Michael Foley

A Few Verses To Scribble.....

These thoughts are as much for me as they are for anyone who would read this page. I feel that God has nuggets of truth every time we read his word... these are just a few of my thoughts.

Ok, a couple more thoughts on Romans. This time looking at Romans 9: 15-16,21. First lets take a peak at verses 15-16; "15...For He says to Moses, "I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION." 16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy."

I have had many discussions with friends surrounding scriptures like these. Why do bad things happen to godly people? or Why did God allow this success to follow a person who does not love Him? It's interesting because it shows that as a flawed vessel, we have a scale of what we feel people deserve or should attain. We look at the world through our lens and surmise that we know what justice is. I'm far from perfect. There are days when I fail miserably in my walk with Christ but, one lesson that I feel God is constantly teaching me is the lesson of scope.

God is teaching me what verse 15 is discussing.... I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION." Although it is true that we will never truly understand or comprehend God, it is also true that He give us clear clues of His majesty through His word. When my visual scope of life is narrow, and I strictly look at my life's circumstances, I see every injustice in my life but never see the grace and mercy. It seems that I'm always looking at what others are attaining.  But when I zoom out and look at life though a panoramic lens, I see a much different picture. I see the grace, mercy, and compassion, all the while the injustice seems much smaller in comparison.

Let me give you a very quick example. When I look at life through the narrow scope and see success in the lives of others, it's very easy for me to look to God and say..."Hey, spread the love! I trying to live my life according to Your word, so where's the reward? I deserve it as much as he does!" But, when I see life through that panoramic lens, I see a much different picture. I see the success in others but, I also see the struggles that families are going through. I see devastated families being torn by financial hardship. I see fathers putting jobs before God and family. I see moms putting on the face of happiness when it feels like the world is collapsing around them. The take away for me is this: Sure God could give me the success of some but, I could also get the struggles that others have received. When I look through that panoramic scope... I count myself blessed and thank God for what He has chosen to do in my life. 

Lets quickly, look at verse 21.... " 21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?" I absolutely love this scripture because it shows the greatness of God and the plans that he has for us. When I look at my life, I never really know what plans God has for me. I don't think that I'll ever really understand if I'm meant for an "honorable use" or just a "common use" but what I do know is this; what ever plans God has for me, greatness can come out of it. But how can anything great come out of an average guy like me? Let's put it this way.... Steve Jobs founded Apple computers in 1986 and built the company into the powerhouse that it is today. Early in Apples development he left Apple and the company almost went out of business. Apple brought him back and he rescued the company. Apple is a true American success story. I'm here to tell you that I'll never (at least I don't think so) be like Steve Jobs. Or Billy Graham. Or Bill Gates. Or Chuck Swindoll. These men have held "honorable" positions and have single-handedly touched the lives of millions.

But how does greatness come from something as common as you and me? Well... you may be a welder, plumber, contractor, construction worker, accountant, architect, or you may be a interior designer, carpet layer, landscaper or concrete worker. And while it may seem that nothing "honorable" can come from these folks. The beauty is when you put all that commonality together, and they put their talents together. You can get something spectacular.... you get Fenway! My thought is this.... Even if you have a common purpose, don't think for a moment that God will not use your talents along with others for a tremendous purpose. Never diminish what God can do in your life. Whether is a Honorable or Common purpose.... the outcome can be great!

Tragedy for Steven Curtis Chapman Family....

In Loving Memory of Maria Chapman

At approximately 5pm on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 21st, Maria Sue Chapman, 5 years old and the youngest daughter to Steven and Mary Beth Chapman, was struck in the driveway of the Chapman home in Franklin, TN. Maria was rushed to Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital in Nashville, transported by LifeFlight, but died of her injuries there. Maria is one of the close knit family’s six children and one of their three adopted daughters.

The Chapman family is grateful for the incredible outpouring of love and support at this difficult time.

To make a dontation to the Maria's Fund.... Click on the photo.

The family really needs our prayers. Please take a minute and pray for them today.

 

A Few Verses To Scribble......

These thoughts are as much for me as they are for anyone who would read this page. I feel that God has nuggets of truth every time we read his word... these are just a few of my thoughts.

Ok... continuing my trek through Romans brings us to Romans 8: 28,32.

First, lets look at Romans 8:28. I don't know about you but, tell me if this sounds familiar. You have a friend going through a really difficult time and a few of his buddies gather around to give some moral support. Finally it happens, after much discussion and without much progress taking place, someone pipes up with "The bible tells us that God makes all our bad situations work out for good." I think that if we all took a look at ourselves and were honest, we'd probably all recognize that we've been that buddy a time or two. As a true friend, we want to ease the pain of those whom we are closest to but we dont' want to use bad theology to do it. This verse is talking about our relationship with God. So when His word tells us that "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God," He's not talking about or earthly happiness (which God does care about) but, He's talking about the process of conforming us the the image of God. God desires us to strive to live a righteous life. I'm here to tell you, that "process" is not without pain and most certainly can involve emotional stress. We must remember that we have two natures, our "human" nature and our "Godly" nature. When these natures collide, it's painful. But, when God is doing the work, the end-result is "Good" for those whom love Him.

Let's take a quick look at Romans 8:32. This is one of my favorite verses in Romans because it gives you confidence that God will equip you by any means necessary to accomplish His will for your life. Have you ever been assigned a task to complete but had absolutely zero idea on how to get it done? I've had it happen both in my professional life and on the "honey-do" list. I'm sure that many men will agree that sometimes it's just easier to call the professionals to get the job done! Well, this is what Romans 8:32 is really telling us. Essentially, God is saying" Hey, did I not give My Son to die for you? Then why would I not give you every tool necessary to be successful in the job that I have for you? I will withhold NOTHING from you."

When you combine these scriptures, the story looks like this. God is conforming all of His children to be like Him and He's doing in on a continuous basis. There will be times in your life when the process will hurt because we don't understand what God is doing. But know this, God never fails us...NEVER!. As He's conforming us, He's still asking us to obey Him and His word. When we know God telling us to do something, He will give us every tool necessary to successfully accomplish that task. The bonus..... comes in verse 33...."Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies" .... In the words of Charles Stanley..."Obey God and leave the consequences to Him!"

A Few Verses To Scribble.....

These thoughts are as much for me as they are for anyone who would read this page. I feel that God has nuggets of truth every time we read his word... these are just a few of my thoughts.

Ok... It's been a while since I've had the chance to blog about what God has been telling me through His words. I feel like I lose a connection when I can't blog.

Currently, I'm taking a nice, slow read through Romans. I seem to get more out of His words when I take it slow. Romans 1-3 basically is telling us that we all come way short of the mark that God has set for each of us (Both the Jews and the Gentiles were falling short of the standard). None of us are righteous and all of us are sinners. Without the righteousness that Christ gives, we are all destined for hell.

But that brings me back to Romans 2:1. Here Paul is telling us (actually the Jews, but us as well) that we are not to judge others, as all of us will fall short when we use the law as our standard. What's interesting to me is the fact that I have a Mike Foley version of God. It's not that I limit what God can do, He created everything so to limit Him would be nuts. But what I do is characterize Him according to what I think He is like. Let me give you an example, the Mike Foley version of God says that there is no way you could call your self a Christian and watch Rated R movies like Pulp Fiction. Why? Because God tell us to stay away from the appearance of sin and from what I'm told, Pulp Fiction has zero redeeming value to our relationship with God. And what about Christians who get hammered at the bar, or the guy who cusses like a sailor with a sunburn. You see, I have this version of God that tells me what Christians look like.

But this is my flaw. This is the thorn in the side of my walk with Christ. When I judge those who are on their journey with God, I've already judged myself. Sure, I can point to the "sin" in others but, at the end of the day, I have so much garbage in my life that it's hypocritical of me to even postulate as to what others should be doing in their journey. In Romans 2... it's not the judging that's the issue...it's the hypocritical judging that Paul teaches against.

God has been dealing with me about this issue for some time now and it's interesting to be reading Roman right now. I guess God has His own divine timing for everything.

My takeaway is this: We are all on our journey with God AND we are all coming to Him from different life experiences with flawed histories. As long as we are all earnestly seeking God and wanting to get to know Him more.... who am I to judge anyone. God will judge all acts according to His standard. But the key here is that word SEEK. We must remember that with redemption comes a journey.... the journey does not end with redemption.

Anyway, I pray that God continues to talk to me through His words.

Hey Ben... A new recruit for the worship team!!

Check out this awesome audition for the Grace Church worship team......

Tony Romo has TREMENDOUS upside!... Even More than David Cook...right Soakie!

Intesting Article on young Evangelical voters

Check out this article about how young Christians are looking at the election. Very interesting to see how the young evangelical voter is choosing a candidate.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004406277_evangvote11m.html

Leading Worship at Grace Church: Part II

OK... the first time that I lead worship at Grace Church I was very nervous. I showed up to practice on that Thursday and, well, lets just say that it didn't go very well. Actually is was a train wreck. But, the team got together on that Sunday morning and the practice went well and we got through the worship service without any glaring errors. (Except for the fact that Gina baled me out when I forgot to sing the last Chorus of a song.... yes, I still remember that. Thanks for saving me on that  one Gina.... I appreciate it!)

Fast forward to this week. I walked into Thursdays practice with the expectation that it would not go well but, actually is went smoothly. But, what happens, on Sunday we start to go though "Here Is Our King" and the wheels fall off.. ... well at least a wheel fell off. You know how your in the car singing a song only to find out later that you were singing it wrong. Well, that happened Sunday morning. Every time we tried to sing the pre-chorus, I kept messing it up. Can I tell you that it's frustrating/scary when that happens 1 hour before the service starts.  But, we got it worked out (two counts in the first pre-chorus, 1 count on the second) and worship went well.

It's really interesting to see what happens during worship when there are hiccups during the week. Those are the times when you really feel God's Spirit move. I pretty sure this happens because we come before God and tell Him.."We can't do this with our ability alone. We need you this morning and  we worship you." This is my personal prayer when I lead worship. At the end of the day, I really feel that I'm the least talented person on the stage but somehow God uses my talent for His glory. I've always found that God is there when we need him.... even if it's getting though the pre-chorus.

Quick shout out to Ben. Thanks for the opportunity. You totally blew me away yesterday. I loved the fact that the incense represented prayer to God and continual prayer at that. I'm going strait to the store and buy me some of that Fabreeze you talked about. :-)

Check out the set:

Awesome Is The Lord Most High, Chris Tomlin

Here Is Our King, David Crowder

How Great Is Our God, Chris Tomlin

King Of Glory: Chris Tomlin

Face Down: Matt Redman

PS... Thanks to everyone on the worship team. You guys are so talented but at the same time you love God and WANT to honor him with your talents. I think that's awesome. Grace is very lucky to have you all!

Expelled: Follow Up to the movie

OK.... I had the opportunity to go and see Expelled with my Bro-In-Law, Aaron.

Going into it, I thought that it was going to be a compare and contrast sort of thing but it wasn't. Instead, what the movie tried to to was show how Intelligent Design (ID) scientist are being ostracized by the Darwinist scientist. The move was thought provoking at some points but also took some liberties with some facts which really didn't need to happen. (I don't want to ruin the movie so I won't tell you what the liberties are.)

A couple of tidbits that I took away from the show was:

• That a true Darwinist thinks that life first come into existence either "on the backs of Crystals"... which is a little crazy.... or from Aliens... which is very creepy.
• That the (ID) folks are not necessarily just religious.... Intelligent Design does not mean God created life but, rather, something did.
• These true Darwinist  scientist, at least the ones in the movie, want science to replace God and feel that Religion is ridiculous if not dangerous.
• The (ID) camp didn't/can't do a good job in arguing their case using science. Really the only thing the (ID) folks can do is talk about the holes in the Darwinist approach.... and that's not really science. It's impossible to prove a divine creator using science which makes the task of arguing (ID) vs Darwinism using science, impossible.

I was talking with Aaron after the movie and he made a really good point; there is a large contingent of scientist the believe in God but also in true Darwinism. The movie didn't talk with any of these folks and it would have been interesting to get that perspective as well. A person who believes in God and Darwinism can't interpret he bible literally.... the main reason is because the creation story won't mesh with Darwinism. This movie really looked at the two opposing views but neglected the "Godarwins"....

"Godarwins" is my term..... I'm pretty proud of it...lol

Anyway, everyone should check out the movie. It's worth the money and provides some interesting insights as well.

EXPELLED (Super Trailer): Go See This Movie!!!!.....

Ok.... It's not often that I strongly encourage anyone to see a movie. Especially a controversial one such as this but, if you think you've see it all as it related to evolution..... YOU HAVE NOT!

Check out the trailer.... then go see EXPELLED!

A Few Verses To Scribble.....

These thoughts are as much for me as they are for anyone who would read this page. I feel that God has nuggets of truth every time we read his word... these are just a few of my thoughts.

Let's take a very quick peak at John 16... more specifically, lets look at John 16:23. Here is the setting; Christ is eating with His disciples and He is talking about him immediate future. Jesus is talking a lot about His own death and resurrection. The disciples don't really understand but Jesus finally gets them to the place were they except the fact that He will soon die. So we get the verse 16 and Jesus tells his disciples...""In that day you will not question Me about anything Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you."

I'm pretty sure that we've all heard this passage a million times and it's usually followed by some T.V evangelist telling us to ask God for Money, Health, or Happiness. I've seen it used by fellow Christians as they offer help to someone going through a difficult time personally. In my personal prayers, I've used the statement in hopes that God will answer my prayers the way that I want Him too; according to my plan for my life. In my view.... this is all wrong.

Lets look at the context of this verse again. Again, Christ is sitting with His disciples and telling them of His immediate death. He's telling them that the world hates God so the world will hate them. He's telling them that the road will be hard for them but the end result will be Glory. He's telling them about a comforter who is about to come. He's praying to His Father; telling Him that the disciples finally understand the stakes and what their role is. In essence, He's handing the baton off to the disciples and tell them in John 17:18 ...."As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world." It was now up to the disciples to spread the Gospel to all the world. It was in this context that Jesus tells them to ask for anything from God and it will be given. What ever they need to get the job done, God will provide it.

Am I saying that we shouldn't bring our needs to God, absolutely not. In fact, the Lords Prayer is just that; the bringing of our basic needs to God that He alone would sustain us. What I am saying is that it's a travesty that we have taken the sacred words of Jesus to mean "give me what ever I want." The focus is not on God but on us and our agendas instead of focusing on God and His will for our lives.

In the future, I'm going to focus on 1 John 5:14 because this takes to focus off what I want for myself and forces me to look at my life through God's will. That's a lot easier said then done but, I do find contentment when I strive to walk in His will for my life.