One of the most common questions we get is "How can I know God's will?" An individual is confronted with life-changing, godly opportunities and they have a hard time figuring out which one to choose. So how do we know? Joey Shaw recently made a series of extremely helpful posts which addresses this issue. If you're interested in how you can discover God's will in a situation check it out here.
As a children's minister, it's very easy to fall into the error of reading the Bible for others, not for yourself. In other words, it's easy to get caught up in preparing to teach children a truth without first applying that truth to myself. I was reminded of that this past week.
In May, we are teaching our grade school kids in KidStuff about patience, and we are defining patience as "trusting God for what to provide and when to provide it." As I was thinking through the curriculum for the month, my thoughts turned to how God was going to teach these children not to whine about the new toy they want, or not to complain that they don't get to be the "line leader." I was thinking about how often children show impatience or discontent, and was really looking forward to showing them that God is in control and that He would give them what they need when they needed it.
To be honest, I was judging the children in our ministry for something I thought I had grown out of. But God was KEEP READING
"Joy" and its derivatives are used 59 times in the New Testament. With some words it is very helpful to understand their connotations in the Greek language, but not this one. It means in the Greek exactly what it means in the English: a gladness of heart. Having joy is having a heart that is happy. It is such a familiar word, but what amazing ramifications it has on our lives! Everyone wants to be happy and everyone longs for joy.
So let's talk about joy and more specifically the question we all want the answer to: how do I maximize my joy? Every decision you and I make is governed by one singular impulse, what will maximize my joy? Even the individual who commits suicide does so because he is looking to maximize his joy. You base every decision on what you think will bring you the most joy. Luckily for us the Scriptures are not silent on this issue. If you ever strugglewith finding supreme joy in God, He has given us a prescription. In 1 John 1:1-3, John begins his letter by KEEP READING
Want to know your strengths, weaknesses, tendencies, and inclinations as a Christian leader? Check it out here.
With so many great blog posts and articles commenting on the beauty of Good Friday and Easter, I thought it would be beneficial for us to listen to God's comment on what transpired. Spend some time slowly reading through this text and contemplate what it means for you. He was rejected so you could be accepted. He was beaten so you could be healed. He was broken so you could be restored. He was condemned so you could be released. Think on these things, meditate on what it's saying, and come Sunday rejoice in all of the benefits His resurrection guarantees.
2For he grew up before him
like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had
no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that
we should desire him.
3 He was
despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted
with grief;
and as one
from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we
esteemed him not.
4 Surely
he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet KEEP READING
Easter will be arriving in just a few short weeks. If you're like me it pops into your mind as it approaches but before you know it, it's over. If you want a powerful read to prepare your heart for Easter, Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross is one of the best you can find. The book is composed of 25 short, devotional chapters that you can read each day leading up to Easter. The great thing is that it can be read for free online here, and I can think of no better way to prepare your heart to receive the grace of God this Easter season.
This week marks a huge milestone for our church. On Tuesday we broke ground on our building renovation/construction project in St. John. In the Fall of 2008, we shared the vision of being a Church for the City and along with it, a dream of having an Austin Stone campus and non-profit center in the heart of the city, in the St. John neighborhood of Austin. After months of planning, preparation and continued giving, the fun part has begun.
With enough dry weather over the next few weeks, we are scheduling the facilities to open around late August - just in time for the beginning of the fall semester.
You can read more about it and see a video clip on our St. John Project Blog. You can also subscribe to it to stay informed of our progress on the building project and the For the City Center, our non-profit center that will occupy the front half of the building.
As we packed up the PAC after our last TeenRock of 2009 this past Sunday, I grabbed a couple of our volunteers, interns, and the band to spend a moment reflecting on the past semester.
We laughed as we shared stories such as "the time when Michael and Weston dressed up as Latvian Cyclists." We cried when we recounted tales of tragedy and trial but still found comfort in the lessons that the Lord taught us through them.
Truth be told, it was a telling moment for me to hear the spectrum of experience from these amazing people, and for the rest of the evening, I found myself reflecting on how far God had brought me and this ministry since this time last year. I could pinpoint a host of things that I never would have anticipated, but the defining element that will mark 2009 will be:
Race
For those reading this who are relatively new to the Student Ministry culture at The Austin Stone Community Church, TeenRock is racially diverse. Our ministry at Reagan High School opened up the KEEP READING
Though you trust Jesus for your salvation, you may be a bit like me and struggle with feeling accepted by God in light of your sin. I know that if I find myself struggling with sin in the same area of if I just go a few days without spending time with God; I lose the confidence to approach and enjoy Him. Maybe He's unhappy with me, maybe He won't even listen to what I have to say, He's not going to want to meet with me. Ultimately this is a symptom of not trusting Jesus, not believing the gospel. Take a second and think about this: what is the basis of your confidence before God?
Let's say you feel confident before Him as His child when things are going great (victory over sin, fruitful time in prayer and the Word, living on mission) yet you feel disqualified and defeated in the times of struggle and dryness. What is your confidence resting on? Your works: ‘God accepts me because I live holy; God welcomes me because I am consistent in prayer and His Word; God loves me because I live KEEP READING
Who benefits when you are "on mission"? Who is on the receiving end of your obedient steps of faith to the Lord's command to be salt and light in this world, in your spheres of relationships? A number of names and faces might come to mind.
When we think about living on mission, our thoughts usually jump to others rather than ourselves. Christ faithfully lived in obedience to the Father as He carried out the plan that was set before the beginning of the world. It was a plan that involved suffering and dying, yet according to the author of Hebrews, Christ did it all for the joy set before Him. The model that God has given us for living on mission involves the pursuit of our own joy as well!
Over the last two months, God has been reminding of this important lesson. Living on mission is more satisfying than anything else. Laying your life down in obedience to Christ is truly the most life-giving action you can take.
Let me explain.
Over the past two months Joey Shaw KEEP READING
Do you believe that God exists? I think I know the answer you'd give... so let me ask you another question, "Do you live like He exists?"
Suppose I invited you to my house for dinner. You knock on my door, I open it and you walk in but without saying a word or making eye contact. You sit on my couch and eat my chips and salsa that I put out and drink my cold Dr. Pepper that I bought from the store, but you just talk amongst yourselves without saying a word to me. You eat at my dining table on my plates, with my fork and knife the amazing steak that I just cooked for you but all without a thank you...and what if someone asks you, "Do you know Halim?" You answer, "Yea..." but all without acknowledging the fact that I'm sitting next to you. Do you see the lunacy of it all?
But the vast majority of people who say they believe in God, including you and me, treat Him this way. He is like oxygen...you couldn't live a moment without Him, but there are no thoughts given to oxygen. He is KEEP READING
On November 8, 2009 in South Asia, I and two other pastors from The Austin Stone, were robbed and attacked by a small gang of South Asian youth. Unexpectedly, one of these youth sliced my left cheek with a straight razor. The wound was 5 inches long and an inch deep. It spanned from about my left sideburn to the left corner of my mouth. Fortunately, the two other men with me were physically unharmed. We ran for safety in the middle of the city, pleaded with locals for help, and finally ended up in the emergency room at a local hospital where a doctor stitched up my face with three layers of stitches.
After arriving back home, I realized that this attack was a catalyst to great spiritual and emotional growth. After a week long of reflection, I have outlined below the lessons that I have learned. I hope my story and these lessons will encourage others to radical obedience to Jesus and mobilize them to the mission of God.
- The straight razor that scarred my face has become an altar of KEEP READING
As we have been preaching through the practice of honoring the Sabbath, I have been thinking about why it is that so many believers treat this commandment as "optional." Why do we say to ourselves, "Remember the Sabbath... sounds nice, God. Maybe I'll work it into my schedule next week"? We don't do that with the other commandments. Can you imagine? "Do not murder... that's a KEEP READING
A sermon that has really impacted me is called The Openness of the Kingdom by Tim Keller. (You can download it here.) The cost is $2.50 but all proceeds go to support the ministries of Redeemer Presbyterian Church. It is a riveting look at how Jesus tries to get across the importance of the Kingdom of God, the central organizing principle of the Kingdom, and how we can live according to that central principle. That message always works on my heart in terms of the gospel, salvation, God's Kingdom and all that we are to be about in light of God's grand plan for redemption and renewal. Here are a few quotes:
"When our relationship with God unraveled, all other relationships unraveled."
"The Kingdom of God is the reintroduction of God's presence into this world to turn this world into the home that our hearts most desperately want."
"The purpose of God's salvation is to restore and renew this creation."
"If you're part of His Kingdom, you're not just out to save souls, though KEEP READING
The AustinStone strives to be a Gospel-CenteredChurch. If you have been around the church for anyperiod of time you have heard the gospel mentioned. You've probably heard that the gospel shouldnot only be how one becomes a follower of Christ, but should be the foundationand power for the rest of our lives. Paul says of the gospel, "It is the power of God for salvation to allwho believe....." This begs the question,how? How do we as followers of Christkeep the gospel foundational to our lives? How do we make all our actions gospel-motivated? How does the gospel enable us to fight sin?
These areall questions I have wrestled with over the past few years. For me the foundational question I must askmyself is, what is my identity? What is the thing in my life that I find worthin? I often find my identity and worthin so many things other than Jesus, but over the past few years I do feel likeI have had some victory in this area. The Biblical truth of adoption has helped a great deal in KEEP READING