Don't be a Ban!

Come on guys! It's time for us to step up to the plate!

I recently heard Darrin Patrick talking about Biblical manhood and he called us out! He was talking to young guys in the late teens to early thirties and he said that we are trying hard not to grow up. He said we would rather be a "ban" than a man. What is a "ban"? It is a guy who wants to look like a man and have the respect of a man and make the money of a man but have the freedom, responsibility, leisure, and entertainment of a boy.

God has given us real responsibilities and we must step up and act like real men.

In our personal relationships with Jesus, we must take responsibility and invest ourselves like we mean it.

In our relationships with our wives (or future wives), we have to live selflessly and purely so that we value and treasure them as gifts from God.

With our children, we must be heroes who show them the power of the love of God through the way we love them, train them, sacrifice for them, and pour out mercy on them.

In our jobs, we must work diligently as if working for God.

In our communities, we need to be known for our kindness and gospel witness.

In our churches, we need to be humble and faithful servants who lead with firm gentleness.

In our recreation and entertainment, we need to have the heart of God in mind as we refresh ourselves for His glory and not our own mindless enjoyment.

How can we live up to all of these responsibilities?!

It is not easy, but then, being a man was never supposed to be easy. Through Christ, we have access to the Spirit of God who empowers and guides us to success.

Let's banish the temptation to become a "ban" and settle for nothing less than godly manhood!

"Lord, give me the strength to live for you and not for myself. You know that this is a daily struggle. Empower me to fight for manhood in my own life. For your glory in my life and in my death!"

He must increase, I must decrease.

JasonPS

Living Pure in a Perverted World

Purity is vital!

This world in which we live and the very flesh in which we are clothed are both corrupted by sin. The perversion of God's good gifts is all around us and threatens to overtake us. We must fight for purity! And it is a hard, lifelong battle.

"How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word." Psalm 119:9

Here are two blog entries that discuss the practical ways we fight this battle to win:

http://www.equest4truth.com/pure.html

http://tomelliff.com/?p=870


"Lord, teach me to have a pure heart and live it out with pure actions and pure words. I know that on my own I lean toward impurity and my flesh draws me toward the perversion of your good gifts. Give me strength for the fight and put in me a heart that longs for you and the things that honor you! Make me a warrior for purity!"


He must increase, I must decrease!

JasonPS

Music That Inspires

Do you ever think about how important is the music we listen to? I try to have high standards for the music I listen to. While the musicality is important, I love to listen to music that has deep lyrics that push me to think. I want music that stretches me to think more deeply about God, about the wonder of redemption through Jesus, about powerfully living through faith, and about the tremendous mission to which we are called.

Sometimes this kind of music comes in unlikely forms. Recently I was sharing with a group of believers about the kind of music I listen to and why. When I shared that I am drawn to certain Christian rap artists, I could see amusement, shock, and disappointment on some of their faces. The point is not so much what the music sounds like. The point is what the music produces in me. I am stretched and prompted to grow by the music I listen to.

If you don't have that kind of music in your life, I encourage you to seek it out!

Here are some of the songs and artists I listen to. Check them out and then find your own music that moves you in the right direction!

Worship:

How Deep the Father's Love For Us- Joy Williams

Draw Me Nearer- Meridith Andrews

All the Way My Savior Leads Me- Chris Tomlin

Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) - Chris Tomlin


The Mission:

Don't Waste Your Life- Lecrae

Every Man - Casting Crowns

Set the World on Fire- Brit Nicole

God of this City- Chris Tomlin

Go Hard- Lecrae

Send Me- Lecrae


Christian Living:

God is Enough -Lecrae

Bury Me- Tedashii

I Will Follow- Chris Tomlin

Slow Fade - Casting Crowns


"Lord, help me to do a better job of filling my mind and heart with music that praises you, lifts my thoughts toward you, pushes me to live more passionately and purposely for you, and opens my eyes to those around me who need you!"


He must increase, I must decrease!

JasonPS

Look at me!

I recently attended a ministry conference which had an emphasis on preaching and corporate worship. There was a wide variety of people who were given the responsibility for leading the worship and delivering the messages. As I sat through those meetings, I could not help but notice that some of the leaders were oblivious of themselves and were completely focused on giving glory to God. Unfortunately, a few of the other leaders gave the opposite impression. It seemed that they were saying, "Look at me!"

I recognize that I cannot truly know what is in the hearts of other men and women. However, the spirit or attitude in which one leads is a very important part of communicating the truth of God. Every believer, leaders and followers alike, must fight the temptation to think and act as if everything is about them. Here are a few thoughts on what attitude a godly leader should project:

Humility: a serious grasp of his/her desperate, sinful situation before a holy, righteous, and all-powerful God. This humility should also be a recognition that, apart from God's grace, they lack any ability to lead, to influence people for good, to know God, or to do anything worthwhile.

Confidence: not a confidence in his/her own abilities or qualities, but a solid confidence in Jesus and the truth of God. Where we are weak and insufficient, Christ is more than sufficient. Even in our strengths we must rely on Christ to fully achieve God's purposes.

Discernment: a serious desire to follow God's leading. When everyone is looking to a person for leadership, it is a hard thing to separate one's own opinions and feelings from God's prompting.

Direction: an understanding that there is a purpose and a mission behind what they are called to do. Furthermore, that purpose and mission is ultimately no different than the overall purpose for which God calls any person to faith. Namely, to glorify God by enjoying him in a deep and personal relationship through faith in Jesus and to guide others into that same relationship with God.


I pray that I will not just exhibit these qualities, but have a heart that has these attitudes firmly and permanently established as foundations.

"Great God, teach me to walk humbly before you and before those you call me to lead. Give me unwavering confidence in Jesus who is sufficient for all things. Give me discernment to sense where you are leading me and the direction to follow you passionately and purposefully. Lead me so that I may lead others. Let it be so in my life!"

He must increase, I must decrease.

JasonPS

God takes pleasure in me?!

Do you ever wonder what pleases God? It's not what we might think...not necessarily the good works we do or the money we give or the prayers we pray or the services we attend...Those are the outward things that on their own can't please God. Psalm 147 reads, "His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love." It is sometimes easier to think that God is just OK with me and holds back his wrath out of mercy...which he does. But it is almost too incredible to think that the Creator of all the universe takes delight in me... and not because of the good I do, but only because I put all my hope in him alone. Powerful...

I am humbled by this truth.

"Lord, increase my faith. Give me such hope and joy in you that I am motivated to labor tirelessly and sacrificially for you! I desire to please you. Show me that it is my faith that pleases you and please make that faith strong and true. Let it be so."


He must increase, I must decrease.

JasonPS

Worth the risk?

It's hard to believe the amount of snow we have gotten this winter. Here I sit, watching another southern blizzard raging outside, knowing that when this one is gone, there is an even more severe storm on the way in just a few days. It has been kind of a popular joke that half an inch of snow will bring the south to a standstill causing schools, businesses, and churches to close and prompting a run on the grocery essentials like bread and milk. The number of snow days has begun to climb this winter. I can't imagine that many people mind the occasional snow day to cozy up at home and relax. For that matter, I wouldn't mind that right now.

However, here is the point I am trying to make. Thinking about church life, when is it worth the risk to not cancel our church meetings and worship services? Of course, we don't want any of our church family exposing themselves to unnecessary danger. But when is the danger a risk worth taking? When can we say, "What we are doing as the Body of Christ is worth risking our physical safety."? Or maybe we should evaluate what we do by asking, "Is this ______ worth risking our safety, our health, our comfort?".

Is worshiping the One, True, Living God of the Bible worth dying for? Is teaching the powerful truth of God's Word to hungry souls longing to grow and follow Jesus worth physical injury? Is sharing the Good News of Jesus' salvation with the lost and desperate world worth pain and illness? I hope you can join me in crying out, "Yes!"

Now, I know that it is one thing to talk this way and another to feel the weight of the responsibility for the safety of a church family. But this I do know: We are fooling ourselves when we think that our safety is really up to us anyway. Jesus calls us to take up our cross and die to ourselves. Let's make sure that what we are doing is worth dying for, and then we won't have to worry about whether to cancel services or not.

I am sure that I am in need of other insights on this issue, so I welcome your ideas and comments.

Still, here is my prayer:

"Lord, kill me! Help me die to myself, to my safety, to my comfort, to my health. Instead, make me alive to you, to your desires, to your purposes, and to your glory! Then, move me to follow you with passion and intensity, holding nothing back."


He must increase, I must decrease!

JasonPS

What does a church need to do to grow?

I was recently asked, "What does a local church need to do to grow and become all that God designs that church to be?" Here are my beginning thoughts on the matter.

I must say that this is one question that is easier to answer than to accomplish. When the local church is made up of followers of Jesus who deeply love God more than they love anything else, that sets the stage for powerful growth. Such a group of people will not let anything stop them from making much of Jesus in their daily lives, in the way they care for people, in the way they worship, and in the way they intentionally share the gospel. Creating such a consuming adoration for God in the hearts and lives of the church members should be a priority of the church. Powerful Bible teaching and fervent prayer are essential to leading the body as a whole and as individuals to follow Jesus with abandon.

"Lord, create in my heart such a love for you that I desire nothing more than I desire you and that will motivate me to pour out everything I am and have to bring you glory by making much of you in my life and in the lives of those around me!"

He must increase, I must decrease,

JasonPS