Glorifying God

Well, good morning!

It is another day, and another opportunity to glorify God. I've been chewing this concept over since last Friday - the notion of glorifying God. To refresh your memories, we read from I Corinthians 10:31 (NKJV), which states that we are to "do all to the glory of God." Fairly straightforward, eh?

If you remember, we spoke about returning to the basics and making God the #1 priority of our lives. I suppose the Christian life doesn't get any more basic than that: anything we do should be done for God's glory. Ultimately, it is our choice to give God glory. If we choose not to, Luke says that the rocks will take our place and declare God's glory (cf. Luke 19:37-40). So regardless, God will receive glory. Amen to that!

Living our lives to glorify Him is the reason why we are still here. That is our purpose. Life without this objective is meaningless and futile. Jeremiah says this: "'But let him that glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD which exercises lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight,' says the LORD" (9:24).

God's blessings are contingent upon his instruction, as Freddy mentioned on Sunday. So, by giving God glory with our lives, we unlock many spiritual blessings that the Lord is waiting to give us. By placing God on the most important seat of our life, we glorify Him. By obeying His word despite our reluctance, we glorify Him. By serving others in spite of our selfishness, we glorify Him. So long as we are following His instruction, we glorify God; and in doing so, we open up opportunities in our lives to receive blessings from God.

Now, who doesn't want that?!

MTI

"Sanctify Christ as Lord in your heart"

"We trust God with our eternal destiny, but we can't trust Him with the rest of our lives." - JJ

- Romans 8:31-32

More thoughts on this coming soon...

God is Awesome

This last month God showed me his faithfulness in a way I never expected. I was able to reconcile with my former stepsister Christie Shemwell, which seemed impossible to me beforehand. I mean we wanted to kill each other in high school and long before the divorce we were on bad terms, so when she asked me to add her on Facebook it came as a surprise. The first word to come from my mouth was "WOW", I mean this just doesn't happen with all the broken families in the country these days.
So...we began talking over Facebook and now we have both forgiven each other for the past and started anew. She told me that last year she accepted Christ as her savior and will be going to Colorado State in the Fall.
I'm proud to say that I have readopted her as my sister regardless of what happened in the past. God has healed this part of my life and I'm grateful that he showed his faithfulness to me.

This last month I have been reading UNChristian, a book solely based on research done by the Barna Group. They took three years to discover what our generation (16-29 year olds) thinks about Christianity, and what they found is a little startling. This book addresses how we try to reach out to outsiders yet, they are receiving an unchristian message from us. The top objections are the subject of five or so chapters, where they examine the problem and offer solution biblically speaking. From being formerly agnostic I could say it hits hard what kept me from coming to Christ sooner.
However, the lesson there is not letting people hinder your relationship with God or be afraid to go to him alone.
This book is surprising and at the same time not. It is surprising to look at the stats when compared to the Bible and what should be, and it is not surprising to see them because we know the fallen world we live in. The largest problem so far is image management and the attitude of pride it causes. The greatest commandment was not act as righteous in your own eyes as possible. Of surveyed churchgoers, 37% said leading a good life or avoiding sin was the most important thing to pursue as a christian, while 1% said family faith. And out of that sample in our generation of churchgoers out of the 65% who said their faith was an important part of their lives, only 1% claimed to have a biblical worldview!
I think everyone should read this to get perspective.

The lesson of this weeks meeting was that love is more important than knowledge.
1 Corinthians 8:1
"Knowledge ^(C)makes arrogant, but love ^(D)edifies."
John 13:34-35
34"A ^(AX)new commandment I give to you, ^(AY)that you love one another, ^(AZ)even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

35"^(BA)By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

Our loves is what speaks to people not our spiritual knowledge. Without love we gain nothing.
Romans 12:21
21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

We wil overcome the hate in this world only by letting go of ourselves in order for God to fill us with the power of his love.
God Bless you all.

CoffeeCupAologetics.com - Site Update

CCA has been updated... More to come soon :)
I added the blogger.com link in the top navigation bar.
I also included a link to the jjsierra.com store. Check it out, buy a journal and help support CCA ;)

I also will be adding resources to the site as CCA continues to grow.

CCA Sunday Afternoon

We will NOT meet like usual Saturday at 4pm - Instead, we will meet Sunday at 2pm. Unfortunately, the Serene Bean is closed on Sundays so we will meet at a different coffee house. Email me to find out where. We still have not decided where...

My Email: jj@coffeecupapologetics.com
(I receive all my emails directly to my PDA, so just sent me a quick email to find out the location)

:: Amazing Grace! ::

"If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?" - Psalm 130:3

Severity of Sin

G’evening all! I just got back from school, so it has been a particularly long day for me, but I hope you all have had great days.

Originally – this morning, in fact – I wanted to share something that had been on my mind throughout the past week: the dangers of compartmentalizing (lol, it sounds so boring as I write it here). But, I got this e-mail from Casting Crowns, which put a strong desire on my heart. It is a music video of the song “Slow Fade.” Please, if you have 5 short minutes, watch it!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=j0aBchNYxIM

This really got me meditating on the severity of sin, and our tendency to view sin so aloofly. When we are in the moment of temptation, we do not properly understand how much God detests sin and how strict the possible ramifications could be. It took a music video like this for me to be reminded of this. I see a man who has the potential to decimate his family because he wants to live in and seek out sin. Check out this verse: “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You. The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. You destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.” (Psalms 5:4-6, NASB).

I think, at least in part, that this is because we tend to define good and evil relativistically; we base it on the cultural standards, and not on God’s standards defined biblically. We see ourselves as “good,” so long as we are better than the secular of this world (whatever that means?). So, as society liberalizes and deteriorates, our morals and values take a plunge as well.

“Oh no, we are still good, though, because we are better than the world, and can still be an example.” LIES! All lies!

God’s standard is His standard. It is immutable and not contingent upon the morality of this world. We are subject to this standard (it was in the fine print of that little contract we signed to save our soul =P), whether we like it or not.

Nonetheless, we need to check our view on sin. Every defiance of God’s standard is considered sin, and it has stark consequences. No evil dwells with Him and He hates all those who do iniquity. We must realize this every time we on sin’s stoop. Remember, sin is punishable by death, we are exempt because we are gracefully redeemed by Christ. How dare we abuse the grace given us!

I felt led to share that, I hope some of you find it convicting and encouraging, I know I did when the Lord placed it on my heart this morning.

MTI

"Mere Mortal"

"You have never met a mere mortal" - C.S. Lewis

Time Change

T.I.M.E. = "Temporary Independence Before Leaving Earth" - Marcus Garcia

We have moved our CCA meetings to 4:00pm - This is a permanently change for now.
We are planning to meet tomorrow (5.16.08) at the Serene Bean like usual.

...See you there!

Convinced?

"A person convinced against there will, is of the same opinion still."

A Thought from Kermit the Frog

Let’s get to the chase, because I have a big headache and don’t feel up to typing too much =/

Ok, so you are frog. You are green, which can be difficult because you find that you are easily lost and forgotten amidst other nature. You are constantly being chased by an obsessive and violent pig, whom you actually end up marrying…

Lol, have you caught on about who I am talking about? Of course, it’s none other than Kermit the Frog!

Don’t worry, I haven’t (completely) lost my mind. It’s just that I read a very interesting quote from him, and I wanted to share it. He talks, in his book It’s Not Easy Being Green: and Other Things to Consider, about Family. He has this to say: “Yeah, well, I’ve got a dream too. But it’s about singing and dancing and making people happy. That’s the kind of dream that gets better the more people you share it with. And, well, I’ve found a whole bunch of friends who have the same dream. And it kind of makes us like a family.”

This really got me thinking about our Spiritual Family. What makes us a family? The fact that we are united by a common God, for a common purpose. While it’s not completely true that it gets better when you share it with more people, it definitely is a plus. Even from a secular perspective, we are a bunch of friends who have the same dream, like Kermit says. We have the dream to see others know Christ and grow in Him.

Although I wasn’t there Sunday, I am told that Freddy spoke of something similar to this. I heard this interesting quote which says that Christians comprise the only army that fights against itself. Isn’t that true though? We believe in the same God, the same resurrection, the same Trinity, the same Messiah, yet we differ in a minor theological discrepancy and we are ready to break off completely and form different denominations. We consider our church to be “non-denominational,” yet, that is a denomination in and of itself.

I know that I used a rather flippant way to introduce the topics, but nonetheless, that point remains. If we are ever to make an impact in this world, we must stop fighting against each other and unite to reach the lost of this world. Like Freddy always says “In the big things, unity. In the small things, liberty. In all things, Love (adapted from St. Augustine).”

C’mon, we are a family (according to Sister Sledge). Let’s start acting like it. If a frog and a soul singer can recognize it, so can we =)

Goodness me, I cannot believe that I alluded to both a frog and a soul singer to make a point. What is this world coming to?

Well anyway, this Friday’s meeting will be held at Walyce’s house. It’s going to be real nice to meet as a group again. I feel disconnected from some of you, so it’ll be great to reconnect and be united. I look forward to seeing you there.

Call me if you need anything. I am praying for you!

MTI

"Suppress The Truth"

Man has to be taught to believe that there is no God...

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." - Romans 1:18-20

"...men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness..."


"The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world..." - Psalm 19:1-4a

"The heavens are telling of the glory of God..."

"...and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness." - Acts 14:17

"..He did not leave Himself without witness..."

I rest my case :)

I've Got An Announcement...

Ladies and Gentleman, children of all ages
Anyone listening, I've got an announcement to make
There's been some confusion about a certain someone
A lot of discussion and a lot of debate

So if I may take just a moment to say who Jesus is to me

Jesus is life, yeah, oh, oh, oh
Jesus is life, yeah, oh, oh, oh
The air I'm breathing
Why my heart is beating
Everything I'm needing
Jesus is life
Jesus is life

Imagine the deepest sea without a drop of water
An infinite galaxy without even one single star
That's how I would be... so absolutely empty
Without Jesus' life in me there'd be no life at all
More than just a part, He's the very heart of everything I am

This is my position concerning my condition
This is my position concerning my condition
This is my position my life by definition

Jesus is life
Jesus is life
Jesus is life
Jesus is life

(Steven Curtis Chapman and James Isaac Elliott)

Brokenness

G’morning =)

I have one thing to say: “Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty, we’re free at last.”

Of course, I didn’t really say that; MLK Jr. did. And obviously, I have more than just one thing to say, duh! When do I ever say only one thing in these e-mails?! C’mon now =P. Plus, he was talking about segregation and slavery. I am not talking about segregation, just slav… err, school.

Yes, yes, the rumors are true; I am done with the Spring 2008 semester… only to start up again next Wednesday =(. Not much of a vacation, I suppose.

Anyway, let’s get to the juicy stuff! I want to share two quick (I hope, lol) things that I have been thinking about throughout this week.

One thing Juan Otero shared during last Sunday’s meeting keeps resonating in my mind. He said, in his thick yet passionate accent, that “a truly broken person is not sad.” Wow! Honestly, I do not know what makes me think that this phrase is so special, but I cannot stop thinking about it. I guess it is because this is one of my pet peeves. Frankly, I get tired over a lot of prayer for revival, and rejuvenation and renovation, and all the other “re-” words. Don’t get me wrong, those prayers are undoubtedly necessary, given its apropos. But I think sometimes we can stop seeking God, and instead, seek what He offers us. You see, we know that brokenness is what God wants; however, we are reluctant to actual be broken because it requires pain and sacrifice (Like the Third Day song says, “I must go through the valley to stand before the Mountain of God.”). It is like you wanting an ‘A’ in a course, yet you are unwilling to actually learning the material taught in the class. Oswald Chambers put it as such: “There is nothing easier than getting into a right relationship with God, except when it is not God whom you want, but only what He gives.” (My Utmost for His Highest) We substitute the feeling of somberness and grief with that of true humility and brokenness, in an attempt to reap the full blessings and promises of God. We think entering into a relationship with is so difficult and confusing. Then we wonder why God is not answering prayer, why He is seemingly not working in our lives, we our church seems stagnant… etc. We are not truly broken. We think we are, but we are not. “A broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise!” It’s that simple. There is no secret handshake, no unheard of ritual, no forgotten séance. The answer is right in front of us; and as Toucan Sam always says, “follow your nose!” “A broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise!”

This is tied into something that I really enjoyed about last Wednesday’s meeting. It was a combination of what Jerry said, and this song:

Fuiste a la cruz a morir por mí,
Hoy te agradezco por amarme así
Le diste valor a mi vida Señor
Por eso te adoro, te adoro Cristo

Te amo Jesús, me cambiaste tu a mi
Veo el antes y ahora y soy feliz

My, oh my, I can’t stop smiling even as I read those lyrics (lol, people here at the UM library must think I am psycho). The realization of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross should be a joyous one! Being in the auditorium last Wednesday, I cannot say that I had a profound or intimate time of worship. But what I do know is that I left that place so happy and joyful, because of what Christ did on the cross. We focus on ourselves in the transaction that saved our soul. We concentrate on the fact that we will never be able to repay Christ. We center our attention on the fact that we cannot do anything to attain perfection. We lose sight of God in all this and the change that He made in our lives. His unconditional love. His persistent nudging. Because of God, I can rejoice in how He has changed me. For that, I will worship Him. For that, I will be glad. For that, I will be broken, so that He can continue to use me! Por eso te adoro, te adoro Cristo!

MTI