School starts tomorrow, and if you are like me you are probably a little stressed about going back; new teachers, new students, new things to adjust to. I do not do well with going back to school (probably worse than I need to be) I get my self all worked up about the next day and going back to school. I would imagine that some of you feel the same way about going back to school.
So, I decided to see what God says about worrying. The main verse I found is a pretty famous passage it is Mather 6:25-34
“25 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[a]?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
This is very encouraging thing for a person like me who likes worries a lot about things, because it strait up says not to worry because God will provide because we are very important to him and he loves us.
Another verse that I found in the bible the night before as triathlon that I was very nervous about was Isaiah 40:27-28 which says,
“27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
and complain, O Israel,
"My way is hidden from the LORD;
my cause is disregarded by my God"?
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom”
Which is very funny because it seems to me that verse was written to me because my name is Jacob and to tell the truth I think it is pretty to worry, but once again God is all powerful.
Finally, Romans 8:28:
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[have been called according to his purpose.
So bottom line, we may think that we need to worry about things but God says they do not need to worry because God is all powerful, God is all knowing and God will take care of his children.
Reading these verses have been very encouraging to me for going to school tomorrow , I hope that it will encourage you for tomorrow or whenever you start school or have soke thing that you are worried about the next day because God says “34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
God bless!!!!
Jake
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
The Hole in our Gospel by Richard Stearns: Book Review
What does it mean to be a Christian? Is it just about going to church, studying the Bible and avoiding the worst sins? Or does God expect more from us? “Have we settled for the whole gospel or a gospel with a hole in it?”(Back cover) The Hole in Our Gospel is about the needs of the people created in God’s own image; the sick, the poor, the hungry, the fatherless and the broken-hearted, and how we as “the wealthiest church in history” (pg. 216) need to do something about it. This powerful book addresses the spiders of the complicated web of poverty such as the HIV and AIDS pandemic, clean water shortages, drought, and rebel armies. This then causes children to not be able to go to school because they need to be finding food and water and caring for sick family members, or being the parents themselves. And so, the cycle continues. This book is amazing and empowering as Richard Stearns gives his testimony of how he came to know Christ and later became the president of World Vision USA; he opens our eyes to the true needs of the poor and the needy in our world, and then calls us to action.
The testimony of Richard Stearns was very amazing and powerful because it told how he went from being an atheist to being a Christian, and also going from being a corporate CEO of a Parker Brother Games to being the president of World Vision. Richard Stearns grew up in a very broken home. He said “I can remember the night when I realized my parents could not help me” (pg. 74). Because of this, he learned to be very self-reliant. This all changed when, in college he met a girl named Renee (who he later married) who got him thinking about Jesus because she was a Christian. He had always said to her that he would never become a Christian. Until one day in his drunken father’s apartment he found a Basic Christianity book. Richard Stearns said, “Remarkably, I found that I couldn’t put it down, and seven hours later, at four in the morning, I had finished and sat trembling in my bed. What I had read had shaken me quite deeply” (pg. 80). This was the turning point in his testimony because he had just started to believe in Jesus. This shows that it was amazing and powerful because a boy from a broken home, and a huge skeptic of God realized that God was real. The story of how Richard Stearns became a Christian is amazing because God leading him to read that one book made him become a Christian. He then later made the crazy decision to step down as CEO of Parker Brothers and become the president of World Vision, to help millions of people. “God does not call the equipped. He equips the called.” (pg.91)
Opening my eyes to the true needs of the poorest people in the world made the book very intense because it was hard for me to realize that we as Americans are so rich compared to the rest of the world, yet we still consider ourselves poor because there are people in our neighborhood that have a little bit more than we have. For example, Americans make at least 100 times more than 15% of the world’s people. This is very sad because that was only the average of the income per day of Americans and there are one billion people living on less than one dollar everyday. So, you don’t believe me? Let me put this into perspective for you.” The poorest 40 percent of the world’s population accounts for just 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of the world’s income.”(pg.122) and, “the top 20 percent of the world’s population consumes 86 percent of the world’s goods.”(pg.122). Those two examples show that we are so rich and we do not even know it. It is not like those people living on one and two dollars a day are living comfortably, but they just don’t have a Wii or the latest video game. No, they have nothing, not even food! Take this, “One out of four children in developing counties is underweight and some 350 to 400 million children are hungry. Worse, it is estimated that a child dies every five seconds from hunger related causes.”(pg. 134) Think about this, every five seconds a child dies from hunger alone. That adds up to about 25,000 children dying each day from hunger. The poor people in our world are living without food and water every day and we can just go to the fridge and grab a soda whenever we want. As a person from Kenya said “Water is life and because we have no water, life is miserable” (pg.135). Reading all of these statistics and facts have really made me sad, but also made me want to do something about these people who have nothing.
This book made me want to act on this problem, not just be sad about it, but make a difference in this problem. In the Hole in Our Gospel, I really enjoyed the call to action in the end of the book because it told us, as the “wealthiest church in history”,(pg.216) to help these people in need. One great example of the call to action in this book is when Richard Stearns said, “We may not be clear on just how God wants to use us. But that’s no excuse for doing nothing. Just jump in, and start doing” (pg.273). This example shows that we can use our unique, “Time, Talent and Treasure” (pg 257) that God has given to each of us to make a difference. Every follower of God has been called by Him to do something; He can use you for great things you just need to be open to Him. One example of God using someone who you would not think could be a big help is Austin Gutwein who started Hoops for Hope by shooting some basketballs. As I said earlier, “God does not call the equipped. He equips the called”(pg.91). Just because you yourself cannot stop poverty does not mean that you cannot have a hand in stopping it. “Don’t fail to do something because you can’t do everything”.(pg.152) This quote from the book shows that it is a great call to action because God can do great things through all of us even if we cannot do anything great. Go, and use your time, talent and treasure given to you from God and help people!
Overall, this book was amazing. I loved how it really let me see the needs of the people in the world and how I need to do something about it. My favorite part of this book was the end of the book because it called the reader to make a difference, to “move a mountain of mustard seeds” (pg.274) for the poor. I honestly do not think that any parts of this book were bad. This book was very well written and it had many Bible verses and quotes to reinforce what he was writing. I believe that everyone in America should read this book, even though it would take many of us out of our comfort zone. I think that people who have an interest in serving God and doing what He wants you to do would enjoy this book. Out of all the books I have read, this book will make a lasting difference in my life, my relationship, and my service to God.
What will you do?
The testimony of Richard Stearns was very amazing and powerful because it told how he went from being an atheist to being a Christian, and also going from being a corporate CEO of a Parker Brother Games to being the president of World Vision. Richard Stearns grew up in a very broken home. He said “I can remember the night when I realized my parents could not help me” (pg. 74). Because of this, he learned to be very self-reliant. This all changed when, in college he met a girl named Renee (who he later married) who got him thinking about Jesus because she was a Christian. He had always said to her that he would never become a Christian. Until one day in his drunken father’s apartment he found a Basic Christianity book. Richard Stearns said, “Remarkably, I found that I couldn’t put it down, and seven hours later, at four in the morning, I had finished and sat trembling in my bed. What I had read had shaken me quite deeply” (pg. 80). This was the turning point in his testimony because he had just started to believe in Jesus. This shows that it was amazing and powerful because a boy from a broken home, and a huge skeptic of God realized that God was real. The story of how Richard Stearns became a Christian is amazing because God leading him to read that one book made him become a Christian. He then later made the crazy decision to step down as CEO of Parker Brothers and become the president of World Vision, to help millions of people. “God does not call the equipped. He equips the called.” (pg.91)
Opening my eyes to the true needs of the poorest people in the world made the book very intense because it was hard for me to realize that we as Americans are so rich compared to the rest of the world, yet we still consider ourselves poor because there are people in our neighborhood that have a little bit more than we have. For example, Americans make at least 100 times more than 15% of the world’s people. This is very sad because that was only the average of the income per day of Americans and there are one billion people living on less than one dollar everyday. So, you don’t believe me? Let me put this into perspective for you.” The poorest 40 percent of the world’s population accounts for just 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for three-quarters of the world’s income.”(pg.122) and, “the top 20 percent of the world’s population consumes 86 percent of the world’s goods.”(pg.122). Those two examples show that we are so rich and we do not even know it. It is not like those people living on one and two dollars a day are living comfortably, but they just don’t have a Wii or the latest video game. No, they have nothing, not even food! Take this, “One out of four children in developing counties is underweight and some 350 to 400 million children are hungry. Worse, it is estimated that a child dies every five seconds from hunger related causes.”(pg. 134) Think about this, every five seconds a child dies from hunger alone. That adds up to about 25,000 children dying each day from hunger. The poor people in our world are living without food and water every day and we can just go to the fridge and grab a soda whenever we want. As a person from Kenya said “Water is life and because we have no water, life is miserable” (pg.135). Reading all of these statistics and facts have really made me sad, but also made me want to do something about these people who have nothing.
This book made me want to act on this problem, not just be sad about it, but make a difference in this problem. In the Hole in Our Gospel, I really enjoyed the call to action in the end of the book because it told us, as the “wealthiest church in history”,(pg.216) to help these people in need. One great example of the call to action in this book is when Richard Stearns said, “We may not be clear on just how God wants to use us. But that’s no excuse for doing nothing. Just jump in, and start doing” (pg.273). This example shows that we can use our unique, “Time, Talent and Treasure” (pg 257) that God has given to each of us to make a difference. Every follower of God has been called by Him to do something; He can use you for great things you just need to be open to Him. One example of God using someone who you would not think could be a big help is Austin Gutwein who started Hoops for Hope by shooting some basketballs. As I said earlier, “God does not call the equipped. He equips the called”(pg.91). Just because you yourself cannot stop poverty does not mean that you cannot have a hand in stopping it. “Don’t fail to do something because you can’t do everything”.(pg.152) This quote from the book shows that it is a great call to action because God can do great things through all of us even if we cannot do anything great. Go, and use your time, talent and treasure given to you from God and help people!
Overall, this book was amazing. I loved how it really let me see the needs of the people in the world and how I need to do something about it. My favorite part of this book was the end of the book because it called the reader to make a difference, to “move a mountain of mustard seeds” (pg.274) for the poor. I honestly do not think that any parts of this book were bad. This book was very well written and it had many Bible verses and quotes to reinforce what he was writing. I believe that everyone in America should read this book, even though it would take many of us out of our comfort zone. I think that people who have an interest in serving God and doing what He wants you to do would enjoy this book. Out of all the books I have read, this book will make a lasting difference in my life, my relationship, and my service to God.
What will you do?
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