Matt's Blog

Salt and Light

2012-01-26T09:18:00.000-08:00

Matthew 5:13-16

I am what you might call a "salt-aholic." I love salt. If it's too salty for you, its probably just right for me: popcorn, french fries, soup...I have to have salt on it. This isn't always a good thing, because too much salt can lead to high blood pressure and a number of other health problems down the road. So I have to monitor my salt intake. But Jesus makes a great point about salt....it adds flavor! Without flavor, food is bland and inedible. I have endured many a stale bag of popcorn, just because the salt made it more bearable. But what happens when salt loses it's saltiness? Is it worth anything at all?! Not really, you would just throw that type of salt in the trash can.

Jesus says that we are the salt of the earth. As Christ followers we contain the knowledge of the one thing that will preserve us beyond this life to eternity. We have the love, grace and peace that the world is so desperate for. Our words need to be seasoned with the love and grace of Jesus Christ, because the world is desperate for a life that is full and abundant and not just bland and hallow.

Jesus also says that we are the light of the world. Have you ever been in complete darkness? I mean...you can't see your hand in front of your face from an inch away...complete darkness? In that moment when you strike a match or turn on the back-light of your cell phone, the darkness starts to scatter and you can see more and more. It is like that with Christians in this world. Let you light shine, live a life that reflects the light of Christ.

The world is desperate for light and desperate for salt. Jesus says we are both salt and light. Don't let your light dim and your salt lose its saltiness. Be different, live live righteously and purposefully to make a difference in this world hungry for meaning.

Beatitudes and More

2012-01-19T10:38:00.000-08:00

The Beatitudes are the verses of the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5 from vs. 3-12. Jesus mentions a type of person who is blessed (not necessarily happy but filled with the joy of Christ) and then talks about the promise that God has for such a person. Blessed are the poor in Spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the pure in heart, blessed are the peacemakers and blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness (who are insulted or lied to.)

The poor in spirit are blessed. What does that even mean, “The poor in spirit.” I find poor in spirit to mean humility; and selflessness. The world would tell you that you have to look out for yourself in order to get anywhere in life. Jesus says that if you are poor in spirit, the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to you! Blessed are those who mourn, because they will be comforted. The world would tell us to suck it up, life is hard, deal with it, but Jesus is saying here that it is ok to mourn, because your Heavenly Father cares and will comfort you. Blessed are the meek (the gentle and soft-spoken), but the world says that the aggressive and powerful are blessed. The meek person will inherit the earth. Those who hunger and thirst for what is right will be blessed according to Jesus, whereas the world will tell you to do whatever it takes to get ahead. Jesus says the righteous will be filled and won’t remain empty and hollow. The pure are also blessed, as well as the peacemakers and the merciful and even those who endure persecution because of their faith in God. The promise to those blessed people: seeing God, being part of God’s family and receiving a reward in heaven. Jesus sees things in a way that seems backwards to the people in society.

They are used to having to be aggressive, even nasty to succeed in life. But Jesus comes

on the scene and speaks with authority about being humble, and being merciful, and peaceful, and pure, and taking persecution as a badge of honor. That wasn’t what they were used to hearing! It was refreshing, it was confusing, but it was good.

Jesus goes on through the rest of chapter 5 to talk about God’s stance on some more specific issues of the day such as the law, anger, divorce, promises, and revenge. In all of His teachings the overwhelming tone is love, peace, grace and mercy. Is it even possible to live in this world and be loving and peaceful and gracious to everyone we meet? Some days it doesn’t seem possible but Jesus shows us that it is. Not only did He teach about it; He lived it out. The words that we speak, need to be filled with love; our thoughts and actions need to be pure; we need to desire to do what is right and point others to the Truth with our actions and with our deeds not just our words.

Covered in Dust: Jesus Was Tempted

2012-01-12T08:18:00.000-08:00

Matthew 4:1-11
Jesus was tempted. That fact alone gives me relief when I am going through the ringer day in and day out. There is nothing that I will go through that Jesus didn't go through also, and He did it without sin. We've all been in the desert; in fact we live in the desert (Arizona, get it!?). It's how we respond when our lives are in the desert that shows what we are made of. Jesus was tempted three times by Satan in the desert. He was there for forty days. In Jewish culture the time frame 40 days was symbolic. It meant a really long period of time. Can you imagine not eating, drinking, playing xbox360 for six weeks?! The idea of being denied some of these things we depend on, is too much to bare for some of us. This is where the celebration of Lent comes from; Jesus was tempted and was in the desert for 40 days, so during Lent people are challenged to fast or give something up for those six weeks. What would you give up if you were fasting?

The first temptation involved turning stones into bread. Jesus knew that God provides and He responded by stating that He gets His nourishment from every word that comes from God. The second temptation involved Jesus throwing himself off of the top of the temple and having angels rescue Him. Jesus said, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test." The third temptation of Satan was for Jesus to worship Him, and he would give Him control of everything He could see. But Jesus commanded Satan away because we are to worship the Lord our God alone. Jesus did not cave to temptation for basic human needs such as food and water; Jesus did not cave to temptation to test God and be spectacular; and Jesus did not cave to temptation to have power and glory from worshiping Satan. Jesus knew that our purpose, and our acceptance comes through and by God and God alone.

Close Encounters

2010-08-11T10:52:00.000-07:00

We have been doing this series on "Close Encounters of the Divine Kind," all about being close to God. It's really the basic goal of any follower of Christ....to be close to Him. Sometimes it feels like He is a million miles away; or a better way to put it is we are a million miles away from Him and where we need to be. John Ortberg likens it to the dude named Waldo. In the beloved children's books, "Where's Waldo," every page of every book is full of action. There are crazy things going on, filling the entire page. In every single page Waldo is there....somewhere. But you have to go and find him. Sometimes its easy to find Waldo, on other pages its quite difficult, but he is guaranteed to be on every page. It's like that with God. He is on every page of our life, waiting to be found by us. He desires for us to be close to Him, to have an intimate relationship with the God of the universe. Can you even imagine an invitation like that coming to us? I know that I am flawed, I am a sinner, with many short-comings and bad habits. But the God of the universe still desires for me to know Him and know Him well. He knows me well! He knew me completely before I was even knit together in my mother's womb. He knew my passions and my talents and the deepest desires of my heart long before I did. God is amazing and His love is vast...and He wants us to know Him.

In His Grip,
Matt

2010-07-26T15:40:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of things I have learned this summer. Some of the things are about me, but all of them are about God. I love that I have an opportunity to serve my God with my few days I have on this earth. I seek to know Him more everyday, and listen to what it is He has to say to me. I want to further His kingdom with my life and I will go where He wants to send me. How can I live more intentionally for Him? How can I be more purposeful with the things I say and do? This is the question that has driven me recently. And its a question that I think I will be constantly refining what the answer looks like. And that's ok with me. God lead me in the path you have for me.

Preparing for Easter (Part 1)

2010-04-01T13:43:00.001-07:00

Easter really snuck up on me this year. I have a few excuses for why, but I am not sure that is really important. What is important is that I reflect on Easter before it is completely over.

This week I tried to imagine I was there for the last week of Jesus' life: the sights, the smells, the emotions. I don't know if there is anything special about doing this, but I have found it important for me this year to really get in the right place leading up to Easter. Let me explain a little bit about how my thinking has been this week.

Palm Sunday- Jesus entered into Jerusalem on a donkey, a specific donkey that fulfilled a prophecy. The crowds shouted, "Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest." "Lord Save Me!" Ironically in just a week the crowds, many of the same people, would be shouting something quite different. But a book I am reading by Shane Claiborne, put it in a new perspective for me. We are like the donkey that brought Jesus into town. Our job, our role in this life is to bring Jesus to the people. And at first we hear the shouts and the commotion, and we are like, "that's cool, these people are getting it. They understand how amazing Jesus is." After a while we start to think that the shouts and the crowds and the noise is for us. "They really like me." "I must be pretty special." When really we are just the ones commissioned to bring Jesus to the world. It's not about us, it's about Jesus.

Tuesday- I didn't know if anything special happened on the Tuesday of Holy Week, but I was reading in Mark 14 the other day and I found the story of the woman who dumped perfume on Jesus. She entered where Jesus was dinning at Simon the Leper's house with His disciples and she breaks an alabaster jar of expensive perfume over his head. Some complained that she wasted something expensive that could have been given to the poor, but Jesus argued that what she did was a great offering. She was preparing His body for burial, she was cherishing the few moments she had left with the Son of God on earth.

I was challenged by this....do I truly cherish the time I spend with Jesus. Do I soak it in, do I truly treasure time with my God. Imagine the smell that would immediately fill the room where the odor of the perfume was released. It would have been so strong that no one could deny its presence. No one could act as if it were not there. It dominated everything else going on in that room. I want my devotion, my desire for my God to completely permeate and dominate every nook and cranny of my life....so that no one can deny how madly in love I am with Jesus Christ. Jesus finished the scene by declaring that wherever the Gospel will be told, her legacy will also be told...but its not about her, its about the King she anointed, the King who was about to commit the greatest act of love the world had ever or would ever see.

I Celebrate the Day...

2009-12-17T11:37:00.001-08:00

I won't lie...I absolutely love Christmas. Some people make fun of me because I start listening to Christmas music on November 1st. Maybe this is a little bit too early, but hey I love Christmas!

The traditions of Christmas are so much fun. Christmas lights, cookies, Christmas specials on tv, Christmas movies, music, snowmen....ok maybe not in Arizona. But the season has just a joy about it that I completely love.

But the reason I most enjoy Christmas is because of Jesus. In fact, its all about Jesus. God came down to our level, God the father sent His Son on Christmas......or actually in the spring, but we celebrate it on December 25th. God's ultimate plan for our redemption, was put into action when a virgin who was pledged to be married to a carpenter, found out she was pregnant. The baby was from the Holy Spirit and was going to be the fulfillment of all the prophesies, yes the Messiah was coming. Mary treasured all the events of Jesus' life in her heart, and Joseph was obedient to God even when he didn't completely understand what was going on.

Salvation came down in the form of a baby, who was born in a most humble way. There was no room for Him in the inn. No room for the Messiah, the Savior of the World in the inn. Have you thought about how ironic this is? Is there room for Jesus in your Christmas this year? Or is it just too full with finals, shopping, hustle and bustle? Jesus was born and the angels in heaven went wild! They appeared to some lowly shepherds who were out with their flocks in the nearby country side. It was a quiet peaceful night, and ironically (once again), angels interrupted the peace of the night with news of peace for all mankind! The Savior is born in Bethlehem and he will be for all people! All people, not just the rich, or the educated, or the jews; for all the people! For you and for me. Joy to the world, everything is different for all time. The redemption of our sinful lives has come. And 30 some years later it would culminate in the sacrifice of this pure, spotless lamb....the bread without levin. Jesus was crucified, sacrificed on our behalf and on the third day he rose. And death was defeated once and for all for those who believe. So, I celebrate the day that He was born to die, so that one day I might pray for Him to save my life (Relient K). Merry Christmas! -Matt

A side order of Grace please!

2009-07-21T10:35:00.001-07:00

One of the most amazing things about grace is that no matter how badly I mess up, or how often I fail, God's grace never wears out. I can't use up my quota of His Grace, and that is a very refreshing fact to hear. And that Grace isn't just amazing, it is enough. When life is nothing but a storm and I have nothing but problems, Your Grace is sufficient for me. When I've burned bridges and trashed friendships, Your Grace is sufficient for me. When I feel all alone, Your Grace is sufficient. Sufficient means enough, just enough. No more than needed and no less than needed. The perfect amount. There is nothing like a coffee drink that has just the right amount of coffee, milk and flavoring: too much flavoring and its too sweet; too much coffee and it's too strong; too much milk and it is too bland. The perfect combination of ingredients makes for the perfect refreshment. God's grace is the perfect combination of love, forgiveness, mercy and goodness. Ahhhh, that's good!

1st Blog

2009-05-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

I decided to create a blog to reflect on the different things I talk about in Ka'os (jr. high at the Grove). This is mainly for parents that are curious and students who either missed a talk or want to go deeper.

Last night we talked about Hebrews 2:1-4 and the author of Hebrews' warning not to drift away in your faith. This reminded me of a time during spring break of my Jr. year of college, when I went on a mission's trip to Gales point in Belize, Central America. On our last day of the trip we had a chance to go snorkeling off the shore of the 2nd biggest barrier reef in the world. Second only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The boat dropped anchor and we all dove in with our snorkeling gear. I thought I was a good enough swimmer to go without a life jacket, but I found out right away that the current was too much for my average swimming skills. All the Caribbean fish, nurse sharks and rays were pretty cool, but I was getting tired very fast. Finally our instructor called us all back to the boat, so I began to leisurely swim back to the boat. I swam and swam, then stopped and looked up. I was further from the boat than when i started!! So I decided to swim a little faster and harder. After 30 seconds I looked up again.....I had barely made any progress. The current was pushing me backwards at a rate almost as fast as I could swim myself. After a good 20 minute struggle, I finally made it back to the boat...exhausted, my lungs burning with the salt water, I flopped onto the deck of the boat much like the fish I had seen in the ocean.

Our group's leader, Liz, was not as fortunate. She couldn't make it back to the boat no matter how hard she tried (she was smart enough to wear a life jacket by the way.) Finally our instructor had to jump to rescue Liz. As he swam back with Liz under his arm, pure exhaustion and relief were evident on her face.

It is very easy to drift away in our faith. If we focus on the things of this world that are fleeting and in the long run don't mean much, such as popularity, image, fame; we may find our selves not where we want to be in our walk with Christ. Our relationship with Jesus needs to take priority. Through the muck and the business of life, Jesus must remain our focus, our top priority, our everything. As verse 2 and 3 reminds us...without Jesus we would still be stuck in our sins and still be facing the consequence for them.

So keep swimming towards that boat....put your head down and dig as fast as you can swim. God has dropped anchor and is waiting for you to swim back to the boat. And when you get tired, his arms will wrap around you and swim you the rest of the way.

-Matt