Super: Joshua is Wolverine

Wolverine was never one of my favorite characters from the X-Men, but he's hard not to like at least a little. He's tough as nails and always ready for a fight.  His instinct is to shoot first and ask questions later. . . or stab first in his case.  He is an independent warrior who has to learn how to play on a team when he joins up with Professor X and the X-Men.  He isn't used to following orders and his less than cool head make it difficult for him to obey.  Often this quality of Wolverine's gets the whole group into trouble.

We can be a lot like Wolverine.  Maybe we lack adamantine claws and mutant healing abilities, but we all possess his stubbornness at times.  We have our way of doing things and don't want to follow the rules or someone else's orders.  We often act without thinking things through.  Whether it's our boss, teacher, parents, or anyone else telling us what to do, we think we know better at least half of the time.  But what happens when we get this Wolverine-esque attitude with God?  What do we do when we think we know better than the Almighty?

There is a man in the Bible who fits Wolverine's description rather well.  He is a warrior through and through, solves problems with fighting first, and has a defining moment that revolves around obeying his commander.

Responding to God's Word

Have you ever been sitting in church listening to the preacher go on and on and wondered when the sermon would be over?  We've all been there, but in Nehemiah chapters 8 and 9, we see Ezra stand up and read from the Bible for four hours (possibly more)!  While I don't recommend our preachers start knocking out Lord of the Rings lengthed sermons like Ezra, I think we can learn from the response of the people.  Here are four tips to help you respond to God's Word whether you are listening to a sermon or reading on your own.

Feature Friday: Avengers - Made To Be Ruled

**Teensy Weensy Spoiler Alert: I'm gonna use a quote from the movie but nothing that really ruins the plot.  Just wanted to give fair warning to my spoiler paranoid friends.

Finally, a movie that has it all!  Its been a long time since I saw a movie this good.  Obviously, Avengers is an action packed flick with loads of special effects and crazy combat scenes.  But its more than just an explosion fest to herald in the epic summer movie season.  This movie actually has substance.  The dialogue is great and the movie touches on some great themes such as the strength of teamwork and the question of what makes a true hero.  Be warned, there is some swearing and obviously violence, but nothing over the top.  I highly recommend it and give it two thumbs up!

God Does the Heavy Lifting

Ever feel like God was asking you to do something beyond you?  I'm not talking about just the ridiculous, but the more normal stuff too.  Are you shy and bad with words and then the Holy Spirit urged you to share the gospel with a stranger on a bus?  Are you quick to anger or from a long line of yellers or drama queens and then read that Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers"?  Have you made a mess of things and know you need to confess but feel overwhelmed by the possible consequences?

Its easy to feel overwhelmed by some of the things that God asks us to do whether we read it in His Word, hear it from our spiritual leaders, or just plain feel convicted in our heart.

Before I went to college, I worked my butt off over the summer to save up enough money to buy a macbook and pay for some of my tuition.  When the summer was over, I was ready to buy my laptop when the Holy Spirit convicted me.  Suddenly, I realized that I was about to get something for myself and I hadn't given any of my money in the offering plate to God.  I strongly felt like the Holy Spirit put a number on my heart to give to my church, but, if I did that, I wouldn't be able to afford my laptop.  I was worried I wouldn't be able to make it through my first year of college without a laptop.  It seems small to me now, but I remember feeling a bit overwhelmed by what God was calling me to do.

God does that though, doesn't He?  He asks us to do these overwhelming and huge things for Him.  It happens in the Bible all the time.  Take Moses for example.


So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."  --  Exodus 3:10

Now talk about an overwhelming task!  "So Moses, listen.  The Pharaohs, you know those guys right?  They've been oppressing the Hebrews as slaves for about four hundred years now.  So why don't you go and tell them to stop it?  Then free the Hebrews and take all one million of them out of Egypt.  Sound like a plan?"

As you can imagine, Moses was totally overwhelmed.  Moses tries to get out of it five times.  Take a look at what he says and how God responds.


Attempt #1


But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"  And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain."--  Exodus 3:11-12


Attempt #2

Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"  God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'"  --  Exodus 3:13-14

Attempt #3

Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The LORD did not appear to you'?" Then the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" "A staff," he replied. The LORD said, "Throw it on the ground." Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. . --  Exodus 4:1-3

Attempt #4

Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue." The LORD said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."  --  Exodus 4:10-12

Attempt #5

But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it." Then the LORD's anger burned against Moses and he said, "What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and his heart will be glad when he sees you. You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do.  --  Exodus 4:13-15

Five times Moses tells God that he can't do it and reminds God of all the things that could go wrong.  Five times!  But what does God do in each case?  Does God tell Moses to go figure it out on his own?  No.  God tells Moses that in one way or another, He will provide.  To paraphrase...

Moses:  God, who am I to stop Pharaoh and save the people?  God:  I will be with you.

Moses:  But I don't even know what to say if they ask who sent me.  God:  You need my name?  Here, its Yahweh.

Moses:  What if they don't believe my story and think I'm crazy or lying?  God:  I will perform signs and miracles through you.

Moses:  But God, I don't know how to speak or lead.  I can't do this.  God:  I made your mouth and I will give you the right words to say.

Moses:  You've got the wrong guy!  Send someone else!  God:  You're getting on my nerves here Moses, but I will send Aaron with you so you don't have to go alone.

And we know the rest of the story too.  When Pharaoh said no to Moses, did Moses have to do the convincing?  Nope, God sent the ten plagues and Moses just sat back and let God do the heavy lifting.  When they are trapped between the Pharaoh's army and the Red Sea, did Moses have to save the day?  Nope, he just had to hold up a stick and God took care of the heavy lifting by parting the entire sea.

God does the heavy lifting.

When God asks us to do overwhelming things, its easy for us to freak out and be too afraid of what might happen to actually do it.  We worry about looking foolish and failing.  We worry about not having what it takes.  But the beautiful thing about God is that He doesn't leave us to do it alone!  He is with us.  When He asks us to do something for Him, it doesn't matter if we have what it takes because He certainly does!

You may not know what to say to that stranger on the bus, but doesn't the Holy Spirit who lives within you?  You may not have what it takes to control the future and all of the possible obstacles or outcomes, but doesn't almighty God?  You see, when God calls you to do something, He doesn't leave you with the heavy lifting.  He takes that upon Himself and gives you the strength and grace you need.  The heavy lifting isn't for you to do.  You know what is for you to do?  Trust and obey.

Back to my laptop story.  The Holy Spirit had put a number on my heart to give to God and my church in the offering.  The number was bigger than 10% of what I had made that summer.  If I gave that money, I couldn't get my laptop and I was kind of worried that I'd fall behind in school without one.  I trusted God and gave the money anyway.  About a day later, without me sharing this story, my dad told me he wanted to help me pay for my tuition and my mom told me she wanted to help me pay for my laptop.  It doesn't always work out that quickly and neatly, but I learned a lesson that day.  I was so worried about the future that I almost let it scare me out of obeying God in the present.  But when I obeyed, God reminded me that He is big enough to take care of all of the details and that I should leave the heavy lifting to Him and just concern myself with obedience.

Whatever it is that God has called you to do that you are struggling with, I urge you to trust him.  Whether its as small as my college laptop issue or as big as the Exodus story, God is able to do the heavy lifting.  He will do His part.  Will you trust Him and obey?

Strong Faith or Raving Lunatic?

If God told you to kill your son, would you do it?  Maybe you don't have a son, what if He told you to kill your mom?  Would you do it?

Well, apparently you should...

Who's Who in the Bible? Adam & Eve

I've been taking the children at my church through a new series called, "Who's Who in the Bible?"  We started a few weeks ago way in the beginning with Adam and Eve.  I thought I'd share a little bit of that with you.

Perfect Life

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day. -- Genesis 1:31

We've heard the story before right?  In the beginning, God spoke everything into being.  And it was good.  The world was perfect.  There was no sin.  No pain.  Better yet, there was perfect relationship with God.  Adam had it made and the future was looking bright!

Ezra: The Sovereign God Blesses in Abundance

                Last week we saw that nothing will keep God from fulfilling His promises.  The Temple has been completed and the people are filled with joy as they worship the Lord.  This week, our study on Ezra takes a new turn.  We finally meet Ezra himself!  Here we find Ezra bringing a second group of returnees to Jerusalem.  Will God bless this group as He did the first?  Is there hope for this group of God’s people?

The Sovereign God Overcomes Obstacles

                Last week, God’s people had just returned from exile.  They returned to a ruined city and a broken temple.  They returned to a land with many old enemies who would love to take advantage of the vulnerable Israelites.  Will they be able to rebuild?  Will the enemies surrounding them cause trouble?  Is there hope for God’s people?

Study, Do, Teach

I've been reading through Ezra for a class I'm taking and wanted to share some thoughts with you.  Ezra was a spiritual leader among God's people after they had returned from exile.  They had returned to a pretty ruined land and were in the process of rebuilding the city, the walls, the economy, the temple, and their relationship with God.  Ezra was used by God to lead the people in some of these areas, most important of which was their relationship with God.  Here is the verse that the whole book of Ezra is famous for and my thoughts on it.

 For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. -- Ezra 7:10

Obeying your leaders

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.  Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.  Hebrews 13:17


If you're like me, then you love your pastors.  If you're like me, you admire these men and respect them greatly for what they are doing and the walk they have with God.

But if you are like me, then there have been times you haven't liked what your pastors have asked of you.  I can recall a few times in my youth group years when I was a new Christian that my pastor told me to throw away some of my CD's.  (CD's are old things that people used to play music by the way)  For a while, I disagreed and didn't listen and I held onto my Eminem and Insane Clown Posse CD's.