by Aarron Pina | Oct 3, 2011 | Uncategorized
Tullian Tchividjian (just call him “Tull”) is one of my favorite writers over at The Gospel Coalition and an excellent thought leader and communicator. He’s Billy Graham’s grandson, so no wonder, right?
One of the things that remains front and center in disciplship conversations every week, month, and quarter is “saving the saved”. Often, as followers of Christ, we forget the gospel is what both saves and sanctifies us, falling into the trap of performance. The good news is… the Good News. It’s also good news that getting back on the log of grace is just as easy as falling off. Abiding in Christ – “you’re never more than one prayer away from grace. You’re never more than one prayer away from access to the full resources of Heaven.”
Take a click over to Tullian’s article: http://theresurgence.com/2011/09/29/did-you-forget-youre-saved. Clear thinking, simple application, a lifetime to practice. Abide, gang.
by Aarron Pina | Jun 28, 2011 | Uncategorized
I saw a billboard (actually from our home church) that says “Who Needs Church, Anyway?” This comes on the heels of a conversation I was having with a friend of mine who 1) considers himself a believer in Christ 2) doesn’t go to church, yet 3) is frustrated about the condition of the world today and how far from God people are. I know, some of you are already connecting dots. When I pressed him for a reason, he confessed that church always makes him feel “convicted” or emotional. I understood. It’s kind of like saying “lifting weights always makes my muscles ache”.
Yeah, that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? Well, one of them, anyway.
As the conversation went deeper, I could smell something in his story that was just a bit sour. This was a guy who, like many of us, had made the entire church experience about Jesus. Okay, no, not at all. Like many of us, he had made the whole experience of “going to church” all about himself. Yet, a car is not all about the wheels, any more than a body is all about a pinky or a chest. Neither is the body of Christ about one member (or even many members).
As I read the account of the church’s growth in Acts and as we talk about our love for the church against the backdrop of the many modern day maladies plaguing it, we can’t deny the fact that the believers had everything in common, sold their stuff to help those in need, even launched a relief effort because of a prophetic vision (Acts 11.29) before text messaging!!! Some guy sold his property and donated the money to help the poor. Jesus had told them all before He left the planet that He had a new command (Greek: kainos: fresh, unprecedented, uncommon, new) love one another. At no time was the church about “what’s in it for me”.
Are we tracking together?
So, this week, a great topic for conversation could be – what do others have to get out of church? What do I bring to the table? What unique gifts, perspective, or large leaning shoulder do I bring with me that could benefit someone else?
This week, at ONE TH1NG, Jesse Whitfield will be setting up a discussion for some brave guys to chew on at the tables around index cards and golf pencils – what does someone else need in the current economy that you could bring to the table? See also Samuel 23.16 ”
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And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God.
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What is it about a wise man that he knows sometimes you just have to be a go to the guy guy? Sometimes, it’s about being available, being present, just showing up. Paul wrote to the church in Rome about how he longed to be with them so they could be mutually encouraged by each others’ faith. What is it about being present? What is it about being brave enough to be humble that can help strong men grow stronger in their faith, their walk, their Lord? If you’re wise, prudent, brave, or just desperate for truth, we’ll see you at a table at the Cabernet on Windward at 6:30 AM.
AP
by Aarron Pina | Apr 20, 2011 | Uncategorized
I’m staying out of the bloglight this week again by posting something that someone else has already said better than I can. I hope some of the men out there will join us as we think out loud at ONETH1NG this Friday morning. Bring your kids to school late or just keep them home so they can talk all day about what you heard on Friday and think about what’s coming up on Sunday.
Without further ado, I pass the blog to Jesse Whitfield:
The Ultimate Act
Have you ever heard someone describe something as the “ultimate”? I remember years ago there was an often-used catchphrase that got added to everything that was at the peak of it’s popularity. “It’s the ultimate!” I can hear it now reverberating through the commercials. Slowly but surely the word ultimate just didn’t have the same impact when we heard it. Marketing and culture had once again cheapened a word that previously held significance in our day to day language. Kind of sad for a word that means the best, the most extreme, the utmost or the final point.
In our current age I have somewhat of a difficult time thinking of anything we could purchase that we might refer to as ultimate. There’s always a more advanced this, an updated version of that or a faster model of something else, right? What you thought was the ultimate turned out to be the best for just that moment in time. So is there anything that lives up to the “ultimate” description? Fortunately for us there is something that truly ascribes itself to being ultimate. It was the ultimate act that has yet to be surpassed.
This week we find ourselves meeting together on what we refer to as Good Friday. While we may refer to it as good there were many in Jerusalem during that time that saw it as anything but good. Here was their friend, their rabbi, their Messiah…hanging from a cross as His earthly life slowly faded from His body. Not nearly a week ago He had arrived in what was deemed the triumphal entry. I’m sure they thought that finally the day had come where the Messiah had come to rule. Yet here they were, watching in disbelief and wondering what was next. Trust was replaced with fear & happiness replaced with sorrow. How soon they had forgotten His words only days before. Right before their eyes they witnessed the ultimate act. The ultimate sacrifice.
Despite the horrific nature of what Jesus Christ endured the truth is that He voluntarily gave up His life. In John 10:17-18 He says this:
“The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
The Bible tells us He gave up (or dismissed) His spirit. In other words He voluntarily yielded it to the Father. He remained sovereign over the affairs of men right up until the very end. It was the ultimate sacrifice. The final sacrifice. It laid the foundation for His resurrection on the third day. This subsequent event would become the lynchpin of the Christian faith.
So, right next to ultimate is another word we have watered down – sacrifice. Could any of us even imagine this level of commitment? How does sacrifice look in your life as a man? At what level is your sacrifice in light of His sacrifice?
I don’t know where you are in your walk with God or even if you
celebrate the Easter holiday. What I do know is that you have probably experienced sacrifice at some level in your life. Do you remember the feeling?
Whatever you did give up it either became a positive or negative memory for you. What was the immediate effect? How did that affect your current outlook today?
Please join us Friday morning [at the Cabernet Restaurant from 6:30AM to 7:30AM] as we explore sacrifice both in what it has meant to us and what it can mean to us in light of this special day. Please invite a friend, a neighbor or a co-worker. I
look forward to our time together.
Well spoken, Jesse. – AP
by Aarron Pina | Mar 31, 2011 | Uncategorized
Computers are either the most useful pieces of technology ever invented or “the biggest piece of crap in the world”! What makes the difference?
It all depends on what day you walk into my office.
Common ground?
I don’t know if you’ve ever had a computer “lock up” on you. But, if you’re breathing in 2011, chances are pretty good that you’ve sat there in front of the screen… just… waiting… forrrrr… ANyThINNNNGG to happen!!! The trick, I was told, when this happens, is to hit Ctrl-Alt-Delete to interrupt the program that’s “not responding” and get yourself out of whatever loop has the computer stuck in an endless cycle.
Lately, I’ve had more than one conversation about something with guys I’m meeting with and Cristine’s brought up the same topic at our staff meetings – “people are getting stuck in conflict and can’t seem to get out”. Someone’s been rude, been overbearing, been demanding, been thoughtless and the other person is refusing to let them back in before they “apologize first”!
One of the most difficult spirits to overcome in the Christian walk is the spirit of entitlement – “you owe me an apology” it’s rooted in pride, chief of all sins. But, when we look at scripture, we see that God is the only one who can lay claim to someone owing an apology, yet He gave us Jesus – slain on the cross, punished for our junk, sacrificed as lamb to end all sacrifices. One of my favorite quotes from Louie Giglio was this: “God owes us nothing… but judgment.”
Alright, I didn’t like it when I first heard it. But, it keeps things in perspective. “…Christ died for the ungodly… While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5.6b,8b)” Last week, my friend, Ron shared with a bunch of guys a letter that Jesus dictated to John the Baptist in the book of Revelation. 90 years after his death, they were already off track. Not completely, though, just enough. He commends them for the things they were doing right – calling out the phonies who came in God’s name, working hard, persevering, etc.
“But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. (Rev. 2.4)”
If you can’t say “amen”, you’d better say “ouch”!
Discipleship at Work
The point is, Jesus gives them a very scathing reminder that it’s easy to get wrapped up in a lot of Christian activity and miss Christ. No wonder the world looks at us as hypocrites – we’re starting with Christ and following through with self! This week, I’ve been able to talk to a number of guys about loving their wives as Christ loved the church, considering others better than themselves, etc., all through the lens of “getting unstuck”. God didn’t need to make the first move when it came to reconciling us to Himself. Yet, He did. He sent Jesus to a messed up, prideful, sinful world and gave Him what we deserved – judgment – and gave us what Jesus deserved: forgiveness and sonship.
If you and I didn’t deserve someone taking the first step, but got it anyway, who are we to demand it from others?!
As we’ve talked in discipleship this week, a number of the guys have made a resolve to do what Jesus suggests in the next line of Revelation –
- Remember – who you are and what a mess I brought you out of
- Repent – turn away from the tendency to worship your agenda and to do list over the Creator of all agendas and all there is to do
- Return – to the work you used to do by living by the Spirit (see Romans, chapter 8 – the whole thing.)
Repeat after me – “remember, repent, return”. “Remember, repent, return”. “Ctrl – Alt – Delete.”
Class dismissed.
in Christ,
AP
by Aarron Pina | Feb 28, 2011 | Uncategorized
When I’m consistent with “quiet time”, I’m not very consistent with which devotionals I read. I have a couple in hard copy and then a few others that come via email to my “@newsletters” folder in Outlook. Other times, I just skip back and forth between Psalms, Proverbs, Prophets, and the New Testament. When you talk to people for a living, you notice a handful of people who do the same thing every day, consistently. These guys are the low-spiritual-fat-percentage/chiseled character guys with 18-inch spiritual biceps that we all often idolize. Oops, did I say the “i” word? The i word often leads to the “c” word – comparison.
Today, as I’m reading through Neil Anderson’s final devotional for February, his questions jumped off the page. The scripture selection was from Colossians 2.6-7:
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith
I have a tendency to notice the “who” part of passages as I’m reading them and this morning, I thought “How often do I muff up the “so walk in Him” part? How often do I compare my self to Matt or Jeff or Jim when I should be comparing myself to “who I am in Him?” Doesn’t the passage say “so walk in Jim?” Nope. The comparison game can get messy when we’re not playing by God’s rules – when it comes to man, “comparison is the enemy of contentment”.
Anderson goes on this morning to ask the following litmus test questions about our faith (and, as he’s famous for doing, our identity):
I would be more successful if . . .
I would be more significant if . . .
I would be more fulfilled if . . .
I would be more satisfied if . . .
I would be happier if . . .
I would have more fun if . . .
I would be more secure if . . .
I would have more peace if . . .
The completion of these statements give us a great picture of the completion of the work of Christ in our lives. See – Ephesians 4.12-16.The biggest troubles we get ourselves into can be traced back to a lie that we once bought, which can easily be detected by holding it up to the plumb-line of God’s truth: Would you be more successful if circumstances changed or if you stayed out of God’s way and let Him work through and lead you? Would you be more significant if you made your mark on a situation or if you trusted in who God has gifted you to be and ran on the steam of His grace instead of your own effort? Would you be more secure if you had $25K in the bank or if you were breaking even every week, but clinging to Christ for every dime?
The worst form of idolatry is self-worship – my agenda, my plan, my energy, my competence. The greatest gains have been made in my life when I stepped aside and got God out of the co-pilot seat so He could fly the plane. Conversely, the biggest trouble and darkest times I’ve experienced in business, ministry, marriage, etc., have been the places where I “leaned on my own understanding” and trusted in my ability to walk, talk, work, or manipulate my way out of a jam. Grace is God’s way of empowering us to do His work. Misformed and misunderstood identity in Christ is the surest path to lost confidence in God’s sovereignty and diminishing Christ’s finished work on the cross.
If only we all would walk in that. If only we would encourage each other in that (like, discipleship). If only we would reassure each other there is no condemnation, God’s grace is big enough (though not to be abused), and that His mercies are new every morning. If only we would all slow down the hustle, quiet down the noise, and listen to the Holy Spirit’s lead – what would a lost and dying world think of our God if we all grew up into maturity in the faith, attaining to the full measure of Christ?
in it with you,
AP
