Heath with a Purpose

I titled this post with a question because this was the biggest question I had about scripture. I found myself at a cross roads. I couldn't deny God's presence in my life. From how God has been with me my whole life to knowing that I needed Jesus to die for me as the perfect sacrifice that is necessary to pay for my sins. This new understanding filled me with joy, excitement, energy, and purpose. From being a total skeptic to basically a new believer, I was frustrated with where I stood in my faith. I believed that I needed Jesus but I still had trouble believing I needed the bible. My view of scripture was a pile of words that, if you really wanted to, you could skew the words to say what ever you really wanted to say.  I remember exactly where I was, I was in my car after my shift outside the farm I worked at when I cried out to God "IF YOU WANTED ME TO BELIEVE YOUR WORD WHY DID YOU START IT WITH SUCH A LIE!!" I could not get over the seven day creation. Ou...

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:13‬ ‭NIV‬‬ “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55:6‬ ‭NIV ‬‬ The gospel is best understood when it's discovered, not when it's told. As christians, our influence on the world has a far greater impact when we live the life scripture calls us to, seeking God first and loving our neighbours. When we are known for telling others what to do and how to live, we are putting ourselves in between them and Christ. We need to be transparent. Our goal should be that when people see us, they really see God. What I'm writing might seem hypocritical, but if anything, by writing this it allows this to be a reminder for myself as well.  The most fulfilling discovery I have ever come across is Jesus Christ. It sounds cliché and I might have lost all, if not most of my readers that don't believe or don't have a relationship with Jesus.  I'm n...

I have previously talked about shame and how the proper response is to worship God. The last thing you probably want to do when your in a dark place is worship. You might think God deserves better. In April, I heard a pastor preach on Lazarus in John 11:43-44.  When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” ‭‭ Before Jesus came into each of our lives we were dead to sin. But Jesus has called us like he called Lazarus. Now picture Lazarus walking out of the grave. Did he come out glowing wearing white with angels singing behind him? No, he probably stunk and was still wrapped in his grave clothes. We are just like Lazarus. We still aren't perfect even though we are now alive in Christ. When God called us it wasn't when we were in a state of glory, but rather a state of m...

“Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” ‭‭James‬ ‭1:21‬ ‭NIV‬‬ "To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of the mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians1:27 NIV The word in us? Christ in us? Seems to me that scripture suggests the idea that God is always with us. If thats the case, why is communicating with God so hard or often unclear? And if God is perfect in every way, why do we struggle to understand him. Often I feel like we treat communication as if it were a cycle. I say something to you, you then process what I said, once you come to an understanding you respond accordingly. Unfortunately this method is flawed. I think one of the biggest problems we have is our inability to communicate clearly. This causes fights, ends relationships and starts wars. When we are in a conversation with another, we o...

Life is testing sometimes. It can almost get to the point where it feels like, well, a test. To be honest the culture we live in today, the western world, has created this mind set. It has even created a plan for you. You go to school, get good grades, work hard, and everything will work out. This might work for some but for the rest of us we know that this isn't the recipe for success. I didn't do so well in school. I did just enough to get by because I had to. I had to get an education because if I didn't I was told I wouldn't be able to get a job anywhere. Everything I did was graded. Now that I'm working full time I find it interesting how when we make a mistake we hear about it, but when we are doing it right we are just expected to do so.  I adapted how I was tested by the world to how God tests me. I struggled with that consept because I came across This verse in James. “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be...

I had a sarcastically exciting night last night. Everything started out great. I went to bed at a decent time, all of my chores were done, my wife was sleeping and I was writing down some teaching ideas.  It was peaceful. I was productive. It was a successful night all around. Then I heard it. Little hacking and gargling coming from the end of the bed.  My wife and I have two pets. A little toy poodle named Chico and a cat named Chip.  I look up fearing what I might see, and there it was. Puke in a pile at the end of the bed travelling over the edge and onto the carpeted floor. I immediately got up and proceeded to clean the duvet cover. It was hopeless. By the grace of God I was able to get the duvet cover off the duvet and not wake my wife. I felt like Houdini. I scrubbed the floor, rinsed the duvet cover, and threw it into the wash.  I thought I was handling it really well. While I was down stairs putting the duvet cover into the wash I noticed...

            When I first accepted the truth that I was broken and needed a saviour, a couple church topics did not make sense to me. The first was prayer. I thought if God already knows what I need why do I need to pray for it? I learned thorough my ignorance that pray isn’t about connecting God with me but connecting me to God. The second was worship. It made no sense to me that we had to worship. Doesn't that mean that God is incomplete because he needs us to worship? But as God softened my heart I realized worship is an expression of what we love. Its not for his benefit but for ours because he is what gives us life.       Tim Keller wrote: “Evidently what we worship will eventually lead us to our death. Jesus is the only thing we can worship that died for us”.       I f a new believer asked me what they needed to do to be saved I would tell them to repent of their sins and take up their cross ...

We all struggle with our sin. Sometimes it's struggling with the temptations that lead us to our sin. Sometimes it's struggling whether or not what we do is a sin in God's eyes or not. And sometimes it's struggling with the shame we have after we have sinned. Let's Look back to the beginning in the garden right after Adam and Eve committed the first sin.  Genesis 3:9-10 “But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”” ‭‭ When we are struggling with the shame of our sins, our instinct is to hide from God. We naturally want to isolate ourselves because the weight of our shame is to much to bare sometimes. But the truth is that God wants you to give him your shame. Jesus' death on the cross shows us that he wants us to be reunited back to God. God treated Jesus with what we deserved, so God can treat us with what Jesus deserves. We are blameless in hi...