What do you want Me to do?

I am currently reading a book by Andrew Murray titled, With Christ in the School of Prayer. I read a chapter today that I felt was powerful and very relevant in my own life so I wanted to share some things I highlighted in this particular chapter. The chapter is titled, Prayer Must Be Definite.

"And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God." (Luke 18:40-43 ESV)

Murray's comments:

"Our prayers must be a distinct expression of definite need, not a vague appeal to His mercy or an indefinite cry for blessing....... So much of our prayer is vague and pointless. Some cry for mercy, but do not take the trouble to know exactly why they want it. Others ask to be delivered from sin, but do not name any sin from which a deliverance can be claimed. Still others pray for God's blessing on those around them and yet have no special field where they can wait and expect to see the answer. To everyone the Lord says, 'What do you really want, and what do you expect Me to do?'....... Our expressions of need, sin, love, faith, and consecration must be accompanied by an explicit statement of what we are asking for and what we expect to receive....... How many prayers are wishes sent up for a short time and then forgotten! And how many are sent up year after year as a matter of duty, while we complacently wait without the answer?"

With the Peace of Christ,

- Terry

Merry Christmas from E-Fellowship!

Making Wise the Simple

"The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;" (Psalm 19:7 ESV)

The word "sure" found here can also be translated as "trustworthy". The testimony of the Lord through the Scriptures is worthy of your trust and can give refreshment to your thirsting soul. The moment you place your trust in the testimony of Jesus and begin to drink a nice warm cup of His refreshing word, you will find yourself enlightened. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight." The truth that the testimony of Jesus grants wisdom to the simple can be clearly seen in the life of the disciples. The disciples had not gone through the advanced training of the rabbinic schools like the religious leaders of their time. But when they spoke before the religious leaders in Acts chapter 4, the leaders were astonished by their confidence in what they were proclaiming. "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus."

I also believe the truth that the testimony of Jesus grants wisdom to the simple can be seen through the faith of a child. Children get it. Children have no problem believing the testimony of Jesus and even believe in a matter-of-fact, that just-makes-sense kind of way. Critics will argue that children believe because of their ignorance and naivete. Therefore they should not be indoctrinated with the testimony of Jesus. I argue differently. Perhaps we are not to view a child's mind as ignorant and naive but rather as pure and uncontaminated. Perhaps its not the testimony of Jesus, but the indoctrination of the world that leads the child astray. Jesus said it Himself, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Children get it in a way in which we are called to get it! Children have faith that we as adults strive to obtain. They believe with assurance that the testimony of Jesus is trustworthy and that is true wisdom. An eight-year-old girl expressed it well. When asked why Jesus was called the Word, she said, "Because Jesus is all God wanted to say to us."

May we find the testimony of Jesus trustworthy and once again possess the wisdom of the simple.

- Terry

HE'S MORE

Ever been asked the question "Why should a non-believer believe"? Well, I'm sure you have. Here's what I used to say. I would say "what are the drawbacks? If I live my life more pure, avoiding such things that would get me and my family in trouble, and I treat everyone with respect and kindness, and love everybody...... then if I find out later I'm wrong.... well what was the drawback?" That's what I USED to say. But, right now, i'm finding some serious problems with that answer. While all those things are nice and maybe things we should try anyway they just aren't enough to describe my God. My God is more! He's more than some blanket "just in case" insurance policy. How weak is our faith if we only believe "just in case" its true? Let me tell you why I believe. Because The Holy Spirit poured into me and made me believe!!! I couldn't do anything about it. Trust me, I tried. I was a serious skeptic. I was a serious sinner. I didn't deserve Jesus. People had told me about Him my entire life, and still it didn't matter. The Spirit had to intercede. I think sometimes we, as humans, over think things that are more simple than we make them. To prove this I asked my 5 year old daughter this question.

Question: Why should someone believe in God?
5 YEAR OLD: So they can go to heaven! (with a duhhh type of an attitude and rolling eyes)
Question: IS there any other reason?
5 YEAR OLD: So we can live in heaven and be happy forever. And because He told us to.......

Profound isn't it? How true are those answers. How pure are those answers? Why should we believe? Because He told us to, to spend eternity in Heaven, and to be happy forever. Pretty good answers. We think we are so smart with our degrees and all. Sometimes I think kids are the ones who understand things the way they are supposed to be understood. Innocent, uncorrupted, truth hearing little things, those kiddos.
When God created me He loved me. When I sinned against Him countless times, He loved me. When He sent His Son to die for me, He loved me. And, when He filled me with His spirit, He loved me.... and I loved Him. What does He ask? Love Me, and your neighbor. Seems simple. Why do we make it so hard. There are many things I don't know. Here are some things that I do know. God deserves my love and faithfulness. He deserves more than I can give Him. He deserves more than the three times a day prayers for meals, and more than the ten minutes a day I give His word. He deserves everything. I deserve nothing. God's grace has saved me. All He asks is that I obey His word. He's a person, and longs for our hearts. Jesus, take my heart, my soul, take it all. I love you.

-Adam (aka grateful non deserving sinner)

Let's Get Personal

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night." (Psalm 1:1-2 ESV)

Do most of us today understand what it is to delight in the law of the Lord? I think we all respect the law of the Lord in some form or fashion, but do we actually find pleasure in it? Or do we find more pleasure in the counsel of the wicked? What do we meditate on day and night?

Can I get real for a second without you, the reader, getting defensive? Do you enjoy most of the garbage that the entertainment industry puts out more than you enjoy the Word of God? Do you have a greater desire to live like a celebrity or a disciple? Is the "American Dream" more appealing to you than the way of the righteous?

Don't dodge, duck, dip, dive or dodge these questions. Lets be real. I raise these questions because I know what's its like to wrestle with these misplaced desires. Can you honestly say you delight in the law of the Lord and that you meditate on it day and night? Or is your living room furniture full of seats for scoffers?

"In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways... My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times... Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors... Put false ways far from me and graciously teach me your law!.. Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it... Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways... I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes... At midnight I rise to praise you, because of your righteous rules... The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces... Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day" (bits and pieces of Psalm 119)

- Terry

Marinating in the Word

"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."

(Joshua 1:8 ESV)

The Word of God possesses powers that transform character. Meditating on what God has to say to us through the Scriptures can radically transform our vocabulary, thoughts and behavior. I often like to use the phrase "marinating in the Word". Tanner (my wife) is not a fan of ordinary grilled chicken. "It taste to chickeny" according to her. But when I marinate the chicken in some honey barbeque sauce with brown sugar then she really enjoys the flavor. Allowing yourself to marinate in the Word of God adds flavor to your life that makes you pleasing to God and to those around you.

By marinating in the Word, our speech may be gracious and seasoned with flavor. (Col. 4:6)

By marinating in the Word, our mouth may proclaim the abundance within our heart. (Matt. 12:34)

By marinating in the Word, our behavior may be pleasing and tasteful to our God. (Psalm 19:14)

What you marinate yourself with will always reveal itself in your speech. If you saturate your mind and your thoughts with the Word of God it will come out in the things you talk about. If you saturate your mind and thoughts with other things, they will come out in your conversations as well. So what do you talk about? May we all marinate ourselves with the sweet flavor of God's Word.

"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

(Psalm 119:103 ESV)

Penn St. Protests

A 24 year old aerospace engineering student at Penn St. was asked by the New York Times about the riots taking place on campus at Penn St. This is what he had to say....

"Of course we're going to riot. What do they expect when they tell us at ten o'clock that they fired our football coach."

This controversy at Penn St. has really got me speechless right now, but there are two things about this particular comment above that I have to address.

1. "Of course we're going to riot" - Since when is rioting so widely accepted as the appropriate response to inconvenience? All over the country we are now seeing more and more demonstrations of violent temper tantrums over anything and everything.

2. "they fired our football coach" - This is worth rioting over? I recently read the indictment against Jerry Sandusky which stirred up a cocktail of emotions such as pain, sadness, hurt, anger, rage and disbelief. There are eight known victims in this scandal, and Joe Paterno is not one of them. I have no intent to accuse or defend Joe Paterno. I am just shocked that given the recent circumstances, the firing of Paterno was the thing that enraged these students to protest and not first and foremost the abominable accusations against Jerry Sandusky. Have we become so misguided in our perspective of the world around us? Can we please open up our eyes and redirect our attention and sympathies on the actual victims in this controversy - the eight young men who were victims of horrific sexual assault as young children. May appropriate justice be served.

- Terry Evans

No Escaping a Fathers Love

Tell me if you're like this. My wife, Jenny, and I love the opportunity to get out of the house for a real date every now and then. We have two little girls, and a third little girl arriving any day. When we get tired and towards the end of a week when the kids have been tough, we call the babysitter. Here's an example of what we might say. "Man, I just need a few hours to re-charge my batteries. The girls have been wearing me out, and i can't believe she did this, or she did that, etc". We were encouraged years ago at a PAO conference to always make time for at least 1 date night a week. The logic is simple. We get so caught up in being mommy and daddy that we sometimes forget to be husbands and wives. So, we do everything in our power to make it at least once a week. But here's what happens. We rush out the door, get in the car headed towards a movie or dinner, so grateful for our time away. Then what do we do? We spend the whole dinner talking about our kids! We talk about how cute they are, and how we can't wait to watch them grow up, and all kinds of stuff like that. By the end of our dinner we're rushing back home to see the kids, because we feel like we've been gone so long. This happened to us again the other night on our anniversary. While on the way home from dinner I started thinking about my role in my daughters lives. There is nothing that my kids can do to lose the love that I have for them. They can't mess that up. They're stuck with me. I am their father, and no matter which direction they go in life I will remain their father. No matter how many times they disobey me, and no matter how many times I have to punish them.... I will still be their father. There is no report card, strikeout, or little white lie that will make me stop loving my daughters. Nothing. So, here's what i'm getting at. If you can relate to me about how much you love your kiddo's I want you to think about something. Our God in Heaven, has one Son. His Son's name is Jesus. Do you think that God loved His one and only Son less than we love ours? I can't even fathom how much God loves us. All I know is this. Our God loves us so much that He sent His one and only Son to DIE for us so that we could have eternal life in Heaven. After all we have done....He is our Father and He loves us. As followers of Christ we cannot escape His love. We may move away from Him, but He isn't going anywhere. No matter what happens, He will always be our Father. We don't deserve this awesome gift from God. I'm blown away by this, and just wanted to take a minute and reflect on this because as a believer I should know this already. Yet, somehow, I always need reminders. And, for some reason, God keeps reminding me. Thank you God for the reminders. Thank you God for loving me when I don't deserve it. Thank you God for your Son........Thank you God...............

- Adam Wainwright

Starbucks and Jesus

Tanner scheduled a play date at the house this morning so I made the conscious decision that this would be a good time to make a Starbucks run. Rather than playing zone defense for the next two hours trying to defend my house from 4 children under the age of 3, I am sitting quietly on the outside patio of the Starbucks down the street. True application of wisdom taking place. Anyway, as I sit here and cherish my Tall Italian Roast coffee, the Spirit takes a seat next to me and takes advantage of this quiet time to offer His wisdom aimed directly at my heart. I'll share with you our time together.

I am a drink person. I love coffee every morning, tea in the afternoon, and a nice glass of wine or cold Sam Adams in the evening. I have a coffee maker with a timer on it so I can prepare the coffee before I go to bed and wake up with a fresh pot brewed for me each morning. I love my morning coffee time. As you can see, I even took careful consideration as to what kind of coffee maker to buy in order to enjoy it even more. I love sitting at a coffee shop and enjoying various kinds of coffee from all over the world. Coffee is something I desire and something that I go out of my way for each and every day to enjoy. If I go a day without a cup, I miss it. Quiet time with a cup of coffee, I desire, but what about quiet time with my Father in heaven? Do I desire communion with God each and every day and pursue Him with the same consistency that I pursue Starbucks? Is a day without a cup of coffee a bigger bummer to me than a day without conversation with God? I may sound silly (thats debatable) but there's some truth here.

"But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." - Jesus

I, personally, do not know how to pray as I ought. I am currently reading a great book titled, With Christ in the School of Prayer (Murray), and it encourages me to be taught by Jesus as to how to pray. Jesus never taught His disciples how to preach only how to pray. Jesus tells us to seek God in the secret places and that is where He awaits for us - basically, to seek out quiet time with God. To shut out the world and to shut yourself in with God. I find a way to make time for a cup of coffee every single day, but I fail to make time for a conversation with God each day. Father, free me from the thought of prayer as a duty or burden and may my secret place be my most treasured piece of earth. Yes, may my secret place with God be more treasured than Starbucks.

A humble student in the school of prayer,

- Terry Evans

Not of this world?

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world- the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions- is not from the Father but is from the world." -1 John 2:15-16 ESV

"Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." -Matthew 10:37-39 ESV

"But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ..." -Phil 3:20 ESV

Heavyweight verses here that make me feel pretty worthless. Perfect! I love God's word for this exact reason. The moment I realize how bad I need Jesus and how messed up Blake Hawksworth is the better i'll be. To hit your knees and say "Jesus, I need you, I can't do anything alone." That's not weak, that's strong. God is after that very thing... YOUR HEART. Lets jump back to the first verse and see how it ends...

"And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever." -1 John 2:17 ESV

The world is marked for destruction (John 12:31) and it's man that jacked up the system. Living for the now is short sighted. You want to be satisfied and honored now.

"Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry." -Luke 6:25 ESV

In contrast, those who love the Father have a long-term perspective and wait for God's reward. Listen to what Jesus said to his disciples...

"Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.... Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven." -Luke 6:21-22 ESV

Rejoice!!! I need Jesus and I don't deserve His grace. Me, get rewarded? Wow. I'm down here sinning and trying to make sense of everything, and yet He makes it so clear. So what are we going to do? What are we going to do with this Jesus?

Lord I need you, ALL of You. Help me see this world through your eyes!

- Blake Hawksworth

Who Are You Hangin With?

"Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm."
- Proverbs 13:20

Who you hang out with determines who you will become. If you want to be a godly person, then hang out with godly people. If you want to grow in your love for Christ, then hang out with people whose hearts are set ablaze with love for Christ. On the contrary, if you want to be lukewarm in your faith, then hang out with people who are lukewarm in their faith. It's really not a difficult truth to understand.

In fact, I have found in numerous business books this same principle. They say if you want to be a succesful salesman, then hang out and learn from other succesful salesmen. If you want to be a millionaire, then hang with the millionaires.

You see this in the sports world too. There is a reason in sports we talk about coaching trees. Coaching trees are lines of succesful coaches that can be traced by to one individual (i.e. Bill Walsh or Bill Parcells). The reason they become great coaches is because they spent hundreds of hours with a great coach!

Just to be clear, what I'm not saying is that you should avoid spending time with non-believers or new believers. But what I am saying is that whoever you spend the bulk of your time with will determine who you become. Aa a matter of fact, it is the height of foolishness to say that you want to become a mature follower of Christ, but never spend time with mature followers of Christ.

This is a call to be wise in who you develop long-lasting, deep relationships with. The most important one is with Jesus Christ, because apart from Him we can do nothing. But also, those of us who bear the name of Christ, and want to grow in godliness, need to be intentional about having close relationships with other wise, mature believers.

Think about who you want to become as a Christian, then surround yourself with people who are ahead of you, or right there with you, on that journey.

- Tyler Durham

Daily Bread

"The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength... But they who wait for the lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." -Isaiah 60:28-31 ESV

- Blake Hawksworth

Jesus and The Occupiers

As much as I'd like to stay out of it, I feel the need to bring up the "Occupy" movement going on nationally and extending globally. CNN recently posed the question, Would Jesus Occupy Wall St.? What do you think? What should I think? Are you for the Occupy movement? If so, why and what does being for it even mean? What about the Tea Party movement? Are you for that instead or are they the same thing? What side would Jesus walk with? What side should we walk with? What about our President? Do you support or oppose our President? What about capitalism? Is it evil or is socialism evil? As a believer should you be a Republican or Democrat? Liberal or Conservative? Where should you get your information on all these topics? Fox News or MSNBC? Amidst all this division and turmoil, where would Jesus stand and how should we follow Him? My own humble answer may surprise you (or perhaps disappoint you).

To answer quickly, I don't want to argue that Jesus might walk amidst the Occupy movement. I do however claim that if He was found there, He would not be there to protest. You see, Jesus isn't for the 99% or the 1%. Jesus is for the 100%. Be careful with picking sides and feeding your head with a particular side's agenda. As a follower of Jesus, we are called to love those like us and those unlike us even more so. But Terry, our political system is full of corruption and something must be done! Ok, I don't argue with that. But if we're going to take action, let's take Biblical action.

"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

The verse says enough (especially if you consider the context). So as a follower of Christ are we loving the 100%? Are we spending more time and energy complaining about or praying for our leaders? Sorry. Somebody had to bring it up.

- Terry Evans

Martin Luther

"The Christian feels the unholy condition of his heart, and it makes him feel so low that he cannot trust in his good works. He therefore goes to Christ to find perfect righteousness. This keeps a Christian humble."

- Blake Hawksworth

Matt Chandler Quote

"Do you know what a better human being you are... How happy you are... If you understand that ultimately everything is about God and NOT ABOUT YOU. It is a freedom that few taste."

Telling Yourself the Truth

Psalm 42:5 - "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God."

Blake's last post got me thinking about Psalm 42:5 and the importance of talking to ourselves. I know that sounds strange, but we talk to ourselves all the time! There is a constant inner conversation going on and we see this in Psalm 42:5. David asks his soul why it is cast down.

What I want you to see from this text is that David tells his downcast soul to do something. Many of us let that inner dialogue go rogue all the time. We lose control of it and it can cause us to be discouraged. Maybe you had an argument with your wife, or maybe you have bills that need to be paid and you don't have the money. Or for you baseball guys maybe you are 0 for your last 20, or couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Fear begins to slither into your inner dialogue and anxiety begins to suffocate you. It is at this point that you have to take control and talk to yourself. It is at this point that you need to start telling yourself the truth.

So what does David do? He speaks to himself. And what does he tell his soul to do? Hope in God! He says "soul! hope in God!" Inwardly he asks the important question, "why do I feel the way I do," and then he gives himself the remedy, which is "hope in God."

Daily we are in a battle and the frontlines are in the mind. I challenge you when you are heavy hearted, anxious, or fearful to speak words of truth to your soul and lift up your soul with the Word of God.

Emotions are commanded in the Bible

Hope

"Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?" -Psalm 42:5

"Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." -1 Peter 1:13


Contentment 

"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you'." -Hebrews 13:5


Peace

"And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful." -Col 3:15

Zeal

"Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord." -Romans 12:11

Strength in Weakness

Great quote from Paul Tripp in his book War of Words:

"Our weakness will not get in the way of what the Lord wants to do in us. Our delusions of strength will! The power of God is for the weak! The grace of God is for the unable! The promises of God are for the faint! The wisdom of God is for the foolish!

Conisder Others More Important than Yourself

“But in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” - Philippians 2:3b

Wow, what does that look like? How on earth could I possibly consider others more important than me? It sounds good, but I know my heart too well. The only way you or I can count others as more significant than ourselves is, as Paul says, “ in humility.” The problem is humility is unnatural. Because of the fall, my natural inclinations have been toward pride and self-centeredness, not humility.

In fact, I have spent my whole life trying to get others to see how significant I am – not how significant they are – and my guess is you have done the same thing. This is a result of our sinful nature, and according to Paul this breed’s disunity, back-biting, gossip, covetousness, and other unity destroying sins. This is not the way of the cross: the way of the cross is lowliness, humility, and service to others.

In the letter to the Philippians, Paul is writing to a church that is being persecuted from the outside and experiencing division from within. They need a Word from God and the Word He gives is look at others as more important than you. The supreme example of this counting others as more significant than ourselves, is God Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ. Paul says that “though he was in the form of God, [he] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:6-8). It is only through the power of Christ – given to us in the Holy Spirit – that we can follow the example of Christ and count others as more significant than ourselves. This is impossible without the supernatural power of God working in our lives.

So what would this really look like? What would it do to our marriages if we counted our wives as more significant than ourselves? What about our children? I mean really. I have a nine month old daughter named Rachel. What if from this day until the day I die I communicate to her – through my actions – that I think she is more significant than I am. What about at work? What about on your team? What about in our church? I think it would be revolutionary.

I know we all want unity in our families? I know you want unity on your team? I know we all want unity at the workplace? I know we all want unity in our churches? This being the case, let’s ask God to help us cultivate humility in our life. Let’s confess our sin of selfishness and pride and ask God to help us to begin considering those around us as more significant than ourselves.

TD

Re-Introduction

It has been so long since I have been involved in the E-Fellowship conversation that I feel I need to re-introduce myself. My name is Tyler Durham. I am a former player for the St. Louis Cardinals organization and one of the original contributors to the E-Fellowship blog (that was a long time ago and this thing is still going!). I am currently finishing my Masters of Divinity degree at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in my hometown of Fort Worth, Tx. I have been married for 3 1/2 years to my wife Ariane and we have a 9 month daughter named Rachel.

My desire, Lord willing, is to finish my MDiv in May, then enter the PhD program here at Southwestern. Ultimately, I want to teach and preach the Bible in whatever place the Lord has for me, whether in the classroom or the church.

What I want to do in this post is share with you several reasons why I want to return to the E-Fellowship blog:

1. Even though I have not seen many of the guys who contribute to this blog in years, I still consider them good friends and through this blog hope to continue our friendship.

2. I want to help the followers of this blog grow in their Christian walk. Whether it is through a biblical passage that I have been wrestling with, a great quote in a book that I am reading, or a personal story of my struggle with sin, I want to be a means of encouragement to those who follow this blog.

3. I want to share what I have learned in these last 3 years of seminary. I consider it a privilege to have the opportunity to get a masters level education at a solid, bible-believing, evangelical seminary. By God's grace I have been granted this opportunity and I feel a certain responsibility to share the things I have learned, not keep them to myself. What better way than on the E-Fellowship blog?

4. I want to benefit and contribute to the conversation that his been going on through E-Fellowship over these last several years.

5. I want to be a part of what God is going to do through E-Fellowship in the future.

Well, that is a little bit about who I am and why I am back. I thought before I starting throwing out posts I should re-introduce myself.

Fish Fry with Jesus

"When the disciples got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” (John 21)

I was thinking about this scene the other day and just got lost in the idea of how awesome it would have been to be apart of this breakfast. It would be so awesome to have a great morning of fishing followed by a fish fry with the resurrected Jesus around a camp fire just off shore. Wouldn't that be an amazing experience? Don't you wonder what that would have been like?

Well, guess what? One day we will get to experience this first hand. One day we will sit and dine with our King! What an amazing day that will be!! When I look to heaven with this type of anticipation then the things of this present time seem incomparable to what Jesus has in store for me. Man, I can't wait for a meal with my King. I look forward to seeing you there.

- Terry

Loving The Haters

Once upon a time there was a pastor who asked his congregation if they were willing to go out and do something nice to someone who openly hates them. Backing up this crazy idea with scriptures and the teachings of the man Jesus. The pastor knew that there were many in the crowd who were murmuring under their breath that they weren't willing to do that. So he cleared the moment of silence with another question, "Now tell God that you won't love someone who hates you." The congregation grew silent as his question had pierced many hearts, then the pastor drove home his point like a hot knife through butter with this... "That's what we do everyday.".......

The pastor was Francis Chan and the church was Cornerstone Church in Southern California.

Displaying the Works of God

[9:1] As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. [2] And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” [3] Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. - John 9:1-3

Why do we suffer hardships and setbacks? Why are some of us born with disabilities? A clear all-inclusive answer to each circumstance is not given. However, Jesus declares that hardship and disability is not to viewed as punishment but rather as God working mysteriously and mightily through the particular circumstance. God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and therefore we should attempt to encourage one another with this truth. This particular man was born blind for a specific purpose even though him and his family had spent their entire lives up until this point having no idea why he had to be born blind. We can’t always see God purpose but we can rest assured that He always has one.

- Terry

And the Word Became Flesh

To begin his gospel, John describes Jesus as "the Word" which I find interesting and helpful. Describing Jesus as the Word helps me better understand His deity. When we speak, our words often tend to describe, explain, and reveal our thoughts and character. My words express who I am, they reveal things about me, they’re a revelation of me, they reveal my character, my nature, who I am deep within. They essentially can define everything about me. If you were blind and could not see me or see my face how else would you get to know me or understand me except for my word? My words are not something separate from me, they are begotten by me, they are apart of me. Jesus, the Word, is the direct revelation of God the Father.

No one has ever seen the Father, but He makes Himself known through Jesus Christ. The author of Hebrews puts it this way, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the Word of His power.” (Hebrews 1:1-3) The eternal presence of God's revelation became a man and walked and lived among us, and in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily. (Colossians 2:9). The glory and nature of the One True God of the universe can be seen by anyone and everyone who seeks to know the One we call Jesus.

- Terry

Results

"Following Jesus doesn't make life easier, it makes life simpler. God's expectations are the only ones that ultimately matter." - Brandon Cash

Statistically I've had my worst 3 weeks of the season. It's not fun by any means, and I battle with leaving it at the field and not taking it out on my wife, family and friends. I'm sure all the current and former athletes reading this understand the struggle! But by who's standards am I measuring my success by? The game of baseball or God's? If my joy in life is in and through baseball I'm setting myself up for a heck of a roller coaster ride. If I measure my success under Christ then that's something I can succeed in every single day! I've had more discussions about Jesus the past week than I've had all year. What a tremendous opportunity we have everyday to share Christ with someone!!! By no means am I saying that I'm not taking my job seriously but the freedom and peace I've felt lately has been undeserved. His grace and wisdom have really been revealed and I felt inspired to share that with you all. 

Thanks for your time as always, 

Blake

GOD.....YOU ARE AMAZING

It's 1:40 in the morning, and i have just finished my 5th fantasy football mock draft on the espn site only minutes ago. While I was "mocking", there was a guy on there that was saying random things that didn't quite make sense to me. So, what do I do? I call him out. I ask him what the heck he's talking about and ask him to explain himself. Long story short, he went on to quote several movies and admit that he was an atheist and some other stuff. So I asked him whether he was an atheist or just an agnostic. He said he wasn't sure but either would do. All throughout this conversation I asked God to arm me and be my voice of reason. As the talk started winding down he revealed how he actually didn't think he was atheistic or agnostic and just was somewhere between believing in God and...not believing in God. I challenged him to keep digging and find out for himself, then I was suddenly booted off the website. This convo lasted about an hour.

I walked away hoping that God would do something in his heart...then it hit me. Then I realized what had really just happened. I have been going through a few week long lull as far as my walk goes. I haven't been diving into the word like I should, I haven't been praying like I should, and I hadn't been talking to God like I should. That whole time i was talking to that person I didn't even know I was calling out to God to armor me and be my voice of reason. That whole time....God and I were interacting. We were a team....we were just like He calls us to be all the time. Thanks God, nice hangin' with ya. I love you. Thanks for bringing me closer, and hopefully that other guy too.

-waino (the guy that's always looking to heal someone else's heart when sometimes all I need is to let God heal mine)

When God Answers 'NO'

"And [Jesus] withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:41-42)

Have you ever stopped and really considered what's going on here in these verses? Jesus is praying and asking if there is a way in which He can be relieved of the suffering that He is about to endure. And what is the Father's answer? Well, we know what Jesus endures next and therefore we can conclude that the answer was 'no, this is my will and this is what must be done'. Jesus Christ - God in the flesh, He without sin - prays for possible deliverance from the wrath of God and the answer is 'no'.

So have you ever felt like you have prayed and requested something from God so earnestly and fervently only to have your request not granted? Well guess what, you're not alone. The real question is how do you respond when God answers 'no'? Do you respond much like Jesus who put the Father's will over His own and pressed forward to endure the suffering that laid before Him? Or do you respond a little differently?

You see, I can't tell you why God answers 'no' sometimes but what I can promise you is that God's will is perfect and holy and ours' is certainly not. God works with eternity in mind rather than we who most of the time get can't see past our short finite lives here on this earth. God went on as planned and violently poured His wrath out on Jesus, but He also raised Him on the third day and has exalted Him and has bestowed on Him the name that is above every name and at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow on heaven and on earth and every tongue will confess that He indeed is Lord. So be encouraged that suffering here is only temporary and God has great reasons for such suffering. For the apostle Paul considered that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. God knows what's best and there is great peace to be found in His provision and sovereignty.

Now some people might begin to wonder that if God is sovereign and does as He pleases then do my prayers really mean anything? The Bible would be quick to let you know that prayer is meaningful and actually changes things from time to time. For exactly how that works see someone with much more intelligence than myself. The Bible has plenty of examples of God answering 'yes', and God still answers 'yes' today. But I also think there is much more to prayer than getting a 'yes' or 'no' answer. Prayer is more about God's glory rather than about our own happiness and comfort. Prayer is an expression of our complete dependancy on God for everything. He does not have to give us everything that we ask for, but we do have to ask Him for everything. I am lovingly not going to give Asher (my son) everything that he asks for, but he knows that he has no shot of getting anything without first asking me. This clearly exhibits his complete dependancy on me. Prayer is a submissive act of becoming like a child and reaching out to God our Father. Prayer denies any authority of our own and acknowledges the sovereignty of God.

So be encouraged to let all of your requests be made to God but continue to ask with an eternal mindset ready to accept whatever answer He gives. Maybe God will say 'yes' or maybe He'll say 'no' but regardless, honor Him by asking.

- Terry

When I Get Done

Some quotes from my past and present that always seem to resurface....

When I get done with Spanish 2 I'm gunna keep practicing so I don't forget all the stuff I learned. Yeahhh...I'm gunna be fluent.
When I get home from this season I'm gunna take some carpentry classes so I don't have to call a handyman to fix every little thing broken.
When I get done with baseball and have a lot of time on my hands I'm gunna dive into my Bible everyday and memorize all kinds of scripture.
When I get done with baseball I'm gunna get ripped so I can wear super tight shirts and show off all my new muscles.
When I get done with this season I'm gunna start keeping a spiritual journal of my walk with the Lord.
When I get done with baseball I'm gunna learn to play the guitar like my buddy Glenn who can play every song imaginable...Maybe even start a band?
When I get done with this season I'm gunna start a Bible study for me and some of my friends so we can grow together in our faith.

The fact is I could keep writing those all night. When I get done.... that's an often used phrase for me. Let me ask all y'all something? Why does everything have to be "when I get done" with whatever. It's pathetic. What if Jesus would have done that. What if Jesus was like "Dad, I know you want me to go down there and rescue humanity but I got this sick game of scrabble going with Gabriel. When I get done in a few thousand years I'll rescue those guys...probabaly." Praise God that He didn't do that! I'm a dreamer, there's no doubt. But, why can't I do cool, useful stuff right now. Why does everything have to be later. Especially when it involves my faith. Man, if you ask me, when I get done playing baseball I'll be the second coming of C.S. Lewis. Holding my own revivals like Billy Graham... inviting Jesus into everyones hearts. Yep, things will be great.... one day.

Here's some truth. I may not be any of those things now, but I want to be. And, I may want to do those things later, but if I don't watch out I'll find an excuse not to. Right now my excuse is baseball, but when I'm done it'll change to "After the kids go off to college." I can already see that one coming. Why is that? It drives me crazy! I'm going over what I wrote at the top, and if I would just get some motivation I could be a "bilingual, wood working, scripture spoutin', super jacked, spiritually growin', guitar rippin', Bible study leadin', HUNK OF A MAN! Well maybe not that last part, but you get my drift. So here's my challenge.... If you can relate to me at all in this, and you're putting stuff off... Make a list and do it. Don't wait til tomorrow to do something that needs to be done today. Let's realize that some things don't need to be put off.

Final thoughts. We can be great, and we can be great right now. Don't let this fallen world come in between you and Christ. Jesus was great for us... let's be great for Him.

-Adam W.
Acts 20:24

The Bible

The Bible-
-39 old testament books and 27 new testament books.
-Written in Hebrew, Greek, and a little in Aramaic.
-Written in 3 continents Africa, Asia and Europe over the span of 1000 years.
-The authors were Kings, Peasants, Philosophers, Fisherman, Poets, Statesman, Scholars, etc...
-Books cover sermons, legal documents, love letters, church letters, hymn books, travel diaries, family tree history, and architectural specifications.
-It covers 100's of controversial subjects with incredible unity from different cultures across 1000 year period in different languages.
-Lastly; this books teachings run contrary to the desires of most men.

And yes this is why I choose to base my whole life on this text.

How about you?

Trials - the Highway to Steadfastness

You may or may not have noticed that we haven't sent out an email in the last two weeks. Well, I can take the blame for that being that it's been my turn this whole time so let me catch you guys up real quick with what's been going on with me over the last two weeks. Two weeks ago today I went home to Georgia for 4 days to be with my wife for the birth of our second son, Jude Michael Evans. She had originally planned to have the baby out in Fresno with me but two weeks into the season I was taken off the AAA roster and it looked as if I was possibly about to be released. With that going on we prayed about it and it seemed clear that she should just go ahead and get back home and have the baby there so if something did happen with me we wouldn't be stuck in Fresno having a baby. So anyway, everything went great with all of that and so after 4 days at home, I flew back to Fresno to join the team. I was excited to get back because I had finally started playing well again and it looked as if things were going to work out after all with me staying with the team in Fresno. Well two days after being back, I get called into the manager's office only to find out that the Giants were releasing me. So I gathered my things, took care of apartment stuff, and began the 36 hour drive home to Georgia the very next day. On my third day of driving, my agent informs me that the Phillies would like to sign me but put me in AA to start with. Again, I prayed for clarity and guidance and it seemed like this was were I was supposed to go so I agreed to sign with the Phillies. I got to spend 3 days at home with my wife and the two boys before I was jumping on a plane and heading to Reading, PA to meet up with my new team. So obviously, as you can see, its been a very eventful two weeks for me and my family and it would take a much longer email than this to really get into the mental aspect of all these events. So here I am, in my hotel room in Reading writing this email, and I want to quickly share with you what I've realized through these two weeks now that I've had some time to process this whirlwind.

One thing that I've noticed throughout these two weeks is how at ease and peaceful I've felt through it all. It's been mentally draining for sure, but I haven't really been stressed or worried about all of this. In fact, my initial thought when I got released was the disappointment of having to leave some teammates of mine that I have become dear friends with during our short time together this season. I wasn't worried about baseball possibly being over or what I was going to do now that it might be over. I was just sad that I had to leave my brothers in Fresno and the amazing fellowship that we had shared. But as far as looking to the future, I felt God's sovereign hand all over me and my circumstances. It actually puzzled me how I felt about all of this so I thought long and hard about why I felt so calm and I came up with this.

James says that we are to count it all joy when we experience trials of various kinds because the testing of our faith produces steadfastness. Now the definition of steadfastness is resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering. That's exactly how I felt. I didn't feel like I was being tossed around by all of this, but rather I felt firm and unwavering. But why or how? Thats when I realized that I felt at peace and firm through all of this because I had been prepared for this. Now we don't have time to get into everything, but the last couple years of my career have had their fair share of trials (success, demotion, success, failure, success, injury, question marks, uncertainty, etc.) But through all of these trials, I could always look back and see God's hand all over them and rejoice in what He had done. So now these past two weeks, I felt unwavering because my previous experiences had taught me not to worry when things seem to be out of control because God's hand is definitely in the midst of the trials. The constant testing of my faith had apparently produced some steadfastness. I'm at peace and I know without doubt that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him because I've experienced His goodness over and over again already.

Now I know that a "trial" is a relative term and while the aforementioned trials of my own experience are light compared to others, I still consider them trials in that they exposed weakness within me. Tough times are a gift that expose our faith and are meant to strengthen it. They draw us nearer to God and create dependancy on His strength and comfort to get us through. Upon getting through, we come out closer in our relationship with Him than we were before. If we find ourselves communing with the Triune God more frequently during times of trial rather than times of triumph then perhaps prosperity isn't in our best interest. God cares more for our growth than our worldly success or comfort. So while its been a crazy season thus far and I'm not sure why I am here, I have no doubt that I am right where God wants me and my wife and two boys back home are right where God wants them and there is overwhelming peace in that.

Thanks for listening and it was tough trying to keep this email even this short, Ha.

- Terry

You've Heard of Dad Strength...How bout God Strength

What's going on y'all? Hopefully everyone is doing great, having success, climbing the ladder, and feeling God's love and blessings on their everyday life. But if not, if you feel like you've just been bombarded with bad luck and can't seem to buy a break....well, maybe this message is just for you. To you who are struggling I say this... You are loved. Maybe you've been demoted at work, or worse. Maybe an injury has sidelined you, or loved one has left home. Maybe the world just seems like its crashing down on you as you read this letter. Maybe I'm describing you or someone you know. But then again, maybe you're prospering, taking the world by the horns. Maybe you feel like your life can't get any better. Then I'm happy for you, but don't forget who put you there. In my own personal experience I have found that my relationship with God is at its peak when things aren't going great, because I realize I need help so I call on God. But when things are going good I tend to lose ground spiritually. I think that is me telling me that "i'm great, I did this or I did that." So, before long I am humbled and back to square one. This morning a friend of mine sent me a quote by Teddy Roosevelt that I think applies here. He said "There will be those who will always moan and complain about where they are. Many times through their sarcasm they put others down as they try to elevate themselves. I say forget that rubbish. Do what you can, with what you have, where you are! Humanity must remember: almost everything comes from almost nothing! Do something, I say, and do it now!" Wow. Strong words. But let me tell you exactly why these words are so true. Satan. Satan wants us to feel sorry for ourselves when things don't go as we planned. Satan wants us to hang our heads and pout the rest of our lives. Satan wants us to fail, and when we do, he wants us to drag others down in the process. When I tore my elbow this spring training Satan wanted me to complain, and whine, and cry, and make everyone feel sorry for me. But, you know what God wanted me to do? God wanted me to grow from this. He wanted me to be a light in a dark world. He wanted me stay excited about life, and the opportunities that this injury allowed me. He wanted me to have an impact for His kingdom, and I cant do that pouting. God wants all of us to have an impact where we are right now. So things aren't going great. Satan says feel sorry for yourself. Well I say, and I think God says, feel sorry for Satan. Because we are created in Gods image. And my image of God is strong. My God empowers me. My God is the reason for success and the reason that I will dig myself out of any hole that I am put into. So, ask yourselves this question... In whatever situation you are in right now... What can you do? How can you impact your life, others lives, and Gods kingdom? We can all do something, right now, right where we are.
Before I go, I just want to quote one of my favorite songs out right now. I think it goes great with this message and shows why we can't give up on this life we've been granted. We are never alone, and the One who is with us trumps EVERYTHING else. The following is the chorus in Chris Tomlin's "Our God"...

Into the darkness you shine out of the ashes we rise there's no one like you none like You!
Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!
Our God is greater, our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other.
Our God is Healer, Awesome in Power, Our God! Our God!

And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against.
And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against.
What could stand against.

With God.... no one can stop us,

-adam w.

Prayer

God delights to hear us and commune with us more than we ever delight to commune with Him. He loved us first and with a greater intensity than we could ever love Him. Our sincere prayer requests allow God the opportunity to more fully reveal all His wonderful attributes to us (cf. John 14:13).

This hit home today for me fellas. I forget how much our Father loves us!!!

No One Will Take Your Joy from You

No One Will Take Your Joy from You

Pray Without Ceasing

Pray Without Ceasing

The Overflow of Easter: A Whole Theology of Resurrection in One Chapter

The Overflow of Easter: A Whole Theology of Resurrection in One Chapter

Redirecting Emotions and Joy

Jonathan Edwards; the old school theologian is widely regarded as an ambassador of the faith. He was a well studied thought leader that many of today's prominent pastors draw their concepts from. I was recently reading a book about Jonathan Edwards and it covers many of his concepts that are extremely deep. Edwards depth came from a developed relationship with the Lord so deep that you can smell his desire in his books. This man relentlessly pursued Jesus.

Now a concept that caught me recently was this idea of redirecting our emotions and joy from the world to things of God. We all have affection for things of this world because we equate these things with something of great value. Usual that value is identified with being able to provide us with satisfaction, happiness or joy. We rarely stop to challenge our beliefs in regards to affections such as money and recognition. Edwards would call these "false affections". Then we have affection to things not of this world, the things of God and His kingdom (fellowship, ministry, prayer, reading the Word). These are things that we hear about in church that pump us up and make total sense but loose value because the pay out is so far away from us. However if we were to really unpack these affections we would find that they satisfy our desires not only now but into eternity. Edwards called them "true affections", claiming that they are worthy to be pursued. The understanding of this concept would not only provide us satisfaction and happiness but it would bring us joy. Joy is on par with true fulfillment which is what we all so desperately want but so few of us ever really experience. Many of us can feel happy and satisfied but joy is rooted in the Spirit and we only can experience this when we are pursuing things of God.

On an evangelistic tip don't you think that non-believers would be more open to hearing about Jesus when we explain that it's not about repenting of your sin and correcting behavior but it's about acknowledging your sin and redirecting your efforts (emotions and joy). Redirecting from things that don't last, that don't satisfy, and that don't bear fruit to things that are of the Lord that do provide every good thing (true fulfillment).

Proverbs 2:4-7 "and if you look for it as for silver ans search for it as hidden treasure then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God... He holds victory in store for the upright".

How do you memorize Scripture?

How do you memorize Scripture?

If You Abide in my Word, You Are Truly My Disciples

If You Abide in my Word, You Are Truly My Disciples

Click expert on video tab. 5 minutes of your time

Self Evaluation

Hey everybody. So, for those of you who don't know, six weeks ago I had Tommy John surgery on my elbow. Just before my surgery I wrote to y'all about how God had given me peace and how my identity didn't lie in baseball. Well, I'm pleased to tell you that I believe that more than ever now. My God is still good enough. Oh, and everything is going good with the rehab. Anyway, the past few days I got a chance to spend some time at Augusta National watching the Masters. What a place. I think if God were to come down and play golf He would probably go there. I was so captured with the sheer beauty of that place that I caught myself several times just looking around (not even watching the golfers), marveling at what God had created. I went home and started thinking about some of the blessings that God has given me. One of those blessings, I think, is the ability to self evaluate. I wonder what my life would look like if I was looking on from the outside... like watching the movie of me. What would that movie be about I wonder? Would it be a baseball movie with some family and a few prayers mixed in along the way? Would I be the main character, director, producer, and writer. Sadly, I think in my life up to this point I have put me first, then family, then God. So many times I have been asked to rate where I keep my priorities, and I know the right answer to that question. Have you ever met someone who didn't answer God, family, career, friends in that order or pretty close? I haven't. And that's how I've answered every time. That doesn't make it true though. All those other people might be answering truthfully, but I can only speak for me. Do I spend as much time with God as I do my career? Not even close. Do I spend more time watching tv than hanging out with God...yep. Let's just cut to the chase. I haven't picked up my cross and followed Jesus like I should. See if you can relate to me here. Sometimes I'll go to church or hear a great podcast or something and get all fired up. Then I'll make a bunch of empty promises, and a few days later I'll be back to that stagnant, luke warm lifestyle. This time on the disabled list has given me a chance to feel the luke warmness that is my life. There is no doubt I was given this time to become stronger. Physically, and spiritually. But, there is now way I will become stronger spiritually without an honest assessment of exactly where I am on my walk with Christ. I'll wrap this up by saying that in my time of reflection I had wandered off the path on that walk with Christ. If you were watching the movie about you....would you be proud of it? Better yet...would God be proud of it? Thank you God for the mirror that you have provided me with. And thank you God for the gift of injury.

-waino

John MacArthur Bread

“Walk . . . with all humility.”
- Ephesians 4:1-2

Avoid pride in your position, intelligence, or spirituality.

Years ago, when my children were young, my son Mark told my youngest child, Melinda, to take something out of the room. She said, “You’re not my boss.” Mark replied, “Dad is the boss of Mom, Mom is the boss of Matt, Matt is the boss of Marcy, Marcy is the boss of me, and I am the boss of you.” So Melinda obeyed. After that, Melinda decided she was the boss of the dog, and the dog was boss of nobody. No one wants to be on the bottom rung of the ladder!

Everyone holds a certain position in life, and everyone is tempted to take advantage of it. Look at Herod in Acts 12:21-22: “Herod, having put on his royal apparel . . . began delivering an address to them. And the people kept crying out, ‘The voice of a god and not of a man!’” He loved the attention. What happened? “Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died” (v. 23). Intellectual pride can also be a stumbling block. It’s easy for Christians to think their theology is perfect and they have all the answers. But the more I study the Bible, the more I realize how little I know. I feel like a child who fills a pail in the ocean. My learning is only a small bucket of water compared to the vast sea of knowledge. I know very little, and I’m still learning.

The worst type of pride is external spirituality without internal holiness. Jesus reserved His greatest condemnations for those who had such pride: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matt. 23:27-28). You may look spiritual on the outside, going to church and acting “Christianly,” but your heart may be full of sin.

Suggestions for Prayer:
Examine your heart, and confess any pride in your position, intelligence, or spirituality.

For Further Study:
Read in Daniel 5 about what happened to a king who took pride in his position. Notice how God humbled him. Such sin wasn’t trivial to God; it shouldn’t be to us either.



From Strength for Today by John MacArthur Copyright © 1997. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.com.

Spiritual Muscle

1 Timothy 4:8 "For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and life to come."

I thought this verse helped compliment Adam's post. Chew on it and spend time in prayer asking God to reveal an area of your life where you can build more spiritual muscle.

Spiritual goals

So, today is not my day to write but ive been pondering something so I wanted to run it by y'all? This time off has given me a chance to think about a lot of stuff. One thing ive been thinking about is the way I set my spiritual goals. Not just how do I set them but how do I keep them. And not just how do I set them and how do I keep them....how do I react when I do or do not keep them? Here's what I mean. I usually start out each year saying I'm gunna read my Bible everyday, or pray for someone every day, or I'm gunna pray without asking for something at least once a day...etc. Well, the way it usually goes down is I'll revisit those goals in a few months and if I've been keeping my goals immediately I get prideful (only happened a few times cuz I usually choke.). Or I get discouraged because I haven't been living like I promised. Lose, lose either way. Pride or discouragement. So, my question is this...have y'all found a way to walk that line successfully? I think it's okay to be a little proud if I follow through, but not the way I usually do it. I know I need to just live in the spirit and God will keep me straight but it seems tough. Let's get some dialogue going....

Waino

ESV: Trusted By Leaders

ESV Trusted By Leaders - Lecrae Moore

God - Doing His Thing

God Doing His Thing
Two Novembers ago I met a woman in Laguna Beach at a Hope International event that was bring awareness to providing micro lending to entrepreneurs in third world countries. In my conversation with her it came up that I had played baseball professionally for 9 years and was recently transitioning into business. She mentioned that she had a son who played varsity at Laguna Beach High School and he was a pitcher. I politely extended an offer to work with her son and give him some instruction. She was thankful for the invitation and took down my phone number however I never heard from her. Almost a year later I get a call from a father who I had met 1 time in my life at a 10 year old travel teams baseball practice. He was very nice and extremely likable so when he called I instantly remembered him. He asked if I was coaching and I said no, he asked if I had any interest and I replied that I did but didn’t have an ounce of time because I was busy building my business and spending time with my growing family. He invited me to coffee so I took him up on it. I showed up to coffee and he was there with the head varsity baseball coach and they politely cornered me and asked what time if any I could give them. I stretched myself to say 2 hours a week, 1 hour on 2 different days (Monday and Tuesday). I went on to add that if this in any way affected my commitments to my family and business I’d have to bow out. They jumped at the offer with two huge smiles and gave me a hug. Just to help drive home this situation, every varsity program has a full time pitching coach and most have 3 coaches here in Southern California. The fact that they were excited out 2 hours from me blew my mind. Fast forward 5 or 6 months I’ve been working with the kids for 5 months and they are an awesome bunch. I can tell that they are very well parented and all of them are hungry for instruction and show me tremendous respect. They take a team trip to Hawaii for the preseason and pay for my wife and I to go (extremely generous). Christy is thrilled and I’m excited but worry about leaving work for 5 days. We get over to the Island and we’re short pitching due to injuries. On the second day we already used up 75% of our guys and we’re only half way into our games. Needless to say I need somebody to step up and throw a lot of innings and be conservative with their pitches which can be tough with teenagers. I get an unbelievable outing from one of my favorite kids who had never pitched 3 innings before. He battles so tough for 6 innings we had a heartfelt moment after the inning and I hugged him because I was so proud of him. Days later we were boarding the plane to go home and a mother came up to me and said “Ben, I’ve met you before, I met you at 3 Arch Bay in Laguna Beach for the Hope International event. My heart sputtered as I realized that God had orchestrated this detailed plan to get me to coach this team and influence these kids. I was blown away by His power and grace. The fact that God is using me and the way in which He has done it blows my mind. How great is our God? I hope you all enjoyed this story as much as I did realizing it. Praise to the king!

Hebrew Heat

Two scriptures that I'm feasting on right now...

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that it set before us..." Heb 12:1

"For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." Heb 12:11

That's all I got.

Where Does Your Identity Lie

What's up everybody? So, two weeks ago I reported to Spring Training. I came in better shape than I've ever been in (as baseball players we are genetically engineered to say that every spring even when we're fat). But, I truly believe I was better prepared to play ball this year than ever before. This was supposed to be my year. Everyone I know, and don't know, was telling me this was my year to win the Cy Young. I had thrown 7 bullpen sessions in preparation to face hitters for the first time, and everything was going great. I honestly can't remember a time where my delivery and overall confidence in my stuff was even close to where it is now. But, God had different plans than all that for me this year. While facing hitters the first time I felt a twinge in my elbow, and long story short I am scheduled to have Tommy John surgery on monday morning. Season over, no Cy Young, no competing,...nothing. But, let me say this. I have learned more about myself in the last two days than in the last five years combined. Here is what I've learned...my status/success in baseball doesn't define me, not even close. I have been amazed at how much peace i've felt through all this. My wife has made that easy, as she has kept her amazing positive attitude throughout. Another thing I've learned is that I have been EXTREMELY blessed with some of the best friends and teammates a person could ever ask for. Before I left the clubhouse my teammates all showed me so much support it literally has been eye opening. I have been so much in awe of how fortunate I am that I haven't even had time to think about being hurt. Praise God for that.
Another thing I know is that I could not have done anything differently coming in to spring. My ligament had been partially torn twice before so it has finally reached it's breaking point. I'm okay with that. I absolutely hate the idea of missing this season with teammates. I think we have a real good shot to win the World Series. The group we have is really special, and I'll have my pom pom''s out in full force. But here's the deal. This injury, the one that makes me miss an entire year of baseball, has allowed me to stop missing what is right in front of me. I am blessed with an amazing God. A God who continues to teach me lessons in mysterious ways. I'm blessed with an amazing family. I'm blessed with friends who really care for me, and I have felt it this week. And I'm blessed with teammates that started out as friends and have become family. I believe this to be a test from God, and it has opened my eyes. I believe I can still greatly impact God's Kingdom from this disabled list. And if any of you people who I just bragged about catch me slippin....please slap me around. Thanks for reading.

my identity?
-adam wainwright ...follower of Christ

Fearing God????

This is my first time writing for e fellowship. I was at our bible study tonight and shared this story with the guys and Adam told me I had to fill in for him tonight so here it goes…..

Anyone that knows me knows that I have a Golden Retriever named Cammie my wife and I love her more than anything. One of my favorite things she does is when we come home she runs to the door wagging her tail like crazy and loves on us for as long as we will stand there. Well, my wife and I went out for breakfast 4 days ago for about an hour or so. Our plan was to come back, get Cammie and take her to Petsmart so she could get some new toys. When I opened the door go greet her she wasn’t there. Then I walked in the condo I noticed that she had got into the bathroom trashcan and got out one piece of paper and chewed on it. Now this wasn’t like Turner and Hooch style where the blinds were tore down the kitchen cabinets were emptied and the entire house was trashed. No this was one piece of paper. When I looked around the corner I saw Cammie sitting up looking at me and shaking out of control. She was shaking like she had been stranded for hours in the Antarctica. When I looked at her and started to scold her she wouldn’t even look at me and before too long she slowly walked over to me still shaking and curled up at my feet and gave me the saddest look I have ever seen. She has done this before but this time it hit me different. I was so disappointed in her that I told my wife we weren’t going to the pet store and I literally didn’t talk to or pet her for two hours. I went on a run later that day and I usually take her with me but since I was still mad at her this time I didn’t take her. On my I pod the song International Harvester came on by Craig Morgan. Now I am a redneck and love country so I have heard this song a million times but never like this. Part of the lyrics go like this

I'm a God fearing hardworking combine driver

Then it all hit me…..

My dog knew that she had done something wrong and I can only imagine what she was thinking when she heard my truck pull up. She was so scared of me as her master that all she could do is shake because she knew she made a mistake. It didn’t matter to her if it was a big mistake or not she knew she messed up and let me down. I look at that picture of Cammie and I said to myself…… I have never been that dog. I don’t fear god.

Why is that??? How can I not fear the one that created me for crying out loud? The one that made the heavens and the earth and all other things. The fact is that I am so scared of so many other things that really don’t matter at all. For instance……

- giving up 2 runs and not getting an out

- having one of my teammate not like or respect me

These are just quick examples. The fact is we follow the rules and laws that people put in place but not the ones that our creator did. I will be confronted with a decision and I know that there is a clear right and wrong thing to do but I’ll quickly justify it by saying “well it’s not hurting anyone” or “nobody will know about it” or the go to is “it’s not like I’m the only one that’s doing it” and I will go ahead and make the decision that is in the wrong. And I don’t shake like my dog… I just simply go on about my life and put on the Christian face around the right people and “deal with it”

I’m going to take a line from Fred our Chapel leader….Can I tell you something???? I’m sick of it. I’m sick of accepting the worldly view as to what’s right and what’s wrong. And fearing the people and situations that wont get me into heaven.

Dadgummit!!!!!!!! I AM WORKING TO FEAR GOD NOW.

Sorry it’s so long but hopefully it impacts you… I could get into why I’m really glad god doesn’t yell and put me it timeout when I screw up like I did to Cammie but that a completely different topic….

Here are some verses that talk about fear

1 Samuel 12:14

Now if you fear and worship the Lord and listen to his voice and if you do not rebel against the Lords commands then both you and your king will show that you recognize the lord as your God.

Deuteronomy 6:13

You must fear the Lord your God and serve him

Hebrews 13:6

So we can say with Confidence “The lord is my helper so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?

Psalm 61:5

For you have heard my vows, O God. You have given me an inheritance reserved for those who fear your name.

Piper Journal Entry

Snippet

Romans 14:11 "As surely as I live, says the Lord 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'"

So powerful is this verse. Every knee will bow, don't lose faith when you feel weary in your faith, you're on the winning team. Unfortunately it will be tough and agonizing for the prideful who have rejected Him. My neighborhood hit an atheist with this scripture one time (maybe a year ago) and I remember how my heart sank into my stomach at the thought of what it might be like to be a non-believer on judgement day. Like Joe Dirt said... "Dang".
I'm so thankful to be in with the King. Take a little time out of your day to praise God for who He is. Amen.

What's the difference

Guys,

I was listening to an interview this week with Herschel Walker. A Georgia boy legend. If you didn't know already, he is in MMA now and about to get in the ring again for his second fight. If you couldn't tell by the picture, Herschel is a genetic freak. He was talking about his workout regimen and it bases off of push ups and sit ups as it has his entire life. One of the highlights was the numbers of these exercises that he finally spilled (Herschel is extremely humble) after being asked over and over. He's up to 750 push-ups and 1,500 sit-ups a day!!! hahaha. awesome. So, like his entire life, he is just awed at through out the interview and they keep asking him about his routine and another gem comes out that he only eats one meal a day, and has given up meat. He just said he has always eaten once a day, but in college it was usually a hamburger or something, ha. Ok, so what do you think the next question would be?? I'm glad they asked, cus I would have asked the same thing and that is, "where do you get the energy, being nearly 50 years old and eating once a day with no protein from animals and working the same muscle group everyday?". Anybody wondering when I'm going to tie in some God to this point, here it comes. He said "my main source of strength is from my Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ". You can imagine how many more questions he got about his routine....(crickets). Can't be talking about a routine an athlete has if Jesus is involved right? Might offend someone.

My main point of this was not to get into the not talking about Jesus on-air, but that they were so intrigued by Herschel they just had to know what makes him tick. What makes him different? Why does he act the way he does? What does he work so hard? What's the difference between him and someone else. The answer was Jesus.

John 1:5 "The Light shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not understand it"

What a verse, and how many ways we can take that. They asked Herschel so many questions, because they had to know what made him shine. Was it the push-ups or the diet, nope. That's what we want as christians. We want people asking what makes him act that way? In high school the biggest issue seemed to always come down to drinking and partying. When someone would decide not to drink at a party or partake in weed or whatever, people had questions for them, right? They had to know. Why? But its sooo fun, blah blah blah. Then we grew up....some and the issue changed into different topics. The one I like that Blake brought up awhile ago was gossip. Gossip is huge in sports and the clubhouse. I will also tell you that it does not change in the world of business. It's the same old song and dance. "did you hear about Bill and his wife?" Terrible.

Psalm 52:2-"your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor, you who practice deceit"

I like how it says PRACTICE deceit. Terry had a post talking about falling into sin or making plans to sin. Big difference

So, I think a good topic for us to make sure we let our light shine would be to sit the next slamfest out. Bite your tongue, make people wonder why you don't talk garbage about other people to make yourself feel better. Go a different route. Little things can turn into big things. Don't think that practicing small victories add up, cus they do. Just ask how the Green Bay Packers. They just tried to have the IR players not be in the Super Bowl team photo and it turned into a huge story. You never know what impact you are making.

ONE

Ty

Be Still and be Renewed

Do you feel rested right now? Do you feel spiritually renewed? Do you talk to God about everything? QqqHow many of us are taking our sabbath seriously? The word sabbath actually means to cease. People in olden times certainly took their sabbath seriously. Back then the people used the sabbath as a time of repenting of sin and worshipping the Lord...and that is all. Recently it was pointed out to me that I have been thinking of Sunday, and actually rest in general, all wrong. Sunday is the first day of the week. God has made it that way so we start out our weeks fully rested and strong for the coming days. Are we actually giving Sunday to God though? It's been said that we should not sabbath (cease) because we are tired, but so that we don't get tired. I've always heard that the best thing you could do is wake up early and talk to God before you talk to anyone else. On a grander scale shouldn't we use Sunday as a means of getting us prepared for the rest of the week? When we start our mornings or weeks out with a Godly set of armor on, there is no way the darkness of this world can touch us. In Mark 2:27 it says "the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.". Here's why I'm telling y'all this. Thiere are certain things we make time for that is just plain wasting our lives. There is seemingly a worldly priority among people today to work the most, and make the most money, and worship the least. But, the things we need to make time for are serious, life changing, things. Like God and family. Here's my challenge to all y'all giving the Holy Spirit time can transform or renew a persons life. Soooooo, take a good hard look in the mirror. Check your priorities. Check your schedule. Check your spending. Check yourself and ask if your taking the time to be renewed. Use the first day of the week to get refreshed. 2 corinthians 4:16 " therefor we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day.".

Thanks for listening,

Adam

Heart, Soul,and Strength

Deuteronomy 6:5-7
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you lie down and when you get up.”
God’s commandments are pretty good; they have carried value for years and generations. More recently I looked at this verse in a different way. I asked myself how I can live this out. What would it look like to really be this verse? Since I’m a former professional athlete and many followers of this blog are current (both amateur and professional) athletes, I came up with this powerful conclusion.
We can control 3 things that ultimately affect how we feel and how we perform, not just in sports but in life (stay with me here). We can control what we Focus on, the Meaning we give our circumstances (both past, current, and future), and we can control our Physiology (the way we carry ourselves, swagger, body language, whatever term makes sense to you). Examples would be: Focus – focus on good thoughts then you feel good, bad thoughts you feel bad. Meaning – if you strike out you’re either closer to getting a hit or you’ve lost the ability to hit. Physiology- slouch over and put your head down (feel crummy) pull your shoulders back and smile (I bet you’ll feel a lot better).
Hopefully you can see and understand the differences I’ve laid out there. The power that each of us has when being able to control these three things is unbelievable. Now when you put Jesus at the center or make Him the focus/motivation of these it creates a serious force. When you can step outside your selfish thoughts and focus on the goodness of God or the love of our Lord Jesus, how good does that feel? When I’m knee deep in worship (focusing on Jesus) I feel unstoppable, like nothing in this world can keep me down. Think of how much time we’ve all wasted in self pity because we feel our circumstances are unfair or unbearable? If we were able to snap out of that focus and put it on how fortunate we are to have a Savior, wouldn’t that look different? You might be reading this saying, ya ya, what about baseball or how does this pertain to my job. Here you go…
We know how good we feel when we’re doing well. In those times what are you focusing on, what meaning are you assigning to your life or job or value, and what does your Physiology look like (aka body language)? Really think about it, see it in your mind. Now ask yourself this what if you were to Focus on those successful at bats or scoreless innings or big deals you closed? What if you visualized them and made them feel real again? What if you put a positive Meaning to your current situation or your next outing, asking yourself empowering questions that force your mind to anticipate success in your next opportunity? What if you put a smile on because you were focused on all of your blessings as opposed to your failures, what if you pulled your shoulders back and felt the power at your finger tips that has been developed from all those tough days in the gym or in class? How do you think you would perform? Do you think you would be in a peak state, a state of preparedness that was primed for dominance?
So here is the tie in. Heart, Soul, and Strength could equal Focus, Meaning, and Physiology. Focus (what’s on your heart tend to be your focus), Meaning (what’s in your soul tends to be the subconscious meaning that you give things and studies show that our subconscious mind is much more powerful than our conscious mind), and Physiology or body language, that’s pretty straight forward. Driving it home is that focusing on good things means focusing on all that God is and if we do these three things (essentially all we have) then I think we can dominate for the Kingdom. I’m pretty sure God wants us to succeed in whatever he has us doing. I hope you felt this message, like I did.