The Way to Knowledge - Oswald Chambers

Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own. John 7:17

The golden rule to follow to obtain spiritual understanding is not one of intellectual pursuit, but one of obedience. If a person wants scientific knowledge, then intellectual curiosity must be his guide. But if he desires knowledge and insight into the teachings of Jesus Christ, he can only obtain it through obedience. If spiritual things seem dark and hidden to me, then I can be sure that there is a point of disobedience somewhere in my life. Intellectual darkness is the result of ignorance, but spiritual darkness is the result of something that I do not intend to obey.

No one ever receives a word from God without instantly being put to the test regarding it. We disobey and then wonder why we are not growing spiritually. Jesus said, "If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift" He is saying, in essence, "Don’t say another word to me; first be obedient by making things right." The teachings of Jesus hit us where we live. We cannot stand as impostors before Him for even one second. He instructs us down to the very last detail. The Spirit of God uncovers our spirit of self-vindication and makes us sensitive to things that we have never even thought of before.

When Jesus drives something home to you through His Word, don’t try to evade it. If you do, you will become a religious impostor. Examine the things you tend simply to shrug your shoulders about, and where you have refused to be obedient, and you will know why you are not growing spiritually. As Jesus said, "First . . . go . . .." Even at the risk of being thought of as fanatical, you must obey what God tells you.

Why can't church be like camp?

This Sunday thru Friday morning I am going with a group of teens and adult shepherds from LCC to youth camp at Mount Lebanon in Cedar Hill, Texas.

It will be hot. It may rain on us a couple of days. We will be blessed if the A/C unit is cranking enough to keep the room cool. We won’t get much sleep. There will be incredible emotional ups and downs. New friendships will be made and old ones will grow stronger. People will meet God for the first time. Others will get closer to God than they have ever been before. There will be around 1300 of us in a room with terrible acoustics and hard metal chairs having incredible times of worship a couple of times a day all week long. We will have some very personal and honest share times within our own group. Our adult shepherds will get as much or more out of their time with God and the teens as the students.

At the beginning of the week there will be cliques. Within a couple of days, we will become God’s family. As God starts to move we will come to the realization that it doesn’t matter how much money one makes, what sport one plays, or the color of one’s skin. It won’t matter if one is an artist, a jock, an introvert or an extrovert. It will not matter your denomination or what church you attend.

During this week of camp, selfish people will become servants, prideful people will become humble, mean people will be loving, hard people will soften, those who mourn will be comforted, tough people will become gentle, and spiritually hungry people will be fed.

At least for a week, hurt people will feel loved, shy people will come out of their shells, anxious people will find peace, angry people will love others and receive love, unforgiven people will be forgiven, bitter people will forgive, and the guilty will experience God’s grace.

We will have more fun than we can stand. People will wish it were always like this. A couple of years ago, I was riding with a student in a cart on the day before we left to come back “to the real world”. She said, “I wish we could stay. I wish when we got home it would be like this.” I responded, “Be like what?” She said, “Where everyone loves and cares for each other.”

If you have never had this kind of experience it may be hard to understand. Now you know why I love camp and it is important to take as many soon to be adult teens as possible each year. It can be life-changing and life-altering.

The apostle Paul wrote that if we want to have this kind of unity as Christ-followers in the real world, if we want the church to be like camp, we have to focus on Christ. We have to focus on having the same attitude of humility as our Lord and Savior.

Paul wrote: Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Phil 2:3-8 NLT

This Sunday I will continue teaching a series called “EPIC Joy “ from the book of Philippians, Ch. 2:1-11.

We will pray for our students and shepherds and they will leave for camp around 1:00-1:30pm and be back by noon on Friday.....

Join us Sunday and bring a friend.....Nine out of ten people who do not attend church say they would go if a friend asked them.

Why do bad things happen? - Tony Dungy

"Why do bad things happen? I don't know. Why did Jamie die? I don't know. But I do know that God has the answers, I know he loves me, and I know he has a plan – whether it makes sense to me or not. Rather than asking why, I'm asking what. What can I learn from this? What can I do for God's glory and to help others?" -

Tony Dungy, talking about his son's 2005 death in Quiet Strength (Tyndale House, 2007)

Freedom is not Cheap

Do you remember how brown and dry everything was in Texas this time last year? Thank God for the end of the drought. Pray for people who have lost their homes and other problems caused by much rain. We can also empathize with and pray for the people in the west and other parts of the country who are having a drought this year.

Between thunderstorms on Wednesday night (July 4), Lisa and I went for a motorcycle ride. It was a beautiful night for riding and we found the perfect place to park and watch the fireworks display at the Bedford Boy's Ranch. I got a little emotional (real men cry) as I thought of the freedoms we have in our great country and the sacrifices that have been made for the past two hundred plus years to earn them and keep them. I am sure you have heard the phrase many times, "Freedom is not cheap." We are truly blessed and privileged to live here, and I can understand why so many people want to leave their countries of origin and come to the USA.

On the Tonight Show, Jay Leno does a piece called Jay Walking. He goes out on the street and asks Americans what seem to be simple questions. Many of the questions are American history related. Jay Walking is a TV fan favorite as people like to laugh at the mistakes of others. I am always surprised at how little, especially young Americans, know about the history of our great country.

I think it is easy to take our freedoms for granted when you really don't know anything about how we obtained them. When freedom seems free, and we are not grateful for, or even acknowledge its cost, freedom seems cheap. It is easy to disrespect something that is cheap. I believe that when you don't respect the cost of a gift, you don't respect the gift, and you don't respect the giver of the gift. So you burn flags, disrespect our leaders, disobey our laws, and do it in the name of freedom. Cheap freedom.

Although I don't believe it is done out of purposeful disrespect, I believe the majority of people who claim the gift and the freedom that comes from God's grace don't really understand or focus on the cost and live a cheap and not very deep form of Christianity. They live their lives believing they will be in heaven one day, but don't live their lives on earth as the Citizens of heaven they are. The gift of the Gospel or Good news of Jesus Christ is that we become children of the King and citizens of heaven.

When citizens of heaven live their lives on earth as children of the King, different than citizens of earth, people change.

As Christ-followers we know what real freedom costs. The apostle Paul wrote, "Sin is no longer your master, for you are no longer subject to the law, which enslaves you to sin. Instead, you are free by God's grace." Rom 6:14 NLT

The spiritual freedom from our sin is freedom in no matter what country we live or what situation in life with which we are faced. Paul writes to the Philippians that we are really citizens of Heaven. Our freedom and our citizenship came at a great cost. It was a free gift to us but it came at a great expense to God. He loves us that much.

God's unselfish love, given to the world by God's people, gives others an opportunity to acquire true freedom. The kind of freedom that is life-changing....

As Christian parents it is our job to teach about and live out the life of a Christian not controlled by sin to our children. Psychologists and sociologists say that what we learn in the first twelve years of our lives have the greatest impact on our future.

On Sunday mornings I am teaching through Paul's letter to the Philippians. The main theme of this letter is that if you live your life as a citizen of heaven you will have joy no matter what your circumstances. If we can draw close to God, study His Word and live it in faith, we can have EPIC Joy.

Join us this Sunday as we look at Philippians 1:27-30 and learn how to practice the disciplines of living a life of Joy.

This will be a great message for all and a great opportunity to invite that person you have been wanting to bring to church.

Who is God to you?

Americans' Image of God

31% believe in an "Authoritarian God" who is angry at humanity's sins and engaged in every creature's life and world affairs.

23% believe in a "Benevolent God" who is forgiving and accepting of anyone who repents.

16% believe in a "Critical God" who has his judgmental eye on the world, but he's not going to intervene, either to punish or comfort.

24% believe in a "Distant God" who is more of a cosmic force that launched the world, then left it spinning on its own.

Source: Cathy Lynn Grossman, "America's Image of God Varies," USAToday.com (9/11/06)

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. 1 John 3:16