Faith in Real Life – Page 3

In Faith in Real Life

The Remix Conference

September 6, 2013 No Comments

Are you a young adult? If so then you need to check out this conference on September 28th, 2013. I will be one of the breakout speakers there and I would love to have you come join us for this awesome local one day conference. I’ll be leading a breakout session called, “P90X Your Spiritual Walk”. At The Remix you will connect with other people your age, and most importantly with God. I can’t wait to share with you how to kick your faith up a notch.

Check out this year’s promo video:

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/73004782]

The theme for this year’s conference is, “THE FATHER’S LOVE” and it is based on 1 John 3:1 that says, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”

In order to sign up click over to www.remixconference.com. Sign up is cheap, only $25 a person! Don’t wait, do it now.

~Peter

In Faith in Real Life

What kind of a mist are you?

September 5, 2013 3 Comments

The other day Pete Wilson, pastor at Cross Point Church in Nashville TN, blogged over on his site about a mist worth celebrating. Here is an excerpt from his post.

This morning I was reading in James 4 and was reminded of this important truth.

James 4:14 “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”

It’s true. We are but a “mist”. In other words, life is short. We’re here and then we’re gone. I could see how, at first glance, this verse might be a bit depressing. But for me it’s motivating.

James 4:14 — My dad and I at Old Westbury Gardens

I couldn’t agree with Pete more. I think about some of the people in my life who have been incredibly life changing to me. I wrote about my dad here, and I spoke about him here. My dad had an enormous impact on my life. I am who I am today because of the way that he loved Jesus and the way that he loved me. I think about some of the people in my life who have been in and out of it only for a few short years. Friends like Chris, & Bob who have mentored me and helped shape my life. There are so many others.

It is easy to think about all of the people who have had an eternal impact on your life. What may be a bit more difficult to think about is what kind of a mist are you becoming? Or what I mean is, who are you becoming, and how are you impacting the lives of others? Do you have someone in your life who you are building into, encouraging, and loving on? If not, you should find someone. Do it fast, because as James says, our lives are like a mist, here and then gone.

Let’s make the most of the time that we have!

~Peter

In Faith in Real Life

Crossroads moments in life…

September 4, 2013 4 Comments

I recently wrote about what you do when you are waiting and asking why God is allowing something to happen. You can read that over here… Recently our church, Liquid Church has been doing a series called Crossroads. It is a series where we are taking a look back in order to know how we go forward. At some point in time we all face a crossroads moment in life. It’s one of those decision points that impact our future in a way that we can scarcely imagine when we are faced with that decision. Should we sell the house? Should you go back to grad school? Should you have a baby? Those are Crossroads decisions.

Jeremiah 6:16 says, “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Check out our series Crossroads.

~Peter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNd0qSxHVVw

(you may even recognize this guy right below)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q77hyAJKphM

In Faith in Real Life

Hunger: a nagging reminder

September 3, 2013 No Comments

When was the last time that your stomach truly hurt from being hungry? I’m not talking about the kind of hungry that we typically talk about… You know, the I’m starving, it’s-been-two-hours-since-I-had-a-cup-of-coffee-and-nibbled-on-a-donut kind of hungry. I’m also not talking about the I’m bored so I’m going to eat something hunger. I mean, how long has it been since you have really and truly been hungry?

Right now, as I write this I am actively trying to stave off the desire to go downstairs, head to my pantry and pull out any number of different snack assortments. Secretly I would surrender to my stomachs call for more if only I knew that I could chow down on some chips and salsa. What can I say, I’m a sucker for some good Tex Mex with my favorite being Chuy’s. UGH SO GOOD. I mean look at that salsa! So, what’s the deal with not eating? No. I don’t have an eating disorder. Rest at ease. This big boy is going to be just fine.

I’ve been reading Jen Hatmaker’s book 7 and I came across this quote from Martin Luther King Jr.

The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’

Do you see the difference there?

Often we think of ourselves first and foremost and others only when we have excess.

What if for once we flipped that on it’s head and thought of others first and worried about the excess later? I wonder what kind of a difference that would make in the world around me. And no, I don’t mean the whole, “Eat everything on your plate. Don’t you know that there are starving kids in India” schtick. I mean, what if instead of pampering myself I actually tended to the needs of others around me. What would it look like for me to take care of my elderly neighbors? What would it look like to serve the community that I live in?

What would it look like for me to experience discomfort so that others can experience comfort?

Do you remember the story of the lawyer who came to Jesus to try and stump him? Moron… But anyway. Here’s how it went down

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38This is the great and first commandment. 39And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:36-40

Crazy right? Have you ever thought about what Jesus meant by love your neighbor as yourself? There is no one in this world that I love more than me. For real. Just ask my wife! When my body says it needs sleep, I tend to that. When my body says I need food, I go get it. I do exactly what I want to do, when I want to do it. What would it look like if I loved my neighbor in that same way. What if I put their needs on the same level as my own?

I love what Jen Hatmaker says in her book. She says,

I’m going to bed tonight grateful for warmth, an advantage so expected it barely registers. May my privileges continue to drive me downward to my brothers and sisters without. Greater yet, I’m tired of calling the suffering “brothers and sisters” when I’d never allow my biological siblings to suffer likewise. That’s just hypocrisy veiled in altruism. I won’t defile my blessings by imagining that I deserve them. Until every human receives the dignity I casually enjoy, I pray my heart aches with tension an my belly rumbles for injustice.

So tonight I go to bed with my stomach asking for more. It’s a good reminder for me to ask my Heavenly Father to show me the ways that I can truly love my neighbors as myself. I am praying for eyes to see the Samaritan that needs help and to have the courage to be the one that embraces them. Time to see the excess in my life as not a means to increase my comfort but a way to care for others.

~Peter

In Faith in Real Life

Why is God so mysterious all the time?

September 2, 2013 No Comments

Have you ever figured out why life has happened the way that it has? I mean think about it… what has recently happened in your life that has left you scratching your head wondering, “why in the world did that happen?” For me it was a good buddy of mine who moved away. He was more than just a friend, he was someone who I was able to really “let down my hair with” (I know… I shave my head, and I don’t have hair… just go with it) and just be me. I shared my biggest fears in life, and my craziest goals with him. We’ve laughed together, and cried together. We’ve enjoyed some really great times together. Yet, now he’s gone. I get it why he left for him. But I don’t understand why for me. It seemed like God had provided me a friend, and a mentor. Why in the world would God take that away from me? What was it for you? What left you scratching your head wondering why?

This past June I graduated from Biblical Seminary. I have spent the last 3 years of my life pouring over books, writing countless papers, spending hundreds of hours in class listening to Prof’s and participating in discussions with the express purpose of knowing more about God and His mission here on Earth. Sometimes I feel like we try to figure God out so much that we actually reduce Him to something that we can comprehend! It’s a weird question, I know, but would you want to have a God that you could completely figure out?

Have you left room for the mystery of God?

One of my prof’s, Derek Cooper, wrote in his book Hazardous,

“We are all familiar with the adage that God works in mysterious ways, yet it is sometimes incredible how mysterious God can be. This leads me to a difficult question: how are we to respond to God when we cannot fully see what God is doing in this world?”

When God is acting mysteriously we need to choose, will we trust God or will we doubt Him? At Liquid Church we have a staff philosophy that when there is a void in a relationship, task, or responsibility that we will choose trust over suspicion. When those voids come up we will undoubtably fill them with something. The question is what, trust or suspicion? The same thing is true when it relates to God. When He is being all mysterious and God-like, will we choose to trust Him or be suspicious of Him?

Who knows God may do something incredible in the midst of your mystery. See that’s just it. It really isn’t that God doesn’t know what He is doing. It is that we do not know what He is up to! Romans 11:34 says, “For who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice?”

Let’s stop trying to figure God out completely and let’s start experiencing Him. It’s time we start trusting and embracing the mystery of who He is! Besides, I think it is more fun that way…

So, what is the hardest part for you? Trusting? The mystery? Or the space in between?

~Peter

In Faith in Real Life

Elisha, the boys and the bears

June 7, 2012 No Comments

Today’s guest post comes from David T. Lamb. I have had the privilege of having Dave as one of my professor’s at Biblical Theological Seminary. He has a love for teaching the word of God, and has a way of making it come to life! Dave is the author of the book “God Behaving Badly“. I have appreciated his input in my life.

I was sitting at the kitchen table. My teenage son Noah snuck up behind me, rubbed my bald spot and said, “Hey, Baldy, how’s it going?”

I cry out, “Where are the she-bears when you need them?”

In case you were never taught the story of Elisha, the boys and the bears in Sunday school, it’s found in 2 Kings 2:23-25.

He went up from there to Bethel; and while he was going up on the way, some small boys came out of the city and jeered at him, saying, “Go away, baldhead! Go away, baldhead!” ²⁴ When he turned around and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. ²⁵ From there he went on to Mount Carmel, and then returned to Samaria.

For those of us who love God and love to read his word, stories like this are problematic and so we just ignore them. But that makes us a bit like the proverbial ostrich with its head in the sand. Unfortunately, ignoring a problem doesn’t make it go away. Atheists certainly don’t ignore these stories.

While teaching this story recently I ran across a blog from Infidel guy (http://www.infidelguy.com/article168.html) who asks, “Would you worship a god that kills children just for calling a man bald?…Didn’t hear this story in Sunday school now did we?” Churches and Sunday schools avoid teaching stories like this.

When Paul taught, “All Scripture is inspired and profitable for teaching” (2 Tim. 3:16), do you think he meant 2 Kings 2:23-25? I’m pretty sure Paul had 2 Kings in mind in his letter to Timothy. For Paul, “Scripture” meant the Old Testament. I think Paul would want to us pull our heads out (of the sand) and do the work it’s going to take to understand tough texts so that we can teach them profitably. In order to help us do that I wrote God Behaving Badly: Is the God of the Old Testament Angry, Sexist and Racist?

What could we say to Infidel guy, or anyone who asks us about Elisha, the boys and the bears? I discuss this problematic passage in more detail in my book (p. 95-98), but I’ll make a couple of points here.

First, if someone asks you about a problematic passage of the Bible, affirm them. It takes courage and a willingness to take the text and the problem seriously. God isn’t afraid of our difficult questions. He can handle them. Scripture is full of faithful people asking God tough questions (Abraham, Moses, Gideon, the psalmist and even Jesus).

Second, these boys were not innocent pre-school-ers as Infidel guy wants us to believe, but they were a teenage gang and Elisha’s life was in danger. There were at least 42 of them. The text makes it clear that the boys were attacked, but not killed (see also 1 Kings 13:24; 20:36).

Third, prophets had been getting killed in record numbers by Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings 18:4, 14), so is reasonable that this one time God decided to dramatically protect one of his prophets against attack, particularly when we look at the other things Elisha was able to do. While I don’t fully understand the strength of Elisha’s response, since he was the 9^th century BC version of Mother Theresa, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, raising the dead and preventing a war (2 Kings 3-8), I think it’s OK to cut him a little slack here. I’m glad God protected his prophet.

As we keep reading, studying and teaching the tough texts of the Old Testament, we will deepen our love not only for his word, but also for God himself.

David T. Lamb teaches Old Testament at Biblical Seminary where he had the privilege of teaching Peter Gowesky in two classes (Genesis and Samuel-Kings) in the Winter and Spring of 2011. He blogs at http://davidtlamb.com/.

Image: http://www.stufffundieslike.com/2010/06/bible-stories-elisha-and-the-she-bears/

In Faith in Real Life

Building On Our Legacy: Christian Art

June 4, 2012 No Comments

When you think of Christian Art, what do you think of?

Thomas Kincade

The Jesus Painter

maybe if we are stretching it a bit even Kirk Cameron

Christian Art has been with us throughout the years. It has come in all different forms and styles. Christians didn’t really have their own art early on because much of it was destroyed in the early centuries. However, symbols began to emerge and over time as Christians started to develop their own cemeteries and places of worship, art began to take hold.

Why talk about art? This was supposed to be a series on people and the legacy that they have left. The art was developed by people, and the art tells a story of people. One of the earliest artistic symbols that has made it throughout the many years is the fish. The fish became very important to the Christian community because one of Jesus’ great miracles was to multiply the fish and the loaves and feed 5,000 people. Yet, even more than that miracle the fish became tied to the sacred time of communion. The fish was found in scenes throughout history and has taken on a symbolism of it’s own.

The Greek word for fish is ICHTHYS. This also was used as an acrostic for the phrase, “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior”. All of these things helped hold the Christian faith together. As the Church was forming and spreading throughout history, these symbols and more began to pop up all throughout art.

While in Israel, I took several pictures of some of the ancient art. Here are a few pictures…

As you can see, Christian Art has been around for centuries and will be for many more to come. It has played a pivotal role in the Christian faith.

So, here is a question for you. The Christian Fish has showed up all over the place. Where is the most interesting place that you have found the fish symbol? Tattoo, Bumper, T-shirt… what else?

~Peter

A great resource to read up on Christian History is a book by Justo L. Gonzalez called, “The Story of Christianity”. You can purchase it at Amazon.com here.

Building On Our Legacy: John Chrysostom

June 1, 2012 No Comments

If you had asked someone from Antioch in the year 400 if they knew John Chrysostom, no one would have known whom you were talking about. After explaining a bit more about whom you were looking for they would likely have said, “Oh, you mean John of Constantinople. Sure, everyone knows him! John of Constantinople did not get the name Chrysostom till at least a hundred years after his death. This man was used incredibly by God.

From the start he was a step ahead of the rest. John was a monk, but before becoming a monk he was a lawyer. He was trained by some of the best in the world. John was trained by the famous orator Libanius. Libanius was a Greek-speaking teacher of Rhetoric at the Sophist school. He was as good as they come. Libanius was once asked who should take his job when he was to retire. Libanius responded, that John Chrysostom should. However, Libanius quickly clarified, “that will not be possible because the Christians have laid claim on him.”

How cool is that? Chrysostom is the type of man that has added so much value that the world is clamoring to get a hold of him. I have often thought this, but never written much about it. The Church should be the one who is leading the charge in the arts and sciences. What if we produced the best work? So much so that the pagan teachers wished that they could be replaced by those who have dedicated their life and their craft to the Lord. Imagine! Well, that was this man John Chrysostom. Make no mistake about it, God was using him uniquely. God had empowered him to preach the gospel with skill and clarity. Chrysostom made it his goal to preach it faithfully.

Chrysostom was so desired that when the position of bishop opened up in Constantinople they had to take John by force to the town. They didn’t do this because John didn’t want to go. No, the people wouldn’t let him go! This was a man who was loved by all.

One of the many things that Chrysostom did was to bring about great reform to the church. For too long the church had gotten sloppy. They were sloppy with regard to their sexuality and their money. Hmmm… Good thing we don’t struggle with those issues anymore.

The priests who were supposed to be living celibate, or sex free, lives decided that wasn’t really for them. So they figured out that they could bring a “spiritual sister” into their home. This woman could stay with him since they weren’t married and that would scratch their itch. This was completely unacceptable to John. He set them straight by ensuring that the spiritual sisters were kicked out of the house and that these priests began living celibate lives.

With regard to the finances, John found that the church was entirely too ornate and wealthy. It wasn’t that the ornateness by itself was an issue, however the ornateness paired with the growing poverty in the streets around the churches made this a horrific tragedy in his mind. The church was spending money on itself while abandoning the needs of the people. John turned to craigslist. He just went off and craigslisted a bunch of stuff the church owned in order to meet the needs of those around him. (okay, not really craigslist… But you know what I mean!)

This made John an incredibly popular man, while at the same time making him an incredibly hated man. John, however, could handle this. John preached a message that sounded much like the script of the movie Blood Diamond. He says this, “The gold bit in your horse, the gold circlet on the wrist of your slave, the gilding on your shoes, mean that you are robbing the orphan and starving the widow. When you have passed away, each passer-by who looks upon your great mansion will say, ‘How many tears did it take to build that mansion; how many orphans were stripped; how many widows wronged; how many laborers deprived of their honest wages?’ Even death itself will not deliver you from your accusers.” WOW!

John preached the word faithfully, from his heart, with incredible skill time and time again from one of the largest churches in all of Christendom, Hagia Sophia. This is one of the reasons that John Chrysostom has left the legacy that he has. Even when he was exiled for preaching the truth no matter what it cost he remained faithful. The emperor Arcadius banished Chrysostom to the smallest town he could find. The goal was to minimize the voice of John Chrysostom. This didn’t stop John. John may not have had a pulpit, but he had a pen. He began to write. Thankfully he did. We have many of his works today because of the writing that took place then.

John Chrysostom on his deathbed traveled to a small church in order to take communion. At this small church John uttered some of the most beautiful words that could have come out of this legends mouth. He said, “In all things, glory to God. Amen.”

John of Constantinople was given the name Chrysostom because it means golden tongue. John’s colleagues and his own teacher wanted him to teach and lead in the market place. John was wanted by everyone and on all sides. However, John didn’t give in. He remained faithful to the calling that God had placed on his life. He preached the word faithfully and with great courage.

I would like to thank John Chrysostom for being an example of humility and also of integrity for the church. I wish that we had learned from you early on.

~Peter

A great resource to read up on Christian History is a book by Justo L. Gonzalez called, “The Story of Christianity”. You can purchase it at Amazon.com here.

We Love Outreach Highlights

May 31, 2012 No Comments

Last weekend Liquid Church’s Morristown Campus gathered together to partner with New Jersey Aids Services to totally ‘makeover’ their house. It was an incredible weekend. You can read more about it in a post I wrote last week.

We had well over 300 people serve more than a total of 1000+ man hours. I am completely amazed at what has been done in our community by Liquid Church Volunteers. In our staff meeting this past week someone mentioned that they were talking to one of the residents of the New Jersey Aids Services home and they said this:

I know that God loves me because of what you guys are doing.

WOW! That is incredible. I am proud of our Church. Liquid Church, thanks for taking seriously what Jesus said in John 13:34-35

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

It was good to see Christ on display for the community in Morristown, NJ. It doesn’t stop here either! Liquid New Brunswick and Liquid Nutley are each doing a weekend of serving this weekend too! I can’t wait to hear about the stories from their outreaches too.

Here is a Highlight Video from this past weekend here in Morristown. To check out some of the pictures taken that weekend click here.

~Peter

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/43065380]

Check out an article that the Daily Record wrote about what Liquid did last weekend.

Here is an article that the New Brunswick Patch has on what Liquid New Brunswick is doing.

In Faith in Real Life

Building On Our Legacy: Augustine of Hippo

May 30, 2012 2 Comments

Over the course of the next several days, I’d like to take a look at a few individuals who have made a significant impact on our Christian History. These individuals have lived exemplary lives and are worth talking about. The issue is that very often we get hung up on the latest and greatest names. Believe me I love these people too, the Francis Chan’s of the world. But what about the St. Francis’ of yesteryear? There is so much that we can learn from them and the contributions that they have made to the Christian faith.

No matter who you are, where you come from, or what language you speak, you have probably heard of a guy by the name of Saint Augustine. Saint Augustine, before he was known as such was known as the son of Monica. Monica’s little boy, Augustine, was really smart and he showed a ton of potential. So much potential that his parents decided to invest everything they had into his education. They gave up all of their savings in order to send him to the finest schools that money could buy. Eventually his parents money ran out and he had to return home. This wasn’t the end of his education. There were others who saw incredible talent in Augustine. He was able to go to Carthage to continue his studies and while in Carthage he became a student of rhetoric. This means that he learned how to speak and write convincingly. You could say that Augustine became a rock star communicator.

Interestingly enough, Augustine wasn’t at first concerned with what he was communicating. His only concern was that he was communicating. It was only after reading Cicero, (a master speaker, and philosopher) that Augustine felt like the content of what he was communicating mattered just as much as the fact that he was communicating. He became convinced that he also needed to seek the truth.

Soon, Augustine in his quest for truth decided that he would abandon his professorship in order to attain that which was most important, truth. Augustine had two main issues with the truth that Christianity taught. One issue was that the Bible seemed to present the truth in such a lowly way. It didn’t fit into his neat little molds and forms that his background in rhetoric allowed for. The second thing was that he couldn’t understand how if God was so good, that He could allow/create evil. These were the issues that Augustine spent many years wrestling through.

Augustine decided that he would devote his entire life to Christ. He would not be lukewarm about anything. He would be completely sold out to the Christian faith. One of the things that Augustine wrestled with in this decision was the fact that he knew this meant his life had to change. See, Augustine liked the things of this world. Augustine liked the women, the life, and every other thing that he desired. This would have to change. He struggled through an intense time where he had to figure out who was going to rule in his life. Would it be Sin, or would it righteousness? He eventually chose righteousness.

As Augustine’s fame grew, so did his platform. He was eventually ordained to serve as Bishop of Hippo. As Bishop of Hippo, Augustine began to make a huge impact on the Christian world. He wrestled with thoughts and questions that have set up future generations of believers. It is because of his time here that he has become one of the most influential theologians. Two things that Augustine determined that have forever shaped our lives. The first is that Augustine was a champion for Free Will. He believed that man had a free will and was not a slave to whatever God wanted him to do. This was huge. The other major contribution that Augustine made was his Just War Theory. This theory stated that there was a right time and also a wrong time to go to war. For a war to be just it must never be fought over territorial ambitions, or to exercise power. It must be fought and led by proper authorities and lastly it also must be motivated by love. On top of these things, Augustine also made significant contribution to the literary world. He wrote many works, with one of his most famous works being “Confessions”.

Augustine has been one of the most influential theologians throughout the centuries. But one of the most interesting things about Augustine is that he was a normal guy like you and me. He wasn’t born with a halo around his head. In fact, quite the contrary, this dude lived a wild life. He grew tired of that, and found that he needed to change. It was at the point of change that God grabbed a hold of him and rocked the world.

What would it look like if God got a hold of your life? I bet He could rock the world through you too!

~Peter

A great resource to read up on Christian History is a book by Justo L. Gonzalez called, “The Story of Christianity”. You can purchase it at Amazon.com here.