Thursday, November 5, 2009

A Hard Pill to Swallow

To grow in Christ, we must look closely at ourselves and see what we really are. The problem with that…it’s a hard pill to swallow. We don’t like what we see, and therefore excuse away the problems. We try hard to justify the things we do wrong. We try and hide our sins under a rug, not realizing that others can see the lump in the middle of that rug. They might not know what the problem really is, but a problem is evident in the person’s life. It’s a visible lump in our rug. As it’s been said, “Integrity is doing the right thing, even if nobody is watching.” And my take on this is, live your life as if someone is always watching, because He is. Hard enough pill to swallow?

Rodney

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

How Do I Study the Bible?

First let me say...while reading the Bible, a text with no context is pretext. When you read a verse, ensure that you read those verses around it, thereby understanding the passage and the context in which the verse is used. Misinterpretation is usually the product of singling out a verse from within a passage and making an interpretation out of context. This is why Inductive Bible Study is my favorite method of study.

Inductive Bible Study is to Observe, Interpret, and then Apply what’s learned. Here’s the plain English version…


First off...Surround your Bible study in prayer, and allow for a two way communication between you and God...leave your self open to His word.

Read a FULL passage and take note of the following (some example questions):

Observe

a. When was it written, around what year?
b. Who was it written to, or who was it written for?
c. What are the key words in the passage?
d. What is the main subject of the passage?

Interpret – How would someone from that time period interpret what was written?

Apply – How does it apply to you?

Like I said, this is a very basic explanation of Inductive Bible Study, for more information go to: http://www.intothyword.org/pages.asp?pageid=53489

Also, make sure you document (write down) everything from Observation thru Application.

Rodney

Monday, September 14, 2009

IN THE WORLD, BUT NOT OF IT!

Proverbs 1:10-19 (NIV)

10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them.
11 If they say, "Come along with us; let's lie in wait for someone's blood, let's waylay some harmless soul;
12 let's swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
13 we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder;
14 throw in your lot with us, and we will share a common purse"-
15 my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths;
16 for their feet rush into sin, they are swift to shed blood.
17 How useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds!
18 These men lie in wait for their own blood; they waylay only themselves!
19 Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it.

When I read this passage, it made me think about when I first got my son started in BMX racing. We’d go to the track to practice, and I constantly had to fight with him about keeping his helmet on. He used to use the excuse, “The other kids aren’t wearing them.” Which is an excuse, not just used by kids, it’s an excuse that adults use as well. The hardest concept for him to understand was, “Just because a lot of people are doing something wrong doesn’t make it right, it makes a whole lot of people wrong.” And we have to ask, are we going to be wrong with them, or are we willing to be strong enough to do the right thing even in the face of ridicule and the possibility of loosing friends? The truth is, we can easily make new friends…and if they would lead you astray are they really your friends to begin with?

When we take this passage, and keep it in mind as we read the New Testament, we notice something amazing about Jesus. Living, eating and drinking amongst sinners, Jesus never once sinned, even though he was faced with temptation. Jesus is the prime example of being in the world, but being not of the world.

Rodney

Friday, August 28, 2009

A Sad Day for the Body

I grew-up as an ELCA Lutheran, as did my father and my grandfather. Matter of fact, my grandfather was baptized in the same church that he has been a member of for more than eighty, yes...that's correct, more than 80 years...St. James Lutheran Church in Holland, Indiana. However, his hart is now broken, along with a mojority of those that are perishoners in the ELCA. As the clergy have cast aside the Scripture to apeise the world. And for those that would say that "Times have changed." understand, God does not. And for those that say that it was an Old Testement issue, and that the New Testement takes away the law, read Matthew 5:17-20

17"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."

Pray for the ELCA.

Rodney

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

God Disciplines Those That Are His

I had an interesting evening last night. We went to BMX practice, and everything was going great! As I was sitting on the starting hill, resting with my helmet off, I decided to do an easy lap…so I didn’t feel that my helmet was necessary. (HA!) This became a wonderful opportunity for God, our Father, to teach me a good lesson…and he did. The one time that I went with-out the required safety gear, I went down hard, and face first. I give him thanks for not messing me up to bad, I have a small sand burn on my chin and cheek…it could have been a lot worse. So, when we are doing something wrong, and we get caught, in trouble or hurt…remember, God does love you, and He wants the best for you. And sometimes…we need disciplined to learn our lessons.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

At the Gates

While sitting at the gates for a race, we sit there thinking through every hill, every table-top, and every turn. We run the start through our heads making sure that our bodies will react with precision and every ounce of skill that we possess. The amount of concentration taking place at the starting gate is so thick you can smell it. And when that gate drops we push with every spark of energy we have to make the best run of our lives. On the other hand, we wake up in the morning, take our showers, eat breakfast and get dressed for work, with very little enthusiasm. When we get to work, we approach it with distaste and mediocrity. We slowly push ourselves through our day trying to utilize as little energy as we can get away with. When we get home we straiten up the house and plop our selves down in front of the Television for an evening of slacking off, only moving from our Lazy-Boy to refill our glass of tea…and even that takes weighing our options.

The questions: Which way do we approach our relationship with Jesus and the path that he places before us? Do we approach it the way we approach the big race, with excitement and our absolute best? Or do we approach it with a slothful dislike as we approach a job that we really don’t want to do? Think on it.

Rodney

Friday, March 20, 2009

Getting Back on Target

For the last few post, I’ve been off the target for this blog…I’ve become very passionate about the ADA Tour de Cure and BMX4C. Which by the way…we hit our $1000.00 goal for the Tour de Cure! Okay…back on target…

The purpose of this blog is to answer the questions, “Why do Christians…?” There’s several ways that this question can end, and I’ll make sure that my next post hit’s the blog’s mark. Thanks.


Rodney

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Coming Soon...BMX4C!

I’ll be starting a new Blog very soon. Don’t worry; I’ll still be posting on this one. We got some great news the other day. J and I have started BMX racing…yes at 35 (almost 36) years of age…I’ve started BMX racing. J will be racing, and I figured, if I’m at the track all day with him, I might as well be racing. ANYWAY...back to the point of this blog entry.
We’ll be starting a BMX Racing Ministry…and it was J’s idea! We’ll be providing bikes, helmets, jersey’s, gloves and NBL Licensing fees for 10 – 20 Kids in low income families or foster care. On a whim, I sent an email to SE Bike Company (BMX Bike Manufacture) to see if they would be interested in participating. In less the 24 hours I got a call from SE’s local area representative, not only do they want to help, but they are very excited about the project! It’s so amazing, how God opens doors for us when we are following His will! I’ve started putting together a lot of what we need, the Board of Directors, By-laws, Name copy right, 501C3…BMX4C is hitting the ground running (errr…Biking). We’ll still need prayer support, so one of the biggest ways people can help right now, is keep praying for BMX4C to be a success! I’ll be putting together a BMX4C website and blog very soon, so you’ll be able to track our ministry progress. I’ll try to get some pictures next weekend from the track with J and I. See y’all later! Go to:
www.bmx4c.com

Rodney

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

WinterJam

We took our youth to Winterjam this last Sunday night and the 13 year old boy that my wife and I are adopting got to go. It became a very profound night for him, as Tony Nolan shared his story, a story of living in foster care and adoption. J didn't really talk about it, but you could tell by the look on his face during the story that he was deeply affected. I'm glad that he got to see that Children from the system can succeed in life.

Link: Winterjam09

Rodney

Friday, February 13, 2009

American Diabetes Association: Tour de Cure

I know this one is a bit off from the purpose of this blog, however…

I recently accepted the challenge (with Cyclist for Christ) of cycling in the American Diabetes Association's Tour de Cure fund-raising event. The Tour de Cure is a series of cycling events held in over 80 cities nationwide. The Tour is a ride, not a race; it features different route lengths from a family-friendly 10-mile course to a challenging 100-mile journey. We’re doing the full 100 miles! I have joined thousands of others to pedal in support of the Association's mission: to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes.

I am asking you to help by supporting my fund-raising efforts with a donation. Your tax-deductible gift will make a difference in the lives of more than 23 million Americans who suffer from diabetes and over 57 million people in the United States with pre-diabetes.

It's fast and easy to support this great cause - you can make your donation online by clicking
HERE to support me.

Any amount, great or small, helps in the fight against this deadly disease. I greatly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on my progress. If you want to do even more to help, please consider joining me in this great event. Our efforts will help set the pace in the fight against diabetes.

To go to the Cyclist for Christ page click
HERE.

More information on the American Diabetes Association, its programs and diabetes in general can be found at the Association's Web site: http://www.diabetes.org/

For more information on Tour de Cure, please visit www.diabetes.org/tour.

Thanks!

Rodney

Thursday, January 29, 2009

India

Remember to pray for our Christian brothers and sisters in India.

Rodney

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

God's Time

My wife and I have been in the adoption process for the last 13-14 months. We’ve been trying to adopt an older child who’s been in the system for over 2 years. And to bring things to light I’ll give you some nation wide numbers to chew on that I got from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources, Administration for Children and Families:

In Foster Care: 510,000 Children
Goal for Adoption: 117,380 Children
Actually Adopted: 50,379 Children

Those numbers are right here in the United States. When you look at those numbers, you wonder, why does the adoption process can take so long? We have become a Fast Food and internet nation, we want everything to be done “RIGHT NOW!” We want everything at our fingertips with no delays from the time we push the button to the action that we are requesting. However, with adoption, you can’t be like that. If you jump at the first child that comes across, you may have settled for a child that has more problems then you can handle.

Through this process, my wife and I have learned what it really means to wait…and wait…and…uhm…wait. We’ve had to accept that we needed God to bring us the child that he wants for us. Sometimes we just have to let thing happen in God’s time, not ours.

Rodney

Monday, January 26, 2009

The Flying V


I started cycling not to long ago to keep in shape. A friend of mine asked me to join in on a Saturday group ride, which I wasn’t sure I’d be ready for. I had been Mountain Biking; however, the idea of riding 30 plus miles worried me. I didn’t feel that I’d be able to keep up with the group. Saturday came…my anxiety level was a little high, as had stated…I was a little worried about keeping up. We started the ride, and it wasn’t log before I discovered that I was barely pedaling. We had formed into a line and I began to understand that the man in front was pulling everyone else along…like the geese flying south for the winter in their well known “Flying V”. When the lead rider would get tiered, he would drop out and file back in line at the rear to get pulled along by the group and a new leader would take his place keeping the same pace. When we got done with the ride, I was shocked…I could of done another thirty miles.

A few days later, I figured I’d ride my bike to work. It was 18.7 miles and mostly flat. The weather was looking good with no real wind to speak of, so I thought I’d give it a shot. What I didn’t count on was how hard those 18.7 miles were going to be without the group. I made it to work, but my legs were spent, and I did it at about three quarters of the pace. WOW! Major difference!

The same can be said for our walk as Christians. There is this overwhelming dislike for Churches (Organized Religion, as some would call it) amongst people that call themselves believers. The number of unchurched Christians is staggering. But how are they really doing with their walk? Who is helping them stay accountable? And who is rejuvenating them when they get spiritually tired? And who helps them through the tough times when the devil tries to turn their lives upside-down? It’s said that a coal that falls far from the fire only burns half as long. Hmmm…..

After my experience with cycling…I’d much rather ride in a group...spiritually...then by my self anyday.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

A Little More on Adoption

If you’ve ever thought about adoption of an older child, you need to consider the way we treat God and His adoption of us. When a child is introduced into your home, at first there might be a lot of, or an appearance of extreme joy from the child. There’s this fairy-tale vision of how things will be in a family, as if, they will get what ever their little heart desires…a dream world…a fantasy, that there’ll never be another problem. But as normality set’s in, the children take on a different type of behavior. We start to see the self centeredness, and start to get some rebellion, or maybe a better explanation, complacency to the house rules. They seem to loose interest in the family. Now, this is not about every child in an adoptive home, but simply some.

The same can be said about our adoption by God. When we first become Christians, we are so excited! We are beaming with Joy! Then as time goes on, we become complacent with or try to reinterpret God’s house rules, we become rebellious and fight change. We forget about the grace, God’s Grace that allowed us to be adopted in the first place. We forget that God did not owe us anything and we start treating God as if he does. God does not owe us anything, but he gives to us simply because he loves us, just as we give to our children out of love.

Rodney