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We have all been created by God to do good works that He prepared in advance for us to do. Today, for me, in 12 hours, included inventorying and organizing 7 tractor trailers, helping prepare thousands of meals, shuffling and repacking a 100 or so pallets of food, and getting 1 splinter. For others it was a day of clearing out mud, chopping up fallen trees, late night showers, and leading people to Christ. At this last point, the person said that seeing 3 led to The Lord "made the whole trip worth it" for him.
It was a great reminder that attitude helps make a difference in what we do. Certainly, being out amongst the people getting to help as a direct point of contact and sharing the gospel is more exhillerating and I hope to get to some of that next week. But in its own way, so is helping behind the scenes. What makes a difference is if you consider what you do is really for an audience of One. May we be creations that are pleasing to Christ.
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Well, just a short post for today. We prepped to create some thousands of meals tomorrow. Numbers have been slinging around wildly and range anywhere from 28,000 to 45,000. There is a huge amount of infrastructure that I would never have guessed at before.
More importantly, I am touched by the diligence of everyone here. It is great when the family of God gets together to live for Him. May you all get an opportunity to serve like this soon. 
I type this on my phone from the back of a van piloted and filled with friends from Pennsylvania. We just figured out that there is a good chance that we might not have cell service. I will try to keep these posts coming as best I can. Nothing to tremendous to report at the moment. This simply has been a day of safe travel (so far).
The one thing I am always astounded by is how God provides after we take a step of faith. If you have donated to this adventure already or planning to, I praise God for you letting Him act through you. BTW... 5 of you out there have committed to donating blood. How about some more of you out there. Comment down below when you plan on doing so.  I'm in the process of wrapping up the last minute details before I embark tomorrow, where I will meet up with a friend who runs a disaster relief team out of central PA. In doing so, I was checking out how other people are helping out. Donating Blood is an urgent need that you can handle right where you are (it also happens to be something I do regularly).
It hardly takes any time at all, it doesn't hurt, and it makes a significant impact from the comfort of laying down on a couch (which I know we all have more than enough experience doing). I am hoping that 20 of you out there somewhere will commit to donate blood somewhere near you. Can you do that? Can you overcome your own fears even for 20 minutes to help 3 people you probably will never know? Find the next blood drive nearest you: http://www.redcrossblood.org/donating-blood BTW: Donating "double reds" = smaller needle, less wooziness (if any), and twice the saving power. Please pray for my travels tomorrow, if you would. Also, please be praying for the team I will be traveling with. Also be praying that other volunteers will make themselves known and can round out the numbers of our team (we are a few members short). Know that we haven't been assigned just yet, but it is only a matter of time before we get the call.  Just a quick post to say that I am currently 95% certain that I will be headed out to help those in need, as the Spirit leads, starting on Wednesday morning. I will be traveling fast and light, eager to lend a hand. I may stay in one state, I might travel to a few and (at this point) I am not sure how long I will stay out there helping (5 days - 2 weeks???). You can keep up with my efforts right here over the next several days. I will be sure to post pictures and a few words as internet access allows.
I will be posting several prayer requests here when I can. Your prayers are most desired, so check back often. Let me know that you are praying by posting a comment down below. It will bring me great encouragement to know that I have the prayer support of those out there who read this. For tonight (Monday) and tomorrow (Tuesday), please be praying for me that above all else I can be a minister of the gospel in this time of need. May my words, as well as my actions, speak volumes. May I have the opportunity to testify to God's power and healing hand amidst all the destruction and devastation. May I have the opportunity to gently turn people to Him during this time that may have made them emotionally raw and open. May the gospel have a mighty impact on those I meet on my travels. PS... if you are able to read this and know of an area that needs help, feel free to email me jason@theritzes.com and I will see what I can do to get there to lend a hand. This morning brought me to thinking about my prayer life, again. In a recent post I pondered and tried to wrap my head around addressing the Lord in prayer and making prayer time more than using His name just as a pronouncement to begin a laundry list of physical ailments, money concerns, etc.
Today, I would like to address those prayer concerns that deal with everyday life that we all come up with. Of course God cares about them and He wants us to talk to Him about those them. However, in our culture, I think we are missing the boat (for the most part) when it comes to these things. Having been in prayer groups all across the country, I think I can confidently say that as a whole, we don't generally pray for the character of the people in those situations. {Which makes the HUGE assumption that we are praying for others and that we are offering to others personal prayer requests that have to do with our own lives. But that is another post for another time} The following is a list of character qualities, in no particular order, which are cobbled together from three different places (Galatians 5 , 2 Peter 1, Romans 12), combining certain words when repeated: "Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control, Moral Excellence, Knowledge, Perseverance, Godliness, Humility, Hope, Wisdom, Abhorring Evil, Diligence, Fervent Spirit, Servitude, Rejoicing, Devotion to Prayer, Giving, Hospitality, Blessing Persecutors, Empathy, Unity, Being Teachable, Overcoming evil with good." It excites me to see how invigorating my prayer life becomes when character becomes the focus. When we pray for people's character, certain things happen:
 Why do you think it is, that sometimes we need to be reminded of the encouragement that once so emboldened our hearts? My wonderful wife did this for me last night... allow me to explain.
When we decided to leave our post in Pennsylvania for a position in Ohio, there was going to be a month of time where I wouldn't be working. The Lord really impressed upon me that this would be a great time of sabbatical for me. In college ministry, you never truly get a break and we had been at it for over 10 years. Those four weeks were going to be a time of rest and research for me, and they were. Now, if you know anything of our story, we are in a place where the position that I had accepted fell through days before it was to begin and once again, I am searching for where the Holy Spirit would lead us next. No doubt, this has been a trying time and emotions have run the gamut, but through it all God is sovereign. Last night, I was feeling somewhat worn out over the whole, "being in limbo" thing when my fantastically insightful wife shot me a little reminder. "You just need to remember that you're still on sabbatical." It is amazing to me how so little a thing to say, to be reminded of, can have such a big impact emotionally. Pastors and ministers look forward to this time that they get to rest, read, and serve. May I honor the rest of us by being deligent with my time. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near." (Hebrews 10:23-25 NASB) I can once again see my time as not simply spinning my wheels with no apparent purpose. Rather, I can focus on the present and what I am doing with today. And may Jesus Christ be glorified with what I do with the days He gives me. Encourage someone today. Give it meaning as well as feeling. Remind them of the purpose that is set before them and help fan the flame of a fervent spirit. Lately, I have been studying the life of David through the books of 1&2 Samuel, 1 Chronicles, and Psalms. Today I was struck by David's prayer (2 Samuel 7:18-29 & 1 Chronicles 17:16-27) in response to God declaring His covenant with David and his household.
Notice that any self-centered terminology in David's prayer quickly fades away after the first verse! No I's or My's; he even goes so far as to start talking about himself in the third-person, like some narrator who can only describe a scene that unfolds before him. We get a glimpse of David's complete humility before God in this moment, especially with how he uses the word "servant" over and over again to refer to himself. The whole thing reads as a list of David's recognition of God's attributes and actions; and he glorifies God for them all. Now, I don't know how your prayer life works, but can we say that we do this sort of praying often? Or is it more self-centered, using I's and My's to list off concerns, rather than giving God glory? Is the name of the Lord used only as an announcement that the prayer request is coming next or as some sort of invocation to process the request (Lord, bless me in...; God, heal me of...)? Surely, our God cares about these things. However, we should strive to be more God-centered in our prayer life, acknowledging Him for all His awesomeness and greatness in our lives, reflecting an attitude of servanthood that is dedicated to emptying ourselves of selfish motives and doing what the Spirit commands us to do. Allow me to challenge you to start praying more often like David did here in 2 Samuel 7 & 1 Chronicles 17. See how you can glorify Him in your prayer life, using His name in more ways than simple pronouncement. See if you can start thinking of yourself coming humbly before Him in utter servanthood, ready to be commanded to serve the One True Living God. I was just thinking that the book I just finished was going to be one of the top five that I recommend to people, when it occurred to me... what are my "Top 5" devotional-type books that I would suggest that everyone read? So, without further ado:  Number 5: Spiritual Disciplines by Donald Whitney This is a great primer on what all of us are called to do in the Christian life. If you are looking to develop your character and faith beyond simply praying and reading your Bible, this is a great resource.  Number 4: Just Walk Across the Room by Bill Hybels Regardless of any opinions you might have about Willow Creek, this book is inspirational about getting out of the constant Christian bubble that so many of us fall into so easily. Think differently about how you can reach the world and the community in which you live.  Number 3: Radical by David Platt Start thinking exponentially about how God wants you to serve. Simply stated challenges that will hopefully stir you to action in bigger, more global ways than you are used to acting on.  Number 2: Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren This is a great devotional for those who are needing revitalization in their spiritual walk with the Lord. Spend time with the Creator of the Universe and figure out what He wants of you in your life right now.  Number 1: Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders This book is great for every believer to read through, even if they aren't in a place of leadership. Superb Biblical principles about interpersonal dynamics. If you are a person who knows other people, you will find this book very insightful. After thinking through all the options, I recognize that these all have to do with having an active faith (Honorable mention goes to Master Plan of Evangelism by Coleman which just got bumped out of the top five when Platt moved in). Each are short and easy to read, but the real challenge isn't in the reading; it's in the follow through. Let me challenge you to pick up any of these books, read through one of them by the end of the month, and act on what you learn. Let me know how it is going in the comments down below.
Tomorrow, I will post my more intellectual devotionals that I would recommend to folks. They'll be the ones that are longer, more drawn out, and you might need a dictionary and the internet alongside to help you understand exactly the train of thought the author is going on and on about.  So, this morning I woke up and said to myself, "Self, it's a good day to run." And that is precisely what I did (so very Forrest Gump of me, I know). 10 miles and just under 2 hours later, I was collapsing on the couch for the rest of the morning until lunch.
I took this photo of where I ran today. That's it. Looks sort of like a middle-school art project on perspective. Just a straight piece of pavement that doesn't turn or bend in the slightest, with no perceivable end in sight. Now, I find running kind of a bore to begin with and I could expound on my complaints on the straightness of it all, the lack of any view other than trees on one side and corn fields on the other, the lack of other human beings sweating it out on the trail with me, etc. And those were my initial reactions. However, very quickly I chose to look at this from a more positive "perspective." It was straight. No need to worry about getting lost or making some wrong turn. It was in the middle of farm land. No need to worry about shady areas of town. It was lonely. No need to worry about showing my ugly sweaty body pounding the pavement. It also made for a great opportunity to get to the end of myself and get alone with God. Solitude is often something we tend to forget about in our daily lives, especially with all the distractions now actively vying for our attention. Now don't get me wrong; if you know me, you know I am an extrovert by nature and get strength from being with people. And solitude focused on brooding over yourself is no good either. But to spend time utterly uninterrupted with the Lord, glorifying Him in who He is and what He has, is, and will do in your life is time well spent. Joy in the Lord in its rawest sense. Solitude uniquely does this in a way that normal quiet times can't. I'm a big fan of silence and solitude, the longer the better. Let me encourage you to get out there and go get lonely with God.  I love memory verses like this one from Paul's closing in 1 Thessalonians 5:22. It's short and to the point. "abstain from every form of evil." It's the second half of a thought that starts out with "hold fast to that which is good;" which I am a big proponent of as well, and we will get to that in a second.
Often people get wrapped up in the thought of the gray areas of life, the line of questioning that brings people to ponder, "What is evil really? Isn't it a concept that we have made up for ourselves?" or, "Really, in this scenario, from this point of view, this questionable action is acceptable." Some Christians I have met have actually fallen for this line of thinking and have become handcuffed in their faith, unable to live in a maximal righteous manner. They instead, unwittingly, have decided to live from situation to situation, trying to figure out what minimal standard they can get away with and still call themselves good. This makes me truly saddened. In this age where we focus on a loving God and of "faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love," (1 Corinthians 13:13), we have forgotten an important concept. Along with being called to love, we are also called to hate. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good (Romans 12:9)! Along with 1 Thess 5:21-22 and other places in the Bible, we begin to learn that we ARE created in such a way as to be able to distinguish between good and evil. Let's not allow ourselves the opportunity to become flabby minded; unwilling to choose a side between the two, all because some speaker somewhere provided a scenario of some Christian caught between the two choices of some serious ethical dilema that fell far outside the scope of everyday life. In 1 Thessalonians 5:22, the word I find the most intriguing is- form. "abstain from every form of evil." This word also has a footnote that it could also be "apperance" which elaborates the idea even more fully for me. Like I noted in my last blog, I can get a little fixated on time. In Ephesians 5:15-16 we learn that if you are wise, you will use your time appropriately. And I want to be counted among the wise. It's easy to fill up our days with doing stuff. Are we going to choose the types of things that leave no doubt in people's minds that we are Christian? Will our actions drive people to the gospel and ultimately the glory of the Lord? As Christians, we should be choosing to spend our time on things that are obviously good, and not on things that are questionably evil. Ephesians 5:15-16 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. Romans 12:9 Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.  Time. At a certain level, I can be obsessed with it. How it is spent, the potential for things to do with it, how much has passed, how much can things in the future can get done in it, etc. And other things as well... is God bound by it or not and the ramifications that has on personal theology, when it comes to an end what will it be like, etc.
How we spend our time is what I feel most drawn to lately. Maybe because I have an abundance of it. Let me say from experience, given too much time to do nothing is NOT a good thing. It becomes very easy to wallow a day away. When you think about it, without some self-discipline, killing a week of time is relatively easy. And once you learn how to kill a week of time, two weeks in a row isn't difficult either. Then, before you know it, you are staring down the barrel of a month of wasted time. That my friends, is the bottom of a barrel you don't want to be sitting on. There comes this shame along with it that says, "You should do more with yourself." And frankly, it's true. You should. Then you get into this self-sufficiency routine that makes you think at least you are accomplishing something. But what is easy to forget, is that along with getting certain things done for one-self, you should be open to allowing the Holy Spirit to interupt our plans. God gives us time to minister to others (as well as do some disciplines that further our own walk). Carla recently blogged about what we have been reading in Radical by David Platt- teaching others what we learn in our times with the Lord. When was the last time you shared what you are learning with someone you know? Carla and I both have stories that pertain to our quiet times that seemingly had no impact for ourselves personally, but a day or two later someone has come along needing to hear the very thing we read about. God has given me quite the abundance of time. Part of what I am learning is to be consistent with several different things in my life (such as writing, excersize, etc.). But more importantly, I am preparing my heart for when I am a pastor somewhere. Time is a precious comodity and pastors tend to quickly have very full schedules. The lesson I am hoping becomes engrained by that time, is to allow the Holy Spirit dictate my schedule. To be flexible in a way that allows me to ebb and flow with my time and the disciplines of life and still have enough foresight to see the truly important... the needs of other people. It 3:33AM. Why am I up, you ask? Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with my nocturnal lifestyle. But rather for whatever dopey reason, I simply have refused to exercise. When I don't, I get indegestion which wakes me up at night. When I exercise, this doesn't happen. Tonight, I woke up all fired up about getting into shape (go figure). So. Here's to hoping it won't happen much any more.
Among friends, I have already made the comment that this is going to be the decade where I get some of my bucket list done. 42 is creeping up on me and I feel like it is finally the season of my life to do the things I have always wanted to do. Some of these things include very physical things like running a marathon (just 1 thank you, I find running terribly boring), competing in a marathon, hiking major portions of Pacific Coast Trail (if not all of it), etc. These things combined with the upset stomach thing mean it's time to get in shape. Now don't get me wrong, I don't see myself as terribly unfit. It is simply time to drop those 20-30 pounds gained from getting married and having a kid (Yes... even us guys gain weight when those things occur). So let me go on record as saying I would like to run my marathon by Spring of 2013 sometime (not sure when those sorts of things take place) and my first triathlon sometime in the Summer of 2013, which means I should probably learn to swim... in open water {which, if you know me at all, is another thing entirely}. And by swim, I mean more than the passible doggy paddle and backstroke that I do in a pool. Actually, now that I stop to think about it, I wouldn't mind being in the best shape of my life at 42. Why? Just because I can. ***smirk So. Here it goes. I am going to start this morning, once Mr. Sun has decided to wake up, have his coffee and join me in the day. OH... I almost forgot. For those of you wondering how I am doing on the internet 2 times a day thing for half an hour. Actually, it is going pretty well. In reality, I am usually sitting at a computer twice a day where I do the majority of my catching up and checking things out. My phone now comes into play regularly about once a day primarily to post things to Twitter or Facebook which leads to an inevitable quick check and then jump over to check email real quick too. But I still keep to an hour, sometimes an hour and fifteen if the phone has come out during the day. And I still think it is one of the best things I ever decided to do. "For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes in what he already sees? But if we hope for wat we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it." -Romans 8:24-25
As I try and gather my wits about me, and cobble together a certain amount of perspective, it is fundamental to remember that hope over time (there's that perseverance thing again) leads to anticipation. But that anticipation is not for the next place or the next position. This hope and anticipation is intimately tied to our adoption as sons (Romans 8:23). This is where ultimate joy is found... knowing that we serve a risen Christ and that someday, we too will be ushered into THE Kingdom as heirs alongside Him. Please be continuing to pray for us as I seek to understand what God would have me do during this time. Pray that I would be able to discern the Spirit's prompting as we look forward. Pray that through it all, I would continue to make Christ known through it all and that I would know Him better as well. 
 Many of you might be looking at the photo on the left wondering, "What in the world??" All my geeky friends out there will probably immediately recognize this as the scene in Lord of the RIngs where despite overwhelming odds, challenges, and despite the need to chase down their quarry, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli set off to rescue their hobbit friends- Merry and Pippin, from the clutches of evil. Why do they go after them when all hope seems lost? Because it was the right thing to do.
God's Word tells us in Romans 5:3-5 to exult God in our tribulations (big word for trouble), because tribulations brings about perseverance, perseverance brings about proven character, and proven character brings about hope. And hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Let the Bible speak into your lives in all sorts of situations... good and bad. It is the Word of Life and the source of wisdom and knowledge that won't fail. Often as ministers we teach about acting on these principles found in Scripture and often times when we do, we are very far removed from the experiences that warrant the use of those verses. Allow me to teach from the trail that I am in the middle of running down right now and how (once again) the Bible proves that it is powerful and useful even in this day and age. I had a moment 10 days ago to either stand up for righteousness and clarify an issue concerning my past or to simply let it slide and potentially cause division. Being upfront meant that we would enter into one of those times where life was simply going to get difficult {Tribulation}(mind you the Bible never calls us to an easy life, but that's another post for another time). But difficulty in life is not any excuse for not being graceful. At every turn was another chance to choose to do what was right in the sight of the Lord, to extend grace to others, to be humble, and to put the unity of His church first. I praise my Father in heaven for the Holy Spirit who allowed me the strength to do all of these {Perseverance}. If you know the movies at all, there was an instance or two where I felt an awful like Gimli trying to run for days over the hills and open plains with his short stubby legs, "I'm wasted on cross-country! We dwarves are natural sprinters! [pant, pant, heaving breath, pant]" Allow me to write with no sense of conceit, but rather a desire to teach from the situation I find myself currently in, though there were times of exhaustion, pursuing righteousness is worth the effort. I am thankful for all the grace and kindness extended to my family and I and all the encouraging things that have been said about us over the past several days {Proven Character}. It is my prayer that these character qualities aren't seen as some inner strength of our own making, but rather solely from the Lord and that they would drive people to a deeper relationship with Him. Sure things are uncertain in our lives, but truly, the only thing that is certain is Christ. And what better place is there to look out onto uncertainty from than a place of Hope?  Moving into our new home has been terrific, but has also come with all sorts of things to handle on my end. Unpacking those last few boxes, a to-do list that never seems to get any shorter, back to school shopping, making new friends, meeting new people, getting poison ivy (UGH), and a dryer that quit working. To top it all off, my wife and I are now proud parents of a middle-schooler. All that to say, we've been busy.
Today however, was the first moment that I have had where a midst all the "stuff" going on, I was actually pigeon holed into an hour where I had nothing to accomplish. The porch, the rocking chair, lunch with Carla, and quiet dogs sunning themselves all made for a splendid combination that led me to my first real Dog Day of the summer. Time simply clicked by as I sat in silence and solitude. I stopped long enough to allow myself the blessing of simply saying, "Here am I, Lord," and waiting... and being... and waiting... and being... That's it. Simply waiting on the Lord. Not praying, not asking for anything, not intervening on behalf of someone. Simply letting the Holy Spirit minister to my soul in ways that I am sure I needed, but could never recognize or fully comprehend. It's a basic skill really, yet it's complicated to pull off in this day and age. How much time in the month of August have you sat alone in total silence (no music, no tv, phone is turned off, no technology beeping at you, friends are somewhere else, etc.)? What about any time you purposely set out to be alone with the Lord God Almighty? Mind you, being alone and being silent are two entirely different concepts. What about the idea of being both alone with God and being quiet before Him? For most, this is an awkward proposition. Yet, Psalm 16 ends with, "You make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand." Notice where the source of knowledge, joy, and pleasure reside. Why wouldn't you want to spend time being still and listening? Seek the joy comes from simply being in His presence today.  Just a quick post to say, I've been busy. Between moving to another state, packing and unpacking the boxes, and almost having a dog die (the ball lover pictured here) once we got here has taken up most of my energy and emotional investment.
Here is what I have been up to... for a few days there, my phone got the better of me as I wanted to keep my friends updated about the process of moving and what was going on with Trixie (she seems to be getting better now, BTW Thanks for prayers and etc). So I certainly couldn't keep myself to my twice for 30 minutes a day routine. Now I am back to my regimen and happy for it. I've read a novel in four days for the first time in as long as I can remember. Ender's Game (I'm a sucker for sci-fi). I gotta say though, brutal 10 year old geniuses just didn't intrigue me too much. For those of you with older children out there... a little heads up (especially with all the rumors of it becoming a movie soon): several instances of cussing, but worse: a general attitude of how adults are really out to use children for their own means (which the adults actually do) with a general distrust of adults throughout. Also... the main character kills some other children "in self-defense" which causes him to wrestle with his identity of being a killer like his brother, who is only a teenager. I won't be suggesting it to my 11 year old son any time soon (if ever). The next book off the public library shelf is another science fiction novel- Opening Atlantis. Kind of an alternate history kind of thing (yes, I am a sucker for that specific subset of sci-fi genre as well). So far it is pretty good. Running has been put on hold, but is about to get started again next week. Theologically speaking, I am reading Hebrews and the concepts of shadow and covenant are really standing out to me. I will write more on this maybe sometime during the coming week as I continue to gather my findings and formulate my realizations. Be great. Pray hard. Read your Bibles. And go Team USA! -Peace  In one week:
When you stop and think about it, it's astonishing how much can be accomplished in a week. Even with a time or two spent way too long in front of my tablet (I know... I know. Frankly, it was too hot to do anything else **excuses excuses), the amount of stuff I can get done seems staggering compared to when I let technology, and it's false sense of connection, dictate my time throughout the day. Honestly, I don't know how far along the house would be packed for our upcoming move, if I hadn't set the technology down beforehand.
I am reminded of Christ's last week on Earth. 1 week, 1 death, 1 resurrection, 1 atonement. "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me." -Jesus (John 14:6) I am drawn to this account thanks to John 20:30 where John records that Jesus did so much more that isn't recorded, but what is recorded is for our benefit so that you might believe that Christ is the Messiah. Read about His last few days on Earth that John does record in the book of John chapters 12-20. Now, I am going to go do some more sorting and packing. Later on, I may even start shooting a board game tutorial video if I have the determination. (Running the Ritz to Roxy 5k shortly after eating fajitas has me pretty worn out) Check out our other Game Reviews! OH... and In One Week: We will be in Ohio I've been thinking of warfare lately. The spiritual battlefront is rife with imagery, but we mustn't think that is all it is (imagery). It is real and constant in all of our lives. It all starts with the war that rages in our hearts before we come to understand that Jesus is Lord. A song performed by Chris Tomlin at Passion 2012, White Flag, speaks to this directly: It is a wonderful picture in helping understand that whether you know Christ or not, you are involved in a spiritual battle for your soul. And when you finally put your offensive weapons against our Lord down and raise the flag of surrender, your war with Him is over. A time of peace with God commences and Christians, the world over, rejoice in having you as a spiritual brother or sister. However, we mustn't be mistaken in thinking that "the war is over." Your war with God is over, but you haven't left the battlefield. Now you must take up your new weaponry, turn around, and begin to fight your new enemy- the one you just defected from: your flesh and its counterpart- Satan. Like it or not, we are engaged in spiritual warfare, constantly, and it will not end until Christ returns. Make War, by Tedashii (featuring John Piper), speaks to this: Christianity isn't easy to live out. Anyone proclaiming different simply hasn't read the Bible. Allow this to be our encouragement to stop sitting outside the ring, tape-up our knuckles, and go to work ("against lust, against pride, against me, 'til I die!"). Let us be active combatants in our faith, rather than just the punching dummy in the corner.
Links to John Piper's related messages:
 So one of the things I am asked when people hear about my setting aside time on the internet is, "What are you doing with your extra time?" Among other things, I have committed to losing the 20 or so pounds I've gained since getting married 14 years ago to my lovely bride. And for me, part of that regimen is running. So today, I ran my first 5k! (1 Corinthians 9, Hebrews 12, and 2 Timothy 4 have NOT been used in the making of this blog.)
The Ritz to Roxy 5K. Today (its inaugural running), I ran it in 30 minutes! It's a small-ish event: no registration, no giveaway t-shirts, no meals, the last 100 yards are up a steep incline, there is no line to cross at the end, and there are not that many runners really (just me actually). Just like anything, I find it helpful to be goal oriented with this type of stuff. Now, I can already hear some of you out there, "Run just for the fun of it," or "Just Do It." Well, my response to that is even Jesus was intentional about His purpose: Mark 1:38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So for me, my initial goal with running was to run a 5K. So, I pulled up Google Maps and figured out a route from my house. The half way point turned out to be our local movie theater, the Roxy. I got up off the couch (quite literally- I spent the majority of yesterday there) and ran/walked it in 30 minutes this week. My new goal is to get that down to under 25 minutes before I crank up the mileage. As I ran through my neighborhood on the return leg of my trip (about 3/4 through), the thoughts of, "Dear Sweet Jesus... when will this be over," started creeping into my mind. It was then that I recognized something I hadn't thought of before. In the past when I would go for a run, it was to some ambiguous destination to run some undetermined amount of laps. At the Ritz to Roxy 5K, the destination is my home with my lovely bride and my awesome kid. I was running home to my loved ones and this gave me more than enough energy to make it up that ridiculous ending hill. Malachi 2 says that we should not be unfaithful to our wives, but I think the real implication there is that we should enjoy being with them! So for me, running isn't some aspect of racing to some nondescript point on the pavement, but rather a getting back to my family. I know some of you out there run to get some peace and quiet away from the house. This isn't a bad thing, but the real challenge is how to change your home dynamic to make it a place you want to run back to. In the comments, feel free to give us your personal best physical activity... running, cycling, swimming, etc. And feel free to come join me on the next running of the Ritz to Roxy 5K (email me for more details), or better yet... figure out your own so you can run to your own home. I noted in my first entry that I would share my experiences in my efforts trying to regain my digital societal freedom. Well this, is one of those times.
I just recognized that I haven't heard a peep out of my phone in days! Not because it is on silent (it isn't), but rather having turned off my notifications and cleaning up my inboxes and such, has given me some distance from the rest of the digital world (so to speak). Admittedly, summer is usually a little slower in terms of communication for me. Anyway, it has been quite odd... all the silence. Don't get me wrong; it's great, but odd none the less. Also, I have found myself somewhat at ease knowing that I don't have that much to check anymore. But... and this is significant. It hasn't been completely simple in giving up time on the internet. I seem to find myself absent-mindedly going over the same information at times, thinking that I haven't read it yet. #Firstworldproblems for sure. Here's to hoping the rest of the month goes well. In the comments, tell me if you have thought about doing anything to recapture your time from digital society.  A quick note about curbing the Pinterest appeal. First off, let me just get the fact that I am a guy and I like Pinterest, out of the way. I know it is not an exclusive thing for women, but let's face it, it is very feminine focused; even Pintrest's founder admits this. I start this way, because I would consider the vast majority of things posted to the site aren't going to catch my attention anyway. Long hairstyles, wedding ideas, painted nails, workout routines, etc. don't catch my interest in the slightest. Which, in turn, makes cutting back in this arena simpler for me. I do enjoy the art and geek sections, as well as the designs for things around the home. But I do have a few suggestions for cutting the time spent here, because we have all seen the Meme of the Lord of the Rings character, Boromir, "One simply doesn't check Pintrest real quick."
First, be discriminating. Instead of choosing to browse "Everything" as a category, only choose 3 or 4 major headings to spend your time on. Why waste your time cruising through food items when you are on a diet? Why subject yourself to Dr. Who related images when you aren't even sure if there is a Nurse Where, a Dentist Why, a Pediatrician What, or a Surgeon How? Choosing a category helps cut down on the fluff and repetition you have to sift through. Second, if at all possible, use the mobile app version. It doesn't give nearly as many postings as the website does. This gets you to "the bottom" of the category much faster. It does seem to have more erroneous results to the category, but that only aids in getting through faster as well. And let me just give a quick word to those of you who are as OCD as I am. There was a point at which I wouldn't "repin" something if it was posted in the wrong category. How could people mess things up so badly? One time while browsing the Car category, there were 87 images out of 120 that had NOTHING to do with automobiles or transportation of any kind. Earrings, hairstyles, dresses, etc. UGH it was terrible. So this is where my standing on my principle of not repinning things in the wrong category came in. Let me just say now, forget it... who has the time to go find the same image again in the proper category? I am only working off of 3 or 4 categories as it is, I'm not going to quibble any longer with things I can't control on the internet. Last, is a word of caution. I can see how the devil would use Pinterest as a tool to work envy into our lives. Things others have done or own or have attained, are SOOoooo much better than what we have. FALSE. The Lord has provided you with so much; be thankful. Use Pinterest for inspiration and ideas that you will attempt sometime in the near future or catalogue funny junk to share with friends and bring a smile to their faces. Keeping this in mind, will help a long way in being an active participant in your life rather than a passive observer. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Galatians 5:22-26 NIV) Recently, I had the distinct pleasure to perform my very first wedding for two students from within our ministry. After all the excitement was over with, I got in the car for the 3 hour drive home. My wife, Carla, had recently hurt herself, so she wasn't along with me and neither was my son, Tim. So with some time to myself, my mind began to wander.
I thought back to the ceremony and the prayer I had spoken over the two of them- that their marriage would be filled with love and service to the world around them. Having known the two students for several years, I am confident that this will be the case. They will be overt in their Christianity within whatever community the Lord will lead them to. They have no qualms serving other people and sharing their faith in Christ and speaking scripture into the lives of the people around them as they do so (in appropriate ways). Which got me onto my original train of thought: the difference between Overt and Covert Christianity is something you can "C". Many times, we pastors have a struggle on our hands getting people to move from a more covert to overt faith. As I drove down the highway, I thought of several people that I wish would make a change in their faith from always being in the closet in secrecy to having their light shine like a city on a hill. I was reminded of the tension that exists with these two extremes that Christians can, and do, run to at times. In the book of Matthew 5:13-16, Christ outlines the fact that Christians should be salt and light- seasoning life and bringing the hope of Christ to the world. Your actions should be pointing people to God, and not to how good you are. If they praise you instead, they may not understand the working of the Holy Spirit in your life ("But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised." - 1 Corinthians 2:14), or maybe you simply weren't apparent enough- in which case, you should probably ask for forgiveness at some point. Either way, you should take the opportunity to redirect them to Christ. We can find the other side of this coin in Matthew 6:1-6. Christ details His complaint with people who make a big deal of themselves in various ways so that the people around them will take notice. He directs them to get their private and secret lives with the Lord in order. This covert relationship with the Father is something that we pastors are always trying to get people to engage in more as well. It is my opinion that we Christians, tend to use this as an excuse as well. We retreat to an extreme form of this discipline, often never intersecting others with the gospel (in word or deed). Rather, we choose to keep matters of faith a private affair. Keep in mind, these words from Christ, are in the same sermon less than three minutes apart from the call to be like a city on a hill which cannot be hidden! These verses in chapter 6 have more to do with the attitude of the heart, "Beware praciticing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them..." We, as faithful Christians, must operate within this tension. Actually, we should not see this as a tension- not as an either/or situation. Rather, we should recognize this as a both/and scenario, each overlapping the other. We must be striking out to serve the world around us with an abundance of Christ's love from a place of humility which comes from understanding the grace that has been extended to us by spending secret time with the One who lives in our hearts. The difference between Overt and Covert Christianity is being able to "C" our time spent in secret being poured into the lives and relationships around us.  Hello from day #5 of 1.H.O.T. I hope your fourth of July was fun. My family and I got together with some friends for a bar-b-que. We had way more food than we should have eaten and I enjoyed every minute of it, especially the Oreo Mint Ice Cream my son made!
On the technological front, two times during our evening, I found myself feeling a little odd due to my little experiment in cutting back the social media. At one point during the night, I got to texting a friend and recognized how out of place it was in the midst of the great time I was having with my friends there in the backyard. The other was when I noticed that my phone was eerily just sitting in my pocket and I had no need to be checking it every several minutes. Cutting the phone notifications has been a huge step in getting back in touch with the people that I am spending time with in person (read my second entry below). But something else that has really helped tremendously, has been "Unfriending" people from Facebook. During my week of preparation, I cut my list in half (over 150 people) and my goal is to be well under 150. I know, I know. I can almost hear the cries now... "Don't unfriend me!" "Why would you EVER DO THAT?!?" Well, I can honestly say, after cutting all those people and having about 60 or so more that I am considering, my Facebook has become a joy again and not a burden. Like in olden times, it is something I can check really quick, instead of feeling stuck at cycling through my "News" Feed for 30 or more minutes. You can't tell me that there is something appealing of being in and out of Facebook in under 3 minutes, even with commenting on friends' stuff. That's right. Under 3 minutes from the newest posting to where I left off the last time I checked. Or maybe your comment would be something more like, "I don't know that I would be able to delete anyone." You probably have more than you realize when you add up the personalities that you really aren't friends with, that person you randomly added as a friend because of some event, and that person who only posts to FB once a month other than their game requests (which happens more often than you might realize). Also, I have found that I had many husband and wife teams, both as friends, either both posting the same stuff or one always posts while the other one rarely does. Choose one. Delete the other. It's ok... they will both still like being your IN REAL LIFE friend (probably). FB doesn't make deleting bunches of people easy either. You actually have to find each person one by one and delete them. You can do this via the News Feed when they randomly come up, but if you are going to be serious about doing a purge of over a hundred people, let me make a suggestion. Make a new list of friends called something like "delete." Then you can add friends into that list super quickly. From there you can look at your "delete" news feed only and then delete people from there a little faster. Give yourself some time to get this accomplished. To delete my 162 people, it took me more than 30 minutes to make the list and delete them at a pretty good clip. Once you've got your list cut in half, try going through your newly cleaned up friends list again and put another 1/3 of your remaining friends in the "delete" list for consideration for a few weeks. You might be surprised at how your attitude changes as you get the delete snowball rolling. People who made the cut the first round, might seem like legitimate candidates for getting cut the second time around. Since the big purge during my week of preparation, I have come to find out about "Hiding" a person from your news feed. This feature hides that person's posts without the social stigma of you unfriending them and they will never know they are hidden from your news feed. It allows you to honestly say, "No, I didn't see that picture you posted," because we all acknowledge, though we may not understand, that dynamic of FB- Once you get over 100 friends or so, you simply don't get every post from everyone. The hidden FB gremlins do some new math and try to predict whose posts you want to see instead of giving it all to you. I considered doing this for the 60 or so folks who are in my "second cut" consideration list. After thinking on this for about two weeks, I think I have formed my opinion about "Hiding" people. To me, I find this "Hiding" as a case of "Let your yes be yes and your no be no," (Matt 5:36-37) and a matter of honesty. I don't really understand the whole, "I would rather tell a small white lie to someone, than hurt their feelings" attitude, especially over something as trivial as FB. I would rather be able to confidently say that I am starting to reserve FB for my closest friends and family. Most people seem to be okay with this and it isn't as big of a deal as you might think. And you know what... now those people that I unfriended and I have something to talk about over coffee or dinner and make it a priority to catch up with one another. And that's not "Unfriendly" at all. ;-)  So today was the first day of my new regimen of only having 1 Hour Of Technology a day (watching movies and e-reading excluded). Things went well, but only because I had made the proper preparations last week.
Yes, it took an several hours over the span of several days to be able to get to the point that I wouldn't be disturbed by my technology every 15 minutes. There were several things that I did that I will elaborate on throughout this week, and it wasn't long before I was seeing some real breakthroughs. The first, and probably most significant, that I would like to share with you today is getting a grip on your cell phone. Thanks to the way of things, most of us have smart phones now-a-days (with "dumb" phones being difficult to find). And though this is good for those who need to get our emails, quickly we start downloading apps, games, receiving notifications of status updates, and before you know it- it is hard not to go half an hour without looking at your phone. Don't get me wrong... it certainly is nice to have something to do while you are waiting for your friend to come along and join you for coffee, or to check up on things while you are waiting as the 10th person in line at that store- you know the one. It has 25 checkout isles and only 5 that are open. Yeah, that one. But in all reality, things can get out of hand real quick. You go from checking whatever it is that the phone notified you about, to the next thing you know... you are taking a photo and posting it to Facebook with a silly comment while you are going down the highway (let's not mention how fast) in the rain {**meekly raise my own hand- guilty as charged}. So here was the first, and most dramatic change I made last week (and the ramifications were tremendous)- I turned off ALL the notifications being displayed on my phone with the exception of phone calls and texts. No more "pushing" statuses and tweets. No more email chimes. No more being constantly in a digital loop and slave to my technology. Now that I am not getting every last thing pushed in front of my face, when I talk with people, I get a truly rich experience of hearing and seeing it from the source and not some 3 inch screen. The only thing that I have needed to be disciplined enough not to do, is constantly check these things manually on my own. But with having times I know I will be in front of a computer tends to help me shy away from pulling my phone out of my pocket every 15 minutes. Let me challenge you: Don't let your phone get away with cyber bullying. Try it for a week and see how different your day becomes. Turn off ALL your phone notifications except your calls and texts. |
Jason RitzServing through love and laughter is a great way to live. Categories
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