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Soul Shaping Scripture

November 8, 2010 in Spiritual Growth with 30 Comments

Today I’m coming off a week long vacation and I feel great. While a trip to Disney World with three young boys isn’t really a restful break it was still a break and we created some unforgettable memories.

Sometimes, simply changing up the routine a little bit can really breathe new life into us. I tend to be a creature of habit so a week of change helps point out unhealthy habits that I’ve developed.

One of the biggest that jumped out at me over the past week was my interaction with Scripture. I’m in the Word daily, but I must confess that most of my interaction with Scripture lately has been less than soul shaping.

I noticed last week that I’ve fallen into a pattern of using Scripture as a tool to accomplish my practical-functional purposes. I’ve been immersing myself in Scripture to…

-Explore a new message

-Write a new blog post

-Support a chapter I’m writing

However, without any of those pressures, I found myself experiencing Scripture primarily as a place of intimacy with God for my own soul’s sake.

I believe many of you are tired. Very tired. Most of us are more tired than we know at the soul level. Some of you are even teetering on the brink of dangerous exhaustion.

I’m praying this week you’ll move beyond an interaction with Scripture that feels

required

irrelevant

lifeless or

boring.

I’m praying you’ll understand the difference between going through Scripture and allowing Scripture to go through you.

I’m praying you’ll allow God’s very words to breathe life into the most exhausted parts of your soul.

The Noise In My Head

October 22, 2009 in God with 31 Comments

I recently heard something from John Ortberg that I can’t get out of my head. He said, speaking of our culture….

“It has never been easier to obtain the scriptures and never harder to absorb.”

We live in a day of unprecedented opportunities to stimulate our minds. We have blogs, television, podcasts and 24-hour news. We have ipods, dvd players, and radios in our cars. Everywhere we go there is some kind of message that is trying to attach to our minds. You can’t even go to the bathroom without being bombarded by an advertisement.

So even if you’re taking time to read the scriptures, when do you have time to absorb the scriptures? How are you dealing with this challenge?

Let’s learn from each other!

Speaking of noise, I’m headed out of town for a few days to do some camping in the Smoky Mountains. In an effort to escape a little noise I’ll be blog-less for a few days. I’ll see you Sunday at Cross Point for the continuation of Faith, Hope & Love or I’ll see you back on the blog probably Monday.

Continue The Conversation (SYNC-Part 3)

June 16, 2008 in Cross Point Church, God, Preaching, Religion with 42 Comments

CTC is where we take a snippet from Sunday’s message and turn it into a conversation. Most of you know that I would much rather sit down one on one over a cup of coffee and have a discussion than to stand up on stage and just deliver a message. So here’s what I want to talk about:

Yesterday I talked about the importance of Scripture in our lives.

Jesus said in Mathew 12:35, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.”

This verse explains a lot. There is a direct correlation between what you take in and what comes out of you (please refrain from potty humor here). If Christ being formed in your life is an actual goal for you, then you need to spend some time evaluating what you’re immersing your heart and mind in.

David Watson once said…

“As I spent time chewing over the endless assurances and promises to be found in the Bible, so my faith in the living God grew stronger and held me safe in his hands. God’s word to us, especially his word spoken by his Spirit through the Bible, is the very ingredient that feeds our faith. If we feed our souls regularly on God’s word, several times each day, we should become robust spiritually just as we feed on ordinary food several times each day, and become robust physically. Nothing is more important than hearing and obeying the word of God.”

So how are you guys doing with this? Is scripture an integral part of your daily life? Why or why not?

What are you worth?

May 27, 2008 in Friends, God, Leadership, My Family, Religion with 34 Comments

I read an interesting article this morning about how insurance companies calculate an individual’s worth in order to determine whether to cover a new medical procedure. Apparently, the international standard most private and government-run health insurance plans use puts your value at $50,000. The article argues that this figure is outdated and the new figure would put your worth at a whopping $129,000 (this is the result of inflation not anything you did, so don’t get a big head).

There are days, to be honest, I don’t feel like I’m worth fifty bucks, much less $50,000. There are days I’m surprised my church let’s me serve… days I wonder why my wife puts up with me…days I wonder why my friends stick around. Ever have those days?

But here’s the biggest shocker of all. The one that I just can’t comprehend. The Creator of the universe thinks I’m so valuable he can’t even put a number on it. Take a second to let this sink in…

Matt 10:29-31 (nlt)

29 What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin^[? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. 30 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

Romans 5:7-8 (TM)

We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.

How does this make you feel?

Sometimes I Struggle With Love

May 13, 2008 in Cross Point Church, Friends, God, Leadership, Religion with 51 Comments

I had the opportunity to be a part of a couple of weddings this weekend. As usual, 1 Corinthians 13 was one of the selected scriptures. Derek and Bonnie asked me to read it in the Message translation and I loved it. I have read it a few times since then and it gave me a fresh perspective on this passage.

1 Corinthians 13: 3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

So here is what I want us to discuss today. When you read through the list which aspect of “love” do you struggle with?

For me it was, “love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have”. I have struggled with this on and off throughout my entire life. I’m trying to understand that part of loving God and loving people is learning to be “content” with who I am and what I have.

As long as I WANT your personality, your house, your gift mix, your bank account, your family situation, your health, your job, your friends….your life, than I can’t really love you in the way God has designed me to love you.

So there’s my struggle. How about you?

join the conversation,

Pete

Do You Feel Bombarded?

March 18, 2008 in God with 11 Comments

I recently heard something from John Ortberg that I can’t get out of my head. He said, speaking of our culture….

“It has never been easier to obtain the scriptures and never harder to absorb.”

We live in a day of unprecedented opportunities to stimulate our minds. We have blogs, television, and 24-hour news. We have ipods, dvd players, and radios in our cars. Everywhere we go there is some kind of message that is trying to attach to our minds. You can’t even go to the bathroom without being bombarded by an advertisement.

So even if you’re taking time to read the scriptures, when do you have time to absorb the scriptures? How are you dealing with this challenge?

Let’s learn from each other,