Is Purity Still Possible?

Throughout my childhood we have several different pets living out in the country. I can remember many different cats that would show up on the door step and we would become their source of food. I can also remember a few dogs we had; a Beagle, a Collie, and a miniature Collie. I was not stranger to farm animals either. I can't remember a time when we didn't have one or two cows in the field next to the house and for a while pigs out by the barn. But we didn't name those, because somehow they would end up in the freezer! (sorry vegetarians!) Needless to say, none of my pets as a child were pure-blooded anything. They were all mix breeds or mutts. I know some people spend a small fortune for pure-blooded dogs or cats. And the price is much higher for certain breeds than others. It is the purity of the breed that most will pay big dollars for.

In the past few years whole foods have become the cultural rage. We crave purity; our bodies want pure air and pure bottled water. Whole foods supermarkets have popped up everywhere, making billions providing foods that are free from preservatives and additives. (They should be called Whole Paycheck stores due to the cost.) But we crave purity. But what about spiritual purity? Do we desire to be pure; to rid ourselves of all the possible contaminants in our lives that dilute our faith?

One author defined spiritual purity this way. Purity refers to the inward control of fleshly lusts, thoughts and actions. It means "unmixed," a state of being without compromise. It means "uncontaminated," free from outside corruption. Now here's the question, does that describe your life? (Ouch!) Some days, I get this right and other days I fail miserably. But I've realized perfection isn't the goal, obedience to God's Word and instruction is. And if I strive to focus on those things, purity will become a natural byproduct of that effort. It is our intentional actions that will produce purity with God's help!

"Lord, help us to free ourselves of anything that contaminates our lives....Inspect our lives and show us any area where we need to clean house....Then help us intentionally take action to obey your Word and focus on your instruction to us...AMEN!"

A Time For Every Season

Summer has arrived! (ok, well at least it's June) The kids just got out of school this past Thursday so this is my first day home with them (Monday is typically my day off since Sunday is definately a work day). We just set up a basketball goal over the weekend so I have a feeling we'll be playing some basketball today. It's fun though, and I enjoy it. Jonathan is turning 11 years old on Wednesday the 17th, so I know I better take advantage of all the years possible when he still wants to be seen with me. Ha. ha.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, "There is a time for every season under heaven." If you live in Green Bay, you very thankful for any season that brings the temperature above 65 degree's. Just in the almost 3 years I've lived here, it has become very clear that summer is anticipated and celebrated. People have many different activities for summer. From the common ones like vacations and visits with family to culture specific "trip to the cabin." Summer is short and everyone tries to squeeze as much out of it as possible.

The challenge for everyone is to not allow the "season" to place our faith on hold. How do you think Jesus would have responded it the disciples said, "Hey Jesus, it's summer and we're not going to be able to follow you for the next 3 months. We'll hook back up with you in September!" I've heard a statement in the past few weeks that really stuck with me and I've repeated it several times. It's this, "It's not the evil things in life that derail our relationship with God, it's the other things." Very simply, it's not always bad things that get us off track in our relationship with God, sometimes it's good things. But we have to realize that good things can get in the way of the great God has for our lives.

Take this summer to rest, renew, and recharge. But realize that doesn't mean unplugging from God. Stay faithful to your commitments; church, service, tithe, relationships. Because when the summer is over, it's still your church family who will be waiting to spend the next 9 months with you!

Have a great summer!!!

Going In Circles

I think I was born with some sort of car gene. I have loved cars of all kinds since I was barely old enough to drive. I can remember looking at car magazines and advertisements beginning by age 12. With cars in my blood, it was inevitable that I would eventually become a fan of NASCAR. I guess I started watching sometime in the late 90's and I've been to several races over the years. The biggest race was the 2005 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis when Tony Stewart won his first Indy race; it was awesome (understatement!!!!!)! Just a few months later in I was privileged to do the Richard Petty Experience. This is where they strap you into a race car, by yourself, and let you go crazy around the track. I ran 30 laps at Gateway International Raceway in St. Louis and hit a top speed of 127 mph. (I'm geekin' out just thinking about it!) Even though I wouldn't consider myself a race "fanatic", I've experienced my fair share of ridicule for being a race fan. The most typical statement is, "It's just cars making lefthand turns and going in circles for 4 hours." My typical response is, "So!"

Do you want to know what's funny? I've known people who's lives resembled a NASCAR race, because ultimately their life was just going in circles. They didn't have a predetermined destination and at the end of the day they realized it was a day filled with unconscious lefthand turns that got them no where. It happens everyday; people laying in a hospital bed preparing to die when they begin to analyze their lives only to realize their life consisted of a number of years, but they never really lived!

So where do you want your life to be 5, 10, 25 years from now? What's stopping you from setting a course for that destination? Step 1, ask God where he wants your life to be. Step 2, make the necessary changes to start down that path. Step 3, consult God along the way and enjoy the journey! Quit going in circles and start living!

"Lord, help me quit going in circles....show me your plan for my life....help me reset my life course.....and go along with me on the journey! AMEN!"

Text Message From God

The other day I spent a few hours watching the end of a Cardinal's baseball game on T.V. (they lost unfortunately). Since I don't always get to watch the game I have the final score of each game texted to my phone. Well, the game ended, and in the few minutes that followed Tricia and I were talking and I gave her a hug (I love my wife so I try to do that often). During our hug, my phone made the sound that lets me know I have a new text message. I proceeded to release from the hug and reach into my pocket for my phone to read that new text. I thought the hug was over, but according to my wife, it wasn't. And further more, she was none too pleased to feel like that text message was more important than her. Don't get me wrong, she didn't make me sleep on the couch or anything, but it made me think about something.

We respond quickly to a lot of things in life; screaming kid, screaming boss, screaming driver! My response to the text message was an example of that. But what if we responded to God as quickly as we do to other things? What if God sent you a text message? What if we didn't even read it for several hours, then once we do we realize it was time sensitive material?

Listen, God does send text messages......it's called the Bible! It's filled with messages for your life. All you have to do is read it. Just think what would happen in your life if God's Word, his text messages, were as important to you as the baseball game score or a message from a friend. I can promise you, the more you read God's messages, the more your life will change....for the better!

Note: Listen to Pastor Aaron's message (week 4) on how God communicates to us through the Bible. You'll learn some great practical ways to grow by reading God's Word.

Ridiculous Religion

Yesterday an armed gunman entered a church in Wichita, Kansas and proceeded to shoot and kill late-term abortion physician, Dr. George Tiller. As I watched the story on the news this morning, they showed the gunman's car and on the back he had placed a icthus fish (pictured), apparently a symbol of his faith and his Christianity. Does anyone see the irony in this story besides me? The gunman, justified in his opinion that the murder of unborn children is wrong, chooses to take a gun and MURDER the doctor who performs the abortions! That's now what my faith or my Christianity looks like. That's some ridiculous religion!

REAL Christians should understand the old adage; two wrongs don't make a right! And it makes me sick when someone does something like this under the banner of Christianity! It is biblical for us to stand against sin, but when we transition from hatred of a sin to hatred for the people who sin, we drawn a line that Jesus never drew. If believers in Christ would open up one of the many Bibles they have collecting dust on their shelves they would realize that this is not how Jesus responded to sin. He taught truth, engaged the opposition, and held to Biblical Absolutes (and yes, there are still moral absolutes). But he always did it in love; not with malace, not with hatred, and certainly not with a gun!

Proverbs 19:2 says, "It is not good to have zeal without knowledge." My prayer is that more and more Christians will stand up for what is right in various areas of life. But I also pray that their zeal is grounded on the knowledge of God's Word.

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by this senseless tragedy.