In Psalm 101, the subtitle my Bible gives this psalm is “A Vow of Integrity” (Now would be a good time to find your Bible, borrow one, click over to biblegateway.com, or sock your friend in the face and steal their Bible and read it). In verse 6 David describes the type of person he wants around him as king. Since this psalm was written early in his reign (2 Samuel 5-7), most of his boys around him would be the ones following David in to battle. David wanted men who “follows the way of integrity” (Psalm 101:6b Holman Christian Standard Bible).

One definition of Integrity is “the quality of state of being complete or undivided” (Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary). Throughout this psalm, David uses the phrase “I will…” over 7 times. He is determined in his young reign to live a life of integrity to God and asks the same of his men (v.6).

How does this apply to us in the 21st century? How do we live lives of integrity? Would we be the type of person that King David would want to go to war with? Are we the types of believers that can and would fight for each other spiritually (praying for each other ect…)? I believe we can and we are! Here are a few suggestions to become that person:

1. Love Unconditionally (1 John 4:11-12)
2. Pray Continually (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12)
3. Read the Bible like it was a Crime (Psalm 119—yeah, all of it)
4. Get together a lot (Hebrews 10:25)
5. Don’t allow anything to get between you and the Father (Psalm 101:3 NIV)

This is not a simple 1-2-3 program for developing integrity. That takes time walking in the real world walking with God—and He isn’t going anywhere soon (Matthew 28:20).

CU around!

Garrett Barley aka g-
Psalm 19:14

Here’s what’s going on! It’s sticky and will remain at the top of this page until otherwise noted!

A Compassion Check-Up

In the gospel of Matthew, the disciples come to Jesus and ask Him what are the signs that the end of the age is coming. The rest of chapter 24 Jesus explains what the signs will be. Verse 12 states “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold” (Matt. 24:12 King James Version)

I don’t need to tell you that we live in crazy times. It seems that nobody really cares about anything but their own agenda. Jesus said that “because iniquity shall abound…” Iniquity is defined as gross injustice or wickedness (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary). When I accepted Christ, the Holy Spirit awakened me to the spiritual realities of this present age. Sin, once enjoyed, now offends me. When I read this scripture and ones like it (2 Timothy 3:1-5), I realize that iniquity, if not checked, can slip into a believer’s life and hinder or halt their relationship with God and compassion for others will die.

We truly need to check our compassion meters. I have had two people really check how I was doing. “Sam” was the first person I truly was involved with in a disciple-mentor/ Obi-Wan Kenobi-Anakin Skywalker type relationship. Sam is now a guest of Colorado Department of Corrections. Do I just cast him aside as an “untouchable” No! Of course not! The other person is “Sally”. She has been diagnosed with cancer—and she has an 18 month old baby boy. I pray that I am not too cowardly to talk to her about Christ or pray for her.
Ask God today where you are when it comes to compassion for others. Then think of ways to apply it in your slice of the world.

Have Fun, Stay Young, Drink Pepsi,
Garrett Barley aka g-

The fearless website - www.thefearlessbook.com - gives a good description of the book:

"Each sunrise seems to bring fresh reasons for fear.

They’re talking layoffs at work, slowdowns in the economy, flare-ups in the Middle East, turnovers at headquarters, downturns in the housing market, upswings in global warming. The plague of our day, terrorism, begins with the word terror. Fear, it seems, has taken up a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop. Oversized and rude, fear herds us into a prison of unlocked doors. Wouldn’t it be great to walk out?

Imagine your life, wholly untouched by angst. What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats? If you could hover a fear magnet over your heart and extract every last shaving of dread, insecurity, or doubt, what would remain? Envision a day, just one day, where you could trust more and fear less.

Can you imagine your life without fear?"

 Mr. Lucado is a fount of wonderful anecdotes that describe whatever is going on.  From the spiritual life of Woody Allen to the time he personally got to ride in a fighter jet, this book gives some great examples of common fears we all face every day.  Of course, you haven’t ridden in a fighter jet, but you have been in a situation where things seem like they’re going out of control, but in reality there is someone who knows exactly what’s going on leading the way.  Check out Matthew 14 where the disciples are on the boat and Jesus is sleeping.  

 One thing that I have noticed about the way that Mr. Lucado writes is that it is very easy to read, but it never seems to hit the same super deep spiritual notes that some other authors I’ve read have hit.  Not that this is bad – often times it’s the simple truths that change us the most.  And this book is packed full of them.  Each chapter gives some practical advice on how to deal with the different fears we may come across during our lives.  In times such as these, when the world is freaking out about everything, this book does a great job of giving some perspective on an otherwise chaotic world.

 Should you read it?  Sure.  It’s good.  My biggest gripe is the price, but that can be allayed in a multitude of ways.  More importantly, be sure to pay attention as you read it, as it would be a waste of good time to read something this good and not remember any of it, kind of like getting a t-bone steak at a McDonalds drive thru.  It’s just wouldn’t be right.

-K 

This morning, while checking out Twitter, a tweet by @CampusMinGuy caught my eye – "Characteristics of College Ministry,"  based on an article written by @bensonhines.  I clicked the link, and just finished reading through the article.  WOW, I wish I’d had a copy of this with me yesterday.  It does one heck of a job of explaining what I couldn’t get into words.  Here is an exerpt -

The practice of college ministry is far more like Missions than like Christian Education.

So ministering to a college campus is in many ways more like Missions in Mozambique than it is even like Youth Ministry.

The more I work with college students, the more I think this is true.  Go to http://bit.ly/JfPEY for the full article.  Or just track me down on campus, I’ll have a copy with me today, just in case….

 -Kevin

Fall 2009 semester is about to kick off!  I hope everyone had a great summer!  Christian Challenge has some great
opportunities this semester to get to know each other and to seek the
Lord.  My name is Garrett and I will try
to keep this site up to date as much as I can. 
To keep up on what’s going on this semester, check the calendar for
times and locations of Bible Studies, Foundations, and other shenanigans.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your
own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your
paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

Why We Can’t End Poverty

Written by: Tim Glenn

I
realize that what I’m about to post isn’t going to be very popular. But
I’m willing to post it because I hope it will start a healthy
discussion.

Here it is: Over the past few years, I’ve heard
this phrase come up literally dozens of times at missions conferences,
ministry events, churches, on blogs, etc. The dicussion turns to
poverty and inevitably someone says “this is the generation that can
end poverty.”

I don’t know if I believe that. In fact, I’m not totally sure Christians are called to end poverty. Before you go looking for handy throwing stones, allow me to explain:

First, let me say that I do believe there are enough resources in
our world to take care of everyone. There’s enough food. Enough water.
Enough materials for shelter and clothing. But to make sure everyone
gets their fair share, it would mean an end to greed and corruption. It
would mean a massive shift in human nature. I don’t think this
generation, or any other, can accomplish that.

Secondly, I don’t know of any scripture that says we are called to
rid the world of poverty. We are called to fight injustice. We are
called to be a voice for the voiceless, look after the orphan and the
widow. But I don’t know of any verse that says we are expected to rid
the world of poverty.

And third, I wonder if saying that we can end poverty is contradictory to what Jesus told us:

“The poor you will always have with you…” –Mark 14:7 (NIV)

Granted, a lot of people misuse that quote. They use it as an
argument against doing anything about poverty: “We’ll always have
poverty, so it’s fruitless to try to fight it.” That’s not the point I’m making here.
What many don’t know is that Jesus was actually quoting a passage from
Deuteronomy. That original scripture goes on to tell us what we’re
supposed to do about poverty:

“There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore, I
command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor
and needy in your land.” –Deuteronomy 15:11 (NIV)

Notice that the command is not to “end poverty” but to give. To
share. And when a command is given, obedience is what’s expected. I
don’t think we’re called to end poverty. I do think we’re
called to be obedient to God’s command. It’s about taking care of those
who are less fortunate. I think it’s about making sure that no child
ever starves to death for lack of food, or dies from a preventable
disease. It’s about making sure no one has to drink unsafe water. It’s
about making sure everyone has a chance at life.

I think God allows poverty so that His glory may be shown … through His people doing His work … obeying that command.

My boss reminded me of the old ad campaign, McGruff the Crime Dog.
Remember his famous catch-phrase? “Take a bite out of crime.” Not END
crime … but take a bite out of it. I think we can take a bite out of poverty. I think we can stop some of the injustices. I’m just not sure we can end it.

Okay. Now you may grab your stones.

Last year, my college had a big
end-of-the-year party with a hypnotist, vendors, bands, food, and
games. One of the vendors was a Christian clothing company, and their
booth was set up right next to my Campus Crusade group’s table, so, at
some point during the day, a friend and I wandered over to their table.
The guy who owned the company was a young, seemingly cool guy with
tattoos and a backwards hat – the kind of guy who looks just alt rock
enough to be “Seeker friendly.”

So my friend and I started talking to the guy while we looked at some
of the tee shirts he was selling. We had been visiting with him for a
few minutes when my friend picked up one of the shirts, a black tee
with a screen print of a gas mask on the front and a logo on the back,
and asked the guy what the gas mask symbolized.

“I kind of had the idea of how, like, Jesus is like a gas mask that we
put on to filter out all of the crap that’s in the world,” he explained.

Personally, I was shocked. Not because Gas Mask guy is anyone special,
and certainly not because his view is unique or different. I was
shocked only because of the absolutely ordinary opinion he held. It’s
an opinion of Jesus that we all run into, and some of us hold, for
better or for worse.

I kind of feel sorry for the Gas Mask guy. For me, it seems as if his
Jesus is awfully small. It seems to me that if all Jesus is good for is
just to be our gas mask, then Jesus isn’t really worth very much.

And yet Gas Mask guy can probably back up his position with verses. And
let’s face it, Gas Mask guy isn’t all wrong, he’s just missing huge
chunks of the story. And, really, it seems to me like he’s really
missing out on what makes Jesus so great – The fact that, in
encountering the risen Christ, we begin a journey on a path of becoming
one with Jesus. It seems to me like he’s too busy worrying about heaven
and hell and the evil in the world to see the underlying beauty of the
whole thing – the fact that it’s really not about heaven or hell at
all; instead it’s about God coming into the world to reunite us to Him.

I guess I really feel sorry for Gas Mask guy because it seems to me
like he’s just trying to escape the world. Like Jesus is just there to
protect him from the world while he’s here and to be his ticket into
heaven when he needs to get there.

For me, when Jesus says in John’s gospel that he is the Way, he doesn’t
mean that he’s our ticket into heaven. For me, he’s saying that he is
so much more than just a gas mask to put on. He’s so much more than
just a bridge to walk over on my way to heaven. He’s so much more than
just a means to health and wealth. Jesus is the Way. His teachings and
his life create a Way, a path in which to walk, and a guiding companion
for that path. But even more than that, Jesus is God. Jesus is the God
who was willing to come down into a broken mess in order to restore
that mess back to the way God intended.

And so I think that’s really the problem with Gas Mask guy’s idea of
Jesus. He’s got Jesus, but it’s Jesus by the numbers. And that’s one
thing that God always has tried to keep us away from. I feel like God’s
real message for us, the message of the Gospel, is that religious pills
don’t work. That God wants something other than right theology or
religious practices or sacrifices or being moral. God wants to love us,
and for us to love him back. God wants to reunite creation with
Himself, and, ultimately, I think that’s what Gas Mask Guy is really
missing out on – God’s mission of reunifying everything to Him.

Wikipedia describes a pocket knife as this –

"A pocket knife is a folding knife with a blade that fits inside the handle and that is small enough to fit in a pocket. Blades are typically no larger than 3 to 5 in. (8 to 13 cm) in length. Pocket knives are very versatile tools, and may be used for anything from opening an envelope, to cutting twine, to slicing an apple."

I know some guys why don’t carry a knife on them.  When I asked them why they don’t pack a pocketknife, their answers varied from person to person.  "I can’t have one in class," one person told me.  Bah, it is totally legal to carry a folding pocket knife with a blade under 5 inches (which is pretty freaking huge) anywhere on the MSC campus.  Another person told me, "I can’t afford one.  New knives are expensive."  Another lame excuse.  Your knife doesn’t have to be new; on the contrary, a knife with history (like one given by a dad or grandad) is so much cooler than a new one. 

I know one thing for sure – nothing is less manly than asking to use another guy’s knife.  Guys should carry their own blade – here are 20 reasons why.

These first 8 reasons come from the Art of Manliness blog – a great resource for learning about being a man in the 21st century.  Notes added by me will be in italics.

1. Opening a box.
2. Cutting rope, tags, and string (or anything else… cutting is what knives do best)
3. Cutting an apple. I love eating an apple that I’ve cut with my pocket
   knife, slice by slice. You feel like a bad ass doing it. You hold the
   apple in your non-dominant hand and then make a slice with the knife
   using your dominant hand. After you make the slice, pinch it between
   your thumb and knife blade. Bring the blade to your mouth and deposit
   the apple slice. (I agree here – nothing is much cooler than eating an apple with your knife)
4. Opening a letter. Sure, you could use your finger, but using a knife is just more manly.
5. Weapon. Not the most effective, but it’s better than nothing.  (Maybe not as good as a 52" Scottish claymore, but if I were facing off against a grizzly bear, I’d rather my knife than nothing.) 
6. Camping. How else will you sharpen the point of a stick in preparation for stabbing your prey? And by prey I mean hot dog.
7. You never know when you’re going to have to MacGyver your way out of a crisis. Be prepared.
8. You need something to clench in your teeth when swinging from a rope.  (Pirates!  ARRRGGG!)
9. (These next 7 reasons are all new!  Enjoy!)  Check out Genesis 22:1-14.  Abraham needed a knife – imagine if he had to go over and borrow one before leaving.  That would have been tough to explain to your neighbor.
10. One word – Rambo.  You try digging a bullet out of your leg with a stick.
11. How else can you whittle the head of a wizard out of a piece of wood in a boring afternoon?
12. Without owning a knife, you can’t learn to properly sharpen a knife.  Knowing how to properly sharpen a pocket knife is the basis for sharpening any other hand tool (chisels, hand planes, broad swords, etc.)
13. It’s useful for gutting your first deer, antelope or moose kill when out hunting.  Try doing THAT with a stick.
14. You could tie it to the end of a long stick to use as a hunting spear, just in case you ever get lost in the woods a couple hundred miles from civilization and need to survive, ala Survivorman.
15. Last, but not least – the ladies think they’re cool.  Given a choice between a two guys of near equal attractiveness, one of which is using his knife to do something listed above and the other is not, it’s proven that 9 out of 11 times a lady will chose to talk to the guy with the knife.  Knives symbolize danger in the woman’s mind – it’s attractive.  Just be careful to watch out for the lady that carries a knife too, especially if it’s bigger than yours.  She could be psycho, or awesome, or both.

So, there ya go.  Go find a knife, and carry it proudly.  Man up.

From Strong’s Concordance:

"Compassion – σπλαγχνίζομαι; splagchnizomai – Pronounciation= splänkh-nē’-zo-mī – to be moved as to one’s
bowels, hence to be moved with compassion, have compassion (for the
bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity)"

It made me laugh to learn that in biblical times, compassion was most closely related to a tummy ache. However, the idea that something could move you so much that it, well, "moved" you is interesting.  I don’t know that I’ve felt any symptoms of this sort of compassion before, but I know that I have felt sympathy with other’s sufferings.

I’ve never had my things washed away in a tsunami or cyclone.  I’ve never lost everything I’ve had to a fire.  Really, my life has been pretty much devoid of all catastrophic things.  Hence my lack of empathy.  I’ve never been there, I don’t understand the feeling the way that other people do.  For instance, my wife is about to have a baby.  She keeps having contractions and trying to explain how they feel to me.  "They’re kinda like having a really bad back ache (I can empathize), but the pain is all over your abdomen (no idea what she means)."  Without actually carrying a child myself, I really can’t empathize. 

What I can do is sympathize.  I don’t like seeing her in pain.  I get her hot packs for her aches and bring her drinks when she’s too hot.  I don’t know what she’s feeling exactly, but I don’t like it.  The same goes for victims of major disasters.  Just because I haven’t experienced it, it doesn’t mean that I can’t or don’t care.  I can feel sorry for those who lost their homes and lives in Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in China.  I can send money to the Red Cross.  I really can be moved to the point of emotional pain by the pain that others feel.

This is the embodiement of Compassion.  Being so sympathetic to someone’s pain that it drives you to do something about it.  This is why we start Compassionate tonight.  There is pain in the world, and Jesus calls us to do something about it.  "He saw the multitudes and was moved with compassion…"

7PM tonight in the New Buisness Building, Room 110.