"There is no way that a man can love me."
"My own father, who I can see, doesn't love me. How am I supposed to believe that God the Father, who I can not see, loves me?"
"I have done way too many bad things in my life for God to truly love me."
"There is no way that God loves that church...look at the way they act!"
and the list could go on and on...
Sound familiar? It should.
I can't tell you how many times I have heard those words echoed from the mouths of students (and their parents as well). Unfortunately we live in a society that devalues males. Yes, I said it, but it's true. Statistics show that more than 50% of all marriages inside the church will end in divorce. Often the ones that are hardest hit by divorce are children. We now are faced with a generation that, for the most part, has grown up without a father.
What does that have to do with the church and its mission? I believe a great deal of the church's problems can be stemmed from this statistic. Young people do not trust adults, especially men. Why would they? Most of the significant adults in their lives have let them down at one point or another during the course of their lives. To most young people the idea of an affectionate and loving father is foreign to them. That is why it is so difficult for them to understand and believe that they have a Heavenly Father that desperately loves them and desires to have a deep relationship with them.
So what do we do? Do we just quit? By no means! We should just re-think our approach.
We are adopted. Every single person who has ever made a profession of faith and confesses Christ as the Lord of their life had been adopted. No more do we have to live with the stigma or pain of knowing that our father bailed on us when we needed him most. We can replace him with a Heavenly Father who says he will never leave us or forsake us. How amazing is that! We have been adopted by the King of Kings and He loves us simply because we exist!
If you never had the pleasure of crawling up into your daddy's lap while he held you, let God do that today. How does that happen? It happens by us getting into his Word and meditating on it. It also happens by us spending time in prayer before our King. He loves you and desperately wants to spend that quality time with you that you long for also.
Bottom line is this: You have an adopted Father who longs for you to spend time with him. Turn to Him today if you haven't already.
If God has spoken to you through this blog, please access our website at www.brooklandbaptistchurch.net and get in touch with one of the pastors. We care for you and would love to get the opportunity to speak to you.
Serve your King,
Steven
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Wonder and Awe
During the Old Testament times when the children of Israel were wondering through the wilderness Moses often communed directly with God. Sometimes he was praying for the Israelites, other times he was comlaining about them, but he was the one who had the privelage of speaking directly to God.
While Moses was in the tent talking to God and huge cloud would fall and hover over the tent. The children of Israel knew, that while that cloud was present, Moses was talking to God. After such encounters Scripture says that Moses face was radiant and it was obvious that he had just spent time in the presence of Yahweh (the Hebrew name for God).
Clouds may not hover directly over our churches on Sunday mornings today, but we still have unbridled access to God, just as Moses did. As believers we have a direct line of access to God, but sadly we often do not take full advantage of God's availability to us.
Here's a challenge to anyone who reads this:
For the next 5 days honestly pray. Pray that God would show himself to you, that you would begin to understand what he has planned for your life. Don't do one of those 5 minute "God is great" prayers that we say when we are young. Honestly seek the face God. Let him speak to you. That is the first step to revival - corporately and personally.
Serve your King,
Steven
While Moses was in the tent talking to God and huge cloud would fall and hover over the tent. The children of Israel knew, that while that cloud was present, Moses was talking to God. After such encounters Scripture says that Moses face was radiant and it was obvious that he had just spent time in the presence of Yahweh (the Hebrew name for God).
Clouds may not hover directly over our churches on Sunday mornings today, but we still have unbridled access to God, just as Moses did. As believers we have a direct line of access to God, but sadly we often do not take full advantage of God's availability to us.
Here's a challenge to anyone who reads this:
For the next 5 days honestly pray. Pray that God would show himself to you, that you would begin to understand what he has planned for your life. Don't do one of those 5 minute "God is great" prayers that we say when we are young. Honestly seek the face God. Let him speak to you. That is the first step to revival - corporately and personally.
Serve your King,
Steven
Monday, May 4, 2009
Most important words
In John chapter 1 we find a very familiar story, one of which we have probably all heard at one point or another. Jesus is found doing his normal thing, just wandering and teaching (as was his custom) when two of John's followers decide to follow Jesus instead of John. One of these men was named Andrew.
Andrew, overtaken by emotion of finally finding the Messiah, runs to his brother Simon to tell him of his miraclous discovery. It is there, in verse 42 that we find some of the most encouraging and challenging words of the entire Bible:
"and he brought him to Jesus."
Andrew stopped at nothing to bring his brother to the Christ. He did everything in his power to make sure that his brother Simon was to meet this amazing man.
When I read that I can't help but get a bit convicted. We live in a society and culture that, for the most part, doesn't know Christ -and in a lot of cases- simply doesn't care to.
Within the realm of youth ministry we are being told that there are now more young people (ages 10-18) on the planet than ever before, but we are seeing the lowest number of salvations in recent memory. Something doesn't add up to me. When I think about the things that our young people are facing on a daily basis, things that adults (even twenty-somethings) would never have dreamed of when they were young, I get very heavy hearted. Young people are crying out for help and we hardly ever take the time to listen. They cry out through their selection of music, clothes and their most current Facebook or Twitter statuses and we are often too concerned with the affairs of the church that we fail to reach them.
God forgive us!
True hope is only found in Christ...nothing more, nothing less. He is the only one who can truly life their burdens and set them free.
We should all take a lesson from Andrew and stop at nothing to bring the lost to faith in Christ.
Serve your King,
Steven
Andrew, overtaken by emotion of finally finding the Messiah, runs to his brother Simon to tell him of his miraclous discovery. It is there, in verse 42 that we find some of the most encouraging and challenging words of the entire Bible:
"and he brought him to Jesus."
Andrew stopped at nothing to bring his brother to the Christ. He did everything in his power to make sure that his brother Simon was to meet this amazing man.
When I read that I can't help but get a bit convicted. We live in a society and culture that, for the most part, doesn't know Christ -and in a lot of cases- simply doesn't care to.
Within the realm of youth ministry we are being told that there are now more young people (ages 10-18) on the planet than ever before, but we are seeing the lowest number of salvations in recent memory. Something doesn't add up to me. When I think about the things that our young people are facing on a daily basis, things that adults (even twenty-somethings) would never have dreamed of when they were young, I get very heavy hearted. Young people are crying out for help and we hardly ever take the time to listen. They cry out through their selection of music, clothes and their most current Facebook or Twitter statuses and we are often too concerned with the affairs of the church that we fail to reach them.
God forgive us!
True hope is only found in Christ...nothing more, nothing less. He is the only one who can truly life their burdens and set them free.
We should all take a lesson from Andrew and stop at nothing to bring the lost to faith in Christ.
Serve your King,
Steven
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Hosanna!
4-7-09
As we continue to travel on through The Passion Week I have become ever mindful of the events that Jesus had to face in order to fulfill his passion. While I have always known of the physical trauma that Jesus had to overcome in order to bring salvation to you and me (Mel Gibson sure helped in that), it has only been here recently that I have thought of the spiritual ramifications of the horrible ordeal of crucifixion that Jesus chose to endure.
During our Sunday night discipleship class this week one of our 10th grade students made what was perhaps the most profound observation that I have ever heard from a high school student. We are going through The Sermon on the Mount in an attempt to go deeper instead of wider (another topic for another day) and we were studying the Beatitudes. I had asked what was the real meaning of mercy and what did it have to do with Jesus. I was looking for one of them to say that Jesus showed mercy to us, so we should show mercy to others, but the answer I got completely floored me. She said "Well, I guess that some of the people that Jesus had healed from the blind and the lame were probably among those who were yelling for him to be crucified, and he still didn't say anything to them and still died for them."
WOW!!!
Such wisdom from a 15 year old girl. I told her that I had been studying the Bible for many years and had never though about that. Yes, you can argue that is an argument from silence and simpy dismiss it, but if you stop and ponder on that though for a minute it will shake your innermost being...I know it did for me. Jesus had literally healed these people only days or months prior and yet here they were yelling for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be crucified and he never once said anything to them, or to anyone for that matter, and never once talked back beacuse he loved the people that were accusing him of blasphemy.
I guess the more I study and think I understand about Christ the more I realize I will never understand, but I was dumbfounded by a 15 year old girl on Sunday.
And I almost guarantee it won't be the last time.
Serve your King,
Steven
As we continue to travel on through The Passion Week I have become ever mindful of the events that Jesus had to face in order to fulfill his passion. While I have always known of the physical trauma that Jesus had to overcome in order to bring salvation to you and me (Mel Gibson sure helped in that), it has only been here recently that I have thought of the spiritual ramifications of the horrible ordeal of crucifixion that Jesus chose to endure.
During our Sunday night discipleship class this week one of our 10th grade students made what was perhaps the most profound observation that I have ever heard from a high school student. We are going through The Sermon on the Mount in an attempt to go deeper instead of wider (another topic for another day) and we were studying the Beatitudes. I had asked what was the real meaning of mercy and what did it have to do with Jesus. I was looking for one of them to say that Jesus showed mercy to us, so we should show mercy to others, but the answer I got completely floored me. She said "Well, I guess that some of the people that Jesus had healed from the blind and the lame were probably among those who were yelling for him to be crucified, and he still didn't say anything to them and still died for them."
WOW!!!
Such wisdom from a 15 year old girl. I told her that I had been studying the Bible for many years and had never though about that. Yes, you can argue that is an argument from silence and simpy dismiss it, but if you stop and ponder on that though for a minute it will shake your innermost being...I know it did for me. Jesus had literally healed these people only days or months prior and yet here they were yelling for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be crucified and he never once said anything to them, or to anyone for that matter, and never once talked back beacuse he loved the people that were accusing him of blasphemy.
I guess the more I study and think I understand about Christ the more I realize I will never understand, but I was dumbfounded by a 15 year old girl on Sunday.
And I almost guarantee it won't be the last time.
Serve your King,
Steven
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