Have you ever been angry? Probably not because most readers of this blog (that I’ve met anyway) are the nicest people on the planet. I could never picture you ever getting angry at any moment in your life. (heavy sarcasm intended).

We ALL get angry. But now…examine your life a little more closely. Can you remember a time where you were furious? Now we’re talking a whole new level. I’m talking…boiling point, red face, steam-coming-out-your-ears-like-you’re-a-cartoon angry. Yes? Congratulations….you’re normal.

Lots of things make us upset. But there are a select few things in life that push us over the edge. The kind of rage/anger that ignite us to say:

“this is intolerable, and needs to stop.”

Human trafficking, child abuse, rape, and injustice are some of the words that come to mind. Hearing hurtful stories of pain and suffering, especially against the helpless, illicit those emotions in me and I only pray that justice is served.

I heard a story in the news recently about a person who kidnapped a 7 year old girl and killed her. He hid her body by chopping it up into pieces and putting it in his freezer. I couldn’t finish the story without cringing, and instantly biting my lip to prevent any horrible words from coming out of my mouth.

Anger has a negative connotation, but the Word says: ”When you are angry, do not sin, and be sure to stop being angry before the end of the day” (Ephesians 4:26 NCV). So we can be angry, but don’t let sin be a result of your anger. Plenty of notable Bible characters were angry. Nehemiah was angry at the injustice done to the poor (Neh 5:6). David was angry towards his enemies (Ps 139:19-22). Even Jesus expressed anger towards selling in the temple (Mk 3:1-5).

All of these things have one thing in common. These people were angry at the same things God is infuriated by.

Sin. 

Does sin make you angry? Do you tolerate it? Do you see your friends suffering with sin, and….do nothing? I’ve learned lessons the hard way within my own life. One little sin can have a snowball effect. It can turn into an avalanche and ultimately lead to death. All that injustice you see in the world…the human trafficking, crimes against children, modern day slavery….all birth from one thing. Sin.

If those crimes infuriate us, why doesn’t the presence of “little sins” make us righteously angry? Bad habits, swearing, lying…..It’s almost if we as Christians are waiting for the sin to get “big” enough for us to start intervening, fasting, and praying.

Yo momma jokes were all the rage in 5th grade. But you know that one kid who kinda knew your mom, and then said a Yo Momma joke that was a little too personal, and you were furious? How come? It’s because it’s your momma he’s talking about! That guy just made fun of the closest, most caring person in your life and…that’s intolerable and needs to stop. It hurts more because this time…it’s personal.

I’ve been involved with this ministry going on 6 years now. Going to war with these guys is an understatement, so to say we are close doesn’t describe it. The moment I see sin creep into any of us….I get righteously angry. It gets real personal with me. The audacity of the devil to try and plague my friends and loved ones infuriates me to no extent. I’ve seen what sin can do….and I will not tolerate it.

Does that make me perfect? Not at all. I fall into sin just like the next person. But the way I view it is totally different now. The Gospel itself sheds such a new light on the matter. God cannot stand sin. He is completely holy…and He will not tolerate it. He’s not going to let some things slide here and there, and then get involved when things seem to spiral out of control. He was so furious against sin, that His wrath was poured out on His only Son on the cross, just to save us from it. That righteous anger was poured out on the only Person who walked this earth that was truly righteous.

He doesn’t stand sin. Neither should we. The good news is….He’s already defeated it. Although we shouldn’t tolerate sin, we can’t go around thinking we are going to beat it ourselves. Jesus has done the work for us already.

So go ahead and get mad. Just don’t stay that way because the battle is already won. And that’s something to be happy about.

God bless,

Jobbin

I hate packing. It always seems so daunting, and I spend about a week worrying about what I may forget.

But when it comes to actually doing the task, it’s no problem since I have everything at my disposal…and I wonder why I worried about it in the first place.

10 days worth of clothes? Check. Toothbrush? Check. Bible? Check. Underwear? Double check.

That’s my list of things I’m taking to New Delhi for our mission trip in a few hours. I’m actually pretty excited about this trip just to see what God is going to do. But this has literally been a year long process for me to get to this point.

I started off 2011 by going on my first missions trip ever to Orissa. I went by myself, but before I left I was completely discouraged, confused, unsure, and….worried. 2010 was quite possibly the worst year of my life with so many question marks involving work, school, family, and ministry. There was not one area of my life that wasn’t in utter confusion. All of that culminated into one giant, random (so it seemed), decision to go on a missions trip to Orissa in January.

Determined to make 2011 different, I went. I came back excited about preaching the Gospel, but little did I know that God was prepping me, and my friends, to grow closer to Him through a series of events through the next 12 months. The discouragement turned into encouragement. The troubles of the prior year served as lessons and guardrails for this year. Every so-called trial of the past revealed itself as having a purpose to make us stronger as a unit.

You may have seen our “Give Thanks” video on YouTube that we put up on Thanksgiving Day. We really meant it. This year, and seeing God literally revealing Himself to me through my job, family, friends, and ministry, I can honestly say 2011 has been completely amazing. I wouldn’t change a thing about it. The lesson I learned can be quickly summed up by James 1:2-4 (NASB):

² Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, ³knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

What is this perfect result? I can’t describe it. Am I there yet? No way. But to give you a glimpse, I’d like to share a picture from my trip to India back in January. I went on that trip in an utter state of confusion. But during my time there, I had the chance to go on a “houseboat”.

A houseboat is the Indian version of a…umm…boat with a house attached to it. But this was my view. The moment I sat on that boat, put my feet up on the deck, and stared out into the never ending river, I experienced a peace I’ve never felt before. It was pretty surreal on how I could feel so at home during a time in my life where everything was supposed to be confusing.

That’s God working through your trials. If you approach trials with the faith that He is perfecting a good work in you, it will give you a whole new outlook when challenges come your way.

Are there obstacles in the path of this upcoming trip? Sure. Have I seen discouragement come my way mere days before we leave? Of course. But this time, I expect it. Because I know better. This time, I know there is a reason for the trials. And to be honest, I’m ready to confront them head on because they are going to make us even stronger.

Yeah, I still have to pack. But I’m not worried. I’m actually pretty excited for what’s in store.

Being involved in ministry means you’re the nice guy. Love one another. Be gentle. Kind. Compassionate. And all those other fruits.

No matter who offends you, turn the other cheek. And you should. But where is the line between getting slapped in the face repeatedly and teaching people what true love is? Have we become a generation of people pleasers?

Tough love seems to be a lost fruit these days. In a world where the church has become a hangout spot, fashion trends override holiness, and leaders are worshiped instead of leading worship, what have we done with the message of the Gospel?

Have we cheapened what cost so much?

I’m not sure if you know this or not, but some people really didn’t like what Jesus had to say. So much in fact that they killed Him. But our generation supposedly wants to say the same thing…but just a little nicer, with cool music and a fog machine. What happened to the cost?

I’m saying this because I’m guilty of it. There’s got to be a point where you can stand for the Gospel even to the point of offending someone. Don’t get me wrong…I’m not saying be the strictest person who preaches legalism because that is just as bad in my opinion. But if we let the world influence us without letting the Gospel influence them through our actions, then we just end up becoming a people pleaser. Don’t be a push over, but stand firm with the same Gospel that led people to yell at Jesus with the words, “Crucify Him!”.

Do you let things slide….when you know you shouldn’t? Do your friends know where you stand? Are your worldly, unbelieving friends comfortable around you? I’ll leave you with some profound words from Francis Chan where he talks about reading the words of Jesus in a different light.

As I reread the Gospel passages, Jesus’ words are much harsher than I remember. There’s a tone in some of the things that he said that are really difficult to stomach, and he says things in a way that I would not have.

Because we in America read certain passages over and over to the neglect of others, we start to believe that Jesus had a friendly tone all the time. And that there isn’t any wrath or anger or judgment. When you read it all like you are reading it for the first time, you walk away going, “Wow, he was pretty hardcore.”

Here’s what I had to repent of: I had felt the need to soften a lot of Jesus’ statements, because in my arrogance I think, “Okay Jesus, I’m not going to say that like that. Trust me, people will like you more and be more willing to accept you if I say it like this.” Obviously I’ve never said that to God. But that’s the attitude I’ve taken, and it made me sick. Who in the heck do I think I am? To think that I can make God more palatable or attractive if I try and change the tone in which he says some things. I know people say, “Well it’s just cultural this or that.” That’s garbage. People back then had a much deeper reverence for God than we do. Especially the religious community. Yet it’s to those people whom he speaks so harshly.                  

                                                                                  -Francis Chan

If you really want to be Mr. Nice Guy, you can. Because if you truly love someone, you show them the Gospel. No matter how offensive it is.

God bless,

Jobbin

“The time of death is 11:08.” – Spokeswoman for the Georgia Dept. of Correction confirming that Troy Davis has been executed.

Try to imagine this scenario. Waking up in the morning, knowing you’re going to die. When you see the sunrise, knowing it will be your last. Wiping the crust out of your eye, brushing your teeth, eating breakfast….all for the last time. Every person you walk past is a surreal moment in time, knowing you will never see them again.

The clock ticks closer and closer. You can probably hear the second hand moving every notch. Every deep breath of air feels so much better than any other day, and you wonder why you took it for granted. The grass looks greener, the sky bluer, the relationships all the more meaningful. But it all comes to an end today.

You walk up to the execution chamber knowing what to expect. You know the charges, and the consequences. It’s just a matter of time. And that time has come.

But then a call comes from no where…

The execution is delayed.

The entire day, you’ve been mentally preparing to die. You know what you’ve done. All the fighting back to save yourself has failed. It’s time to die. No more arguments, no more lobbying. Everyone has given up on you. The highest authority on the planet cannot save you. It’s time to go.

But who would literally stop death? This isn’t a scenario you have to imagine. It is completely real, and is true for all of us. We deserve the death penalty. The consequences of our sin is death. None of our good works, none of our cries for help, and not even the Supreme Court can save us.

That’s what Jesus did for us. He literally overcame the sting of death for us, when we truly deserved it. This isn’t about capital punishment or even Troy Davis. It’s about a story so much greater. Many people have mixed reactions about capital punishment, whether we have the right to perform that action or not. But stop and think for a minute what reactions were going through Troy Davis’ mind as he was strapped into that chair, and then getting a call that there is a delay.

The story doesn’t end well for Troy Davis. The Supreme Court denied the stay of execution and he was put to death. The delay was only minimal, and he was served with the punishment. We deserve death too, but Jesus came to save us from it. So what do we do with this amazing grace? Do we go back to our old ways knowing the immense sin He saved us from? How can you go back?

You have the chance to smell the flowers again. See another sunrise, brush your teeth, and eat breakfast. But if you want to throw it all away, it’s almost as if you have been given a pardon from capital punishment and tell the judge to just go on with the injection. Sounds crazy right?

It’s painful seeing someone experience death, but even more painful that there are people out there who don’t know they’ve received a call. A call that conquers death. A call from a Savior.

God bless,

Jobbin

Don't quit sin, replace it.

I’m amused by little things. I can’t help it. One of the things in life I find funny are self-help books and how some random person finds the next secret to losing weight. There are so many things the world tells us we can do to make ourselves better. If you’re one of those people who buy into that, I’m about to burst your bubble.

You can’t.

There’s nothing you can do. Nothing. They’ll tell you to quit this, and stop that. Guess what? You’ll go back to eating that fried chicken as soon as the craving kicks in (guilty as charged). Let’s face it. We cannot quit our vices on our own. Is there a sin in your life that is constantly holding you back? Don’t even kid yourself that you’re going to magically stop it one day and be clean forever.

This is where we as Christians have an advantage over the world. Jesus steps in. So I’m not going to be cheesy and just say Jesus comes in and solves all of our problems without us having to lift a finger. But how we approach sin in our lives must be different if we want to “quit” sin forever.

We underestimate the power of sin and think we can just quit it, when Christ is telling us something completely different. He is telling us to replace it. You need to rid yourself of the chain that is holding you back only by filling in the void with things of God. If you just quit it, and that’s it, you’re going to spend the rest of your time thinking about the sin you just quit.

I had this problem. Before I made a commitment to get involved in youth ministry, I made the decision to get rid of all my bad music. So what I did was pack all my CDs in a box about 6 years ago and stash them in my closet. I told myself I would throw them away, or sell them and give the money to the poor, but I just never did. But putting the music away did help me, because instead of just leaving it, I substituted it with Christian worship music and sermons. Every time I drive, I have God’s word and worship surrounding me instead of negative lyrics. But every now and then, I would see that box in my closet and want to pull out a CD.

Fast forward to 6 years later in the present day. I was listening to Banning Liebscher at the Jesus Culture Conference in Chicago, and his testimony reflected my own. He packed up all his music as well and threw it all away. He talked about giving up everything for Christ. At that moment, I was convicted. I tried to quit sin, but that was only half the battle. I needed to replace it completely and not have a hint of it around. After a night at prayer with my friends, we were driving home and a friend of mine asked me what he needed to do to get closer to God. We talked about this concept of replacing sin instead of just quitting it. At that very moment, we pulled up to my house, I ran inside and grabbed the box of CDs that hid in my closet for the past 6 years.

We drove to the dumpster that night and I chucked that box into it, never looking back at that sin again. Now I’m not sharing that to boast. I actually wish I could tell you I made that move years ago. But I say that only because there are sins that are holding us back, and we fool ourselves that we have quit them, when they are actually creeping around us, or hiding in our closet. Don’t just quit sin. Replace it.

God bless,

Jobbin