe, why they believe it, and how we can reach out to them.  The topics range from the interesting to the bizarre as we discuss the practices of other belief systems, but there is one thing that has come back several times.  I have heard something like this phrase being said on multiple occasions, “If only we were as good as they are about witnessing to people.”

I can hear the sadness in the slight tremor of the voice each time it is said by each person.  I can feel the shame as the words are cast out into the room and die away.  The unsaid looms, “Why don’t we witness like these other groups?”  The Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t know who God is.  Their relationship is confused by the lies of the Book of Mormon and the Watchtower.  We have the Way!  We have the Truth!  We have the Life!  It is Jesus Christ!  Yet they outdo us all the time in telling others about Him.

Jesus said that the all the Law and the Prophets depend on this:  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15), and when He left this world, He said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).  “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).  It is quite easy to put these Scriptures together.  You received power when the Holy Spirit came upon you, and if you love God, you will go tell others about him and teach them to follow Him.  It is that simple, and there is no exemption clause for age or gender or anything else.  I have seen children that have not reached ten years old passing out Bibles to friends at school, and I have seen old woman crippled with age lead a teen to the knowledge of Christ.

You may be scared, but God did not give you a spirit of fear.  That is Satan.  Don’t listen to him.  Listen to Jesus!  How grateful are you to the one who told you about Jesus?  You have the opportunity to be that to someone else.  If you really care, tell them about Jesus.  Don’t be a coward and wait for someone else to do it.

Real Life

When you think of the term “real life,” what comes to mind?  Usually I think people, at some level, get the idea of the small things in life, or maybe the “day to day” things that go one.  Ideas of real life become the tiny moments that one treasures in this life.  It is an amazing deception.

C.S. Lewis, in his book The Great Divorce, had an interesting description on heaven.  At the beginning of the book, he made clear the idea that he was not speculating on the afterlife, only giving an idea.  So, nothing in the book should be taken as the way it will be.  However, part of this idea, I believe was the difference between heaven, hell, and earth.  He describes heavens as a place that is so much more real than earth.  In comWhen you think of the term “real life,” what comes to mind?  Usually I think people, at some level, get the idea of the small things in life, or maybe the “day to day” things that go one.  Ideas of real life become the tiny moments that one treasures in this life.  It is an amazing deception.

C.S. Lewis, in his book The Great Divorce, had an interesting description on heaven.  At the beginning of the book, he made clear the idea that he was not speculating on the afterlife, only giving an idea.  So, nothing in the book should be taken as the way it will be.  However, part of this idea, I believe was the difference between heaven, hell, and earth.  He describes heavens as a place that is so much more real than earth.  In comparison, hell and earth were only shadows to Paradise.  I think that is probably something we will find to be true when we get there.

When we think of “real life,” though, our first thoughts are not of heaven.  They are of earth.  They are of the things here that bring us joy.  Now, when these things cause use to draw closer to God, I believe they are part of the life we were meant to enjoy here, but they are nothing compared to the real life to come.  What seems to happen far too often, however, are these things distracting us from God.  Choosing to sleep or do something else rather than go to church, choosing not to go witness to those who don’t know Jesus (whether as a group or by yourself) because you’re scared or too busy minding your own business to do God’s work, being caught up in a busy schedule only to not notice a person in need of help…  in other words, being too involved in “real life” that you miss the real life.  When you stand before God, what do you want to have been involved in here on earth?  Do those things.

"Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required” (Luke 12:48b).

Working

I have been thinking recently about a subject that has been hitting me hard recently.  Church people...  I use this term because I want to be sure to differentiate between those who are actually believers in Jesus Christ, Christians, with people who show up in church, church people.  These two groups overlap.  They should overlap a lot.  Christians should be in church, unless they are sick or at work or otherwise physically cannot make it.  They aren't always, but that is a topic to tackle under the title "Laziness" or "Irresponsibility."  There are also people who really do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ, but they are in church.  It may be because they have just always done it, or it may be because they are interested in what is being said.  Either way, I'm glad they are there.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

I love this verse!  It makes me marvel at the astounding grace of God toward us, who could not be good ourselves!  Any Christian who quotes this verse or is reminded or this verse or reads this verse should remember the vast amount of grace that has been poured out on them and be overwhelmed!  

However, like many good things, the use of this verse can abused.  Whether they realize they are saying it or not, many church people and Christians use this verse to justify pursuing their own desires above God.  They resolve in their hearts that because their salvation is not based on works that what they do does not matter.  If what they do does not matter, then they can go where ever they want during church and be "just as good a Christian at _______ than at church."  Can you be just as good an employee at _______ than actually being at work?  No!  You can't because you focus is in the wrong place!  Even those that work at home know that to be productive they must have a special place at home to do their job where they are separated from distractions.  They willingly ignore the very next verse, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).  Put these two verses together, and suddenly what you do matters!

I hear objections rising as people read, "But my salvation is not based on works!  It is based on grace!"  You're right!  I'm not talking about your salvation.  It's not about you!

Mind blown.  Yes, you were thinking about you again.

God has poured out His grace on us abundantly, but He did not do it because we are so awesome.  He did not do it for our sole benefit.  He didn't do it so that He would have company in heaven.  He is triune.  He has all the fellowship He will ever need in the Trinity.  He did it for His glory.  He did it so that when we saw what He did for us, we would fall down before His throne and give up ourselves!  He specifically tells us to do that, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship" (Romans 12:1).

The reason this has been on my heart so much is that I see so many church people that refuse to give up themselves.  They have convinced themselves that they can be a good Christian doing whatever they want to do.  They will do church things when it is convenient, but not if it isn't...  in effect putting themselves first and on the throne of their own lives where God belongs by right.

The consequences of this type of life are also not considered.  Jesus said, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62).  He also said, "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (Matthew 10:37).  He even said, "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you;depart from me, you workers of lawlessness'" (Matthew 7:21-23).  Notice verse 21 says that not everyone who acknowledges Jesus as Lord will be welcomed into Paradise.  He says only those who "do the will of my Father."  How is this possible if salvation is not based on works?  James answers this when he tells us, "I will show you my faith by my works" (James 2:18b).  It is by faith that we receive God's grace and that grace the brings salvation.  Works are the proof of that.  What you do shows what you have faith in.  If you say you have faith in Jesus but you ignore what He commands, do you really have faith?  I am not talking about a mistake or moment of weakness.  I am talking about willfully ignoring what He says.  Do you think you have real faith?  Do you think you will be granted entry to the Kingdom of Heaven just because you cry out to Jesus as Lord?  Apparently those people who cried out to Him in Matthew 7 did.  look what happened to them.  

Some of you who know the Scripture may now want to quote, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).  I agree.  Notice it says that you must believe.  It does not end with just a confession.  You must believe in your heart that Jesus died to pay for the sin debt on your soul and that God raised Him from the dead conquering death itself!  You must believe, and if you believe, something more than just a confession will come from you!  You will tell others about the great salvation you received.  You will serve others first because Jesus did.  You will reach out to help the hurting and needy because God has reach out to you.  You will give your tithe so the church can continue to to operate and reach more people...  you may even give more that 1/10 of your income so that more can be done.  You will do these things because you love Jesus, and He said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15).

Being that living sacrifice can hurt.  I know from experience.  I have lived below the poverty line in a place I didn't know with no family in service to God, not because I'm great, but because He is great.  God may not call you to that, but He is calling you to lay down your own life.  If you are a Christian, you proclaim Jesus as Lord of your life.  If He is, get out of His chair.

Snakes & the Gospel

I have recently become the owner of two wonderful little snakes.  Ranger, a fiery red and orange Brooks Kingsnake, and Nathaira, a beautiful green Checkered Garter Snake with a 
yellow dorsal stripe, have become very welcome members of my life.  

As a happy pet owner, I take every opportunity to show them off to people.  Some love it, and they regularly ask me about them.  Others are interested and watch the videos.  Several are genuinely scared of snakes. I completely understand this, though.  Irrational fears are exactly that, irrational.  I have one myself, so I do my best to remember who and not show them pictures or videos.  They are likely to block me on Facebook, too.  The group I find fascinating are the ones who are repulsed by them.  There is really nothing to this.  Snakes aren't slimy or gross.  They are very interesting creatures.  In fact, I would say that snakes, more than any other creature on this earth, understand the predicament of humanity.

Genesis 3 begins by talking about the snake.  It calls the snake "crafty."  It seems that this "craftiness" made the snake the ideal tool in the hands of the Enemy.  "Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.  He said to the woman, 'Did God actually say, "You shall not eat of any tree in the garden"?'" (Genesis 3:1).  

Now, anyone who owns a snake knows that snakes are super stealthy.  I was convinced I had lost Nathaira at one point.  She must have escaped while I was cleaning the tank because I tore that tank apart looking for her to no avail.  I put down hides and tape on the floor as well as heat to attract her.  One morning as I was checking my traps, I saw her slither up and over her tree IN THE TANK!!!  That snake had managed to hide in that tank the whole time...  crafty indeed.  However, no snake has the desire or mental capability to try to deceive mankind.  After all, snakes were created by God and He called them good.  "And God said, 'Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.'  So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good" (Genesis 1:20-21).  If the snake was created good without any reason to deceive mankind, who does want to deceive mankind?  Satan does, and he used that snake for exactly that purpose.

The Fall of Man proceeded in this manner.  Satan possessed the snake and used its natural craftiness (probably just a shadow of his own craftiness) to deceive mankind.  He planted the seed of doubt, and they doubted the goodness of God.  They made the choice not to trust their Creator and rebelled against His one command.  They sinned and were no longer innocent.  This climactic event sent ripples throughout time that have swollen into waves that crash on the shores of our daily lives.  Mankind fell, and in the falling there are four guilty parties.  Satan is obviously guilty for starting this problem and deceiving mankind.  God pronounced his punishment here:

 "I will put enmity between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
    and you shall bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:15).

This is the first mention of the Good News we see in Scripture.  It is  referred to as the protoevangelium or "first Gospel."  I will talk about this a bit later as it deals with man, not Satan.

God will also deal with Satan at the end of days, "And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them,  and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever" (Revelation 20:9-10).  Mankind is guilty for rebelling against God.  God gave them their punishment:


"To the woman He said,

“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
    in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be for your husband,
    and he shall rule over you.”

And to Adam He said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
    and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
    ‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
    in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
  thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
    and you shall eat the plants of the field.
 By the sweat of your face
    you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
    for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
    and to dust you shall return'" (Genesis 3:17-19).

For listening to the snake instead of God, women's pain in childbearing is increased, and she will desire to rule over her husband.  However, God will give that authority to the man.  For listening to the woman instead of God, the ground will be cursed and man will labor hard to provide for himself and his family.  

However, God did not give punishment without hope.  God will punish evil.  Don't make the asinine assumption that "good" = "let's me get away with what I want."  God will punish wrongdoing, and He does not play favorites.  That means you will bear the penalty for the wrong you do.  Doing something good later does not take that wrong away.  However, He also desire reconciliation with you.  This is where the evangelium or "Gospel" comes in again.   The only way reconciliation can happen is if your wrongdoing is punished.  He wants reconciliation with you so much that He decided He would pay the penalty Himself.  He became man and paid that penalty by being tortured to death on a cross.  That is a good God.  That is Jesus Christ.

That brings us to the last guilty party, the snake.  Obviously, the snake let Satan use him.  God would not have specifically punished an innocent creature for the work of Satan, so the the snake bears guilt in this debacle as well:

"The Lord God said to the serpent,

'Because you have done this,
    cursed are you above all livestock
    and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
    and dust you shall eat
    all the days of your life'" (Genesis 3:14).

So God takes the snake's legs away from him.  Now, instead of walking, he will slither on his belly.  Even though slithering on their bellies is all the snakes of today have ever known, the absence of legs is still an inconvenience.  As fast as snakes are, legs would certainly increase that speed, and with the increased speed, they may very well feel more comfortable out in the open as opposed to the amount of time they spend hiding.  Maybe not.  That's just a thought.

God also said that the snake will "eat dust."  Now, does a snake actually eat dust particles other than accidentally?  Well, it does use its tongue to taste the particles of dust or anything else by quickly flicking out its tongue and then inserting the forked end into the openings of the Jacobson's organ at the roof of its mouth.  This allows the snake to sense its surroundings, escape from threats, and hunt prey.  Once the particles are sensed, the tongue is cleaned.  I do not know for sure, but it does seem likely that the snake would just swallow the particles to cleanse the tongue, making it ready to sense the particles coming in from the next tongue flick.  Is this part of the curse God laid upon the snake?  Maybe.  The term, "eat dust" is also symbolic of being brought low, abhorrent, despised, and degraded.  God uses the comparison in Micah 7:16-17.  The phrase "eat dust" may just mean that the snake has been brought low, and having just lost his legs, that is certainly true.  The feelings of many toward snakes today would also testify to that truth.

The snake is the only creature in all of creation that had a part with us at the Fall.  We got deceived, and he got used.  We both bear guilt, and we both got duped by Satan, so the snake, more than any other creature, can relate to us on having been fooled by the Enemy.  He lives with the consequence of it everyday, as we do.

With that connection, certainly we can get along.

Madison's First Snake