Isn’t it amazing how many times we say we’re gonna change something in our lives and we don’t follow through with it? Well…I know there are a couple of changes that I’m making in my life that gonna be hard to stick with, but when all is said and done both will change my life for the better. What are they? Here ya go…
1) Patty and I are gonna be setting up a hardcore budget and paying off stuff as fast as possible. I’m sure that we won’t be able to eat out much and we’ll have to cut back on other things (goodbye cable package), but wow..it will feel great to be out of debt. This post by Seth Godin really sums up how I’m feeling about it. Part of our plan is that I’m gonna do some extra work on the side…maybe even some speaking or music. We’ll see.
2) I’m going to lose weight and get into shape. I need to drop about 35-50 pounds and it begins today. I wish I could find an inexpensive personal trainer (is there such a thing?) but I’m just planning on toughing it out myself until that happens. Let’s face it. Most of us know what we should eat and what we should do to stay in shape. We just don’t do it. The Bible says our bodies are a temple. My temple needs a major renovation.
Should be interesting. I’ll have to give everyone updates on our progress.
He loved being in the pool today. Now if his daddy can just lose some weight, you might see some pics with all of us in the pool!
SO…I was totally naive about how many questions would be sent in by our students at our Q&A night. To keep from having to answer questions on every blog for the next two years, I will take a good balance of the questions and talk about them. Without further ado…here are five random questions from our Q & A night (more coming soon!):
1) What do you do when a teacher discriminates because you’re Baptist? I would invite them to a potluck dinner and sing “Just As I Am” at the end of each class. (We actually gave a real answer at Q&A night.)
2) How do we know how to listen to God? God can speak to you in a variety of ways, but the main way is through the Bible. Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes from hearing God’s Word. God will speak to you as you study the Bible and He will never tell you anything that contradicts it. He also speaks so us through His Spirit. That subtle voice guiding you a lot of times is Him (John 16:13, Romans 8:14). He can speak to us through other people (Proverbs 12:15).
The main thing is to stop talking to God about our issues all the time and truly listen through these ways I’ve mentioned. It’s hard to listen if all we do is talk.
3) What do you do when some of your friends are saying bad words but when you tell them to stop, they say “But it’s in the Bible”? As far as I know, there aren’t any cuss words in the Bible. Hell is an actual place. Damn is used when talking about sending people to Hell to face punishment for their sins. Ass is a donkey. Other than that, I have no clue what their talking about.
4) Can you believe in God but think that He doesn’t like you? There is never a moment that God doesn’t love you. BUT…He often doesn’t like your actions (or lack of) or thoughts. It’s like this. Let’s say that I tell my wife (Patty) that I’m gonna wash the dishes and I don’t do it. Patty would not be happy with me and would not like what I did. BUT…she still loves me. She always will. That’s a small glimpse of God. He loves us but hates sin. (Romans 8:38-39…example of God always loving us. There are tons of examples of God hating sin in the Bible)
5) Something happened to me by one of my family members 3 years ago and I still haven’t told my parents. What should I do? You definitely need to tell someone about what happened to you. It will be difficult to tell your parents, but they would want to know so they can help you. Whatever happened, it obviously is something that still bothers you and is on your mind, so the first step to moving on is letting others know.
We had a TXT MSG night last night at youth (that’s “Text Message” for the older crowd). Over the course of the next week, I am gonna answer every question that was sent in. It should be fun. Check back later tonight for part one!
NOTES FROM STETZER:
* For many of us in ministry, somewhere along the way we’ve gotten the idea that it is sinful to say “Why God?
* Main Idea- Doubt
* You can’t get to faith without doubt
* For most at the conference , ministry is not going to look like what you see on stage.
* Ministry pornography – Unrealistic picture of a ministry that you are never gonna have.
* John 14: Thomas tells Jesus that he doesn’t get it. Jesus lets him know that He is the way, truth, life and the only way.
* The misapplication is to say that Thomas is bad for doubting. We need to be able to ask “Why?” in the midst of hurt.
* Do you know what they call people who are happy all the time? Mentally Ill.
* The Bible never promises we will always be happy.
* The Gospel never lasts through the first tragedy if we teach people that we’re to always be happy.
* God is not afraid of your questions.
* God is not in heaven hoping you’ll have your best life. God is in heaven longing for people to be forgiven of their sin and delivered from the curse of sin.
* Saying “I don’t know” to a lost person is not a sign of immaturity
* God doesn’t promise answers, He promises us Himself.
* God doesn’t always speak happiness…He always speaks peace.
* Jesus = Lord = He calls the shots in my life (this leads us to repentance)
* God’s enough for me in the midst of hurting.
* My Lord & my God will help us through our unbelief.
