(no caption really needed to know what he's thinking)

How People Change--Part 3

There are two basic schools of thought about change. One focuses on the emotions and one on the will. The religious world focuses on the will most of the time. If you are down on yourself they say, “Buck up, be strong, grit your teeth and bear it, hang on you can get through it, tough it out, it will be ok.” They place all of the emphasis on the will, your ability change things. Your determination to not settle. And we even say these things, “I am not going to do this anymore. I am not going to keep sinning like this.” You see understanding that something is wrong and applying your determination will not bring lasting change. It does not work. Why? The second school of thought, which is often found in the secular world focuses on the emotions. They tell you that you are practicing self-defeating thinking. You need to change the way you think, you need to do something nice for yourself. They try to get you to feel better about yourself by focusing on your emotions. They try to bring real change by changing your thinking and for those of you who have suffered emotional stress, this may change you for a while, but you will relapse back into it again. Because real change has not occurred. Now, that’s a lot of stuff to think about. I have been thinking about this for several months and it is still a lot for me to grapple with. Don’t miss this right here. If you are totally confused about everything I have said this morning, make sure you get this. Read 2 Corinthians 3:15-18 again. Listen to this. This is the key to real, lasting change. “Beholding the glory of God brings real change.” Listen to me, do not miss this. Josh Martin was converted to Christ when he beheld the glory of God. Seeing that changes you. Here is what I mean. I had heard the gospel many times as a child and it did not change my heart. Why? I didn’t get it. I believed Jesus was God’s son. Of course I believed he died on the cross for sin. I believed he rose from the dead even. But it didn’t change me. Why? Because I knew the facts, but I was yet to behold his Glory. The eyes of my heart were veiled. But when I actually turned to the Lord in faith and repentance, not just knowledge, I could behold the glorious truth of who he is and what he had done and I was transformed. God removed the veil and I could see him in all of his glory and it changed me. When you see him as glorious it will change you. You will experience true repentance because you will turn from your sin in sorrow and to Christ in faith. You don’t want that anymore, you want Him. This is not just true of conversion, but it is true of all of life and it is true of all change. All real change occurs this same way. Let’s break down these verses for a second and see the truth of what is being said here. v.15 Moses was not glorious. The glory on Moses’ face will fade but the glory in the face of Christ will not. V16 You must turn to the Lord, not your determination, not your emotional fix but to the Lord V17,18 When the veil is removed we can see him and it will change us. And it doesn’t end with conversion. But from one degree of glory to another. In all of life. This is how we are sanctified in heart and body. Look at other places where Paul does this. 2 Corinthians 8:1-9 When Paul wants the Corinthians to be generous he doesn’t just scold them. He takes them to the Gospel. He explains how Christ tasted poverty so that we could be rich. When you see that, you will want to give. And you will do it without any pressure. It will indeed be of your own free will. Ephesians 5:22-27 Wives, Because Christ is your savior and you have submitted to him, and he holds your life and you following Him, submitting to your husband shouldn’t be an issue. Husbands, because you know the spousal love of Jesus Christ, when he could have left and probably should have left you, he stayed and gave you everything. Loving your wife this way shouldn’t be an issue. It always go back to the Gospel. The Gospel is what will change us. Seeing that glory will change us. I want to end today the way Paul ended this thought in 2 Corinthians 3:18“For this comes from the Lord who is Spirit.” I want us to acknowledge the glorious truth that this change only occurs because of the working of God. Let’s be sure that he gets the credit for this. Let’s be sure that he gets the glory so that others may see who we credit this work to and then they, with unveiled face, may behold this same glory and be changed. If there are any questions, feel free to ask. I can say, "I don't know" as well as anybody. But who knows, I may have an answer.

How People Change--Part 2

Now that we have established that even those whose hearts are hardened toward God are hardened by something, what motivates us to change? Let’s look at some motivators that do not bring lasting change. Real change happens on the inside and is evident on the outside. Outward change is often a sign of inward change but not proof of inward change. I can have a change of actions without having a change of heart. We often ask what would Jesus do? This helps us conform our actions but you would be surprised what you could do with a hard heart. This was the main problem with the Pharisees and much of the problem with the religious world today. We honor Christ with our lips, but our heart is far from him. We have cleaned the outside of the cup without having touched the inside of the cup. Why do we do that? Why did the Pharisees do that? Why do we so often conform our actions without conforming our heart? Motivators Guilt is a motivator. And guilt will change the way you act but it will not change your heart. Because the change that you make in your actions almost never removes feelings of guilt. If they are removed, they come back and you find yourself in this vicious cycle of never being freed from that guilt. It changes your actions but it does not change you. Whole change must occur or it is not real change, it is a cheap imposter. Fear is a motivator. This is probably the greatest motivator for change that never brings real change. It too will change your actions but it will not change your heart. I do not teach the youth to not have pre-marital sex by scaring them into thinking about the consequences of an STD. This tactic may change their actions but it does not change their heart and the heart must be right or the actions don’t mean a thing. Jesus told the Pharisees I want you to follow the law but follow it with both heart and actions. This fear motivation will not lead you to real change. This is true of my own conversion. I didn’t come to Christ because I was scared of Hell. I was just as scared of Heaven. Hell hurt and Heaven was boring and I didn’t want to go to either. Heaven is not the goal of the Christian life, Christ is the goal of the Christian life. Being with love ones in heaven is not the goal, being with Christ in heaven is the goal. You cannot scare me into a relationship with Christ anymore than you can please me into a relationship with Christ. This talk of heaven leads me to the next motivator I want to talk about. Pleasure is a motivator. This is true for everyone in here. We are motivated by pleasure. We change our jobs so that we can make more money to have more pleasure. We change the way we relate to each other so that we can find pleasure in each other’s company. If you can go on a cruise to the Bahamas for the same price as a weekend at the lake, you will change your plans from the lake to the cruise because it brings you more pleasure. Do you see this? Do you see how pleasure motivates you? Pleasure changes the way you do almost everything but it can never satisfy the need for more pleasure which means it does not bring real lasting change. You will need to change something tomorrow to feel more pleasure so it is never a real change but many endless changes. These are just three of many motivators that will not bring real, lasting, Godly change. There are too many of these to list to put into one sermon but these are the most common I believe. I will post what I believe the Bible teaches about change on Monday.

How People Change--Part 1

There will be seveal posts on here in the next week that I am taking from a sermon I preached a few weeks ago about change. With New Year's right around the corner, people will soon be talking about their New Year's resolutions. Sadly, most of our resolutions fall through the floor. But I think it is helpful to get a biblical perspective on change. From conversion to true sanctification, not just moral conformity. Here goes. Read 2 Corinthians 3:15-18 We all have things in our life or about us that we would like to change. And we would do anything in the world change them. Some things we want to change are things that we should want to change because they are bad or unbecoming of us. In particular these things are mostly sin that we struggle with. We want to change some things because we just don’t like them. They are not bringing any harm to us or anyone else but we want to change them because we simply don’t like them. I have things like that. One thing in particular is my voice. I hate to hear myself recorded. When the JMB produces a new CD, I never listen to it after it’s finished. The last time I purposefully listen to it is in the studio for the final mix. Once it’s done, I’m done. I don’t want to hear it because I don’t like to hear my voice. But I continue to sing despite my voice, because I want people to hear the truth in the lyrics. I don’t have to sing as well as Mac Powell of Third Day, I just want to write music like King David. It is not my first priority to sound like Steven Curtis Chapman, but to write music that is as solid as his. I would change my voice if I could but it’s really not that important and it doesn’t keep me from doing what I feel the Lord has called me to do. Some of you have the same issue here. Some things you want to change don’t really matter that much. But some things do. And that is what I want us to look at today. How do people change? But not just for a little while, how do we change for good? It is really silly that people think that Christians are the only ones trying to convert people. The following is an article from the New York Times written by Mark Lilla. He starts off the article talking about how he had a "conversion experience" as a child but now totally denounces all claims to be a Christian. He goes to a Billy Graham Crusade in queens to write about it for the paper and talks with a young man who had gone forward and surrendered his life to Christ. Here is what he had to say: “I found it hard to conceal my bafflement, since Billy had not said much at all. You must be born again - that was it. I felt a professorial lecture welling up in my throat about the history and psychology of religion. I wanted to expose him to the pastiche of the biblical text, the syncretic nature of Christian doctrine, the church's ambiguous role as incubator and stifler of human knowledge, the theological idiosyncrasy of American evangelicalism. I wanted to warn him against the anti-intellectualism of American religion today and the political abuses to which it is subject. I wanted to cast doubt on the step he was about to take, to help him see there are other ways to live, other ways to seek knowledge, love, perhaps even self-transformation. I wanted to convince him that his dignity depended on maintaining a free, skeptical attitude toward doctrine. I wanted. . .to save him. I thought I was out of that business, but maybe not. It took years to acquire the education I missed as a young man, an education not only in books but in a certain comportment toward myself and the world around me. Doubt, like faith, has to be learned. It is a skill. But the curious thing about skepticism is that its adherents, ancient and modern, have so often been proselytizers. In reading them, I've often wanted to ask, "Why do you care?" Their skepticism offers no good answer to that question. And I don't have one for myself.” (emphasis mine) You will be converted by something. The writer says that we should stay skeptical of all doctrine.....all doctrine but his doctrine! All beliefs but his beliefs! Everyone has a set of beliefs and everyone has been converted by something. Even the most post-modern of the post-modernists have a set of beliefs that they, deep down, believe you should conform to. How silly it is to think that Christians are the only ones concerned with converting people. So, the question is not "will you be converted?" The question is, "What set of beliefs will have it's way with you?" I will continue with more of the sermon on Friday.

Small Crowd/Large Crowd

Have you ever noticed that when attendance is up at church, the leaders spirits are up? And when attendance is down, the leaders spirits are down. The same thing is true for us, not just pastors. Sadly, this is even true for me when it comes to music. As I look back at this year and contemplate the different concerts that we have done, it seems that our better concerts have been with larger crowds and that leads me to ask the question "why"? Why are the concerts with larger crowds better than the ones with smaller crowds? We have had our share of both. There were a few concerts that if we hadn't brought our families, we wouldn't have been singing but to a handful of people. Other concerts had people scanning the room for a place to sit because it was so full. The big shows were better than the small ones. Why? I think this is true for everyone no matter what the venue. I am not necessarily talking about attendance but whatever it is that brings this kind of behavior. I hope this doesn't get too long but I am going to elaborate on that for a second. I am a youth pastor as well as the lead singer of the Josh Martin Band. When a lot of kids are coming to youth, I'm excited. When attendance is small, I get depressed. Most pastors are the same way. I once worked as a manager at a Winn-Dixie Marketplace. When sales where up, everyone was in a good mood. When sales where averagre or a little below..........not so much. I hope you can apply this to whatever it is that you do. Whether you are a factory worker, pastor, blue collar, white collar, career woman, or stay at home mom. All of us go to the end of our day with something that we fall back on. We all have something that, even if everything else falls through the floor, we rest confident in it every night when we lay down our head. It could be the way you manage your family. You may say, "Whatever else happens in my day, it doesn't matter, I am still a good parent." We all have something that we are using to justify ourselves everyday. Tim Keller calls these "functional saviors". We all have something that at the end of the day will be our savior. A little confession of my own here......I have found that one of my functional saviors has become knowledge. I am very eager to learn anything that i can to grow closer to God. My top ten books of the year can be seen at my other blog www.reformationundergoud.blogspot.com . I love learning things. I traveled as a missionary after high school and was not able to go to college or seminary. I would love to do both but I am finding that reading has been almost a supplement for those things. But as I began to grow in knowledge, so did my pride. Knowledge had become my functional savior. This is how you can see your functional savoir. Functional saviors are really idols. You may think that you don't have any idols in your life, but trust me, you do. You say, "I am a Christian and Christ is my idol. I am obediently following him and not looking to anything else." Well, that's a nice thought but it's not completely true. All of us have idols but the problem is that we can't see them until we learn how to spot them. This is true of everyone, believers and non-believers. Here is how you spot them; I will borrow a little from Tim Keller here. Idols are simply good things that have become ultimate things. This can be anything from knowledge, family, food, your job, your social class, etc. Even ministry can become and idol. You know that these things are idols by seeing your reactions when they are tampered with. If a good thing is lost, you get upset and cry. If an ultimate thing is lost, you want to jump off a bridge. If a good thing is blocked from you, you get mad or angry. When an ultimate thing is blocked, you get bitter, you can't sleep. Do you see why you act the way you do? The things that you overreact to tend to be the idols in your life. If knowledge is my idol, and you disagree with what I think, I get bitter at you because you are questioning my funcitonal savoir. You are drawing into question the thing that I am banking on. If my family is my idol, when they die, I am devastated at the loss and I sink into deep depression. I have lost what I am banking on. This is how you spot them. How do you get rid of them? Your heart can never go without an idol. So idols are not removed, they are replaced. God has designed your heart to hold something dear. To have an object of affection. That object of affection is to be Christ. So now that you know Christ is to be your idol, you will fix it, right? It will never happen if you are planning on just changing it. You have this idol because you find something glorious about it. There is something about it that you feel you cannot do without. When something else becomes more glorious than your idol, you exchange it for that new thing. May I present a solution? The Gospel is the center of the Christian life. The gospel is not just what we preach to non-believers, it is something we must preach to other christians. We need to hear the gospel continually. Why? The gospel changes us. It continually reminds us of the ultimately glorious thing and that is Christ. Look at the examples in the bible that Paul has given us. In Ephesians 5 he tells husbands and wives how they are to treat each other but he doesn't just say, "Wives, submit to your husbands because I say so!" or "Husbands don't you dare cheat on your wives!" Keep reading what Paul says. He takes them to the gospel so that they can see the glorious truth of Christ and that is what changes them. Seeing Christ changes us (2 Corinthians 3:15-18). Christ will be our idol when we see him as glorious. This is getting really long. I will stop for now. If you anyone has any interest in me expounding more of this please leave a comment saying so and I will do it. But I hope that you see this truth so that attendance and sales are not what are justifying you at the end of the day. I hope you will be identified with Christ and not any lesser thing.

It's That Time Again

Howdy folks. Long time no blog. Well, at least here at the JMB blog. I've blogged a lot on my personal blog. But, that's beside the point.



It's that time again! JMB will be playing at Centerfield's Cowboy Church this Friday, and at Brandenburg's Country Church on Saturday. My first-ever gig with JMB was at Cowboy Church a couple of years ago (even though I didn't become a member of the band until our live recording). We played Brandenburg for the first time last year, and I really enjoyed that show. That room sounds great! We're looking to see whoever may be there Friday Saturday....

powered by performancing firefox

You gotta see this....too funny

Me and Andrew at the Desiring God Conference
To see how I dealt with Andrew at the DG Conferece just push play.

Did you Vote?

I hope that you guys that are of voting age went to vote yesterday. Voting is a priviledge that we have in this country that many people in other countries don't have. I use to not really care if I voted or not. I thought, "My one vote won't make a difference anyway". But I have since realized the importance of supporting candidates who share the same values as myself. Here is my only beef with election time: So many people say, "You should vote because people have died so that you could!" I have heard more Christians say that than I have heard them say, "Christ died so that you could be reconciled to God!" I guess my beef is not with election time as much as it is with the degrading of the cross. Voting is extemely important but it will always stand in the shadows of the cross. If you must tell someone that a person has died for their benefit, I pray that you will tell them of Christ, not just christian soldiers.

New Song

I have written a new song this week called, "Clumsy Believer". I got the idea from the Bebo Norman concert that I was fortunate enough to attend. He was talking about how he is so clumsy with his faith. I feel the same way. You'll have to come to a concert to get the full story. Hope to see you there!

Please Read This

This is a great article about which understanding where lines are drawn when it come to doctrines that so often divide. Please read this. http://www.albertmohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2005-07-12

What's going on folks?!

Been a while since we have seen some of you guys. So, how are things going? Anything going on in your lives that you would like to share, good or bad?

Oh yeah, life goes on

For those who never venture over into my own little world that I call my blog, I'll bring my next post over here. Hello all. How are things? Let me tell me, things are great over here. I'm still at good ol' U of K and loving it. Midterms are upon us so I'm a little swamped, but nothing too bad. My honor's class is definitely my least favorite class at the moment and I am very ready to be finished with it. I'm not really enjoying the reading or the papers that I have to write but I'm dealing with it. I've got all of my work turned in and I'm passing so I guess there's no real complaints. Life with Mary Beth is good. We've been together for 1 month now (as of Monday) and things are still going great. We don't get many chances to see each other besides weekends but we are managing. God has blessed us so much and any amount of extra work and travel that we have to do is well worth it. I'm missing JMB and music together, but it's always like this around this time of year. I'm really looking forward to our two gigs at the end of November. Hopefully we'll get some practice time in before we have to travel and maybe work up some of those new songs (hint, hint). Well, I'm really just typing this so I have an excuse to not finish my homework but now I'm starting to feel bad about my procrastination tactics so I guess this is good bye. I'll see you when I see you.

VACATION TIME IS HERE AGAIN

VACATION TIME IS HERE AGAIN Current mood: excited It's the night before the big day! We head off again on another cruise tomorrow morning. We are so excited that my mom is able to come along on this one with us along with Ericcia's dad and step-mom and her brother and sister in law. It has been eighteen years since mom has been on a cruise, so I am anxious to see her reaction when she sees how much bigger the boats are these days. We will be getting up way to early in the a.m. to head to the Lexington airport. We don't take off till 8:30 but Ricci (Ericcia's dad) wants to get an early start just in case we have vehicle problems so they are going to be here at 6 a.m. I don't leave that early to be at work at 7:30....lol I understand though. The boat will be leaving from Tampa FL. and we will be visiting Costa Maya, Belize, Grand Cayman, and the Cayman Islands (I think). I plan on gaining about 5 pounds while I am gone and really do not plan on doing a whole lot other than eat. Anyhow, please keep us all in your prayers as we head out tomorrow and I will try and update as often as I can. Kelly

LiveBlog: JMB @ Vincinnes Retreat - Day 3

“Here Comes the Sun,” and “On the Road Again” are the theme songs for today. The sun finally showed itself this morning, and we’re preparing for the trip home. Just a short closing session and worship set remains. For the Morning Show, we performed our rendition of “My Girl” titled “Sunshine.” We’ve recorded the entire weekend, and plan to post some of the performances on the audio section of our site. Look for these soon! We had a great time learning and growing with the VU campus ministry folks. We look forward to joining them at next year’s retreat.

LiveBlog: JMB @ Vincinnes Retreat - Day 2

Today has been an eventful day. The band opened the Morning Show with our own rendition of “Smokey Mountain Rain” titled “Illinois Rain.” Our weather forecast from yesterday was dead on – it’s still raining. We opened the morning worship with some more upbeat stuff to get the kids moving. This afternoon, we discovered a few things: • Not all Bibles include all 66 books of the Bible (Andrew’s new NASB left out Ezra, Esther, Nehemiah and all but two chapters of Job). • Derek can, occasionally, have a striking resemblance to a Smurf • When we actually rehearse songs, we can sound fairly good. During the free time, we decided to have a rehearsal. Feeling the need to add more worship songs to our sets, we learned “Grace Like Rain” by Todd Agnew and “Sometimes by Step” by Rich Mullins. We debuted both songs in the evening worship set. Look out for these new worship songs at a gig near you (we have also recently added “God of Wonders” to our catalog). After the evening worship, the Late Nite Live game was “Who’s Line Is It Anyway?” The band and Matt Walton formed the Kentucky Headhunters team. We rocked the competition, but unfortunately, the partial judges gave the victory to a student team. Our reference to aliens listening to bluegrass was quoted several times by other teams, and our party skit was the “funniest things I’ve seen in years,” according to Mike Cabell. Nevertheless, we finished third in the competition. Thus concludes Day #2.

LiveBlog: JMB @ Vincinnes Retreat - Day 1

We're just wrapping up the first day of the Vincinnes University campus ministries retreat at Oil Belt Christian Service Camp in Flora, Illinois. The big story here is rain - and lots of it. Some storms have rolled through, but nothing too severe. Word is that it will rain most of the weekend, which puts a "damper" on the situation. Rumor has it, Noah's ark was seen floating in the distance earlier this evening. Never fear! We're still having a great time. Approximately 60 students made the retreat. Matt Walton is this weekend's speaker. We heard an introduction tonight, and we're all looking forward to what God has laid on his heart for the weekend. The full band wasn't able to make last year's trip, but we're in full effect this year. Doug, Bert, and Kelly weren't with us last year, so they're getting the VU experience for the first time. We're also playing with our snappy new soundboard for the first time this weekend. It makes us feel like a real band having a nice, new, very large soundboard. More to come!

Coming soon..........

Bert and myself attend church at Harvest Community Church. I just wanted to let you guys know that on or church's website in the next few weeks there we will be putting up our weekly sermons and a "Learning Biblical Theology" class that Pastor Kevin and myself are teaching on monday nights this fall. You don't have to have a seminary education to understand what we are talking about (I'm teaching, it can't be too hard to understand!). You will be able to check this out in the next week or so. You can access the site by clicking on the link for Harvest Community Church on our links page. Later.

"A Year With the Parents"

I had discussed briefly on the message board a few months ago about putting together some resources for Youth Workers. In November I will be making the first of these resources available for anyone who wants them. The first series will be titled, "A Year with the Parents". This will be a monthly Bible Study starting in January that youth workers can send to the parents of their youth. It will stress the importance of parent's knowing and being involved in their child's spiritual growth. These bible studies will hopefully encourage and edify parents as well as shaking up some of the apathetic ones. Be watching for this series in November. You will be able to download it right from our website completely free. If you are a parent of a youth or if you are a youth worker, I strongly encourage you to do this. God Bless!

Good Luck Derek!

Just wanted to publicly wish Derek good luck on his Freshman year of college. We are praying for you homey!

I guess this makes me eligible....

I think a lot of us sometimes struggle with thinking that we are not good enough to know Jesus. The truth is....we're not. But we can find great hope in the words of Jesus himself as we read the story of how Jesus called Levi (aka "Matthew") to follow him. Here is the story. "After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, "Follow me." And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." Luke 5:27-32 (ESV) I am very glad of that last line! Because all of us are sinners. Most of us have a tendancy to fall into the same problem that the pharisees do. It is really easy for us to pick out everybody else's problems and not examine ourselves. It is not that the pharisees didn't do the right things, they just did the right things with the wrong motives. They acted like they cared about God's law but they didn't. They were more in love with being right than being with Jesus. But we find tremedous hope in these verses! Jesus came to call those of us who are sinners. He calls those who realize their need of Him. We need him and we need him more than anything. Today, how will you respond to such an amazing God who comes and gives himself to those who don't deserve him?

Come see us!

Yes, yes, we know... Kelly is back from vacation. Since no one else is posting anything new I guess that I will have to. To all of you who have never seen the Josh Martin Band in concert I urge you to come see us this month. We'll be here in Frankfort on the 20th (I say "here in Frankfort" because that is where I am), Harrison County High School on the 26th, and in Shelbyville at the New Hope Baptist Church on the 27th. For those who have seen us... you should come back and see us again. You'll probably notice some new elements to our live shows including airborn guitar solos, lasars, and pyrotechnics. Am I lying? Maybe... but there's only one way to find out for sure!

I'm Back!

Hey folks.......I'm back from a long needed vacation! The houseboat was great and it was fun to just hang out in the water and do nothing. We did get to do some tubing while we were out there which was too much fun. I hadn't done that in YEARS! I also attempted to ski for just the 2nd time in my life and I actually made it up for about 30 seconds or so. Pretty impressive for a short fat guy. However, after all that tubing and very little skiing I did, my body is not liking me at all right now and I think the only part of me that doesn't hurt are my fingers. I'm looking forward to get back in the groove of things and start working towards my next vacation in Oct. Another cruise! whoooo hoooo!!

What if Jesus said "NO"

Luke 18:13--But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" What if Jesus said no? Could you imagine crying out to God for mercy and his reply be "no". Would that be unfair? I mean, don't the rules say that if I cry out for mercy God has to give it. Let there be no mistake about it, there will come a day when it will be too late to cry out for mercy but that day has not arrived yet. Would it be unfair for Jesus to tell us no in this present day? It would not be unfair. I hope we never ask for what is fair with Christ. We have life today because of the unfairness of God. If God pronounced nothing but judgement and wrath upon us, it would be a just judgement. It would be deserved and he would be right for doing so. However, God does not overlook our sin when we are forgiven. Christ paid the penalty for our sin. Our sin was dealt with by Jesus and he took the punishment (the wrath of God) in our place. This is what is meant by substitutionary sacrifice. Christ was our substitute on the cross. This is not fair. Christ being completely without sin was punished as if he were a sinner. In the same breath we must also realize that just as Christ was counted a sinner (even though he was not morally a sinner) we get counted as righteous even though we are not morally righteous. Christ got the credit for our sin and we got the credit for his righteousness. Again, this is not fair. But it is a reality for all who will repent of their sins and believe on him. Jesus will not say no. We have the promise of John 6:37--"All that the father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out." Until the day of Christ's return, he will never say no to those who draw near by grace through faith. It is my earnest desire that we would all realize this truth and stand in awe of the grace of God. It is an awesome thing. It is unfair, but it is a reality. It is the good news!

What if Jesus said "NO"

Luke 18:13--But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" What if Jesus said no? Could you imagine crying out to God for mercy and his reply be "no". Would that be unfair? I mean, don't the rules say that if I cry out for mercy God has to give it. Let there be no mistake about it, there will come a day when it will be too late to cry out for mercy but that day has not arrived yet. Would it be unfair for Jesus to tell us no in this present day? It would not be unfair. I hope we never ask for what is fair with Christ. We have life today because of the unfairness of God. If God pronounced nothing but judgement and wrath upon us, it would be a just judgement. It would be deserved and he would be right for doing so. However, God does not overlook our sin when we are forgiven. Christ paid the penalty for our sin. Our sin was dealt with by Jesus and he took the punishment (the wrath of God) in our place. This is what is meant by substitutionary sacrifice. Christ was our substitute on the cross. This is not fair. Christ being completely without sin was punished as if he were a sinner. In the same breath we must also realize that just as Christ was counted a sinner (even though he was not morally a sinner) we get counted as righteous even though we are not morally righteous. Christ got the credit for our sin and we got the credit for his righteousness. Again, this is not fair. But it is a reality for all who will repent of their sins and believe on him. Jesus will not say no. We have the promise of John 6:37--"All that the father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out." Until the day of Christ's return, he will never say no to those who draw near by grace through faith. It is my earnest desire that we would all realize this truth and stand in awe of the grace of God. It is an awesome thing. It is unfair, but it is a reality. It is the good news!

Checking In

Howdy folks... it's been quite a while since I've posted here at the JMB blog. First things first - Derek got a haircut. Saw him working in Kroger today... His hair is quite short now. Sad thing is, the ladies are still gonna love him. Stinkin' Derek. One of our biggest fans - Nele - has returned home to Germany. We played a concert for her going-away party last week at The Point. We - Derek more than most of us - miss her already. She was fun little German. Hopefully we'll see her again soon. Get us a gig in Germany! New songs are on the way! We'll be rehearsing a bit over the next month of so to learn some new material. Not only originals, but also some new praise & worship songs. Gotta keep things fresh, ya know. Don't worry - I'm sure you'll still hear "Drive" at every concert :-) Live downloads? Be on the lookout for lots of live MP3's on our website. I've been recording our past few shows, and they haven't turned out too bad. We're hopefully gearing up for a new live CD, and possibly a DVD. In the mean time, we're enjoying some time off... hanging out with friends & family, vacationing, etc. August will be busy, and we're looking forward to getting back on stage! See you all soon...

Dull bass player news

For those of you who don't read my blog I think I'll update you a little bit. I will be getting a new bass tomorrow. Although it won't officially be mine until I pay for it (probably Sunday) it will be mine enough to take home and play... which it good enough for me! It's a 1978 Rickenbacker 4001. People unfamiliar with that name may recognize it as the bass used by Paul McCartney (later Beatles and Wings), Lemmy of Moterhead, Chris Squire of Yes, and Geddy Lee of Rush (in earlier years). I'm excited to see how I can use it in JMB shows. We'll see...

Happy 4th of July

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy 4th! I also wanted to pass along some words of a song that really helps us to remember our purpose here. "My first allegiance is not to a country or a land, My first allegiance is not to democracy, but, It's to a King and a Kingdom." As we celebrate the freedom we have, let's remember that even in this land we call America, we are still immigrants and only in Christ can we know freedom. God Bless!

New Equipment

The JMB has been fortunate to have the equipment that we have used for the last couple of years. However, we are finding good reasons to replace some of it. The main speakers that we have been using are getting pretty old and we are starting to get a buzz out of one of them. We are trying to get a new monitor system of sorts. We meet tonight to discuss our options and see what is the best option. You may not care about this stuff, but just in case you have ever wondered what we talk about, well, there you go!

We are now on MySpace

Hey folks.....I got to thinking of another way to get our name out there.....check us out on MySpace at www.myspace.com/thejoshmartinband Kelly

New toy

Just a few hours ago I returned from Cinn. Ohio with, hopefully, my tonal salvation. The new Line 6 Bass Podxt Live. It's an amp modeling system that gives me the options of playing through 28 different amps, 22 different cabs, 4 different mic options, and over 50 different stomp boxes. It will probably be accompanying me to every JMB concert from here on out and I hope that I can finally be pleased with my bass tone. I just finished messing with it for the night and I am looking forward to Thursday when I can use it live.

Galatians 1:11,12

Galatians 1:11-12 “For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” We have seen in recent weeks that the gospel is being distorted among the church and it seems to be happening the same way that all biblical doctrines are distorted. Even today, just like back then, distortions of the gospel are arising within the church. But these distortions are always the gospel of man. Man-centered gospel leads to man centered theology, which in turn leads to man-centered worship which, produces more man centered gospel (although it’s not really gospel). You may be reading this and thinking, “aren’t you being a little extreme?” Well, let’s look at some aspects of your local congregation and when they gather to see if this cycle is true; Man-centered gospel verses God-centered gospel. Man-centered gospel—a message that focuses on man being the chief end for which Christ came to die. God-centered gospel—a message that focuses on God’s glory being the chief end for which Christ came to die. Example of man-centered gospel: Jesus came and died for me. Example of God-centered gospel: Jesus came and died for me for the glory of God. This may not seem like too much of a difference but let’s see how this affects your theology. Man-centered theology—a system of theology that makes man the center of all doctrine. God-centered theology—a system of theology where all other doctrines are subject to the doctrine of God. Example of man-centered theology: All events in life are ultimately determined by man. Example of God centered theology: All events in life are ultimately determined by God. This greatly affects our worship. We do not sing of the glory of God but of the glory of man. Man-centered corporate worship—man becomes the focal point of songs, prayers, and preaching God-centered corporate worship—God becomes the focal point of songs, prayers, and preaching Example of man-centered corporate worship: “He took the fall, and thought of me, above all” Example of God-centered corporate worship: “God of wonders beyond our galaxy, you are holy, holy” The problem with man being the center of the Gospel stems from pride, which stems from our sin nature. The gospel is not something that we can afford to get wrong. We are not talking about stuff such as infant baptism verses believers baptism or taking communion every week verses quarterly. We are talking about the message of the cross. That message is the very power of God for those who are being saved (1 Corinthians 1:18). I have said this before and I will say it again—we must preach the gospel to each other as believers. And it can’t be a man-centered gospel. The church in Galatia was experiencing the affects of a man-centered gospel. Paul is writing to the church to clear up the confusion. The gospel that Paul is preaching is not man’s gospel. He received it from the Lord. He was not taught it. Christ revealed it to him. Paul did not learn the gospel from Ananias but received it from the Lord (Acts 9). The gospel as laid out in the bible is the only gospel that has the power to save and sanctify. I cannot say this enough; WE MUST GET THE GOSPEL RIGHT!!

It's getting closer.....

We are almost through with the new cd............I think. Everyone has all parts, vocal and instrumental, fixed to their liking and we are down to the final mixing. Andrew gave us a rough mix sunday night after our concert at the Point Community Church and hopefully the next mix will be final. We're keeping our fingers crossed.

Galatians 1:10

Galatians 1:10 “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” We have seen in the last few verses that Paul is astonished at the Galatians hasty turn to another gospel other than what he had preached to them from the beginning. Those in Galatia that taught a gospel other than what Paul had taught were not only attacking the gospel but also attacking Paul’s character. As Paul preaches salvation by grace through faith he is accused of preaching a “easy” gospel. He is not preaching a salvation by “works” but by “faith”. This is contrary to what the false teachers are preaching. This salvation by faith alone would stand against the customs of Galatia. Later on in this letter Paul explains a couple of the things that the Galatians have evidently been sliding back into. In chapter 5 Paul address the circumcision that many were clinging to for salvation by presenting the truth that circumcision and uncircumcision do not account for anything but “faith working through love”. In chapter 4 Paul addresses his concerns for the Galatians in their ritualistic practices in observing special days in order to gain favor. Paul’s main purpose in writing this letter to the Galatians is to once again proclaim the truth of the gospel that salvation is wholly of grace and not of any human effort or work. No one is good enough or can do enough good things to save themselves. Our salvation is, from beginning to end, the work of God. Here in verse 10 we see Paul defending the claims that had been made about him preaching an easy gospel to gain approval with men. By the time of this letter Paul has been persecuted harshly for proclaiming the gospel. The testimony of Paul’s life is sufficient reason for the Galatians to know that he is not seeking the approval of men. Paul had suffered such severe persecution that had he been seeking his own well being, he would not have been a servant of Christ. Paul had faced tremendous hardships, but he was “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10). Paul did not seek the approval of men but to please the Christ who saved him.

Big Words

I must admit to all of you that I am extremely illiterate when it comes to talking about computers. I know what a monitor is and a keyboard and a mouse. I know what CD-Rom is and I know just enough to check my email and blog. That's about it. Pentium, mega-bites, ram, modem, gigahertz, and Celeron are all words that I have heard but just really don't have a clue what they mean. I have no interest in finding out either. I just found out the other day by experience that you can't play MP3 stuff on a regular CD player. But some of you know what all of these words mean and are probably laughing at the fact that I don't. You may think it is crazy that I am probably using all of those things as I type right now and don't even know it. How in the world could I grow up surrounded by computers and not know what these things are? There are computers at my house, at the office, in my cell phone, on the engine in my car, and we even use one in our church services. How could I be around so much technology without knowing the language? The answer is simple--I just don't care about any of it. I don't care about my computer. I am just using it to serve myself. I don't care what goes on inside of it as long as I can depend on it and it works for me. Hopefully by now this is sounding familiar and you are getting the point of this post. But for those of you who think that this is just more proof that I'm clueless, I will spell it out for you. Justification, sanctification, regeneration, election, propitiation, glorification, the Trinity and imputation should be as common language to Christians as gigahertz and modems are to the technologically advanced. Baseball players know what the DL is, football players know what a touchback is, and christians should know what justification is. There are thousands of terms that we use everyday to explain and communicate our passions. How often do we ignore the truth of God's word because we are too lazy to find out what words like propitiation mean? I think the truth is that we don't know because it has never been taught or we don't care. God's word is not burning in the hearts of pastors so they begin to do cute things to make up for it. To think of what we have traded for humor makes my stomach turn. One of my grandfathers fought in WW2 and the other fought in Korea. When they stepped on the battlefield they knew the hand signals. They knew the codes and they knew the manuevers. They knew the language. We are at war. We better know the codes and we better know the language. Because we must be able to use the full armor of God or we will die.

Busy week

I would like to apologize to the few faithful devo readers. It has been a busy couple of weeks and I have just not had time to write them. But next week is looking better so hopefully we will be back to Galatians. Later Taters......

Why do we want to believe it?

In all of my study of "The Da Vinci Code" refutations I am yet to see anyone answer this question; Why do people want to believe it? This question staggers me more than the claims in the book. We know what Dan Brown says and we know what prominent theologians and every pastor with a blog says, but none of them answer this question. (at least none that I've seen. They may be out there but I haven't seen them.) Here are some thoughts on why I believe people want to believe it. Not why they believe it, why they want to believe it. 1.) Everybody loves a conspiracy.--I must admit that I myself would rather watch "Conspiracy" on the History Channel to see the theories about the JFK assasination than study his credentials to be president. Who doesn't love a good UFO story?! Does anybody remember the guy who worked at Area 51 that came out talking about the aliens he saw only to be dismissed as having never worked there. I have watched hours of that stuff. 2.) It is much easier to justify my actions if the standard has been lowered.--All sinners look for justification, just not at the same place. Our only hope as sinners is the righteousness of Christ. There is no hope offered in a fallible Christ. Many people find justification for their actions in believing there are no absolute truths. Let's be honest, this is exactly what this boils down to. 3.) There is power in numbers.--Over 40 million copies sold, translated into 42 languages. The average reader has a tendancy to think they are somewhat "smart". "If 40 million people are buying it, it must have something to it." People don't want to be ignorant of religion or history, they just are. When was the last time you knew of a church history book selling over 40 million copies. After picking up this fictional book most readers will retain small, seemingly insignificant statements from this book and assume them as fact. If I read a fictional book about a teenager in a gang on the streets of New York, I don't assume that teenagers, gangs, and New York are fictional. I could go on and on but there really is no need to. I am sure that you have reasons why if you think about it. Tonight my youth are going to learn about the Council of Nicea. ha, ha. I couldn't imagine ever hearing that in youth. Ignorant kids make ignorant adults.

Galatians 1:6-9

Galatians 1:6-9 Galatians 1:6-9—I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or and angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preach to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. I wish there was some way to simultaneously cast these verses into the hearts and minds of all Christians, especially since the recent uprising of the “Gospel of Judas”. Many questions are being raised about things such as “The DaVinci Code” and the “Gospel of Judas”. This is good in one sense and bad in another. It is good because it is calling us to give an account for the hope that we have (1 Peter 3:15) which in turn drives us to understand why we believe what we believe. It is bad because most doubts and fears are not coming from the world, but from within the church. There is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Evidently, the 21st Century is not the first time that the Gospel has taken fire from false teachers. Paul tells the Galatian church, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you……and are turning to a different gospel”. Paul was astonished at the turning away of the Galatians. Those who are not in Christ are naturally going to turn aside from the true Gospel. It is part of our depravity (Romans 3:12). We have had God’s word for hundreds of years and yet because of our lack of knowing it, we are shaken by the claims of “new discoveries”. Galatians 1:6-9 is a perfect picture of what Paul would have to say to the Church of America. Throughout all of Paul’s letters he is constantly preaching the gospel to the church. You may think that this sounds odd because the church should already know the gospel, right? But for different reasons, we must continue to preach the gospel to each other as believers. Preaching the gospel is not only the means by which salvation comes, it is also a part of the means of our sanctification. The same message that brings us to God is the same message that continues to keep us with God. Steven Curtis Chapman once wrote, “No heart loves greater than the one that is able to recall the time when all they knew was shame.” There are none who cherish the gospel more than those who know the gospel. Paul pronounces a curse to all those who would distort the gospel or preach a gospel contrary to the one that he has preached. The gospel that Paul preached was a crucified and risen lord. The word “accursed” is translated from the Greek word “anathema”. Anathema carries some weight with it. You can see the importance of the gospel when you understand what Paul pronounces over those who distort it. If someone is anathema they are, “cut off from salvation”, or “damned”. This should tell us something about the importance of getting the gospel right, and preaching the gospel to each other. Paul felt so strongly about the power of the gospel that to distort it or to turn to another gospel would be spiritually suicidal. I hope that the recent attention that the media has given to false gospels and fictitious claims would not turn your head. These are neither new findings nor is this the first time these issues have come up. It doesn’t take a historian or theologian to refute these claims. It just takes the church being the church.

Recording Drums...again

IMG_0295.JPG
Originally uploaded by AndrewD300.

Hey everyone... Andrew here. I'm in the process of laying down new drums tracks for the new album. Since Josh decided to redo his vocals, it gave me enough time to get the new drums recorded. So far, so good! I'm halfway done, and should have all tracks completed by next Tuesday, if all continues to go well.

Click on the picture to be taken to a gallery of pictures of the set up in the makeshift recording space I'm using.

Wednesday Devo

It has been a busy week and it is about to get busier. I haven't had time to write a devotion for the website but I ran across and article by John Piper that you don't want to miss out on. The article is about repentance and it is something that we as amercians can definitely use to hear more about. Check it out. You won't be sorry. http://www.desiringgod.org/library/fresh_words/2006/041906.html A little side note: I am going to hear John Piper speak this friday in louisville. I will tell him you guys said "hey".

New Cd Update

After listening to the rough mix of the new JMB cd I have to admit that my vocal performance is quite lacking. I am going to re-record my vocals which will push back the release date. The new release date is ......whenever. I was so worried about getting good mic levels and hitting the right notes on the first time through that I didn't feel the songs at all. I didn't sing them like I believed them. I didn't realize how dead it was until the rough mix. I will say that Andrew has done a superb job of mixing the instruments. I have said this before and I will continue to say this until it ceases to be true; I get to play music with my favorite band. Not everyone can say that. These guys are my favorite musicians. I couldn't imagine playing without them. You are a lucky man Josh Martin!

Galatians 1:4,5

Galatians 1:4,5 Galatians 1:4,5—who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. It’s very easy to pass over greetings when we read the bible but this is the third week and we are still looking at the greeting. I told you this would take a while! The reason we are still in Paul’s greeting is because it is so jam-packed with truth about the glorious things of God. His authority and death defying power (v.1), his grace, peace and lordship (v.3), and now in verses 4 and 5 we see other incredible truths. Right away we notice what was done for us. Christ gave himself for our sins. After all, noticing what affects us is part of being human. By nature we are self-absorbed people. But through the Spirit we are awakened to the glorious truths that the taking away of our sins happened because it glorifies God, not because it glorifies us. You can look at Christ’s taking of our sins in two ways. One is biblical and the other is not. You can say, “Christ took away my sins! I must be glorious!” Or you can say, “Christ took away my sins! He must be glorious!” Now, none of us would openly say, “I must be glorious!” but if our view of the cross centers on us rather than on the glory of God, we have already said this in our hearts. Yes, Jesus loves us. Yes, Jesus took away our sins. Yes, we get the benefits of the cross. But He must get the glory. The glory of God is the ultimate reason for the existence of everything. Christ “gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age.” There is an age coming that is not evil. It is an age where those in Christ will look upon his face and not die. It will be an age where the glory of God will be so much more than we could ever dream it to be. Our wandering hearts and wandering eyes will be so satisfied with what we see and feel that nothing will enter our being that does not directly flow up in praise to Him. Christ came to deliver for Himself the church that they might be to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:12-14). Christ gave himself for our sins and delivered us from this present evil age and this all happens because of the will of God. The fact that those in Christ have been delivered is owing completely to the will of God. It is not owing to any good work we have done. We can’t pray enough. We can’t read our bible enough. We can’t do enough good things. We cannot avoid enough bad things. You can’t lay down your life for the Kingdom of God enough. Our salvation is owing to the fact that God in his sovereignty has chosen to save sinners. We are saved because it is his will to save us, not because it is ours. We can want to be saved all day long but if God in his Grace had chosen to not save sinners, our desire to be with him would be useless. Paul explains this in detail in Ephesians 2. It was God’s will for Christ to go to Calvary and die for sins. It was God’s will for His own son to die a death that he did not deserve. It was God’s will for Judas to betray Christ. Many of you will struggle with these truths and I struggle with them sometimes myself but the bible is very clear that these events came as a result of God’s ordaining that they be. Nothing catches God by surprise. He is not removed from his throne because of disobedient men. Joseph was sold into slavery because it was God’s will. He told his brothers, “You meant this for evil, but God meant this for good” (Genesis 50:20). He didn’t say “God turned this into good”, he said, “God meant this for good.” God is sovereign over all things. Nothing can escape his hand (Deut. 32:39). Paul closes his greeting by stating that God gets the glory for all of this. The ultimate end in all that has been said and done is the glory of God. We must never claim the glory that comes from our being saved. It must always flow directly to God. No one is good enough to save themselves. We get the benefits, He gets the Glory. Christ took our sins, he gets the glory. We are delivered from this present evil age, he gets the glory. He saves sinners like us because it is according to his will, he gets the glory. Glory will flow forever and ever, and he gets that glory!

Am I really saved?

If we are honest with ourselves, we have all asked ourself this question at some point in time. Especially when we begin to struggle with a particular sin. One thing is for certain, we are saved by grace alone and our salvation is not a result of any work. If we are saved, then doing good things didn't save us. In the same way, doing bad things won't "unsave" us. So if our salvation is strictly of grace, how can we know if we are saved? We are saved by repenting of our sin and placing faith in whatChrist did in the crucifixion and resurrection. This is all of grace. When I talk to anyone about being a christian, we talk about Jesus being savior and lord. Most of us would talk about Christ being both of those things. And if we are saved, then Christ is both of those things. But how do we know if he is savior and lord of our life? There are several ways of testing ourselves that are found in 1 John. Romans 8:16 speaks of the Holy Spirit bearing witness with our spirit so we can know that we are God's children. Their is an inward assurance given by the Holy Spirit but sometimes we don't "feel" it and start to doubt our salvation. Here is an old post that may help you if you are struggling with this. Jesus is to be our lord and savior and TREASURE. A true believer will treasure Christ above all things. They will at least have a desire to know him more and live for him. Where Your Treasure Is Matthew 6:19-21—Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. 20Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. 21Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be. (NLT) I believe that no other verses in the bible will bring a man to examine himself more than these particular verses. This small passage of scripture crashes on our soul like the waves of a hurricane, consuming every aspect of our life and if taken to heart, will allow Christ to cleanse us from our own selfish desires. Where is your treasure? With whom or what do we spend countless hours? If we take a look at the words and actions of Jesus, we find one common denominator and are able to see the treasure of His life. Everything that Jesus did or said portrayed His love for the Father. The Father was Jesus’ treasure and his heart remained with the Father. Jesus was not looking for approval in the eyes of man nor was he looking to astonish them. He simply loved His father and because of His love for Him, He loved us. If you remember, the Sadducees and the Pharisees questioned Jesus about which commandment was the greatest. Jesus replied “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.” Jesus was not in love with serving the Father. Jesus was not in love with the attention that followed Him as He served the Father. He simply was in love with the Father. It is not our responsibility to determine the treasures of others but to only decipher our own. Only one thing will last throughout eternity. Will this be your treasure or will your treasure fade and rust away with time? Take a look at your heart and what it stands for. Where are your thoughts? There is your treasure. It’s that simple. No amount of reasoning can change that.

New Blog

Hey everyone! I just wanted to say tell ya'll (that's you all for the yankees out there) that I have started my own blog. It's called "the musings of a reformed bassist" and you can get there by clicking on my name over to the side, I think. Although I don't post very often on this site, I plan on posting everyday, or multiple times a day on my new blog. I was going to wait until college started to start blogging but I've decided to go ahead now- it's not like college is the start of my life or anything! I just started this blog today so don't expect much now- maybe you should give it a few weeks so you won't be disappointed once you get there. Side note: I am an awful speller so I constantly have dictionary.com pulled up as I type and I was checking my spelling of "disappointed" just now and the definition that it gave me was "Thwarted in hope, desire, or expectation". That sounds cool. Anyway- that's all I got- check out my blog!

The Gospel of Judas

Matt Perry is the pastor of Boone's Creek Baptist Church in Lexington, KY. He has written an article on "The Gospel of Judas" on his blog. I recommend checking it out. www.bromattsblog@wordpress.com

Galatians 1:2,3

Galatians 1:2,3 Galatians 1:2,3—and all the brothers who are with me, To the church of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The whole law is summed up by Jesus in Matthew 22:34-40. We are to love God and love each other. If the whole law can be summed up with those two commandments, then I believe that everything that belongs to Christianity can be summed up in the greetings of Paul’s letters. “Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Why not just say, “Hope things are going well”? Or “how’s things at the church”? Since the bible is the inerrant word of God, there must be a reason why Paul would always address his letters with the pronunciations of Grace and Peace—Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, Colossians 1:2, 1 Thess. 1:1, 2 Thess. 1:2, 1 Timothy 1:2, 2 Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:4, Philemon 3. Why does he do this? Why is this important? Well, Paul isn’t here to explain himself but it speaks mountains to me. Grace. Just think about that word and all that it carries with it. Our salvation was bought with a price and that is grace (1 Corinthians 6:20). Saving faith is a gift from God and that is grace (Eph.2: 8,9). We were granted repentance and that is grace (2 Timothy 2:25). We were resurrected from spiritual deadness and that is grace (Eph 2:5). We have been predestined, called, justified and glorified and that is grace (Romans 8:30). God will finish what he starts in us and that is grace (Phil. 1:6). Think about it. That is enough to make a Baptist shout! But what is so amazing about grace is that it is greater than our sin. Grace does all of the things listed above because it is greater than our sin. Praise God! Our sin is disgustingly vile and gross and we need to feel that. The cross will not mean to us what the cross really is if we do not get that. Our sin requires punishment and Christ paid for it on the cross for all who would repent and believe. This is the breath-taking amazement of grace. Grace is the avenue in which all spiritual blessings are bestowed upon us. We receive these blessings only because grace is indeed greater than all our sin. Grace removes sin. Peace. Who doesn’t want this? Peace comes as a result of trusting in the claims of the Gospel. If you are in Christ, then you are at peace with God, period. Romans 5 is an incredible chapter with incredible truths that we often times would dismiss as unbelievable. We don’t always feel like we are at peace with God. Sometimes I struggle to really believe this. How often do we feel like God is mad at us for not doing our daily devotions? How often do we feel like God is mad at us because we didn’t pray all day? Sometimes I think we would rather have the law than grace. Our emotions can really mess with our minds. That is why regardless of feelings, we must trust biblical claims. Paul claims in Romans 5 that through Jesus Christ we have “now received reconciliation”. NOW! Not later. NOW! Let that speak peace to your soul and thank God for that peace that he has provided through his son. We were all enemies of God at one time (v.10) but through the gracious gifts that Jesus purchased for us on the cross, we are now his friends. Do not let our own personal “laws” abolish this truth in our heart. If you are truly Christ’s then you are at peace with God. Knowing this helps to empower you to live the life of faith. Just as Paul pronounced his blessings on the church at Galatia; so I pronounce mine on you as we conclude. “Grace and Peace to you.” May God grant you grace that overcomes the death-grip of sin and peace that calms the stormy waters of your soul. God bless you.

Recording Update

Ok........So I haven't posted on here in a while and I don't use a lot of big words like Josh does in his devotions, but I will give you an update on what is going on with the recording. Josh and Derek came over yesterday 4-6-06 and we finished all the vocals, so we are now ready to ship the product over to Andrew to begin mixing. I know it has been longer than expected for this to be ready, but I will take the blame for this one. However, I am real excited to hear the final product. Andrew did a great job on mixing the live project and I have no doubt that he will do even better with this one. Till next time. Kelly

Galatians 1:1

Galatians 1:1 Galatians 1:1—Paul, an apostle---but not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the Dead— When Paul states to believers that he is an Apostle it is more than just simply saying, “Josh Martin, youth minster”. The age of the apostles was an incredible time. There are some today who believe that the apostolic age has never ended, but I would disagree. If you press me I will give reason why, but that is not the goal for today. The term apostle simply means “messenger” or “one who is sent”. An apostle is one who gets sent by someone or some organization to do a particular task or deliver a certain message. In one sense, we could say that during the 60’s Adlai Stevenson was an apostle of John F. Kennedy. Adlai Stevenson was the press secretary for the president. Adlai was given a message to give to the press about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Adlai would be an apostle in this sense because he was sent out to deliver a message. We do not use this term often because when we refer to the word apostle we are talking about the Apostles sent out by Jesus. This is what Paul is getting at right from the start of his letter to the Galatians. Paul states that he is an apostle, but—he is not an ordinary messenger. He states the he is not an apostle sent “from men nor through man”. He does not want to be classified as one who was simply sent as we would send off missionaries today. He doesn’t want to be classified with those whom the church may send for a particular reason. The message that Paul was carrying was the message that makes up most of the New Testament. When Paul wrote to the Galatians he claims to be writing the very words of God! This is not an ordinary messenger! This is the one who brings the message of Salvation to the Gentiles. Paul was the direct avenue for sharing this gospel with the Galatians. Praise God for sending us such a messenger! Paul speaks of being given the stewardship of God’s grace for the Ephesians and how this was given to the apostles and not just anyone (Ephesians 3:1-5). He also tells that this is all of God’s grace and not by any credentials that he possessed. The apostles sent out by Jesus were not sent in the same way that we are sent. The foundation of the God’s household is the Apostles with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). Something that may seem out of place but holds great significance is the last part of verse1. “Who raised him from the dead” seems at first like added information. What does this have to do with the rest of his greeting to the Galatians? Why throw those words in the sentence? First of all, a risen Christ is very important to Paul. It is important to all who are in Christ, but for Paul, it was a visual (or should I say blinding) reality. Paul was converted after Christ had risen. Paul was not speaking as one who had faith only, but as one who had witnessed first hand that Christ had risen. He did not walk alongside Jesus like the other Apostles and this proved to be a point of contention for many people because Paul was not ordained to the office of apostle while Christ was a mortal. To deny the authority that Paul exercised would be to deny power of the resurrected Christ. Secondly, Paul recognizes the fact that Christ is supreme over all things and wants to state that from the start. Paul was exclaiming that he was sent by the supreme authority and that his words should be taken as directly from that authority. Through his resurrection, Christ proved that all things are subject to him—even death. There is not one thing that happens in life that is not under the authority of God. The same God who sends food and famine, sun and rain, tsunamis and drought, life and death, the God who gives and takes away is the same God who is speaking through Paul. His words are not to be taken lightly. I believe that Paul addresses the resurrection here so that all who read would know that these words are to be the authority to which we answer. All things are subject to him without exception. So the question that we will look at every week until we are through this book is—So What? Why does this matter? This matters because the same Christ who made Paul an Apostle and rose from the dead is the same Christ who has called us by name unto Salvation. Therefore, we must gain from this verse that the words of Paul are not only words from Paul. Many will write off the letters of Paul and the theology he taught because they do not believe them to be the word of God. We will see in the coming weeks Paul’s own defense for why His words are from God. Heed the words of God as they have come from Christ through this apostle. They are authoritative. They are inerrant and infallible. They are the very words of God.

The Book of Galatians

We are going to start going through the book of Galatians for our Wednesday devotions. We will probably be in the book for quite a while. Anytime you systematically go through a book it takes time. But I have found that this is how I learn and grow. Hopefully you will too. God Bless!

Freedom Experience Benefit Concert

I, for one, had a blast at the Freedom Experience benefit concert this past week. Despite being a little under the weather, I still had a great time. There was a GREAT crowd on hand for a Tuesday night in Pleasureville. I'd like to say THANKS to everyone who came out and donated to the cause. We raised a very healthy amount of money - praise God! We hope you enjoyed the new songs! Leave a comment to let us know some of your favorites. 'Til next time.... -Andrew

Who' it gonna be?

LSU, Florida, George Mason, UCLA Give me your picks.

Wednesday Devo

How to Make Big Decisions “Love God and do as you please.”—Augustine Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.—Psalm 37:4 “Love God and do as you please.” That is a motto that all of us should apply to our decision-making. Now for some of you, that is just not spiritual enough. It took me along time to realize that God is not playing hide and seek with his will. He doesn’t go hide it somewhere and then ask us to go find it. He has very clearly shown us in scripture where it is and how to know it. Through the past few years of working with youth, many have struggles when they graduate high school. They want to go to college but seem torn between deciding on where to go. They say, “ I really like these two schools but I want to make sure that what I decide is God’s will.” To this I would reply, “Are either of these choices blatantly sinful? Can you be salt and light in either of these places? Do you have a desire to please God? If it’s not sinful, if you can be salt and light, and if you have a desire to please God, then for just pick one and go. There is no reason to think that it would not be God’s will. Somewhere along the line we have picked up this notion that discovering the will of God is nearly impossible. We pray and pray and pray and pray and receive no clear signs of which direction to go or decision to make. Don’t misunderstand me, we need to always pray and seek God about decisions because we are sinners and need our pride and selfish desires to be revealed to us. But if our desires be Godly desires, what make us think that it would not be God’s will? God has called us to live holy lives, to love Him with our whole being, and to love our neighbors. He has called us to live lives that glorify him and that treasure him above all things. He has also called us to delight ourselves in him and that is when decision-making becomes much easier. If we are delighted with all that God is for us in Jesus, we are going to want to please him. And that means that our decisions are going to reflect our love for Him. How often do we wait for a feeling or sign before we act. God has given us his word and most of you who are reading this have several copies of it. One thing is certain; we will not know God’s will if we do not know his word. Don’t rely on feelings or signs. That churning in your stomach that you think may be a sign from God may only be the White Castle you had for supper last night. Our emotions and feelings are incredible, God-given gifts. But if you are not grounded in his word, they will lead you astray. Jesus did not entrust himself to man because he knew what was in man (John 1:24,25). Neither should we trust ourselves. The only place that we can trust is the Word of God. God’s word tells us that for those that delight in him, he gives them the desires that they have. These desires don’t come from ourselves, they come from God. How do you tell the two apart? Ask yourself these 5 questions. This is what I do now when I have to make a decision and want to make sure that it is a Godly one. 1. Is this decision grounded in scripture? 2. Is this sinful? 3. Is this wise? (Thanks Bert) 4. Does this decision reflect my Love for God? 5. Will this Glorify God? If the answers to these questions are godly answers, then I do just as Augustine said to do, “Love God and do as you please.” Some of you aren’t going to buy into this. This is going to sound way too unspiritual. The opposite is true. There is nothing more on target than delighting ourselves in God and making our decisions based on his word.

The most hated team in college Basketball

I think that last nights cheers from the west virginia, texas, and lsu fans proved a point that most know, but has been unspoken. Everybody hates Duke. When LSU pulled out the victory last night, the WV and TX fans went wild. It wasnt' because they didn't want to play duke, it was because they don't like duke. It has nothing to do with Duke's ability to play or the fact that they get a lot of calls in their favor. People just don't like them. This is tough for me because Coach K is arguably the best coach in college basketball. But I still don't like duke. If you mention 1992 I automatically think of the same game that you think of. It's like a mental default. Are you a Duke playa' hater? Give me your thoughts.

Holy Rosary Cigars

The new "Holy Rosary Cigars" are a must try for anyone looking for a good, clean time. They make great sermon illutrations. Your congregation can smell the fire and brimstone of hell right on your fingertips. No bingo function will ever be the same now that "Holy Rosary Cigars" have come on the scene. If you order by phone you get 3 Hail Mary's credited to your account. Your years in purgatory will fly by while your smoking the these dandy cigars. Get them Today!

New CD Name

Have we decided on a name for the new CD? I know we threw around "Not So Easily Pleased". Is that still the thought?

Wednesday Devo

A Saint and A Sinner Romans 7:21-24—So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? It was few years ago that I sat with a youth group on a Wednesday night heard one of the youth pray, “God I thank you that I am no longer a sinner, but that I am a saint.” The youth minister said a hearty “that’s right!” Let there be no mistake, sin is no longer the master over those who are in Christ because we are not under the law, but grace (Romans 6:14). Pride is no longer my master, but I still struggle with it. If the righteousness of Christ has been counted for you, then you are a saint—but you are still a sinner. When the righteousness of Christ is imputed to our credit, did that become a moment in which we no longer sin? Obviously, the answer is no. Of course we sin. It is 9:02 on Tuesday morning and I can already specifically name sins that I have committed today. If being a Christian means that you are a saint and only a saint, then I must not be a Christian because sin is still a daily activity for me. But if it is possible to be a Saint and a sinner, and be a Christian, all at the same time, then that is what I am. I also find my self in good company. The apostle Paul evidently had similar struggles. “…when I want to do right…” Paul suffered from being a saint and a sinner just like we do. Paul says in verse 18 that he desires to do what is right, but lacks the ability to carry it out. He wants to do right, but does wrong and he explains why in verse 20. He says, “Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” Paul has just confessed that he wants to do right (v18), but he does wrong (v19), and that is because of the sin within him (v20). Paul was a Sinner. It’s that simple. The greatest letter ever written was written by a sinner. And if this was the end of the letter we might despair, but it not the end. The very next chapter is full of hope for all of us sinners who are just like Paul. Chapter 8 starts with an incredible truth that we sinners can cling to if we know Christ. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Paul wrote this because Paul knew this. We are sinners and yet we are saints. In R.C. Sproul’s book, “Grace Unknown” he writes, “Luther captured the idea of forensic justification with his famous Latin phrase, simul iustus et peccator, ‘At the same time (simultaneously), just and sinner.’ Luther did not intend to affirm a contradiction. The two assertions, just and sinner, refer to the same person at the same time, but not in the same relationship. The person considered in himself remains a sinner, yet at the same time, by virtue of the imputation of Christ’s righteousness, the person is considered just in the sight of God.” We are all sinners regardless of our standing with Christ. And we are also saints if we have been freely justified by what Christ did on the cross in our stead. Can a man be a sinner and not a saint? Yes. Can a man be a saint and not a sinner? No. Not as long as we are human. The grace of God is our only hope for being counted righteous. A saint and a sinner is what I am.

Back from Boone's Creek

Saturday evening we had the opportunity to minister at Boone's Creek Baptist Church. It was a great evening. Roddie Taylor from Trinidad was the speaker for the event and we praise God for the decisions that were made in the lives of the young people that evening. The event started out with prizes given out to random people who would come rushing down the isle for different reasons. If the game asked for a blockbuster video card and you had one, you ran down the isle to get your prize. But you had to be the first down the isle. Roddie made an illustration out of that by saying if we really knew what Christ had to offer, we would all come running down that isle. What Christ has for us is so much better than a free cd. It was great evening. josh

Something you may want to see

On my own blog at www.180tabletalk.blogspot.com I have posted something about the KY gambling protest. I can't speak for everyone in the band so I didn't put it on here. Check it out if you are interested. It's call "I need a second to vent". josh

Wed Devo

Struggling to be Satisfied with all God is for us in Jesus Psalm 73:25,26—Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. “Every one of us is, even from his mother's womb, a master craftsman of idols.”—John Calvin I am convinced that it is the “good things” in life that keep us from knowing the great things. Television in and of itself is not a bad thing, but it often keeps me from the kind of relationship with my wife that would be far more satisfying than “Everybody loves Raymond.” Family is a great gift that God has given to some of us, but even the “good” that family can bring, if held higher than our Lord, is keeping us from the “great” that he has prepared for us. In C.S. Lewis’ sermon “The weight of Glory” he says, “If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. I have written a song entitled “Not so easily Pleased” as an encouragement and challenge to myself and all who listen to daily strive to not be satisfied with the fleeting pleasures of this world. Honestly, most of the time, I am too easily pleased. But if we will taste and see that the lord is good, then we will want to savor all that He is for us in Jesus. Sin has so affected our thoughts, wills, and desires that it is a battle to be satisfied with Christ. As long as we are sinners, we will have this struggle. But in the times when those desires for “good” things are defeated and we truly desire the “great” thing (God), at that moment we know that this is what we were created for. This is all you could ever want. This is all you could ever need. David wrote in Psalm 16:11, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Being in God’s word and spending time in worship whether corporate or personal, is the only time that I can honestly say I have found “fullness of joy”. I challenge you to not be so easily pleased and not settle for “good things”. Do not settle for mud pies when a holiday at the sea is offered those who repent and believe. We are wired for pleasure. That may sound unspiritual but that is the truth. None of us can honestly say, “I hate having a good time.” Or, “I sure do wish it would rain today so that we don’t enjoy playing golf.” The fact of the matter is we are wired for enjoyment. We surround ourselves with things we enjoy. I really enjoy reading. I have books in my office; books at home, and sometimes even carry books with me when I go places just in case I find a free moment to read. I enjoy it! I don’t hate it! So instead of trying to stifle my pleasure driven ways, why not direct them toward the one who by his side are “pleasure forevermore”. What greater way could I show my love for God than by enjoying being with him? I married my wife because I love her and enjoy being around her more than anybody. If I tell her that is she going to respond, “Josh, you are so selfish! It’s all about you!” She would like nothing more than to hear that. How much more would our Lord like for us to feel that way about him? Once again, we get the benefits, he gets the glory. Praise God for wiring you in a way that we can enjoy him forevermore!

Thanks to the great technology here in America, I have discovered the identity of KGBME. Beware of the photo. Ok. Maybe it's not kgbme, but it's the best guess i got.

Wed Devo

This Sunday’s Sermon in a Nutshell I have been asked to speak at Turners Station Baptist Church this Sunday and thought I would use this Wednesday’s devo to bring about some thoughts for Sunday. Ephesians 2:8—For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. I am going to speak on the topic of the sure salvation of believers. In the Baptist church this is often referred to as “once saved, always saved”. I find this phrase to be a little misleading. I believe that if you are truly saved, you remain saved but this phrase can be taken in the wrong way. If when we say, “once saved, always saved” we would be correct if we were referring to placing faith in Christ. But if we are simply referring to walking an isle, praying a prayer, and putting our name on the church roll we may be sadly disappointed. Before you talk about how one would stay saved, you must look at what saves us to begin with. When asked about this subject, many would say, “You can’t get saved and then just do whatever you want and stay saved. You lose your salvation if you don’t continue in the faith.” True believers will not “get saved” and then do whatever, whenever. But this whole debate or argument will fade away when we see that what we “do” has nothing to do with our salvation. Paul wrote that it is by grace that we have been saved and our salvation is not a result of works. The fact of the matter is we aren’t good enough to save ourselves, much less good enough to keep ourselves saved. What we “do” before or after has nothing to do with saving us. It is strictly grace! In Romans 11 Paul speaks of salvation saying that, “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.” If we were saved by “works” or “do’s” they would nullify grace. Which in turn would give us something to boast about. Our works do not save us and they do not keep us saved, these both happen by grace alone. Ephesians 2:10—For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. I hope that you understand that we are saved by grace alone and nothing is owing to ourselves. If you don’t get that, this last part will not make sense. Paul writes that we are “his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus”. The reality that you are saved is due to the fact that your salvation is the work of God. He created you (as a believer) in Christ. The new creation inside of you (2 Corinthians 5:17) was created by him and only through Christ. Once again, we do not “do” this-God does it. We were created for good works and they will necessarily follow in the lives of believers. Necessarily. They are not necessary for salvation, but they must follow. If I put you on an invincible chain and drag you around, you will necessarily follow wherever I go. The same is true with saving faith and works. Works or “do’s” are chained invincibly to saving faith. They must necessarily follow. God saved us that we would walk in them. Can a believer lose their salvation? Absolutely not. The only way this could be possible is if God ceased to be God. How can I lose something that I did not create, hold, or manipulate? God will not allow boasting before His throne. This has been ensured by the fact that since we are saved by Grace and not by works, we have nothing to boast about. We get the benefits, and He gets the glory.

Ok, I'll Post

Seeing Josh's post saying he missed me and the rest of the guys brought me out of the woodwork. I think I've created a monster with Josh and his blogging. Anyway... I'm sure all of our great fans would love to hear about one of my recent purchases - an electronic drumkit. As most of you will soon found out, our recent recording sessions spawned a new side of the Josh Martin Band - an 80's power pop dance band. Next time you hear "Trading My Sorrows," it won't quite be the same version you're used to hearing. See you all at the next gig! :-) -Andrew

Liking this guy more and more.....

“I have no use for cranks who despise music, because it is a gift of God. Music drives away the Devil and makes people gay (happy in a straight way); they forget thereby all wrath, unchastity, arrogance, and the like. Next after theology, I give to music the highest place and the greatest honor.”-- Martin Luther

Where did you guys go?

I miss you guys! We need to play soon. I miss your blogging too.

The Rich Young White Middle-Class American

The Rich Young White Middle-class Amercian Luke 18:21,22—And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” There have been many times in the past few months that God has used the voice of Derek Webb to convict me about biblical truths. Derek (do you like how I call him by his first name as if we know each other) has written a song entitled “Rich Young Ruler”. There are several lines in this song that absolutely tear me up, because if we will be honest with ourselves, we are no different than the rich young ruler. It is very easy to justify ourselves based on our works. When I read the story of the rich young ruler, I want to believe that that does not really pertain to me for a couple of reasons. First of all, I’m not a rich man. I am middle-class at best. And I didn’t walk away sad when Christ spoke, “Come follow Me”. So, obviously, the only way that this passage pertains to me is by possibly teaching my youth that being rich can be a dangerous thing. It is a dangerous thing, but after a little more meditation these verses, the Lord began to speak more than what came at face value. I have a few questions that I must ask myself and hopefully you will apply them to you. Have we moved out of Jesus’ neighborhood? Jesus said that what we do to the least of these, we do to him. Christy and I live in a brick house in the country where we don’t really have to worry about being bothered by anyone. We don’t have to worry about too much about a neighbor calling on us for anything because we are just far enough away from folks that it would be too much of an inconvenience. We don’t live anywhere near the least of these. We have moved out of Jesus’ neighborhood. Do you believe that you are basically good? John Piper said in a sermon once that we as Americans “swim in a sea of arrogance.” At the beginning of this passage of scripture, the rich man referred to Jesus as “good teacher”. Jesus responded by saying no one is good. I think that each of us basically think that we are good. We don’t lie all the time and we don’t disrespect our parents. We will admit that we are not perfect. But maybe we think of ourselves more highly than we ought (Romans 12:3). The fact is we are not good. That flies in the face of everything that this American culture wants you to think. But God’s word boldly speaks that there is nothing good within us (Romans 3:10-18). Romans 3:20—For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes the knowledge of sin. In Derek Webb’s song Jesus says, “Come follow me, sell your house, sell your SUV, sell your stock, sell your security and give it to the poor.” To this the rich man responds, “What is this!? Hey what’s the deal? I don’t sleep around and I don’t steal.” Then Jesus responds, “I want the things you just can’t give me.” I think that this is probably what he is saying to most of you just like he is saying to me. We will view the loving the “least of these” as “ministry opportunities” and not as a way of life. How arrogant we are! We will gladly give our money to missions and pray for the homeless and possibly even bring them something to eat. But rarely will we go in front of our money. Would we invite a homeless man to live in our “guest bedroom”? Could it be possible that our guest should be the least of these? Jesus said they will know we are his by the way that we love one another (John 13:35). I know that this is a lot to think about and I definitely don’t want to take anything out of context. The passage of the rich young ruler is talking about salvation. But these are just some thoughts that I believe that the lord has laid on my heart to meditate on and I thought I would share them. “I want the things you just can’t give me.”