August 30, 2010
A couple of years ago I read “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote. It has to be one of the best pieces of prose ever written. Every sentence is a literary masterpiece. Capote takes a true-life tragedy and turns it into one of the all-time great stories of suspense and justice. Some people, however, cannot enjoy the book due to the scandalous life of the author. On the other hand, I loved the book even if I don’t particularly like Truman Capote.
In my personal time I am reading through the Gospel of John which contains some powerful teachings of Jesus about life (now and eternal), about God and His work, and about the fallacy of religion versus the authenticity of real faith. Mostly, the Gospel of John gives us a clearer understanding of the identity of Jesus.
This morning I read John 5 which describes a miracle of Jesus, the message learned from the miracle, and the criticism Jesus received for performing the miracle on the Sabbath. And Jesus returns the fire of His critics, excoriating them for hypocrisy. In John 5:39, Jesus tells the religious leaders: “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life.” Yet, three verses later, He says: “You do not have the love of God in your hearts (5:42).
For those of us who are part of the modern religious establishment, that’s powerful. Sometimes we are guilty of “studying the Scriptures because we think they possess eternal life” while we harbor bitterness, judgment, and harsh feelings toward those who are not studying the Scriptures.
Is it possible that we too do not have the love of God in our hearts? Is it possible that we’re so intent on knowledge of God that we’ve missed the heart of God? Is it possible that we’ve learned the Scriptures while missing the One who offers Salvation to sinners? Is it possible that we love the Book so much that we’ve forgotten to love it’s Author? May we love the Book, but may we love the One who inspired it even more!
Posted in church, religion | Tagged John 5, Gospel of John, Study the Scriptures, Love the Scriptures, Love of God | Leave a Comment »
August 6, 2010
Scripture tells us that “Godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6:6).” The clear teaching of Scripture is that we need to be content with God’s gifts for our lives—that we don’t need to indulge in the never-ending journey to have more stuff. However, contentment doesn’t mean acceptance of the status quo. God is always calling us to grow, to be stretched, to be changed, and to allow Him to transform our lives–drawing us nearer to Him and making us more like Him. What is God telling you? What is He challenging you to change? Are you going to yield to Him or block Him out? Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Posted in Family, church, culture, religion | Leave a Comment »
June 7, 2010
This morning my devotional reading included Psalm 119:11 which says “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Likewise, Psalm 1 explains that the one who lives a “blessed” life delights in God’s law and meditates upon it day and night. This catalyst for spiritual growth is woven throughout the fabric of Scripture.
As I considered similar passages, I started asking myself what other disciplines, practices and lifestyles might enable us to grow ever stronger as God followers.
Five Fundamental Lifestyles:
1. Contemplation & Adoration of the Creator
2. Consideration & Emulation of Jesus Christ
3. Service & Sharing with those in Need
4. Proclamation & Propagation of Christian Thought & Spirituality
5. Responsibility & Accountability within a Christian Community
___________
6. Dying to & Denying Oneself (via Jacob Walsh, www.eology.wordpress.com)
What do you think? What would you add to the list?
Posted in church, religion | Tagged Christian Spirituality, Christian Thought, spiritual disciplines, Spiritual Growth | 6 Comments »
March 28, 2010
Like bookends, Jesus begins His ministry with an explanation of the Gospel, and ends His ministry with an explanation of the Gospel. What is “Gospel?” Simply put, it’s God’s “good news.” So what are the bookends?
Luke 4:18-19: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Mark 16:15-16: “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
At the beginning of His ministry, Gospel is clearly defined in “social” terms. At the end of His ministry, Gospel is defined in “salvation” terms. Are these mutually exclusive? Why must progressive Christians embrace only the first part of the Gospel, and why must conservative Christians embrace only the second part of the Gospel? Both are part and partial to the whole Gospel!
Posted in Politics, church, culture, religion | Tagged Conservative Christianity, Emergent Church, Evangelical Church, Progressive Christianity, social gospel | 1 Comment »
March 26, 2010
“A friend of mine, a young pastor who recently started a church, talks to me from time to time about the new face of the church in America–about the postmodern church. He says the new church will be different from the old one, that we will be relevant to culture and the human struggle. I don’t think any church has ever been relevant to the culture, to the human struggle, unless it believed in Jesus and the power of His gospel. If the supposed new church believes in trendy music and cool Web pages, then it is not relevant to culture either. It is another tool of Satan to get people to be passionate about nothing.” (Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003, p. 111.)
Posted in church, culture | Tagged Blue Like Jazz, Church Relevancy, Donald Miller | Leave a Comment »
March 3, 2010
Breaux’s Personal Mission Statement from Micah 6:8
(1) Act Justly; (2) Love Mercy; (3) Walk Humbly
Do you know who you are?
#1–Gotta know who I am
-The “me” I pretend to be…
-The “me” I think I should be…
-The “me” others want me to be…
-The “me” I’m afraid to be…
-The “me” I fail to be…
-The “me” I am MEANT to be…
Ephesians 2:10; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6
#2–Gotta know why I do what I do
“Search me O God”
John 5:30; 1 Thessalonians 2:4
#3–Gotta know what I want to accomplish
Luke 9:51
#4–Gotta get alone with God
Luke 5:15-16
#5–Gotta Share the Load
Mark 3:14 (1) with Him (2) Send them Out
#6–Gotta Take Time to Enjoy Life
“When your strength is gone, your joy is gone.”
“The Joy of the Lord is my strength” –Nehemiah
(1) Divert Daily; (2) W/Draw Weekly; (3) Abandon Annually
#7–Gotta Never Stop learning
Proverbs 18:15; Ecclesiastes 10:10
Posted in church, culture, religion | Tagged DNA of a Dangerous Church, Heartland Community Church, Mike Breaux, Parkview Christian Church, Synergy 2010 | Leave a Comment »
March 3, 2010
“The worship of safety emasculates greatness.” –Max Lucado
“What if faith, not fear, was your response to whatever you are facing?” –Mike Breaux
DNA #1: Passionately Love Jesus
DNA #2: Ruthlessly Eliminate Ego
DNA #3: Courageously Go Against the Flow
DNA #4: Selflessly Extend Compassion
DNA #5: Unconditionally Trust God
“Will we “Unconditionally Trust God?”
John 14:1, Revelation 3:7-13; Joshua 1:9; Ephesians 6:12; 1 John 4:16-18
“To TRUST is to be absolutely convinced in the reliability of God.”
Posted in church, culture, religion | Tagged DNA of a Dangerous Church, Heartland Community Church, Mike Breaux, Parkview Christian Church, Synergy 2010 | Leave a Comment »
January 15, 2010
Like me, I imagine that you have been rather troubled by the catastrophic earthquake that has taken place this past week in Haiti. Death estimates range from 50,000 to 500,000 depending on the source. Beyond the dead there are millions of people without food, water, basic shelter, and the protections that we are accustomed to here in the United States. We are truly a blessed people—and those who are blessed are expected to bless others.
At all of our weekend services, this weekend, we will collect a disaster-relief fund for Haiti. The organization that will receive our offering is called “Food for the Hungry” (www.fh.org). This particular organization is Christian, is recommended by respected Christian leaders, and has very little overhead/administrative costs. According to their website: “More than 91% of their total income, including commodities, goes to field programs,” (http://www.fh.org/who/finances). They, in turn, will direct the money to Haitian relief as quickly as possible.
During our offering times this weekend, we are going to designate all loose change to “Food for the Hungry” as well as any designated gifts. For instance, if you are regular contributor to Crossroads, and you give $200 every two weeks via our offering envelopes, and you would like to designate another $50 to Haiti Disaster Relief, then you would write $200 in the “current expense” box on your envelope, and $50 in the “other” box, and then include a check for $250. However, if you are not a regular contributor to Crossroads, but you want to put a $50 bill into the offering plates, then your $50 will go to “Food for the Hungry.”.
This morning, as we were getting our oldest son ready for School, we asked him if he had his money for the book fair. He said, “No. I’m not going to buy that book. I’m going to save my money for our Haiti offering at church.” Although it is a book he’s been wanting, he decided to make a sacrifice for those in need. At Crossroads, we do a lot to serve our broken neighbors in Joliet—and we will continue to do so—but now is the time to give basic food and water to our neighbors to the south, in Haiti. I hope and pray that you will give with a cheerful and generous heart.
Posted in Family, church, culture, religion | Tagged Churches Helping Haiti, Food for the Hungry, Haiti Earthquake, Haitian Relief Fund | Leave a Comment »
