“Humility: True Greatness” – C.J. Mahaney

Just finished another great book by C.J. Mahaney. Here are some highlights for me:

• Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness.
• If you’re like me, you compare yourself to others and look for opportunities to claim greater importance than them, just as the disciples did.
• True greatness, biblically defined: Serving others for the glory of God.
• You should have a practical list to daily weaken pride and cultivate humility.
• “Fill your affections with the cross of Christ that there may be no room for sin” – John Owen
• How we begin our morning so often sets the tone for the day. I’m convince that the most decisive time of our day is very often our first waking moments, because they color everything to come.
• “Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?” – Martyn Lloyd-Jones
• Only those who are humble can consistently identify evidences of grace in others who need adjustment.
• Some of the greatest manifestations of power I’ve seen are individuals who suffer greatly and yet aren’t complaining.
• In interacting with you, what is your spouse more aware of – evidences of grace you’ve noticed, or the need for change and growth?
• If you aren’t faithful to encourage, you can be sure you will eventually exasperate your child.
• Every conversation has potential. So let us pray, “Lord, help me discern what kind of grace this person needs.”
• What do your words reveal about your spirit? What report are your words filing about the condition of your soul?
• Are you regularly informing others of your temptations and sins, or do you present to them a carefully edited and flattering version of yourself?
• Parenting is about preparation
• If you’re a parent, don’t celebrate anything more than you celebrate Godly character.
• I never do anything passively. I’m never just observing. I always seek to impart discernment.

Love Where You Are

The more I observe my generation, and the more I look into my own heart, the more I see how unsatisfied we are. We don’t like our current job situations. We don’t like the ministry opportunities God has given us. We’re longing for the day when it will be better.

What is wrong with this outlook?

It is too easy to miss the moment.

What if we began to adopt a radical view on life where we chose to love where we are? Sure, it is healthy to dream and await the fulfillment of those dreams, but we miss out on the joys of today when we choose to live unsatisfied.

I am personally trying to make this a part of my daily routine – Love where you are! In all my current responsibilities, ministries, and relationships, I will not allow dissatisfaction to take its toll on me. I will invest myself in the purpose of God today and choose to love every minute of it.

There’s an adventure waiting for those who take the challenge.

Guitar Hero Ministry Mentality – Steven Furtick

Just read this great post by Pastor Steven Furtick:

“If my generation isn’t careful, we may fall into a Guitar Hero mentality toward ministry:
Everybody wants to be a rock star, but no one wants to learn the chords.

It’s hard work to study God’s Word.  To pray for breakthrough.  To do spiritual battle on behalf of those we lead.  To charge forward in faith for the cause of Christ.  To run a church with the highest standard of excellence.

Aspiring ministers:
Be willing to pay the price.  Or please go do something else with your life.”

Approaching God with Gladness

Over the past couple months, I have been preparing for a missions trip with the Young Adults. Throughout this preparation process, it has occurred to me that evangelism is only effective if we speak out of experience. Yes, we preach the Gospel. But have we experienced the Gospel? Yes, we tell people God is great. But have we experienced His greatness? Have you ever had a boring teacher throughout high school or college? What makes that teacher boring? The reason is that they are simply spitting out information; they don’t necessarily love what they are saying.

What in the world does this have to do with worship, you may ask? Everything. Consider this Scripture:

“The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!” (Psalm 97:1).

Before you can reflect God, you must experience God. Do you approach God out of duty or joy? Gladness or guilt? The goal of worship is not simply for us to do it, but that the nations might also be glad in God. Your life will speak volumes to unbelievers when they see that you are glad in God, no matter what you are going through.

Will you approach God with gladness this week? Is He your joy?

John Owen Quote

“Fill your affections with the cross of Christ that there may be no room for sin.”

- John Owen

Special Guest Speaker this Tuesday Night

I am very excited to have Matt & Michelle Brown with us at APEX this coming Tuesday night. Matt is an evangelist who travels the world, preaching the Gospel. Matt and I are friends from college. I have been inspired by his passion for souls and for holiness.

Check out his blog and his website for more info.

If you’re a young adult in the Pittsburgh area, be sure to join us Tuesday night at 7!

What is the goal of your gift?

Have you ever considered that the very use of your gift brings glory to God, if it is used properly? This week I am so excited to share one of my favorite passages of Scripture. Check this out:

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies – in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever” (I Peter 4:10-11).

According to Peter, the context of this verse is related to the end of time. Verse 7 indicates, “The end of all things it at hand; therefore…” Following is a list of what we should do because the end is near: be self-controlled, sober-minded, love one another, show hospitality, and…use the gift you have been given.

There is a way to use your gift so that is brings glory to God, or in such a way that it dishonors God. According to our passage, here are two clues that we are bringing glory to God through the use of our gifts:

• using our gifts to serve one another
• realizing we are stewards of God’s grace

Is it not amazing to realize that the gifts you have are displays of God’s grace to the world? They are meant to showcase His worth, not yours. When we serve one another through His strength, we bring glory to God. If we use our gift in a self-seeking manner, we do not.

Verse 11 reveals God’s goal for God’s distributed gifts – so that “in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” Allow God’s Word to penetrate your heart as you realign your foundation for serving.

Spend some time reflecting on this question – “What is the goal of my gifts?”

Do You Enjoy the Bible?

Do you love the Word of God? Do you enjoy it as you enjoy a great book, going to the movies, watching sports, reading magazines, or shopping?

Maybe you’re thinking, “Am I supposed to enjoy the Bible? Shouldn’t I just buckle down and do it because I know its right?”

The answer to both of those questions is YES. I have a strong desire to see God and His Word pursued with passion and pleasure.

I believe there are three reasons Christians don’t spend much time in the Word of God:

1. We feel guilty for being inconsistent.
2. We don’t understand much of the Bible.
3. Our time is governed by mindless entertainment.

In this post, I’d like to key in on point three. I believe we need to train ourselves to enjoy the Bible. We do this by repetition. I personally try to utilize much of my leisure time by reading Scripture and/or books devoted to understanding Scripture. The more you do this, the more you will see the Bible as fascinating, fun, and the most important use of your time.

Sometime we are tired. Stressed. Busy. In a ‘fun’ mood. We reserve our “Scripture reading” to a few minutes in the morning or once a month when our passion is dried up. We fill endless hours with TV, friends, food, and other activities. What if we trained ourselves to read the Bible in these times more often? Instead of retreating to mindless entertainment choices, we could begin reading Scripture and understand more of God’s will.

I love the Word of God. It is amazing when the Holy Spirit opens your understanding to difficult portions of the Bible. It is fun. It is relaxing. It is energizing. It is life-changing.

Is the Word of God your entertainment for this evening?

Missions Trip to “Nowhere”?

In the middle of April this year, APEX (the young adult ministry of APC), is going on a missions trip to “Nowhere”. The idea of this trip was born out of a desire to live a missional life everyday. Going to other nations on ministry trips is necessary, but what do we do every other day of the year?

During this week, we will all stay at Allison Park Church. We will go to our normal jobs everyday with a specific outreach challenge ranging from acts of kindness to sharing the Gospel. We will memorize a verse of Scripture everyday. We will do outreaches in the city of Pittsburgh each evening. We will have powerful times of worship & prayer every morning, along with a challenging devotional. Small groups will be in action, reaching out together.

The good times are almost too many to mention, right?

I’m excited for how this week will teach us, challenge us, and how the Holy Spirit will use us in our workplaces and in our city.

If you’re interested in joining us for this week (April 14-18), please leave a comment on this post and I will get back to you. Looking forward to it!

40 Days of Consistency – Scripture for Week 2

Last week we looked at Psalm 43 and the “anticipation” aspect of worship. Continuing through the Psalms this week, I want to look at the theme of our vision – what our eyes look upon. The essence of worship is a response to who God is. It’s an effect of seeing Him - His attributes. In order to be pure, set-apart worshipers, we need to discipline our eyes to behold the right things. Consider these two verses:

“Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word” (Psalm 119:35-47).

Also,

“I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8).

I find this incredibly stirring. David had caught a glimpse of the beauty of God and the last thing he wanted was to be distracted from it. He knew his flesh was weak. If he spent time looking at “worthless” things, he knew his heart would be drawn away from what was truly beautiful; namely, the word of God.

What if we prepared our hearts for weekend worship by spending less time looking at worthless things? What if we allowed the beauty of creation to stir our worship? The Word of God? What if we chose to say ‘no’ to certain, legitimate pleasures in order to feast upon the greatness of God?

I know that Jesus is all satisfying and the more we gaze upon his glory, the more satisfied lives we will live.