The Most Loyal

I don't have a pet at the moment. Growing up, my family always had a cat. Cats can be good, when they're not temperamental. The reason why cats make such great pets is because they are low maintenance. They take care of themselves. I was more of what you would call a "dog person". I love dogs. They love to run around and play. They're not as temperamental as cats. They want your attention and love, and will give you their attention and love freely. My brother has a beagle, Sadie; it's seriously the best dog EVER! I love to chase it around my brother's house, and wrestle around with it.

Dogs are so great. There's a reason why they're called, "man's best friend." I think they are man's best friend because of the love they give, and their loyalty. Loyalty is huge, not just for dogs, but for humans as well. We crave loyalty. Loyalty develops stability, trust, and dependability. Not only is it good to be loyal, but it's wise as well. The author of the wisdom book of Proverbs says this, "Never let loyalty and kindness get away from you! Wear them like a necklace; write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will gain a good reputation (Proverbs 3:3-4, NLT)."

Join us tonight at Crash as we look at loyalty, and how David was saved by those who were loyal to him. We'll also look at what happens when things we are loyal to conflict, and how to decide which to be more loyal to.

And Jealousy Rears It's Ugly Head

Exodus 20:17, "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor." Many people look at this verse, one of the '10 commandments', and brush over it. "Oh yea, don't be jealous." We tend to see it as a good rule to live by, but really not anything important to pay attention to. I include myself in this generalization because I've done the same thing. Our culture even tells us that it's OK to be jealous and envious of others (which should actually not be that much of a shocker). I mean, there's even a phone called 'The Envy'. We certainly don't view it as the commandment, or even the sin that it truly is.

So if it's not that important, then why did God say it? Why is it included specifically with 9 other commandments carved literally in stone? Was it an afterthought, like a post script (P.S.)? I don't think so. God knew the destructive nature of envy and jealousy. He knew what would happen if the Israelites allowed themselves to covet, not only their neighbors material things, but anything that belonged to their neighbor. See, jealousy is born out of resentment; when we see that someone else has something, be it an material (like an iPhone 4) or otherwise (like a good grade, promotion or title) and we feel discomfort, displeasure or even anger at the fact that we don't have it. We begin wishing that person was out of the picture, that we would have it. When we think and wish that, we begin look for ways we can hurt that person, whether in word or action.

Honestly, jealousy can (and often does) lead to murder. Really. People get killed because of jealousy all the time, especially in the area of money. Jealousy is no laughing, or light matter. It's a serious warning, a serious commandment & serious sin, and we all, myself included, need to view it as such. Every junior high student is welcome to join us at Crash tomorrow night as we read 1 Samuel 17 & 18, and see how jealousy began to consume King Saul, and ask ourselves, "So, how do we counter jealousy?"

Who Adam Begot

Recently, one of my lessons led us to Luke 4, which is the account of when Jesus was tempted in the desert. It was during this lesson that one of my students happened to glance at Luke 3:38, the verse that proceeds Luke 4:1. She noticed that it said, "...the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God." "But didn't Adam only have 2 sons, Cain & Abel? So who Seth?!" She asked me, "Do we know anything about Seth?" So that is the question that I will attempt to answer today, "Who is Seth?"

The Bible itself explains who Seth was, but not much about him is revealed. What we do know from reading the Bible is this all found in Genesis 4:25-26 & 5:3-8. Seth is the 3rd son of Adam & Eve, however in the family trees he's listed as the first born. He's considered the first born because Abel was murdered by Cain, who, as a result, was banished and alienated. Eve gave Seth his name probably because it means "granted" and was overjoyed that God had granted her another son after Abel & Cain.

In Luke we see that it's through Seth (not Cain or Abel) that Adam is in the direct family line with Jesus Christ. When Seth was 105 years old, he had a son and named him Enosh (which means man, or human, like Adam). It was also during Seth's life that his family began to pray and follow God.

So that is who Seth is. I'm glad that I could answer that question. Remember, if you have any other questions, please feel free to drop them in the, "I Wonder" box at Crash. I hope to see you all on Sunday.

A Book & It's Cover

There is an old saying, "Don't judge a book by it's cover." It means, don't just look at the cover of a book and judge whether you like it or not, but actually read and judge it by it's content, by the story. The reality is, we judge don't just books by their cover, but we judge CD's, movies and even people by their appearance every day.

I love to read. I have made it my goal, every year, to read at least 10 books. Lately they've been non-fiction, topical books. But I also like to read sci-fi, adventure, fantasy; I love it all. My favorite fiction book is a book called Ender's Game. It's funny how it became my favorite book. High school students have an assignment over the Summer, they have to choose 4 books from a list the school gives them, to read and do a book report on. One year when I was in high school Ender's Game happened to be on the list. It was a book I had never heard of. I only chose it because it was a sci-fi book. As I read it I really got into the story and the characters and what was going on. The author does a great job of painting a picture and telling a story.

Now, looking at the cover, you might not think much of it. I didn't. If I had just seen this book at the library or at Barns & Nobel (or as Pastor Steve calls it "The Nobel"), I wouldn't have even picked it up to look at. It looks too sci-fi for my liking. I only read it because I had to. But I liked it. If I had judged this book by looking at it's cover, I'd have missed out on reading what is now my favorite book.

This week, at Crash we'll be looking at 1 Samuel 16, when David was anointed by Samuel to be the new king. Samuel, who was like us, had thought that one of David's 7 older brothers would be the king that God would choose. Samuel was like us, judging people by how they looked. God had to keep reminding him that man judges by the outward appearance, but the LORD judges by the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). All junior high students are welcome to join us this Wednesday as we look closer at this passage and ask ourselves, how we judge people.

Unfinished

When I was growing up I couldn't sit still. It was hard for me to focus on one thing, without becoming quickly distracted. This drove my mom crazy. The chores she gave me would go unfinished if she did not keep on me. See, I would get about halfway through a job and then become distracted. In fact, frequently my mom would jokingly call me "Half-A-Job." As much as I resented the nick-name, it was true. I wouldn't see the job to full completion, or if I did, it would be rushed and not done right. My mom would tell me to go do it again. It didn't matter what excuse I gave her, the reality of it was, it was an excuse. I had disobeyed my mother. I had not done what she asked me.

Eventually I grew out of this phase. I am pleased to say, my mom doesn't call me "Half-A-Job" anymore. And I am so thankful she decided to work with me, and give me chance after chance (hey, I was a child trying to learn). This Wednesday at Crash, we're going to study someone who also frequently did half a job, only he was an adult, who should have known better... a king in fact! Yes, King Saul disobeyed God, on many occasions. He didn't seem to understand what he was doing wrong. Moreover, his attitude showed that he really didn't care. Junior high students are welcome to join us as we read through 1 Samuel 13-15 and look at Saul's half a job disobedience.