Bob's Blog

I am sure that most of you heard the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego in Sunday School when you were young.  I thought of this story recently when my wife and I went to see the movie Fireproof.  There is the obvious connection with the title.  But, there is a more subtle connection as well.   In the Bible story, these men were instructed to bow to an idol created by the king.  The men would not bow.  As a result, they were threatened with the fiery furnace.  Their reaction showed the depth of their faith.   "If that  is   the case,  our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver  us  from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” The key line in their answer is, "But if not...we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship..."  Their answer was not contingent on God's reaction.  They were not going to

I think this needs no other explanation...

I recently accompanied our youth group on a trip to Mexico.  The video below was filmed at a community center in a small town in Mexico.  I love this skit.  In it, the main character is separated from Jesus by sin.  Those sins eventually turn on her and start to destroy her.  Jesus is grieved by her situation and comes to her rescue as she turns back to him.  He stands between her and the consequences of her sin and takes the "beating" for her.  To me, the cool part is at the end when Jesus starts to teach her how to dance again, just like at the beginning of the skit.   It is a very good representation of what Jesus does for all of us.  

It has been a while since I posted.  Sorry about that!  It has been a busy couple of months and now here we are only a few days from the start of the holiday season.   This time I wanted to direct you to a great website.   www.ransomedheart.com Ransomed Heart is the name of John Eldredge's ministry.  The site has links to all of his books, a blog and a forum.  The forum is a place where men and women can interact virtually.  There are some good topics.  Take a look around the site and tell me what you think. Just so you know, you can comment on any of my posts by looking for the "comment" link at the bottom of each post.  I would really like to hear what you think! Happy Thanksgiving!  

So often, what we can accomplish is limited not by our lack of skill, lack of ability or strength but simply by what we believe about ourselves. "I am not a good leader.  I am not a good public speaker.  I am not very smart.  I am not good at ...."  You fill in the blank.  We believe these things because we have been told that they are true or simply because we have decided them about ourselves.  Many times, we have believed them because it is easier that way.  We don't have to take a risk or put ourselves on the line.   In the video, Brock thinks he can make it to the 30 yard line.  But, he makes it to the opposite goal line.  Are you at the 30?  Don't quit!  What giants are you facing?  Is your marriage on the rocks?  Are your kids rebelling?  Don't quit!  Have you fallen to temptation once again?  Don't quit!  We are guaranteed to fail when we quit.  But, God has placed you here on this earth for a purpose.  Don't quit!

A couple of posts ago, I wrote about "desire." In that post, I said that our desires are not bad. That God gives us our desires and that we can live a life based on Desire not based on Duty. The trouble is, often we focus those desires on the wrong object instead of where God intended us to focus them.   A great example that most men can relate to is lust, often manifested as a struggle with pornography.  Lust is typically a search for affirmation, love, acceptance and beauty.  All of these are desires that are God-given, but the object is all wrong.  Those desires are intended to show us our deep need for an intimate relationship with God.  He is a God of love and beauty.  He offers affirmation and acceptance. But instead we choose a substitute, the woman!  In essence we are committing Adam's original sin all over again.   After Eve fell, Adam had a choice.  Does he follow after God or does he follow after the created being, Eve?  We all know the choice he made and ma

One of my favorite scenes in the movie "The Matrix" is the subway station fight scene. I know many of you have seen the movie, so I will not spend much time setting the scene. Neo has discovered that the world in which he has been living is a fake, an illusion; one in which humanity is held captive by machines, the matrix. But, he has become enlightened. In essence, he has been born again. He now understands the truth but he is still not sure of his role in it. During one of his trips back into the matrix he meets an agent, Mr. Smith, in the above mentioned subway station. During the fight that ensues the agent continues to refer to Neo by his old matrix name, Mr Anderson. The fight is a hard fought one. Clearly the agent is getting the upper hand. But, right at the last minute, when death looks imminent, Neo defiently says, "My name is Neo!" as he defeats the agent. Satan is just like Mr. Smith. He knows that we have been given a new name. "Neo&qu

I was listening to John Eldredge's podcast this week in which he quoted Frederick Buechner. "The place where God calls you is where your deep joy and the world's deep hunger meet." Can this really be true? Haven't we been taught in both deeds and words that the Christian life is more about duty than desire. I believe that Buechner's words are true. That God places down deep in our hearts, a desire that reveals his plan for our destiny. I believe that these core desires are what are referred to in Psalm 37:4. "Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart." These desires that God places in our hearts are not bad. They are good! They are very good! Our part in this equation is to "Delight yourself in the LORD." The revelation of the desires of our heart will follow.

On May 16, 2008, Steven Curtis Chapman's 5 year old adopted daughter was killed when his 17 year old son accidentally ran over her in their driveway with the family's SUV. I recall a conversation that my 16 year old son and I had the day after this happened. He asked, "Dad, what do you say to someone when they do something like that." I remember responding that I did not know, but I was confident that the first words out of Steven Curtis Chapman's mouth to his son were critical. A father's words are powerful for the positive or for the negative, especially in a tragedy such as this. A few weeks ago, Steven Curtis Chapman and his family were on Larry King Live. They described the events of that day. I won't go into all of the details, but I did find out what Steven's first words were to his devastated son. After hitting his sister Maria, Will sprinted down the driveway trying to get away from the accident scene. He was tackled by his 18 year old

...surpassing the usual or ordinary, heroic and impressive in quality! That is the definition of epic. When I think of films that are epics, I think of The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, Gone with the Wind and more recently, The Lord of the Rings. They are stories of epic struggle, life and death conflict and heroic action. Often, they are stories of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary events. YOU HAVE BEEN BORN INTO AN EPIC! It is a story much like the story told in The Lord of the Rings. Your story, like theirs, begins in the middle of time. In fact, at first Frodo and Sam do not even realize that they are key players in a dangerous struggle that began hundreds of years before they were born. They can't see it. They live in blissful ignorance of the struggle that rages just outside the borders of their world. We too, live in ignorance of the epic struggle that we have been born into. Although for many of us there is one key difference. Ours is not a blissful ignoranc

All of you are invited to the next JMC Cookout at 4pm on August, 23, 2008 at the Youth Center. All men and their sons are invited. We will have food, fellowship and games. Please bring a covered dish and a 2-liter. Don't forget to sign up at the Welcome Center at the church. Please see Bob Taylor or John Fernandes for more information.

Many of you know that we use a number of books written by John Eldredge in the JMC Men's Ministry. Some of you may not know what John Eldredge looks or sounds like. Here is a video of John summarizing his book called The Way of the Wild Heart .

Pastor Dehner says, "feed them and they will come." Well, break out the forks and spoons. On second thought, you don't need those for a cookout. Just leave those at home and bring some kind of food and a 2-liter. We will supply the meat and the grill. Have you ever noticed how most men don't even need a plate. Most times over the kitchen sink will suffice. The cookout will start at 4:00pm. Leave the kitchen sink at home too.