So what's with the 180?

Matthew 18:1-4 English Standard Version (ESV)


Who Is the Greatest?

18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

I have had several people ask me recently about the meaning of the number 180 for our youth group. There is more to it than just a cool youth group name, even though Group 180 is a cool name!!

We live every day filled with choices. Everything we do, everywhere we are, is a direct result of choices that we make. Some of our choices are big: where to live, what car to drive, where school to go to, what career do I want to pursue, who will I marry, will I have children, and on and on. And then, some of our choices are relatively small: should I wear my hair up or down, what do I want for lunch, what do I want to watch on TV, do I wear shorts or pants today, and on and on.

Concurrently, every day we have the choice to make of whether or not we are going to follow God. Whatever we do, whether big or small, you can either glorify and follow God through your choices, or you can glorify and follow the world. You can’t do both, and it is up to you daily as to what choice you are going to make. You have two very clear and distinct options you can choose to follow daily:

The World <----------------------------------------------------> Jesus

Often times, we start out with the best of intentions. We want to follow Jesus, but we can’t. In our fallen nature oftentimes the world looks good, and we lose our way. When that happens, we need to turn around…we need to change course…we need to do a 180 and choose Jesus!

If we look at the passage from Matthew above, the Apostles are arguing over who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. Now just by looking at what they are arguing over you can see that they have lost their way. Who cares about stuff like “who will be the greatest” in Heaven? You know who? Sinful, fallen people that’s who. Humans are a prideful bunch, and heaven sometimes feels just like a reward for doing a good job. So obviously, the better the job you do, the better the reward. On this point the Apostles had started to lose their way. Jesus understanding this, used the opportunity to illustrate to the Apostles the true nature of heaven. Calling a child to himself, he taught the Disciples that in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven they must turn (do a 180) and become humble and childlike in their faith. There is no least and greatest in Heaven. Heaven is perfected creation as God had intended it to be. The Apostles strayed from the message of Jesus, and Jesus corrected them and got them to turn to him.

That is the driving force behind Group 180. Being a kid, or a young man or woman, in this age is tough. The influences of world through friends, reality TV, social media, etc. is nearly too much to handle. It is so easy to lose sight of the message of Jesus and focus your attention on the world. Group 180 is there so that the students know there is a church body that loves and supports them, that there are other students their age that share the same beliefs that they have, and to serve as a place where students know they can come and be equipped to turn from the world and turn towards Jesus Christ.

Jesus did not call us to partially follow Him. He called us to be His. He is our Saviour, He is our Lord. We need to turn our back to the world, do a 180, and follow Jesus Christ. In the words of the famous song “I have decided to follow Jesus”: “The world behind me, the cross before me. No looking back, no looking back.”

To be a donor, or not?

Is organ donation, or being an organ donor, compatible with the Christian life? I had someone ask me about this the other day, and after giving my response I thought I’d write a little blog about it in case anyone else had the same question. From what I can gather, the Bible does not specifically address the issue of organ donation. Organ transplants (like other modern technologies and advances) would have been unknown during Bible times. However, the scriptures is a unified drama that tells a unified story, with an overriding unifying message about love and redemption. When addressing issues such as this, we can look at verses that address the underlying principle that is needed. That being the case, here are some that in my opinion apply. Love and compassion are large, overriding principles of the Bible, therefore some compelling arguments for organ donation is the love and compassion that such an act demonstrates toward others. The command to "love your neighbor" was given by Jesus (Matthew 5:43), Paul (Romans 13:9), and James (James 2:8), but it can actually be traced all the way back to Leviticus 19:18. From the earliest days in the Old Testament, God's people were commanded to demonstrate a love for God as well as for their neighbors. We can use that principle to state that being willing to donate an organ from our own bodies would seem to be an marvelous example of selfless sacrifice for another. (Side Note: I want to be clear, each person has to make this decision with regards to their own sensibilities. We are not commanded to donate organs, but if you feel the desire to do so there is no argument against it that I can find in scripture. And if donating is not your thing, then don’t)


Getting on with it, the greatest example of sacrificing for another is the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made as He gave up His body for all of humanity. John summed up the command well when he wrote, "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (1 John 4:11). Jesus not only conveyed this message of unconditional love, He also taught us to care for the hungry, thirsty, homeless, naked, sick, and imprisoned (Matthew 25:35-46). Jesus said "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40). If a practice or procedure is not clearly in conflict with biblical principles, then it can be considered permissible and can be supported by faithful Christians.
There are several other topics that can be touched upon here related to organ harvesting. fetal tissue, mutilation of the body, keeping the body intact, etc., etc., etc. I am not going to address those now for the sake of brevity. But just to restate and be clear, a thorough reading and understanding of scripture demonstrates that being an organ donor is not in conflict with a Christian worldview and is therefore acceptable and permissible to faithful Christians.

“The greatest love you can show is to give your life for your friends…” John 15:13 (GWT)

The Beatitudes

Sometimes, the best thing to do is let Scripture speak and get out of the way!  I love this passage from the "Sermon on the Mount" in Matthew 5.

The Beatitudes
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:


3 ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

8 ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10 ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely* on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Feeling Depressed?

Do you feel sad? Depressed? Lonely? Discouraged? Down in the dumps? That is a horrible feeling, and often times these feelings get us down and defeat us before we ever know what hit us. Worst of all, these feelings will often prevent us from approaching our Lord.

But there is good news, these feelings are just that...feelings! Feelings change, feelings are not permanent, feelings so often depend on...well, us.

The reality is, for those of us that believe in Jesus Christ, that we should NEVER be sad, depressed or discouraged. Check out this passage from Ephesians 1:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4just as he chose us in Christ* before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance,* having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14this* is the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory. 15 -->

Wow...how can anyone read this passage and be depressed? Lets break it down a little:

• In verse 3 Paul starts by telling us that Christ blessed us with EVERY spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Hear that, every spiritual blessing. Jesus holds nothing back from us. And these blessings are not temporary earthly blessings, these are permanent, spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. What a blessing!





• Verse 4 tells us that were were chosen in Christ before the foundations of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. Jesus choose us before the foundations of the world!! While we were still sinners, while we were still unworthy Jesus choose us and justified us before Him in love.





• Verse 5 continues this though by telling us that we are destined for adoption. Do you fully grasp that? We have been adopted! We are children of God, we are brothers and sisters with Jesus Christ!! And why did Jesus do this, Paul simply states that He did it according to His good pleasure to the praise of His glorious grace. Thats right...he did it just because. He did it because it gave God pleasure to adopt us. He did it because he loves us.





• Verse 6 continues this though by saying that this grace and Love of God is freely given, freely bestowed in the Beloved (aka Jesus Christ). What a gracious, and generous and abundant God!





• Verse 7 assures us that we have redemption and forgiveness through the blood of Jesus. And Paul demonstrates the value of this gift by stating that we receive it through the "riches" of His grace, and that it is lavished upon us. Think about that adjective "lavished", how often do we use that word day to day? Not often, because it really signifies great worth, great expense, great value. Paul uses that word here to describe the riches of God's grace towards us!!





• If that isn't enough, in verse 9 we are told that God has made known to man the mystery of His Will according to His good pleasure. How awesome is that? Not only are we adopted, not only are we redeemed, not only do we gain and inheritance, but God also shares with us the mystery of His Will: that through Jesus Christ one day all things will come together.





• Finally, in vv 14-15 we are told that through the Holy Spirit we are marked and sealed as a pledge of this inheritance. That right, once you have accepted Jesus Christ we are sealed with Holy Spirit as a pledge. We are His, He cannot lose us. Once day, we will be called home and the guarantee of the the Spirit is that we will spend eternity in paradise with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

So how do you feel now? Ephesians 1 is quite possibly my favorite chapter in the Bible. What a wonderful, loving, and gracious God we have. To quote Third Day, "Praise to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our God and our King, to Him we will sing. In His great mercy He has given us life. Now we can be called the children of God".

Feeling depressed, don't be. Stand on the promises of Jesus Christ. Are feelings can change, but our gracious Lord and Saviour never will.

What The Atonement Of Jesus Christ Means

Yes...I love the week after Easter. We get to bask in the glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Chirst and really take in the fact that Jesus died on the cross for OUR sins. His sacrificial death atoned for our sins. And through that death we have the atonement of our sins, or the at-one-ment of ourselves to our Holy God. The scriptures are filled with what the atonement means, here are some handy scriptural verses on the atonement that all Christians should be aware of, but this is not an exhaustive list. I pray that you find these verses meaningful and draw you towards a closer relationship with Jesus Christ:

Explained
Romans 5:8-11 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Foreordained
Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
1 Peter 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

Foretold
Isaiah 53:4-6 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Daniel 9:24-27 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Zechariah 13:1 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
Zechariah 13:7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.

Effected by Christ alone
John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Was voluntary
Psalms 40:6-8 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
Hebrews 10:5-9 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

Exhibits the Grace and mercy of God
Romans 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

Love of God
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
1 John 4:9-10 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Love of Christ
John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Reconciles the justice and mercy of God
Isaiah 45:21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.

Necessity for
Isaiah 59:16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.

Made but once
Hebrews 7:27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
Hebrews 9:24-28 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. ...

Acceptable to God
Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.


Access to God
Hebrews 10:19-20 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

Remission of sins by
John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

Sanctification by
2 Corinthians 5:15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

Redemption by
Matthew 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

Setting the date for Easter

Christmas is December 25th, every year, but Easter moves dates from year to year. Ever wonder why that is? Hopefully, this will help to answer that question:
The date for Easter shifts every year within the Gregorian Calendar. The current Gregorian ecclesiastical rules that determine the date of Easter trace back to 325 AD at the First Council of Nicaea convened by the Roman Emperor Constantine. At that time the Roman world used the Julian Calendar (put in place by Julius Caesar).

The Council of Nicaea decided to keep Easter on a Sunday, the same Sunday throughout the world. To fix incontrovertibly the date for Easter, and to make it determinable indefinitely in advance, the Council constructed special tables to compute the date. These tables were revised in the following few centuries resulting eventually in the tables constructed by the 6th century Abbot of Scythia, Dionysis Exiguus. Nonetheless, different means of calculations continued in use throughout the Christian world.

In 1582 Gregory XIII (Pope of the Roman Catholic Church) completed a reconstruction of the Julian calendar and produced new Easter tables. By the 1700's, though, most of western Europe had adopted the Gregorian Calendar. The Eastern Christian churches still determine the Easter dates using the older Julian Calendar method.

The usual statement is that Easter Day (Sunday) is the first Sunday after the first full moon that occurs next after the vernal equinox. Very few times has there been an exception to this rule. The result is that (generally) Easter can never occur before March 22 or later than April 25.

In a congress held in 1923, the eastern churches adopted a modified Gregorian Calendar and decided to set the date of Easter according to the astronomical Full Moon for the meridian of Jerusalem. However, a variety of practices remain among the eastern orthodox churches.

Stix and Stones...

Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. Proverbs 21:23

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Eph 4:29

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. James 1:26

Last night I watched an episode of 20/20, and the show was on the case of the Rutgers University student that committed suicide after learning (or believing) that his roommate video recorded him and another man in his dorm room. For many who know the story, the roommate was convicted of a hate crime for spying. The episode presented both sides of the story, but one thing came out loud and clear to me, people talk and say things way too quickly and without much thought!

The entire episode played out how each roommate posted things on Twitter, on Facebook, and through text messages that were absolutely awful. When asked about these posts, the roommate simply said, "I didn't mean anything by it, thats just the way the kids talk."

I'm sorry, that is not an adequate answer. First, at 18-19 years old you are not just "kid". Secondly, assuming you were even younger, your words mean something. Your words can either build up or tear down. And in the age we live in today, where the words oftentimes are electronic and therefore permanent, your words carry even more power.

The Bible is clear: we need to keep control over our tongues. And if computers were around during the time of the Bible writers they would have said to keep control over your fingers too. Words are powerful. The Lord spoke the universe into existence using His Words. The Scriptures our clear, our tongues are to be gentle (Prov 15:4), guarded (Psalm 14:13), the source of good or evil (Mat 13:33), and can be the source of love or destruction (Proverbs 17).

Listen, you have got to think about what you say and what you mean. Psalm 103 says, "The LORD is compassionate, merciful, patient, and always ready to forgive.", we should be no different. We need to think about our words, our Tweets, our Postings, and our texts.

Are you building up or tearing down? Are you helping or hurting? It may sound silly, it may sound cliche, but the next time your ready to say or type something take a deep breath and ask: What would Jesus do?