A Church Community

I was listening to a sermon today by Matt Chandler of The Village Church in Dallas, TX and he was discussing the result of the Gospel and he said something that I think a lot of our churches in America miss, but by God's grace some are starting to speak of. He said this:

"(The gospel creates) a community where no one gets to brag, but where everyone is broken but being healed"

I often times find myself not feeling super broken, I mean I am a seminary student, work at a church and have a great family. I fear often I in my heart brag over people, think I am better and whole and complete, think I have found my best life now. Then I hear a sermon like this that rocks my foundation and makes me uneasy and shows the broken jar I am. Thank God for moments like these that help humiliate me and help break me again of all pretensions and haughtiness I have. I am broken, we all are, we will not be fully healed this side of heaven, but we are in process, something that we have to cling to. The cross is not this place where immediate restoration to all things take place, instead for us it is the foundation we always walk on as we our on our journey. Our journey often times will not look like it is going forward, but by walking firmly on the gospel and with the cross in front of us we press on to make it ours (Phil 3: 12-14). Tomorrow night we start up the spring semester at "The Well" a college gathering of Desert Springs Church, I hope to by God's grace to come with humility and brokenness and that others will begin to do the same. I hope that we see ourselves as messy, jacked up, broken punks that deserve hell, that do not deserve grace and salvation, but by the grace and the grace of God alone we come to Jesus as beggars, drunkards, horrors and wretches and cling to the foot of the cross as our one and only hope for healing. That our foundation is not longer in the law of right and wrong, but is the cross of Christ. And our cleanliness is not if we do not cuss or look at pornography but is in the washing of ourselves in the blood of Christ.

What a blessed way to start the week, not by saying I am good and everyone likes me, but by saying I am a piece of crap and the Lord loves me anyway!!!!

Such As....I Believe....Such As....

1 more post today to finish the week on a painfully humorous note:

One History

“We read [scripture], naturally, as part of our real history, secular history, the history of which we are a part. What other history is there? There are not different histories, but there are different ways of understanding history…it is clearly an illusion to imagine that there are two kinds of history - sacred and profane, salvation history and secular history.”
- Lesslie Newbigin in Foolishness to the Greeks

Props: Todd Hiestand

What, The World Will NOT End If Hillary Wins??!!??

According to Albert Mohler the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, as Christians we should be wary of thinking that putting a Christian or conservative in the White House will solve everything. In other words politics is not a basket we should be putting all our eggs, most of our eggs or really some of our eggs in.

The rhetoric of the race -- and the rhetoric of many evangelicals -- is disturbing. This race is important and necessarily so. We are talking about the next President of the United States, after all. But evangelicals have invested far too much hope in the political process. No government can make people good, transform humanity, or eliminate sin. The political sphere is important, but never ultimate. Jesus Christ is Lord -- and He will be Lord regardless of who sits in the Oval Office.

Does this mean that I will stop supporting The Huck, no, but what it means is that win or lose Jesus Christ is the only true hope for the world, for the country and for my soul. I believe as Christians living in this world we need to be active in the political sphere to an extent, I will not worship George W. Bush (sorry 700 club). I believe that we should be aware of candidates and do research on them on specific issues, such as abortion and poverty and yes even the environment ( God did tell us to be stewards over His world after all!). I am fiercely opposed to abortion in ALL circumstances and will not support a candidate that thinks killing a baby is a choice that should be protected by the constitution. However I do not believe that if we outlaw abortion which we should, that that would be an end in itself. Jesus again is the only hope for the drug dealer, the homeless man, the homosexual, the suburban soccer mom, Britney Spears, Carlos Griego and yes Chuck Norris too!

Click here for Albert Mohler's complete article, it is worth a read!

Props Between Two World's

John The Baptist's Message

Christopher Wright in his book "Knowing Jesus Through The Old Testament" has a great commentary on what John the Baptist's message was.

"One can imagine the stirring of hearts an quickening of pulses in Jewish homes and communities when, into this mixture of aspirations and hopes dropped the message of John the Baptist, and then of Jesus himself-

The time is fulfilled!(what you have been waiting for as something future is now here and present); the kingdom of God is at hand! (God is now acting to establish his reign in the midst of you); so repent and believe the good news (urgent action is required of you now)."

Wright's commentary within the message shed so much light for me on what John was proclaiming. To understand the magnitude of this proclamation one has to have a good historical, biblical understanding of the Jews in the Old Testament. This statement was groundbreaking, this statement was long awaited, this statement was not accepted. What does a statement like this have for us in the 21st century? Is this statement earth shattering for us who have no concept of something be long awaited??

I fear that we read this proclamation and we clap and maybe smile, but do we fall to our knees, do we see the amazing promise and faithfulness of God vividly displayed? Do we get the urgent action required of us? To repent and believe, do we?? Do I??

The Dark Knight

The new Batman movie looks sweet!! I thought that only Jack Nicholson could pull off the role of the Joker, but Heath Ledger looks to be a good fit. This summer is going to be a sweet summer for movies!






Click here for the Official Dark Knight Site.

Knowing Jesus

I know that Z just recommended this book, but I am doing the same. Knowing Jesus is a great book for anyone that struggles through the Old Testament in how it to the New. Here is a cool quote:

"When Matthew announces Jesus as the Messiah, the son of Abraham, then, it means not only that he belongs to that particular people ( a real Jew, as we have just seen), but that he belongs to a people whose very reason for existence was to bring blessing to the rest of humanity. He shared that mission, and indeed, as the Messiah, he had come to make it a possibility and a reality at last. A particular man, but with a universal significance."

Here is another quote where Wright is discussing the line of Jesus and how only a few women are named and these women are not jews.

"But probably more significant is the other thing they (the women of Jesus' genealogy in Matthew) all have in common. They were all, from a Jewish point of view, foreigners."

"The implication of Jesus being the heir of Abraham and his universal promise is underlined: Jesus the Jew, and the Jewish Messiah, had Gentile blood!"

The Griego's Year In Pictures

Thanks Z For The Idea, and Thanks Brad for Giving Z the Idea!

Bhutto and the Campaign...

Over at the Riddleblog, Dr. Kim Riddlebarger from "The White Horse Inn" and writer of books such as "A Case for Amillennialism" posts a great response to how these candidates in this year's election are using Bhutto's death to show they are good presidential credentials. I think ALL candidates blew it on this one, and here is what Dr. Riddlebarger says, and I agree:

"Is anyone else as as disgusted as I am at all the presidential campaigns for using the tragic assassination of Benazir Bhutto as a way to shamelessly tout their own supposed foreign policy credentials?

These guys (and a gal) have spent the last two days knocking each other over to get before a camera or a mic to pontificate about something they obviously know very little about. Unless you are already in the White House and privy to hard intelligence, you probably don't know squat about what really happened and who did the dastardly deed

The most egregious examples so far are ambulance-chaser turned senator, John Edwards telling a rally that he just got off the phone with President Musharraf in Islamabad. Can't you just see that conversation from Musharraf's end? He's in a high-level meeting with his nation exploding all around him and an aide walks in and says, "Mr. President . . . There's a John Edwards on the phone for you. He says its important . . ." Can't you just imagine Musharraf's reaction. "Who?"

Then there is John McCain. "I knew Benazir Bhutto. I've known Musharraf for years. I've talked with general so and so . . . I talked with Moses and Abraham." And then McCain has the nerve to tell American voters what Musharraf should do, as if McCain was a candidate for Pakistani generalissimo. McCain's an America hero, but recounting the names in his address book on camera to jump-start his campaign is pretty cynical.

Huckabee didn't even know marshal law in Pakistan had been suspended. Hillary tells us she knew Bhutto well, but only because Hillary had contact with her as first-lady, not in any meaningful political/policy sense. Now Hillary wants an "international investigation." Like the UN is competent to investigate this . . .

Yes, I know American voters benefit by seeing their presidential candidates react under pressure and respond to world events. But so far I'm not impressed with any of them.

The only candidate who has made any sense to me on this is Ron Paul. "Why should we be telling the Pakistanis what to do? Pakistan is a sovereign nation." And Ron Paul is not exactly what you'd call "presidential" nor is he remotely electable.

And we wonder why less than 50% of Americans vote? The cynicism shown by the lot of them is disgusting to me. And just why is it that we are going through this eleven months before the election?"

Props: The Riddleblog

What Would Jesus Buy? Interview With The Rev.

I am interested in seeing this movie although currently am unable to, due to its lack of distribution. These are some good things to ponder, thoughts???



HT: Think Christian

Post Christmas Report

This Christmas was probably the most stressful and fun Christmas ever! Let me start with the stressful part, it was stressful for me probably because this is the first Christmas that I have been off for in a long long time. Not just Christmas day, but all the days leading up to that faithful day. Our Christmas began on Sunday with a trip to Lauren's parents.

Lauren's aunt and family came up from Socorro (a town 90 miles south of Abq) and we had an early Christmas dinner and present opening. The best part though aside from the "Guitar Hero" was seeing the 2 cousins pictured above playing together and enjoying the festivities for their first time, a year ago they both were too little to really be pumped about Christmas. There was also the fine art of sharing that is to be learned by each cousin, more of which will be learned in the years to come.

Christmas Eve was anything but quiet, as our day was low key but our afternoon and evening were not. We had 2 services at Desert Springs, both of which Lauren was singing in the choir. The first service was packed there were probably close to 900-1000 people in attendance. That is always cool, not because we had that many people at our church, but because that many people heard the gospel!! Lauren singing in the choir meant that we would be late to my grandmother's, going to my grandma Ruth's house is a family tradition going on for as long as I can remember. There were lots of my cousins and of course great, yummy grandma food, such as posole, menudo, homemade cookies and fudge, yep pretty stinking tasty! We got there late and in my own selfishness I was not happy about that, I do now look back and see that the time we did have there was special and fun. My in-laws did come over to my grandma's house too, that is always fun because our families are so different. I imagine it can be overwhelming for them, but hopefully they feel welcome and part of the Griego clan!

Christmas Eve came and went and then was the big day, Christmas! Yesterday was fun, we started the day off with some time with my folks eating some good breakfast food and opening presents. It had been a interesting year for my family, in May my mother's cancer had returned and had spread. In Feb my boss was fired although I got along well with the new guy, Steve Alford, I took a job at Desert Springs as the Young Adult Minister and have seen "The Well" grow from 7 kids to 60 over the semester, all to God's glory. Through it all the highlight of the year was not the cancer, but my parents response to the cancer. My mother and father were not crushed by it, but leaned on Christ as their hope and treasure, not to say there were no tears in this, but their hope and anchor was in someone else, Jesus Christ! That was the highlight for 2007 for me, that God had worked in their hearts in such a way that they had a peace and joy that cancer could not touch. My mother's cancer is 94% gone and Lord willing 2008 will bring in 100% clean tests, but either way, I hope that my family leans not on tests or health, but on Christ!

After leaving my parents house we all headed over to Montebello retirement community to visit my Nana who lives there. It was the first time I saw her new home and was very happy she was in such a nice and comfortable place. My cousin Ryan and his new family were all there and it was great to be there with them, even if it was a short visit. I hope to visit and talk to my Nana much more than I did this past year, I hope to learn to focus on my family and those around me more so, this has been a huge failure of mine that I hope to improve on this coming year.

We then headed off to my Auntie's house to see some cousins I usually only get to see at Christmas. That was fun and refreshing, being around family usually is.

After that Lauren and I went on an afternoon date to see "Alvin and the Chipmunks", it was a cute an fun movie, I recommend it!

The day concluded at my in-laws as we has stew and hung out with Lauren's brothers and sister-in-law. We also played a fun game called "Curses".

All in all it was a busy holiday, a stressful at times lesson about 2 becoming 1, and a great time to reflect on the true meaning and hope of Christmas, Jesus Christ.

Our hope was not in Santa, or posole, but in the cross, the reason for that baby in the manger. We celebrate Christmas because of the cross and resurrection, we celebrate our liberty from death and victory over sin that baby's death! What a day, what a Savior!!!

And to all a good night!!!

Merry Christmas From The Griego's!!!

Taking a Christmas Blog-Break...and to all a goodnight!!!

Humbled By Acts 2:45

Acts 2:45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

This past week Lauren, our daughter Jordyn and I (pictured) have been humbled in how someone in our body at Desert Springs Church lived out this verse in front of us. Ron one of our elders called me into his office on Wednesday to tell me that there is a certain couple at DSC that "adopts" a young married couple each year and gives them a Christmas gift. This couple went to Ron and asked if he knew of any couple that could use a monetary gift and Ron thought of Lauren and I, knowing that my salary as a DSC Intern was not quite Kobe Bryant status. This couple wanting to stay anonymous gave Ron a check for a very, very generous amount and asked Ron to give us the gift, which he did.

Needless to say Lauren cried, I was speechless and felt very humbled. I would not consider us poor or "in need" per se, Lauren and I have more than a few pairs of shoes, we are not worried that we will not be able to eat this week, we drive cars, we have lots of clothes and we live in a house. Above that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in heaven through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been given the gift of God, by God to be with Him forever!!

This does not mean that we do not love and appreciate this gift, we are so thankful for this gift and it does provide for us in ways that we can not. What we do not want to do though is let this idea of Acts 2:45 stop with us getting this gift. We are not going to spend this money all on ourselves, what we have decieded to do with some of it is sponsor a Compassion International Kid, that through the blessing of this couple, we can bless a child with means to food, schooling, medicine and the basics that we in America take for granted.

I believe this is what the body is supposed to look like, where we are all providing for each other with what we can. This older couple could provide Lauren and I a gift that blesses us in ways we could not. We in turn hope to bless a child in the same fashion. This is not to pat ourselves on the back, the reality is one of my first reactions was to be selfish and to go get something for myself, but to say that in Christ what we have is so abundant, how can we hold on to things like money and possesions so tightly when others are in need in the world?

Covenant Mercies

There is a great, great, great ministry that New Attitude has been talking about called Covenant Mercies. Here is a note explaining the heart, and hope of the ministry.

"Covenant Mercies is a gospel-centered nonprofit organization established for the purpose of serving the poor, the orphan, the widow, and others facing severe adversity in its own Pennsylvania community and beyond. Please click the links to the left to learn more about the initiatives being undertaken through Covenant Mercies.

In His grace, God has been exceedingly merciful to us. Our Savior did not sit idly by while the world agonized in the ravages of sin, but in compassion He came and suffered with us. As His visible expression in the earth today, it is our joy to minister the compassion of our Lord Jesus to those around us who are in need. We invite your prayers for Covenant Mercies as we seek to walk in the good works He has prepared in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:10), to the praise of His glorious grace."

In light of John 1 that Ryan Kelly our teaching elder at my church spoke of last week it makes sense to seek the welfare and care of the orphan.

"1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came for a witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light.
John 1:9 There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. " (John 1: 1-14)

LOBOS 83 nmsu 69, The Pit is Back!

UNM beat up on the small junior college looking kids from down south known as the New Mexico State Aggies last night. It was great from seeing Coach Alford simply outclass and outcoach Marvin Menzies to Roman Martinez scoring a career high 24pts. it was a great night to be a Lobo!! The Pit was loud and sounded at times like the old days of rowdiness!

What a Christmas gift, I mean beating up on the Aggies is a gift that just keeps giving and giving all year long!

Click here for article from the Albuquerque Tribune about last night's game.

The Doctrine of God

"Without the love of the Son for the Father, which impelled him to make the sacrifice in the first place, without the corresponding love of the Father for the Son, by which he accepted the Son's work and pronounced the world of forgiveness for us, our salvation could not have occurred. Furthermore, without the love of the Holy Spirit for both the Father and the Son, by which he brings this message to us and sounds the very depths of our hearts, Christ's work of love would have no practical meaning in our lives. The inner lover of the persons of the Trinity is the very ground of our redemption, and at the heart of this love we meet both the wrath and the mercy of God." (Bray 223)

A great quote by Gerald Bray from his book "The Doctrine of God", on the primacy of the Trinity and also God's wrath from a book I am reading for class.

Lobo vs aggie Basketball Game Tomorrow Night...

in the Pit, this is a fierce rivalry here in NM and it will be fun. Here is an advertisement for NMSU in case you were wondering "Who Are The Aggies???"

Here Comes Santa Claus, There Goes Santa Claus...

Bryan Lopez pointed me to a great article over at Pure Church. Thabiti Anyabwile discussed how he and his wife do not celebrate jolly ole' St. Nick and his annual appearance down the chimney. A few days ago I mentioned another article that discussed the same issue that young parents face this time of year. I am a young parent of an almost 2 year old girl, and a boy on the way and this question is now being raised in our home. So here are my 2 cents on this whole Santa Claus issue.

1. I believe that Santa is not the great enemy of Christmas, yes I do realize that if you move the letters around you get Satan. I do not think that if a family that loves the Lord does the whole Santa thing they are heretics and are worse than Democrats (joke). I believe that the consumer mindset of our culture that my daughter is growing up in that tells her that if she wants to go to "heaven" whether that be social status heaven, or beautiful and skinny heaven, or successful and independent heaven she needs to own this or that as her savior. I think that materialism and idolatry (often what we sinful people have made Santa come to represent) are what I must learn to fight against in my heart and mind as well as in my children's, not some plump dude in a red suit that likes cookies.

2. I think there is a danger in raising up children that have been lied to about a mythical figure that brings joy and blessings from "above". A figure that can see everything, I mean he knows if you are naughty or nice. A dude that seems to be everywhere at once, the dude goes to every house in the world in one night! A make believe figure that will bless you if you are good and obedient. Then one day the kid finds out they have been lied to and deceived about this loving, joyful, supernatural man. "If Santa is fake and a lie, what about Jesus?" Seems like a logical question to ask, after all we had been propagating this lie about someone that seems to resemble our Lord in his attributes pretty closely to a 10 year old.

3. Let me quote Thabiti Anyabwile here on this point:

"Christmas is the time we celebrate the Infinite Creator God, sending His Eternal Son down from eternity into space and time. God entered His creation, indeed, took nine months residence in the womb of a virgin. One fully God and fully man was born, clothed in the likeness of sinful man, lived a perfect life in obedience to the Father, died a scandalous death in love for sinners, and rose from the grave in glory! Imagine that. This is what our children's minds should be fired with. And it's all true! In the end, there is nothing as inspiring as the truth about Jesus!"

I think Christ seems to be able to captivate and provide joy and awe without a old, jolly fat dude in a red suit.

Needless to say our family will not be doing the whole "Santa" thing. However one question still remains, how do we tell our daughter and son that some people do believe that Santa is real, and that it is not their job or duty to pop that bubble?? Any suggestions for that one???

FAV. Christmas Song and Video

This last week before Christmas I am working on finishing up a seminary class I am taking through Covenant Seminary, therefore I am not blogging a whole bunch but wanted to share my favorite Christmas Song and Video. I realize this is not a "classic" per se, but for the past 9 years or so this has been my favorite and somethings never change. So enjoy.

One More Fun Christmas Light Display!!!

Fun Christmas Lights!!!

(HT: The World From My Window)

Thank You Governor!!! Now Please BE QUIET!!!

Our state's Governor Bill Richardson basically showed why he is not qualified to be President last night at the Democratic Debate. Apparentley Gov. Richardson embellished on quite a few things. For instance, our state's education progress which has actually gone backwards, our state's teachers' salaries which is not as good as he has claimed, or a few other things as well. I have lost a lot of respect for Gov. Richardson over this campaign because he has basically left his state high and dry while going after this dream of President, which that is all it is. Was he a good Governor before that, yeah I guess although I think we the people of New Mexico have been used by a greedy, selfish man for self interest and that sucks! Overall Richardson needs to step out of the campaign and back into his state that needs a good, strong leader to do all the things he said he would do and then it would not be embellishing!!!


To see the other embellishments check out Newsweek's Fact Checker.

But Will I Find That Wii I Have Been Waiting For???

(Crummy Church Signs)

Vitamin Z's Favorite Songs of 2007

Our worship minister Zach Nielsen has posted his favorite songs of the past year:

In no particular order:

Devastation Hands - Emerson Hart

The Pretender - Foo Fighters

Champion - Kanye West - Graduation

Happy Apple Poison - Lovedrug

Slow Dancing in a Burning Room - John Mayer - The Village Sessions

Love Song - Sara Bareilles - Little Voice

White Mystery - Minus the Bear - Planet of Ice

Love is Waiting - Brooke Fraser - Albertine

Lesson Learned - Alicia Keys (featuring John Mayer) - As I Am

Everybody Wants To Rule The World - The Bad Plus - Prog

Something In Your Eyes - David Martin - Something In Your Eyes

If I Never See Your Face Again - Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long

Movin' On - Elliot Yamim

Weird Fishes/Arpeggi - Radiohead - In Rainbows

Clinging to the Cross - Tim Hughes - Holding Nothing Back

Remedy - David Crowder Band - Remedy

Embracing Accusations - Shane and Shane

I do not know a lot of these songs but 2 that I really enjoy are, Embracing Accusations and Remedy, both are great and I think we listen to the first and then go do the 2nd!!!

(HT: Z)

Kingdom Living vs American Dream: John Piper

The Picture above hangs in my cubicle at my office at Desert Springs. I have been thinking a lot about this "war-time" mentality that Dr. Piper discusses here. This idea that we are to not be Christ Followers that hope in the American Dream. Instead we are to fight and pray that we show to the world that Jesus is our treasure, that Jesus is our riches, not money, not Mercedes and not big houses, but JESUS!!

My heart is so wicked because I can type this and listen to Dr. Piper and say AMEN, but as I venture out I catch myself saying, if I just had this.. or that.. oh wretched man that I am, who will save me? Praise God for the Jesus Christ and the saving, restoring, American Dream destroying power of the Gospel. The fight in my heart is not over, but it has begun!

I have already linked it twice, but here it is a third time, "Ask John Piper", listen to it, listen again and again!!!

5 D's I Need..

Jon Bloom over at Desiring God blog writes:

Here are 5 “Ds” that I have made part of my daily prayers:

Whatever it takes, Lord, give me...

• Delight in you as the greatest treasure of my heart.
  
  Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)
  
  
• Desire to know you, be with you, and seek your kingdom above all else.
  
  Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)
  
  
• Discernment that comes from a renewed mind that I might know your will.
  
  But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:14)
  
  
• Discipline to plan for what I discern as your will.
  
  Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:15-16)
  
  
• Diligence to do your will with all my heart.
  
  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might

Man what great things to pray for!! I am always convicted and encouraged when I go to Desiring God it is an interesting paradox for sure! Maybe it is because John Piper feels the joy and fear, the awe and comfort from a Great, Glorious, Awesome, Joyful, Loving God!

Hey Virginia, Is There A Real Santa??

That is the question that Lauren (my wife) and I will be dealing with this soon as our daughter is now almost 2 and figure it will be another year or 2 till that comes, but it is coming. Over at The World From Our Window blog they have a great post dealing with this subject. I think Lauren and I have come to the same conclusion and I totally agree that Santa is not the biggest threat this Christmas season:

"To be quite frank with our readers here, I really do not find Santa Clause to be the biggest threat to us as Christians to having a Christ-centered Christmas. I think that the materialism, gluttony, impulsive spending, and a lack of focus on the Incarnation and virgin birth should be enough to keep all of us spiritually concerned in the month of December."

I totally agree with this and fear that while we are boycotting movies and arguing whether we buy our khakis from this store or that store because they do not use the word "Christmas" this season. All of this when we have not seen the true enemy that has been there the whole time allowing for distraction and for false security of "safety", we then go and worship at the alter of consumerism and materialism, the true enemy this Christmas is our hearts.

Praise God who has come to break us of the bonds of the American Christmas Dream of toys, trinkets and etc... Praise the God who has freed us from the slavery of self-kingdom building with stuff and status...Praise the God who has brought us into His Kingdom, who has sent us on His mission and did all this not with material objects, but with the oh so precious blood of His Son!!!!

This changes everything...

Got 2 coats, give 1 away...

This article I found on the Acts 29 resource list by Jason Boone is very convicting for me, a lower middle class dude with more than a few coats.

Most of us would say that rich people piss Jesus off. They live in big houses, drive expensive cars, and take lavish vacations, whatever. And even if they do give to the poor, it’s for tax breaks more than compassion or obedience. These are the guilty parties. If I, middle class guy, had that kind of money, I’d do the right thing with it. Furthermore, I’d give my time because I wouldn’t have to work so much just to get by.

This feels pretty good until you realize that middle class guy is really rich. And not just compared to people in Africa or the slums of India, but to people in their own cities. This is a shot in the arm for lower class guy, who now has two classes of people to judge. But lower class guy is still working out of earthly wisdom. Driving a beater car and drinking lowly Dr. Perky instead of regal Dr. Pepper isn’t a note from Jesus excusing you from looking after the poor.

What does this mean for my life? Maybe it is again being the remedy instead of the symptom teller. Instead of looking at the dude with the Caddy I look at my Honda and my clothes and my lifestyle and ask how can it be used for the Kingdom, for giving to those that are poor. The question starts to become what can I use for the Kingdom with what I already have?

We gave the kids away because the cat was allergic...

That was a bumper sticker that I saw a couple days ago. It at first may seem like a humorous statement, but there is sadly a lot of true to life ideology behind that.

Michael Vick the former quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons has been sentenced to 23 months in prison for the abuse and killings of fighting dogs and the dog fights he was a part of. Now I am not one to sit back and think it is ok to do those things to dogs, the Lord has given us creation, a creation He has called "good" and has told us to be stewards over such creation. However what I find interesting is what lengths we go to love on our pets, to love on animals and the planet, yet millions of children die each year, no let me restate that millions of children are KILLED each year. Why are they killed? Disease? War? Yes, but the majority of children are killed in the name of convenience, abortion is killing kids by the hundreds daily because people are "not ready" to be a parent.

What a sick world we live in where dogs and cats are loved on and it is ok and even applauded to stick up for these innocent four pawed creatures. Yet it is "intolerant" and wrong to tell someone that killing a baby in the womb is NOT ok? To take a living image of God and destroy it, is now seen as a "choice" ,a right even, if that person chooses to.

What is the church doing?? I am not talking about the pastors, but the body of Christ the people of God. I am not talking about Protesting the abortion clinics, I am talking about providing a safe place for these mom to be's to have their child in a clean hospital, and a way to raise them. I am talking about the church that is to raise up men that will raise and love families sacrificially. Where is the church in valuing life from conception to the grave?? Where is the church that gives and loves our neighbors and provides the means to make the choice for life?

Sadly the Church is a lot of the times with the world in the pet shop buying little fluffy a new diamond collar! This needs to change, we need by God's grace to change and not wait or protest for the remedy but be the remedy.

I was talking to Zach Nielsen today and the home group we belong to may be looking at how we can help a ministry called CareNet that is being the remedy, maybe for me it starts there.

Where is your starting point??

We Need The Church....

"We need the church that truly exists for the sake of others. We need a Church that gives up luxury so that other may have necessity. We need a Church that rejects the lone ranger mentality and lives in sacrificial and compassionate community. We need a Church that views money as a resource of God's Kingdom and not an object to be consumed. We need a Church that trusts the Spirit and takes risks for the sake of the Gospel. We need a Church that comes together to care for the poor in their backyards as well as those in the city."

A quote from a great article from Todd Hiestand called "The Gospel and the God-Forsaken: The Challenge of the Missional Church in Suburbia"

I work and minister in the suburbs, I am not a fan of the suburbs, I consider myself at times to be in my Samaria (John 4). God has been devastating me with my lack of love for suburbanites and for young adults that only care about their consumer satisfaction. These people are in need of the Gospel just like the drunken college student or homeless man downtown. In someways it is harder because the American Dream is telling them they are fine, therefore realizing they are in a fallen world is sometimes harder to do. I pray that as we head into the spring semester and come January when we start up our college gathering again God will use me to preach the Gospel, to live the gospel and to challenge these suburbanites with the holistic truths of the Gospel!!

Facebook of life?? IS that a new application???

Starbucks or shall we say The Empire..

Here are some interesting notes about the company Starbucks that many of you are either sitting in, just left or heading off to, come on you can admit it...

These were taken from Starbucked: A Double Tall Tale of Caffeine, Commerce, and Culture

• Starbucks's closest competitor in the coffeehouse market, Caribou Coffee, is just one-twenty-fifth its size. Every 10 weeks, Starbucks opens as many stores as the total number of Caribou outlets.
  
  
• Starbucks has had 14 straight years with at least 5% same-store sales growth.
  
  
• Contrary to popular opinion, Starbucks increases sales at rival nearby coffeehouses. For example, when it blitzed Omaha with six stores, coffee sales at local joints went up as much as 25%, and more new ones opened shop.
  
  
• According to Starbucks, the company pays more for insurance for its employees ($200 million) than it does for coffee beans, yet only 42% of its 125,000-plus workforce has company health insurance--a lower percentage than Wal-Mart (46%).
  
  
• The average customer spends $4.05 per visit for coffee; the average fast-food-restaurant visitor spends $4.34 for an entire meal.
  
  
• For a cup that costs $3.40, at least 40 cents is profit. When Starbucks bumped the 8-ounce cup off the menu, the 10-ounce "tall" (the new small) increased profits by 25 cents per cup for only 2 cents of added product.

• More people would give up sex before they'd give up coffee.

Originally posted by Al Hsu

What If??? Christmas Presents were not about price but relation??

Tis the season for parents to be throwing elbows in order to get little Timmy that Wii he has been pining for, for the past 2 months. It is the season to go into incredible debt buying things we cannot afford, and in 2 months will lose it's luster and it's excitement as the new version of whatever it is comes out eventhough we are still making payments for the "older" not as cool one we got Timmy for Christmas. It is time for us to horde all our income in order to see the big game in DLP, Plasma, HD Glory at the altar of Sony, Toshiba and Samsung. It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, BUT what if....

What if we did not buy Timmy that Wii and instead got him a basketball and took him to the local park and taught him to shoot a jump shot and run and get some fresh air. What if instead of getting little Susie that cell phone she wants (eventhough she is 7 years old) what if you bought her some books about cooking, or shooting jump shots and interacted with her by baking a cake or teaching her how to shoot a 3pt basket??? And what if instead of forking out $900 bucks on this years Xmas presents we actually gave money to helping countries get clean drinking water?? What if we denied ourselves that XBOX 360 in order to give someone a clean, non lethal glass of water, WATER!!!

That is what the Advent Conspiracy is talking about, and I am starting to listen and really be convicted by our American Dream of a White and Plastic laden Xma$

Vote for Matt Jones!!!

Hey all, do you like good music and real song writers that actually take the time to play thier own instruments and write their own songs, yeah I know that is rare these days, then The Real Matt Jones is for you. He is a friend of mine and a great guy who has a heart for the Lord yet is not a "Christian" musician per se, he is in the culture, living life with others and playing some great music. He is currently a finalist in FameCast an online "American Idol" type contest where the winner gets pub and 10 grand!!!! So click here to vote for Matt Jones help this young talented musician out!!!

Good ole' Dixie?!?!? Confederate flag debate...

"Both Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney made derogatory comments about the Confederate flag, and we don't think people should come to the South and try to get our votes and then wipe their feet on the Confederate flag to kiss up to voters in other parts of the country," he said.

This past week in South Carolina during some speeches Fred Thompson and Mitt Romney made some anti-confederate flag comments. Needless to say this made some people a little upset. Here is the weird thing, this flag by it's very purpose is divisive in nature as this was the symbol of certain states leaving the USA Union. This flag represents to the majority of the population in the USA and the world, slavery and a very embarrassing time for our "Christian" nation. What frustrates me is that this flag is still allowed to fly in certain public squares and we all seem ok with it. What humors and saddens me is that people still find this flag as something to be proud of, proud of what?? Proud of slavery?? Proud of racism?? Proud of internal terrorism where one group tries to tear apart the country literally?? I am actually glad someone stood up for the reality that these flags and this symbol does not serve the public good and does not serve the country in any positive ways.

Click here for whole article.

College Football is fallen

When man fell in the garden, sin corrupted everything, and not one thing has not been tainted by it, College Football not excluded. I am so tired of the BCS and especially this year where I believe the 2 best teams will not be playing for a national championship. I realize the money that rolls in from the bowls, but that is tainting one of the best sports there is, March Madness is special because of the excitement and the true outcome that there will be a undisputed national champion. I like what CNN is doing with this mock tourney, maybe just maybe the BCS people will see this is the way to go and in the longrun will be more profitable...check out the tourney here.

What does Pullman say??

Christians seem to once again in some circles be circling the wagons regarding the upcoming movie "The Golden Compass". It is written by and atheist, they kill God in the movie, it is a book that is a reaction against the Narnia Books of C.S. Lewis. Well it always seems like a smart move to take time to listen to the man behind the novels that are inspiring the movie. FilmChat has a great interview that answers a lot of questions we all have regarding this movie.

My opinion is that a movie is not something that seems to be able to shake the Kingdom of God, even though it seems to shake us up a lot! I think this movie is a great chance to go watch and purposely pursue conversation with people about the truth in the film, about the truth in the gospel. I probably would not let my 12 year old daughter (she is 2 right now but...) go see the movie alone without making sure to invest time in discussing the themes of the movie after. I do think there needs to be a level of discernment upon entering in ANY movie, even ones with "Passion" in their title.

Is it Yes or No??

I think I am going to tell Zach Nielsen our worship leader to look into playing this song this Sunday. I think it is applicable as we are approaching an election year! I realize that if you are an Arminian that there are not a lot of songs that speak of our "free will" and our ability to choose God, maybe cause there are not many verses that allow that...maybe... is it yes or no?

HT (Founders)

SubUrban Jungle

I live in the suburbs and the church I work at an upper middle class church in the suburbs, I am not a fan of the suburbs, I am not a fan of kids who drive around in daddy's BMW. I have grown so much in this church though, where I would be happy and comfortable in the University area of town or downtown ABQ which are a "little rougher" than the Desert Springs Neighborhood, I realize that the Albuquerque suburbs is my Samaria. This is where I would normally avoid going to, the Starbucks with the 14 year old ordering a non-fat, decaf iced Carmel organic latte while the mom is checking how her last botox treatment went. Yeah this is the place I did not want to be, but God has stretched me, has challenged me to see that the gospel is not just for the city, the gospel is for the suburbs and in a lot of ways I am dealing with college students that grew up in a youth group that was all about fun, and stupid games, never hearing the gospel, but yet thinking they are saved. I am growing up around a bunch of Zach Morris's and Kelly Kaposki's and I am learning to be content and learning to love these people. I am not there yet, but I hope some day!! Until then I am going to be hitting up Steve McCoy's blog over at Reformissionary and his new page "Mission to the Suburbia"

Must be a tough year for Hawkeye fans...

So yes we here at UNM are excited for the hire of Coach Steve Alford a man I consider a friend. We are 6-0 right now with wins over not the best of teams, but still all you can do is play who is in front of you right? Well it seems Coach Alford's old school is not doing so well either in basketball or football.... Although I am not sure if God is a Hawkeye fan or not, relating their trials to Job's is a little extreme, living in Iowa must truly truly suck, maybe I will ask former Iowa resident Vitamin Z his opinion...

Thanksgiving.....

I have the extreme pleasure and privilege to be this year's UNM Men's Basketball Team Chaplin. I had previously been the video coordinator before leaving to work full time at my church Desert Springs to lead the college/young adult gathering. As Chaplin my job is not super complicated, I give a 10-15 minute message to the players who wish to stay for it as well as for Coach Steve Alford and his staff. I am leading the team through a fly over of the bible and hoping to connect the reality that all stories in the O.T. all point and are shadows if Jesus Christ.

Today though for their chapel time before their game against Hawaii I read Psalm 100, a Psalm of thanksgiving. I also read these statistics to them:

1. More than 1.5 billion people around the world live on less than a $1 a day.

2. More than one billion people do not have access to clean water.

3. Every year six million children die from malnutrition before their fifth birthday.

4. More than 50 percent of Africans suffer from water-related diseases such as cholera and infant diarrhea.

5. More than 800 million people go to bed hungry every day, 300 million are children.

6. Of these 300 million children, only eight percent are victims of famine or other emergency situations. More than 90 percent are suffering long-term malnourishment and micronutrient deficiency.

7. Declining soil fertility, land degradation, and the AIDS pandemic have led to a 23 percent decrease in food production per capita in the last 25 years even though population has increased dramatically.

8. A woman living in sub-Saharan Africa has a 1 in 16 chance of dying in pregnancy. This compares with a 1 in 3,700 risk for a woman from North America.

These stats were taken from a sermon from Pastor John Piper, here is the manuscript. The reason I wanted to read these was for these players to and myself for that matter to realize that we are blessed, blessed beyond blessed. Most of these players dream of playing for the NBA and probably most will never achieve this, so my hope was that they realize in the larger scheme of things on this planet having a pair of shoes is a blessing, having clean drinking water and food 3 times a day, heck having food 1 time a day is a tremendous blessing given from our Lord.

I hope as the season goes on that they will see that being sponsored by Nike and playing one of the greatest arenas in sports, "The Pit" are great joys, but nothing compared to the blessing that is offered in Christ. The joy of being redeemed and brought into an unbreakable family, given eternal nourishing bread of life, and being able to drink from the fountain of life, that those things found ONLY in Christ would being their and my motivation to get out of bed in the morning!!!

Well I am off to the game, in my SUV with my beautiful wife and daughter to cheer with 15000 fans for the team, and all I can say is......blessed!

Only Thing of Importance...

"The only thing of transcendent importance of human beings is the knowledge of God. This knowledge does not belong to those who endlessly focus on themselves. Those who truly come to know God delight to just know him. He becomes their center. They think of him, delight in him, boast of him. They want to know more and more what kind of God he is. As they learn that he is the God "who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth," naturally they want those same values to prevail- not because their egos are bound up with certain arbitrary notions of, say, "justice," but because their center is God and they take their cues from him and his character. They boast in him."

D.A. Carson "The Cross and Christian Ministry: Leadership Lessons from 1 Corinthians"

Awesome Video

I saw this video this morning and it just reminds me of what I have in Christ alone! Yeah something to be thankful for come Thursday, someOne to share with family and friends!!!




HT: (Life Together)

Thank God We are All Perfect!

Ok this is a bit of a rant, but here it goes. I was on another blog, Between Two World's reading about Mark Driscoll's apology and seeking for Humility and while most people would praise or even be convicted by Mark's words instead they (the commentators) are freaking upset about a joke and T-Shirt. This is what I do not get about reformed people sometimes (and I am one) we are so unbelievably fast to critisize about anything. We take out our magnifying glasses and pick apart every little thing. And it seems like a lot of these reformaniacs seem to think that we should all preach like Jonathan Edwards and speak like John Owen! Are you serious?? I love those two men and love to read them, but that does not mean I preach or I act like either 2, I am a 27 year old hispanic preacher in New Mexico, not an old white dude in London or New England. I have noticed that we are so quick to pick apart a song sung, or a preacher if he ever so slightly slips up. Yeah we sure are a great city on a hill sometimes, we pick each other apart, we get upset when someone makes a freakin joke on stage or if someone talks about loving others in their city more than loving the Puritans. I do not get it, I do not want any part of it.

We need to get off our butts ( would say another word but don't want others to miss the point of the blog cause something off hand was there) get our nose out of theology books for like 5 min and be in the world. We (Calvinists) suck at this, I am not talking about mission trips to China, I am talking about Mission trips to Starbucks tonight!!! We suck at loving those around us, we suck at proclaiming the gospel in a loving way, basically we suck at loving our neighbors.

This is some real frustrations I have, I think they are legit, I do not know the answer, but I think throwing grenades at someone who is confessing is not the best start.

Here are my fav. living preachers, all of which I have heard people critisize for one reason or another, John Piper- he is too friendly to charasmatics, he said ass in a sermon. Matt Chandler-Charasmatic...enough said, Mark Driscoll-Do I even have to go there...

The Golden Compass

I have received a couple email forwards that are warning me about a new movie coming out called "The Golden Compass". These emails come from Christians and have told me not to take my daughter, and to boycott this movie. From what I have read this movie along with the other 2 that will follow are based on books written by an atheist who wrote this series as a reaction against C.S. Lewis's "Chronicles of Narnia". The whole stink about this movie is that it is promoting a atheistic agenda and that we need to avoid it and boycott this movie, one email even told me that "they kill God in the end", kinda dramatic if you ask me.

I do not like mass emails that warn me to boycott this or this because of anti-Christian messages, or avoid so and so because he has this political agenda, and I down right loathe the email messages that tell me if I am not ashamed of Jesus I will forward it on to 10 of my best friends. The truth is that, that email has got me wanting to see this movie, whereas before I probably could have cared less. Why? Why should we not boycott it. Because were are called to be in the world, we are called to understand different worldviews, we are called to love people outside our bubble. Crazy, I know, but we are called to be lights in darkness, which means we need to go to the dark places.

Internet Monk shares a great response to such boycott and warnings and I think he is right on... Check it out here



Here is a thought, go see this movie, use discernment, realize it is a movie enjoy it for what it is. And then maybe engage people who want to discuss the underlying themes that are in it. Remember God's Kingdom is a Kingdom that cannot be shaken!

What do we do tonight???

So today is Halloween a day when mini Harry Potters and Optimus Primes will be coming to the door expecting some candy. Being a Christian what does this mean for us? Do we hide in our home with the lights off, do we go to a church where there is a "Fall Harvest Festival" going on, or do we answer the door, give out good candy, actually maybe for the first time meet our neighbors?

Anthony Bradley a professor at Covenant Seminary and a pretty chill dude has a great article on this, stuff to think about as we approach the question: WWJD tonight??


Also one more rant it is funny to me that we Christians sometimes get so distraught when people call Christmas parties, Winter celebrations, or use another term than Christian, but when we have a party on Halloween that looks like a Halloween party, smells like a Halloween party and feels like a Halloween party we call it a Harvest Festival, that is just funny to me...

Bible Tracks instead of Skittles!!!???

I have been a Christian for almost 5 years now, so that means I have had 4 Halloweens in the "bubble" and something I do not understand is the Christian Festivals or Bible Track instead of candy option. I see churches advertising these festivals all over the place during this time of year, like a somehow healthy alternative or something to skittles or 8 year old power rangers. What I do not understand is that we are called to be Christ's ambassadors right? (2 Cor 5:20). From my public school and private catholic school understanding of this is that we are to represent our King, not ourselves, we are to look at our King as how we should live in the world. I do not see Jesus seeing the "sinners" and telling his disciples "ok fellas let's go and do our own party so we do not get influenced". So how are we the "ambassadors" representing our King when we huddle together, have dark houses with no candy, or if we are at home we hand out bible tracks, how are we representing our King properly?

Are we not representing Him as a legalistic, anti-cuture, anti-neighbor moralist?? I understand that dressing your 7 year old up like Harry Potter can be an invitation to Witchery and the like and that could lead him down a path of debauchery or whatever, but seriously how about we actually look at our King! How about we represent Him by having a light on, maybe even, dare I say it, giving out good candy and loving the people coming to our homes. Maybe start living with others, actually living life with them, getting to know them, their names, their dreams, their faiths, this seems to be what our King did. Maybe start loving people in such a way that when we do share the glorious hope of the gospel it will be genuine love coming across, maybe this Oct. 31 instead of holy huddling it, or doing trick or track (as in bible track) evangelism, we start to know those the Lord has put in our neighborhoods, and just maybe we will see something happen in our hearts and theirs too!!

The Office!!!! It is coming soon!!!!!

3 Years till the 3-0!!!

Yesterday was my birthday, I remember people telling me that once you pass 21 it is all downhill. I could very easily at times agree with that statement. I think though moreso I feel I am more alive than ever, more aware of the present and the things of life seem to have more depth and meaning than when I was 20 or even 24. At this time 6 years ago I was freaking out cause the previous weekend I had been arrested for DWI, I was a week away from being 21, so I was underage to top it off!!! Yeah I was up a creek.. I had lost my license and had the threat of going to jail, and losing a lot of things including my job, my parents trust and my families view of me being a good kid...At that time I remember thinking, my life was over that this crisis would define me forever and that I would never recover from that.

Tonight I type this as my wife is up in Glorieta NM at a women's retreat with our church and place I work Desert Springs Church. My 18 month old daughter is asleep in the other room, and oh yeah did I forget to mention that Lauren my wife is pregnant with kiddo number 2?!? I am paying a mortgage, leading my own family as well as The Well College Gathering at DSC. SO needless to say my life did not end, I did recover from that crisis, but not on my own, only from the work of an outside source.

Between then and now, about 4 years ago I came to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as my savior, as my hope for reconciliation between God and myself. I came to realize by God's grace alone, that I am a sinner, an enemy to the eternal, perfect Judge of the Universe and my trespasses against Him merited a eternal punishment!! I was facing Hell, I was facing what I deserved, But God saved me, by putting my punishment, the punishment I deserve on His only Son Jesus Christ!! and the perfect, holy life that His Son Jesus, who came down and was man and God at the same time, the life He merited was now credited to me, as if I had lived that life, as if I live that life now.

How does all this mesh together, well it is my life for starters, but now, through new eyes through a heart changed and focused on the cross of Christ I see a DWI, a family to lead, a house to pay for, a wife and daughter and baby to love as all things that have shaped me, and are shaping me in a lot of ways. But NONE of these define me, only what Christ has done is what defines me!!! Only His work on the Cross defines me. I am a slave to Christ, not a perfect one, far from that, I suck and still have a lot of crap in my life that does not reflect my new position in Christ, BUT again that is not what defines me, cause my definition of who I am relies on the work of another, it relies on the work of Jesus Christ!!!!

Life is going downhill??? It's just starting in light of eternity!!!!!

Awesome!!!!!

If you have a kid that likes Dora you will like this, if you do not, Thank God for that blessing!!!!!

A taste of old school, YO!

So my first blog in a while, it should be something deep, something that will make you think and really ponder. Maybe I will discuss the implications of the emerging church, or give a review of Michael Moore's new movie Sicko and give my take on the Health Care system here in America. I know I could discuss the upcoming elections and discuss the future of evangelicalism in America if Clinton is elected!!!!!

Or.....

Been Gone for a Minute, Now I'm Back...

New Blogs coming soon...