Newness Wears Off

I have recently uprooted my family from Atlanta, GA to Bowling Green, KY. We have been here a little over a week and have really enjoyed this little town. The people here are the friendliest people I have ever met. One thing that I am super excited about is there are a million restaurants in this town. I have heard from many locals that Bowling Green is #2 per capita in number of restaurants behind Las Vegas. A billboard as you enter Bowling Green on the Interstate claims that there are over 300 restaurants in BG.

Right down the street from my house they are building an Olive Garden. I have heard everyone talking about this Olive Garden and everyone is so excited to see Olive Garden open. Now don't get me wrong, I love Olive Garden! And I am just as excited as the next person to see it open, but I am fascinated that with this many restaurants no one seems to be excited with the old restaurants, only excited about the new ones. Yesterday, someone told me that when a new restaurant comes to town they can be very successful for the first six months, after that the newness wears off.

This got me thinking. Is this an issue in church? Our ultimate goal is to lead believers and unbelievers to have a passionate relationship with Jesus Christ. And I am willing to do pretty much whatever it takes to make that happen. But I have noticed as I am at a new church that I have become the "newness." People are excited because I have new ideas and philosophies, but I know that eventually the "newness will wear off." And then what will everyone lean on?

That is why it is critical that everything that I do be grounded in the Scriptures. If we, as church leaders, are grounded in the Scriptures then the "newness should never wear off!"

David says in Psalm 19: 7-14:
(New Living Translation)

7 The instructions of the Lord are perfect,
reviving the soul.
The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The commandments of the Lord are right,
bringing joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are clear,
giving insight for living.
9 Reverence for the Lord is pure,
lasting forever.
The laws of the Lord are true;
each one is fair.
10 They are more desirable than gold,
even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey,
even honey dripping from the comb.
11 They are a warning to your servant,
a great reward for those who obey them.

12 How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant from deliberate sins!
Don’t let them control me.
Then I will be free of guilt
and innocent of great sin.

14 May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

My challenge to other pastors is to stay grounded in the Scriptures. It is fine to keep your church relevant to try to attract believers and unbelievers, but once they are there, we must show them the Word, and allow the Holy Spirit to draw them to Him.

Do you see what I see?

Okay I know I haven't blogged in a year, but I am gonna try to get back in the swing of it.

Recently I had someone ask me about the star that the Magi (Wise Men) followed. This person asked "since the wise men did not find Jesus until He was in his home at around 2 years old, did the star just follow Him around all the time."

I will admit I do not have a definite answer to this question, but I thought it was a very intriguing question that I had never thought of before. So I read the account of the Magi. There is not much at all said about these Wise Men, but here is what Matthew 2 says:

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men [1] from k the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose [2] and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

There are many interesting questions that are brought up in this passage:
1. Were the Magi the only ones who saw the star?
2. Did the star appear at the birth of Christ?

I read in my study Bible the following:
"Matt. 2:2 we saw his star when it rose. The wise men would likely have been familiar with OT prophecy through interaction with Jews in Babylon, and they may have remembered Balaam's prophecy that “A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel” (Num. 24:17). This was understood by Jews to point to a messianic deliverer (e.g., Dead Sea Scrolls, Damascus Document 7.18–21; Testimonia 9–13). The movement of the star (Matt. 2:9) suggests that it is not a natural phenomenon (e.g., a comet, supernova, or conjunction of planets) but was supernatural, perhaps a guiding angel that appeared as a star, or perhaps some specially created heavenly phenomenon that had the brightness of a star. have come to worship him. The wise men likely traveled with a large number of attendants and guards for the long journey, which would have taken several weeks. For example, if they had come from Babylon by the main trade route of about 800 miles (1,288 km), averaging 20 miles (32 km) per day, the trip would have taken about 40 days."

Here is the note that I wrote this morning as I studied this Scripture:
The star appeared when Christ was born, and the Magi and their attendants were the only ones to follow this sign of Christ. Why did so many people ignore this supernatural sign of Christ? Why do so many people still ignore the obvious supernatural signs of Christ?

Do you think there are still "stars" or supernatural signs of Christ that we are ignoring or chalking up to coincidence? How many times do we follow after the wrong star? Are we so focused and in tune with God that we will notice that He is moving among us, or are we like the others who don't even notice the star in the sky.

Jesus help me to look for your supernatural working in and through my life, and help me to be like the Magi, and not only discover you for myself, but to take others with me to your feet!

What are your thoughts? Share here! Maybe I am way off base...

Do Overs

When I was a kid, my favorite phrase was "do over." I was never an exceptional athlete so most of the time I would mess up when I hit, or kicked and I would love to yell "do over." Fact of the matter typically the second time was never as good as the first! I am not sure why that is but it always seemed to be true.
As the Christmas season is in full swing I have thought the same about cartoons and Christmas movies. Have you noticed how many Christmas cartoons are movies have been redone, or "done over?" I watched a horrible new Charlie Brown Christmas last night and today I was noticing there must have been 2800 Christmas Story movies that were made. i don't like them and that is all I have to say about that!

sick

I hate being sick. It is now 4:14 and I am awake watching Sports Center because I can't breath...That is what I love about ESPN, no matter what time you wake up and there is nothing to do you can always rely on Sports Center. I have the task today of finishing cleaning out my office. It is amazing how much junk you can accumulate in 4 short years.

Last night was my last Wednesday with the coolest kids in the world and it was an awesome night! I really appreciate the video they did for me and the kind words I was told! You guys rock my socks off! Can't wait to see what God has in store for you guys!

okay okay

I keep getting in trouble because I never update my blog. So my new goal is to try my best to keep this updated. We are about to begin my last Wednesday night here at Crestview. It is pretty bitter sweet. I am honestly not sure why God is moving us from here but I am excited about the future of Crestview. God is about to do some amazing things at this church! We just have to be obedient and that is what I am doing!

Guatemala 2008/ Emily's Birthday

If you can't tell Emily is sitting beside me and reminding me for the 392 time that it is her birthday...Happy Birtday Emily! Today was our first day working with students in Guatemala. It was an amazing day! We are all very tired and sunburned but we had 10 children accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. It was awesome. I got to be apart of two of them. I had a student ask me what church I was student pastor of and I got Jorge to translate for me...He told me what they were asking and I answered them...I then asked them what church they went to and all but one told me they did not go to church anywhere. Jorge then took over and in Spanish shared the Gospel with them and 2 of them accepted Christ.

Kyle Shedd is apparently an international superstar. Guatemalan girls love him. They took pictures of him the entire day! It was the weirdest thing I have ever seen!

All in all we saw over 500 students today and it was an awesome day. I am looking forward to tomorrow. I will attach some pictures so you can share the adventure with us!

Pray for us!

Dance boy dance!

This is one of the cutest kids I have seen dancing. He makes me look really bad!