Last night I went to a debate at a seminary in town featuring Bart D. Ehrman, author of "Misquoting Jesus" & Mike Licona, author of "Paul Meets Muhammed". The debate was on the question, is the resurrection of Christ provable? It amazed me to watch these men, who obviously stand at complete extremes of the issue, go back and forth with point and counterpoint each explaining why their point of view is correct. After all of the references made to Apollonius of Tyana and other "christ motif" figures in history, historical references to "resurrection-like accounts, and explainations of history seeking the most probable occurance, I couldn't help but come to a simply conclusion-no one won the debate. History didn't prove Christ's resurrection that night, nor did it disprove it. I came away from that debate frustrated because it's clear that the acedemic disciplines fail to prove or disprove theological issues-the only one that comes close, mostly due to the logic it imploys, is philosophy. The argument really shouldn't have been is Christ's resurrection proven by history, but that does God exist at all? Point and counterpoint of the debate last night were both motivated by different presuppositions: one that God exists, therefore making Christ's resurrection the most probable occurance (because God raised Him!) and one that God doesn't exist, therefore making Christ's resurrection the least probable occurance. No question was answered independent of those precepts and therefore no real good was done.

Joshua chapter 2 Joshua sent out two spies on a mission. First thought: Joshua wasn't sending them someplace he had never been. He was leading from an understanding of what he was asking of them. Simple application: don't ask the people to pray more, to give more, to sacrifice more, to be involved more-if you are not doing the same things. Second thought: the mission-Joshua said, "Go look over the land, especially Jericho." The "especially Jericho" part stands out to me and makes me ask why? What is so important about Jericho? It was a fortified city with a water source, simply-it was the best of the area. Which means it would be the most difficult to capture, yet contain the biggest rewards when it was captured. Simple application: we can't be afraid to seek out the difficult situations or dreams, because they often contain the biggest payoff.

I found this old post and thought it needed resurrecting... Time plays tricks and I feel like the future becomes the stepchild to excuses and the perfect defense to the weak. If you don't enjoy the present you can just claim sanctuary in the cathedral of future. If decisions need to be ignored put them on the slow train to tomorrow. If feelings need to be spared invite your fear of confrontation to sign the peace treaty of an emotionless and undefined time to be announced. Ride the fence and make plans for a future that you know might never happen. Give it enough accumulations of days and a thing that is nothing might become something. Give false hope in the abused form of future, it even enjoys the dysfunctional affection of being lied to. Time plays tricks and I feel like we claim too much responsibility for things we can't change. The moments that were weak are gone. The moments that beg you to raise them from the grave should be comfortably enjoying their resting place not shouting for new life. The love's that seemed so real are better known as missed opportunities now. It's even too late for the words not said, the thoughts not acted upon, and the decisions not made. It's even time to release the over-celebrated successes and stop reliving the moments when everything was perfect; perfection is something to be strived for and it's certainly not found in the past. Time plays tricks and now is the time to liberate mind, soul, and body with simple applications. First, be honest about intention. Don't play along with the tricks of time and utilize the comfort of allowing the future to be what it may. Second, don't allow the voice of time passed to cloud the truth of reality lived in the present; whether good or bad. Third, if you must reference future, do so with the brutal understanding that it doesn't belong to you.

"If leadership is rooted in service, then service is rooted in encouragement. Leaders help unlock the strengths and passions of people through encouragement." -Brendon Burchard

I have decided to begin a systematic study of the Book of Joshua and I'm finding so many principles leaping out of the pages. Here are some key thoughts I have right now. Joshua 1:2, "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give...to the Israelites...(vs. 5)...No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life." What a promise! But it is founded on another promise...that God would be with him and never forsake him. Yet, in the midst of the promise that no one could stand against him, and that God would never leave him or forsake him, God commands Joshua four times to be strong and courageous. Verse 6, "Be strong and courageous because you will lead these people..." There are a few things that interest me here. God didn't give Joshua a if/then proposition. He didn't say, "If you are strong and courageous then you will lead." He says, "because you will lead be strong and courageous." God had chosen Joshua. He was going to use Joshua and he needed Joshua to rise up to the call. I think the people following Joshua needed him to be strong and courageous more than anything. He had to win their confidence and trust. The key to Joshua's leadership success, however, wasn't that he was strong and courageous, but that he was careful to obey all the law, not turning from it, and meditating on it day and night. Verse 8b, "Then you will be prosperous and successful." Our competence as leaders must be motivated by obtaining a clear vision from God and then having the strength and courage to cast that vision to those who will follow us, while maintaining the priority of living out the Word that is hidden in our hearts.

I just talked to one of my former students yesterday and what he said challenged me greatly. He told me of his plans to put off going to college so that he could give every cent he earned to missions. I was blown away, and immediately convicted. I wondered if I've ever sacrificed that much to be obedient to God. Could I give every dollar I make to God? Or what if it isn't money that God is requiring from me? What if it's obedience in another area? I guess the real question is: Am I listening?

I left for church at about 6:20 am and didn't arrive until almost 7:15. It's supposed to take 15 minutes. I'm always amazed by the people who drive a million miles an hour when there's 5 inches of snow on the ground. The drive home should be fun.

I'm reading the book, "Love and Respect," by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, and it is somewhat of an answer to prayer. I had heard of the book, but never read it-mostly because I wasn't married; on September 29, 2007, that changed and so did my need to really understand how to be a good husband. Which is a completely new dimension of my life that, although I'm a Pastor and Christian, I was utterly unprepared for. Here are some key thoughts that I needed to remind myself of: "We easily see what is done to us before we see what we are doing to our mate," "His love motivates her respect and her respect motivates his love." The author goes beyond the common themes of communication barriers and I feel pinpoints the cycle of conflict that my wife and I sometimes find ourselves in: "Without love she reacts without respect; without respect he reacts without love." I highly recommend this book to anyone. The foundational scripture the author uses for this book is Ephesians 5:33, "Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." I'm anxious to read through it with Shannon.

This is my prayer. I'm sure it won't be exactly like yours, but it should motivate you to ask yourself this question: Am I dealing with God in honesty? "God, let me deal with you in honesty. Honest in my pride, admitting that it needs to be defeated. Honest in my anger, realizing that there shouldn't be such a struggle to find joy and peace. Honest in humiltiy, finding a way to remind myself that I truly am nothing when compared to you. Honest in my need, forfeiting self-dependance for the recklessness of giving you complete control." It's easier to fake spirituality when isolated, because there's no one to be accountable to; only self. An isolated person is usually a liar, lying about relationship with God and love for others. At what point can an isolated person break free of the cycles that keep them isolated? The path to freedom has been so familiarly faked that it's hard to get off of that path. This is key: The most reliable avenue is to give the Word of God a chance to be the light that will open up more God-directed paths to freedom. I find it true that when I feel like I am going nowhere spritually, eventhough I might even be spending time in prayer and worship, it's because I haven't placed the Word of God in its rightful place, to guide my life. Think about it, we can lie to ourselves in prayer, making ourselves "feel" like we are getting closer to God-just because we are using words, and, in the same way, our hearts can be far from being in the right place when we worship. But, when we hide the Word of God in our hearts, and begin to do what it says, there is no chance of being led in the wrong direction. I think the whole point is this: God's word will make us deal with Him in honesty.