Tuesday, December 30, 2008
"Biblically I am a Masterpiece" by Pastor Brian Adleman
You ever get those thoughts about how you are useless, no-good, not skinny enough, not strong enough, not cool enough, etc? Man, we all get these thoughts, but the thing is these thoughts are all lies. This world feeds us this garbage everyday. You can’t turn the TV on or listen to the radio without having some lie plastered in your head, making us feel less important in this huge world. I used to be depressed thinking I was worthless, but then I found truth about who I was. God says that we are a “Masterpiece” in Ephesians 2:10. The definition of Masterpiece is “the most outstanding work of a creative artist or craftsman.” A Masterpiece is not worthless. In Colossians 1:22 it says “Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.” When I read that, it just clicked in my head and in my heart. The world says we are nothing, but God the Truth says that we are HOLY, BLAMELESS, and WITHOUT FAULT. We are truly a Masterpiece; don't let the world or anyone else tell you differently.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Addiction: Perfection or Problem?
by Noah Nickel
There’s this show on TV called “Intervention.” I’ve watched a few episodes, and then last night I caught the new one with my wife. If you are unfamiliar with this show let me give you a quick run-down. The show is based on individuals who are addicts; people who are facing problems with drugs, alcohol, eating disorders, and the like. The show follows them around filming them. The ‘addict’ thinks they are partaking in a documentary on addiction, but what is really happening is that they are about to have an intervention by their family and friends for one final plea for them to go get help. It’s a very moving, touching, frustrating show -maybe that’s why I like it- there’s so much darkness, but hope and love always shine through.
So I watched the show last night. This morning, my wife is leading staff prayer here at the church and she says a phrase that catches my attention and I can only focus on this phrase for the remaining of our prayer time. She says something to the effect of “God, we are dependent on you.” I’m not sure why this caught me and stuck with me, but it did. So I started to think about ‘dependency,’ and needless to say I paired it with this show I had just watched last night of people that were ‘dependent’ (or so they thought) on these substances or actions. And I had to ask myself, “Noah, what are you dependent upon? Really, think about it. What do you depend on? What do you need in your life to keep you going? What can’t you live without?” To be honest with you, I couldn’t come up with anything. I mean, I have many things in my life that I love and that I want, but dependency -that’s like an addiction- and I don’t believe I’m addicted to anything. Now at first that sounds good. “Bless God, Christians shouldn’t be addicted to anything!”, is the phrase that is ringing in my head. But is it? Is it really a good thing to not be addicted or dependent? Of course, we could say being addicted to destructive behavior wouldn’t be a good thing in which I totally agree. But what about other things?
What about our addiction to love and sharing? Why can people become pathological liars, but not pathological sharers? Why can people have “uncontrollable anger” issues but not have “uncontrollable acting out in love” issues? Why can we feel like we need to sit in front of the TV for hours every day after work or school, or sit down on the internet googling our name or looking at stuff that we really don’t even care about, but we can’t “need to read our bible or pray”? Why are some people addicted and dependent on being around others -they need friends and relationships, and always have to be out doing something- but are ok with never spending time in silence in the presence of God or having a conversation with Him?
So the phrase “God, we are dependent on you.” caught my attention, because in all honesty, I’m not dependent on Him, and I’m not addicted to Jesus. But I realized that in order for my walk with Him to be more perfect, for my life to grow in Him to the “perfection of the saints” like Paul says, I need to be addicted. Do you?
There’s this show on TV called “Intervention.” I’ve watched a few episodes, and then last night I caught the new one with my wife. If you are unfamiliar with this show let me give you a quick run-down. The show is based on individuals who are addicts; people who are facing problems with drugs, alcohol, eating disorders, and the like. The show follows them around filming them. The ‘addict’ thinks they are partaking in a documentary on addiction, but what is really happening is that they are about to have an intervention by their family and friends for one final plea for them to go get help. It’s a very moving, touching, frustrating show -maybe that’s why I like it- there’s so much darkness, but hope and love always shine through.
So I watched the show last night. This morning, my wife is leading staff prayer here at the church and she says a phrase that catches my attention and I can only focus on this phrase for the remaining of our prayer time. She says something to the effect of “God, we are dependent on you.” I’m not sure why this caught me and stuck with me, but it did. So I started to think about ‘dependency,’ and needless to say I paired it with this show I had just watched last night of people that were ‘dependent’ (or so they thought) on these substances or actions. And I had to ask myself, “Noah, what are you dependent upon? Really, think about it. What do you depend on? What do you need in your life to keep you going? What can’t you live without?” To be honest with you, I couldn’t come up with anything. I mean, I have many things in my life that I love and that I want, but dependency -that’s like an addiction- and I don’t believe I’m addicted to anything. Now at first that sounds good. “Bless God, Christians shouldn’t be addicted to anything!”, is the phrase that is ringing in my head. But is it? Is it really a good thing to not be addicted or dependent? Of course, we could say being addicted to destructive behavior wouldn’t be a good thing in which I totally agree. But what about other things?
What about our addiction to love and sharing? Why can people become pathological liars, but not pathological sharers? Why can people have “uncontrollable anger” issues but not have “uncontrollable acting out in love” issues? Why can we feel like we need to sit in front of the TV for hours every day after work or school, or sit down on the internet googling our name or looking at stuff that we really don’t even care about, but we can’t “need to read our bible or pray”? Why are some people addicted and dependent on being around others -they need friends and relationships, and always have to be out doing something- but are ok with never spending time in silence in the presence of God or having a conversation with Him?
So the phrase “God, we are dependent on you.” caught my attention, because in all honesty, I’m not dependent on Him, and I’m not addicted to Jesus. But I realized that in order for my walk with Him to be more perfect, for my life to grow in Him to the “perfection of the saints” like Paul says, I need to be addicted. Do you?
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