Monthly Archives: February 2010

So many girls I talk to feel stressed about their life. They don’t know how to think about hurt, loneliness, fears and pressure.  And the scariest of all is the overarching unsettling unknown called their future.  Something powerful I’ve learned in my own life is that amidst all that is unknown, God can be known.  And not just intellectual facts gathered about him, but in a deeply personal way. The living God knows me and cares for me.  This is when “theology” (the study of God) is no longer a boring concept but something I crave everyday in my life because knowing him is the difference.

There are some great theology books out there but they are often written off because they are old and use big words and seem like textbooks for pastors.  But this book, Practical Theology for Women is not like that at all.  I am confident that even though it is only 152 pages it does not compromise on the quality of content in studying who God is.  But at the same time, it is not so wordy and lofty that a high school girl could not get totally into it!

God is, and his existence alone puts the rest of life in perspective.

When I sat down to read this book for the first time I didn’t necessarily feel far away from God but I knew I needed to deepen my understanding of him.  But I had no idea how much this book was going to move me!  The author writes:

It is my deepest conviction that what God teaches about himself in his Word is of utmost importance to the issues of my personal daily life.

And that is exactly what this book is about.  In each chapter she describes and explains qualities of who God is, taking us through the Bible to see what God has told us about himself.  She then connects the dots from that big concept of our mighty God to the everyday situation you and I face and get frustrated about.  The way she does this compelled me personally to put off sin in my life that I realized in reading this book was a result of misunderstanding or forgetting who God really is.

The more I understand how God does things and why he does them, the more ready I am to live all out for him!  Some chapters in this book were so good; I seriously only read a paragraph a day because I had to chew on it.  I couldn’t just keep turning pages because some things she would point out really were important and I had not always treated them that way.  Things like:

•    How faith really works…”To say we have faith in him while living a life characterized by anxiety and worry is to deny him by our actions, if not our words.”

•    How God is sovereign, compassionate and wise and how those all still makes sense even when he must discipline us as his children.

•    How to think about our problems in light of who God is…Many Christians in today’s churches seem much more convinced of the reality of their problems than the reality of their God.

•    How intense it is that Jesus left heaven, took on a human body, to take the punishment for our sin and how there is no love that compares to the beauty of God redeeming us and making us his people ready to do great things for his glory!

•    How everything that God has for us to do, he is enabling us to actually do because of the Holy Spirit, our Helper, living in us—amazing!

•    How reading the Word and praying continually are not just spiritual disciplines that we should strive for because we know we should.  They are our connection to the God of the universe!

Please go to the Compass Bookstore this weekend and get yourself a copy of Practical Theology for Women and see for yourself how knowing God will make a huge difference in your everyday life!

Yesterday morning I spoke at Career Day for one of our local Christian high schools.  I don’t think a lot of jobs come with a warning from God, but mine does:

– Not many of you should be teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

This verse is basically a threat.  If I don’t do a clear and accurate job of teaching the Bible to my students then God will hold me accountable.  Many people treat youth ministry like fun and games, but this shows it is serious business.

However, if I do preach the gospel correctly it is the power of God for salvation to all of the young people who believe.  This is why I am a youth pastor.  Because God will use me to save his students:

– Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching.  Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Even as I was telling the future prospects for youth pastors how to be one…I was inspired about what God has called me to do!

Then last night I was driving a student to small groups.  On the way, we stopped for a fundamental ingredient for good fellowship: Taco Bell.  I knew something was wrong when I asked for my order of 30 soft tacos and 30 chicken burritos and all I got was a blank stare.  I then came to a horrible realization:  I had called in the order to another Taco Bell!

(This is a problem when you are a frequent visitor at multiple Taco Bell locations.)

Suddenly the simple idea of bringing Taco Bell to small groups got very complicated.  It took 10 minutes to drive to the other Taco Bell.  They hadn’t even started making it so we had to wait 10 minutes more. Then I started getting texts and calls from people at the small group asking me where I was!  Epic fail!

Finally the food was ready and we started running through the parking lot to the car, when someone started shouting!  I didn’t recognize him but he was yelling at me:

“Hey!  Are you the Youth Pastor Man?  Are you the Youth Pastor Man?”

I stopped.  “Yes, I am!”

“I’ve heard about you dude.  Keep getting real with your kids.  God loves you and keep doing what you’re doing.”

And then it was over.  We were driving away and still had no idea who it was.  We realized that if we hadn’t gone to the wrong Taco Bell and had to wait then we would have never been running through the parking lot at that moment.  Finally arriving at small groups, I shared the story with all of the students there.  And now I’m sharing it with you:

Because when you read a verse that tells you, “Persist in this…” God means it.

And if you know who that guy was in the parking lot you tell him I’m not going to stop.

What is it about the Olympics that causes us to forsake sleep and stay up to watch sports that we will not care about again for four years?  The other night I stayed up to watch Shaun White absolutely dominate the men’s snowboard halfpipe, and like everyone else I was impressed with the defiance of gravity in his astonishing tricks.  But the television broadcasters made sure that we knew that this show-stopping performance did not come out of nowhere when they showed us the secluded personal halfpipe where White spent countless hours in practice.

White is just one of many Olympians who will reap the benefits of practice in these Winter Games.  For these athletes, practice does not just make perfect; it makes for gold, silver, and bronze, too.

But what does practice make for the Christian?

In The Practice of Godliness, author Jerry Bridges sets out to answer this question, and he starts with this verse: “Train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (

)  Even more than any Olympian trains their physical body for the sake of gold, Christians should be making every effort to pursue godliness.

Bridges explains that godliness consists of two primary parts; the first of which is God-centeredness, or devotion for God.  Just like an aspiring Olympian will not get very far in his practice without having a hunger to win gold, a Christian will not progress much in the pursuit of godliness without a thirst for God.

The second trait of godliness is what Bridges calls “Godlikeness.”  A godly person will display character qualities in their own life that resemble or reflect the character of God.  Twelve chapters in the book each focus on a different “Godlike” attribute, such as love, humility, gentleness, joy, etc.  Each chapter is excellent because it not only explains the attribute clearly but also offers encouragement toward specific actions.

If you want to grow spiritually, read this book because it will push you towards the goal of godliness.  And godliness is infinitely more valuable than gold could ever be.

Have you been watching the Winter Olympics?  

Christa and I are tuned in almost every night.  We love it!  For the first time in history, it looks like the United States might win the medal count over all the other countries.  Many athletes are unveiling tricks or setting times that have never been done before.  Yes, we have even shouted at our television in celebration of victory!

But there is one thing we don’t like to watch.  Defeat.  Sometimes it doesn’t seem like the athlete is really trying.  Other times the announcers have counted him or her out before they even start.  We look at each other and say, “What’s the point of being at the Olympics if you already know you are going to lose?”

Sadly, this is the attitude we have sometimes as Christians.  In our minds, we are already defeated by temptation.  It’s like we know we are going to give in to sin, so we give up before even trying.  Yet the apostle Paul never accepts this loser attitude.  He always speaks against it.  In fact, he compares us to athletes who need to go for the win!

– Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.

Let’s get real about our walks with Christ.  Are we trying to set a new record of spiritual growth? Are we training to do things we have never done before?  Or are we content with falling into the same old sin and staying at the same level of sanctification?  Let’s stop settling for losing and start running towards that finish line!

I encourage you to identify a way you need to grow spiritually.  Just like the Olympic athletes have a specific event they are training for, train yourself for the purpose of godliness.  Don’t stop until you are being fully obedient to Jesus Christ.  The way many of these athletes train to win the gold medal is so inspiring, but we should be working even harder because our reward is so much more!

Today, I want to set a personal record in running for Jesus Christ!  Who is with me?

Revival Runners FTW!

I never thought that I would get paid to rap.

But with the last two Revivals, it has been my job to put together a rap for a promotional video.  For the “Heat to the Snow” video, I not only had to come up with the lyrics for the rap, but the melody as well.  At some point in this songwriting process, a thought dawned on me.  If I can write a silly song promoting Revival: Winter Edition, why can’t I write a serious song promoting whole-hearted worship of God?

I wanted to write a song that went along with the theme of Revival: Winter Edition. So, I searched for a Psalm of David that expresses the desire to be a person “After God’s Own Heart.”.  In

, David not only praises God for his great power and love, but he also makes this request in verse 11.  He says:

“Teach me your way, O LORD,
that I may walk in your truth;
unite my heart to fear your name.”

David asks God for a united heart, and we should be crying out for the same thing.  Because there is no one like our God, we should long to love him with our “Whole Heart.”

Good and forgiving
Love so abounding
Who is good like you?
You gladden my soul
My cup overflows
Who brings joy like you?

Teach me, Lord, all of your ways
Unite my heart, all of my days
To fear your name and walk in truth
For my whole heart I give to you

Mighty in power
Awesome in wonder
Who is great like you?
Strong to deliver
You reign forever
There is none like you

Hear my cry, O God
According to your grace
And with my whole heart
I will seek your face

(You can now download a rough recording of this song from our True North iTunes podcast)

By Ben Blakey

Over the last couple weeks, the Revival Band has put in hours upon hours of practice for Revival: Winter Edition. I have calluses on my fingers to prove it.  By listening to music, rehearsing parts, running through songs, trying new things, laughing at our mistakes, praying, and reading the Word together, we have prepared for what will happen this weekend.

When the music starts on Friday night, we will be ready to worship.  Will you?

Here are a few ways you can prepare for worship at Revival: Winter Edition:

Read. When we sing, we are expressing our affections for God and our amazement at who he is and what he has done.  How will we know who he is or what he has done if we have not been reading the Word?

Pray. Worship does not have to wait until Friday night; you can do it right now through prayer!  Our prayers should be full of praise and thanksgiving.  If you are regularly worshipping in this way, you will be ready to Revival!

Repent.

says, “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”  Holding on to sin in your heart will kill your worship!  Either you will have no desire to sing to God or it will be full of hypocrisy.  God does not want to listen to half-hearted worship!

Come to Revival expecting the worship to be awesome, not because of the energy of the camp or the volume of the band, but because you are excited to express your adoration for the Lord!  If you come with this expectation, you will not be disappointed.

Revival is getting closer by the minute.  Let’s get ready to worship!

Revival: Winter Edition is now only 3 days away!  Here are 3 moments I am psyched out of my living mind for:

#1.  God is good all the time…

I can’t wait until Pastor Ben and the Revival Band take the stage Friday night to lead us in some worship.  It will have been a long day to get 300 people checked in, on the buses, up the mountain and into their cabins.  (Be praying for a safe day of travel!) But when we all come together to worship it will quickly all be worth it!  Any of us who were at the last Revival know Ben will begin with this statement… and we all know the response… “And all the time God is good!”

#2. Heat to the Snow

Whether you are going skiing/snowboarding or whether you are staying at camp with me, this weekend will be a ton of fun.   I know some of you are hoping for huge air on fresh powder.  While some of us are ready to Nerf war and make a movie.  I am ready for the moment when I am running across the freezing cold ground at full speed totally into what we are doing…yes, heat will be brought to the snow.  Larpers unite!

#3.  A Moment That Lasts

With three days to go, I am mainly thinking about the three sermons I will be preaching on the life of David.  I am praying they will be powerful times from God’s Word.  But even more than the sermons, I am excited to see the lasting change the Holy Spirit will produce in our lives.  My favorite moments are after the preaching is done when a student approaches me.  When they tell me they need to become a Christian or get serious about obeying Christ in an area of their life.  I am praying there will most definitely be some life defining moments like this.  Please pray with me!

Let’s pray Revival isn’t an event this weekend but a movement of God in our hearts that lasts!  We know this is what God is seeking for from our Scripture of the Day:

– But now your kingdom shall not continue.  The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.

May God raise us up to be a young generation of Davids whose hearts are after God’s own… This is what I’m ready for.  Who is with me?

Leave a comment and let me know what moment you are looking forward to because Revival is almost upon us in 3…2…1…