Your Mind is a Sponge (Part 2)

"The average adult who spends 50 hours a year in a pew will also spend 2,000 hours at home watching television" –Brian Chapel in "Christ Centered Preaching"


The American culture is defined by busyness.  Our schedules are packed and we rarely have time for things that haven't been planned into our busy days.  Or at least that is what we try to communicate to others, but the impression we give of being busy doesn't line up with this statistic.  If this statistic is true (which lines up accurately with other statistical research) than this means average Joe American spends 5.4 hours a day watching TV.  That is over 37 hours a week, which is just shy of being the equivalent of a full time job.  


Going off what we said yesterday, if we are so heavily influenced by the things we see and hear, than this shows why our spiritual lives are such a struggle.  You may not watch this much TV, but however much you watch I am guessing there is more time spent in front of the TV than a Christian book.  We are being heavily influenced by the media, and rarely influenced by the Bible, church, and things of the like.  


So when the preacher gives a 30 minute message about living for others, that same listener is bombarded with countless hours of media telling them to serve themselves: buy this to make you look better, this to make you feel better, you deserve this and that.  They are opposing messages, yet the message from the culture is taking center stage!  


This is going to be a struggle for us, because obviously we can't just be in church 5 hours a day to combat this.  But there are some things we can do to live in such a way that our influences are Biblical ones, so when we are around media and culture, instead of being influenced by it, we begin to see things through the lens of Scripture and seek to influence the culture itself.  This is what we will tackle tomorrow.      

Your Mind is a Sponge (Part 1)

"The average adult who spends 50 hours a year in a pew will also spend 2,000 hours at home watching television" –Brian Chapel in "Christ Centered Preaching"

This quote was given to make preachers aware of what they are up against.  The people we preach to spend 100 times more time in front of a TV than a preacher, which makes a preachers job an uphill fight.

I truly believe we are heavily influenced and guided by what we fill our minds with.  If I am watching TV shows filled with drama, I will be more likely to cause or find it myself.  If I am listening to rap music filled with cursing and sexual imagery, my mouth will begin to swear more and my mind will become more sexual corrupt.  If I am reading financial magazines all the time, my mind will often be concerned or think about what to do with my own finances.  If I am hanging out with certain people a lot, I will begin to act or talk like them (teenagers are a perfect example of this). The truth is, we think and act like what we fill our minds with.  We cannot avoid this, but we can do something about it.

So what are the implications we should draw from this?  That is where we will go tomorrow, but for now I want you to ask yourself:

What is the primary thing I am feeding my mind?  What things I am listening to, people I am hanging out with, or things I am doing that are affecting me negatively?  

If God is God

"I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it..." -Ps 50:9-12

We often forget that God is God.  If God needed us, that would mean that we are in some kind of partnership with him, seeking to fulfill a mission together.  But the mission we seek to fulfill is God himself.  If God is God, than that must mean there is nothing more beautiful, nothing more loving, nothing more powerful, nothing more right...So the most fruitful endeavor of every human would be to experience his greatness and share that with others, for he is the end of  all our pursuit.

This is why it is not selfish of God for him to desire others to experience himself.  It is the most loving thing he could do.  A doctor isn't selfish by giving out medicine, a cook isn't selfish by allowing you to enjoy what they created, and a musician isn't selfish by letting you experience their music.  On a much grander scale, God is not selfish for allowing us to enjoy himself, for their is no greater joy.

Let us remember that God did no create out of need, but out of love.  So when we serve, it is out of our love for him and what he has created, not out of a desire to contribute to God himself.

Martha, Martha....

"God doesn't want something from us. He simply wants us" -C.S. Lewis


Reading this quote makes me think of the husband who works long hours and weekends trying to provide his family with the "life they always wanted."  Nice house, nice cars, toys for the kids, savings for college, etc.  Amidst all the hard work the wife softly speaks to her husband in tears:  "we miss you...your son just holds onto the baseball glove you bought him, waiting to play.  Your daughter puts on the princess dress you bought her, not to play in it, but to just show you how pretty she looks.  She waits at the back door...I have began to spite being in this house...because look at what it has cost us.  we want you back."  


Do you do the same thing towards God?  Offering him all these things and spending all this time trying to serve him, yet amidst it all have neglected to love him and give yourself to him.  Are we too busy serving like Martha, while not sitting at our Kings feet in worship like Mary?  (Read Luke 10:38-42).  God wants us.  All of us.  Let us not lose focus as we try to live out our faith in our family, church, and community.  It all begins with love of God.  If we don't love him rightly, we will not serve him rightly.  

A Bad Reputation

Pain.  That is what I felt emotionally.  The comment was made casually yet sunk to the depths of my bones.  It was real.  It was honest.  It was eye opening. 

We were sitting around the family room after dinner with our extended family having casual conversation when the topic of Christianity came up.  As the conversation progressed, George* decided to speak up.  His eyebrows were raised, his shoulders tense, and he spoke with a passionate frustration as he gazed at the floor: "They are hypocrites.  They are no better, and often worse, than people who aren't Christian.  Why would I want to be a part of that?" 

I have spoken to many people before and diffused their view of hypocrisy in Christianity, so it wasn’t the accusation that surprised me.  I sat there speechless, thinking of what to say.  Do I tell him how Christianity is the only religion where you don't need to reach some moral or spiritual standard to get in the door?  Then I could explain that we are saved by no merit of our own, only by the work of Christ.  But I could tell this would have done no good.  What if I told him to not focus on how Christians act and behave, since we are all struggling sinners in need of Christ, rather look to the Bible and what Christians claim to believe.  But I felt like saying this would be like telling someone to not judge a restaurant by the actual quality of the food and service, but by the restaurants philosophy and operating guidelines.  Or to not judge a car by how it actually performs, but by how the company wanted it to.  That just doesn't make sense.  I could not think of anything constructive to say.  I sat there…speechless.

It hit me hard that night that this was a reality for many people.  A large percentage of people's biggest obstacle to faith is they very people who claim to believe it.  We are our own worst enemy.  It is time we admit and accept that we now live in a world where Christianity has a bad name.  This is not the 1950's anymore where going to church and being a Christian is seen as a respectable thing.  This is a different world today, and we have a bad reputation.

We all have experiences with companies that lead us to not trust them.  From a bad service experience to the large companies such as Enron, Firestone, BP who had a major shortcoming that tainted the image of the whole company.  Whatever the reason, this we can know: it is extremely difficult to recover from a bad reputation.  Companies must go above and beyond in hopes of recovering.  We see this now with BP, as they are now showing commercials to announce their efforts to clean up the spill.  They are seeking to gain the publics trust again. 

So what can we do to regain the publics trust in the church?  I believe we will regain a good reputation when we start acting like our faith calls us to.  When we start looking radically different then the rest of the world…and not just because we have plans on Sunday morning.  Our time, talent, and treasure should all be used for the kingdom.  We can no longer just sit around and hope.  I am calling all of us to either get in the game or get out of the game.  We can't afford anyone just sitting on the bench.  The stakes are too high, the work is too great, the need is too deep.

[This post is adopted from my October 2010 Newsletter]

The Blog is Back!

Well...the blog is back! I had stopped writing in the summer to see if anyone even noticed, since I didn't just want to be writing for myself. It has been brought to my attention that many have missed the blog. So the wait is over and the blog is back. I will be posting weekly (not every day), so here are the options of how you can stay up to date with the blog:

1. Receive the blog to your email. If you are getting this in an email, you are already set up for this, so don't need to do anything.

2. Check the blog by periodically at the website: http://prayforfpc.blogspot.com/ If you would like to do this instead of getting emails, just send me an email and I will take you off the email list.

3. Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/ryanodowd Not only will the blog be linked to my twitter, but by following me on twitter you will also receive the updates I post for the youth group, which include encouraging quotes from pastors and theologians and updates on what is going on with the youth group.

One more addition to the blog: I want to have the option for you to post on the blog. So if you want to write a blog entry, just email it to me and I will post it on the blog.

So there are the options. Let me know if you want me to take you off the email (if you are going to just check the website on your own time or if you are following via twitter). I hope this blog continues to encourage you.

Freedom?

What is freedom?  After celebrating July 4, I think it is a good question for Christians to ask. 

 

I think there are different levels of freedom, and different worldviews when it comes to freedom.  There is the American worldview of freedom...which in a sense says I am free to do what I want (within reason).  I am not held back by government, military forces, or infighting.  I am free to live my life as I want.  Then, there is the Biblical worldview.  The Biblical worldview flips this American idea on its head.  The Biblical worldview shows that if left to myself, I choose sin, death, and pain.  The Bible tells me that as a human I am not free.  I am bound and enslaved.  Enslaved to myself, enslaved to my sin, enslaved to knowing nothing but depravity.  The Biblical view of freedom is freedom that is given to those who are in Christ.  Freedom from sin, from eternal punishment, reedom to now live how I was created to live.  Before, I was bound...but now, Christ has set me free!

 

So while we are being grateful for the American freedom we have, let us not forget that many Americans, in the truest sense of the word, are not free.  They are bound to their sin, and unless they meet the savior, will never be free. 

 

Most people assume the non-Christian in America is more free than the Christian in Nepal who getting beaten to the point of death for their faith.  I would ask you to reconsider your view of freedom.  Do you value your freedom to worship how you want more than your freedom to live out your faith?  Is the freedom you have to own a nice air conditioned home more important (in your heart) than the freedom Christ has given you?  If it came down to it, would you choose beatings and jail time like Christians in Pakistan (who chose obedience to Christ over their own comfort), or would you choose American freedom?  Where does your first allegiance lie...to self and country or to Christ and His kingdom? 

 

What may sound like an easy question may not be so easy when your life is on the line.  Today, and everyday, there are Christians facing terrible persecution all around the world...we just don't hear about it.  When I hear these stories I have to remind myself that these persecuted Christians are free!  In fact, their freedom is probably greater than mine, for their lives prove that Christ is everything...and they are literally giving up everything to prove it.  That is freedom.