The Link between King David and Duct Tape

So what do you think the link is? (This is not a trick question, there really is a connection)

Before I answer this question I would to tell you a little bit about how I see King David. Scripture tells us that David was a man after God's own heart. I am so blown away by this description. What an honor to be seen in this light by God. This is how I see David. I look at him no so much as a great King but as man who made his share of mistakes but who also sought after God with great passion.

I think for David passion was the key. As I have looked over David's life I see two definite passions. The first is that of music. We learn from 1 Samuel that David's abilities on the harp were such that he was the one who was able to calm King Saul when he went into one of his fits. David did not learn to play the harp with this kind of skill overnight. I am not sure when started playing but he must have liked because he kept playing. This indicates to me a great love for all things musical. Later on in life we know for sure that he wrote a funeral song for Abner and created a temple choir. Because of this love of music many people believe David to be the author of many of the songs found in the book of Psalms. While I am not 100% sure if he is the author I do tend to think that the likelihood is pretty good given his known musical talents and abilities and his love of music. So what does all of this have to do with Duct Tape????

Well it is about passion. Many of you know that I love Duct Tape. I enjoy making DT clothing. I look for ways to use DT in my teaching lessons. I look forward to the day when God allows me to use DT in a sermon (Yes it has been done before just not by me). Some may laugh at this but I think my love of DT is something God has given me. I believe God has given each one us the capacity to have incredible passions. These passions can take any number of forms. In fact, I believe there are an unlimited number of passions God can give us. The key for you and I is to make sure that we use these passions in the right way. We must make sure that we use them for God's glory. For me and DT that has meant trying to use DT as means of making connections and building relationships with the goal of sharing Christ with people.

So what are your passions?
Why has God given you those passions?
What re you doing with those passions? Should you be doing more?

Do you understand that your passions come from the God who loves you more than you will ever know? If not, let me know so we can talk more about this.

God's Holiness

Have you ever truly considered what it means to say that God is holy? Have you ever taken the time to ponder how His holiness should affect how we relate to God?

I have been going through a Bible Study called Downpour. I meet with a group of men at 6:15 in the morning (hard to believe that I am up and doing a bible study at that time in the am) every Thursday to discuss the study and what God is teaching us through it. The basic premise of the book is that Christian typically fail in their understanding of God's holiness. It is more than just being different or separate from us. It is the kind of separateness that can literally kill someone when they come in contact with it. So this begs the question....How does (or should) this picture of God change how you approach Him in prayer and worship?

We must also consider how we are to balance this idea with what we find in 1 John 4:17 where we are told that we, as believers, we will have confidence on the day of judgment. In other words, we will not have fear when we come into the presence of God on the Day of Judgment. How is this possible? How is it that we will be able to stand in the presence of God's Holiness and not die much less have confidence even boldness?

As I have considered these questions the only thing I have come up with is that is because of Christ and his blood. His sacrifice makes it possible to have assurance and confidence when I consider eternity. I do not fully understand exactly how it all works all I know is that Scripture teaches us that it does. If you are someone who does not have this kind of assurance or you have questions about being a Christian I would love to hear from you. I would love to take some time and discuss with you more about God's holiness and Christ's sacrifice. You can reach me through email at bcm@ubcfellowship.com. For the rest of you please feel free to leave your thoughts and ideas on this subject.

Make Your Joy Complete

So God's word tells us that He will gives a joy and peace that surpasses all understanding. It will satisfy us more than anything here on Earth. Many Christians though do not experience this joy on a regular basis. There are a variety of reasons why this is the case for so many of us. This being said I think there is one area of our lives that we should all examine when we realize that we are missing out on the joy God desires us to have.

I John 1:4 tells us that when we share our testimony our joy can be made complete. I know in my own life when I am not telling people about God and what He has been doing in my life then I feel incomplete. So if you are not experiencing the peace and joy God promises you might want to ask yourself....Am I sharing with people the things I have seen and heard (1 John 1:3).

The Light of God

Have you ever considered what kind of light He created in Genesis 1:3-5?

I had not until recently.

Some of you know that the Youth have started a series we have called Cliff Notes on the Bible II. We covered part I last Fall and so this year we are going back and filling in some of the gaps. One of the gaps from last year was a closer examination of the actual creation account. As I was preparing for the lesson I realized that God created light long before He created the sun, moon and stars. So this got me to thinking about what kind of light did He create.

Bottom line for me is that I am not sure. One idea is that it could simply be the creation of what we would understand to be the scientific concept of light. This is hard to imagine because it has no definable source.

So what do you think? What was this light God had created?

How to Memorize

So how much Scripture do you have memorized? Is it hard for you to do? What techniques do you use?

I am no expert at memorizing Scripture but I did want to share something with you that I learned in 7th grade (U.S. History) about how to memorize things. It is actually a pretty easy method:

1. Break the verse down into smaller segments.
2. Memorize each segment
3. Recite the whole verse together
4. Come back to the verse about 1 hour later and repeat steps 1-3 as necessary
5. Come back to the verse about 1 day later and repeat steps 1-3 as necessary
6. Come back to the verse about 1 week later and repeat steps 1-3 as necessary

I hope this makes sense. If you have any techniques you would like share please do so.

Have a great day!