How Christians Respond to Sin.

I just finished reading a theologically heavy and dense section regarding sin. Now, I must tell you that I do not wake up in the morning full of energy and excited to read books on doctrine, theology, and sin! However, I made a commitment to God awhile back to learn more about Him and myself in an attempt to understand our relationship to one another. So, that is why I do the difficult and often tedious readings.

BUT WAIT!!!! There was an amazing section in the chapter that talked about what Christians tend to do in response to their sin. I found it fascinating, and rather accurate. I'll list only a few from Mark Driscoll's book, DOCTRINE.

"What Are Some Sinful Responses To Sin?
1. Minimizing my sin. Its really not that big a deal, everyone does it.
2. There is the delusional belief that my sin is different from anyone else because I have good reasons that legitimize my sin.
3. Blame shifting. Where technically my sin is the result of another persons actions.
4. Diversion, where we try to avoid our sin by, saying we were just joking, someone misunderstood us, or the person who confronted us about our sin did so in a manner that was not loving.
5. Partial confession. This is where we tell only part of our sin and hide the other half because of our pride.
6. There is what Paul calls 'worldly grief' where we merely regret the consequences of our sin and not the sin itself.
7. There is mere confession. This is tricky because people who practice it acknowledge their sin, show remorse, and ask for forgiveness. But they do not change and in fact knowingly repeat their sin."

I wonder, what sinful responses do you practice? for me, I primarily practice worldly grief, minimizing sin, and mere confession. Thankfully I serve a loving God who died for my sins and my sinful responses to them. Thank you Jesus Christ.

The Fundamentals

The other day I dropped my wife off at a friend Bridal Shower so she could exchange gifts, talk about married life, eat cake, and do the things that girls do when they get together at those things. Bridal Showers are like secrete clubs where all the members have shirts that read "NO BOYS ALLOWED." So, being a boy, and not being allowed I had plenty of time to kill until I picked Darcy up from the party. I chose to spend it the way most 20 somethings would spend it, at my local friendly neighborhood Starbucks.

I got my usual drink, grande iced vanilla latte, and was lucky enough to have the last comfy sofa seat as my own. I sat down with book in hand and began reading. I started reading and before I know it I'm three and a half pages into the chapter and I have no clue what I've just been reading. Has this ever happened to you? It did to me, and it continued to for the next fifteen minutes. So I simply stopped...

About this time I looked up at the counter to do some people watching and I saw a man with his bible ordering the his usual, grande iced vanilla latte, and he sat down at one of the hard wooden chairs, interlocked his fingers, dropped his head and closed his eyes. About two minutes later he raised his head, took a sip of his and my favorite coffee drink, and began reading his bible. I decided to do the same. I spent the next 45 minutes in prayer as I read through the gospel of John.

I have recently been feeling down about life in general; I tend to get frustrated by how slowly I see results. I'm one of those people that wants to see them right away, NOW! But as I sat alone in a crowded Starbucks I simply felt the goodness of Jesus. It was refreshing to read about His love for us and how He came so that we would have an abundant life. In that crowded Starbucks I simply relaxed and put my burdens on Jesus. And it was a wonderful feeling.

I've decided that I need more times throughout the week where I escape reality, just for a bit, and do some praying and bible reading. I've committed to Christ to write our my prayers for the rest of this month. My goal in all of this is to stay more connected to Christ. I'll let you know how its been going at the end of the month.

Question, when was the last time you got back to the basics of bible reading and prayer? How can you change it up in order to make the basics, so exciting again?

Camp Updates

This years summer camp was amazingly powerful. Aside from having the most fun I've had in months God was moving in the students of PULSE. Because so much goes on in a week at camp it is impossible to share with you all that took place. So below are simply a few highlights of what I saw taking place during our week at Lake View.

We had a couple students who have been addicted cigarettes go the whole week of camp without smoking and even feeling like they needed to. As they week went on they got stronger and stronger and by the end of camp they committed to no longer smoking and quit cold turkey.

We also had two people put their faith in Jesus Christ this week. They had been struggling with God and Christianity, they weren't sure if it was real or if it was simple a crutch for others to lean on. Throughout the week they encountered God is a way that they have never done before and are convinced that Jesus is real because they personally "experienced God's love."

Those are just two big highlights that stuck out from our week up at camp. I also saw our students open up with each other, sharing their stories, struggles and victories with each other and encouraging each other to move closer to God. This past week at camp was an answer to the many many prayers of the high school staff. It was a blessing for everyone.

*There are more pictures on our facebook page. Click the link to check them out!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Palm-Desert-CA/PULSE-STUDENT-MINISTRIES/128640680508138?ref=ts

When "The Good News" is viewed as bad news.

The simple message of the gospel is this,
JESUS LOVES YOU.

Somewhere along the way we've changed the simple message to Jesus Loves You if you're good. But before you can feel the love of Jesus you need to make sure your life is in order. This is bad news. Then we add to scripture by saying Jesus loves you only if you don't get drunk, sleep around, cuss like a sailor, and smoke anything that grows out of the ground. You need to get your life in order and then Jesus will "really" love you.

I was reminded this week of how powerful this simple message is - just as long as we keep it simple. There is a verse in scripture that says, God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Meaning, while life is still a wreck, while we're stuck in addictions, when we're angry, full of lust, high on whatever our current drug of choice is, Jesus loves me...

A mentor of mine once told me that there is nothing that I can do that will make God love me more than He already does. In-fact, God doesn't just love you, He's extremely found of you.

I've learned something powerful about this simple message. It brings hope. Because Jesus loves me I can conquer addictive sin, and be the person that God has created me to be.

Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

"Go to the Ant you SLUGGARD!"

The bible is filled with all sorts of weird phrases. Solomon is writing in proverbs about sloth, or laziness, and what to do about it. He calls the lazy person a sluggard and instructs the person to consider the ways of the ant. I love Solomon's tone in this passage. He's comparing a lazy person to an ant and saying that an ant is SUPERIOR! Kinda makes you feel like you're worthless for sitting around all day watching TV, and simultaneously checking your facebook/twitter accounts, playing games on your iphone, while neglecting your responsibilities. Oh, wait. Maybe all that stuff is worthless? (sorry, sometimes when i write i end up feeling convicted)

As I thought more and more about this I realized that there is a balance to this whole lazy sloth thing. Sidebar - does anyone ever use the word sloth anymore? I realized that laziness leads to neglect of responsibilities. On the flip-side a being a work-a-holic can lead one to neglect other responsibilities such as being a loving husband, and father, taking care of things around the house, playing with your kids (if you have them) and your relationship with Jesus.

So is there a balance? What about the age old disciple of Sabbath? Can we really slow down, cut out distractions and rest for one whole day? Where do we find the balance, when do we know when its time to stop, unplug, turn off the cellphone, rest and simply be with loved ones and Jesus Christ? These are the thoughts that we will be pursuing in our life groups.

life groups at PULSE

We've had two successful weeks so far with life groups! Its been great to split the group up and listen to them talk about life, family, scripture, Jesus, music, games and the latest in high school dating drama!

One lesson that I've learned so far (and is difficult for me) is to talk less and listen more. So much happens when people stop talking and start listening. Its powerful! After a great conversation with someone I can't help but walk away feeling, loved, cared for, respected, and the joy and confidence of knowing that I have friends who are there for me.

Which do you do more of: talking or listening? If you're anything like me you've missed some great opportunities to hear the stories of others. I'll finish with a verse that has been important to me.
"... Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry," James 1:19

Toy Story 3

First off, I absolutely loved this film. I thought it was brilliant. Seriously, its a great movie. I'm not saying that this is my favorite movie or that its on my top 10 list of all time favorites. Then again, it might be. Below are just a few reasons why I enjoyed this film.
1. Clever use of humor. The thing I enjoy the most about the Toy Story franchise (and Pixar for that matter) is that thier films have hilarious stuff in them. I really respect people who can tell clean jokes and use humor is a positive way. With all the dirty comedians who use the "F-word" like the word "the" and every other joke is about sex, its nice to laugh at something that is simply funny, and not degrading.

2. The Characters were bounded by love. A constant theme through the movie is family, brotherhood, and a sense that under no circumstances would they separate. They were in the adventure as a team, weak or strong, and they would live or die as a team.

3. There was a spiritual overtone throughout the film. The following is a quote from Donald Miller. "The Toys want to be reunited with their owner. Their owner loves them. Something has come between their owner and they are confused about whether their owner still loves them. It’s powerful stuff, and it’s relatable because it’s true."

I simply enjoyed a good movie that made me laugh, reflect a little bit on life, relate to the characters, and most importantly, it didn't make me cry!