Pizza at the Pleau's!

There is an old proverb dating back to the 14th century...
"All good things must come to an end -
There is an end to everything, to good things as well."
These are hard things to hear...but are true in our present circumstance of a year of Connections.

Yes, we are done with our mid-week meetings at Believers Fellowship. We ended with a night of tradition. Every year the Pleau's open up their home to Believers Fellowship Youth Group to host a night of "Pizza at the Pleau's". The kids look forward to it so much as the finale of fun, fellowship, and jumping in the cold cold sound water.

We ended our year looking back on the growth we have made in Loving God and loving others (luke 10:27). I see our group as growing in leaps and bounds in love for God and love for others. If someone wants to be here...they usually feel pretty accepted into the community. Of course it takes time to develop friendships, but the relationship is started. When someone wants to love God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength; community can't help but follow.

I can't wait to continue to learn about God through out our busy summer! We have some awesome events planned...so be sure to check the calendar regularly, and check back here for updates on how they went!

Thanks for the awesome year!

much Love,
johnny

p.s.-check out these awesome pics of how nice it was! i love the sun!

How long O Johnny...will you wait to eat your cookie?

I have to tell you that I am loving the minor prophets right now. They seem so fresh to me and are challenging me in so many ways; like to study the Bible better, to see how to make the connection to "real life", and to learn more about the history of Israel.

Today we looked at the book of Joel. This small book is only three chapters long, jam packed with the rich theology I have come to love in the minor prophets. Mainly, wrath of God followed by the Love of God.

In Joel the wrath of God comes in the form of grasshoppers. These locusts have just come and gone leaving a gaping hole in the economy of Judah not short of the great depression. In fact, the book starts off challenging the people to see how great the devastation is, so great that their kids will talk about it, and grand kids, and great grand kids. Sounds similar to the American great depression, does it not?

The Locusts represent an even greater problem. Yes, it is a day of the Lord where justice has at last come to a country that has made the God of the universe a god among many...but the insects also represent an even greater army from the north that God is raising up to destroy the nation if they do not repent and return to the Lord.

That is the wrath of God. Followed quickly by the mercy and love of God. In 2:12-13 God speaks...

"Yet even now," declares the Lord "return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; and rend your heart and not your garments."

Now return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindess, and relenting of evil.

This is the love of God. He doesn't want us to go through the motions. He wants us to stop putting on a show of our suffering and turn to Him (rend your heart, not your garments). When ever we suffer, it should push us back to God. Hopefully we don't suffer long. But when we suffer (whether it is from choices we make, choices others make, or the wrath of God) it should always point us back to God. He is there waiting for us to return, waiting for us to embrace him with our hearts.

Another thing that I am picking up in reading all of these minor prophets is the language. I sometimes sit and reflect about how these messages that I give can challenge me as well as the students. With all of these minor prophets challenging the people, a phrase that comes up a lot starts with "how long O...".

So in my life I wonder what it would sound like if the prophets were to follow me around for a week. They might say something like...

How long, O Johnny, will you continue to run after the things that do not satisfy? They are like salt, tasting so good at the time but leaving you thirsty for satisfaction.

How long, O Johnny, will you wait for "something" better to come along before you rest at the feet of Jesus? It is like you have a cookie, so sweet, yet wait for milk. Enjoy the blessings of God around you and be content with what God has given!

This is the language that I start to use around the house...it is sort of catchy.

Try this...imagine a prophet has followed you around for a week. What would he call you out on? You can post anonymously...but I would just be thrilled if you would start off each "challenge" with the same phrase. "How long, O soul, will you...(insert deepest darkest sin here)?

Lets see if we can encourage each other in a creative way, and get right with God in the process. Comment away!

much Love,
Johnny

May the grace of Jesus Christ be with your spirit

It took us five months, but we did it. It took us five months, when really it could have been done in twenty minutes.

Why is it that when we try to read the Bible on our own we read a few verses or a chapter? Wouldn't it make sense to read it like we read other books? Think about this. Take your favorite book and read it for two minutes every week. You would be so lost, having to go back to see what you read, and you would get next to nothing out of it. Why do we do that to the Bible?

In order to get the entire story, the big picture, the whole enchilada we need to take the extra time to read the whole book all at once. Why not? Depending on the book it only takes 20 minutes (for a short book like Philippians or Gatatians), 60 minutes (Romans and Hebrews) or even 90 minutes (Matthew and Acts). One more thing to try. Read it out loud. Yeah, you read slower and more "dramatically" out loud. Try these two things and it will enhance your love for the Bible.

We tried these last night. I reached a personal goal that someone challenged me to do a long time ago, I finally memorized the book of Philippians. It really only took a couple of days, but it has been on my heart for 7 years or so. Last night we got to see the whole book in its entirety with a dramatic recitation. And hopefully God brought to mind the major themes of the book that we took five months to cover.

Themes like Joy in unity, in suffering, in contentment. Joy in dwelling, in relationship with God, in others. Joy in putting the past behind, in pressing on, in anxiety. God has taught us and will continue to teach us through this tiny book to a church in Philippi. I can't wait to study it again.

So as in Paul's final words to the Philippians...may the grace of Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

much Love,
johnny

I am sure that deep down, we all want to be used by God...as long as it doesn't take much effort on our part. If that were the case, we would all line up to make a difference and be God's voice in this world. But sometimes being used by God might mean a lot of effort. It sure did for Hosea.

Hosea was a prophet OF God who was used BY God in a BIG way. He didn't just go around talking to people about Him...he used his life to send a message to the Israelites. What would you do if God asked you to marry someone you knew was going to go sleep with other people? What would you do if God asked you to marry a prostitute, not to change her, but to love her no matter what she did (continue her employment)? What if God even asked you to name your kids "un-loved" and "not mine"?

God asked Hosea to do this, all for a reason. To show how the Israelites have been treating God. To show how God feels about his people at this point in time. And to show the mercy, compassion, and the unfailing Love of God.

Sunday morning we looked a little deeper into the first of many minor prophets we are studying in our series "the Bible Jesus Read". We won't have time to finish all the books of the Old Testament this year, but I didn't want to skip the minor prophets. Here is a good made up statistic. Studies show that most studies of the Bible don't study the Minor Prophets. Although I just made that up, in my experience (and most likely in yours) it's true. We tend to stray away from these books because the language is weird, the times are very far away, and we feel that God is too mean in them.

But they are so rich in the themes of God and the Bible. Yes they talk about justice and judgment. But they also teach us about comfort, grace, mercy, and salvation.

Back to Hosea. My favorite part about Hosea is chapter 3 (chapter two is a close second though). In chapter three, Hosea goes and finds Gomer (his prostitute wife). In Chapter three we see that after a hurtful relationship of her sleeping around and having kids that are not his...HE still takes the first step in loving her. He buys his wife back from the life of prostitution; he literally redeems her for 15 sheckles of silver and some barley. Hosea here is taking the final step in forgiving his no good wife by redeeming her. I can't miss the foreshadowing here.

Hosea = God
Gomer = Us

Hosea redeeming Gomer = God redeeming us

Gomer moved from lover to lover hoping to find some satisfaction. Only out of some sort of obligation did she ever go to Hosea to be loved.

We are like Gomer. Instead of going to God to be satisfied, we find false community, false hope, false joy in things that do not last. When we go to God it is because we feel obligated.

Hosea takes the first step in forgiving and loving his wife. He redeems her.

God is like Hosea. He took the first step in reconciling us and redeeming us through Jesus.

I am shocked at my made up statistic and wonder why more people don't read and study the minor prophets. I can't wait till next Sunday!

much Love,
johnny

I heart Bevievers Fellowship

Sunday showed me yet another example of why I heart Believers Fellowship.

The 5th Annual Believers Fellowship Youth Group Plant Sale is a mouthful to say. But aside from the long name, it is our easiest fundraiser to do. Mainly becuase I do nothing for it. The Annual Believers Fellowship Youth Group Plant Sale is put on by a small elite group of gardeners. Literally. Where else do you have a group of God Fearing Master Gardeners (sounds like a ninja name or something) who are willing to plant, grow, cultivate, fertilize, care for, and then pot a variety of species for the sole purpose of selling them for a group of students who don't even know their names. We had a plethora of plants for sale, all donated, where all proceeds go to this Youth Group!

Amazing I tell ya. Although no one reads this except for my father in law down in Fortuna, Ca. (hi Dave) I still want to thank those ladies who put it on with a thank you over the amazing world wide web; Carol Linden and Robbie Heath...as well as Pat Jorgensen and Judy Bergstrom! You ladies rock! Thank you so much for all that you do!

A big thank as well to all those who helped by buying plants or collecting money and setting up.

With their help we (and by 'we' I mean the amazing ninja gardeners) raised over 1200 dollars! What a blessing! I guess it would be more appropriate in this case to say that I heart Believers Fellowships 5th Annual Believers Fellowship Youth Group Plant Sale. I think we will have to make some stickers next year...what do you think?



much Love,
johnny

Fishing for skittles

Last night was our last in depth study in Chaotic Joy. Next we will wrap it up with an overview, but we dove headlong into chapter four, digging for yet another nugget of truth and wisdom in which we can apply to our life.

We found it last night in a secret. Yes, a secret that I will share here for all the world to see. A secret that is easy to say, harder to learn. What I am about to tell you is the secret that Paul (the author of Philippians) finally found after going through the last half of his life as a missionary for Jesus. In his travels he endured many, many hardships. He was well fed at times, yet he also went to bed hungry some nights. He was well taken care of, although he needed nothing. Through all of his years relying on God he learned this secret that I am about to share with you.

Lean in close.

Closer.

So close that the words are blurry.

Now back up so you can read the words.

The secret is...that Paul can do all things through Christ who gives him strength.

Shocking I know.

But now you know what I mean when it is easier said that done. It is easy to say that you will trust Christ to take care of your every need. It is easy to sing on Sunday morning that "All of You (christ) is more than enough for me (you), for every need" but come Monday we go on living life as usual.

Why do we secretly hope people will bless us with things. Why don't we just be content with what God has given us in the present; and if God wants to bless us (or other people want to) then we graciously accept the blessings and move on blessing others.

Last night we see how Paul truly is content. He is in prison. God called him there for a reason, and he was fine with that. He would go on serving God in prison. Paul's being in prison got around to all the churches, and the churches started praying for him. One church in particular (the Philippian church) thought they would take it a step farther and give a gift to Paul. So they send it over and Paul is over joyed.

Paul didn't put the word out hoping someone would give him a gift. He didn't need too. He trusted God to provide. We do the opposite when we fish for gifts. What I mean is that we hint at something we want until the person realizes that we want it, and feels so guilty that they cave and give in. And when they offer, we act surprised.

It might look like this:
Oh, what are you eating? Skittles? Hmm, that’s cool, I love skittles, plus my mom forgot to pack a dessert in my lunch...and it wasn’t a very big lunch anyway so I am sort of hungry still. Not so hungry though, just sort of hungry, I don’t need a whole bag of skittles...but they are small and tasty aren’t they. I notice you don’t eat the yellow ones...interesting. That's my favorite color.

Paul didn't do that. Paul is content. But notice...the Philippian church did what Christians ought to do. They see a need, they fill a need. They were loving, they were compassionate, they were generous with what they had.

Two things here:
1. Christians need to be content with where God has called them in the present.
2. Christians need to look for ways to bless others with what they have.

And 3 (why not?) I think these both go in line with Paul's secret. We CAN do all things through CHRIST who gives us strength. Keep at the forefront of your mind that God will supply every need that you have according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus, and every so slowly we will start to be content.

much Love,
johnny

Compassion, love, grace, mercy...the business of God

I hear a lot about churches being run like a business. This week alone I have had to give the church address as "business," not residential. I suppose I am okay with that. But I want to be a part of God's business, which, in reading about the prophets of the Old Testament, Jesus' ministry on earth, the saints in the New Testament, and looking at the hands of feet of God today...the business of God is compassion, love, grace, and mercy. All of that. That is where I want to be.

This past Sunday we saw a very "nooma" like video (in regards to production quality) where I taught on the road. Yes, I was not at Crosstalk, but I still gave the message.

We started looking at the prophets in our "The Bible Jesus Read" study. The prophet we looked at never recorded his teachings in a book, but I am sure that his servant Gehazi told everyone around what God was doing through him (like raising ax heads, feeding 100 people with 20 loaves, causing oil to last a long time) so that we now have the story of his ministry in the book of 2 Kings 1-8. I am of course talking about Elisha.

We focused in on one aspect of his ministry, his compassion on the women from Shunem. She was childless, yet still very nice, so God gave her a son. We see how the son dies, and Elisha brought him back to life. The jist of the teaching showed how God has compassion on people, and how Elisha walked around the earth with similar motives as Jesus. To show God's love.

How can we continue on the business of God today? How can we show compassion to the people around you? Can you buy someone a chocalate milk at school? Can you start a conversation with someone who looks lonely, or sad, or mad, or depressed, or happy, or whatever? Do it. Join Elisha, Jesus, and other people in being a part of God's business.

I will post the video later on so you can watch it in full.

much Love,
johnny

What we dwell on makes a difference

Growing up I read the entire Sherlock Holmes collection (by growing up I mean in college, it was a great mind vacation from school). In said collection, the great detective had a theory that you only have room in your brain for so much before you can't remember clearly all that you put in there. So he committed to only learning and remembering practical things. Like observation, and the skills of observation. (I really want to see the new Holmes by the way).

Now, I don't always agree with Sherlock. But I think that he is on to something here. When I backed up my prior research of reading about the greatest detective to come out of the UK with the very sophisticated "wikiAnswers" I found a similar reading. We can store stuff in our mind until it is displaced or removed.

How true it is with our heart and minds! Jesus tells us that whatever comes out of the mouth, is really from the heart (matt. 15). Potty humor, from a potty heart. Encouragement, from a loving heart. What we dwell on makes a difference.

On Wednesday night we are continuing our Chaotic Joy series through Philippians. Last night in Phil. 4:8 we are encouraged, no, entreated to dwell on things that matter to God.

Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.

Let your mind dwell on these things. We can go through the list and see what we are dwelling on and putting in our hearts and minds. We won't be very proud of the things we see there. Here is how the early church dealt with this. They fixed their eyes on Jesus!

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:2-3

The early church fixed their eyes on Jesus! That is what they were committed to. What He taught, how He lived, how He obeyed, how He suffered, how He rose again. Shame on me for distracting people from Jesus. He addresses and answers nearly every problem we encounter! Let us fix our eyes on Him!

What are we dwelling on? Are we dwelling on our past? Our sufferings? Our anxiety? I pray that we put those behind us and continue to run the race with our eyes fastened on the prize. Let us run the race in a way that He will be proud, and say well done my good and faithful servant.

Are we putting mindless movie quotes in our heart? Are we focusing on the latest lyrics from your favorite band (unless it's dc talk, then its all good in the hood)? Or are we treasuring the word of God in our heart?

much Love,
johnny

Stopping the trend...

Can you look at your family history and see a trend? I can. And others can as well. Studies show that if your Grandpa was bald, and your dad was bald, the chances of you being bald are pretty good! Which is why I have started using this.

Studies also show that if your grandpa was an alcoholic, and your dad was an alcoholic, the chances of you becoming an alcoholic sky rocket! Same goes with college, divorce, abuse, and other various trends.

This past Sunday at CrossTalk we saw how a young King named Josiah broke a trend that haunted his past. Josiah's dad was one of the worst kings in Israel's history, promoting so many pagan gods that child sacrifices started to be the norm. This was a trend that was started way back in Solomon's day...400 years before! God ended Josiah's Dad's reign abruptly, and Josiah took over at the age of 8. Not very old to be king, but we see in his story (2 Kings 22-23) that he rose to the occasion. When Josiah was 26, he decided to clean up the temple of God, which had fallen into disrepair because no one was using it. When the high priest at the time reported that they found a book, Josiah read it. That book was the book of the Law that Moses had written 900 years earlier! It was just in the corner with junk piling up on it. That is how bad it had gotten with religion and Israel!

What happens next is really cool! Josiah reads the book, and it changed his life! He gathers all of the people together and they all read it together. The whole nation repents and renews the covenant with God. They tear down the temples to other Gods that have been built in the mountains, and start new with their relationship with the one true God.

Josiah couldn't have stopped the trend with out God's help. This is true in our lives as well. My parents are divorced. My wife's parents are divorced. My wife and I have decided that we want to honor God in our marriage by not getting a divorce. We can't do that on our own, we need His help.

If you have a family history that you want to stop...then decide today to commit your life to Christ and His way. With out Him, you will end up continuing the trend. With Him, you start a new trend for generations to come.

much Love,
Johnny