Raising the Dead

Well it's been a long week on my end of the i-net. (That's internet in internet lingo for those unaware.) I've had so much going on- so many things that have been demanding my time. Responsibilities at the church, classes, homework, etc. If you've had a week like mine, which I'm sure you have, your coming to the end of the week exhausted. So kick back, grab a coke (or your beverage of choice), and take a moment out of your busy schedule to read about one of my hero's.

I have been watching a documentary these last few days on the life of the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoffer. Dietrich was a man who lived in Germany during the time of WWII when the Nazi's were at the peak of their reign of terror. He struggled against the Nazi regime, not only protesting against the exclusion of people of Jewish origin from Church offices, but by risking his own life smuggling Jewish fellow-citizens across the border to safety. He was also involved in an underground movement to depose Hitler and the Nazi regime, for which he was arrested after a failed assassination attempt on Hitlers life. He spent the remaining years of his life in a German concentration camp and just days before the camp he was in was liberated, the guards were give the order to execute Bonhoffer by hanging. It was always interesting to me that the guards who hung him had such a hard time doing it, for they had grown to love this mighty man of God. His last recorded words were: "This is the end - for me the beginning of life."

I am amazed at how often I give up in the face of hard and pressing times. Whenever life gets super busy and hectic, I have a tendency to throw God on the back burner and go back to Him once I figure things out. When I think about Dietrich, here was a man who drew closer to God when life got hard. Here is a man who stood by his religious convictions and left a permanent mark on Christianity, even though it cost him his life. I think it was easier for him to do this because he had a perspective on life that what we have here is not all that there is. Now I know that this is something we all know form Sunday school, but really- is this something that we believe and live out?

What would our lives look like if we truly believed in a kingdom that is yet to come?
How would our values change?
Would out priorities shift in life?
What about how we interact with our friends and family?

Spend some time thinking about this.... I think that we can learn a lot by looking at the way the giants of the Christian faith have lived.

Tomorrow night we will be having Friday Night Live at the church form 6:00-8:00 p.m. Come ready to look at the first part of John Ch.11. It is the account of Jesus raising his friend Lazarus from the dead after he had been lying in the tomb for 4 days. Be sure to read the passage a couple of times before you show up tomorrow night!

Hope to see you all soon!

SOME THOUGHTS FOR FRIDAY

Hey guys, sorry it has taken me a little while to make a post. The new house I moved into doesn't have internet yet, so I'm sitting at school before a class hammering out some thoughts for you guys....

Basically what I'm going to do with some of these posts is encourage you to check out some scripture that will be relevant to what we will be looking at on Friday night's so that you come in with a little knowledge of the subject.

This Friday we are going to be taking a look John 10:22-42, which is a passage where Jesus once again proclaims His deity (fancy word for being God). If you remember, Jesus had just had this amazing interaction with the Jews. He had healed this blind man who couldn't see at all, and then He goes on to make this analogy that He is the good Shepherd who loves the sheep. While the Jews didn't understand the analogy He was making (obviously), it did lead people to wonder more about who Jesus was because of the power that was in His words. People thought that He was either from God or that He was possessed by a demon of some sorts. (On a side note, when was the last time someone thought you were demon possessed? For me it was in Russia 4 years ago. Ask me about it sometime....) 

So in light of all of these questions that the Jews are having, we come to the text for Friday night. I want to encourage you to spend some time reading John 10:22-42 in light of what we have been looking at these past few weeks. Start to ask questions of the text. Like what does it mean for Jesus to be the Lord of our life? Are we hearing from Him (vs. 27)? Do we seek to know God and to be known by Him?

Feel free to post some of your responses hear on the blog under the comments section, I would love to talk with you guys about this!

Remember, Friday Night Live is from 6:00-8:00 at the church on Friday night. Also, if you remember, we have a little competition this Friday. If there are more boys than girls at F.N.L., I will eat a live goldfish. However, if there are more girls than guys, I will not eat the live goldfish. So be sure to bring as many people as you can in order to achieve whichever outcome you desire.

Blessings!