Handing out Loaded Weapons

Growing up in the Northwest, we have few in the way of Large cities, sure there is Portland and farther to the north is Seattle, but if you truly want to get lost in the woods, there are few places that you can't do it in a two hour drive. I was born and raised in Springfield, and grew up with a fishing pole in my hands. I know several different techniques for catching trout, bass, and an assortment of other things. I shoot guns, I've been hunting for grouse, deer, elk, and the occasional cougar or bear. My brother and I used to live near enough to each other that we would go hunting together in the fall and often times would take his son with us. Gunner is now 8. and I can't imagine Jared or anyone responsible handing him a gun and sending him off in the woods to bring back a big one. He could hurt him self in many ways or worse...

In December of 2004 I was brought into the world of Christianity through baptism, though I know now what all the commitments that I made with the water rite, I didn't know then. Once I was out of the water and dry, I was handed a bible and sent out in the world. A bible... a Bible... mm... A BIBLE!!! I don't know how to use a bible. Sure I can read, and I know the stories as well as most casual observers of Sunday doctrine, but what am I going to do with a bible. I would never have understood the absurdity of this if I never understood that the bible is indeed a weapon. Going back to the discussion about my nephew, he knows how to shoot a gun, he was trained from the time he could walk, you point the barrel at the ground, never point at anyone, and always be aware of everyone around you before and after you shoot, and if you should even shoot.

Hand me a bible and I'm ready to go save the world, right? Absolutely not! I can do as much damage with a bible in my hand trying to win souls to the Lord as I could with an AK47, unless someone took the time to properly train me. I never was, I still don't have the confidence to hand out such a lethal weapon as a bible because I know that I'm in no way ready to start teaching someone to use it. Or am I?

I've become a member of the training team at SFC and in the process of developing team unity, we've worked hard to make sure that the members of the team as individuals are strong foundations of Christ's love. I wonder about myself sometimes and know that I fall as often as I soar, but at the end of the day, I know right from wrong and can teach that to others. I may not be able to start an Army of the Lord on my own, but I can begin to teach them the necessary fundamentals of Christs love. After all, I was told the rules of handling a gun before I was ever handed one.

Summertime Jesus

I've been told by a few different people that the summer isn't a time that you want to start any sort of class at Springfield Faith Center. Attendance falls and getting people to commit to a class between summer vacations and just the break that people seem to take when the weather gets nice is all but unheard of. Chatting with several people about my wishes for a class have returned just as many comments as to what would work and why I shouldn't begin a class.

First, one of the elders, a very good friend of mine, managed to discourage my desire to have a Wild at Heart group take place by emphasizing the lack of attendance that the summer classes will draw. He has a huge heart for Christ and I was was left scratching my head as to why he would be opposed to the class and not help me discover ways to draw people to such a class. I have promptly ignored this discouragement and am proceeding with plans to start this July.

Second was the real encouragement that I received from the church staff. Pastor Steve feels the same way that I do about summer time, and if attacks by the enemy don't quit during the summer why on Earth should we step aside from fellowship and growth in these times that they are most needed. Ignoring the Devil doesn't make him go away. We discussed my wishes for a group to start and he has encouraged me and pointed me in the right direction.

Which brings me to Paul. Paul is head of Men's Ministry at SFC and I was hoping for if not expecting his enthusiasm behind a Wild at Heart group forming. From the first, he tried to steer me away from this course, but now he seems to be as eager as I am to get this group going. I'm hoping that my age will be an encouragement to many of the people in the Men's group to get their own groups going, as well as attend mine. I would very much like to take a turn at the class as a student before I dive in head first and try to lead one.

Continuing to move forward has brought a few words of encouragement from many of the guys that I have told about it. I have been informed that the best way to move forward is to first find someone to help me lead the group. This is where I got stuck and then just out of the blue a name popped into my head, Dan Lanning! Dan is the son of the Senior Pastor and he and I have been friends since high school. As of yet, I have asked Dan to help me move forward with this class and have not received confirmation from him one way or the other. I have no other people in mind, and I think the combination of Dan and myself might encourage others of our age to join in the class, which is really one of my main goals. I have several soft commitments from people wishing to join in the class and look forward to seeing who is truly willing to commit to the summer class. Depending on how well it goes, I may continue to push the class along and teach on in the winter and return to it next summer to a whole new round of discouragement. Right now, however, I'm going ahead with the idea, and am meeting with Paul to set up dates and times of when to get started. Once committed, I'm in this for the summer.

Death is light as a feather, Duty is heavier than a mountain.

Let's break this down first. I didn't come up with this quote on my own. I have this ability to read books and retain a bunch of the knowledge at a high rate, and this comes from one of the many fantasy novels that I've read lately. The main character is complaining about his life, and how difficult things are right now and his friend, an older warrior, quotes this headline at him.

The first half, Death is light as a feather....
The wages of Sin is Death. How easy is it to step out of line, to commit some sin, and Die! It takes no effort, it takes less than no effort, you sin without even trying, it's an inevitable thing that just happens. This burden of sin is light as a feather to carry around until you realize that it is your duty as a child of the Ever Living God to not sin, to walk the straight and narrow.

Duty is heavier than a Mountain...
God doesn't expect us to walk the path alone. If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can tell that mountain to throw itself down. In the every day rigors of life, it's easy to forget God and try to go your own way, but keeping up with God is essential to moving that mountain. With Christ as the center of your existence, the mountain weighs nothing, and you can carry it.

My recent past going back just a few years has been anything but a glory to God. I've tried it on my own and been crushed by that mountain. It took getting arrested to see that my way wasn't the best, and finally I needed to pursue Christ with my whole heart, though I still fall on my face, I'm replacing the people that supported my sin, with those that bolster my faith, lift me up, and pray for me nearly every day. I'm in the word more often than not, and gather other literature on every aspect of the Christian Life. I'm not perfect and never will be, but with Christ all things are possible.

Some kind of beginning

Since there is likely going to be no one reading this for quite a while, and this blog will sit lonely for some time, I should point out that I created this blog with the hopes that I would be putting daily devotionals and my journals from various books that I read. I am not the best at keeping these up-to-date, but I will try my best to keep up with it.