Last year I finally started a project that I had been wanting to for a few years. For the first time around it, went really well. This year we are doing it again. Throughout the month of December I invite you to come rediscover the season of the Savior. The Bearded Christmas is a celebration for what Christmas is really about. Take a break from wrapping presents. Find some quiet from the holiday crowds. Pour yourself a cup of coffee or hot coco and let’s dive into the season that we know as Christmas.

From December 1st-25th visit The Bearded Christmas for a daily Christmas Bible reading, discussions about the season, videos, and Polaroid pictures. Hope to see you there.

The Bearded Christmas

Do you have a screen protector for your phone? You may even have one of those phone tanks, also know as, a case that can protect it from a nuclear explosion. Ever since I have owned my first smart phone, it has had a screen protector on it. After a few months I replaced it. When I pulled off the old one it was all scratched up and hazy. It did it’s job protecting the phone screen from my spare change, keys, drops, and everything else about my life that can be hard on things. When I looked at my phone, it was still brand new. The screen was perfect. A phone screen protector is a very simple addition. It is just a piece of plastic with a sticky side.

We are willing to go out of our way to protect our phones. Are we willing to go out of the way to protect our lives? Are we willing to do small things to protect our spiritual lives? Screen protectors in our lives take the brunt of the abuse so we do not take them directly. What is a life screen protector? Any method, habit, object, etc that we put in the way of us and temptation to sin. My objective is not to list a bunch of rules to help you obey the rules. Rules on rules only mess things up. What I am talking about are putting practices in place to guard yourself. These practices are for you. These are not things that you force on someone else. That promotes legalism.

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What we can learn from Conan O’Brien’s difficult and premature departure from NBC:

• Things ending in a difficult manner do not erase all the good of the past.
• Be grateful for what you have.
• Working hard and being kind incubates amazing things.
• Cynicism will get you no where.
• It takes a team of amazing people.
• Make sad moments happy ones.
• You do what you love, even if it’s in a 7 Eleven Parking lot.
• He did the dream job of every comedian for seven months, and is thankful.

Why are there not more Christians in America this thankful for the lives God has blessed them with? Everyone in America is more wealthy then most of the world. Why do we complain so much?

“Only a child gets prayer answered; a wise man does not.” – Oswald Chambers

The devotional My Utmost For His Highest has had a profound influence on my life. God has used the words in this book to speak to me on several occasions. Often a statement from the book leaves me thinking for days. The quote above is one such statement.

Wisdom is important. Knowledge is useful. Faith is mandatory. Works are a must. Worship is life. Prayer is essential. Yet, Jesus told us in Luke 9:48 ”Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.” In Luke 18:16-17 He said, ”Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” Let us also mention what Jesus said in Matthew 18:4 “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

When Jesus talks about being great He always refers to a child as an example.

No matter how much we grow in our faith and walk with Jesus, always remember we are a child of God. We are not God’s brother or sister. We are not God’s sidekick. We are not going to impress God by what we know or how holy we make ourselves. God will never love us any more or any less than He already does. We can be called God’s children because of what Jesus did for us with His life, death on a cross, and resurrection.

Have faith and pray like a child. Remember this.

It is time to address something. It is time some people come to understand some things about me. Really, it is not about me. Even though I am involved.

There is no way I could have predicted the past three years. But, the past years have come as a natural result of decisions made and principles followed.

Over the recent years my musical career is actually starting to look like a career. I have met people that I thought I would never have a conversation with. Opportunities have came that many people would give up body parts for. I have traveled to places many people long to visit. And I can go on and on about the many blessings that have come my way.

When I update my Twitter and Facebook about some of my opportunities, I get responses like “I’m jealous,” “Lucky,” and “How did you get that hook up?” Sometimes I get the impression from people that I am just more “Lucky” than them and I just randomly had these opportunities handed to me.  Or God has supernaturally opened doors for me and not others; which is true, but not in the way that you think.

I am no one special. I want to make that clear. That can be confirmed by all the people who have scratched their heads at how I have these opportunities and they do not. They scratch their heads because they know I am no one special. My sins are many. My imperfections are countless.

People who live interesting lives, do interesting things. Those who get interesting opportunities are those who follow certain principles and make certain decisions. It really is that simple.

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When we go to church we look for sermons we want to hear and music that we prefer. We want the environment to look just right. We want our visual senses pleased. We want all the right entertainment for our kids. We want our teenagers in a safe place. We do not want to be put in a challenging situation. When we serve, it must be clean and easy. We want to be acknowledged for what we do for God. We want to leave feeling better about ourselves.

Is this how the Bride of Christ is to act?

And Jesus said to all, ”If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. – Luke 9:23-26 ESV

Will we pick up the Cross of Christ or will we worship ourselves?

While we are at it, I must share my favorite church service video. Enjoy!

If you are viewing this post in a RSS Reader or email and do not see the videos, go to the site to view.

We live in a very spiritual time. Even though Atheism gets a lot of press, a belief in a higher power still dominates the minds of about everyone who lives on the planet. The current generation growing up that is beginning to enter the workforce (The Millennials), are more spiritual than their parent’s generation. If this is the case then why is the Church in decline? “According to church consultant Bill Easum, 85 percent of the churches in the United States have either plateaued or are dying,” says Dave Kraft in his book Leaders Who Last. Kraft continues by asking the question, “When are we going to wake up and deal with ego and insecurity and humbly take roles that God intended for us, rather than those we desire for the wrong reasons.”

What am I getting at? Being spiritual makes us feel better. It does not make us more obedient. Being spiritual makes us feel better about our lives the way they are. Being obedient to Jesus means we become more obedient to His example and follow His call.

Unfortunately, many church organizations have become more focused on giving a spiritual experience instead of calling to the people as Jesus did, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” – Matthew 28:19-20 ESV.

Understand that Jesus did not give this charge to just pastors. It is logistically impossible for pastors to do all the discipling. He gave this charge to everyone who would claim Jesus as their Lord.

It must be noted that Jesus said “Go” before He said “make disciples.” “Going” is not attending a building on Sundays and coming out feeling spiritual. Attending a building on Sundays is doing us no good unless it is empowering you to “Go.” The call of God is to everyone. Very few respond.

Do not be spiritual. Be obedient to Jesus, who came to save us from ourselves. Jesus concludes His call to us in Matthew 28 by telling us to observe what He taught.

Go disciple others with what He taught.

I did it. Finally. I did it. The world of the smart phone is now my world. For a fairly tech savy person, it may seem weird that I got my first smart phone over four years after the release of the first iPhone.

You could say that I am not an early adopter. I have never felt the need to get the latest and greatest as soon as it came out. Back in high school it was not the iPhone or some tech gadget, it was Nike’s Air Jordans or Sony’s Walkman. Never owned any Air Jordans and I had cheaper portable CD player instead of the Walkman.

Getting an expensive phone meant it had to be beneficial to what I do. Within the first few days I needed to see that it helped me be more productive and not something that I waste more time with. I do not need anymore distractions. It needed to help me pursue my goals and move life forward.

It is working so far. This post has been written on my phone while on my way to work. Writing more is one of my goals. No, I am not driving. It has also helped me in dealing with the logistics of being an active musician. It has helped to make some communication easier. Now I just have to keep it that way.

What is the moral of the story? As a follower of Jesus we must weigh carefully what we accept into our lives. Even if is something that everyone is doing. As our lives interact with our culture we must be careful that the things we let into our lives aid our walk with Jesus and not become something that distracts or hinders us.

Using this phone will change my life like it has for many of you. Please use it to wisely. Remember that your phone will only last for a short time. Following Jesus will last for eternity.

Everyone at one time, or all the time if you are like me, wonder what it is all about. Does living the life following Jesus really matter? Am I truely making an impact in peoples lives? Do I matter? You do everything you can to serve people. Because serving everyone is how you live a great life (according to Jesus). Like me, I am sure you thought a simple thank you would be nice. Or you thought it would be swell if someone actually helped you when you really needed it. You go out of the way for many people, but that’s it. No thank you, a pat on the back, or even props on Facebook.

Many people will leave a church organization because they were never thanked for what they did. People have turned their back on God because they did not get the recognition they thought they deserved.

No one stood at the cross to thank Jesus for what he was doing or what he did for them while he was breathing his last few breaths.

If you are looking for praise and recognition in following Jesus, then you are on the wrong path. You are missing the point. Yes, I realize I am being slightly harsh, but it is the truth. To seek out praise from people means you are seeking something for self.

Jesus told us ”Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” -Matthew 6:19-21 ESV

You might be thinking, “How can moth and rust destroy the thanks and recognition of people?”

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“Get this book into your gut; get the words of this book moving through your bloodstream; chew on these words and swallow them so they can be turned into muscle and gristle and bone.” – Eugene Peterson, Eat This Book

In the modern American church organization there is a drive to have the right look, the right smile, the right music, the right lighting, the right media, the right delivery, the right whatever else. Modern Americans are even very interested in spiritual things. But, what spiritual things? Christians have become very spiritual, apposed to the works-based, dry, ridged attitude of decades past(this attitude still exists in a major way, but we will not get into that right now). You could even say there has been a spiritual resurgence over the past couple decades. But, what has this done to change the condition of our lives and our culture. Not a whole lot, but I am not an expert.

Why? Why isn’t the condition of our culture improved? We are more spiritual. We are more relevant. We threw out the organ. We had a young, hip graphic designer craft our new logo. We use Apple computers. Our guitar players have Telecasters and delay pedals.

Being spiritual only does one thing. It makes us feel better. That is it. It makes us feel better about the same life that we lived before we became spiritual. Being spiritual does not save the world. It does not lower the divorce rate. It will not keep your kids off drugs. Being spiritual may raise Sunday attendance and will cause a short term change in one’s life, but not long term. Being spiritual is about feeling better about yourself. That feeling will come and go. Now doesn’t that shed light on all these come and go Christians?

These come and go Christians are responsible for their own lives, but it is perpetuated on Sundays with it’s snazzy feel good packaging.

How am I following Christ today? I grew up with the organ on Sunday mornings. We had no gaming systems in our youth room. The church I grew up going to had all the dry and traditional things that get complained about. But, it had one thing. The most important thing. My pastor, Sunday school teacher, and youth leaders “Ate this book.”

Eat what book?

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