I’ve been teaching through the book of Galatians in our young adult Sunday School class at Missouri Valley recently. It’s a powerful book of Scripture addressing the freedom we have in Christ.
Here’s the background:
The churches in Galatia are in turmoil. Big-time.
There’s stress between Jewish believers and Gentile believers. The history between these two groups is not pretty. You think racism in the South was bad? This is nothing.
The Jewish people were God’s chosen group, and they knew it. They’ve lived as God’s people for over a thousand years. Trace their lineage back to Abraham. Were delivered from Egypt by Moses. Were given the commandments and the law. Were made into a mighty nation, and led by powerful kings. When they strayed, prophets were sent over and over by God to bring them back to Him.
The Gentiles? Well, they were the rejects… those outside of the Jewish lineage. Ostensibly rejected by God. And looked on as lower than dogs to the Jews. To associate with them was not only socially unacceptable, but made them unclean… unfit for worship of God.
Yet people from both groups are coming to faith in Christ. Becoming brothers and sisters, joint heirs of God’s Kingdom through a mutual faith.
You think your family has tension? Try uniting these two groups.
So here’s what’s happening in the church: Jewish believers, who have followed God’s commands for all of their lives, are stressed that these new Gentile believers have not. And you guessed it… circumcision becomes the issue of the day. The Jewish men were circumcized… the Gentiles were not.
And this was a BIG DEAL to the Jews.
Why, you ask?
Because circumcision was God’s sign of His covenant relationship with the Jews. This indicated that they were indeed God’s chosen people. For whatever reasons, the Jews believed it necessary for the Gentiles to undergo this procedure as well, submitting to the commands of the law given them over a thousand years previous.
If you’re a Gentile man, this is a BIG DEAL.
So there’s a major rift. And we think that OUR church feuds can get heated.
Enter Paul. He’s visited these churches. Preached the gospel to them. Lead many of them to Christ, helping birth these very churches.
He’s got to address this rift and heal the church.
The result? The book we know as Galatians. A POWERFUL treatise on justification by faith in Christ through the grace of God alone… salvation by grace, not works.
Lots of meat to sort through. Be sure to check back for subsequent posts as I walk through this book here at Toward the Goal. If you’ve got thoughts and comments, by all means, share.
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Tags: Bible, church turmoil, conflict, Galatians, Gentiles, grace, Jews, Paul, salvation, works
November 25th, 2011 | Comments Off | Posted in » My Life / Family
I’ve been bitten by something. No, I don’t have an itchy welt anywhere. I’m not swelling up or needing to see a doctor.
It’s the blogging bug.
I don’t know what triggered it. I’m not sure it really matters.
But it’s there again.
The last two or three years? Hardly. But it’s back now. So you’ll probably see a LOT more writings from me online again, both here, and over at our Just 1 Ministries site.
I have no illusions that most of what I share is of life-changing impact to the maybe three people who still read this site from time to time. I’d like to think that it makes a difference to you somehow, but looking back (and forward for that matter), I didn’t start this site over six years ago with a marketing plan, a target audience, or anything of the like… I wrote because I felt God laying certain things on my heart as I studied His word, and wanted to spray them out there on the web for whomever He decided to send my way.
So that’s a bit of what’s happening again.
Moreso, though, I feel I’ve got something to say again. With Just 1, it’s obvious… Nancy and I have 15 orphans who we’re trying to help. And that’s worth writing about if ever there were anything.
Here?
I’ve got Scripture passages I’d like to write about. Three awesome kids that I know the grandparents and aunts would like to read about. Politics that I could rant about for days (okay, so maybe I SHOULDN’T write about that). Sports.
Who knows what I’ll find to write about from one day to the next.
Whatever the case, I feel like the words are flowing readily again. And I feel like they need an outlet.
Might as well make use of this place, huh?
Tags: blogging, writing
[NOTE: This is a partial repost of an article I shared over at our Just 1 Ministries site. For the complete article, please check out the original here.]
In case you’ve somehow missed it, Thanksgiving is tomorrow.
For most Americans, that means gathering with family, enjoying some good conversation, having a lot of laughs, eating ourselves into a turkey-induced coma, ultimately crashing in the living room around the television watching football.
It’s a good time, no doubt.
But it’s called “Thanksgiving” for a reason… it’s a season where we really should take time to give thanks to the one who has given us so much.
Around our house, we start observing Thanksgiving around the 1st of November. That picture you see above? It’s central to our celebration of Thanksgiving.
Years ago, Nancy had an awesome idea. We’d have a “wall of Thanksgiving”. Each night at dinner, we’d spend time thinking about what we’re thankful for, write it on a “leaf”, and stick it to the wall. As the days go on, no repetitions are allowed. It makes all of us truly think about all of the things we have to be thankful for.
Family, friends, our home. Smiles, laughter, hugs. God, our church, the Bible. Football, jeeps, kittens. iPhones, internet, music. Clothes, school, television. Grandmas, Grandpas, our puppy.
The list goes on and on and on.
[For more of this article, check out the full version here.]
Tags: family traditions, thanks, Thanksgiving
As I was looking over the site today, I just noticed something… my first posts date back to November 2005. Over six years ago.
Crazy stuff. Hard to believe I’ve been blogging that long. Granted, there have been a couple long periods without posts, and some serious dry spells of months. Even a couple shifts in the direction of the blog.
But six years. How is that possible?
Six years ago, I had just discovered a cool little country church that rocked my world (still there!). Six years ago, I had a three year old and a little girl who wasn’t quite one yet. Six years ago, I wasn’t yet in my thirties. Six years ago, I’m reasonably certain I had hair covering my entire head. Six years ago… well, I have trouble remembering six years ago.
Interestingly, six years ago I was actually over two years into my blogging experience. Two years earlier, when my oldest child was just barely one, Toward the Goal actually began. Back then, it was simply a devotional blog, on a free Christian blog webhost. That host was hacked at one point, so it disappeared. I’m not even sure the original webhost is still around.
Is there a point to this? Not really.
Just that six years is a long time. Yet somehow it’s passed like a flash.
Psalm 39:5
5You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Each man’s life is but a breath.
So what are you going to do with this God-breathed life?
It will be over before you know it.
One thing I do know… I want to make every moment of mine count. How about you?
Tags: blogging, God, life, purpose, six years, time
November 20th, 2011 | Comments Off | Posted in » God at Work, In the News...
On Friday morning, I attended the Operation Christmas Child wrap-up chapel at St. Joseph Christian School. While there, I was blessed to witness the kids, parents, and staff bring a huge mound of shoeboxes filled with gifts.
411 shoeboxes, to be exact.
Turns out, that’s the most of any organization in St. Joseph, according to our local newspaper.
So St. Joseph Christian has something they can be proud of. They’ve got LOTS of other things (if you ask me), but that’s not the point I want to make.
It’s the response, as evidenced by the first comment to the news article referenced above. It’s a comment I see almost every time there’s news about an organization making a difference in the lives of people overseas.
“Don’t forget about all of the kids here in the United States that need help too!”
Sure, it’s an innocent statement. It’s well-intentioned. And there’s truth… there ARE kids here with needs.
But not to the level of those overseas.
Have you seen the needs of a third-world child? Have you looked into their eyes, seeing their hurt first-hand? Have you seen their distended bellies, their scabies-infested skin, or lice-filled hair? Have you seen where they live? The food they eat (when they’re fortunate enough to have it)? The polluted streams they drink from?
Do you know any of their stories? Perhaps how one of their siblings has died due to malnutrition or lack of medical care? Or perhaps how their parents often see them as liabilities rather than blessings because of the poverty in which they live? Or perhaps how they’re forced into hard labor (or worse) just to survive?
And perhaps worst of all… have you seen how little hope their futures hold?
I have. And I can’t ignore it.
You see, simply by virtue of being born in the wealthiest country in the world, we have every advantage… every possibility… every chance we truly need at a future. Even the poor amongst us can have hope for a better tomorrow.
Not so in other parts of the world.
So forgive me if I get worked up about it. There’s just something inherently “unfair” about all of this.
Children everywhere deserve the right to hope.
If 411 shoeboxes can ensure that 411 more children have that right, that’s something all of us should stand up and applaud.
Tags: children, gifts, hope, Operation Christmas Child, poverty, shoebox, St. Joseph Christian
In case you haven’t heard already, Nancy and I launched Just 1 Ministries last Sunday. Details can be found over at our website, but the basics are this:
– We feel led to adopt a child, and are taking steps to do so. This is our “Just 1″ story.
– We want to share our “Just 1″ story with you, and encourage you to discover yours by providing ministry opportunities to orphans.
Be sure to check it out when you get a chance, and please prayerfully consider partnering with us in some manner.
As of this moment, our biggest need is that we have 15 orphans at an orphanage in Guatemala we are partnering with that need sponsors to help ensure their long-term needs can be met. We’re also needing prayer for many things (listed here), and would greatly appreciate knowing that you are lifting these many concerns up to God!
God bless!
Tags: Just 1, ministry, orphans
This morning, before most of us here in the United States were even awake, the Space Shuttle Atlantis landed, bringing the space shuttle program to an end after thirty years.
It’s the end of an era. A dark day for America.
Why, you ask?
You see, millions of Americans from my generation grew up with the space shuttle program. Challenger. Columbia. Endeavor. Discovery. Atlantis. We were inspired by the brave astronauts who flew these amazing machines. We watched space walks on television with fascination. We witnessed satellites and telescopes launched from the cargo bay, and all kinds of amazing work performed in the weightless void of space. We enthusiastically awaited lessons from the Challenger with Christa McAuliffe… and were utterly devasted to see it explode 73 seconds into flight. We grew up wanting to attend Space Camp. We imagined what it would be like to experience lift-off. We dreamed about one day experiencing the weightlessness of space, and of seeing the earth from orbit high above. It was a part of who we were.
Today, that era… that era where children dreamed of growing up to become astronauts, scientists, and engineers… that era is over. Gone forever.
Don’t get me wrong. I know the program was expensive. I know the ships were getting old. And though I still am amazed by our manned space program and would love to see additional shuttle missions, I’m fine with retiring Atlantis, Discovery, and Endeavor.
But coming from a generation whose hearts were captured and whose dreams were fueled by the shuttle program? I can’t help but lament… what will take its place for the children of today and tomorrow?
Sports figures? Politicians? Hollywood? Musicians?
You get my point. There really are no worthy successors we as a nation can truly hold up as examples of the best America has to offer… nothing to capture the hearts and imaginations of the next generation.
Of course… today is a day for reflection and celebration of the past thirty years of the shuttle program. It’s been an amazing program, and has done amazing things for the United States and the world as a whole. We owe a tremendous amount of appreciation to all of the people at NASA who have made this possible.
But it’s also a very dark day as we look to the future.
Tags: astronauts, Atlantis, NASA, news, space, space shuttle