Life, The Great Adventure!

I've been thinking about life, contemplating on my life...

I've been thinking about life... How it's simply a journey. Parts of this journey are beautiful, other parts are not, but ultimately, what makes this an exciting and adventures journey is the ultimate desitnation...

C.S. Lewis said this, "You have not met a mare mortal."

Click Here to read the rest of my Post at www.JJSierra.com/LivingTheDash

Well, someone needed to break the 12 day blogging drought.

Geez Louise, I have so many thoughts hurdling through my mind that I hardly know what to talk about now. I suppose what has been at the forefront is something quite subtle - so much so that it might go completely unnoticed.

I read this interesting verse: "Then they said to Him, 'What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.'" (John 6:28, 29 - NKJV)

In order to do the work of Christ, we are to believe in Him. As simple as that... and of course, it makes perfect sense. That's because it is the truth. Regardless of the source, so long as what is being said is compatible with the Word of God, it is truth. I could be a one-legged wobbling drunk quoting a bible verse and I will be considered a vessel, albeit smelly, relaying God's truth. That is why we are told to filter everything through God's word, our only source of infallible truth (cf I Thess. 5:21).

If we believe in Christ then we will do His work. Again, it's that simple. Here is where it gets grayish: We sometimes get to lazy to figure out what we believe. Obviously, we have the basics down... trinity, baptism, salvation, yadda, yadda, yadda. But when it comes to the more difficult questions, we tend let someone (or something - like the church) else do all the research and substitute their opinion for our own. We abide by the convictions of other people.

By far the most debated topic I have come across which actually has relevance to the college-aged crowd is the question of dating. I think a lot of us feel this issue is too divisive, or too questionable, or too whatever, to actually come up with our own opinion. So what do we do? We let the church pick for us, then go by what they say. The problem with this is that it will not withstand the test of time once that specific conviction is scrutinized. If you merely substitute your personal belief for a credal belief, you are not taking ownership of that belief and will thus be more supple and lenient with how you conduct your life. Of course, this principle is applicable to anything, not just dating.

We must know what we believe and know why we believe it in order to be the most effective in working in God's kingdom. I'm sure it can be difficult and confusing at times, but it's benefit will surely outweigh the trouble in the long run. It will remove all doubt and ambiguity allowing us to live lives in certainty (especially in regards to how we make decisions) and removing footholds from the devil.

As a closing thought, think back to Abraham and the narrative where he was commanded to offer up his son Isaac as a sacrifice. Abraham would have been doubting God and His promise had he not truly believed in Him. He knew of God's promise to have his descendant's number more than the stars in the sky, and by firmly believing in that, Abraham was able to conduct himself with certainty and absolute faith in God.

'Tis all

MTI

"When the earth all around is sinking sand, on Christ the solid Rock I stand..."

[Thank you, JJ, for such a warm welcome to your blogger’s community of dedicated acorns. =D I feel privileged to be a part of CCA. With that said…]

I’ve been learning more about postmodernism [PM] and how it relates to our culture and our church. “Postmodern Times” by Gene Edward Veith Jr. is the best source I’ve found so far. We need only read the Bible, however, to discover that PM is not new. Judges 21:25 states “…everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Matthew 7:24-27 helps give us a deeper understanding:

"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

In relation to this passage, Gene E. Veith goes on to say,

“The history of modern thought consists of a succession of foundations—the rationalism of the Enlightenment, the emotionalism of Romanticism, the will-power of Existentialism. It times of crisis, however, when ‘the rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew,’ each of these humanly built foundations collapses ‘with a great crash.’ Today we see the rejection of all foundations.” (G.E. Veith 225)

The sands of time are continually shifting. I don’t think we need to concern ourselves with figuring out what rationalism, romanticism, or any of the other ‘isms’ were all about; the point is that all man-made philosophies fail, because there is no other truth apart from the character of God. All of those ideologies claimed to be the truth, but because they were not founded on the Word of God, they have all collapsed (and the same fate awaits future false philosophies). Postmodernists are now simply denying the existence of any foundation. Like Veith says, “…postmodernism seeks to live with the chaos, to avoid foundational judgments altogether.”

To put it rather simplistically (extremely simplistically, in fact, but bear with me), imagine hundreds of scholars trying to figure out the answer to 2 + 2. Some claim it is 5; others claim it is 0; still others are certain it is 100. Then a postmodernist comes along and says “Don’t be ridiculous, all of your answers are wrong.” [We breathe a sigh of relief; finally someone who agrees that all of the scholars’ answers are wrong.] Then the postmodern glibly adds, “But don’t bother looking for the answer, because numbers don’t even exist. Just go ahead and make up your own if it feels good. Or don’t. Whatever.”

Okay, it obviously involves much more than that, but that really is the core idea behind PM. And sadly, many Christians are buying into it. I would venture to say the majority of Christians in the West are buying into PM. So it is our responsibility as followers of Christ is to

“stand firm on the two foundational concepts now under attack: morality and truth. ‘The ultimate proof of the sinner,’ said Luther, ‘is that he doesn’t know his own sin. Our job is to make him see it.’ Proclaiming God’s Law can bring conviction of sin; at that point, our job is to proclaim the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ” (Veith, 228).

Jesus made our choice very clear. Anyone not for Him is against Him. There really is no “going with the flow.” If you’re not actively following Christ, you are rejecting Him. If we sit back and do nothing, we are helping the enemy. Yet the victory all ready belongs to the Lord! The only thing in question is whether or not we will join in battle.

Denzel Washington plays the role of a debate coach in the movie “The Great Debaters.” He asks his students, “Who is your opponent?” to which they respond, “He does not exist. He is merely a dissenting voice against the truth I speak.”

All of this relates to the Emerging Church and to us, as the body of Christ (more on the emergent movement later). In the meantime, I hope you take some time to pray about this and learn a little more on postmodernism. I highly recommend the book I’ve been quoting, as well as a message on CD by Stuart McAllister, “The Postmodern Condition.” I believe you can order that CD (as well as more, I’m sure) through the Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (rzim.org).

Thanks for reading, God bless!

News Letter - Volume 1, Issue 4

Here is our 4th news letter...

PDF File: CCA Volume 1, Issue 4

You can comment about the news letter here...

- God Bless

Next CCA Conclave

This Saturday we will NOT be meeting at the usual place and time...

Meeting CANCELED!

We were going to meet at Caribou Coffee on Hwy 92 in the Target Shopping Center, next to the Verizon store on Exit 7 of I-575, but things got complicated and no one but me was able to make it... I'm here currently, but I found out that no one else can make it. Oh well...

http://www.cariboucoffee.com/

New CCA Blog Members:

We also want to welcome my lovely sister Julia to CoffeeCupApologetics.com. I look forward to being edified by her future posts...

We also had Jose and Pablo finally start blogging :) -- Guys, hope to see you next CCA get together this weekend.

Emergence: Hollow and Deceptive? Or Just a New Perspective?

Have you heard of the Emerging Church?

Before we talk about that though, we first have to understand this thing called postmodernism. In a nutshell, postmodernism rejects all facets of modernism, as well as any other systematic worldview or power structure, and replaces them with a whole other set of beliefs (i.e. relativism). Author Gene E. Veith Jr. explains:

"MODERNIST HERESIES HAVE FLOUNDERED, BUT NOW POSTMODERNIST HERESIES REPLACE THEM. RATIONALISM, HAVING FAILED, IS GIVING WAY TO IRRATIONALISM--BOTH ARE HOSTILE TO GOD'S REVELATION, BUT IN DIFFERENT WAYS. MODERNIST DID NOT BELIEVE THE BIBLE IS TRUE. POSTMODERNISTS HAVE CAST OUT THE CATEGORY OF TRUTH ALLTOGETHER" (Postmodern Times, 193).

BUT-- and this is a BIG but-- the term postmodern is also used to simply describe the era in which we live. I.e. One that is post--or after--the modern era. Which is why some churches are actually coining themselves "postmodern." My concern, however, is that in trying to reach out to a postmodern world, the emergent church is itself adopting and promoting very unbiblical and dangerous ideologies.

I've been doing quite a bit of research on this emergent movement and I found a two-part article that I believe gives a good perspective on what's going on with the EC movement. It's challenging and down-to-earth. Check it out on TrueU.org--

PART ONE: http://www.trueu.org/dorms/stulounge/A000000242.cfm
PART TWO: http://www.trueu.org/dorms/stulounge/A000000248.cfm

It CRUCIAL, that you read both articles, otherwise you're not going to get the whole picture.

More to come on this later.

p.s. I encourage you to do some research and give me your input. This isn't something worth ignoring.

Control Freak

I did it! I did it!

It is still Wednesday as I write this, and I fully intend to get this to you by Wednesday. So technically, even though you’ll likely receive and read this on Thursday, I can still say that I got it out on Wednesday! Now that right there is how you thumb your nose at the system! 10 points for Mikey and loopholes! =)

(Did anyone notice the inordinate amount of exclamation points?!)

Anyway, I figure I have an excuse to be a little cockamamie. I actually sat through a 3.5 hour lecture on the apocrypha and pseudepigrapha, the rise of Rabbinic Theology and other “precious gems” of post-second Temple Judaism (Ba-Ba-Ba-Boring!). Actually, it is quite interesting, but not at 9:30 PM following 3 hours of incessant droning. 10 more points for me!

Ok really though… Tuesday for me was a day of testing. Not academic, standardized testing – but testing of my faith and trust in God. Remember how James says that faith is nothing if not validated and manifested through how I conduct my life. Well, the Lord put several obstacles in my way that challenged my faith/worldview and ensured the Lord’s sovereignty. The actual hurdles are immaterial; in the grand scheme of things, they mean nothing.

The best part is that the Lord prepared me for what I was to go through. Throughout all my QTs this week, I have read about the Lord’s control over everything. And I mean everything. I tend to be a bit of a “control freak,” as the kids these days say (I prefer administrative extraordinaire, but that’s just me).

In any case, I decided to read the book of Genesis. So, those evening’s I recounted the story of creation through the flood narrative. I kept realizing God’s control:

1. How He spoke everything into existence.

2. How managed every detail.

3. How He would not allow deviations from His “plan” to sway Him from pursuing the ultimate purpose of a relationship with mankind. (The fall, Cain, etc.)

God, in His infinite mercy, still makes provision for us to reestablish our fellowship with Him, despite our constant betrayal. He had everything in such an order, that He even made it a point to bless the birds! (Gen. 1:22, Matt. 6)

Everything I read pointed straight to God’s complete and absolute control in every facet of life. I didn’t realize it then, but it was like the Lord knew on Monday what I was going to go through on Tuesday! Who woulda thunk it, huh?!

Not only did He know, but in all His grace and mercy, He prepared me for all of it. Despite everything going on around me, and despite all the reasons why I could doubt God and want to take things into my own hands, the Lord spared me some anguish. The phrase constantly reverberating in my mind was that the Lord was in control… there was absolutely no doubt about that. Now matter how I sliced it, I could not deny that the Lord was in control of the events in my life. It was my job to sit back and let Him drive (I think Carrie Underwood might know a little something about this: Jesus take the wheel; take it from my hands…). Now isn’t that something?!

So yea, I pray you are encouraged by that. Hopefully it can serve as a gentle prodding to read the Word and spend time with the Lord. There is a promise in the OT that His Word will not return void. If you legitimately put in the time and effort, God’s Word will not be fruitless in your life.

MTI

Epiphany?

Good evening all!

I apologize for the late hour of this e-mail. My entire week has been occupied with "stuff" and I haven't been able to chisel out some time to write this. I've probably worked harder than a squirrel before winter. Or not? No, but really. Ugh, I am tired. I had the unthinkable joy of staying until 4 AM studying last night. Ok, serious mode.

You know, I had a rather interesting thought this evening as I emerged from Subways and looked on US1 as cars streamed by. I was astounded at how many people there are in this world. Have you ever stepped back from it all and noticed this? The world is filled with people. And get this... Christ is seeking a relationship with each and every one of them. God cares about all the people in those cars speeding down the road (I Timothy 2:3, 4). All those people who I will never see again, and all those people who pass me by. Let me tell you, we have our work cut out for us.

Now, does this mean that I am to abandon everything become a soap-box Preacher on the sidewalk? No, I personally believe that this method of evangelism is overwhelming ineffective. Nonetheless, I do acknowledge that some who are gifted and called to this evangelistic style and are greatly fruitful with the aid of the Holy Spirit.

The last 2 e-mails have focused on glorifying God. Also, last Friday we spoke about the importance of glorifying God in those "Now what?" moments. Of course, there is a connection here. When the eyes are on us, we have the opportunity to be an arrow pointing to our Creator willingly giving Him the glory. Remember, God will receive glory, that is no question; the real question is how He will receive it. Will we give it to Him selflessly? In doing so, our examples and testimonies will have a far greater impact than our words. Paul even says that we are to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ (Phil 1:27). Also, towards the end of Colossians chapter 1 (don't remember the exact), Paul indicates the effectiveness of our testimonies in evangelism.

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. There are so many people out there. There are only so many of us. No matter how big the task may seem, we are still called to be examples to this world and glorify Him. We must be purposeful in our relationships so as to be winsome. This is probably the best (and most natural) result of a life lived to glorify God.

MTI

PS - I remembered to tag this post JJ... just for you!

Share The Joy!

"A joyful heart is good medicine." - Proverbs 17:22

....So share the Joy you have in Christ Jesus! :)

MOISES, MOISES......

.......entonces dijo Moises a Jehova: !ay, señor! nunca he sido hombre de fácil palabra, ni antes,...........porque soy tardo en el habla y torpe de lengua".........(Genesis 6:10)
como milagro me levante temprano y hablando con Dios me acorde como era yo antes, una persona timida y con baja autoestima.
Se que muchos les ha pasado lo mismo, eso ha afectado muchas cosas en nosotros y como Moises le paso, ponemos muchas escusas en nuestra vidas, por que tenemos miedo y nuestra confiansa esta en nosotros mismos.....
Hace poco me paso lo mismo de antes, tube miedo de tomar desiciones que afectaran mi vida, pero Dios me hace entender que asi como Moises no estoy solo, que el tiene el control de mi vida y que esta conmigo y no me desampara lo único que tengo que hacer es obedecer y dejar mi confiansa en El. (Genesis 6:11,12)
A la final tu desides, Moises hiso lo correcto entrego su vida a Dios y obedecio y si siguen leyendo la manera que Dios lo transformo en un hombre sin temor, obediente, y confiado en un Dios poderoso el único que tu y yo podemos confiar ahora...:)

Meeting Time Changed For This Week

Hey guys due to Laura C's birthday and that JJ will be hanging with his sister for the day, we will have the meeting @ 2pm on Sunday at It's a Grind. That's in Canton, take a left on 575 exit-14 and it will be on the left hand side by Publix. We will be discussing our quiet times with God and scripture from this week. God Bless

:: Brokenness, Humility And The Secret To Joy ::

:: The Secret To Joy ::
The secret to joy is gratitude that comes from a humble recognition of God's mercy and kindness! -- James 1:17 says, "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow."

...Read the rest of this post at www.jjsierra.com/livingthedash (my personal Blog)

:: Warm Cookies and True Happiness ::

"Happiness is a warm cookie." - OtisSpunkmeyer Cookies

....Otis was a little wrong when he said that.

There is true happiness in life only when we have a relationship with Jesus christ... A warm cookie is just the "cherry on top!" ;)

With a cup of milk of course :)

"God Worth" NOT "Self-Worth"

GotQurestions.org's last email gave me insight into a more correct way to define my worth as God's creation... Very cool...

"What does the Bible say about self-worth?"
"The Bible actually has many passages that tell us what God has to say about our worth and our value in His eyes. Genesis 1:26-27 says we are made in His image, the very image of God. Psalm 139:13-16 says we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and all the days of our lives were written in God’s book before we were ever born, confirming God’s prior knowledge and plan for our lives. Ephesians 1:4 says God chose His children before the foundations of the earth were ever formed, and in Ephesians 1:13-14 we’re told we are God’s own possession chosen for the praise of His glory, and that we have an inheritance in heaven with Him as His children

But notice the wording in each of the above phrases: "are made," "are fearfully and wonderfully made," "were written," "God chose
His children," "we are God's own possession," and "we have an inheritance." These phrases all have one thing in common: they are things
done to us or for us by God. These are not things we have done for ourselves, nor have we earned or deserved them. We are, in fact, merely the recipients of "all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3).

Therefore, we can conclude that our worth is not really of the "self" at all, but rather it is worth given to us by God. We are of
inestimable value to Him because of the price He paid to make us worthy—the death of His Son on the cross."

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Thus, it's not about "my self-worth" but of my ."God-worth" ;)
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I encourage you to go check out GotQuestions.org and sign up for their email.

First Post

"Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies."

1 CORINTHIANS 8:1 NKJV

Knowledge can be attained very easy but we must grow and mature as we gain it. If we know a lot of facts and BIBLE verses but we show no love. We will become prideful. Most people need compassion rather than facts.