Dwight Schrute- Killing Sin

I was thinking about my childhood on the farm. As is normal in farm life, there were a couple times when we had to put an animal down. Seriously, we had to take an animal out back and put its life to rest. I know it sounds terrible but the circumstances always left us with no other options. Whether it was a rabid dog or a dying horse, my dad would calmly handle the situation. That is what made me think of Dwight Schrute, the character from The Office. Dwight owns a beet farm and the banter of the show regularly references his cold-hearted antics. In one episode he kills his girlfriend's cat, purposefully, and places it in the freezer. He doesn't even bat an eye. Now that is funny!

So there is a concept in the Bible about putting sin to death. The authorized version of the bible translates the Greek word "thanatoo" into the English word "mortify." Literally, it means put to death. The word mortify is found in a couple places in the New Testament, and the most notable is probably Romans 8:13 where it says, "For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death [mortify] the deeds of the body, you will live" (ESV).

Here is my insight: Pull the trigger. Too often I think we manage our sin. I think we take a rabid dog (metaphor for our sin) out back with the intentions of shooting it. Then we remember all the fond memories with our pet and we bring it back home with us. We try to set up some healthy boundaries and even medicate the dog with the hopes of cure. But, the dog eventually turns on us. That is how sin works. If we are unwilling to kill it, the sin eventually turns on us. The situation grows much worse then if we would have dealt with it swiftly.

With sin you need to mortify it immediately. When sin crops up you starve, kill, shoot, dismember, and eradicate it. Do not simply repress sin by hiding it or managing it. Kill it. Do not let it live. Cut off its life source. Change your habits and patterns of life to give it no hope of living. If you are unwilling to totally put to death your sin, then do not be surprised when that sin dominates you. Sin will turn on you and, like a rabid dog, it will sink its ugly teeth in you to destroy you.

Look to Schrute for motivation and kill that thing.

Reading the Text

I have been slacking lately! So first off, sorry!

I would love to let you know one of the main things that I am learning lately as I take courses at Moody Bible Institute. Right now I am taking an Elements of Bible Study Course (don't read elementary bible study because it is actually intense stuff). I also am taking a hermeneutics course. Through these courses I am learning an important fact about the bible. Here it is: There is an intended meaning or meanings behind the text. The ultimate Author and the human author both had a meaning in mind when writing the text and we need to responsibly seek to find that meaning.

The way that this hit home for me is when I though back to a time when I was interviewed by a local newspaper. I was very excited to read the article but when I saw how they had mishandled what I said and made me sound like a dope I was upset to say the least. The way they did their journalism was irresponsible and frankly dishonest.

The same can be said of many of us who handle the Word of God. We import our meaning onto the text and make God say things that we would like to hear.

Let me just encourage anyone who regularly reads and studies the Word to seek what God intended first before jumping to conclusions. Let us treat the Word with reverence and actually listen to and obey the message of the Bible. I hope we learn to be faithful to God's Word and I apologize for any times I have miss-handled the Word.

Manipulation: Fasting

I just wanted to clarify something about fasting. It needs to be said that fasting is not manipulation. When many Christians fast their goal is off. When you fast the aim is not to manipulate God to either answer your question or give you favor. That is works friends. Read Galatians and you can see that works is not only the opposite of the gospel, it should be cursed (Galatians 1:9). Works is where you do something for God and He in turn rewards you. It is a tit for tat. You do one thing and so God is obliged to return the favor. This is the opposite of the gospel. Unfortunately, humans (even saved Christians) have a tendency to perform works righteousness.

We have a hard time with grace; A very very hard time with grace. The sayings, 'there is no free lunch' or, ' nothing in life is free,' teach us that grace is not real. So, even though the bible says we are saved by grace and we are perfected by grace, we still try to earn God's favor. "Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to obtain your goal by human effort?" (Galatians 3:3). Fasting, along with any other spiritual discipline, can become your method of impressing God or manipulating Him to get what you want. So please be careful when you fast. Check your heart to see if you are earning God's favor. Remember the goal is nearness to God. The goal is not to convince God to do your plan.

Always remember when you fast that God is not obligated to answer your request. David didn't see his child live when he fasted and prayed for three days (2 Sam 12) and the disciples haven't seen Jesus return when they fast (Luke 5:35). Does that mean that those fasts failed? Nope! Because the goal of fasting is nearness to God not manipulation. So when you fast, which you should, let God be your aim. Not success, or revelation, or answers, or anything else, just God. God we want You more than we want to know your will for our lives. We want you more than we want your favor on our lives and ministry. You are our desire. We fast so that we can have more of You!

What's Keeping You From Praying?

We have been talking about prayer at youth group for the past couple months. And the problem with talking about prayer is just that... it is just talking. My desire is that we would become a group that is known for our praying. Things happen when we pray. The power of God is unleashed and we literally could change our generation by our prayers. I want your prayers more than I want a successful youth group program.

So please please please pray. Which leads me to ask you, what is keeping you from praying? What is distracting you from actually getting into a posture of prayer and meeting with God? Do whatever needs to be done to meet with God today. Shut down your computer and find a quiet place, open up your prayer journal, go for a car ride, or whatever you need to to meet with your Savior.

Thoughts on Fasting

Let me just say that there are many others who can talk about this topic more authoritatively than I can. I am a newbie, a rookie, a novice when it comes to fasting. So, take my advise as only advise. That being said, there is much to gain from the discipline of fasting. If you are embarking on a fast then you are beginning a great and God centered task that will reward you greatly.

First, it should be said that fasting is both biblical and Christian. It is biblical in that the bible lays out the foundations for fasting, it actually declares that followers of Christ will fast, and it is the ultimate authority on fasting. The bible teaches that, "man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD" (Duet 8:3; cf Matthew 4:4, Luke 4:4). It is also Christian because the bible teaches that Christians have certain freedoms yet it is better to refrain from some freedoms to help others and even yourself (1 Cor 10).

So what is fasting? Technically fasting is abstaining from food in order to gain nearness to God. It needs to be said that the goal is to obtain nearness to God. Fasting is not a diet. Fasting is not saving money by not eating so you can spend your money on other things. I had a friend who told me he was going to fast on the way back from a ministry trip so he could buy fireworks. That is missing the point of fasting. The aim of Christian fasting is to obtain God, not fireworks, or a skinny beach body, or anything else. We want to know Christ and we will sacrifice to obtain more of him. That is the essence of fasting.

Now for the form: The bible lays out many types of fasts. Many individuals in the bible including Jesus fast from food and water. But, sometimes the fast is from choice foods but still includes eating (Daniel 10). Or sometimes fasting is eating a particular diet of veggies and water (Daniel 1:12). The length and content of fasting varies in the bible. So it would be wrong to say a fast is only fasting totally from food and for a particular amount of time.

The content: I think it is right that you can fast from much more than food. I have heard missionary work referred to as the fasting from earthly comforts to obtain an eternal satisfaction in Christ[1]. The content really is a choice not to partake in something that we have liberty to use so that you can obtain nearness to God.

This leads me to say that we should at times fast from, not only food, but other things that we indulge in. Sometimes I need to fast from the Internet or from reading books. I need to refrain from things that I have the right and liberty to use and enjoy so that I can get closer to God. We all should do the same, whether it is facebook, or TV, or even a significant other, sometimes your Christian discipleship calls for sacrifice to obtain a greater thing.... God.

A great question that was brought up after youth group was 'what do I do with my new time?' For instance if I read a lot and I am fasting from reading would it be ok to watch a little TV during that time? The answer is "yes, but..." Fasting should never be legalistic. You can set up plans and guidelines but to break those plans or guidelines is not the end of the world. So to give something up and use some time to do something different is ok, but it would be far better to gain what you are setting out to get. When you want to fast the goal is to obtain God. You can maybe meet God through your TV watching but how much better could you obtain nearness to Him through an undistracted time with Him?

So when you fast make it your ambition to get to God. Use the time that you have gained to go to God. That is the true essence of fasting. That is why fasting from food is so beneficial. Your tummy tells you that you need food, then you have the opportunity to tell your tummy that you need God more than you need food. It is a constant reminder. It always points you back to the essence of fasting. You need and want food but you have the opportunity to say "I need and want God more than food."

Which leads me to say try fasting from food! It will reward you greatly. It will show you how much trust you put in food and how often you do not even think twice that God has given you life and breath and food. On mission trips I noticed that those in poverty were so close to God and that is partly due to the imposed fast on them. They are without food so they constantly pray that God would be their portion. We on the other hand have so much food crammed down our throats that we never pray that God would sustain us or be our portion. We are at a huge disadvantage unless we fast.

Christians, please please fast! It will help you to realign your priorities and to let God be your portion. How much greater the reward of having Christ than a full belly!?

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[1] Missions as Fasting by Michael Oh

More Thoughts on "Yeah But..."

The real issue here is how we look at the scriptures. If the Bible is the word of God, which it absolutely is, then we need to know how to interact with it. Unfortunately, it isn't as simple as merely reading it. There is a correct way to handle the word and at the same time there is an incorrect way to handle the word. We have a slight disadvantage in that we have been exposed to experiences and we possess biases that we bring to the table when we read. These experiences and biases we impose on the text. We make it say what we want it to. This is called isogesis. What that means is we have an idea in our head maybe we heard someone say or maybe we experienced something that makes us feel it must be accurate, so we open the Word and make it say what we already think... this is wrong.

Let me show you a verse that should help curb this error: "There is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death" (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25).

So it is important for us to recognize that what may seem right and good and noble and biblical might in fact be wrong. We can manipulate the Bible to say pretty much anything we want. Its a big book and there are many portions that if taken out of context could lead to error and eventually to death.

That is why we want to pursue good reading of the bible... called exegesis. Trying to get from the text the actual meaning and truth. We need to come to the bible and work to understand what it actually says, then when we understand what it says then and only then can we apply. So, lets make it our effort to systematically encounter the word with a desire to understand its meaning and then apply what we learn to our lives. 

Acts 11- Yeah but...

When we come to the Bible we generally bring our luggage. We have years of teachings that muddle with the way that we read the text. We neatly categorize teachings into our mental framework and organize texts in such a way that the Bible can at times seem neutered.

We have our favorite proof texts that we base our faith on... They are the ones that we would wear on t-shirts. (if your that kind of "christian") We have the verses that go on our coffee mugs or over our desks on the wall. Those are our favorite. In fact, we even promote favorite verses by asking each other, "what is your 'life-verse' or your 'favorite verse?'" Then there are the texts that get put on our mental shelf called 'I don't understand.' We read something and because it doesn't click right away we don't bother asking any questions of God but would rather quickly store it away so we don't have to think of what it means and the implications of obeying. Lastly, we have verses that we dismiss. They are abrasive and rub us wrong so, because we have been taught to do this, we argue them away. We claim that the message is not for us. We discard God's word on the basis of "culture" or "new covenant" or something like that. We would never tear a page out of the bible but we might mentally take a scalpel and remove parts that we can't seem to easily obey.

When Peter explained his actions in Acts 11 he closes his explanation with this sobering question, "who was I to think that I could oppose God? (vs. 17)" He knew that God was revealing to him a new way to interact with people, a new way to look at Gentiles, and a new way to display love. Who is little old Peter to stand up to God and oppose God's revealed truth.

We as students of the bible need to learn to do this. We need to come to the bible with much prayer. Asking God to strip us of unhelpful biases. Asking Him to rid us of preconceived notions that hinder us from learning something new. We need to be ready to change and we need to be ready to go to a deeper level of understanding and commitment. I love the quote, "we are not trying to master the bible, but rather we are trying to be mastered by it." Our learning should be proportionate to our obeying. We should strive to commit to what we already know. And be open to God's new direction and leading. Who are we to oppose what God wants to teach us today? 

Progressing in the Faith

Most times the bible will answer questions I put to it... It does a pretty good job of defending itself. 

The other night I was tired of doing homework. I was trying desperately to finish my assignments for an Old Testament Survey class that only lasted eight weeks (so much material in such a short amount of time). I was also thinking about the fact that over the past year and a half I have read shelves of books. I feel like my understanding of God is deeper than it has ever been and I feel like it has been a year or so of intense learning and refining for me.

So, I asked the question of whether or not the progress ever plateaus. Maybe someday I will have grey hair and I will sit back and look at the things that I have taught to younger generations, and look at how God has used me and how He sharpened my understanding, and my hope is that it will be easier times?But then the Bible exposed that even though that sounds good, even though it would be good to have sound doctrine and a life to match it, there is never a time to coast. Paul instructs his protege Timothy to progress in the faith so that others can see (1 Timothy 4:15). In context, Paul was talking about living as an example, in faith, in life, in love, and in purity(vs. 12). It also had to do with doctrine (vs. 16). So, the answer to my question is a resounding "NO." I don't ever settle in. I don't coast. Keep progressing in the faith so that others can see and glorify God. 

I hope that over the last year people can notice the ways that I have changed. I hope that people can see the ways that I have increased in godliness and love. And, that is the plan for you also if you call yourself a Christ follower, a life that is progressing in the faith.

Is 2009 your best year yet for displaying Christ? Are you more like Him today then ever before? Let us press on to know Christ more and to display Him to the world.

Let me add a note that this is not something that you achieve on your own accord. You can try all you want to become more like Jesus and think that by your works you are saved. That is not the case. You are not earning favor with God... you already have it. You are not achieving righteousness... Jesus freely gave it to you 2000 years ago. I am talking about 'living up to what we have been called to.' I am talking about the sanctification that God is putting us through to make us more like His Son. It is a process and we do progress. It is described beautifully in 2 Cor 3:18, "And we all, with unveiled faces, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." This is the process that we go through. First off, we see with our spiritual eyes the beauty of Christ, "with unveiled faces beholding the glory of the Lord." Secondly, we are being changed to be made like Jesus, "we are being transformed into the same image [of Jesus whom we are beholding]." Furthermore, it is a process, "from one degree of glory to another." Finally, this transformation is not credited to us, as if we could achieve it on our own, but it is credited to God Himself, "for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." 

We are being changed to be more like Jesus as we see and love Jesus. And this should be evidenced in our lives by noticeable progress. I will never coast. Not if I keep my eyes on Jesus and resist the schemes of Satan. I will always be progressing in godliness and understanding.

Acts 10- Consistency

In Acts 10 we are introduced to a man named Cornelius who was devout and God-fearing. He gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly (vs. 2). He had a vision and an angel of the Lord spoke to him.

How is your consistency? If someone were writing a description of you would those be things that would stand out and make the cut? Do you give generously? Do you pray regularly? This is a huge aspect of Christianity... consistency with God. 

My challenge to you today is to make it consistent. Do what ever it takes to give generously. Cut back on frivolous spending so you can give. Find a mission organization to give to or simply give more to the local church. Be known for your giving. Secondly, pray regularly. I am not talking about praying before you chomp down on a burger or once you are in bed and toss up a quick prayer to God while you fall asleep. I am saying, block out a chunk of time and pray to God. Start a prayer journal with pressing things that need to be brought before the Lord. Pray before you read scripture and then search for verses that you can pray back to God. Sit still for a little bit. Don't just talk until you are out of breath then peace out. Give God a little time and just sit at His feet. 

I want to be like Cornelius. I want to be described as giving generously, praying regularly, being a devout and God-fearing man.

Take Off My Ephod? NEVER!

While vacationing has its perks, I learned that you can never vacate from your office as a priest. Imagine if in scripture you read that Aaron or his sons or anyone from the priestly line took off their ephod and decided to become an Israelite from a different clan for a week... It doesn't happen. The ordination of the priests in Leviticus 8-10 shows the process by which the priests are set apart for service to the LORD. The process is irrevocable.

The same is true of you when you begin to see yourself as a part of the royal priesthood. When Jesus calls you into His kingdom you become a priest too. "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:11 emphasis added). Therefore you take on the role of priest as well and you never step away from your office of priesthood. This is so important because in our society we isolate areas of life. We have our school time, our work time, our family time, our church time, etc... The problem is a priest never becomes an ordinary Israelite... He is ordained for life. So, it is with the high office of being a Christian. We need to learn that being a Christian extends well beyond our hour and a half on a Sunday.


Paul puts it to us like this in Romans, "as it is written; 'God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you'" (Romans 2:24). When we who know the law and teach others, when we who call ourselves Christians 'take a break' from being Christians we essentially bring shame on Christ. I hear too often of my students living double lives, claiming Christ on Sundays but then walking in darkness throughout the rest of the week. That is not God's design for His followers. Our lives should be a living sermon. Something that people look at and see Christ in us. When we isolate or segregate our time to Christianity only happening on Sundays we become like the hypocrites that Jesus stood opposed to.


Let us make an effort to bring our lives into sharp focus. We have one mission in life, to demonstrate Christ to a broken world. Christianity is not simply a label we slap on top of our lives. It is an all out change. It is an identity. It is the act of becoming a priest so that you live in such a way that 'people may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us' (1 Peter 2:12).

The Beauty of DJ Reading Plan

When I first read through the bible in a year several years ago it was because my parents got me a One Year Bible for Easter. It was awesome. In fact that is where my focused time with God was spent for a couple years... When I was in Florida I would just leave my bible opened to the appropriate date on my desk... It was easy. I just plopped down and read. When I missed a day I would skip it and turn to where I was supposed to be. I got familiar with the Bible over those years.

But, I love the Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan for many reasons... one is I am very likely to miss a day. So, instead of having to make it up if I want to understand the story, the DJ plan only has 25 readings a month. So, I can miss a couple times and still not get behind. Then if I keep up I have extra days that I can do any number of things with. I can meditate on a verse, I can take a question that came up earlier in the month and pursue it deeper. I can study a book in the bible that I haven't read in a while, etc...

That's a great reason but the real reason why I wanted to write this is... when you read the DJ reading plan you start with a gospel every day all year. So, your mind is thinking Christ at the very beginning. Then you begin to see Him in every verse that you read. So, when you are reading in Genesis and seeing the wrath of God being poured out on say Sodom and Gomorrah you are thinking about the grace of Christ and the extreme patience of God that He didn't do that to everyone. We are wicked like them but you have been spared because of the Grace and provision of Jesus. I think it is so important to see the thread of Jesus in the whole bible. Jesus when talking to his disciples on the road to Emmaus, "explained to them what was said in the all the scriptures concerning himself" (Luke 24: 27). So, Jesus points out that all the scriptures are talking about and directing us to Himself. Then when Jesus is refuting the Jews he says, "you diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life" (John 5:39-49). There is a way to read scripture without seeing Christ and coming to Him. And, that is the wrong way. All the Scriptures testify about Jesus. Every single verse in the bible is meant to direct you to the Messiah on the the Cross. Jesus poured out. Absorbing the full wrath of God and providing a way to connect us with God.

So, as you read I hope you are blessed to have the right perspective. I hope you can see God's redemptive plan from even before creation. His absolute sovereign Grace weaved through the whole narrative of the bible. Be blessed friends. Drink deep in the well of the Word and pull out the richness of Christ and the magnificence that the Cross achieved for you.

Bible Reading- Spiritual Steroids

This year we are working through a bible reading plan as a church. I am not sure how many people are actually committed to this but I would be a miss if I didn't at least encourage it from every angle possible.

Let me just say that over the years having a bible reading plan has helped me immensely. I used to think that reading needed to be loose and free from any restrictions that would hold it back. I used to think that if you had specific things that you had to read it would become legalistic or a religious check mark... I will be very real in saying that those are very fine sounding arguments that Satan helped me form.

Free from structure is another way of saying not going to happen. If you have no game plan for what you are going to read then realistically you will habitually miss days. When you have no plan it is easy to slip. Days become weeks and then months and you actually end up signed on to a bible reading plan.... it's called not reading.

So, first off lets just put our reservations aside and try it. Give it a week and see if you don't feel swept up into the courts of heaven. You will be surprised at how quickly this will have an effect on your soul!

Here are some links lest you read this with good intentions of starting and then Satan distracts you before you can make it to your bible....
http://www.hopeingod.org/resources/images/1224.pdf
http://harvestnetinc.com/files/Downloads/BIble%20Reading%20Plan.pdf

Luke 17 -Rebuke and Forgive

These are two disciplines that churches are horrible at. I don't even think we are a little good at them, we simply do not practice either of them. They are actually two elements that I think make Christianity appealing, yet we fail to implement them to our own detriment. Let us look to the text:

"If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him (verses 3-4)."


Jesus is telling us that when a friend (he uses 'brother' but this means more than biological) sins we should do our best to correct that person. To rebuke means 'to speak severely to someone because they have done wrong.'1 It is interesting that it says, 'severely.' I think this shows the nature of correction. It actually takes harsh words sometimes to bring us back from our sinful ways. If someone simply gently points out a fault it is rather easy to justify or dismiss your behavior. But, if someone comes to you and rebukes you, meaning they speak in a tone and demeanor that shows that if you continue in your sinful ways you will die, then we might actually take it seriously and repent. We need to make a habit of rebuking each other to make us more Christlike. It is a lost discipline that I wish was practised on me more often. I can think back on several follies that could have easily been avoided had a discerning Christian friend pointed out my fault. And, I think the lack of rebuking comes down to courage. We are actually a bunch of chickens. We don't want to say the hard stuff for fear of how it will go. But let me remind you of the Lord's words to Ezekiel in Chapter 3 of the book of Ezekiel, "If you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood." That should me a motivational trump card. For every time Satan convinces you not to have a hard conversation for the preservation of a friendship, or for your desire of comfort, or for the fact that you are not in a position to rebuke others, let the words of the Lord ring in your ear. That persons blood will be on your hands. You will be guilty for keeping your mouth shut. So, let us make a practise of correcting one another.

The second element of this text is forgiveness. I think we are better at this than rebuking. But, I still think we have a long ways to go. Think this morning of anyone that you are harboring bitterness towards. Is there any un-forgiveness in your heart today. Because Jesus says that even if a person is harmful seven times in ONE day that you should forgive them when they repent. Be careful reading too much into this text. In fact I can feel the workings of the Enemy justifying right now, "yeah but it says if they repent... I don't have to forgive if they don't repent." That is a dangerous place to be my friend. If you are justifying bitterness this morning than please take it to the cross. I am not going to be an arbiter between you and your enemy this morning by telling you that you have to forgive or that it is ok to be upset if they will not repent. Simply take it to the cross. Wrestle with God today. Don't allow your reasoning to justify your actions. Sit quietly at the foot of the cross and let Him speak. Let the one that was willing to forgive his captors, mockers, and torturers by saying, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do," speak to your situation.

When we learn these two practices well the church flourishes. Sin is dealt with and grace abounds. Then unbelievers will look to the church and say, 'that is a beautiful thing. Oh, how I would love to be a part of that!'


1Modern Language Association (MLA):
"rebuke." Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary. K Dictionaries Ltd. 05 Jun. 2008. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rebuke

Take 2- I Want Jesus More Than a Full Belly

Do you ever say something like a bonehead and then 5 minutes later or even immediately after saying it, you realize what you should have said? I had that happen recently. I was fasting and someone asked me, "why are you fasting?" They were wondering if there was a specific reason? Like some people fast for direction, some fast for breakthrough, my reason; "just 'cause." What a stupid response. I blurted out, "just 'cause." Then immediately after I thought in my noggin, "that is not why I am fasting. I am actually fasting because I want Jesus more than I want food. I want to know him intimately and I want to cast everything off that hinders me from knowing him more." I wish I would have said that instead of, "just 'cause." Hindsight is precious.