July 22, 2008 by Matt.

Hey guys, I am still here. Last week we had LifeCamps at my church. I took off work to work it. It was amazing. Anyways, that is why I have not been on in a while. More about camp later. Till then you all have a good one.

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July 14, 2008 by Matt.

I just read a very interesting blog post here. In this blog post a pastor rants about his anger towards people who had stolen the trailer in which they stored many of the tools they used in their ministry. The pastor goes on to tell about how they (the church) has forgiven the individuals that stole the trailer, but that there are consequences for this and that if they (the church) found these individuals as he said, “I can promise we will kick the crap out of you.” He then goes on to say, “As soon as I hit publish on this blog post a church of about 1000 crazy people will know that our black, children’s trailer has been stolen and I can promise they will be on the lookout for it. You would much rather me find you then one of them.”

I think of two verses when I read this,

 Matthew 5:39 (NIV) “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. and if someone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.” I like the way The Message paraphrase says it even better, “Don’t hit back at all. If someone strikes you, stand there and take it.”

Or, how about Ephesians 4:26 where Paul tells us, “Be ye angry, and sin not” (KJV).

While I do not condemn this pastor, or his congregation, I do question his stand. I have given two examples of where the bible tells us not to retaliate against those that sin against us. Heck the Lords prayers asks that God, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us. If this how we “forgive” those that trespass against us, then how is it that we should expect God to “forgive” us.

I certainly don’t claim to know everything there is to know about everything. As such I ask anhybody reading this to show me the scripture that tells us we should respond in this manner. Again, I amnot judging this pastor for his post, I just question the wisdom of it. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:23, “Everything is permissable - but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissable - but not everything is constructive.”

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July 8, 2008 by Matt.

David was anointed to be king when he was still a boy. I am not sure exactly how old he is, but it seems to be that we was a preteen, or maybe in his early teens. While this is when he was anointed to be king of Israel, it was many years later that he actually became king. When David was anointed to be king the current king was Saul. Sometime after David’s anointing Saul went crazy and became determined to kill David. So, David avoided several of Saul’s attempts on his life, and then finally fled. David then finds himself living with the Philistines. The Philistines were enemies of the Israelites. Most of you are probably familiar with the story of David and Goliath. Well, Goliath was a Philistine. David lived with his mortal enemies for some time before returning to his own people and becoming king.

This is where I feel I am. No, there is not somebody trying to kill me, and no I don’t feel that I am living with my mortal enemies. However, I can relate to the time between when David was anointed to be king and when he actually became king. I know that God has called me to full-time ministry, but in many ways I don’t feel any closer to that calling then when I first felt the call.

There is a part of me that longs to sell my house, pack up the family and go off to seminary. However, I am being told by many people that I trust that I really don’t need to do that. Plus, I can’t really uproot my family to do something that I WANT to do, but am sure God wants me to do.

Anyways, I guess this post was just so that I could unload a little. If you are one to pray, then pray for clarity; that I would know what direction God would have me to go.

I wonder did David ever find himself wondering if God really intended for him to be king of Israel. “God, if you really want me to be king of Israel, why am I living with the Philistines?” Ok, maybe he never actually asked that question, but I could see where he could have felt that way.

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