What do you have to offer?

So I spend my mornings drinking coffee, trying to translate ancient Hebrew, and finding new apps for my iPod touch. And I find myself wondering today what I will do with what I study. I know that I need to use what God has given me to further His kingdom. And as I review what God has given me I realize how little my gifts are grouped together. I mean by this that the things I am good at are rather spread out. I am good with technology, I am an extrovert, I am an academic, I am a musician (but not a vocalist LOL), and I love teaching. So what do I do with these? I don’t question I will use these things I just wonder how.

As a praise God has given me a job in the technology world, utilizing my extrovert nature and my love of teaching. But what to do with my other gifts?

Please be praying that karina and I can find a church home soon where we can use our gifts to further their youth ministry.

Thanks for reading

Feeling Better Already

So I know I asked you to ask me last night. But I have to say I am feeling so refreshed now from my quiet times. Not because I have managed to do them for 2 consecutive days (which is an accomplishment) but because I have managed to not give them a time limit.

Twice now for 2 hours I have sat listening to my ipod, studying my hebrew, journaling… (no reading this morning, waiting for Karina to catch up, she started a different book on accident) and praying. And the vast majority of this is definitely the hebrew. Even though it is just relearning the alphabet (which was still in my head for the most part) and the vowels (those too), my transliteration is feeling better then it did when I was a 4th semester Hebrew student translating text. So I am really stoked to see where these studies go. I will try and share what I am studying as far as Hebrew.

Anyways, going to check out Karina’s folks church today with them. Time to wake her up now I think… pray for me.

btw… I still love Kenya coffee from Starbucks

Getting back on track

I suck at quiet times. I get them started, then I fall off. Normally I would make excuses about how busy I am, or how I can never find something to study or be worth my while. Etc. etc. etc… It is very lame. So I have started again. And I need your help.

I am employing mass accountability. I need you to ask me what is going on with them. I can tell you what I am doing in general.

I am reading “The Power of a Praying Husband”. I am journaling. I am praying. And I am relearning ancient Hebrew.

And I am doing it every morning at 6:15am.

So please, help a brother out. Ask me about it so I can give you an answer.

God as a Product

Sometimes I feel like when I am trying to explain who God is, I am the stereotypical East-Indian customer service representative trying to speak what I think is perfect English to someone who is hearing it with extreme difficulty and irritation.

Its like I have a Christian accent… and it is thick.

So everything I say, though well-intentioned, comes out muddy and garbled, and all I get in response is “What…? Can you say that again?” And that is what I do, I say it word for word again, and it just starts a vicious circle till someone throws their hands in the air in frustration.

And the problem is, I don’t look at the problem from the angle of the consumer. The one who is checking out the issue. I don’t think about the fact that the problem isn’t what I am saying, but that I am not thinking to articulate it in a way that the consumer understands it. I am just trying to put the right words out that I have been told to say and that by all accounts should work.

But it does not work. They do not understand a word that I am saying.

They don’t get the product I am trying to sell them, or to help them understand the problems they are dealing with it.

I mean if you think about this seriously. We live in a consumer era, and people are getting very frugal, very picky about what they buy. Things are expensive. And God is a product that we not only have to sometimes make a cold sell on, but also demonstrate he is worthwhile for those who are skeptical. So when we attempt to show them how great this product is, in this case God, we don’t think to come at it from their perspective. Yet somehow with everything else as Christians we love, we can portray it with crystal-like clarity.

I am as guilty of this as anyone. I can dictate the dessert list from the restaurant I work with in such a way that those who were not interested in a chocolate souffle are suddenly craving it. The sad thing is, I don’t like desserts, much less chocolate. Yet I can be more informative of these desserts than I can be about God who I am very passionate about.

NOTE: I know I am passionate about my God and His message of salvation.

Now what I am going to say sounds crazy, but I have a theory. I have to sell God like I sell a dessert to someone who already feels like they have everything they need. I actually have no idea if this will work or not, but I am going to try anyways. I have a good feeling though.

I am going to actually get to know the person I am trying to share God with. Then I am going to think about them and pray for them and their needs. Then I am going to think about how I should show them God in such a way that they might see as pragmatic or atleast allowable. Then I will encourage them, then I will hopefully make the sale.

Because that is what I do with desserts. I talk to the people and find out how their feeling. Then I pick a dessert I think they will like based on how hungry they are feeling and what they might pair with their meal so that is something agreeable to their stomach. Then I ask if I can share a method to enjoy something that they might not have earlier considered (maybe they just want peaches and yogurt because the souffle seems too rich) and then I go for it.

And they say no alot. And they say yes alot. It’s hit and miss, but they are not confused about what I am offering them. They are informed and have made an informed decision.

So what you should get out of this Christians… Is that these people may not be understanding your well-intentioned message. So stop, look around, and listen. yes listen to your friend/colleague/family/complete stranger. Find out what they are looking for and make a clear connection to what you have to offer. And when they are understanding offer to help them have the ultimate dessert.

Authenticity

I read a book once called “Who You Are When No One’s Looking” by Bill Hybels… It is a book on Character. About being real, to yourself, and to others.

I post a decent amount of stuff on this blog, but not about what is going on with me I think.

So here is the deal…

I am going to be real about myself to you guys. I am going to post 3 real things I think I need improving on, and three things I think I do pretty good.

So…

Improvements:

1) I bite my nails… I know kinda ridiculous, but I think it is a stupid habit and I need to kick it.

2) I try and get into every conversation within a 10 foot radius of me. It isn’t my business so I shouldn’t try to mind it.

3) I rush people, I try and put everybody on my timer, and the world does not revolve around me.

Things I do pretty good:

1) I will be your friend, not your acquaintance, your friend, I will care and I will bend over backwards to help you if I think I can.

2) I read really fast, I love it because I retain it too. So you want me to go over something you wrote, I can read it and get back to you quickly.

3) I have a big picture mentality 98% of the time. Occasionally I fall into my own microcosm but not often. I try and get everything to happen together.

So there you go a little bit about me.

And the other big reason I wrote this, I need prayer.

I want to be in full time ministry, ministering to young people… I want to be a Youth Pastor. But I need it to be full time. My mentality runs along the lines of once you get me past halfway I am all the way. I can do 3/4 I go straight to full.

So please, be praying that God will open the doors for Karina and I to minister to the youth somewhere full-time.

What?

What is it about Christianity that makes you like it? Turn towards it? That gives you hope?

Mine?

There is nothing to profit in material gain on earth or after. It is the most humble faith. There are no virgins waiting for me, no planetoid, no sense of elitism, there is just worshiping God.

Christianity gives me a hope for a world beyond my own selfishness.

And a word from your sponsor…

okay not really, but how about a quote from the author of this blog.

“Whenever a church legislates rules/morality bylaws that are not clearly biblically-supported, they reinforce the spiritual celebrity paradigm.” — Zach Tanksley (me)

Your thoughts?

Onward Christian Soldier 1.4

The Conclusion
So there we have it. We have seen that God has the amazing capacity to have victory regardless of how far (if at all) involved we are in his work. We have seen him work with Moses who feared that he was not an eloquent man in order to topple a kingdom. And despite the arrogance and pride of the elder’s of Israel we found that God could still defeat the philistines using an inanimate object. Finally, we have seen God work alongside his prophet Elijah to defeat the enemies of the faith and bring Israel into right relationship with God.
The last story is one God has tried to put forward on more than one occasion. It is the story of the faith of his soldiers moving forward and trusting in his ability to maintain them and bring about victory. We have seen this in the story of David and Goliath, Joshua and the battle of Jericho, and even the stories of the Apostle Paul. God moves with us, his victory is already assured. So with this I leave you with one final lesson.
The Lesson? God=Victory

The other lessons can be found at

Onward Christian Soldier 1.1
Onward Christian Soldier 1.2
Onward Christian Soldier 1.3

Onward Christian Soldier 1.3

Elijah at Mount Carmel. (1 Kings 18)

It would be yet later in the days, when Israel was well into its kingships, that there would come a time for God to reveal himself before his people again. It was a time when the king of Israel, Ahab, had gone off to follow Jezebel and the prophets of Baal, taking Israel with him as a confused and very sheep like nation. This Jezebel had destroyed all but one hundred and one prophets. One of which lived off the land, and the other hundred lived in caves being taken care of by a man who had great fear of the Lord. The one was named Elijah. God had taken him aside and let him know that there would be a serious famine in the lands, and had led him to a brook where he would continually be able to drink, and God commanded the ravens to bring him food. Ahab was very well aware of Elijah, and had a feeling that Elijah was connected with the famine, So when it did come time for Elijah to go meet Ahab and speak to him about his evil transgressions that Ahab was not in the best of moods.
However, a prophet, a soldier of the most high God, is still not someone to be trifled with, and when Elijah lays out a contest for Ahab, the cocky king cannot turn it down. So all the people of Israel are brought to Mount Carmel, as well as the 450 prophets of Baal, for a showdown of godly proportions. And Elijah more or less just says he will allow the prophets of Baal to receive the kick off. He allows them to build their altar of wood, and take the choice ox, and then allows them to call upon Baal to light their altar and ox on fire. And of course being the amazing god that Baal is, he creates a giant pillar of flame consuming everything and Elijah as well… nope, nothing, not even after hours of calling. So Elijah feels free to encourage them reminding them that their God needs time to sleep, or even relieve himself so perhaps they should shout out to him. And they do so, mutilating themselves too because he delights in that, and this time the fire comes… again no.
So Elijah takes it upon himself to then rebuild the old altar of the Lord. Not only that but he also gathers 12 stones, one for each tribe of Israel. Then he cuts up the ox and lays it upon the altar. Following that he digs a sizeable trench around the altar. The he commands the people of Israel to pour out four pitchers of water upon the altar. And then to rinse and repeat. And then one more time till everything is totally soaked, and the trench is filled with water.
Finally Elijah prepares to call upon God time and time again. Only one real difference here though. He only needs to call once. Asking God to remember His people, and to help turn their hearts back to Him. And he does so. The fire falls, and it falls in power. The fire consumes, the ox, the soaking wet wood, it devours the wet stones, and not even steam is left where the trench of water was. EVERYTHING WAS CONSUMED.
And so when Israel realized their stupidity, they went back to their God, the almighty God, and worshiped him. And with this, Elijah commanded all the people to gather up all the prophets of Baal, and Elijah slew all the prophets of Baal.

One man, One God, One Faith, One Outcome

The Lesson? God+Faith=Victory

Onward Christian Soldier pt. 1.2

The Capture of the Ark of the Covenant (1 Samuel 4-7)
It would be much later on when Israel has established itself as a people looking to God for direction through his priests and prophets that the next triumphant act of God would happen. It will however have been one to show that God has no room for foolish pride and arrogance when it comes to his leaders.
You see God had appointed a judge, Eli, to preside over Israel, and Eli had two songs… Hophni and Phineas. Both of these young men preferred little gods, and did not care to know the lord, but were both priests of him. And when those brothers brought a curse upon themselves, and Eli did not do anything to rebuke them God decided it was time for that lineage to end. And this is how it unfolded.
After a devastating defeat of Israel by the Philistines the elders decided it would be best if the brothers, Hophni and Phineas brought the Ark of the Covenant to the next battle site and proclaim shouts of praise in order to strike fear in the hearts of the Philistines and that God would give victory to Israel, because obviously God would not allow his throne to fall into the hands of the Philistines. However, the Philistines girded themselves and went forth to fight despite their fear of the God (or as they saw it, gods) who struck down Egypt. And… they had a victory… a GREAT victory… they slew 30,000 Israelite foot soldiers, two high priests (Hophni and Phineas), and ultimately in a three-two-one victory captured the ark of the enemies gods. When news was brought to Eli who was sitting on a stool, old and blind, he fell over and his own weight caused him to break his neck.
Now one would assume that God did achieve his goal but at a great cost, His throne was in the hands of the pagan enemies. However, this was to be a multi-faceted lesson that God was teaching. For the Philistines needed to learn that indeed the God of Israel was bigger then their own gods.
The first place the ark of the covenant was brought to was the house of Dagon, a god of the philistines. They placed the ark before the stature of Dagon in his temple that night. The next morning, the priests found the statue laying face down in front of the ark, so they righted it. The next morning the same statue was face down in front of the ark, except, on the altar its head and hands had been cut off so only the torso remained, and the priests knew they were in trouble. This was culminated when God afflicted them with a couple of plagues to remind them of how he regards being treated like a lesser god. The people were afflicted with tumors, and mice were sent to ravage the land. And what did the Philistines do? They send it to a different city of their own… And what happens…? The Rinse and Repeat cycle through another 3 cities until the Philistines finally relent and send the ark back to Israel with a guilt offering.

So with no help by Israel, God demonstrated his power to foreign powers and foreign gods.

The Lesson? God -You = Victory